"For as long as there been humans we have searched for our place in the cosmos. Where are we? Who are we? We find that we live on an insignificant planet of a hum-drum star lost in a galaxy tucked away in some forgotten corner of a universe in which there are far more galaxies than people. This perspective is a courageous continuation of our penchant for constructing and testing mental models of the skies; the Sun as a red-hot stone, the stars as a celestial flame, the Galaxy as the backbone of night." - Carl Sagan.

Day 214

Ruby sat in contemplation, gazing out of the cockpit of the Rebellious Rose from her seat in the pilot's chair. She wore a form-fitting black shirt that highlighted her defined abs and a pair of grey cargo pants. Her hair was longer than usual; she had decided to try growing it out again during the interim period she had spent with Weiss. Her bangs hung down over her forehead, and long black strands tipped with crimson reached down to her shoulders. It was spiky in places, messy looking and yet not at the same time.

She flexed her robotic arm experimentally, a slight whirring sound emitting from the glossy black metal as the hydraulics and gears responded to the unconscious commands from her brain. It responded just as well as a regular arm would, and Ruby had quickly found that having a fist made of solid metal was a devastating thing when your semblance could propel said fist beyond the speed of light.

She rested her chin on her fist and shifted her gaze to a view-screen that hung just above the cockpit's viewport. In it, magnified by almost a hundred times, was the image of a slowly rotating space station. It was gunmetal grey and shaped like an isosceles triangle. It rose vertically at the base, which was where the majority of the docking bays and storage areas were located. Silhouetted against a pale yellow gas giant with an astounding ring system, it was a welcome sight for the two bounty hunters.

Further off in the distance she could see the twin blue suns of the Akiainavas system. Each star orbited the other, locked in a gravitational embrace and distorting each others mutual stellar atmosphere. By exchanging mass with each other, the two stars were able to achieve stages of stellar evolution that single stars could not attain by themselves.

"Heh, kind of like Weiss and myself," Ruby thought. "Binary stars are so cool..."

She had matured since her time at Beacon, even though physically she was perpetually twenty-four. Some things never changed however; she was still prone to bouts of inattentiveness and "childish behavior," as Weiss would put it. But when she spoke her voice was smoky and melodic, the aural representation of distant rain-clouds on the horizon.

"How long Weiss?"

The white-haired girl sitting to Ruby's left pressed her hand to a touchscreen in front of her, pulling up relevant information and dismissing that which was not pertinent to their situation. She manipulated the data with clarity and grace, fingers sweeping across the screen in an elegant display of fine motor skills.

Weiss' voice on the other hand, was just as high-pitched and brittle as always. But even so, it conveyed a certain elegance.

"Still three hours Ruby. Just like the last time you asked."

"Pfft, it was four hours last time."

"Three hours and forty-eight minutes. You can't just round that down to three."

"I can do whatever I want," Ruby said as she stuck her tongue out at Weiss.

The other girls eyes narrowed, not even taking them off of the screen in front of her.

"You're gonna lose your tongue if you keep doing that," she threatened.

"Oh yeah right, you'd never cut off my tongue."

"Wouldn't I? You think me one for idle threats Ruby?"

The brunette smirked; her partner still couldn't see where she was going with this.

"No, but if you cut off my tongue, I couldn't do that thing you like so much..."

Weiss' cheeks took on a deep shade of red, and she stared at Ruby in incredulity.

"I can't believe you! How vulgar, how, how utterly perverted of you to-"

"Weiss, quiet real quick."

"No! I will not be-"

"Seriously, hush, the station's contacting us."

Weiss let her mouth hang open for a few moments more as she glared at Ruby, her burning gaze fit to melt sheet metal. But then she huffed in indignation and stared straight ahead, folding her arms across her chest.

Ruby reached out and pressed a small blinking button on one of the touchscreens near her, and it brought up an image of a man in his late-forties with close-cropped black hair, hastily typing something into his holographic keyboard. He noticed the connection was made, and spoke into the device on his collar.

"Inbound ship, this is Peralta Station. Identify yourself and your intent."

"Hi there sir!" Ruby responded cheerfully. "I'm Captain Ashelynn Reiner, and this is my co-pilot, the lovely miss Kiara D'Angelos. The ship approaching you is the Harvest Moon, registry number JF-M0600243, and we're just here to re-fuel and pick up some supplies."

The man hastily typed on his holographic keyboard, the glare of the screen giving his face a strange white cast to it. Weiss gave him a distrusting look, all while pulling up information about Peralta Station.

"...Right, your registry checks out, you've got permission to dock. Please divert to docking bay... let's see here. Ah, docking bay 12 And be careful, the guide lights are out in that section of the station. Just take it slow."

"Heh, about that mister. We're sort of, well, out of fuel. Soooo we're gonna need a tug to pull us in."

"None of my business," the man stated, "But that'll mean a sizable extra fee on top of your docking and refueling charges. You okay with that?"

"We'll be just fine sir. Thanks a ton!"

"Yeah, a ton will be about what a tow into the station'll cost ya. It'll meet you halfway. Peralta Station out."

With that the image disappeared from the screen. Ruby turned in her chair to face Weiss, a small smile on her face.

"He seemed nice at least," she said.

"Even so," Weiss replied, "the rest of the station isn't. This place is a run-down outpost; the only people who willingly come here are smugglers and other unsavory types. I say we refuel and leave as soon as possible."

"Aw, that's no fun! C'mon, what if someone here has a bounty? We wouldn't want to miss out on that, would we?"

Weiss sighed, finally deigning to meet Ruby's gaze. The brunette had turned her seat so that the back of it was facing Weiss, and she had her hands and chin propped up on it while she swung her legs back and forth.

"Ruby, we don't even need the money. Just because you love the thrill of the chase," she said with air quotes, "doesn't mean we need to rush into something we're not prepared for. We need to pick our battles, not the other way around."

"Ugh, fine," Ruby said as she let her head hang over the top of the chair. But then an idea struck her, and she lifted it back up to gaze questioningly at her wife.

"Well how about a meal then? Can we just get something to eat there? I'm sure there's a bar or something, and it would be good to stretch our legs."

Weiss swiped through the info on the station, pulling up the listings of stores and vendors.

"Conveniently, there happens to be a bar a short distance from our berth. We can eat there if you'd like."

"Yes please!" Ruby said enthusiastically. "I mean your cooking is amazing and all, but I want to try something new."

At this, Weiss' eyes narrowed.

"Don't be mad?" Ruby said sheepishly. "I promise I'll pay you back in snuggles..."

The white-haired looked over at her wife, trying hard to resist the puppy dog stare Ruby had put on.

"Dolt. You can't even go a single night without snuggling with me. How are you going to use that as a reward system when its something you can't do without in the first place?"

Ruby spun in her chair, hanging her head backwards to look at Weiss upside-down as her long black hair pooled on the metal decking.

"You say that like you can go without snuggles too. I know you need them just as much as me. You couldn't sleep by yourself if you tried."

Weiss knew as much, but her stubborn pride refused to let her acknowledge that fact. She could go without snuggling for a night, and she would prove it.

"Fine then. Have it your way Ruby, no cuddling tonight. I'll sleep on one side of the bed, and you sleep on the other. No physical contact allowed."

Ruby was flabbergasted; her mouth hung open in disbelief. In retrospect, she should've known Weiss would have risen to her challenge.

"Bu-bu, but..."

"No buts! I'll prove it this time, I don't need to snuggle with you."

Ruby whimpered and hung her head, spinning her chair around again. This time however, she lost her grip and crashed to the floor.

The Rebellious Rose drifted inexorably onwards, the ever-growing silhouette of Peralta station barely becoming visible against the pale-yellow gas giant, Akiainavas VII. In the distance, the white bursting flower of the Gardenia nebula hung amongst the stars; twinkling points of light in an infinite ocean of jet black.

Ruby strolled down the exit ramp of the Rose with Weiss beside her. She was wearing a black leather jacket with a peaked collar over a red shirt and a matching pair of black skinny jeans. Weiss on the other hand, was clad in a white-long sleeved shirt with a light blue scarf and fitted white dress pants. Her hair was back its customary off-center ponytail, while Ruby's long hair hung just past her shoulder, her bangs covering one side of her face. They exited the dingy, dimly lit hangar and Weiss purposefully strode onwards towards the customs and registration kiosk down the hall that led into main thoroughfare of Peralta station. That was normally the white-haired girls area of expertise: paperwork and the like. Her much more business focused mind had an easier time of such things. Ruby took her time, strolling down the long hallway connecting the various hangars to the entrance of the station proper, and glancing around at her surroundings.

The prevalent color scheme appeared to be grey and dim green. The walls were a dark grey, made up of welded plates of steel and other materials haphazardly patched together. Bulbous protrusions stuck out from the wall at irregular intervals, giving the aesthetics of the station an organic feel. Circular tubes of green fluorescent material attached to the ceiling provided less-than-adequate lighting. They cast strange shadows, giving the hallway a muted yet relaxed feel. The air was fresh at least, and Ruby could hear the ventilation systems struggling to provide newcomers to the station with a good first impression. She stopped momentarily as a green light fixture next to her sparked and sputtered, but shrugged and walked onwards. As far as space stations went, she had seen far worse.

She reached the end of the long hallway just as Weiss finished finalizing things with the customs official, and she beckoned Ruby over.

"Right, so we're cleared to enter. I already paid the docking and towing fees, and the customs official assured me that a record of our stay would not be made, after a hefty bribe of course. As for the layout of the station, it's separated into multiple levels and from what I can ascertain the higher you go, the better the conditions. Peralta Station is pretty much just a refueling outpost, one of the last before you enter the frontier, but they've got a pretty sizable gambling enterprise as well. The interior is actually pretty large, even big enough to hold buildings the size of skyscrapers on the main levels. Thankfully that bar you wanted to go to is near the middle of the station close to here. Was there anything else?"

"Nope," Ruby replied. "I already activated the Rose's security, she'll be fine. Now let's get to the bar! I'm starving!" As if to back up her point, her stomach chose that exact moment to emit a plaintive rumble.

Weiss looked at her with a grimace, then calmly slipped her hand into Ruby's. "Fine then, I remember the way. And if I'm being honest, I'm pretty hungry myself. But, I rented a hotel for the night, and as soon as we finish eating we're heading right there. We haven't slept in three days remember?"

"Sounds great!" Ruby said with a bright smile. "Hopefully the food is good. Lead the way Weiss-erooni!"

The white-haired woman stopped in her tracks, looking back at her wife incredulously. Ruby simply smiled at her, her grin stretching across her face.

"You are such a dolt, you know that?"

The nearly overpowering smells of grease and alcohol greeted the two women as they stepped through the neon-rimmed entrance of the bar known as Tibus Heth's. Weiss wrinkled her nose in disgust, while Ruby grinned and pulled the other woman inside by her hand. The bar was dimly lit with the same green and grey lighting, and a thin haze of smoke filled the air. To the left was the bar proper, a long steel counter-top that ran along the wall. Various bottles of alcohol sat on the wall behind it, while the bartender himself barely spared them a glance. To the right were various booths and tables, and Ruby quickly led them to a solitary booth near the back corner. She sat down facing the entrance, while Weiss sat with her back to it. Ruby liked to always be facing the main entry point of the restaurant; it allowed her to observe who went in and out and to watch for potential threats.

The place definitely wasn't empty, but it wasn't exactly crowded either. The perfect background noise of idle chatter radiated throughout the room, not quiet enough to seem menacing and not loud enough to be overbearing. A comfortable sensation.

A waitress stopped by their table and handed them their menus, and they placed their orders and waited. Ruby laid her human hand atop the table, and Weiss placed her own upon it, squeezing it softly. They simply stared at each-other for a few minutes, reflecting on how they had come to this point. And one thousand years was a lot to reflect upon. If you asked either one of them if immortality was worth it, even with all the hardship and pain, they would have affirmed that yes, it was without a second thought, even if only for the other person sitting across the table from them.

Soon enough though, Ruby broke the silence. "So whaddya wanna do next? I imagine you probably want to go do something exciting, after all that time we spent cooped up in the Rose."

"Oh you know me Ruby, I'm always up for more gunfire and explosions. Senseless yelling and screaming too, can't get enough of it." Weiss didn't even have to attempt to sound sarcastic, but her voice was practically dripping with it. It was a technique she had mastered long ago.

"Well what then?" Ruby replied, completely unfazed. "Do you want to go somewhere fun, or take a vacation or something?"

The waitress brought them their meals: a hamburger and milk for Ruby and a salad and water for Weiss. The burger was a giant patty of meat dripping in grease, covered in lettuce, tomatoes, mustard and bacon, and Ruby eyed it hungrily. Weiss looked on in disgust.

"You're actually going to eat that disgusting monstrosity aren't you."

"Are you actually going to eat that bland tasteless salad?" Ruby replied as she cracked her knuckles in anticipation. "Alright meat! Time to meet your doom!"

Ruby picked up the burger with both hands, noting with satisfaction how grease dripped from it as she squeezed the buns together and took a bite.

Weiss didn't even touch her salad; she simply stared incredulously at Ruby as the brunette attempted to shove the entire burger into her mouth.

"Hmmrygod Wreiss, dis ish sho good!" She swallowed, then continued. "Hey, you haven't even touched your salad yet."

The white-haired woman pushed the offending dish away from herself.

"I'm not hungry anymore."

"Geez, stop being such a picky eater. Here, try some of this!"

Weiss opened her mouth to protest, but before she could Ruby lunged forward and shoved a piece of the hamburger into her mouth. Weiss shrieked and jumped backwards, but all of a sudden she stopped and her eyes glazed over. She started chewing ever so slowly, and her shoulders slumped forward slightly as she lost herself in the taste of the hamburger.

Ruby giggled uncontrollably as Weiss succumbed to the burger from heaven.

"Ahaha! W-Weiss do you love hamburgers that much, or have you just not eaten anything greasy for the past hundred years?!" At this, she devolved into another fit of laughter.

Meanwhile, Weiss finished chewing the meat and swallowed almost reluctantly. She glared at Ruby with all the intensity and fury she could muster, but watching her wife laugh uncontrollably was making her quickly lose her cool.

"R-Ruby stop, you're causing a scene, people are staring at us!"

Indeed, several of the bars patrons were sending curious glances over towards the back corner where the couple sat.

Weiss couldn't help herself. She snickered and tried to stop, but before long she was laughing wildly along with her wife. Ruby's honest laugh was just so darn contagious.

The two of them were bent over the table, unable to stop the guffaws and tears of mirth streaming from their eyes. Ruby pounded her fist on the table, struggling to breathe. At this point neither of them remembered what they were laughing about, but it didn't really make a difference.

After an unknown period of time, eventually the laughter slowed down. Ruby clutched her sides and gasped for air, while Weiss laid back on the bench and wiped the tears from her eyes. The white-haired woman sat up and attempted to glare at Ruby, but couldn't keep a small grin from forming on her face.

"How did I ever fall in love with a dolt like you?" Weiss asked.

"Oh you know, it was my blistering good looks and unresistable charm."

"Mmhmm. Ruby, you may be a lot of things, but overflowing with charm and wit is not one of them."

"What! I have plenty of charm!"

"Oh yeah? Then why are you sleeping by yourself tonight?"

Ruby gasped, dumbstruck by the possibility that Weiss might still going through with her threat. "I thought you'd forget about that! There's no way you'll actually sleep without me... right?"

Weiss stared her down and mouthed the words "watch me."

Ruby slumped over and let her head hit the table with a groan.

"Uh... Ruby?" Weiss asked with a hint of nervousness.

"Yes?" Ruby replied, her voice muffled by the table.

"...Are you going to finish that hamburger?"

"...Yeap. And you don't get a single bite. Unless you snuggle with me tonight."

"Well then, I guess I'm just going to have to order a hamburger of my own," Weiss said with disdain.

"Fine. I'll get the waitress, I need a refill on my milk anyway."

"You can't grow anymore you dolt. Why do you keep drinking that stuff?"

"I dunno," Ruby replied with a smirk. "Force of habit I guess."

Ruby looked around the smoky green-tinted bar for the waitress. Just then however, a small crowd walked in. They quickly separated and moved to different tables, but something had caught Ruby's eye through the haze. A shock of golden-blonde hair, peeking through a dark grey hoodie. Not many people had hair of that color, and even fewer traveled with a raven-haired faunus woman whose gaze was currently roaming the bar.

Ruby and Blake's eyes met, and the glint of recognition in them quickly led to happily surprised smiles. The faunus nudged her partner, and a grin a mile wide lit up the blonde's face as she spotted her sister.

"Weiss, you'll never guess who's here!"

"The waitress?" she replied dryly.

"Nope! Yaaaang!"

The blonde brawler dove into the booth, practically tackling Ruby. She took off her hood and wrapped her younger sister in a back-breaking hug.

"Rubyrubyruby! I missed you soooo much! Ooh, growing your hair out? I like it!"

"Hrrgh, y-you say that every time we meet up!"

"Yeah and it's always true! Hey Weiss!"

"Hi Yang." Weiss said with a smile. "Please try not to crush my wife."

"She'd probably try to kill you if that happened," Blake said as she slid into the booth on Weiss' side.

"Oof, Yang get off me, I wanna go sit by Weiss now!"

Ruby tried to shove her sister off of her, Yang grinning as she rooted herself in place by gripping the table.

"Yang, don't be mean," Blake interjected, a knowing smirk on her face. "Let her sit by her Weiss-y." That earned a glare from the former heiress. "Plus, don't you want to sit by me?" She asked in mock dejectedness.

"I know kitty-cat, I'm just playing around. Man, we haven't seen each-other in, what has it been, three years now? Back on Kelleon?"

"Ah, Kelleon," Weiss said with a sigh. "The world of overpopulated cities, eye-watering pollution, and backed-up sewage systems. I meant it when I said we're never going back."

"Oh, no problem over here," said Yang, as she got out of the booth to allow Ruby to slide into the other side to sit with Weiss. "I was just as happy to get out of there as you were."

"I don't think any of us were as happy as she was," Blake said as she sat down beside Yang. "Remember when she threatened the hotel manager with Myrenaster?"

"Oohoo yeah that was hilarious! I don't even remember why you did it though, wasn't it something to do with your bed?"

"The sheets hadn't been washed," Ruby said. "And that was after there was no running water, the fridge was busted, and the air conditioning kept shooting out gusts of hot air. So yeah, she got really mad."

"All completely justifiable," Weiss said as she picked at her nails. "It worked, didn't it? He gave us a new room, this time with the things you'd expect from a hundred-twenty credit rental. I'm just mortified that he tried to swindle us that like in the first place."

"So anyway, what are you two doing here?" Yang asked. "Me and Blake-"

"Blake and I," Weiss interjected. Ruby giggled and Yang shot her a pointed glare in reply, but there was a glint of humor behind it.

"Yes your highnessness," Yang said with a mock posh accent. "Blake and I were just stopping here on our way to the Weylandir system to check out a research outpost that's gone dark. One of the local corporations by the name of Perimeter Enterprises runs the place, and I guess they were doing some kind of spatial research. Their security is tied up with that bombing on Heirondor, and they put out the job out in an open contract. They didn't really tell us much, they just want us to check it out and report back. It's probably just a comms problem, it's in a secure dead-space complex and that kind of crap happens all the time. Hey, if you guys want you could tag along! I know it's probably nothing, but Blake has one of her feelings and we could probably use the backup. It'd be just like we're Team RWBY again!"

"Weiss and m... I mean Weiss and I," Ruby said while withering under her wife's blistering glare, "were actually just here to refuel and get some repairs done. We uh, kinda got into a bad fight and lost our warp drive, and... well we've been drifting for the past like, two hundred days. We just got here yesterday actually!"

"That is one incredibly improbable coincidence," Blake said. "That you two got here on the exact day that we did, and that we just happened to pick the exact bar to eat at?"

"I dunno, maybe it's the hand of fate or something," Ruby said with a laugh. "But yeah, I think it'd be cool if we tagged along. We don't really have anything better to do while the Rose is getting fixed up. How many jumps away is the... Wylandy system or whatever?"

"Weylandir," Blake said. "And it's three jumps away. This job shouldn't take more than a day."

"That's good then," Weiss replied. "The repairs to the Rose will probably take a few days, less if Ruby works on it herself."

"Hey I know she's my baby and all, but even I gotta take a break sometimes. If the repair shop screws it up you can just stab em' all with Myrenaster anyway."

"Not that I'm particularly opposed to that idea, but I doubt the station officials would be as understanding," Weiss said. "Yang, Blake, do you two have a place to stay? Ruby and I are about to retire for the night."

Yang spoke up first. "Yeah, we got a nice little hotel a few levels up. We only woke up a few hours ago, so we're probably gonna do some shopping and what-not before we turn in. We bought a nice shuttle for this job, but it's just something we're using while we look for a better ship. I'm thinking a destroyer this time, so we can-"

"Yang, for the last time, we are not getting a destroyer," Blake interjected. "We'd have to hire a crew to be able to run it effectively. And crews ask questions."

Yang pouted, resting her head on the table and looking up pleadingly at her wife. "You just don't want one because you can't handle the idea of me flying around something with eight autocannons."

"That too." Blake said, completely unfazed by Yang's forlorn expression. "I keep telling you, we really should get a frigate capable of mounting a covert ops cloak."

"Yeah but those are no fun, who wants to sneak around all the time and-"

*ahem*

Weiss cleared her throat pointedly, looking at Blake and Yang with annoyance. "If you two are done arguing about what flying hunk of metal you're going to get blown up next, I'm quite tired and I'm sure Ruby is too. We've been up for almost three days now. Also, it's almost four in the morning."

Yang glanced over at Ruby; the brunette was slumped over and drooling on the remains of her hamburger.

"Wait, why the hell were you guys up for three days if you were just drifting?"

"Well there was the repairs, adjusting the thrusters to bring us into the station, updating nav co-ordinates and bookmarks, and... other things," she finished with a small blush.

"Ah, I getcha. Other things, huh?" Yang said with a wink. Weiss refused to meet her eye. "Well just meet us at bay seven tomorrow at, I dunno, let's do noon."

"I suppose that's manageable," Weiss muttered. "It was good to see you both again."

Blake and Yang both smiled. "Likewise," they said at the same time.

"Jinx, you owe me a soda!" Yang shouted, and the faunus woman shook her head in exasperation. "Oh and we're still gonna stay and order something, so we'll get the bill."

Weiss grasped Ruby by the shoulder and shook her lightly. "I appreciate it. Ruby, come on, let's go to bed."

The brunette woke with a jolt, wiping the drool from her chin and glancing around wildly. "Oh, heh heh, my bad. Yeah we should probably hit the sack. Yang! Gimme a hug! You too Blake!"

The four girls stood up and exchanged hugs, Weiss' and Blake's being less spine-crushing but no less heartfelt than Ruby's and Yang's.

Yang relocated to the bar, dragging her wife with her as Weiss practically carried a sleep-deprived Ruby out of the bar.

Yang sat down on an empty stool, smiling as Blake sat beside her. "So uh, instead of a soda... how 'bout you buy me a beer instead?"

"No."

Ruby stepped out of the shower, drying her hair with a towel as she walked into the hotel room and making sure to sway her hips. Weiss was on the room's only bed, scrolling through her data-pad as she reviewed Schnee Dust Industries' latest earnings and losses. She looked up at Ruby as the brunette strode into the room, preparing to say something, but was reduced to stuttering and blushing when she saw her wife's state of dress.

"R-Ruby! Put some clothes on!"

Ruby turned and blew a kiss at her, winking seductively as she did so. Weiss' mouth gaped open in shock, and she felt her heart begin to beat rapidly. The brunette turned around and bent at the waist, leaning down far slower than necessary to pick up her sleeping clothes. The other woman blushed furiously and buried her face in her data-pad, trying and failing to immerse herself in the world of profits and expenditures. She couldn't help but peek at Ruby as she dressed herself though, trying to look as uninterested as possible.

"So are you really gonna make me sleep by myself tonight?" Ruby said as she pulled a black tank top over her chest.

"Yes! Especially with this little... stunt you're trying to pull!"

"Stunt? I have no idea what you're talking about." Ruby took a pillow from the foot of the bed, laid it on the sofa and then flopped down on it facing the wall. "Suit yourself then. Goodnight Weiss."

"...Goodnight Ruby."

Weiss sighed softly, rolling over onto her side and glancing over at the blue holographic numbers projected into the darkness by the hotel room's alarm clock.

4:16 AM.

And still, sleep escaped her. She laid on the bed, a single sheet upon her and her snow-white hair splayed out over it. She gazed into the shrouded obscurity of the pitch-black hotel room, towards the couch where she knew the sleeping form of Ruby lay. She was already regretting her determination to sleep by herself for the night. She didn't necessarily want to, but the white-haired woman was a prideful person if there ever was one, and once she set her mind on something she did it, even at the cost to herself and others. Plus, she had to prove Ruby wrong somehow. She didn't want to seem ungrateful to her wife, but she had to prove to herself that she was still a strong, independent woman who didn't have to rely on anyone else for to be content.

Although deep down, she knew she was lying to herself. She needed Ruby, like a flame needs oxygen to keep burning.

She rolled back over, looking through the sheer curtains at the sight beyond them. The hotel room they were in was located high, high up above the street. Small speeders and hovercraft whizzed by, a steady stream of traffic restricted to invisible lanes. Distant skyscrapers and buildings stretched off into the distance; a crowded forest of steel and stone. The green glow that was prevalent in the station was everywhere: shining from lights embedded in the buildings, emanating from the bright neon signs of the street bottom far below, reflecting off of the darkened windows around her.

She had thought that gazing out upon the interior of the station would occupy her wandering mind, yet somehow it only made her feel more alone. Out there were thousands of humans and faunus, walking, laughing, crying, breathing. Living, going along with their daily lives, taking comfort in each-other or in the solace of a bottle. Fellow travelers like her, lost and adrift in the darkness of a galaxy that was often cold and unfriendly. And yet as similar as they were, she knew that if she were to die that night, not a single soul out there would know or care.

With the exception of Yang and Blake, she knew that there was only one person in the universe that she truly mattered to. One bright soul that mattered to her just as much, that she would do anything for, that she loved with every last shred of her heart. Her soul-mate, in the literal sense of the word. Over the years their souls had actually grown so close they had actually intertwined in a symbiotic relationship where they drew power from and supported each-other. It is said that aura is the essence of the soul made manifest, and Ruby's and Weiss' auras were so much more powerful when they were together. Ruby had literally become her other half, so much so that when they were apart she felt a profound, unexplainable emptiness. Like she was missing a part of herself.

She sighed, lost in thought, reflecting on how much Ruby had done for her and just how the course of her life had changed because of one simple action. One small decision that had changed everything forever. That day in the Emerald Forest, when Weiss had come back to Ruby. Her mind ran through the myriad possibilities that could have branched out from her decision. She could have partnered up with Jaune.

"Ew, no."

She could have kept looking, perhaps found and teamed up with Pyrrha as per her original plan. Yet for reasons she was still unsure of, she had found her way back to Ruby and dragged her off into the forest with her. She had figured that she would be lucky if the next four years of her life were simply tolerable. Now, a thousand years later, she still didn't feel like she would ever grow tired of being with Ruby.

"And oh, how wrong I was about her," Weiss thought to herself. "Ruby was never anything but kind and caring towards me, like no one else ever was. Even when I pushed her away..." She looked back into the gloom of the hotel room, towards the sleeping form of the brunette. "Just like I am now... Why am I such a stubborn fool sometimes? She doesn't deserve to be treated like this, and I don't deserve her period... I'm sorry Ruby."

Even though she could hear he wife's quiet breathing, she needed more. She needed to hold her, to feel Ruby's skin against her own. Pride be damned.

Moving as quietly as possible she slipped out of the bed, the sheets rustling slightly as the soft fabric slid from her nightgown.

Ruby yawned, trying to keep her body as still as possible. She was lying on her side facing the wall, and she didn't want Weiss to see that she was still awake; it would only serve to bother her. If Weiss wanted to prove that she could sleep by herself for a night, then Ruby would do everything she could to support her. She would do anything she could to see her wife succeed in her endeavors.

"Still, I hope she's not mad at me..." Ruby thought. "She seemed pretty serious when she said goodnight. Maybe she was just trying to act like she didn't care? Oh Weiss, you're so darn stubborn sometimes. And now here we are, two idiots lying awake trying to pretend that they can sleep without eachother. Would she forgive me if I got in bed with her? Would she care? What if she wants me to come to her, but she's too prideful to say it? Why does this have to be so difficult? We've been together for almost a thousand years, you'd think we'd have figured this whole relationship thing out by now."

The air conditioning in the room was on nearly its coldest setting; Weiss liked the air to be chilled while she slept. Ruby shivered and tried to pull her blanket tighter around herself with as little actual movement as possible. The black tank top and boxer shorts she was wearing didn't do the best job of keeping her warm. She heard a rustling noise from behind her, like Weiss was getting out of the bed. She froze, squeezing her eyes shut and willing her body not to move an inch.

She jolted suddenly when she felt a pair of arms slide themselves around her waist, and a warm body press itself up against her own. As happily surprised as she was, she tried not to move a muscle.

"I know you're awake."

"No I'm not!" Ruby whispered harshly. "...Uh, crap. Sorry?"

"You've got nothing to be sorry for. If anything, I'm sorry for trying to make you sleep alone. I know you probably need this as much as I do..." Weiss turned Ruby around so that they were facing each other, smiling softly as the brunette immediately nuzzled into her neck, inhaling the familiar scent of wildflowers. Ruby wrapped her mechanical arm around Weiss' waist and cradled her head with the other. This was what she needed. What they both needed.

"So aren't you going to say anything about me being wrong?" Weiss asked in a whisper as she slowly ran her fingers through her wife's soft hair.

"Nope," Ruby said cheerfully.

"...That's it?"

"Yeap."

She sighed. "I don't deserve you Ruby Rose."

"Oh hush Weiss, it isn't about what either of us deserve. What matters is that I want you. And that I love you more than anything. I chose that, I chose you. Screw what I deserve, or what you deserve. We chose eachother."

Weiss didn't say anything, but instead pulled Ruby just a little closer, hoping it would convey her unspoken message of gratitude. Her wife had always had a way of quelling her anxieties before they could fully form. She was glad it was dark, otherwise Ruby would have quickly noticed the huge blush on her cheeks. How was it that she could do this to her after almost a thousand years?

"Hey Weiss?"

"...Yes Ruby?"

"I love you." It wasn't so much a declaration as it was the statement of an undeniable fact.

"...I love you too. Now go to sleep, you big dolt."

Ruby giggled, softly pressing her lips against her wife's before moving her head back to nuzzle into the crook of her neck.

"But I'm your dolt," she whispered.

So I figure I should clarify the importance and the frequency with which I'll be updating this story. It's the centerpiece of my modest little Space AU, and Bloodbirds, Melted Ice, and my upcoming stories about how Ruby and Weiss fall in love, and then the search for/battle with the Grimm Lord are all companion stories to this one. The White Nebula is the centerpiece; the cornerstone and the main effort of this AU. As such, it's going to be updated on the indiscernible schedule of whenever-I-feel-like-it. Probably in between chapters of my upcoming story about Ruby and Weiss falling in love at Beacon.

At the time of me writing this, RWBY Season 2 premieres in two days. I'm feeling this strange blend of crippling anxiety, soul-shattering dread, and spine-tingling excitement. I don't really let myself think about what might happen, primarily between Weiss and Ruby, because the last time I did I ended up screaming and hyper-ventilating into my pillow for the better part of a minute. I know for a fact that Bumblebee is gonna be debunked, but rest assured I will find a way to work around that, specifically by writing the (gruesome) death of whoever Monty misguidedly decides to pair Blake and Yang up with. Now as for Whiterose... all I know is that there's still hope. But hey, hope is a forlorn thing.

I'd like a bit of feedback on whether the whole premise of this is plausible or not. Like when you think about an AU where they kill the primogenitor of the Grimm and become immortal, do you think it sounds like it could happen, or do you just immediately think of how stupid that sounds and how it doesn't even make sense.

So if you liked it, didn't like it, or thought it was dumb, please leave a review telling me why. Hell, just review period. It makes my day :D