So good lord this is 25 pages. I do not know what to say. Enjoy? Perhaps over several sittings?

Weiss was the only person in the class who, when the professor declared that the student with the highest grade would get a prize, smirked in their seat instead of groaning. It turned out to be a stupid little award; those who hadn't turned in an exam book had to sing a song for the class to make up the few cents the books cost, and the person with the highest average got to pick the song.

For Weiss, the prospect of choosing some pop music drivel wasn't particularly interesting. But the satisfaction of knowing exactly who's grade was best, now that was a prize worth working for.

For the next three months, Weiss was determined to be perfect. She completed all the homeworks at least a week in advance, she did the extra credit problems, and scored no lower than a 96 on every test. In short, her grade was nearly flawless, and she walked into the last day of class with a confident smile.

The professor, a tall man with an uneven bald spot and rimless glasses, stood up front with a little post it note. Without preamble, he began. "So, at the beginning of the semester I said the person with the highest grade got to pick the song for the end of the year. First, lets get our little choir up here." He looked down at the post it, and read a list of five names: three boys and two girls. They came up looking wearing slightly ashamed grins, and stood in a row at the front of the class.

"Now, let's see... the person who gets to pick their song is... Ruby Rose."

Weiss almost shrieked in outrage. Instead, calmly and slowly, biting her inner lip all the while to help maintain her neutral expression, she turned to scan the room for whoever would speak up. Her piercing gaze almost dared someone to say anything.

Near to the back a tallish girl with black hair dyed in red streaks and a dark hoodie emblazoned with a stylized rose spoke up. "Um, does everyone know Centuries? By Fall Out Boy?" She looked pensive and slightly uncertain, but a little smile danced at the corners of her lips.

Everyone up front nodded, and Weiss turned angrily away, her ice blue eyes cold. At first, just those up front began a tuneless, mish mash rendition of whatever disaster of a song the girl had chosen. By the end, most of the class had begun to sing along, belting out the lyrics so loud it hurt. Weiss sat stubbornly silent in her seat, itching to get out of the room.

The song ended, each student singing their own final words in a chaotic jumbled mess that, thankfully, trailed off quickly. Weiss didn't even wait for the professor to dismiss the class. Before the last notes had left the room she just left, her short angry strides carrying her out in a matter of seconds.

A few days later, Weiss was one of the few students not packed to go home for Winter break. That wasn't to say her dorm room wasn't clean; the little solo room was, in fact, almost as tidy as if nobody were living there at all. The white sheets on the bed were perfectly made, the clothes were all folded and hidden inside dresser drawers, and if not for a row of books, a calculator, and a few pencils on the desk, it could seem like nobody was there at all.

She'd called her father only a few hours before, citing an opportunity at some lab work and a lack of desire to pack her things as reasons to stay at Beacon. He hadn't pushed it, and she'd hung up only two minutes later, letting out a small sigh of relief. They both knew Christmas almost always ended in disaster, it seemed.

And now, she was stuck on campus for the holidays. True, it was a lovely campus. Large for the student body, which was only around 8,000, the campus was a sprawling, green affair defined by judicious use of white marble and 19th century gothic architecture. Beacon was both the nicest looking and most renowned university in all of Vale. It had a central location in an isolated part of the capital city, with high walls and a one acre buffer between it and downtown. A number of shops, ranging from restaurants to bookstores to nightclubs littered the space around the campus.

But around this time of year, the place felt deserted. Weiss was mostly left alone; the only two groups still here in any real numbers were the cleaning staff and the doctors working in the hospital.

She sat around for a while, aimlessly flipping around in the textbook for the math class she'd just failed. Well... not failed. She'd received an A plus. But someone had done better. For all she knew, several people had done better.

She was slipping.

As soon as she thought that, Weiss closed the book with a snap. She was not going to descend into self pitying nonsense. She had a few errands to run, like returning her rented textbooks to the library. She could knock that out, relax for a little while, and have time for a nice dinner.

First, Weiss found her typical winter outerwear, a thick wool pea coat that was almost too warm to put on indoors. Then she dug her faded blue backpack out, and stuffed it full of books. Wincing slightly as the weight dug into her shoulders, she headed out of her room, locked it behind her, and rode the elevator down to the ground floor. Even though it was freezing cold, it was still a bright, beautiful day, and she was going to make the most of it.

From the outside, you could be forgiven for thinking the Beacon library was a cathedral or church of some kind. In fact, with the four high towers, stained glass, and pointed arches, the building practically screamed 'church.' However, it was actually simply a library, though an incredibly nice one.

Weiss strode in, her comfortable white boots clicking on the tile floor, happy to be out of the cold. There was an array of four desks for checking books out and in, but given the time, only one of them was staffed. And the librarian, a short, angry looking woman with nut brown hair, was currently talking to the absolute last person Weiss ever wanted to see.

That damn girl.

"So, Mrs. Knight, do you have any Christmas plans?" The girl asked as the woman slowly checked in her books.

"Oh, you know, my husband and I were gonna take a cruise." The woman said, a Vacuo drawl in her voice. "I'm workin' a bit extra to make up the time, so I'll be here up to Christmas Eve."

"Ugh, I'm sorry."

"Long as I get on that boat, I'm happy. And how 'bout yourself? I mean, what're you still doin' here?" The woman asked, just as Weiss finally managed to get over to the desk. "Oh, I'll be with you in just a second sweetie." She told her, eyes still fixed on the other girl. Internally, Weiss seethed as she watched the woman check the books in; she was obviously more invested in her conversation than her job, and it was wasting Weiss's time.

"Ah, well, my dad and my uncle are still over in Mistral doing some kind of diplomatic stuff. So Yang and I just decided to hang out here."

"Mmm." The woman said, finishing with the last book. It was, Weiss noticed with no small amount of frustration, the same math textbook for the class they'd both taken. "Well, Ms. Rose, you have yourself a nice vacation."

"You too, Mrs. Knight!" The girl said, shouldering her dark purple messenger bag. She turned to leave, and ran smack into Weiss.

Weiss had been trying to unzip her backpack and get the books out, and her balance wasn't the best at that moment in time. The two girls went down in a mass of flailing limbs and tumbling textbooks.

Weiss got a look at the girl as they fell, a quick frozen second just before they hit. She had a heart shaped, smooth skinned face, a little stubby nose, and huge silver eyes opened wide in astonishment. Then they both hit the ground, the weight of the other girl driving the breath out of her. Weiss's hair clip jammed hard into her skull, bringing tears to her eyes. The girl, Ruby, quickly rolled off, frantically apologizing. "Oh god, I'm so, so sorry! I'm such a klutz... can... can I buy you coffee or something or..."

Weiss blinked twice, and then stood up like the floor was on fire, brushing herself off.

"I'm quite alright, thank you." She said coldly, and stooped to pick up the fallen textbooks. The other girl knelt down too, trying to help and mostly just managing to get in the way.

Weiss slammed the four heavy volumes on the library desk as soon as she'd gotten them all, ignoring the girl, who stood awkwardly beside her. The librarian, Mrs. Knight, was almost frantic.

"Oh honey, are you okay? I mean, it looked like you hit your head!" She clucked, looking at Weiss every which way in concern.

"I'm fine, thank you." Weiss replied. Mrs. Knight turned on Ruby, completely ignoring the books. Weiss wanted to scream.

"Ruby! You need to not go barreling around like that!"

"I know, I know, I'm really sorry." Ruby said, turning to Weiss. "Please, please, please let me make it up to you." She begged.

If they were alone, Weiss would have said 'no' in an instant. But there was another person here, and her basic politeness was a little too strongly ingrained to be rude in front of not one, but two people.

"Fine." She said, a little harshness creeping into her tone. "It really isn't an issue though."

"Alright um... cool." Ruby said, shifting from foot to foot.

They stood in silence while Mrs. Knight finished entering in Weiss's books, and as soon as she'd gotten a receipt for them, Weiss turned on her heel and stalked away, setting a quick pace. Ruby followed, struggling to keep up.

"Are you free now?" She asked.

"Yes." Weiss said, still ten paces ahead. They were out of the library before Ruby caught up, as Weiss continued to set as fast a pace as she could manage.

"So um... do you wanna get coffee or... ice cream..." Ruby said, voice trailing off after each suggestion.

"Ice cream." Weiss said. While she wouldn't admit it, it was by far her favorite dessert. "The place near the Biology building is quite good."

Ruby smiled a little, some of the stiffness leaving her stride. "Yeah, but I got a place that's better. Have you tried Mario's?"

Weiss wrinkled her brow. "Mario's? I haven't heard of it."

"Umm, that's not the actual name. I just call it that because the guy who owns it is named Mario. It's actually pretty close to here, over near the hospital. Have you been?"

Weiss wracked her brain, but didn't remember an ice cream store anywhere around there. "No, never been."

"It is literally the best place in the whole city. C'mon, you gotta try it."

The shop was actually called Sugar and Ice, probably some sort of terrible pun, and it was a cramped little place squeezed in between a grocery store and a bookstore. Weiss wrinkled her nose at it; there was old paint peeling from the brick storefront, and the outside tables looked like they'd come from a garage sale. Ruby bounded in excitedly, and Weiss followed at a slightly more subdued pace.

The inside of the place was no better; the floor was cracked, the chairs looked like they were going to fall apart, and the person running it, a whip thin man with sun browned skin and too-long stubble, looked like a drug dealer more than anything else. When he saw Ruby, his face lit up in a radiant smile.
"My favorite customer!" He said.

"Hey Mario." Ruby replied. "I brought a friend. Whatcha got today?"

"Ah! You're always good for my business. Let's see... all the usual stuff, plus a lemon lime flavor, strawberry chocolate, and... cookie dough." He added with a conspiratorial wink.

"Oh god I love you. Give me a large." Ruby said.

Weiss noticed that, oddly enough, the little display fridge for the ice cream was perfectly clean. The glass was polished to a shine, the plastic cases were still the pure white they started off as, and Weiss couldn't see a crack or flaw anywhere.

Mario took down a shiny silver ice cream scoop and popped three large spoonfuls into a glass bowl, which he handed to Ruby. She took it with a smile, and looked over at Weiss.

"What do you want?" She asked, but before Weiss could reply, Mario frowned and held up a hand.

"If I may suggest something?"

Well, it couldn't hurt to get a sample. "I suppose." Weiss said in a guarded tone. "As long as I can get a sample spoon first?"

"Of course, of course." Mario said. He inspected the rows of ice cream before, with a little plastic spoon as large as Weiss's thumb, he took a scoop of something pale and pinkish red and passed it over.

Weiss took it between thumb and forefinger, and daintily ate it. It was all she could do to resist moaning at the taste; creamy and tart with a hint of cinnamon and sweet and oh this was amazing.

"This is wonderful." Weiss said after a moment. "What is it?"

"Apple pie." Mario replied. "Do you like it?"

"Very much. May I have a large of that, please?" Weiss asked, and Mario laughed before handing her a bowl.

She had noticed before that he wasn't using the normal disposable plastic ones, but didn't know until know why until she reached for it. The bowl was icy cold, and she almost dropped it in surprise.

"To stop it from melting." Mario explained. "Enjoy."

Weiss nodded at him with a faint smile before sitting down across from Ruby at a little table. A group of about seven came in, and quickly filled all the other seats.

"I suppose this is enough for me to forgive you." Weiss said, digging in to her treat. The ice cream was the most perfect, wonderful thing she'd ever had, made even better because it was apple flavored. She'd barely ever found apple flavored ice cream, and when she did it was never any good. This, though, blew anything she'd ever tasted out of the water.

"Well, cool." Ruby said, eyes sparkling as she leaned forward. "I mean, this is literally the best ice cream ever after all."

Weiss couldn't disagree.

"So um, you look familiar." Ruby said, looking at Weiss intently. "Oh! Were you in my calculus class?"

One step forward, two steps back. Weiss gritted her teeth, instantly on edge again. "Yes." She said.

"Alright so... not to pry but, what grade did you get?" Ruby asked. "I mean, you always finished your tests way before me, so I mean, I guess you must not have finished them. Did you not know the material well or... I mean since I'd be happy to help..."

"98.6." Weiss snarled, and Ruby covered her hand with her palm.

"Oh god. I had a 98.7." She said, and there was nothing but admiration in her voice. "That's a difference of what, one question?"

"Yes." Weiss said, her fury feeling like it was going to boil out of her mouth. How dare this girl make fun of her! How dare-

"You're so much better at math than I am." Ruby said, and everything melted away. Weiss didn't even consider the possibility she was being sarcastic; Ruby, somehow, seemed too honest for that. But... how could she say that?

"What do you mean?" Weiss asked.

"You did everything so fast most people thought you were some total screw up who just turned in a half blank test. I mean, I took like, twice as long as you did on everything. Kelly Jennings said you had actually finished all the stuff but nobody believed her..."

And just like that, Weiss could breathe again. "Well, you did still get the higher grade. I guess that goes to show, overconfidence never helped anyone. I almost never went back over my work."

Ruby laughed. "Yeah, I mean, I made sure to go back and redo everything. Math just isn't my thing, and I really wanted to get a good grade. You must have some serious talent to do it all that quickly."

"Well, I studied a lot." Weiss said, preening a little.

"Yeah, so did everyone!" Ruby replied. "And he still failed like a third of the class!"

"Did he really?" Weiss asked leaning in a little. "That seems like an awful lot."

"Well I mean, it's a prereq for almost everything. They weed a ton of people out." Ruby said, a little sadly. Given how many people she seemed to know, Weiss figured that several of her friends had probably failed.

"That's really a shame." Weiss said.

"Yeah. Well." Ruby mumbled around a mouthful of cookie dough. "I mean I guess it has to happen but... still."

"So, how are your other classes going?" Weiss asked, trying to change the subject.

"I had straight A's. I mean, it's a good start to the whole college thing, I think."

"I did as well. And you're right, it feels so much better to start off strong as opposed to having to work up there."

"Are you in any sports or clubs?"

"The only one I have is fencing."

"Oh wow, cool! I do track. It's pretty boring honestly. Fencing sounds like a ton more fun."

"Well, honestly once you get reasonably good at it the matches are very quick. It gets a lot less interesting the further up you go, in some ways."

"Still, it has swords."

Weiss smiled. "Good point."

Abruptly, there was the ding of a text message, and Ruby pulled out a little flip phone. A frown creased her forehead before she put the little device away, still scowling a bit. "Ah. I kinda have a thing right now. Geez, I'm sorry, I totally forgot."

"Oh!" Weiss exclaimed. "Oh, that's fine."

"Well, lemme at least get your number." Ruby said.

Weiss told her, along with the dorm she lived in. Ruby both into her phone.

"I don't have anywhere to be." She said, as Ruby left some money on the counter and the two headed out. "I could walk you to wherever you're going."

"That would be nice." Ruby said, smiling shyly. Then she blushed, a furious red. "Oh. I oughta tell you something. I mean, I'd rather you heard it from me so..."

"...Alright." Weiss said slowly.

"So um, I know a lotta people and this is mostly common knowledge but I am very, very gay. And, you know, some people have made a few rude assumptions before about people I hang out with, so... I figured it would be best to say something."

There was a moment's pause, before Weiss cautiously asked a question. "And why, exactly, would that be important?"

Ruby shrugged. "I dunno. Sometimes there's been gossip and like... I knew a girl whose feelings really got hurt."

Weiss laughed slightly. "I think I'm a little above other people's juvenile rumors. And I'm fine with it, Ruby. Don't worry."

"Ah. Good. Um." Ruby continued to blush, and Weiss arched a brow at her.

"Do you have something to say, Ms. Rose?"

"I was also totally flirting with you. A bit."

Weiss's cocky act suddenly felt like just that, an act. She suddenly felt very small, and very lost. "Oh." Was all she said. Fortunately, she was saved having to do anything more, because they were evidently at the place Ruby needed to go. Back at the library.

"I'm uh, going in here." Ruby mumbled, sensing the change of tone.

"Alright. I'll see you around sometime then."

They parted without so much as another word, and Weiss headed back to her dorm in a daze.

Just what had happened back there?

Three hours later, Weiss was in crisis.

She had about five tabs open on her slim silver laptop, all relating in some form to homosexuality. None of this, of course, had helped in the slightest. Most of them were wishy washy nonsense, and the rest were stereotypical, offensive idiocy. Nothing except for Wikipedia was the slightest bit informative, but unfortunately, while there was a good deal of information, none of it was actually useful.

She'd gone through forums, blogs, and advice columns, and still hadn't found any real guide about what to do when a girl not only told you she was gay, but also that she was flirting with you.

Finally, Weiss closed the pages. Eventually, even she had to acknowledge the futility of asking Google what to do about Ruby Rose.

And just then, her phone buzzed. Weiss reached for it, where it sat charging on her desk, and turned it on. There was a text message across the screen, from none other than Ms. Rose herself.

So hey I'm sorry you seemed really awkward all of a sudden. I didn't mean to spring that on you.

That was in the running for understatement of the century.

Are you mad at me? Came the second message.

No. Of course not. Weiss tapped back.

Alright, cool. Um... then can I see you tomorrow?

It took Weiss longer than she was comfortable admitting to respond. Sure. Any ideas?

Oh, I guess I'll think of something.

Weiss smiled at that. I'm... looking forward to it. But I think I have a few things to do now. I can talk a little more tomorrow.

Alright. Goodnight cutie.

Weiss blushed furiously.

Goodnight.

Weiss turned the phone back off, stared at it for a moment, and then opened up a drawer and threw the offending device in.

No more interruptions.

Though, honestly, this wasn't a big deal. Ruby was, granted, very attractive in a goth rock kind of way, but Weiss... just wasn't gay. Granted, her luck with boys was... well, absolutely terrible, but that had no bearing on the situation. Whatsoever.

Weiss sighed and closed the computer. If she didn't eat, her stomach was going to start making uncomfortable growling noises, and now that she had all the time in the world she could at least feed herself.

After a moment of searching, Weiss elected to go to Nana's Restaurant, an upscale but fairly plain establishment that tended to serve staples like fish, steaks, and pasta, all cooked extremely well if not particularly creatively. They had a pan seared swordfish on the menu tonight that Weiss was interested in trying, and it was close enough to her dorm not to be an unbearable walk. The only thing worrying were the heavy clouds blowing in, but the weather said it shouldn't start snowing until late tonight.

Weiss grabbed her coat, some money, and was out of the room.

Nana's was packed.

The restaurant was large, with seating for around seventy people. And it was nearly filled to capacity, with waiters bustling around everywhere and a dull roar of conversation from the patrons filling the room. One waiter, a short little blonde woman, came up to Weiss with a frantic smile plastered on her face.

"I'm afraid we only have one table, ma'am. And it may be a bit of a wait." She told her, a desperate note in her voice. Clearly, it had been a hard day.

"That's quite alright. I'm happy to sit anywhere." Weiss replied, mentally noting to leave a large tip. She was led to a small, two seat table in a back corner. "May I place an order now if I know what I'd like?" She asked when the woman tried to hand her a menu.

"Oh! Of course!" There was the click of a pen. "What would you like?"

"The grilled swordfish, with a glass of water and a side of the spinach and peas."

"Alright, I'll have your water in just a minute."

"Thank you."

The waitress hurried away, and Weiss casually scanned the rest of the room. There was nobody here she recognized except...

Oh god, she was sitting less than five feet away from her.

Ruby Rose, her dark red and black hair actually combed, was in the table right next to her, wearing a casual red dress that showed off her legs. And such legs. Track had certainly done good things to Ruby's build.

She was eating with two other women, an attractive blonde with a ridiculous mass of thick, curly hair, and a dark haired girl with a little bow and dress pants. Weiss watched, interested, but unable to make out any words.

And all of a sudden, Ruby looked over, and smiled. So did the other two women. Weiss, abruptly, sympathized with deer in the headlights. Ruby, slowly, waved, then looked over and saw that the blonde one was smiling.

Quickly, the expression faded, to be replaced with abject terror.

The blonde woman rose from her seat, holding her hand strangely. She approached Weiss, and as she grew close Weiss could hear she was making beeping noises. In the background, she could see Ruby making frantic shooing gestures, while the brunette looked on with an amused smirk.

Finally, the blonde made it to Weiss's table. She held her hand out towards Weiss, beeping loudly.

"Exactly what are you doing?" Weiss demanded, a faint scowl etched on her face.

"Well, this is my gaydar, and geez, it's going crazy." The woman replied. Her voice was deep and throaty, and up close, though she had a stronger jaw and a little less fat, she bore a clear resemblance to Ruby.

Weiss arched a brow. "First of all, radar detects position. What you're doing is much more similar to a geiger counter."

"Hah! Gayger counter!" The woman laughed. "Even better!"

Weiss had gotten more than enough of this. "Look, I have no idea who you are, but this is ridiculous."

The woman stuck out a hand. "Yang Xiao Long, Ruby's sister. Pleased to meetcha."

Weiss looked at the hand, then back at Yang. "I just met Ruby this morning. And, again, I don't know you."

"Yeah but my sis is like-"

And suddenly, a slender hand covered Yang's mouth. "Enough, you." The dark haired woman said. "Don't scare Ruby's friend."

Weiss was thoroughly confused as Yang was dragged back to the table. But she wasn't surprised when Ruby herself got up, slinking over.

"I am so, so, so-"

"Sorry?" Weiss offered. "Don't be. Your relatives seem better than mine, I suppose. The only real problem was that awful pun."

Ruby rolled her eyes. "It's a sickness."

"So, why are you out here?"

"My sister wanted me to meet her new girlfriend. Which, you know, is kinda new. Usually she's pretty embarrassed about them."

Weiss raised an eyebrow. "Really? Why?"

"Most of them... are not really good people. She has like, the worst taste."

Weiss laughed quietly. "Well, yours is obviously much better."

Ruby grinned, a little sadly. "Yeah, except I always manage to get the straight ones."

Something about that irked Weiss, and a frown creased her forehead. Before she knew what she was doing, she was already halfway through a reply to Ruby's unspoken assumption. "Actually, I haven't ever dated anyone. It's... not something my father encouraged. And I've never been interested."

Ruby just sat in her chair for a moment, which suited Weiss just fine. She... had just admitted something personal. In a restaurant. What was wrong with her?

"Um, alright, help me out here." Ruby said. "Was that supposed to tell me anything?"

Weiss glared across the table, feeling oddly defensive. "Ruby, you did not come here to talk to me, you came here to meet your sister's girlfriend."

"Yeah but-"

"Ruby!" Weiss snapped, and the girl scampered back. Weiss felt a flash of guilt, and minutes later when her food arrived, she ate as fast as possible. The check came soon after, and Weiss, very calmly and slowly, fled the restaurant.

Three hours later, Weiss was deep in dreamless sleep.

She had gone to bed soon after arriving home from Nana's. It had been a weird day, and it was late, and Weiss was thoroughly fed up with being awake.

And then, the phone rang.

Loud piano music echoed weirdly from the drawer and Weiss jerked upright, the loose white shirt she wore as a pair of makeshift pajamas riding up her stomach. She rolled out of bed as the song continued, the shirt falling down her legs as she stumbled across the room.

In her sleep addled mind, she was convinced the phone was still on top of the desk. She groped around, looking, and scowled when she didn't find it. Finally understanding where the damn thing was, Weiss jerked the desk open, and answered the call.

"Hello?" She growled.

"Oh god it's two in the morning I'm sorry."

"Ruby, why are you calling me."

"Well, I kinda need a place to sleep."

Weiss finally snapped. "And why the hell aren't you already asleep!" She shouted into the phone.

"Well, you remember my sister?"

"Yeah..."

"Yang and I share an apartment and she wanted to have Blake over and I said yes and that was quite possibly the biggest mistake I have ever made. So, you know, it's two in the morning and I haven't been able to sleep. I mean, they're still going I swear-"

"Enough." Weiss said, not in the mood to hear all the sordid details. "You can come over. Tonight. Only."

"Oh god thank you so much."

"Hang up before I change my mind."

Fifteen minutes later, a thoroughly pissed off Weiss, now with pajama pants, opened the door to Ruby. The girl had brought a pillow and sleeping bag, and her hair was sticking every which way. She had a sheepish grin, pajama pants like Weiss's, and a tank top.

"So did I mention I'm really, really-"

"I don't care. Just come in."

"Right. Shutting up now..." Ruby mumbled, going through the door.

"Why is your hair sticking up like that?" Weiss asked as she locked her dorm. Ruby was laying her stuff out on the far side of the bed, and trying to pat her hair into some semblance of order.

"I tried to put a pillow over my head for about half an hour."

"Well, you look like some kind of goth dandelion."

Ruby lost it. She practically collapsed over the bed, shaking with laughter. Weiss stood, brows arched and arms crossed, for a solid minute while the other girl recovered.

"You're like ten times better when you're tired." Ruby said finally, wiping tears from her eyes. "Or maybe I'm just sleepy. God, it's really late isn't it." She flopped back on the bed. "I suck."

"You're fine, much as I hate to admit it." Weiss replied, sitting down next to the other girl.

"Why'd you hate to admit it?" Ruby murmured.

"Because you woke me up at two in the morning."

"Yeah, I guess that's kind of a big deal isn't it..."

Weiss lay down and pulled the covers up over her, then replied. "Yes. It is."

There was a beat of silence.

"So hey. Can I ask you a question?"

"You can ask."

"What was your reaction to like, me telling you I was kinda interested in you?" Ruby must have felt Weiss's incredulous look even in the dark, because she hastily continued. "I mean, I barely know you and you know me and you seem confused or doubtful that you even swing that way so... I don't expect an answer but I'm kinda curious."

This time the silence stretched on for quite a while.

"I was... confused." Weiss tried to get her thoughts in order for a moment. "I went back to my dorm and googled what to do. Though, I had to give that up pretty quickly. It wasn't helpful." She sighed. "Mostly, I didn't know what to think. I've never... been that interested in anyone. I've never even kissed anyone. And you're smart and funny and we seem to get along so... I suppose if I was going to be attracted to anyone... it would be someone like you."

Her throat seized up, and Weiss almost felt like she couldn't breathe. That was way too personal. That was so, so stupid.

What was wrong with her?

"...You've never even been kissed?" Ruby asked from the other side of the bed, and Weiss almost had to laugh.

"No, Ruby. Not ever."

"Wow. Geez. I mean, I kissed some dude on the playground when I was like five. Which, actually, is the only time I ever kissed a boy."

"It doesn't seem very appealing, does it?"

"What, kissing?"

"No. A boy."

Ruby giggled. "Careful, that's lesbian talk."

Weiss rolled her eyes. "Well I suppose I'll defer to the experts on this one."

"Well let's not get crazy. I've only had three girlfriends."

"Ruby, you have dated infinitely many times more people than I have."

"Well it sounds bad when you put it that way..."

There was a pause.

"So, do you even want to be kissed? Like ever? I mean, I know some people who like, aren't into anything physical at all. Do you feel like that or...?"

"...I think I'd like to be." Weiss murmured. "Honestly, it doesn't seem very important. I might at least try it."

"Huh."

"...Ruby?"

"Mhmm?"

"Come a little closer?" Weiss whispered. She searched, a moment, for an excuse. "I'm cold."

"Yeah. It's freezing in here. Mind if I get out of the sleeping bag?"

The bed shifted and the cheap springs squeaked a little as Ruby unzipped the bag and wiggled closer. Weiss could feel her move, feel the heat of her, until she was just an inch away. It hadn't been a huge shift, as it wasn't a particularly big bed, but somehow it felt like a monumental step to Weiss.

And she felt oddly touched that Ruby hadn't closed that last bit of distance.

Weiss moved, just a leg, and the soft flannel of her pajamas brushed Ruby's leg. She could feel the other girl tense, and immediately withdrew.

"No, that was fine." Ruby mumbled. "I just... didn't think you were gonna."

"Oh." Weiss whispered.

"Hey Weiss?"

"Mmm?"

"Can I kiss you?"

There was nothing but the sound of her breathing.

"Yes."

The other girl shifted closer, her long legs tangling a little with Weiss's.

"Are you sure?"

And again, there was an odd little glow.

"Yes, Ruby."

Ruby shifted still further, her legs slotting together with Weiss's. She was now bodily on top of her, and Weiss could feel her breath hitch at the contact.

In the dark, Ruby's hands found her face, guiding their blind lips together. Her lips tasted faintly of strawberry, with a hint of the chicken she'd had for dinner, and they were sweet and warm on Weiss's. For a moment, they just slid together, moving their lips, and Weiss loved the way her mouth seemed to light up with every brush of Ruby, little tendrils of feeling seeming to shiver down her skin. Then Ruby's tongue, hot and wet, slid across and Weiss instinctively opened her mouth a little, and Ruby darted inside.

Their tongues tangled, Weiss tentatively licking and Ruby still soft but strong and in control. One of them hummed a little, the feeling buzzing through one set of vocal cords and into another, and Weiss couldn't tell who it had been. She abruptly realized her hands had just been lying at her sides, and she brought them up to the small of Ruby's back, holding her in with a gentle and steady pressure. It felt like a bolt of electricity was tearing it's way down Weiss's spine to her toes, and she shivered slightly, some part of her mind tempted to see just how far this could go.

It lasted like that, never escalating but never slowing, just sliding and warm and soft. Then Ruby moved away, and Weiss could feel her breath as it licked across her face.

"Was that okay?"

"...I enjoyed it. Yes."

"Cool. So..."

"May I still have some time to think about this?"

"Oh, hah, of course." Ruby said, but there was an undertone of hurt in her voice. She shifted as if to go back to her side of the bed.

"No... wait."

"Yeah, Weiss?"

"Stay like this?" Weiss murmured.

Ruby exhaled. "Of course." And Weiss could almost feel the tension flow out of her body.

Slowly, her world was washed away by Ruby's breathing, and the sounds of snowfall on the roof.

Even in the darkness, it was a beautiful night.

Umm, so was that okay? I think I displayed the character's personalities pretty well. And nobody felt OOC, at least to me. I have been greatly entertained by writing this so far.

What did you guys think?