Hello, all! I'd like to welcome you to a very special fanfic: my 100th RWBY fic! Not including the stories I've written about OCs, this is my 100th RWBY fic, and I wanted to make it a special one. It's also dedicated to Xenon for a wonderful art/story trade she's choosing to do with me!

I hope you can all enjoy it! Thanks for keeping up with my stories and letting me get this far!

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.

When We Were Young

Chapter 1.

At the age of six years old, Ruby Rose liked to think she had a good life.

Even though she had lost her mother at a rather young age, she had never gotten the chance to know her that well, so the pain that accompanied the loss was bearable, especially with her older half-sister Yang in the picture.

Even though Yang was only two years older than Ruby, she had already taught her so many things: how to disinfect a cut, how to make a blanket-and-pillow fort, what kind of teary face to make at the teacher if Ruby was ever about to be given a penalty...

The list went on and on, but perhaps the thing she head learned from Yang that had benefitted her most of all was how to talk to people her own age.

Talking to adults was easy; she didn't have much choice in the matter anyway, since she had to listen to them every day of her life and always give a proper response to prove she had heard them. But to talk to children her own age had been difficult for Ruby, until Yang had come along.

Thankfully, as things were now, Ruby was friends with almost all of her classmates at Vale's elementary school. Yang attended the same school, though she was in a class for the older kids, but it was still nice that Ruby got to walk with her to school every day.

It was when Yang graduated and needed to change schools a little while later when Ruby clung to her and cried that she was no longer going to have anyone to walk to school with.

"A-All my friends live in different directions, and no one would w-wanna walk back all the way here with me every day!" she wailed. "I don't wanna walk by myself, Yang!"

"You'll be fine, Ruby!" Yang patted her head and locked her arms around her shoulders, giving a tight squeeze. "You're a big girl now! Plus, there's all those nice policemen on the way to school to keep you safe. Nothin' to worry about."

"W-Well, yeah but..." Ruby hid her face in her sister's shoulder. "They're older guys and they won't walk with me and talk to me like you do. I don't think I can hold their hands, either."

"Mm, maybe not," Yang mumbled. "But at least you know you'll be safe, even if you are a little lonely."

"But I don't wanna be lonely!" she wailed in protest.

"Shh, hey hey." Yang ruffled her hair again. "Didn't you hear about that new family moving in? They're a couple blocks away but I heard they have a daughter! Maybe she'll be in your class or something!"

Ruby lifted a face smeared with tears and other fluids and sniffled.

"You... You really think so?"

"Ruby, I'm the big sister. I know so!"

Her little sister's eyes brightened, and even if Yang had been lying, it would have been worth it to see that reaction.

"Thank you, Yang!" Ruby finally returned the hug, and Yang sighed with relief. Obviously, she had just been listening to the talk of the town a bit more closely than Ruby. After all, as the big sister, Yang needed to know the going-ons of the neighborhood.

There was indeed a new family moving in a few blocks away, but they weren't very... normal.

The name Schnee had been famous for a while, but only if you listened to the news a lot, Yang had found.

Apparently, they weren't a family you had dinner with on holiday evenings because they were your neighbors. They weren't a family you could go to the beach with for a weekend. They kept to themselves and were very aloof, and their only daughter was the very definition of the word.

Yang just hoped all the things she had ever taught Ruby about making friends would continue to pay off.

The family moved in down the street as planned several blocks away from where Ruby and Yang lived.

It was a quick and quiet process, and it was almost like they had lived there the whole time, Ruby felt.

The first morning when school started up again that year, she was bouncing on her heels nervously by the front door as she waited to leave. Having already said goodbye to their father who had to leave for work even earlier than they left for school, Ruby was clinging to her sister once more.

"Yaaaang, I'm scared. I don't wanna walk to school by myseeelf..."

"I told you, Ruby. Even if the other kids won't walk with you, the policemen will be there!"

"Yang!"

"Look, I know it's not what you wanted exactly, but it's better than nothin'! Plus, maybe that new girl will walk with you! You should wait a few minutes and see if she comes down the sidewalk from here. I'm sure she doesn't wanna be alone when she walks either, ya know." She pulled away and looked down into Ruby's silver eyes. "You'll be fine, Ruby. I gotta go catch my bus now. Be sure to tell me all about it when you get home, okay?"

Ruby bit her lower lip to stop it from trembling as she nodded. The kiss Yang pressed to her forehead made her feel a bit better, and she watched her older sister head out the door.

Yang's new school was far enough away that she had to take the bus, and thinking about it made Ruby uneasy all over again.

I don't wanna be alone...

When it was time for her to get going, she was sure to lock the door behind her responsibly; it was the first time she was the last one to leave the house, and she took the job very seriously.

When she finished and stepped outside, the morning sunlight was warm on her skin, and she adjusted the straps of her red backpack on her shoulders as she headed for the sidewalk. She paused for a few moments to look in the opposite direction from the path to school, hoping to see a girl her age starting to make her way down the sidewalk.

The new house was just barely visible in the distance past some big trees of the neighbor's lawn. Ruby saw a large car in the driveway, and from what she could tell, people were getting inside of it when the lights came on. Dismay made her shoulders drop as she realized the girl who went to her school was probably being driven there.

I guess it's no surprise, though. Since they have such a big house and a big car, I guess they must have big wallets, too...

"But I don't wanna be alone..." Ruby mumbled again.

And she knew no one could hear her.

She turned away and began heading for the elementary school, more than aware when the big car she had just seen in the driveway passed her.

But not even the nice policemen who said hello to her could make her nervousness go away, and Ruby walked to school that morning with tears dripping down her face.

Once she finally arrived - after having ran the last few blocks because a big, mean-looking dog had been barking at her from its garden - Ruby wiped her face on her sleeve.

She tried to straighten her back; it was the first day of school, after all.

All of the students were to report to the gym this morning and find the number on the wall that matched their new classroom that the paper in the mail had told them. Ruby knew the drill since she had done this once before, only she had been together with Yang...

As she passed by the main office, Ruby couldn't help but notice a tall man standing in front of the secretary's desk. He wore a grey suit and held his hands behind his back very properly, and when Ruby looked closely, she could just make out the shape of a snowflake on his back.

She briefly remembered seeing that symbol on the car she had seen that morning, and put two and two together.

Being as quiet as possible so no one would notice her, she tiptoed down that hallway to get a better look. When she peeked at an angle that let her see around the tall man, a smile curled Ruby's lips.

There was a little girl holding his hand tightly with both of hers, and it was clear how nervous she was, though the way she tried to puff out her chest and straighten her back and shoulders suggested she was trying to appear not-so-nervous.

She had hair that was white like freshly-fallen snow – that was the first thing that came to Ruby's mind. It was all the way down to her back, a very rare sight to behold, since most of the girls – Ruby herself included – had just gotten to the age where they wanted to cut all of their hair off to look more mature.

The new girl wore a light blue dress, and overall, Ruby felt just looking at this girl made her cold. The same snowflake shape on her father's suit was on the back of her dress as well, along with the side of her blue backpack.

Ruby stayed where she was, trying to get a look at the girl's face as her father continued to talk with the people at the office.

It was a few minutes later when they finally finished talking, and the man knelt down in front of his daughter. She threw her arms around his neck and appeared to be shaking, and Ruby's heart went out to her.

It was probably that very moment when she decided; she was going to be friends with this girl.

Ruby ducked behind the corner as she waited for things to finish up. The man kissed his daughter's head before saying a few more things to her and standing up. He walked with her out of the office where he headed for the exit doors; it really hurt Ruby to watch the girl's hand slip out of his.

Ruby felt tears brimming in her eyes as the white-haired girl watched her father go, her hands still outstretched toward his back. He turned and smiled and waved at her, but all she could manage was a weak curling of her fingers in return.

When at last her father had disappeared, Ruby was wiping the tears from her own eyes.

The other girl turned around and began walking toward her, not knowing Ruby was there as she mumbled to herself.

"Papa said I've got to go to the gymnasium. It should be down... this way?"

Just as she peeked around the corner, Ruby put on a toothy grin.

"Hiya!"

"Eep!"

The white-haired girl stumbled back in surprise, falling onto her backside on the floor. Her eyes were squeezed shut from the pain of the fall, but Ruby could see there really were tears on her lashes now.

"Waaaah! I'm sorry, I'm sorryyy!" Ruby quickly reached down her hand; she wanted to help the girl up herself, but Yang had taught her never to touch another person without their permission. "I'm really, really sorry!" she cried again. "I didn't mean to scare you, I really didn't! I wasn't trying to be mean or anything, I just wanted to say hi because I know you're new here and you looked kinda nervous and I'm kinda nervous too b-but I don't want you to be nervous cause that's not a nice feeling and oh gosh are you okay? Does it hurt somewhere? I can take you to the nurse-"

Her motormouth speech died down when the other girl blinked her eyes back open.

They were such a pretty blue, like the sky after a light rain in the summertime, or after a snowstorm in the winter. It made Ruby forget how to talk for a minute.

The other girl looked up at her in confusion, and even a little bit of fear, and Ruby thought she was about to jump up and run off after her father. Wanting to prevent that from happening, Ruby lowered her voice.

"H-Hi. My name's Ruby. What's yours?"

The girl looked at the hand Ruby offered to her like Ruby would look at a cookie Yang had brought home for her, not sure if it was full of yummy chocolate chips or yucky raisins.

But still, the girl reached her hand up slowly and took Ruby's, maybe because she wanted to trust her or maybe just because she needed help getting up.

Ruby liked to believe it was the first one.

She pulled the girl to her feet, still mesmerized by her blue eyes.

"Weiss," came the voice, small even though her eyes looked angry, and all Ruby could think of was that she was like a small animal who was scared but still trying to make itself look bigger.

Ruby didn't want Weiss to be scared of her, so she smiled again, letting go of her hand willingly when Weiss pulled away.

"It's a really pretty name! I like it!"

The other girl's eyes flicked about quickly, as though she was trying to find an escape.

"I've got to go to the gymnasium," she said quickly.

Ruby thought it was funny she used the full word for "gymnasium" because only the teachers and grown-ups ever called it that.

"I can take you there!" Ruby offered. "I've gotta go there, too! We all do so we can get our classes. Come on, follow me!" She turned around and started scampering down the hall, only to realize Weiss wasn't following her. "I'm telling the truth!" she said, going back to her.

Weiss was looking back toward the exit doors, hands clutching the ends of her dress. Ruby knew she wanted to find her father; she herself knew how scary it was being alone on the first day of school, but for Weiss who had recently moved to this new town, it must have been even scarier.

Ruby knew she wasn't supposed to touch people without their permission, but just this once, she thought it would be okay to take Weiss' hand.

It was shaking a little, just like she had thought.

"Your daddy seems really nice," she said softly.

Weiss hardly even noticed that Ruby was holding her hand now; it felt so natural and safe she didn't even question it.

"Yes. He is. I just want to go home..."

Ruby squeezed her hand a little tighter.

"It's okay! Since it's the first day of school, all we do is go to our classes and then introduce ourselves and then we get to go home early! It won't be so bad."

Weiss finally tore her gaze from the doors and looked uncertainly back to Ruby. The brunette squeezed Weiss' hand again with a smile.

"I promise I'm not lying to you, okay? I don't lie, especially not to my friends."

"Friends...?" Weiss repeated the word in a delicate voice and Ruby nodded happily. Then, Weiss turned her face away and puffed out her cheeks. "I never said we were friends," she muttered.

Ruby's shoulders slumped a little until she realized Weiss' cheeks were pink.

"Well yeah, not yet!" She swung Weiss' hand in hers. "But we can be future friends, can't we? We're 'to-be' friends! Maybe not today or tomorrow or next week, but sometime in the future we will be!"

Weiss still refused to look at her.

"Hmph. We'll see about that..."

It wasn't a refusal of her offer of friendship, and that was good enough for Ruby.

"Okay!" she chirped in excitement. "Come on then, I'll take you to the gym!"

As she tugged her along, Weiss finally turned her eyes forward to look at the girl's back.

And slowly, she squeezed her hand in return.

As Ruby was led to her classroom with her new teacher and fellow classmates, she kept casting glances all around the hallways.

Weiss had parted from her shortly after they had arrived in the gymnasium, having quickly found the number of her class on the wall. Ruby hadn't wanted to leave her alone, but Weiss' teacher had been looking for her. It was with a pout that Ruby had left Weiss there; she was upset that Weiss wasn't in the same class as her.

Ruby mulled through the rest of the short day, got to know her new classmates and introduced herself to them with a smile. She talked to them and made jokes as Yang had taught her to, but there was only one person Ruby really wanted to talk with.

Luckily for her, right after lunch was over, they were dismissed, and Ruby grabbed her backpack and rushed down the halls toward the exit, eyes searching the groups of children as they filed out.

It wasn't too hard to find Weiss; her snow-white hair stood out amongst everyone else's.

She was being jostled around a bit by the kids eager to get out of the building, and Ruby hurried over to her before she could get pushed over. Ruby tapped her shoulder with a cheerful call of her name.

"Weiss!"

"R-Ruby-?!" The white-haired jumped in surprise and spun around. A boy running past knocked into her shoulder, and Ruby quickly wrapped her arms around Weiss to stop her from falling.

"Geez, watch it!" Ruby called after the boy before holding Weiss up. "You okay?"

"I'm fine!" Weiss pushed her away and turned around quickly, and Ruby saw that her cheeks were pink again.

"I'm glad!" She reached down to take Weiss' hand again. She liked holding her hand, and she hoped Weiss did, too. "So um... are you being driven home? You live close by me and I saw your car driving here this morning."

"Oh-" Weiss was the one who paused this time. "I don't think Papa knows it was a half-day today. I don't think... anyone's here to drive me home..."

Ruby could tell right away that Weiss was upset and very nervous about having to walk all the way home. She curled her fingers through Weiss' reassuringly.

"It's okay! Don't worry, I'll walk home with you! Like I said, I live near you! And this'll be better than having to go to the office and have them call home for someone to come get you."

Weiss looked up at her worriedly, but Ruby only grinned back and went on:

"I know it'd be scary to walk back alone. But since my sister graduated, I've gotta be alone when I walk, too. So it's better if we walk together! It's no fun being alone. Plus..." she paused, kicking a pebble across the sidewalk. "I kinda wanna... talk to you some more."

Weiss was silent for a minute, and Ruby shuffled her feet in place as she waited for a reply.

Then, she felt the tug on her wrist as Weiss started walking.

"Well, I guess we don't have any choice," she huffed.

Ruby almost jumped up and down in delight.

"Yaaay! Oh boy! Um, okay s-so how was your first day? Was everyone nice to you here? It stinks that we aren't in the same class..." she moped as they started down the sidewalk.

"Well, of course we aren't," Weiss mumbled. "I'm older than you."

Ruby stopped in her tracks. "Wait, what?"

"Yes!" Weiss rolled her eyes. "You didn't realize which classroom I went to? I'm in the year above you."

"Whaaaat?!" Ruby's eyes were wide in surprise. "But you're the same size as me! Actually, maybe you're a little shorter- ow!"

Weiss had stepped on her shoe.

"Hush!" she cried loudly. "Gosh, do you even think before you speak?"

"Sorry!" Ruby offered a sheepish apology as they continued to walk, passing each house slowly. "So... you said you're older than me, huh? By how much?"

"Actually, I'm supposed to be in my first year of middle school, but-"

"What?! You're as old as Yang?"

"Pardon?"

"Oh, Yang's my older sister! I used to walk to school with her all the time, but she just graduated last year and moved up to the middle school. So now I'm alone here – or at least, I thought I would be!" Again, she smiled widely at Weiss, and again the other girl puffed out her cheeks and looked away. Ruby swung their hands back and forth between them, and Weiss let her without complaining.

"So why are you in this school, then?" Ruby wondered.

"When we moved, my papers got mixed up. Papa tried to get everything sorted out with the school, but by that time it was already too late. So now I've got to retake this level of classes again in this town. But next year it's already been arranged that I'll be skipping ahead to the right class."

"So that means you're gonna be with me all this year!"

Weiss gave a small grunt.

"Oh wow, that's great! That's so exciting! I can't wait! Even if you're in a different class, we can still walk-" Ruby stopped herself and her smile dropped. "Oh yeah. I guess this is the only time we can walk together cause you'd be driven..." She sighed, but perked up a minute later when she got an idea. "If it's gonna be that way, then come with me! I wanna take you somewhere!"

"Ruby-!"

"It's fine! It's only a minute off the path and it's still close to our houses! Plus, you don't really need to be home for another few hours, right?"

Weiss gave a tiny, hesitant nod.

"Then come on, follow me!"

Ruby took off – surprisingly quickly – as she held tightly to Weiss' hand. The older girl stumbled before she was forced to run after her. She tried to keep an eye on her surroundings so she could recognize things better. Ruby veered down a small street off the main path home, and Weiss struggled to keep up with her.

"H-How do you run so fast?"

"I dunno! Yang says I've always been a quick runner! C'mon, we're almost there!"

With a few more sprints, Ruby came to a halt, Weiss panting behind her.

They were at a small playground, wood chips beneath their shoes now as Ruby brought them over to the swings. There were a few slides and a jungle gym as well, along with a bench off to one side.

"A playground?" Weiss observed. "But we have one at school."

"Well yeah, but this one's private! It's in a weird spot so not a lot of people come here. Yang and I used to come by on the way home from school or on weekends, but... I guess she can't come with me that much anymore. She's gonna have a lot more homework to do now." She looked back to Weiss. "And since this will probably be the only day you walk home, I wanted to show it to you! Wanna play a bit? The policemen know that some kids walk home so there are a lot of them keeping watch to keep us safe. Whaddaya say?"

She looked hopefully into Weiss' eyes, and the older girl seemed to have trouble looking back at her. Her blue eyes kept flicking around nervously, as if she wasn't supposed to be here or was scared she would get scolded.

Ruby's shoulder slouched again. "Are you not allowed to? Will your Mom or Dad get mad at you?"

"No..." Weiss murmured. "It's not that they'll get mad. I just... I've never been to a playground like this before, one that's not on school grounds..."

The smile returned to Ruby's lips again when she realized Weiss wouldn't get in trouble if she came to play now.

"Well there's a first time for everything!" She tugged Weiss again, but still the girl didn't move.

"But... I'm in a dress..."

Ruby blinked and stared back at her.

Then, she burst out laughing.

"Wha-?!" Weiss stomped her foot, her cheeks bright red. "D-Don't laugh, you... you dolt!"

"Sorry, sorry!" Ruby covered her mouth. "It's just... heehee of all the things to worry about- pfff-"

"Don't laugh!" Weiss yelled again.

"Can't catch me!"

"Ruby!"

The younger girl took off toward the playground, Weiss tearing after her, instantly being reminded just how fast Ruby was.

Ruby led her up the colorful steps of the main structure, dashing over the rickety bridge with ease. Weiss halted immediately at the edge, stepping one foot at a time over each swaying plank carefully. Ruby's lips curved into a devilish smile, knowing there was only one thing she could do.

She jumped onto the other end of the bridge with both feet, causing it to lurch beneath the other girl. Weiss shrieked and clung to the side as Ruby doubled over with laughter.

"W-Why you-!" Weiss charged at her again, and Ruby quickly scrambled toward the entrance to the nearest slide and slipped down, sending a scatter of wood chips up in her wake as she landed.

Weiss paused at the top, staring down uncertainly, her hair frazzled as she glared down at Ruby.

"Weiss, it's okay~! Just sliiide!"

Weiss huffed and blew her bangs out of her face as she sat down, gathering her dress securely in her fingers as she bumpily slid down the length of the slide.

"Yeah, yeah! See? That wasn't so bad, was it?"

"Ruby-"

"Oh geez-"

The brunette tore off again, this time for the monkey bars. She came to this playground all the time, so she was used to climbing them.

Making sure her feet didn't dangle down so Weiss could grab her, Ruby pulled herself up onto the very top of them so she was a good six feet off the ground. Weiss circled beneath her like a hungry tiger.

"No fair! I can't reach them!"

"Cause you're so tinyyyy~!"

"Ruby-!"

"Eek!"

Ruby was able to avoid her for a few minutes until Weiss actually started making efforts to climb the bars, even though she was wearing a dress.

Eventually, Ruby hopped down and ran toward the spherical jungle gym and began climbing quickly. Weiss groaned and rushed to catch her, trying to get her footing and balance right on the strange contraption.

"If you can tag me, you win!" Ruby called down.

"Ugh, I'm going to-"

With another huff, Weiss tried to climb to the next curved bar. But her foot slipped and she lost her grip, falling through the bars with a short cry before landing on her side on the ground.

"Weiss!" Ruby gasped and quickly jumped down to get to her. "Are you okay? Does it hurt?"

"Ow..." Weiss sniffled and pushed herself up, and Ruby reached out to help her. She instantly noticed a single drop of water trailing down Weiss' cheek.

"Ah- aaaah, oh gosh oooh my gosh y-you're crying-!" Ruby panicked and quickly threw her backpack off of her shoulders, diving into the front zipper to find the band-aids Yang had given her.

But Weiss wiped her face and shook the wood chips out of her hair.

"I am not crying," she said loudly. "A Schnee never cries. That's what Papa always says."

"You were definitely crying!"

"Was not!"

"Were too!" Ruby smooshed her index finger against Weiss' lips to stop her from saying any more, and the girl swatted her hand away with a grunt. Ruby pulled out a band-aid and a disinfectant wipe from a small package she had with her as she looked into Weiss' eyes. "Okay, it doesn't matter if you cried or not, but you're hurt! Let me see your arm."

Weiss looked down at her left arm that Ruby had reached for, finding a long red scrap down her forearm.

"It's fine-"

"Weiss, no it's not! It's bleeding and it might get infected!" Ruby took her arm gently with her right hand and pinched the wipe in her left. "This is gonna sting a little, okay?"

Weiss squeezed her eyes shut and made a small whimper, but the pain was gone soon enough when Ruby stuck the band-aid over the scratch.

"Um- uhhm-!"

Then, Ruby leaned down and kissed softly over the covered cut.

Weiss' eyes doubled in size, and both girls' faces turned red when their gazes met again.

"W-What was that for?" Weiss asked, pulling her arm back to her chest.

"S-Sorry!" Ruby piped, bowing her head. "I-It's just that I'm usually the one getting hurt and then Yang has to take care of me and she's the one who taught me how to take care of cuts like this a-and she usually kisses it at the end to make it heal faster and I'm sorry I didn't think-"

"Okay, okay!" Weiss did her favorite thing and huffed, dusting off her dress and ponytail as she got to her feet.

Ruby packed up her supplies neatly, relieved that Weiss wasn't hurt badly. She then looked up at the white-haired girl guiltily.

"I'm really, really sorry, Weiss! This happened be-because I-"

"Thank you."

"...Huh?"

"You heard me..." Weiss offered the girl her hand Ruby accepted it slowly as she was pulled to her feet. "You did something nice for me, so it's only right that I say thank you, isn't it? Now why do you look like you're about to cry?"

"Huh?" Ruby realized Weiss was right and her nose was starting to run. "W-Well I was just scared you were gonna be mad at me and then you wouldn't wanna come play with me anymore ever again-"

"Gosh, running isn't the only thing you do quickly."

"W-What..." Ruby shook her head and buried her face in her sleeve for a minute. When she looked up again, Weiss was still holding her hand, waiting patiently. Ruby sniffed one more time, looking at her with upturned eyes. "Do you... do you just wanna go home? I understand if-"

"I think I want to go to the swings." Weiss said loudly. Without waiting for an answer, she pulled Ruby over to them. "Here. Have a seat."

"Wait, Weiss-"

"Up you go!" Weiss circled around behind the younger girl and placed her hands on Ruby's hips. She walked back a few steps before pushing her forward.

"Weeeiss!" Ruby's voice rose into a high-pitched giggle as the wind whipped past her face and through her hair.

Each time she came back down, Weiss was there to push her back up, again and again and again. Ruby laughed louder every time, squealing when she got to the highest point the swing would carry her to.

Once she happily told Weiss she wanted to stop, the older girl helped her slow down enough until Ruby felt brave enough to jump off from a few feet high.

"Ruby!" Weiss gasped. "Don't do that when you're still so high up-"

"Your turn!" Ruby spun back around and scurried over to Weiss.

"Hold on now-"

"Your tuuuurn! Hang on tight-"

"Ru-by!" Weiss shrieked as she was pushed lightly down into the seat and Ruby zipped behind her. She placed her hands on Weiss' shoulders and gave a gentle shove.

"I won't push too hard, don't worry~"

"Y-You'd better not!"

"I wooon't~"

Weiss clung tightly to the chains of the swing as she felt herself being lifted, climbing higher and higher into the air with every light push Ruby gave to her back.

The first couple of times, she was nervous and wanted to ask Ruby to be let down.

But just before Weiss could break and ask to stop, she started getting accustomed to the motions. Her ponytail swung back and forth in time with the wind, legs curling naturally at her knees, and Ruby's gleeful laughter reached her ears every time.

Weiss eventually cracked a smile as well.

"Do you wanna go higher?" The younger girl called up to her.

It took Weiss a few more swings before she finally gave a reply.

"Yeah..."

"Okay!" Ruby was glad her friend was being honest and opening up a little more.

She gave a bit of a harder push to Weiss' back each time from then on, sending Weiss to heights she never knew possible without the use of one of her family's personal Air Ships. She felt like she was on top of the world.

After a few more minutes, Ruby helped to slow her down until the swing had stopped, and she took Weiss' hand and helped her up, knowing it was a little tough to stand right after getting off the swings. She wrapped her arms around Weiss contentedly and squeezed.

"Heehee, Weiss, your heart's thumping like a bunny rabbit! You okay?"

She felt Weiss' hands slip around her shoulders.

"Y-Yes... that was just... really exciting. I've never felt that way before."

"Well, I'm glad you had fun!" She let Weiss go, though she kept hold of her hand. She looked up to the big clock that looked over the playground and sighed happily. "We should probably head home now," she offered.

Weiss said nothing, only nodded in response, and followed Ruby off the playground and gradually back to the sidewalk that led back to their houses.

When they reached Ruby's place, the younger girl paused, and Weiss peeked curiously over her shoulder.

"Is this your house?"

"Yeah," Ruby confirmed. "But... yours is a little farther down, and I don't want you to have to walk there alone. So I'll walk you there and then come back!"

"You don't have to-"

"Come on, I wanna walk you home!" She tugged Weiss' hand and continued leading her down the sidewalk.

They passed several more houses until they finally reached the big white one Ruby had seen only from a distance for the past few weeks.

It was really big, and the driveway had a garage with an expensive-looking car inside, and space for another few cars beside it. The lawn was twice the size of Ruby's house's, and a tall white fence rose up behind dozens of flower bushes. There was a gardener watering the plants and another person mowing the lawn, and Ruby wondered if all of these people lived with Weiss and her parents.

The man watering the flowers noticed them and bowed his head before going to the door and disappearing inside. The two girls went up the steps to the door just as it opened.

A woman with shoulder-length white hair and dark blue eyes stood before them, and Weiss let go of Ruby's hand to run to her happily.

"Mama!"

"Weiss! Welcome home, honey!" The woman knelt down as her daughter threw her arms around her neck. "I heard you got let out of school early, so I left work early too and was just about to come home to see you. How was it?" She looked over Weiss' shoulder and smiled kindly at Ruby. "I see you made a friend."

"Hello!" Ruby waved and grinned widely. The woman waved back.

"Thank you for walking Weiss home. She doesn't like to be alone."

"I don't either." Ruby kicked one foot shyly. "But I really like Weiss! We went to the playground together!"

"Is that so?"

"Yeah!" Ruby laughed as the woman stood up again with Weiss holding onto her dress.

"Weiss, honey. Who's your new friend?"

The girl looked up to her and smiled a little.

"Ruby."

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Ruby. I hope you and Weiss can get along all year in school together. Do you need someone to take you home?"

"Nope! I'm fine! I live a few houses away! I can run fast!"

"I see." The woman chuckled, putting a hand on her daughter's shoulder. "Come on then, Weiss. Papa's not home yet, but we can start dinner."

Weiss nodded.

She was about to follow her mother inside when she paused and looked back over her shoulder at the brown-haired girl watching her. Weiss let go of her mother's hand briefly and ran back to Ruby to wrap her in a tight hug. Surprised, the younger girl returned the hug with a giggle.

"Thank you, Ruby," Weiss murmured. "I was scared at first, but after I met you... I had a lot of fun today."

"Me, too! It was really, really fun!"

The two girls parted, one smile wide and the other soft.

Then, Weiss turned around and went back to her mother's side, casting one last glance over her shoulder at the girl.

"Bye, Ruby. I'll see you tomorrow."

Ruby waved goodbye, still grinning toothily.

"Yeah! Bye, Weiss!"

Once the door had closed with Weiss behind it, Ruby's shoulders slumped again.

She knew she wouldn't be able to walk to or from school with Weiss anymore.

Turning away, she ran off toward home, a little sad, but mostly happy as she remembered the fun day she had had.

A/N: This is a two-shot, so the majority of events will be happening in next week's chapter!

Please review!