Ahhh not everyone read the Author's Notes ;~; I said there'd be a chapter 2 ahaha. Well, if you managed to find this chapter, then enjoy!

A/N: Still not sure about Ruby and Yang's father or uncle at this point, so I just stuck with uncle.

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.

Chapter 2.

The next day, Ruby hugged Yang tightly before the older of the sisters left for school.

Ruby had talked to her about her first day of school all evening the night before, telling Yang everything about Weiss and then some.

"She sounds great, Ruby! I'm glad you made a friend!"

Ruby told her how Weiss' papers had gotten mixed up with the schools and that she would probably be moved up to Yang's grade the next year. Which was why Yang had told her, "Then you gotta have as much fun with her now as possible!"

And Ruby planned to do just that.

That morning, she bounded down the sidewalk, sometimes looking to the street side to see if she could find Weiss' family car and maybe wave to her. But Ruby got almost halfway to the school and didn't see the car.

She was almost getting worried when she suddenly heard footsteps running up from behind her.

"Ruby!"

She spun around with a huge smile on her face when she saw Weiss running toward her. The other girl stopped a few feet away, hands on her knees as she caught her breath.

"You... You weren't going to wait for me, you dolt?"

"Weeeeeiss!" Ruby rushed to her and pulled her into a big hug, nuzzling her cheek to Weiss' like an excited puppy.

Once Weiss could finally get the girl off of her, she told Ruby how she had talked to her father and mother the night before. When they had heard the path to school wasn't far for Weiss, and that there were policemen keeping watch, as well as the fact that she would have Ruby with her, they decided to agree to let her walk to and from school every day.

Ruby listened to her story and jumped up and down all the while. "Wow! Ohmigosh, Weiss that's so great! I'm so happy!" She hugged her again, and even managed to lift Weiss' feet off the ground for a second, making her squeak.

Of course Ruby was happy they could be together from now on, but what made her even happier was the fact that Weiss had specifically asked her parents to let her walk every day so she could be with Ruby.

Weiss would never admit it out loud, but Ruby knew by the way the older girl rolled her eyes and smiled at her that had been the case.

School wasn't as bad as Ruby thought it would be with Weiss walking with her to and from every day. She was on good terms with all of the other kids in her class so she was never lonely like she had first feared she would be. She even found Weiss in the cafeteria the first day they had lunch, and rushed over to hug her again.

They would meet up there every day as well, showing what their parents had packed them for lunch or standing on line together with a few lien to buy snacks.

The first day they sold cookies, Ruby didn't have any money with her and had almost started crying before Weiss had taken her arm and all but dragged her to the line to demand she pick out a cookie, saying her father always gave her a little extra money. She was glad she could finally spend it on someone other than herself.

She bought Ruby two cookies that day, and the younger girl actually started crying that time as she threw her arms around Weiss and thanked her close to a million times.

Before long, Weiss made it a habit to buy cookies for Ruby, and in turn Ruby would buy Weiss her drink that day. They spent the same amount of lien on each other as they would on their own things; they just liked buying for their friend more.

Every afternoon, they walked home together. Ruby always brought Weiss to her house, occasionally getting to see the girl's mother or father and say hello before dashing a few houses down and returning home.

There, she would recount to Yang all that she had done in school that day, whether her sister asked her about it or not. But even if Yang was in a bad mood from her own day at school, hearing Ruby happily talking about Weiss would always bring a smile to both of their faces.

Some days, Ruby would take Weiss to the park, but it was the days Weiss specifically asked to be taken there that were the most fun.

Ruby was comfortable around Weiss, and she wanted Weiss to feel the same way with her.

As the weeks went on, she felt she got the white-haired girl to open up bit by bit, just a little more each day.

Weeks passed, and then months.

And for a while, everything was wonderful.

It was a normal day at school, and Ruby had been twirling her pencil on her desk, waiting eagerly for the lunch bell to ring.

She had brought a special snack from home that she wanted to share with Weiss. It was a specially-made cupcake, and Ruby had asked Yang to help her make two of them.

Ruby ate one to make sure it was okay, and in the end, she thought it was pretty good. So she had packed up the other one for Weiss and bounded eagerly to school alongside her that morning, grinning widely enough about her little surprise that Weiss needed to ask what she was hiding, to which Ruby had simply shaken her head.

But when the lunch bell finally rang and Ruby ran out of her classroom and down the halls, Weiss wasn't waiting for her in the cafeteria like she usually was. She was always sure to tell Ruby if she knew she would be late, which wasn't often, but she had said nothing to Ruby today.

Not wanting to start eating without her friend, Ruby sat at their usual table and spun her lunch box around a few times as she waited.

It was when lunchtime was half over when she started to get worried and got up to scurry over to one of the teachers to see if she knew anything about where Weiss was.

The lady blinked down at Ruby past her glasses and her eyes widened.

"Oh, you must be Ruby!" she said, kneeling down. "Yes, your friend got called out of class a few hours ago. There was something going on at home and she needed to leave for the day. Someone came to pick her up. She did ask me to tell you. I'm glad we found each other."

"Something happened?" Ruby repeated, clutching her lunchbox.

The teacher put a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sure she'll be back again tomorrow and you two can talk." She smiled kindly. "But for now, you should eat your lunch."

"...Okay." Ruby gave a nod, though she didn't smile as she turned and walked back to her table. It didn't feel right to eat without Weiss next to her, and her tummy kept flipping over.

She slowly chewed through her peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich and drank her milk, but she didn't eat any sweets that day.

When lunch was over, she packed Weiss' cupcake away again and went back to her classroom, and the frown didn't leave her face for the rest of the day.

When the day was over, Ruby walked home slowly, hands clutching the straps of her backpack tightly.

The neighborhood seemed... louder that day.

There were a lot of cars driving by, and she thought she could hear sirens in the distance.

That was what made her hurry home, pausing at the edge of her lawn to look down to Weiss' house, wanting to go there more than anything. But she could see there were cars in the driveway, which was unusual for this hour of the afternoon, and she didn't want to go there if something important was happening.

So Ruby turned and headed into her own house.

When Yang got home, she asked her to help dial the phone so she could at least call Weiss, but no one answered.

"I'm sure it's fine, Ruby." Yang wrapped her in a warm hug. "It'll be okay."

And yet when Ruby went to bed that night, she didn't feel like anything was okay.

It was raining the next day, and she took her red, strawberry umbrella with her as she went to school.

She waited for Weiss as she always did, but the white-haired girl never came rushing up behind her asking her to wait, and her family's cars never drove by either.

Ruby was forced to go alone, just as she had always feared since the first day of school.

Once she had arrived and shaken out her umbrella, she left it and her backpack in her cubby in the classroom before going over to her desk.

She didn't smile the entire morning, and just before lunch, she found out why.

There was an announcement made that asked the teachers to check their emails, and Ruby and the other children waited quietly as their teacher did just that. Ruby watched as her teacher put a hand on her mouth; she looked very sad, and it made Ruby scared.

Once she had read everything, the teacher faced her class and spoke softly.

"Everyone, I want you to listen well. It seems... something happened last night. A very bad thing, and very scary, too. One of the children at this school... there was an accident. We still don't know the full details, but she was hurt. And there are still bad things happening, which is why school is closing early today. Emails have been sent to your parents to come pick you up. Until then, please pack your things and wait for them." She sat down at her desk, suddenly looking much older than Ruby knew she was.

The other kids quietly did as they were told and got their things together, waiting for their names to be called on the speakers when their parents got there.

Ruby stumbled up to her teacher's desk, tears already streaming down her face as she asked the question she already knew the answer to.

"W-Who was the... who was the person who got hurt?" she sniffled.

The teacher looked at her with tired eyes, reaching out to pull a tissue for Ruby and handing it to her. Ruby buried her face into it when she heard the answer:

"Weiss Schnee."

Ruby wailed out loud for the next fifteen minutes until her uncle arrived with Yang, and the two of them came into the classroom to get her.

Yang's school had been cancelled as well, and she held Ruby in her arms tightly and carried her out to the car as their uncle held her backpack and umbrella.

Ruby sobbed all the way home, begging Yang to take her to Weiss' house, and it broke her sister's heart to listen to her like that. Yang held her tightly the entire time and apologized, telling Ruby that she couldn't do that.

Ruby didn't eat dinner that night, and Yang dressed her into her pajamas and held her hand, leading Ruby up the stairs. She let Ruby sleep in her bed that night, curling around her protectively as Ruby cried herself to sleep, whispering only one familiar word:

"Weiss..."

The next morning was misty and grey and a little warm.

School had been cancelled again, but Ruby and Yang still woke up to eat breakfast. Their uncle still had to go to work though, so he kissed them both and told them to be safe and call him if they needed him before he left.

Yang stayed with Ruby all day; wherever she went in the house and whatever she did, Yang was there. She held onto Ruby's hand and told her everything was going to be okay.

She hoped Ruby believed her.

After she had encouraged Ruby to eat lunch, she took her little sister into the living room, pulled her up onto the couch and laid down beside her, humming a few songs and telling her stories from the books she had memorized over the years until Ruby fell asleep.

Yang knew she was tired and worried about Weiss, and Ruby ended up sleeping through supper. Yang carried her up the stairs and back into her bed again. She was tired too, and even though it was still a bit early in the evening and the sun was still up, she wanted to go to sleep, just for a little bit.

Ruby woke just as her sister had fallen asleep next to her, and she noticed the tears that had dried on Yang's cheeks. Ruby wiped them away and squeezed her tightly before slipping out of bed.

She ran downstairs and put her shoes on, and her uncle saw her from where he was cleaning up in the kitchen and asked what she was doing. Ruby only replied, "I have to go see Weiss!" before she bolted for the door quicker than he could even get the chance to stop her.

She closed the door behind her and ran for Weiss' house, wide awake now after sleeping all day.

It only took her a minute to get there, but the house was almost like a different place than the last time she had walked Weiss home. There was no one in the front yard clipping hedges or planting flowers, and there were no lights on past the windows.

Ruby walked slowly up to the door, feeling nervous and scared and like she was going to throw up.

She went up the white stone stairs and waited for a moment before she finally found the courage to knock softly on the door.

At first, she thought no one had heard her, or maybe that no one was even home, but there were cars in the garage, and even if Weiss and her parents weren't home, Ruby knew there were always other people there to take care of the house.

Ruby was about to knock again when she heard movement from inside, and a second later, the handle turned.

The door opened, and a lady with thick, dark hair stood before her all dressed in black, and her eyes were drooping. Ruby felt she had seen her a few times before here and there on her visits to bring Weiss home, but now she could see the lady's gray eyes clearly, and they were full of sadness, more than her teacher's had been a few days ago. She looked down at Ruby and seemed to recognize her too, but she still looked very sad.

"Hello there," she said, kneeling down in front of Ruby.

"Hi..." she sniffled. "I-I want to see Weiss." She looked pleadingly up into the lady's eyes.

The woman sighed and shook her head.

"I'm afraid... something awful happened a few nights ago."

"W-What-" Ruby's heart was in her throat, and tears were already dripping down her cheeks. "What ha-happened, where's Weiss? Is she okay, my teacher said she got hurt-" she choked and started sobbing into her sleeve.

"I'm afraid that's the truth," the lady said. "You see... something terrible happened at her father's and mother's workplace. The White Fang attacked."

Ruby had heard that name before, mostly on the news and from her uncle when he talked to his friends on the phone sometimes.

They had used to be peaceful protestors for Faunus rights, but in the past few months they had started doing bad things.

Really bad things.

Ruby kept wiping her tears away as she looked up at the lady again. She continued in a sad voice:

"There was trouble at work for Mr. and Mrs. Schnee that day and..." Tears came to the lady's eyes, and Ruby whimpered out loud; it was never a good thing when grown-ups started to cry. The lady placed a hand on Ruby's shoulder and looked into her silver eyes. "Something... very bad happened. Your friend got hurt and needed to go to the hospital. She just came home a few hours ago, but she ran out of the house. We've been searching for her since then, but she hasn't been found or come home again-"

Ruby stepped away, having heard all she needed to.

Weiss was missing.

"I'll find her!" she promised, turning and running quickly down the stairs and across the lawn before the lady could even call her back.

Ruby had always been fast, but never before had she run faster than she did then.

She dashed past her own house again, continuing on down the sidewalk, moving so quickly that the white heads of the dandelions lost their fluff as she passed.

The sun was just vanishing behind the horizon, dyeing everything darker gray as she finally reached the playground.

As usual, no one else was there.

It was just Ruby and-

"Weiss!"

A small girl sat on the swings, wearing a black dress, her white hair loose and falling all the way down to her hips.

Ruby rushed to her, still sobbing as she stopped just a foot away from her.

She had wanted to hug her more than anything.

But when Weiss lifted her head, Ruby let out another choked sound.

Her left eye had been covered by a white patch, and the other wasn't the same bright blue Ruby remembered; it was a dull and lifeless color, like the gray mist that surrounded them now.

Ruby's knees were shaking as she whispered her name.

"Weiss..."

She was already crying so much, and she tried not to be so loud; she wanted to hear Weiss' voice.

When the older girl did finally seem to recognize her, her hands fell down from the chains of the swing and limply curled in her lap.

"Ru... by..." She shook her head from side to side and winced.

Ruby wasn't sure what to do. But she knew she needed to hug Weiss, no matter what.

So she did, stepping up to her, shoes crunching softly in the wood chips. She wrapped her arms around Weiss tightly, like Yang did for her. Ruby hid her face in the side of Weiss' neck, feeling her tears dripping down onto the other girl's dress.

"Weiss... y-you're okay, you're... I thought..." she didn't want to think about it. "W-When they told me you... you got hurt I-I was so sc-scared, Weiss I'm so glad you're safe..." Her words died away into wailing cries of relief.

She cried for a long time, blubbering into Weiss' shoulder, never loosening her tight hug on her.

But Weiss didn't hug her back, and Ruby knew something was wrong.

Only once she had calmed down a little did she realize the clothes Weiss was wearing, and the woman back at her house, too...

Ruby pulled away, and she looked down into Weiss' good eye.

She knew, but she didn't want to hear it.

But Weiss needed to say it.

The white-haired girl drew a shuddering breath, and Ruby could tell she was holding back tears as she spoke:

"Papa... he said there was trouble at work. And he was gonna take us somewhere safe. He took us to a hideout but- …they broke in, they- it was so scary. I-I was trying to be quiet like Papa told me, but one of them found me and cut my eye..." She bit her lip, and Ruby was already sobbing, holding tighter to Weiss' sides as the girl continued:

"It hurt and I cried out, t-there was so much b-blood... and Mama came running in and she was fighting them, but Papa couldn't get there in time cause he was with Winter and they... they killed her..." she looked helplessly into Ruby's eyes, lost and scared and so, so helpless. "They killed Mama, Ruby. They killed her right in front of me-"

She slid off of the swing, and Ruby quickly caught her as they fell to the ground together. Ruby shook her head and crushed Weiss to her, refusing to believe it.

"No... n-no not... no, she was so... I was just... I just talked to her a few days ago..." she whimpered.

"Me, too..." Weiss whispered. "I'd just... I had just said goodnight to her a-and she said she would... see me in the morning..." she was shaking in Ruby's arms, much more than Ruby herself was, and she was scared Weiss was going to break. "They killed her and it's my fault..." she said quietly. "If I... if I was quiet, she wouldn't have heard me and come in to save me... she wouldn't have died-"

"No!" Ruby yelped. "Then you would be dead, Weiss!" She squeezed her furiously. "Your mom did what my mom did for me! She saved you because she loves you! She'd never want you to die, never ever! And neither would anyone else..."

"But why?!" Weiss screamed into her shirt. "Why did they have to... there was so much blood... Ruby..."

Weiss wailed her name, and Ruby broke down in tears all over again.

"I-I'm s-sorry, Weiss. I wish those mean people didn't exist. I wish we could bring your mom back and mine too and everyone's moms and dads and family who died..."

Weiss was motionless in her arms, and Ruby was scared for her.

"Ruby... I can't... I can't live without her... I can't..."

"Yes you can..." Ruby promised her. "I did it, a-and it was hard and it hurt and I cried every day, but I lived without her. I have Yang and Uncle, and I know you have a sister and you have your dad and you have me, Weiss. Your mom wants you to live. I didn't know what to think, but that's what Yang told me. You h-have to live because that's what your mom wants..."

Small sounds came from Weiss' throat as she buried herself in Ruby's shoulder.

Ruby couldn't talk anymore, so she just held Weiss there as the sky got darker and the streetlights came on.

She wasn't sure how much time went by until she looked up at the big clock and saw it had been almost half an hour. She pulled back slightly to look at Weiss' face, having the girl look up at her.

"Weiss..." she murmured. "You should let everything out. It's not good to keep it inside."

She felt Weiss stiffen and shake her head.

"Papa said... a Schnee never cries..."

"Weiss..." Ruby pulled the girl close to her again. "I bet he's crying now, too. And your sister. Because you ran away and your mom's gone..." She heard Weiss sniff and take in another shaky breath. Ruby petted her hair and spoke softly. "You don't have to be a Schnee, then. When you're with me... you can be a Rose. You can have my name, okay? So... so you can cry, Weiss. It's okay..."

And the next thing she knew, Weiss was sobbing in her arms, throwing her head over Ruby's shoulder and burying her face and crying and crying.

Her voice rose up around the playground and echoed through the neighborhood. It got louder and softer, and sometimes it got stuck in her throat and then Weiss would cry even more.

The tears were soaking Ruby's shirt, but she was glad Weiss was letting herself cry. Yang had always told Ruby it was better to cry than not to, and Ruby could feel for herself it was true.

So Ruby cried with Weiss for a while, until the people looking for them – both of their fathers and sisters and some people from Weiss' house – found them.

Yang rushed to both of them as the adults talked, Weiss' father keeping hold of his other daughter.

All Ruby could think about was Weiss. She felt Yang's arms around her and silently begged her to hug Weiss more, because she knew she needed it.

They all stayed there, talking and crying and offering gentle words until at last they needed to go home.

Ruby and Yang let Weiss go when her father came over to scoop her up, and Ruby could tell he was crying, too. He brought Weiss and her sister Winter back to the car they had driven there in, and offered Ruby's family a ride home, but their uncle politely declined.

Ruby watched as the car drove off, then taking one of Yang's hands and one of her uncle's. They all walked home teary-eyed and talking softly.

Ruby managed the tiniest smile, just happy that she had gotten to see Weiss again.

But something felt wrong, and it wasn't just knowing Weiss' mother had been killed.

It was something Ruby couldn't describe, but she didn't like the feeling at all.

In the end, Weiss' father had arranged for them to move away.

They had only been in that town for less than a year, but he felt they needed to leave. His daughters were all he had left in the world now, and he didn't feel they were safe staying there.

He put in the order to move the day after the attack from the White Fang, and once his wife's private funeral had been held, they started packing.

Weiss didn't go to school again, and he withdrew her immediately. She was also not allowed to tell anyone they were moving, because he wanted to keep it quiet so as not to attracted more unwanted attention.

So after that night in the park, Weiss and Ruby never saw one another again in that town.

Weiss had at least been allowed to send her a letter, where she explained all of this among other things:

I'm not allowed to tell you where I'm moving, but I won't ever be coming back to live in your town anymore.

I'm sorry I couldn't say goodbye to you in person. I don't want you to be lonely every day in school. I'm going to miss you more than anything. I don't know if we'll ever see each other again, but I just want you to know you were my best friend.

Thank you, Ruby.

And when she read the letter a few days later, Ruby was standing outside of Weiss' empty house with Yang beside her.

She fell to her knees and screamed and cried and begged for Weiss to come back.

But she never did.

. . .

Weiss' experience of the time when her mother died was the most traumatic event she had ever suffered in all her life until that point.

Which was understandably why she had subconsciously blocked it out, more or less erased it from her mind entirely.

And Ruby, too.

She never remembered going to school in that town, never remembered the cheerful girl who had taught her it was okay to cry.

Her father had been concerned the first time he mentioned "her friend Ruby" and Weiss had given him a blank stare and asked what he meant.

But once he had gotten a doctor's professional opinion, he realized this was better for his daughter as she grew older; if it was all too painful for her, he would much rather she just forget.

He never mentioned Ruby or his wife again - not to Weiss - and he made sure Winter didn't speak of them either if Weiss was within earshot.

He never reminded Weiss of the time she had changed schools for half a year.

And Weiss never asked.

Although, he did keep track of the girl named Ruby Rose through covert contacts with her uncle. He made sure the girl knew - when she was old enough - that Weiss no longer remembered their friendship.

Ruby was a teenager by that point, so she could handle the pain better; she understood it was for Weiss' sake, and she would much rather be forgotten than cause Weiss more agony.

Plus, every once in a while, her uncle would conveniently slip up to her about his otherwise-private conversations on the phone with an untraceable number.

Because of these things, Ruby knew that Weiss was doing well, wherever she was.

The years she was with Yang in school were her best, though even when she was alone at Signal Academy, she made her own group of friends.

It was when by some guiding fates she was admitted into Beacon two years early when her life took a certain turn...

. . .

Among Ruby's packed bags that day was the letter Weiss had left her almost seven years ago.

Their uncle had told Yang that Weiss would be attending Beacon with them, but it was left as a surprise for Ruby.

That was why, the second Yang saw that familiar white figure heading their way as soon as she and Ruby had arrived outside the Academy for the first time, she bolted to leave Ruby alone.

Ruby had cried after her, but the second she fell onto the ground - onto someone's luggage - she knew why Yang had gone.

She looked up to a familiar voice, scolding as she chastised Ruby for knocking over her things.

Her injury had healed all except for a scar, but her mist-blue eyes and snow-white hair were exactly the same.

It had been so hard for Ruby not to jump up and hug her then, so hard for her to keep up the act of never having met Weiss before.

But it was for her old friend's wellbeing.

Still, that didn't stop Ruby from deliberately finding her in the forest and choosing her as her four-year partner.

She had lost Weiss once, and she wasn't about to let that happen ever again.

. . .

Somewhere along the lines, Weiss remembered her.

Considering the things that happened at Beacon and within the limits of the team's room, mention of the White Fang came up one too many times.

One evening, one memory had led to another, and the second Weiss remembered everything, Ruby could see the clarity in her eyes even before Weiss stumbled over to her and pulled her in with only one word on her lips:

"Ruby..."

The younger girl was crying even before she wrapped her arms around her partner.

"I knew you'd remember me, Weiss," she chuckled.

She knew a lot of painful things came along with the memories of her, of their shared past, but she was glad she could be there for Weiss as it all flooded her mind.

She held her for a long while that night where they sat on the heiress' bed, and Yang explained things to Blake in soft murmurs.

After that night, there were no more secrets between any of them, and that also included their affections.

Ruby no longer had to feel guilty about her crush on Weiss, and the heiress no longer had to feel that stifling pressure in her chest whenever she saw the girl.

She kissed Ruby fully, embracing her in every sense of the word, and Ruby reciprocated entirely.

And she said nothing when Weiss started to cry happily in her arms.

. . .

. . .

Years later, when all had been said and done, the lessons taught and learned, the battles fought and won, in was a day of celebration.

The walls of the building were strewn with banners, the tables covered in trays of food and certain special cupcakes.

Ruby's dress was crimson, and a white rose rested in her hair as she waited anxiously at the altar.

Roses of red, white, and pink decorated the entire room, fresh and lively and sweet, carrying the scent on every breath of air.

But the second Weiss emerged on her father's arm, all else paled in comparison to her beauty.

Strands of her silvery hair hung loose down to her collar from the red rose that was tucked in by her temple, her white dress flowing over her incomparably beautiful figure, the diaphanous train trailing behind her slowly as Ruby felt her heart pound with anticipation.

Weiss' eyes were bright and blue, and the smile on her lips was flawless just like the rest of her, but somehow became even more so when those pools of blue met silver.

Friends and teammates and sisters huddled nearby, Blake constantly wiping Yang's tears because she didn't want to blink and end up missing a second of this day.

Blake kissed her wife's cheek, murmuring soft words into her ear as she rested her head on Yang's shoulder and sighed blissfully. The two of them had personally put a great deal of planning into the event, and it was finally coming to fruition.

This day was all any of them had ever wanted, and it was impossibly difficult to realize it was really, finally happening.

Weiss' father and sister had made sure this wedding was the biggest deal on all of Remnant, and Yang hadn't held herself back with preparations, either.

She sniffled loudly as she hugged Blake to her side.

"That's her. My baby sis. She's all grown up now..." she smiled proudly.

Blake nodded and leaned into her warmly.

Weiss left her father at the aisle and stepped slowly up the stairs to the altar, holding the bouquet of red and white roses with delicacy.

Ruby was already crying by the time Weiss stopped in front of her, mumbling about how she was impossibly perfect, beyond dreamlike.

Weiss took her hands with one of her own and hushed her gently as they listened to the ceremonial words that were spoken.

When it was time for Ruby to say her vows, she was sure to mention a particular instance, fighting to keep her voice steady past the tears that consumed her.

"Weiss..." she chuckled softly, squeezing her hands. "Do you... remember... when we were young... you told me a Schnee never cries..."

She briefly nodded toward Weiss' father and sister amongst the crowd who unashamedly had water dripping down their cheeks. When she looked back to Weiss, she did as well.

"Yes..." Weiss murmured.

"Well..." Ruby stepped up to her, nodding to the priest, indicating for the final words to be spoken. "This will be... the last time you ever cry as a Schnee. Because..."

She cupped Weiss' cheeks, and the room held its breath.

"Because now... you're a Rose."

They kissed, long and full and loving.

They cried, and the world cried with them.

And the beginning of a new life together blossomed.

A/N: How long have I been wanting to write this scene? It's about time.

Please review!