"Ruby, would you move your foot already!" Weiss demanded, trying to push away the offending limb from her lower back.

"I-I can't! Yang's taking up too much room!" Ruby replied, her body practically collapsed upon itself as Yang leaned down over her.

"Can't help it, Blake's using my back to hold up the tackle box," she grunted, her arms straight out from her sides in the shape of an airplane, one slowly rowing and the other holding up Zwei.

"Can't you fish later, Blake?!" Weiss asked, trying in vain to help Yang row. The pain in her back was just too much to bear.

"I want to eat all the fishes," Blake whispered, a silent mantra as she gazed out into the open sea, waiting for the fishes to take the bait, a gummy worm Ruby had found on the ground and tried and failed to eat due to Weiss slapping it out of her mouth.

"Err, that could have been my gummy worm," Ruby whined, before being struck by an idea. "Oh, I know!" she said, spreading her legs and wrapping them around Weiss' waist before wrapping her arms around Weiss' torso. "How's this?"

"Much better," Weiss sighed, much preferring the feeling of Ruby's...assets over her combat boots. It was like being massaged by a big cup of jello, much to her joy.

"Yeah, I bet," Yang giggled, leaning more of her weight on Ruby. "Damn, I really wish we found a bigger kayak…"

"Wouldn't be so bad if Blake didn't bring the biggest tackle box and cooler she could find," Weiss said as loud as she could, peeking behind her to cast a glare at Blake.

"I want all the fishies," Blake whispered back as if she couldn't register the others complaints, much to Weiss' annoyance.

"Of course you do," Weiss sighed, resigning herself to her fate of feeling Ruby's assets upon her back. Not the worse thing that could happen, but she'd rather have more room to enjoy the current situation. "I swear if we don't find a good sized boat I am going to-"

"Hey, Wess! Knock knock!" Yang interrupted, evoking a sigh from Weiss.

"Who's there?"

"Old lady!"

"Old lady who?"

"Oh, I didn't know you could yodel!" Yang laughed, earning a groan from Weiss.

"Oh, I love Weiss' yodeling!" Ruby giggled, earning a look of shock from both Weiss and Yang.

"Wait, she actually yodels?!"

"You know about that?!"

"Of course she does, and of course I do!" Ruby said ecstatically, rubbing a hand on Weiss' cheek. "I did say I knew everything about you, didn't I?" she whispered, sending a shiver down both Weiss' and Yang's spines.

"Uh, right," Yang muttered, casting a worried look towards Weiss. "Hey, you gonna be alright?"

"It's fine," Weiss said with a shrug. "Ruby's nice enough that I can ignore her creepy, stalker personality."

"Aww, thanks, Weiss!" Ruby said as she rubbed her cheek against Weiss', causing the white haired beauty to smile.

"No problem, Ruby." 'It also helps that you're more adorable and cuddly than a thousand puppies combined,' she thought to herself, keeping that little tidbit to herself.

"I want all the fishies."

"So...about the yodeling-"

"It was five years ago, in the distant lands of Vacuo," Ruby began, her eyes losing all of its luster, as if she were in a trance. "Another child prodigy by the name of Coco Adel challenged Weiss to the one form of singing she had no experience in, yodeling-"

"I really don't want to re-live that experience," Weiss interrupted.

"Why, did you lose?"

"No, I won," Weiss said, glaring at nothing in particular. "It's just I won the stupidest prize ever-"

"A trumpet encrusted with diamonds," Ruby growled, blowing into her hands as if it were a trumpet. "It was pretty gaudy looking, not even worthy of touching Weiss' perfect, succulent lips."

"...Right," Yang mumbled, deciding to drop the subject and instead check up on Blake. "Catch any fishes yet?"

"I want all the fishies."

"Of course not," Yang mumbled, irritation beginning to set in despite herself. Blake had finally gone off the wall in her search for fish, while Ruby, being in such close proximity to her idol in this cramped kayak, was quickly losing any and all reservations. Yang was beginning to fear that Ruby would lose all reason and take Weiss then and there.

'That's not something I want to see right now,' Yang thought to herself, attempting to paddle faster than ever before. They really needed to get to those yachts soon.

After what felt like forever, and more than a few times of Weiss yelling at Ruby for wandering hands, the four girls had finally circumvented the horde of zombies and made it onto the shore.

"Alright gang, let's split up and find our dream-"

"There's one, and another, and over there, and over there-" Ruby interrupted, pointing out each and every boat.

"Seems like we have quite the selection," Weiss nodded, looking over each boat, marking in her head which ones seemed both large and sturdy enough. "Come on, Ruby, I think I see a suitable one," Weiss commanded.

"Okay, Weiss!" Ruby said as she took Weiss by the hand and lead her away, the duo ignoring Yang completely.

"...Well, that's just rude," she muttered to herself, deciding to just shrug it off and follow after the two, Zwei hot on her heels.

"...I didn't catch any fishies," Blake sighed, hooking her fishing line so it wouldn't sway in the wind and followed after the others.

Back with Weiss and Ruby, the two were going over several boats, Weiss pointing to each one and Ruby denying each one.

"How about this one?" Weiss pointed for the eighth time, Ruby walking up to said boat and examining it inside and out.

"...It's salvageable, Yang, keep watch over this one, we're going to check the others to see if we can find one in better shape!" Ruby commanded, walking off with Weiss before Yang could even answer. "...This isn't good, Weiss," Ruby whispered, catching Weiss off guard. "A lot of these boats are in poor shape, and even if that last one's salvageable, I don't know if I can fix it with the limited tools I have."

Weiss quietly mulled over Ruby's words, looking back at the other boats that were not to Ruby's standards before finally turning back with a thought. "Can't you salvage parts from the other boats?" Ruby sighed at that, head drooping just a bit.

"Soft maybe, some of these boats have similar parts that could work, but they don't look up to task," she shrugged, pausing for a moment. As soon as Weiss began to worry for the small girl, Ruby looked her in the eye and smiled, placing her hands protectively over Weiss' shoulders. "Sorry, I'm being a butt. I'm sure I can make this work, even if I have to do a bit of jury rigging!" she laughed, taking Weiss by the hand once again to look over several more boats, being careful not to stray too far from Yang and Blake.

Several hours passed like this, Ruby examining any and all boats and stripping them of any parts they may be able to use, Weiss going back and forth between her and Yang, dropping off anything she could carry herself. Yang continued to stand guard, climbing to the highest point of the boat in search of wayward zombies, and Blake had taken it upon herself to gather their dinner for the night.

"I finally got the fishies," Blake mumbled, putting a stick through each of her ten fishes and sticking them into the ground next to a blazing fire. "I call dibs on the three biggest!"

"That's fine, I'll just have...these two," Weiss pointed at the two smallest before opening her duffel bag and pulling out her box of crackers and setting them off to the side.

"That leaves two for me, two for Ruby, and one for Zwei," Yang counted, a yip of agreement coming from Zwei.

"No thanks, I'm good!" Ruby called out, wrench in hand as she loomed over the boat's engine. "This is going to take all night, I don't really have time to eat."

"What do you mean you don't have time?" Weiss scolded, standing up and walking over to Ruby.

"Well… you know, the faster I get this boat up and running-"

"Yes, and starving yourself, therefore depriving yourself of energy which will make you work slower, is going to be oh so helpful," Weiss said sarcastically, causing Ruby to wince. "You want to work on that boat all night? Be my guest, but you're going to eat," Weiss growled, aggressively poking Ruby's chest, daring the girl to argue with her.

"...Yes ma'am," Ruby muttered, nodding her head in agreement.

"...Good," Weiss mumbled with a nod and walked back to the campfire. "I'll let you know when the foods ready, do you want peanut butter on your crackers?"

"Aw, that sounds amazing, actually," Ruby smiled, a bit of drool escaping from her lips, turning back to the engine and rummaging through it. "Make sure you give Zwei some!"

"Arf!" Zwei barked in agreement, wagging his tail as he went to sit by Weiss, whining as he pawed at her.

"Okay, you adorable big baby," she cooed, grabbing a plastic spoonful of peanut butter and spreading it on a cracker. "How about you two?" she asked, tossing the cracker at Zwei, who missed entirely, smudging his nose in it.

"Yeah, I'll have a couple, thanks!"

"Hmm?" Blake mumbled, eating one of her fish raw. "Irm gerd, danks."

"...Disgusting," Weiss muttered, handing Yang five peanut butter crackers. "Share with Zwei," she said as she got up, two crackers in hand, and walked over to Ruby.

"What's up?" Ruby asked, not bothering to turn towards Weiss. "The fish aren't done already, are they?"

"No, I just thought I'd get you something to tide you over," Weiss replied, leaning over Ruby and placing the cracker against her lips, earning a smile."

"Thanks," she muttered, taking the cracker in her mouth and gobbling it up, never taking her eyes off of her work.

"No problem," Weiss shrugged, waiting for Ruby to swallow before feeding her the other cracker. 'She really is diligent, isn't she?' Weiss thought to herself, watching Ruby hard at work on the boat. She had thought of Ruby as nothing more than company this whole time, albeit an attractive one that could cause her to swoon, but it was only a physical attraction. But watching Ruby take down those zombies with her bizarre anime gun and fixing this boat up all by herself made Weiss feel something for Ruby she never thought she would feel.

Respect. Respect was what Weiss was feeling for the girl right now. The way she focused all of her efforts on fixing the boat as soon as possible so the group didn't have to stay here any longer, the way she fearlessly faced those zombies…

'I really shouldn't be surprised,' Weiss thought, remembering how when they first met that Ruby was willing to sacrifice herself in order to protect Zwei. The girl was the kind of person to put everyone else's protection ahead of her own, and while that allowed Weiss to feel comfortable with allowing Ruby to watch her back, that did raise its own concerns. What if, with Ruby's self-sacrificing nature, she got herself killed?

Given the reality of their situation, it wouldn't surprise Weiss if Ruby did get herself killed, whether protecting her small, somewhat incompetent group to protecting random strangers that Ruby would perceive to be friendly, all the same, the very idea scared her. Each day that passed by Weiss felt herself growing more and more attached to the younger girl. It wasn't love, but…

'...It's getting to that point,' Weiss thought, accepting her feelings for the younger girl. Whether or not she was falling for Ruby or if it was simply desperation for a companion, Weiss had made up her mind. If Ruby was going to be so foolish as to endanger herself for the sake of others, then Weiss would have to be sure to be there by her side, to make sure it would never get to that point.

Or at the very least, be there to pull Ruby's ass out of the fire.

-LineBreak-

"All aboard!" Yang shouted, her hands cupped over her mouth. "The SS Getting Our Asses Outta Here is about to disembark, everyone keep your hands inside the boat at all times! Now-" Yang paused, her patented shit eating grin on her face. "Water we waiting for?!"

"Haha, good one," Weiss said sarcastically, though she filed away that pun into the back of her mind. 'Damn, that was a good one.'

"Best one yet, Sis," Ruby said as laid next to Weiss, stifling a yawn. "Wake me when we get there?" she asked, her head resting on Weiss' lap.

"Of course. You just sleep till we get there, you deserve it," Weiss said with a smile on her face, her hands running through Ruby's hair.

"You guys are no fun," Yang muttered as she took the wheel. "With this baby's speed, we'll be in Patch in two hours, tops!"

"More like four," Blake corrected, casting her fishing line into the water. "Fine by me, gives me more time to fish." 'And maybe I'll snag me a tuna!' she thought excitedly, drool dripping from her tiny smile.

"...What a crew we have, right, Zwei," Weiss whispered, watching as the corgi settled next to her with a yawn, eliciting a giggle from her. "Yup, quite the crew," she whispered to herself, and though she was uncertain about what the future held for the four of them, she was confident that they could handle anything that came their way.

-LineBreak-

I think this is a good way to end this story. I'm actually rather happy with this, despite it being a bit anticlimactic it just feels... right to me. I'd rather end it like this than to have Ruby, Weiss, Blake, Yang, Taiyang, Qrow, and Team JNPR closing off Taiyang's house and fending off zombies in a bloody mess of a poor attempt at an action scene, ending in Ruby kissing Weiss as they're covered in blood. Weiss hates this but appreciates the gesture.

Yeah, that was the original ending, but like I said, I couldn't get a working action scene. Though future stories will also be comedies like this one, it might be a good idea to add in action scenes so I can get a feel for them.