Author's note:

I admit it upfront, I dislike flashbacks, but I know they are sometimes important in a story, and can be a useful tool. As such, this is kind of sort of my practice for writing them.

Present

Weiss yawned as she stretched in her bed, the sound of rain hitting her window informed her about the weather outside. But even rain wouldn't ruin her mood, not today. Because today was her and Ruby's anniversary, and from this point on, she would make sure to prepare herself both mentally and physically to be at her best.

Lately it was quite rare that Weiss could visit Ruby, life becoming quite busy once they left their teenage phase, and only got hectic once the Schnee became a young adult, and while any reasons to See her beloved was great, this day was even more special. And that's why she had to make sure she was fully prepared.

She decided that bathroom was a proper place to start her day. While people thought that natural beauty is all that a girl would require, they were ignorant to the fact of how said natural beauty did truly look each morning. That what they considered natural, was in fact done with care and everyday practice. Still, it was what it was, and she would never change the minds of such folks, as they would believe in things till they saw it. And the Schnee would never allow herself to be seen in such a state by anyone but Ruby.

As she entered the room in question, her eyes immediately caught the sight of a brush. Why? Because it wasn't any ordinary brush, it was a gift she received from the redhead that stole her heart. And it was on the day when she was gifted said brush, was when the goof asked her out...Her goof.

oooOOOooo

10 years ago

"Weiss!" The squeaky voice of a girl echoed through the park, and the Schnee couldn't help but cover her face with the book she was reading. While yes, Ruby calling her out did grab the white haired girl's attention, so would everyone in the park stare first at the yelling girl, and then at the target of said yelling, that being herself.

Waiting for the girl to run up to her, avoiding to do the same silly thing as yelling across the park, the Schnee raised a brow as she saw the girl in question carrying a wrapped box. So she did remember about her birthday. "You sound quite excited, Ruby, what is it? Or were you simply trying to get attention of every Weiss that could possibly be in this park, and pick the one that would provide to be of the best quality." The Schnee smirked.

"Naw, I already know you're the best Weiss!" Ruby answered with a grin.

That made the older girl tilt her head as she raised a brow at that. "Oh?"

"I-I mean! B-Because you know, I just...well, I mean... I got this for you!" Ruby almost pushed the box into the Schnee's face, luckily for the redhead, Weiss had enough reflex in her to lean back a bit and avoid having her face hit with the box in question.

"And what occasion is it that you got a present so neatly wrapped for me?" She had to contain her smile, as she decided to play dumb. Weiss wanted to hear the girl say it herself.

"It's your birthday duh! I remembered, see? And you thought I'd forget." There it was, her proud smile and those shiny silver eyes, like a puppy waiting to be praised for doing something as simple as remembering a date.

"Oh my, you did remember Ruby, I'm proud of you. Indeed, I thought you'd forget something as meaningless as my birthday date. Might I ask how did you managed to keep such a specific, boring date in your memory?" Ruby's smile grew a bit wider at the praise, only for her expression to grow timid at the question.

"W-Well...I might have...changed one of my main character's name, in that online game I play, to something that reminded me of today's date." The younger girl admitted as she rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly.

"It's the fact that you managed to construct yourself a tool to remember, that's what matters. Thank you Ruby." Weiss smiled, a genuine smile. She indeed was glad that the redhead didn't forget, even if it was in her own silly way of doing things, as per usual really.

"But you haven't opened your gift yet!" Ruby stated excitadely.

Weiss blinked at that, indeed she haven't. She peered down at the box, then up a the girl who seemed to keep herself from bouncing in excitement, and while the Schnee would love to torment this girl a bit more and see if indeed she would start to bounce, curiosity started to fill her own mind. What could this girl get her.

She slowly unwrapped the box, there was no reason to be hasty, even if She was curious. Weiss took one more glance at Ruby, before slowly opening the lid of the box. "Oh, Ruby it's..." Inside was a brush, a powder blue brush, with the filament part being white. The Schnee gently took the item out of the box, only to notice engravement on the back in silver letters "W.S" in quite gorgeous calligraphy. "...It's beautiful, you didn't have to."

"But you said yourself that you wanted to get a new one, so I thought it was the perfect gift." Ruby continued to smile proudly. While it was true that Weiss claimed to need a new brush, it was a month ago, and she got a new brush day after her complaint. Still, it wasn't important, it was a very special gift and the Schnee was overjoyed by it.

"Yes, very thoughtful of you, Ruby. I appreciate it, thank you." She raised her head to offer a smile to the redhead, only to notice that the younger girl was blushing now and once more stood there anxiously. "What's...the matter Ruby? Did I say something wrong?" The Schnee tilted her head.

"N-No no! Just...it's kind of not...not everything I wanted to give you today, well kind of." That got Weiss curious, mostly because of how her friend was acting. Avoiding to look at her, stuttering and rubbing her own arms.

"Well, you're sure ready to pamper me today." The Schnee chuckled. "So what is it, Ruby?"

"I, well... It's something that you don't have to accept, and...and stuff, and you most likely w-won't, b-but still! I kinda, you know. Just, well...maybe I just thought..." The redhead continued with her shy act.

The older girl rolled her eyes, she knew that if she allowed for this to continue they would spend the entire day just waiting for Ruby to gather enough courage for whatever it is she wanted to offer to her. "Ruby." Weiss said in a firm tone. "Five seconds to tell me, starting now!"

That seemed to work, as the younger girl gasped. "Weisswillyougooutwithmeonadatemaybekindasortof!" Weiss was impressed with the lung capacity required to say such a long...sentence? Word? Whatever it is Ruby just said.

"Good job, now repeat it slowly so I can understand, since you already said it once, you can do it the second time." The older girl smiled.

Ruby sighed. "Will...Will you go out with me? L-like a date, kind of ...Maybe. It can be a friendly date if you...You know, don't want to make it a date-date." The younger girl looked to the side, ready to get swallowed by earth itself.

Weiss was...surprised, perhaps a bit by the question, and a bit by the fact that...She didn't have anything against such. She tilted her head, eyeing the girl in front of her. "Well, I...We could go out on a date, Ruby. I accept your invitation." Weiss smiled warmly at the girl.

It took a moment for the younger girl to catch up with what her future date just said, as her eyes grew wide, and her smile got as bright as the sun itself. "Oh my gosh, really!? That's great! I can't wait, we'll have tons of fun! I promise, I really made preparations and everything! I promise you won't regret it!" And with that the girl dashed off to...somewhere.

"Ruby! Wait! But...when...and where..." But it was too late, as the red blur disappeared in the distance.

Weiss sighed, she checked her phone, it was still early. If the girl was too much of a dumdum to remember to inform her date about time and place, she would phone her about it. Still, the Schnee couldn't help but smile, as she looked down at her new brush.

oooOOOooo

Present

Weiss opened her eyes as she finished brushing her hair. That dolt did forget to call her that day, but it was something that she expected, it always happened whenever the girl was excited about something, she started to forget about details.

Long ago the Schnee decided it was merely part of her charm. She shook her head one last time at the memory, before moving to the kitchen. A light breakfast and some coffee. Weiss had to be careful about how and when she ate, she was no longer a teenager.

She was always envious of Ruby and her body. How she could devour any sort of food and remain thin. But it is what it is, no going around it. Although the image of a chubby Ruby did put a grin on the Schnee's lips. That would be amusing to see.

Now to dress herself, and there was one dress that Ruby seemed to enjoy whenever she wore it, although it was rainy today. The Schnee pondered as she looked between the outfit in mind, and the window. She could always wear a jacket on top of it to avoid getting the dress wet. That put a smile on her lips, she liked simple solutions.

As she went to her closet, something caught her eye. A piece of black material, Weiss reached with her hand to pick it up, and as she touched the silky material, it clicked in her brain. It was Ruby's bow tie, she wore it with a tuxedo. The white haired girl giggled at the memory. It was when the redhead decided she would be a gentleman...gentlegirl? Well, Ruby decided to be that for her, whatever the proper terminology was. Such a strange phase that she was in.

oooOOOooo

8 years ago

"Ruby? Why...are you wearing a suit? Did your dress got ruined? We could go shopping earlier today, you could simply ask." The Schnee blinked in surprise as she saw her partner. She was wearing a black tuxedo with white shirt underneath and a black bow tie.

The younger girl rubbed the back of her neck, before clearing her throat. "Nope! It's on purpose." She gave a simple explanation, to which Weiss tilted her head.

"Purpose of...?" She raised a brow as she inquired further.

"Shh, just enjoy today's evening, Weiss. Now! Shall we?" Ruby grinned as she offered her arm, a strange gesture coming from the girl, still Weiss couldn't help but smile.

"Lead on, Ruby." She nodded and accepted the gesture. The Schnee could play along for now.

It was a warm evening, stars and moon were apparent on the night sky. Both girls were quiet, and Weiss didn't have anything against that. She learned to enjoy these quiet moments between them. She was proud of them even, as if their relationship got to the point where just being in each other's company was enjoyable.

The serenity of the moment was broken by Ruby, who suddenly gasped and let go of Weiss's arm as she ran ahead a few feets. There she began to take off her coat. "Ruby? What...are you exactly doing?" The Schnee raised a brow at her girlfriend'a antics.

Ruby cleared her throat and placed her jacket on a small podle of water. "Now you can pass safely." She waved her arm to show Weiss the way to go.

That got the older girl...confused, to say the least, as she raised her brow. "Ruby? You ruined your jacket, and I could have just walked around it...Or actually it seemed to be so shallow that I could just walk through it." What was this girl plotting now.

"Nuh huh, It's my responsibility to make this as pleasant of an experience as possible, without you having to worry about a thing! Like a puddle of water." The redhead nodded eagerly.

"Ruby...You watch too much cartoons." The Schnee pinched the bridge of her nose as she approached Ruby and her coat lying on the ground. She looked between it and the girl.

"Well? Come on Weiss! I mean it's um...Already done, the damage I mean, so please?" At that point the redhead pleaded with her, and Weiss couldn't help but sigh at that.

"Fine Ruby, but I want you to know that this is ridiculous." She shook her head and began to walk through the coat. Still, the fact that Weiss did use her jacket as a bridge, if it could be called that, made the redhead grin.

The younger girl collected her dirty and wet piece of clothing, folding it as best as she could to avoid dirtying the suit that was underneath it, and offered Weiss her arm once more. "Now, shall we continue?" The redhead grinned.

Weiss couldn't help but roll her eyes, but once more she accepted the offered arm. "Yes, let's continue. But I swear, Ruby, if you do anything else that's ridiculous."

"Nuh huh Weiss, it's not ridiculous, it's romantic." Ruby raised a finger and nodded.

"Exactly my point." The older girl smirked, and they shared a giggle.

oooOOOooo

Present

Weiss let out sigh at that, it was almost irresponsible for her to forget about giving it back to her each time … Or maybe it was done on purpose? On a subconscious level she really wanted to retain this item. It's not like Ruby wears her tuxedo anymore.

It was a phase, Weiss remembers Yang spilling out the beans on that. That Ruby wanted to act properly to deserve her, so she started learning how to be a gentleman, so that the redhead could make her feel like a proper lady or something.

Sadly there was alcohol involved, so Weiss wasn't able to ask if it was some person that taught her, or was it some online course, or just some videos or even a written site from which Ruby read all these things. The Schnee assumed it had to be the latter, considering how ridiculous some of these things were, and how much Ruby fumbled by attempting to do them. Yet...Yet it was fitting of her dolt to act as she did.

It always made her cherish the girl more, knowing that Ruby would do her best just to make her girlfriend as happy as she possibly could. She once more looked at the bow tie, biting her lower lip as she was reminded of how it ended up in her home in the first place.

oooOOOooo

7 years ago

"W-Weiss I think you had a bit too much wine." Ruby said worriedly as she helped the older girl walk up the stairs of the apartment complex where the Schnee's home was.

"Nonsense Ruby! I'm a lady and a lady drinks responsibly!" The white haired girl announced quite loudly, a bit too loud for Ruby's liking.

"Weiss please, it's late, you'll wake people up." The younger girl pleaded as they finally got to the floor where the Schnee was living. A few more steps and they ended up before her doors. "Weiss, can you give me your keys? I'll open the doors for you.

The Schnee had different plans, as she pushed Ruby against the entrance doors of her apartment and wrapped her arms around the younger girl's neck. "Ruby did I ever tell you how handsome you look when you wear things like this?" She murmured as her lips moved to kiss the skin of her girlfriend's neck.

Ruby shivered at that, her arms moving to gently push the girl away. "I appreciate your words, Weiss, but you're drunk. We need to get you to bed, and think what would happen if someone saw us making out in front of your doors."

Weiss pouted at that, but a new plan formed inside her head. "You're right, Ruby. And I'm starting to feel a bit dizzy. You won't mind carrying me to my bed, right? I don't want to collapse by accident." To add to her own words, the white haired girl swayed on her feet a bit.

Ruby was quick to grab her, keeping her balance as she looked worriedly at her. "Yes, of course Weiss." She nodded, and as the Schnee got her the keys, the redhead would open the door and lead the older girl inside.

She closed the doors behind, and moved across the dark apartment. Weiss always kept her place tidy, and as such there was no need for them to be careful of stepping into something. Most furniture was visible in the dim lights of a night time in a big city.

"There we go, Weiss, your bed. Now let's-Ack!" The redhead couldn't finish her sentence as she was pushed onto the bed. She had but a moment to turn around and see Weiss moving to lay on top of her. "W-Weiss?"

"Shh, drunk or not, tonight I want you to stay over." The Schnee wrapped her arms around the younger girl. "For stuff and things." She nodded, as if such explenation was enough.

"W-Weiss I'm...not sure, I don't want you to regret things tomorrow." There was a clear worry in the redhead's voice, and Weiss couldn't help but both feel annoyed at it, as well as happy, since the girl was worried about her well being first.

"Ruby, we're together for three years. Alcohol or not, I want you. And I'm not letting you go without a fight, so you better surrender and accept your fate." Weiss spoke and leaned down to once more kiss the other girl's neck.

"A-Are you sure Weiss?" Ruby's voice already had cracks in it, she was breaking. And that meant Weiss would have it her way.

The Schnee moved her mouth to place it next to the other girl's ear, as she whispered softly into her ear. "Trust me Ruby, I'm sure. Now let's enjoy and not worry ourselves." As she finished her sentence, she sunk her teeth gently into the redhead's ear, up till she felt her squirm. That made her smile.

The older girl felt her younger partner wrap her arms around her, an embrace she loved to feel around her. She moved her head to kiss the other girl, their lips connecting. The Schnee didn't care to be soft or gentle, she was fueled by passion and desire. She tilted her head and her tongue would immediately seek entrance into the younger girl's mouth, something she acquired in an instant, as Ruby's lips parted. Once their tongues intertwined with one another, Weiss decided to slow down. She didn't want to dominate Ruby, she wanted for both of them to enjoy this moment. As such, she decided to start slow, and simply invite the redhead onto a wild ride, but a ride that would slowly catch up on momentum, instead of starting rough off the bat.

Soon their clothes were off, and neither of them would worry about waking up the neighbours.

oooOOOooo

Present

Weiss shook her head, she bit her lip and took a deep breath. She had to stop right there, or else her preparation would take a bit...longer, and she would require to take another shower afterwards...Preferably a cold one.

With that in mind, she began to put on some clothes, while she knew that Ruby had nothing against her naked form, it would be quite, or rather VERY inappropriate for her to walk around naked. Even if Ruby tried to convince her to do that once, yet it was forgiven, as she was under the influence of a very good wine.

It was when Weiss looked through her high heels, deciding which pair to wear, when one of the boxes didn't fit with the rest. It was too small and too colorful, as well as having way too many writings on it. As the Schnee reached out to grab it, she remembered what it was. It was one of these online games that Ruby convinced her to get.

oooOOOooo

6 years ago

"I...I don't know Ruby. You know I don't really play video games." The Schnee grimaced at the box in her hand.

"I know, I know. But this one is easy! I mean, well, it has more difficult parts sure, buuut there's a lot of casual stuff. And I just thought that since our lives got so busy, we could at least sit down at some evenings, get on some voice over and do some things in a game. You know, it's more time we can do things together, then to drive an hour to each other. And that's just one way." Ruby explained, trying to convince the older girl.

Weiss of course knew this, she was aware of why Ruby wanted her to get this game, and how difficult things became once they both grew up and got jobs and...Basically had to start living like responsible adults. Who knew Peter Pan was right, and growing did in fact suck.

"And are you sure this will work on my laptop? You know it isn't made for games, I got it for school work and well...Work." The Schnee rotated the box till she found requirements for the game, and as she glanced it over she came to a solid conclusion of not having idea what all of these numbers and letters meant. She let out a sigh as she focused her gaze on the redhead instead.

"Yep! Maybe not on the best quality, but on medium to high. I kinda checked it last time you let me use your laptop, juuust to make sure." The younger girl smiled proudly.

Weiss had to raise her brow at that, Ruby being capable of planning ahead and perhaps being half a step before, that was something that made the Schnee proud, even if it was over something as silly as a video game. Yet it one more proved her point, that if Ruby had her mind set on something, she was capable of performing at the top most of her abilities.

"Very well Ruby, but no promises I'll enjoy it, or that I'll play often."

oooOOOooo

Present

All these memories made her lose track of time, as she got a text message from the taxi company of her choice that her driver would be in the next fifteen minutes. She made her last preparation, took her purse, and went out to meet the driver and get to her destination.

The ride there would be long, hence why she opted to call a taxi. Going by bus was risky, as there could be an accident, the bus could be late, or she could be late for the bus. Or something would happen at the bus that could ruin her appearance. As such taxi was a safe bet.

She lazily looked through the window of the car, at the rainy streets. At one point the car had to stop due to traffic lights, and Weiss noticed a small bakery at the corner of a street. That did reminded the Schnee of her girlfriend's prefered snack, cookies. Although she never said no to any kind of baked pastries and sweets, there was one type of baked goods she loved almost as much as she claimed to love Weiss. Chocolate chip cookies.

oooOOOooo

5 years ago

"Hey Weiss, so what's this idea you had for a date that we could have while inside your house?" The redhead tilted her head curiously as she entered her girlfriend's apartement.

"I thought we could hone a new skill together." The Schnee smiled, leading the younger girl towards her kitchen. "Baking!" The explained, as they finally got there, and Ruby could see all sorts of weird ingredients being already out on the counter.

"Baking? But...I...I never really baked anything, Weiss. My mom did, sure, but I never tried it." The redhead rubbed her neck.

Weiss simply shrugged. "Neither did I, but I watched a few videos online and it didn't seem that difficult, we simply need to follow the recipe and we should be fine." The Schnee grinned.

That of course proved to be way more difficult than Weiss expected it to be. It was mostly due to the recipe that the Schnee found. It used terms like glass, pinch, spoon as measurements, and these things can differ. Not every glass is the same, and not every spoonful is done the same way, and let's not get started on what a pinch of something means.

So while they infact did follow the recipy, the ending effect was...questionable.

"Uh Weiss? I...I don't think even I would enjoy something like this." They both looked at the ending effect of their work. A big blobs of half baked things, and as Weiss decided to break one in half, the inside was still partially raw.

"I...I guess this is way more difficult than I thought." The Schnee sighed, she hated failure. Yet, she didn't have time to feel sad, as she felt an arm wrap around her.

"Don't worry Weiss! I'll go down to the nearby store and buy more ingredients, meanwhile you can fix the reason of our failure, that being the recipy! We need something that tells us exactly how much of things we need to use, not...this weird vague measurement." The redhead smield warmly.

Weiss couldn't help but smile back at her. "Ruby, it's late and it's dark, we can try some other time. Meanwhile we can simply order some pizza and enjoy a movie?"

"Nah, I'll be fine. It's like what? Ten minute walk to the store. Besides I know you would prefer to do this right. So while I'm gone, you can simply find a new recipy!" The redhead offered a hug to the Schnee, something the white haired girl did in return.

Once that done, the younger girl put on a jacket and dashed to the store before it closed. Weiss couldn't help but sigh and shake her head, she should have tried this earlier alone, to make sure her evening wasn't ruined by her own arrogance.

Luckly Ruby was there, and together they would fix this.

oooOOOooo

Present

Weiss was moving between the trees, it partially protected her from the never ending pour of today. It's as if the weather itself chalanged her good mood. Ha, the jokes on it, this was a special day and nothing would ruin it for Weiss.

Earlier once she got out of the taxi, she went to the flower shop. It was strange at first for her to buy flowers, but now? Now it was her thing, something she did and got used to doing whenever she went to meet with Ruby.

She always got the same mix, of white and red roses, a very...Cheesy choice, but she didn't mind. It was romantic, and that often was considered to be that, corny or cheesy. And right now? Right now Weiss embraced it fully without regrets.

She smiled brightly as she approached the place, the usual spot. Their spot. She slowed down, and at one point stop, as she droped a curtsy. "Hello miss Summer, I apologize I haven't visited as often as I wished." She took two roses out of her bouquet and placed them on top of the grave, a white and red rose.

"I'll try to visit more often, now I would like to spend some time with your daughter." Weiss smiled and moved to the grave that was placed next to the first one. "Hello Ruby, happy tenth anniversary." She smiled as she placed the entire bouquet on top of it.

She kneeled in front of the tombstone, as he fingers moved across the name, Ruby Rose, as well as the date. "Five years and I still miss you, Ruby. But I did as I promised, you know. I kept the happy memories of you and nothing else." The Schnee's face could feel a new streak of wetness across her cheeks. Even though it was raining, she could feel it, since it felt warm, almost burning against her cold skin. Still smiling, the girl was confused. Was she crying? But why…

...Weren't anniversaries supposed to be happy?

Author's note 2:

Yeaaa…

I hope you enjoyed the story, I'd like to ask you to leave a review/comment and share your thoughts about this story with me. The bad parts of it, the good parts of it, as well as your overall thoughts and...stuff. It really helps to read them, and fuels my further motivation to write!