The tree bore no fruit, but every branch hung heavy with its own burden.

Holding tightly onto Ruby's hand, Pyrrha looked up at the bowed tree, crooked and ancient. Rubber and steel swung limply on a breeze. Dozens- hundreds- of shoes hung from every limb, tied together with laces done in complex sailor's knots. The last rite of a Signal student.

At this time of year, Signal Campus echoed emptily, felt hollow. Everyone went home for the summer, or to a Hunting Academy after graduation.

Ruby didn't graduate with her friends.

So, stepping towards the tree, she swung her arm once and launched her boots up onto the tree. They soared through the air, spinning once before landing on a branch. It bent under the weight, groaning in protest. But it buoyed itself back up in the end and Ruby's red boots joined the others, for as long as they could stay.

Ruby clasped her hands in front of her, eyes fixated on the tree. Her bare toes curled, digging into the black, damp soil.

Pyrrha waited, not wanting to disturb her.

Finally, Ruby sighed. A line of tension peeled away from her shoulders as she relaxed, slumping a bit. "Thanks for coming with me, Pyrrha." Without thinking, Ruby reached her hand towards Pyrrha.

Pyrrha took it in an instant, standing at her side again. "Thank you for inviting me. I'm sorry you couldn't make it to the ceremony."

"I was on a mission. They understood."

Leaning against her, Ruby fit snugly underneath Pyrrha's arm. Pyrrha held her, free hand stroking Ruby's black hair, longer now than when they had first started dating. She teased Ruby relentlessly over letting her mane grow out, til the red streaks hung about her shoulders. "Can you show me around campus? I've never been to Patch before."

Brightening up, Ruby tugged on Pyrrha's hand, leading her away at once. "Yes! I'll show you where I used to hang out!"

Letting herself be dragged along, Pyrrha couldn't do anything to resist the warm, melting affection that blossomed inside her every time Ruby gave her one of those smiles.

She took Pyrrha through empty, open-air hallways, showing each classroom to be its own small building. All locked shut, of course, with the flowering bushes and trees littering the walkways with petals and pollen.

Humid, muggy island air made Pyrrha sweat even after the short stroll, and overhead the sky began to darken. Instead of lowering the temperature, the storm clouds seemed to seal it in. Wiping her brow with the back of one hand, Pyrrha kept up with Ruby's excited chatter even while half her mind was concerned with how they'd evade getting soaked.

"We're staying on the island overnight, correct?" she asked once they slipped past the iron bars of the front fence.

All the bars were carefully spaced apart so that any 'rebellious' student could easily sneak in and out whenever they wanted. It was a rule the teachers carefully constructed, one perfectly safe to break. Only freshmen really thought they were being naughty by doing it.

"Mhm. Let me double check with dad." Pulling out her scroll, Ruby dialed her father's number. They texted more than they chatted, something Pyrrha never commented on. Her own father demanded one voice call every other day, and a video chat at least once a month. "I have the house key, but I think he forgot to put the workshop keys in the flower pot."

She sent her father a long string of emojis, all of them disappointed.

"Is he returning very late? Surely we can distract ourselves until then..."

"No, he won't be back for a week at least."

Slowing down, Pyrrha tried to patch two and two together.

"We'll be alone?" she said, and the great Pyrrha Nikos' voice cracked with a squeak.

Ruby didn't seem phased at all. "Yep! I was going to doggysit Zwei, but dad wound up taking him on the mission anyway. So it'll just be a girl's night for the weekend!"

She actually stopped in her tracks, spine going rigid. "In your father's house? And he knows I'll be there?"

Eyebrows furrowing, Ruby just gave her a confused stare, jaw slightly slack. "Pyrrha... seriously? It's my house, too."

If she had warning, she could have been ready for this. But Pyrrha had been preparing what she'd say to Taiyang when she met him, thank him for his hospitality, maybe offer to stay at a hotel rather than inconvenience him.

Ruby twisted aside, a decidedly twisted smirk making her look smug and catlike. "Oh my... Are you blushing, Nikos? It's a cute look."

Shaking her head, Pyrrha picked up the pace so that she walked a few paces ahead of Ruby.

Her girlfriend trotted close behind, still jeering. "I can still see your blush! It's all the way up the back of your neck... even your ears are red! Oh my goooddd! Pyrrha Nikos is turning red as a tomato!"

"I am not!" Pyrrha ducked her head, covering her ears with both hands as she ran down the road leading to Signal. "You're the worst!"

When Ruby tried zipping around her in lightning-quick circles, Pyrrha just whipped one hand out. She caught her girlfriend, nearly clotheslining her as she hoisted her up over one shoulder. Ruby protested, laughing wildly, legs kicking as Pyrrha took her down to where the rental car waited.

"I'm hooome!" Ruby called to the empty house. She'd brought a spare pair of shoes for her trek to Signal; kicking them off at the doorway, she dropped all her things and ran down the hall, turning on all the lights. Pyrrha followed suit, carefully toeing off her boots and scanning her surroundings.

"Hungry?" Ruby prompted, zipping right up to her. She kept both hands tucked behind her back, head tilted curiously to the side.

"Tired, mostly. I've been driving all day."

"Okay." She vanished in a puff of petals, shouting from the kitchen. "Looks like there's leftovers in the fridge if you change your mind! You packed PJs, right?" Another rush of fragrant wind, and Ruby opened up a hallway door to reveal a bathroom. "And there's a toothbrush here still in its case, I think. Do you want to sleep in my room with me? It's got a tiny bed, just warning you."

"The beds in Beacon are tiny, too," she pointed out.

In the next eyeblink, Ruby stood in front of her. Both hands locked in hers. "So we can just bunk in dad's room. That bed's nice and big!"

Alarm bells sounded. "No, no, that won't be necessary. I can just sleep on the couch if your room is too crowded..."

"Pffft." Ruby waved her words aside. "We also have a guest room, silly. I'm pretty sure it's got clean sheets."

Outside, she heard the first tapotement of rain against the roof and windows.

"Look," Ruby said, "It's raining but still sunny. That means a witch is getting married."

The sunset struck over Patch's hilly terrain, syrupy like grenadine. Every window became a red lens. "I always heard it was foxes getting married."

Pyrrha helped Ruby search for the workshop keys, so that Ruby could finish a weekend assignment Ozpin requested of her.

"Although I could just undo the lock with a snap of my fingers," Pyrrha pointed out.

"That wouldn't break it?"

Ruby's focus was on a satchel in front of her, stuffed with Dust and tools. Bent over, she rummaged through it with a smile on her face, the light making her skin look soft and warm. Trying to catch her attention, Pyrrha cupped Ruby's face in her palm, forcing the other girl to pause and look up at her. "Why would I ever break something of yours on purpose?"

"Okay, well, I didn't mean to break Crescent Rose during my second year at Beacon but I did it anyway."

"When it involves my semblance, nothing happens that isn't in my control."

She said it with more surety and confidence than the claim necessitated. Ruby got momentarily flustered, clutching her satchel and twisting it between two hands. "So all those times my hair decs accidentally rolled over to your dorm room were a setup, huh?"

"Oops." Pyrrha didn't sound remorseful in the slightest. "Looks like you caught me. How else was I supposed to ensure we had a chance to talk to each other?" She stroked Ruby's hair back behind her ears, combing it with her fingers. Ruby wore a pin in that moment, too, another addition to her generous collection. Three years of growth softened her, femininity and huntressing embraced with both arms.

Most of them were gifts, some of them 'borrowed' from Weiss and never returned. It burned Pyrrha in an unusual way to see the snowflake in Ruby's hair. Even though she knew her jealousy was irrational, she couldn't quite tamp it down, so she leaned over and kissed Ruby a little firmer than before.

Pyrrha snapped her fingers and unlocked the workshop.

They stayed up all night trying to finish Ruby's project, but had to call it quits at around three in the morning.

"The witching hour!" Ruby said. She stumbled every few steps, bright-eyed with the delirium that comes with staying up too late.

"What is it with you and witches," Pyrrha said, steadying her.

"Witches, and monsters, are very cool." She twirled around in front of Pyrrha, shooting finger guns at her before vanishing into the bathroom to wash off all the Dust.

Cramped as it was, they wound up curled together in Ruby's bed. She hung her canopy over the frame, a little nest for them. Pyrrha tucked it away as another fact about Ruby she didn't realize before. Though maybe it should have been obvious, since she slept with a mask every time she couldn't have any other shelter.

Out here in Patch, it was almost distressingly dark and quiet. Ruby had no neighbors for miles, and one solitary street light crackled down the street that lead to the main roads.

"Nora would hate it here." Pyrrha pulled Ruby close to her chest. This close she could smell Ruby's hair, freshly washed. She smelled so good, sweet like strawberries. Sweet enough that her mouth threatened to water. "She always needs a night light."

Ruby mumbled, half-asleep. "That's so cute."

She nuzzled her face against Pyrrha's chest, and before they knew it they were fast asleep.