There are times that I'll look up at the night sky and think about us. It's been a while, hasn't it? We're not kids anymore, and I'm not as hesitant as I was before.

How long has it been?

Silver eyes looked up above, the stars were like diamond against the dark velvet backdrop. The breeze blew against her face as her gaze made it's way from the different constellations she could remember. This spot on the roof of her birth home in Patch had always remained her favorite. A peculiar chain hung from her neck, the metal dog tags glistened underneath the moonlight. It's become a habit for her to wear these, especially after her first combat tour.

All Ruby could think about was the letter that came in the mail.

Dark locks that were tinted in a dark rose color danced against the late summer wind, she inhaled the scent of summer before exhaling it with her uncertainties. Her regrets. Her doubt. Her mistakes.

The Rose turned over on her side; the question racked her mind as she continued to mull it over. She recalled leaving home after graduating from high school at Signal Academy to join Vale's ranks in their Armed Forces. She became an adept Platoon Commander in the prestigious Special Forces unit – The Huntsmen. Rising rather quickly to the rank of Sergeant and becoming one of the youngest Non-Commissioned Officers in her unit. She thought back to the war that was going on between the guerilla fighters based out of deserts of Mistral and the rest of the civilized world.

A surge of pride filled her chest, she had done her kingdom of Vale proud with her current service. 5 years of service with 3 combat tours under her belt.

How long has it been… since our first encounter?

She remembered the first time they met, it was a college party at Beacon University – she was home on leave with two years of service under her belt and Weiss was a junior in college at Beacon. They were young, Ruby was unsure of what to do when she first saw her, but all she knew was that there was an undeniable magnetic pull between the two – and she had forgotten how to breath.

"C'mon, pony up soldier." Yang placed one hand on her sister's shoulder and had the other hand holding a red solo cup filled with jungle juice, "Just go over there and say, 'Babe, I'm going to war tomorrow and I might not make it back. This might be my-'" A smack to the back of the head finished the rest of that sentence.

Cat ears twitched as Blake stared down the blond, "Don't listen to your sister." She handed Ruby another cup that was filled with jungle juice.

"You're a Huntress Rubes, the badass of all badasses." Yang commented, "You can't get scared over talking to a girl." She made eyes at the Schnee Dust Empire Heiress, "Even if your tastes are a tad bit picky."

Ruby took a big gulp, she had completed some of the most difficult training that most of the population would never encounter and had become proficient at her job as a member of an elite Special Forces unit – the Huntsmen. However, Ruby Rose was still a bit timid when it came to talking to girls. Which made sense since the 19 year old didn't date around too much in high school, especially when compared to Yang.

"Look." Yang could feel the nervous sensation coming out of her sister, "She wants to play some beer pong and the tables open." The Criminal Justice major pushed her younger sister in the direction of the table, "You're a trained predator, so start acting like one!" Came the quip.

The Huntress took another big gulp from her drink before approaching the table.

"Are you fine with me jumping in?" Her voice came out a bit timid.

Weiss took note of the new face, she had never seen this one around before, and she would have remembered this face if she had before, "Perfectly fine." Her tone was confident as opposed to the newcomer, "I'm Weiss Schnee, are you a freshman?"

Ruby shook her head, "Ruby Rose, I'm actually in the military – I'm Yang's younger sister."

Weiss made a face, she couldn't believe that this kid was supposed to be a part of the Huntsmen – the Xiao Long loved to brag about her Huntress sibling.

"There's no way a dolt like you is a Huntress." Weiss sized her up – Ruby was a few inches tall than her, although she couldn't tell what kind of build she had with the dark red jacket on.

Ruby raised a brow; did the Schnee Princess just insult her pride as a Huntress? "You wanna bet then?" The confidence (or maybe it was the alcohol finally catching up) she had developed during training came through as she eyed the Schnee heiress.

The Business major heiress grinned to herself as she saw Ruby straighten out her back and actually looked Weiss in the eye, "I'll accept what ever proposal you lay out then, Huntress." The last word came out in a more sarcastic tone, which only seemed to add more fuel to the fire that was picking up within Ruby.

A smirk made it's way to Ruby's face, "Loser owes the winner a favor of their choosing."

"Hmm…" Weiss pondered, "I'm not one for blind deals, so I request that we lay out our favors right now."

"Fine."

"I want you to be my personal servant for the night, anything I need or want you go and get for me." The Schnee said with an air of confidence, "I like the jungle juice and my favorite drunk food is Dust Donuts which is located down the street and is a 24 hour place. Your favor?"

Silver eyes didn't break away, the challenge that was presented in front of her awoken her inner instincts as a Huntress – which was to arise and overcome any challenge smartly and aggressively.

"I want a kiss."

Ruby smiled fondly at the memory, Yang hooted and hollered when it came down to the fateful last few cups. Weiss had begun to lose her cool and messed up a few of her shots while Ruby lived for the pressure she was working under.

The kiss itself tasted like the sweet pineapple found in the jungle juice and the sharp undertone of liquor, but through it all she got the long lasting taste of mint and lavender on her tongue.

After that initial kiss the two were practically all over each other for the rest of the party. Any time Ruby or Weiss would slip out to go to the bathroom or have a breathe of fresh air the other would follow and an intense make-out session would ensue. And this drunken encounter had set the tone for the rest of the time Ruby was on leave. She had taken 3 weeks off, the first week she spent at Patch with her dad, the other 2 with Yang at Beacon.

It was the classic love story that was almost as old as time itself.

Soldier meets Heiress and they're attracted to each other instantaneously. They then start to spend as much time together as possible, the fact that the Soldier had a limited time home spurred more spontaneous dates, more late nights to early mornings, more time kissing and making love.

The memories from that time came rushing at Ruby, everything playing in her mind's eye as things played out from the beginning.

They went to as many places together as possible, cafes that were supposed to be pretty good, going down to the beach and splashing around in the late summer sun, drive-in movie theaters, and a few trips to the abandoned town next to Mt. Glenn. Ruby remembered her last night in Beacon, she spent it with Weiss and the two went up to Mt. Glenn one last time.

They went up in Yang's pick up truck and lay down in the bed of the truck together. They were quiet for most of the night, trying to memorize the smell of the other, the taste of their lips, the curve of their neck, the way their hair would fall back on their shoulder after running a hand through it.

Weiss cried. Ruby held her the whole time, gently stroking the silvery locks, planting gentle kisses on her forehead. The Huntress still remained rather silent, she knew that there weren't any words that could remedy the situation, only what she could provide to Weiss now. Ruby remembered her eyes welling up with tears a few times, but she held them back because she knew it would just turn into a big sob fest.

And that's not how she wanted to remember her last night with Weiss before she went back to her base that was located on the outskirts of the desert located in between Vale and Mistral. Ruby's base was located on the Vale side of the desert, but she was still going to be at least 2947 miles away from Weiss. Not that she was counting.

Once dawn broke and the morning rays hit the back of Yang's pick up truck did the two finally drive back down to Beacon. Ruby had an early flight back on the airship to take her to her Base. A month later and she would be on her first combat tour into the desert to fight the terrorist group that has called themselves 'The Grimm'.

The Soldier and the Heiress said goodbye in the courtyard, Yang was waiting in her truck and had some bags under her eyes from waking up early to take Ruby to the airship dock.

The two embraced one last time, a gentle kiss that was salty like the sea but still sweet like peppermint was exchanged. When Ruby pulled away to go to the truck did Weiss call after her.

"Promise me you'll write and call." Weiss's eyes threatened to spill more tears.

Ruby ran her thumb underneath the Schnee's eyes to wipe away the tears. "I will."

Another silent pause, the Huntress stuck her hand into her jacket pocket to retrieve a rather precious round metal object. It was her Huntsmen coin – numbered 683 – this coveted round metal object was presented to Huntsmen once they completed their training. Ruby had explained this story to Weiss a few times when she showed her the coin.

"Hold on to this for me, I'll come back for it."

It was hectic once Ruby left for her first combat tour in Mistral's desert.

Weiss understood the lack of communicated while Ruby was on her combat tour that ended up lasting about 10 months. During the combat tour the two exchanged many letters, this was mostly due to the fact that Ruby's CCT connection was shit in the desert.

The tour itself… It was an eye opener for Ruby, they had went into the desert in a team of 9 Huntsmen and came back to home station with 8. The lost one of their Huntsmen during a raid, but Ruby still preserved. The vast desert that seemed to go on forever, sand that just got every fucking where, the dry and arid climate whose temperature got up to 130 degrees.

The firefights with the Dust rifles and pistols, Dust forbid if they had to do actual hand to hand combat with an enemy. It was one thing to shoot your adversary; it was another thing to kill a man with your bare hands.

She thought back to her fallen Huntsmen comrade, Pyrrha Nikos. Jaune was a wreck for a while after that, the whole team was.

Weiss did her best to be there for Ruby during that difficult time, and she had done so wonderfully. The heiress insisted on buying Ruby's next airship ticket home, but the Huntress denied the gesture and flew home on her own accord.

It had nearly been a year since the two met.

Ruby remembered going to Patch for a bit and then back to Beacon. Yang, Weiss, and Blake were seniors now and Ruby had plans to go to their graduation in the upcoming spring.

They partied, hung out, Ruby was caught up on the latest gossip and happenings around Beacon University. The Huntress smiled and nodded as she put faces to names, but she didn't really care for the gossip. What she did care about was spending with Weiss.

However, what put a slight damper on her trip to Beacon was meeting some of their new friends who came from the kingdom of Mistral, they were transfers from Haven University that were going to graduate from Beacon.

"This is Neptune." Weiss introduced, "He's also a business major, despite his dopey looks, he's pretty smart." She flashed a smile to Neptune. "This is my girlfriend Ruby, the one I've been telling you about."

Neptune returned her smile with one of his own, it was stunning and it was accompanied by a playful wink.

Ruby forced back a frown, she didn't like the vibe she got from the kid. Even though he was technically older than her, "Nice to meet you, Ruby." She stuck out her hand to shake his.

"Neptune, the pleasure is mine." He beamed with confidence, "Thank you for your service, what you do in the desert definitely does not go unnoticed – especially in Mistral."

"Eh… it's not problem, really. We're just doing our job." Ruby never learned how to respond to those statements.

"No really, Weiss tells me that you're apart of the Huntsmen Corp too." Neptune's hand placed itself on the Schnee's shoulder and Ruby took note of it, "She told me you did your first combat tour too."

"Yea, it was an eye opener." Ruby let out, the damn hand that had placed itself on her girlfriend's shoulder had to go. Immediately.

That wasn't the only time, there was the time they were at a café and Neptune happened to be walking by with Sun. The two joined up with the couple and Weiss ended up inviting them to the drive in movie theater with her and Ruby.

And that wasn't the last of it either; as it became apparent that Neptune was a close friend with Yang and Blake so Ruby ended up having to deal with his mug every other day. However, she didn't want to cause trouble since she was only going to be home for so long and she didn't want to cause any terrible memories to come up with Weiss.

Although the two did have their quality time while she was in town. The night before she had to go back to her unit was spent in Weiss' room.

The soft glow of the moonlight came seeping through the window, Weiss' pale skin seemed to glow with a thin sheen of sweat that covered her skin. Ruby wasn't better off herself as her hair was slightly matted with sweat.

Trails of love bites were formed on her neck, her chest, her naval, and even on her back. Ruby smiled at the sight, they both covered the other in love bites in some kind of savage attempt to claim their territory on the other.

Glossed over light-blue eyes looked into equally hazy silver ones.

"I love you, Ruby Rose."

A tender kiss.

"I love you too, Weiss Schnee."

They definitely had a lot of quality time together that night, Ruby couldn't recall another time that she had ever made love as passionately as that night.

However, the uneasiness that came with Neptune never left.

It wasn't noticeable at first, texts saying that she was studying with him didn't bother her at first. Calls where she could hear his voice in the background didn't bother her at first.

It was just the damn consistency of it.

Finally Ruby voiced her concern to Weiss over the blue haired kid's constant presence.

"We're classmates, you dolt. He's definitely no you, Ruby."

Weiss tried to reassure Ruby's jealousy, which worked for a while. During her time at her unit Ruby trained constantly to keep her body in shape and her mind sharp. Constantly studying any new tactics the Grimm terror group were using, teaching the some of the green Huntsmen useful fighting techniques, managing her responsibilities as a Sergeant.

A few months passed and Ruby would fly back to Beacon during their winter break for a few days.

This is where things got messy.

Stories of 'Neptune and Weiss' this and 'Weiss and Neptune' that just drove the Huntress bat shit crazy.

Ruby and Weiss got into their first fight over it.

It ended with the two reconciling, Weiss tried to remedy the situation by limiting how much time she was spending with Neptune, now keeping him on a stricter schedule for school purposes only – she didn't want to lose Ruby.

But it got more difficult for the two due to Ruby's occupation. Two months into the New Year and Ruby got the orders from her chain of command.

The Huntress was handpicked to undertake a special top-secret assignment, the destination itself couldn't be discussed, nor could the amount of time she would be out on the field.

Ruby sighed deeply as she stared up at the night sky, she took a red eye airship to Beacon to tell Weiss the news, she didn't tell anyone except for Yang that she was coming over – albeit for barely a day since she had to ship out on her mission soon.

Ruby waited in Weiss' room, white roses in hand and a heavy heart in the other. The Huntress wasn't sure how long this one was going to last, especially with the details of the mission itself being classified.

"You're fine Princess," She heard the familiar deep voice.

A light giggle rang out from behind the door, "I can handle myself."

The door opened to reveal Neptune with his arms around Weiss, as if trying to carry her inside. A hickey could be seen clearly on the neck of heiress.

Ruby saw red.

It was second nature for her to grab Neptune by the collar. It was simple for her to toss the kid on the floor and drive her fist into his back.

"Stop!" Weiss called, the scent of liquor littered the air, "You're hurting him!"

"Why are you still hanging around this kid?" Ruby exclaimed.

"He was dropping me off from the club Ruby!" She defended.

The Huntress pointed to the red mark on her neck, "What's that then?"

"We… were dancing and he got a little worked up, I told him to stop." Weiss responded, she looked to the floor before looking back up, "I can take care of myself Ruby."

"By letting him get away with feeling you up?!" Ruby shouted in disbelief, "We're supposed to be dating Weiss!"

"We are! You need to cool it, we're just friends. This is a college Ruby! Stuff like this happens a lot, but I'm still with you at the end of the day." The heiress was getting cross again, they were coming back to the same thing they've been arguing about for a while now.

"No." Ruby looked down at the blue haired kid, "I… I can't do this." She thought to the mission she was about to embark on – she couldn't deal with the anxiety of someone trying to get with Weiss while she was getting shot up in some Dust forsaken place.

"What do you mean?" Weiss' voice dropped in volume.

Ruby looked down, "I'm going on another mission, this one's more dangerous… I can't tell you much about it, but I need to be focus." A tear threatened to fall, "I can't handle this stress." Silver eyes looked into diamond colored ones, "I trust you, but I don't trust him around you."

"What are you saying? You mean… to break up?" What ever buzz was left in Weiss now immediately disappeared.

"Yes." The word slipped out of her mouth, "Good bye, Weiss."

That was the last time Ruby had talked to Weiss, nearly 2 years now. And she regretted that decision for the longest time ever since.

The envelope in the Huntress' hand became the center of attention. The paper itself was wrinkled and worn now from the constant opening and closing of the letter. A part of her wanted to burn the letter, another part of her wanted to cry.

You are cordially invited to the wedding of Weiss Schnee and Neptune Vasilias.

Ruby looked up at the night sky, the wedding was supposed to be in Atlas at the White Castle.

She wasn't sure what she was doing here, at the Schnee Dust Company headquarters. She got up that morning, dressed in jeans, a simple shirt, and her favorite dark red jacket before turning her attention to her scroll.

The secretary at the desk gave Ruby a puzzled look, the office worker thought that Ruby was some sort of delivery person based off of her scruffy look. Which Ruby played off quite well.

"Ms. Schnee has a package waiting for her," Ruby let out in a calm tone, "Pass her this and tell her I'll be outside on the patio downstairs."

The worn down round metal object with the words 'For Those I Love, I Will Sacrifice' engraved on one side, the flip side had the number 683 beneath the Huntsmen crossed axes logo on it.

"Uhh… Will do. What exactly is this?" The secretary looked it over.

"It's important, she'll understand once she see's it."

Ruby made her way to the patio down stairs; she had booked a ticket to Atlas on her Scroll that morning and got a hotel room for the night. She had to see her.

The past 2 years without Weiss have been painful, to say the least. There was too many nights that she had spent wondering about her. How she was doing, if she was happy, if she missed Ruby at all.

The top secret mission she was sent on made things easy for Ruby, mostly because she wasn't allowed to communicate with anyone while on the mission. However, that didn't do anything but cause an even bigger desire to talk to her again. Ruby forced herself to stay busy with her job, taking on any random assignment and volunteer opportunity to keep herself busy from the actual problem at hand.

Kept herself busy with the constant firefights and rolling activity. Ruby killed a lot of bad guys during that time… she didn't like to talk about it.

"Hey."

Silver eyes meet piercing blue.

"Hey." Ruby responded back as she looked over the business mogul.

Weiss wore her hair down now instead of the side ponytail from her school days. "Have you been keeping safe?"

Ruby recalled the bullet wound she received in her chest; she was able to walk away from it after a couple of weeks, "For the most part."

"That's not exactly reassuring." Weiss took a seat next to her, she smoothed out her slacks and undid the button on her jacket, "Sorry I took so long, I had to clear out the rest of my day."

"You didn't have to do that, I would have waited." Ruby let out, as she looked the woman in the eye, "I got your invitation."

"Father likes him and his business sense." Weiss let out, "He does good for the company too, he's working some kinks out over in Vacuo right now. Won't be back for a few weeks."

Ruby nodded her head at the fact, "Are you happy?"

"For the most part." Weiss smirked as she gave the answer.

"Valid." The red haired girl let out.

The coin was placed on the table in between the two, "What are you doing here?"

"I… I'm not sure," A labored sigh left the Huntress, "I haven't stopped thinking about you."

A small smile grew on the Schnee's face, "Really? Even though you called it off."

"I couldn't deal with the anxiety of pretty boy pulling some shit on you." The response was aggressive, which almost threw off Weiss.

"Fair." Weiss sighed, "Why didn't you return my messages? My letters?" A hurt look encompassed her face.

"I didn't know how to deal with it, to deal with you." Ruby looked up, "You were my first real relationship, and all I knew back then was that I just wanted you." Another sigh, "And then seeing you with Neptune just… I don't know… it just drove me mad."

"I couldn't just ignore him Ruby, he was my classmate-"

"And now he's your fiancé." The bitter remark snapped out, the Huntress took another deep breath. "I don't want to talk about him. I just wanted to talk to you."

"Then let's talk." Weiss crossed her arms.

A sheepish look from Ruby, "I just wanna know some things, and then I'll leave you alone." A nervous hand ran through her still short hair, "Did you miss me?"

Weiss was taken a back, what kind of question was that? "Of course I missed you, you dolt." She had spent the rest of her senior year crying over the birdbrain, gun slinging Soldier.

A small smiled erupted from Ruby, "Good to know… How're you holding up lately?"

Stressed. In disbelief. Slightly angry. Impatient. Longing. Nostalgic.

Weiss went through the list, she kept her temper check as she gave a stern look to the Huntress. She looked over the coin on the table, the memories came rushing back to her as she thought back to those times. She ran her fingers across the coin like she had done so many times before whenever she missed or thought of Ruby.

"Mad. Got it." Ruby answered for her, she got up, "I'm really not sure what I'm doing here… I just…. I just wanted- I don't know." The words came out. "Look, I'm sorry that I fucked up your day, I'll go-"

"One day." Weiss let out, "Until this time tomorrow, we'll pick up where we last left off." She said it, the proposal that Ruby was too timid to voice or realize she wanted. And she wasn't the only one who wanted to turn back the clock to those less complicated times. Weiss missed Ruby. Weiss missed the two of them together.

"Arguing? Pissed? Half-drunk in rage and alcohol?" Ruby recalled every detail from that night.

"You idiot."

"That's why you love me."

The phrase hung in the air.

Piercing blue eyes stared into those soft silver ones.

"That's why I love you." The Schnee responded. Ruby stayed standing as she looked over Weiss in relief. For the next 24 hours she could be with Weiss, be with her and ask her all the questions that have been burning in the back of her mind over the past 2 years.

"Lunch?" Ruby offered.

Weiss nodded, "Let's go to my manor, it'd be bad if people… saw." The business mogul stood up.

Ruby understood, she had a very public image she needed to uphold, especially with such a high profile wedding on the horizon. The Huntress grabbed the round metal object from the table and pocketed it once more.

It was a quiet car ride over, the Schnee manor itself was huge. Weiss went through the motion of dismissing the manor staff for the day; she wanted to insure that there was as much privacy as possible for the two.

Weiss took out some ingredients for sandwiches; Ruby remained silent as she helped her out with making the food. The two finally took a seat at the kitchen table as they ate their food.

"How was graduation?" Ruby finally broke the silence.

Weiss looked up as she took a bite from her sandwich, "It was uneventful, I had a speech since I was Valedictorian." She beamed proudly, "I went back home to here in Atlas after about 6 months in Beacon."

"Why did you hang back for so long?" Ruby raised a brow.

"I was waiting for you."

Ruby stopped eating at this point, "I was still on that classified mission."

"The one where you guys killed the Grimm financial provider in the outskirts of Vacuo and the number two man in the Grimm?"

"How do you know that?" Ruby looked up in disbelief, "The part where we killed the financial provider was supposed to be a top secret."

"I know people, powerful people." Weiss looked up, "Why didn't you come back to me?"

"I wasn't sure." Ruby sighed.

"For being the Huntsmen's youngest NCO, you sure hesitate a lot."

"Someone's been doing their homework."

"Like you, I didn't get the closure I wanted… so I kept tabs on you, because I was worried."

"About what?" Ruby joked as she got up, she looked over the wine collection on the wall.

"That you didn't get blown up, shot, or killed while you went on all your missions." Weiss let out, "You get careless."

"I have a duty to my kingdom."

"You have a responsibility to stay safe."

Ruby picked out a red wine bottle from the shelf, Weiss got up and retrieved 2 glasses from the kitchen. The Huntress poured out the wine.

"My responsibility is to keep people like you safe." Ruby clinked the two glasses together and began to drink, half the glass was gone in one gulp.

"You have people who love you that want to see you come back." Weiss took a drink from her glass.

"I only wanted to come back to you." The words rang out, the glass in the Huntress' glass was emptied out and the bottle was used to refill the contents.

"Why didn't you?"

"We broke up."

"You broke up with me."

"And you stayed there defending him."

"That's not fair." Weiss stood up, her face flushed, "You freaked out on me."

"Because another man was putting his hands on my girlfriend?" Ruby scoffed, she finished up her glass once more, "I think I was in the right state of mind to kick his ass."

"I… That didn't mean anything." Weiss retorted.

Ruby scoffed as she filled her glass again, she noticed Weiss had drunk hers as well, "If it didn't mean anything, then why are you engaged to him now?"

"Because he was supposed to be you, you fucking dunce!" Weiss screamed, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry for doing that to you in college, but I didn't know any better. I didn't think too much about his flirting! I didn't think it bothered you as much as it did! But you left me Ruby!" Weiss' face was flushed, she grabbed the bottle from Ruby and took a swig straight from it.

"Weiss-"

"No," Another swig, "You didn't let me fight back that night, you fucking left. And Neptune was there to help pick up the pieces. Did you know that I almost fucked up my grades for the rest of the year? I spent so many months crying over you, and I had no idea where you were or if you were safe."

"I was on a special mission." Ruby simply stated, Weiss rolled her eyes at her.

"If you had stayed a little bit longer, if we had talked it out… this was supposed to be you." There were tears threatening to spill from her eyes.

The Huntress stood there, nearly dumbfounded, she took her wine glass and took another swig from it. Once again the glass was empty and she noticed Weiss had polished off the rest of the bottle.

"How did things get so fucked?" Ruby stood again and made another move for the wine rack, this time it was a white wine. They didn't bother to get new glasses or anything like that – this wasn't Weiss' good stuff.

"Because you're a Huntress and I was a flirtatious Heiress." The Schnee got up to join the spot at the counter with Ruby, the bottle of wine didn't even make it to the glass as Ruby took swigs from the bottle. "Because you can be stubborn and irrational."

"Because you drove me insane with jealousy every time I saw you with him." The Rose sighed at her insecurities, "Did you really care about me that much?"

Weiss grabbed the wine bottle, she wanted to partake in it too, "I always did – I still do." Tears threatened to spill, "You can't keep dogging him Ruby, he helped put me back together… I was a wreck."

The Soldier nodded, "Has he kept you happy?"

"Yes."

"Is he still an annoying flirt?"

Weiss giggled, "It never went away."

"Do you love him?" Ruby eyed her steadily, the half drunk bottle of wine found a spot on the counter.

"I do…" Weiss looked her back in the eyes, "He deserves it for being there for me, and you know it."

"Fair." Dark lock shook as she looked down on the counter, "Would this really have been me if I didn't run?"

"I believe so, but at the same time I didn't make things easy for you back then." A hand reached out to Ruby's shoulder.

"Can't have it if it's too easy, I of all people should not that, especially by now." She let the hand sit there, it's warmth seeped through her jacket and went straight to her core. "Thank you, Weiss."

With a gentle tug, strong arms engulfed the smaller Heiress. Weiss clutched on to Ruby as if she were a lifeline, a tear ran down her cheek. "A part of me will always care for you Ruby." A deep breath, "You know that you'll always have a special place in my heart."

"Yeah, I know." A soft kiss made it's way to the soft forehead that smelled of lavender and pepper mint, "I'm gonna go, take care."

Weiss nodded as she followed Ruby out the house, she waited with her in the foyer. It was quiet as the two sat side by side, Ruby placed a hand in Weiss' lap and the smaller girl placed her hand over it. The rough callouses became apparent and so did the rough trigger finger.

Once the cab pulled up to the front door, Ruby spun around one more time.

"You'll always have a soft place in my heart too. "

There was no hesitation as the Rose dipped her head down to the Schnee, it was gentle as first, but like a rushing dam everything came bursting out. Weiss grabbed a fistful of the Soldier's hair, Ruby pulled her close in an attempt to erase any more space that was between the two.

Breathlessly, the two pulled away.

Without another word the front door opened Ruby jumped into the cab.

"Dawn Lodging near the airship docks." The brisk words fell out as Ruby leaned back into the cab seat.

"Was that Weiss Schnee?" The cab driver questioned, "The business Heiress of Atlas?"

Ruby nodded, "We go back a bit."

"Are you going to their wedding?" A smile was on the driver's face, "I do enjoy a good wedding."

"Maybe, I'm in Vale's military so it'll depend."

"Oh, what do you do? My cousin's in the military for Atlas." The cab driver studied the face in the mirror.

"I'm a Huntsmen in Vale's Corp."

"No shit!" The cab driver nearly swerved the car as he almost missed a turn, "You guys are pretty famous yourselves, the crazy missions that the news cover seem insane and down right impossible. My cousin wanted to join Atlas' Huntsmen Corp – but he didn't have it in him."

A glint was in Ruby's eye, "It's a little tough."

Later that night Ruby stayed awake, the she played with the coin in her hand as she held it up to the ceiling.

"For those I love, I will sacrifice." She mumbled to herself, the Huntsmen's creed rang true to her heart.

She closed her eyes and thought back to those happier times, the playful dates, the long phone calls, the naughty video dates, the texts, the letters… She never got rid of her letters, not even the ones that she didn't respond to.

She rolled over and looked outside, the floor to ceiling window gave a beautiful view of Atlas' high tech city. Weary eyes got up and put a hand to the glass pane, another sigh escaped her lips as she put her forehead against the cool material.

Exploring the abandoned town outside of Mt. Glenn…

"Back in the day, this used to be a strong hold for the Grimm, but Vale's Huntsmen Corp came in and did what they did best. Now it's abandoned and the kingdom is still working on trying to rebuild it." Ruby explained animatedly.

"So you're sure there's no one here?" Weiss was a bit skeptical.

"Even if there was, I'd kick their ass so fast, you wouldn't even know they were here to begin with." An excited chuckle, "I'll protect you."

A light kiss made it's way to Ruby's cheek, "I'll hold you to that."

Their first time making love…

"W-Wait… I gotta tell you something." The Soldier stopped the Heiress mid-way, some of their clothes already littered the floor and Ruby could feel Weiss' gaze sizing her up like a piece of meat.

"What?" An impatient tone, Weiss ran a feathery hand across the toned stomach, Ruby's training had definitely paid off.

"T-This… I'm… I-I…" The words couldn't form sentences.

And then all of a sudden, it dawned on Weiss, "Hot-young-blooded good-looking Soldier is a virgin?" She exclaimed in playful disbelief, "So I'll be taking the honor of being your very first?"

Ruby's face flushed a bright red.

A seductive laugh, "Oh, I'll definitely be having fun with you now."

The first time they reunited after Ruby's first combat tour…

"Hurry up already you dolt!" Weiss cried out from behind the barrier, the Heiress took that Friday off from school and flew down to Ruby's base to greet her. Albeit, the two would only have a few days before Weiss would have to fly back to Beacon Sunday night.

A playful push from her fellow Huntsmen nearly sent Ruby flying off the airship rotator, "You heard her." Jaune smiled brightly, "Hurry the fuck up."

Weiss eyed Ruby in her combat uniform, the dunce looked pretty damn good in it.

Ruby easily hopped the barrier and stood before her girlfriend, Weiss did a quick inspection to see if there were any wounds that the red head didn't mention.

"Good, you're in one piece."

"I'm back." Ruby smiled as she engulfed her into her arms.

A soft knock at the door interrupted Ruby's thoughts.

She checked the time, it was 2 am and she had an airship flight back to Patch at 5 pm, cautiously she approached the door.

"It's me." Came the soft voice.

Ruby yanked the door open, "What are you doing here? How did you know I was here?" Her brows were furrowed against her forehead.

There stood Weiss Schnee, in casual jeans and a hoodie, her face was flushed and her eyes were red. Her hair was swept to the side as she eyed Ruby as if she were prey.

"I over heard you tell the cab driver."

That was the only sentence Weiss got out as she jumped on her favorite soldier. Ruby easily caught her in her arms, she had done this many times before. A heated kiss erupted between the two, Ruby sat down on the bed with Weiss in her lap while those soft hands made grab at her hair.

Chaste kisses filled the air; small moans erupted as they explored spots that haven't had their attention in a very long time.

"W-What's going on?" Ruby questioned, she was confused, but she liked it far too much to make her stop.

"I said 24 hours…" Weiss let out breathlessly between kisses, "We pick up where we left off for 24 hours." Another heated exchange, this time the sound of shoes being kicked off echoed through the room.

"Alright." Ruby said into Weiss' lips, her hands were already trying to work her out of her top.

They had about 8 hours left.

Ruby breathed in deeply, the scent of sweat and sweet lavender filled her senses. A soft bundle nuzzled up against her neck as they both began to stir.

"Hey." Ruby let out in a raspy tone.

"Hey." Weiss smiled as she laid a lazy arm across Ruby's bare stomach, "I have to go back."

"To work?" The Huntress knew better, but she wanted to feign dumb.

"To reality." A soft whisper, "I have an obligation Ruby… and I do care about… him." She was careful to not say his name.

"I guess so, since the kid's done so much." A sigh, "Neptune better take good care of you."

"He will."

Weiss felt her chin being pulled upward, roses and used dust powder was what Ruby tasted like.

The two lay there for a bit, Weiss made the first move to get up and start getting dressed. Ruby followed suit.

The business mogul caught sight of the coin again, this time she picked it up and pocketed it before Ruby could ask why.

"Come back for it."

With a hasty kiss, Weiss left the room, as Ruby was only half dressed.

It would be a couple months before Ruby would come back for the coin. They both knew that they needed some time to themselves after that fateful 24-hour proposal.

White Castle was gorgeous against the early spring backdrop of Atlas, the snow was beginning to melt, but small patches of it could be spotted.

Weiss touted around out back of White Castle, the reception was to take place indoors, where most of the crowd was already settled down in. A beautiful long flowing white dress followed her every steps, her veil and bouquet was set down inside, she asked to be left alone before the big event.

In her hand was a precious round metal object, in the other held a wedding invitation that familiar handwriting had been scrawled on the back.

My dearest Weiss,

It's been a very long time since I've written to you, I think about those 24-hours together a lot.

That really should be me, but I'm not as young and hot-blooded as before. I understand the situation you're in; I understand that a lot of time has passed since we broke up. I regret hesitating, I regret not being there, I regret not truly following my heart, but I'll never regret being in your life. And I'll never regret staying in it.

I can't wait to see how beautiful you are in your wedding dress.

Ruby Rose

Although the soldier didn't make it to the pre-wedding day events that included dinner and a wine tour in Atlas. She was beginning to become skeptical as to whether or not the Rose would show up.

As if on cue, footsteps filled the courtyard. Weiss looked up to see a rather prominent figure clad in Vale's military dress uniform.

"I've always wanted to see you in your dress blues." Weiss admired. Ruby Rose could definitely break a couple of necks in that outfit.

"I've always wanted to see you in a wedding dress." A small smile, "Nervous?"

"As I'll ever be." The Schnee let out.

"You'll do fine, you always do." A small hand was placed behind ear, the comforting gesture provided some relief to bride-to-be's nerves. She leaned into the hand; her hand that clutched the invitation was placed over the Soldier's.

"If you say." Those silver eyes captivated her attention once again, but she knew that she would spend the rest of her days staring into dark blue eyes that belong to her bridegroom.

Ruby plucked out the invitation she had wrote on, "Sorry I'm a bit late, we're getting ready for another combat tour." The invitation was set aside.

Both of their attention was drawn to the round metal object in Weiss' hand, "Stay safe." She whispered, the coin pressed into Soldier's hand.

"Keep it, I'll come back for it after my tour." Ruby smiled softly, "I'll write."

A happy smile made it's way to the bride-to-be, "I'll write back too."

A comfortable silence ensued between the two, they stood hand in hand as they pressed their foreheads against each other.

"You're absolutely beautiful." A thumb ran across the bride's lips as Ruby looked down at them before staring deeply into those diamond like pools, "I'll always love you, Weiss." A gentle tone let out.

"I'll always love you too, Ruby." A small kiss ensued.

Weiss watched as that powerful back walked into White Castle.

Patch held a gentle spring breeze, the luscious green filled the forest scenery, and the scent of wild flowers filled the air. Weiss absolutely loved it there - she loved it there in her favorite soldier's hometown.

She wore a familiar deep red jacket as she walked up the path to where her beloved awaited. Weiss smiled as she inhaled the scent of roses and used dust powder that would never wash out no matter how times she wore it out.

It was going to be a beautiful day.

Slowly, she came to a stop before the familiar spot; it had been a long time since Weiss had been here.

For those I love, I will sacrifice. Huntress 683. Ruby Rose.

It had been 5 years since Ruby came home in an eternal rest.

Weiss Schnee-Vasilias stood on the hill, two head stones were placed side by side. The now President of Schnee Dust Company had given birth to her first born baby girl a year ago.

"We named her Rose, you would have loved her." Weiss recounted with a hand on the stone, "I miss you, dunce."

She reached for the leather throng around her neck, she popped the coin out of the holder and held it up, "I'm still waiting for you to come back for this." A small smile.

"Neptune has been doing a great job as a husband, even better as a father, he says he knows you'll come back from the grave if he isn't doing things properly." A light laugh.

Her fingers traced the number 683 like she had done countless times before when ever she thought of the Huntress. "The war with the Grimm terror group is just about done, when you guys went in to kill the leader, things got a lot easier for the rest of us." Weiss managed to get a hold of the initial reporting when she found out what happened to Ruby.

She had gotten into a firefight with the Salem and a few others inside the compound; the Grimm's notorious leader was on the ropes. Ruby's team was pinned down in the other room when it happened.

A grenade rolled in. Ruby didn't hesitate as she jumped on it.

Her team took care of the rest, Jaune led the vengeful charge and headed in to the adjoin room to return the favor to Salem. He too came back in a leaning rest, after he shot killed Salem and a majority of the Grimm terrorist group.

The Huntsmen released a statement, although they lost two of their finest, it was because of those two that the casualties were kept to a near minimum considering that this was a near suicide mission.

"I said to come back safe." The Schnee's cheek was wet, "But you did say that your job was to keep me safe, huh?" Another tear came dripping down.

"You… You dolt." She placed a hand on the head stone.

"I love you, Ruby Rose." Weiss Schnee let out with her whole heart.

"I love you too, Weiss Schnee."

The voice caused the white haired woman to whip her head about, for the source of the voice.

But all she could see was the flutter of rose petals in the wind.

Took a little break from Salvage.

I tend to remember some things that are long gone when I try to write. I figured that this time, instead of stopping my writing, I'll channel it into a story.

Such is life.

Cheers,

DevilRed