Sun tossed his backpack in the back seat of Ruby's truck before climbing into the passenger seat. "Thanks, Rubes, I really appreciate the ride."

"No problem, you caught me at just the right time," Ruby answered as she pulled out into traffic. "They find Neptune yet?"

Sun shook his head. The insurance company had finally decided to pay out on a new truck to replace the one his brother trashed. Unfortunately, they'd also screwed up and canceled his rental car before he could take delivery on a new truck. "Nah. Last time I talked to the police, they were starting to think he skipped town. No Winter today? I know you two have lunch a lot, and I don't want to cut in on your action."

"No." The single, flat syllable caught Sun's attention, hard. "Okay, Ruby, what's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Uh-uh, something's eating you, and I'm thinking it's related to your lady love. Come on, I'm your best bud. We tell each other stuff, right? You tell me what's wrong between you and Winter, and I'll tell you something Blake doesn't even know. Whaddya say?" Sun gave Ruby his most charming smile, the one he drug out when he really, really messed up with Blake. Like the one time, one time that Blake was never, ever gonna let him forget, he accidentally trashed one of Blake's favorite books. Thus Sun sleeping on Ruby's couch for a month. "Open up to Doctor Love Monkey."

"'Doctor Love Monkey?'" Ruby snorted. "I happen to know you have had one, and only one girlfriend your whole life."

"Which is what makes me an expert." Sun jabbed a thumb at his chest. "I picked the right girl the first time."

"Moe like lucky. And I picked the same girl, remember?"

"Ouch, well, I got there first. And just to sweeten the deal, I'll buy lunch. Sky's the limit. Well, um, not so much, I'm kinda tight till payday," Sun admitted. Ruby just laughed and pulled into a better-than-average burger place.

"Now start talking," Sun demanded as Ruby was reaching for her burger. "What'd you do?"

"Nothing." Ruby let out a long sigh at the disbelieving look on Sun's face. "Okay, since the moving company still hasn't found her stuff, Winter's been spending most of her of time at my place, since it beats a mostly-vacant apartment. Plus it gives Yang and Weiss as much private time as possible."

Sun winced as he grabbed a french fry. "You're kidding me. They still haven't found her stuff? She signed on that pace, what, a month ago?"

"Yeah. She's pretty pissed, well, pissed by Winter's standards. She's even talked to a lawyer." Ruby started to pick up her burger, then put it down. Suddenly her appetite was gone. "So anyway, a week ago, we decide to order pizza instead of cook."

"And now we get to the heart of the matter," Sun said, jabbing at Ruby with a fry. "Keep talking. I'm guessing you had an argument over pizza toppings?"

"She called them disgusting, Sun!" Ruby yelled, making other people in the restaurant look up. Ruby hunched over and leaned toward Sun and whispered, "Winter hates mushrooms."

Sun nodded sagely. Mushrooms were one of Ruby's favorite foods, and she really loved them on pizza. "And so you had your first fight."

"It wasn't..." Ruby's voice trailed off as her mind wandered back. "Okay, yeah it was."

Before Sun could say anything, a deep voice came from behind Ruby. "Everything okay here?" A cop was standing there, looking back and forth between them.

"Nah, we're cool, officer. I, um, I got a little loud," Ruby said, embarrassed. Sun just nodded.

"Okay, well, keep it down. People are trying to eat. Like me. So I'll let you and your boyfriend get back to it."

"He's not my boyfriend!" Ruby laughed. "We're both attached to other people, honest!" Then she stopped as she realized she was hoping it was still true. Okay, she and Winter had a fight, and they hadn't talked in a week, but they were still 'together,' right?

"So, you had your first fight." Sun took a big bite of his burger. "You two have been together how long?"

"Two months." Ruby smiled as remembered that first night in the bar. Who knew that doing Sun a favor could have led to something like this?

"And you've been together pretty constantly. So something had to give, sooner or later." Sun shook his head. "Listen, you've been so down on love that you haven't really paid attention to other people's relationships, so I'm gonna let you in on a big secret: Couples fight. It's not all sunshine and roses."

"I know, Sun. You lived on my couch for a while, remember?"

"Like I'm gonna forget that. But here's the thing." Sun's finger stabbed down on the laminate tabletop. "Are you really gonna let her go over mushrooms? Or do you want to eat a little crow and apologize?"

"But..." Ruby's voice faltered. "But where do I start?"

Sun shrugged. "Try calling or texting her. Keep it simple for starters, 'I'm sorry and I miss you,' that kind of thing. Then talk to her and try working it out."

"R-right." Ruby tapped out a message to Winter, then put her phone down on the table, looking at it the same way someone might look at an unexploded bomb. "S-so your turn. What's the thing Blake doesn't know?"

Now Sun grimaced. Of course Ruby would remember that. "I, uh, I'm taking welding classes."

"What's the big deal about that?" Ruby picked up her burger and took a bite. Mm, sauteed onions, yum.

"I've been thinking about the future lately, about me and Blake. Tending bar, taking people up on hang-glider flights, that's not getting married and having a family money. For that, you've got to have a real job. So I thought I'd take up welding. The world needs welders, Rubes."

Ruby froze in mid-chew. "Yoh gunna ask Bwake to-" She stopped, chewed and swallowed, then started again. "You're gonna ask Blake to marry you? That's awesome!"

"Keep it cool, Rubes. Seriously, you can't tell a soul. Blake doesn't even know about the welding classes yet, much less, you know. And I've got a ways to go before I'm fully certified, and then I've got to find a job. But yeah, that's the plan. Wish me luck," Sun finished with a half-hearted laugh.

Before Ruby could answer, her phone buzzed an incoming message. A smile spread across her face as she read it, and her heart felt ten times lighter. I'm sorry too. Never has my bed felt so empty and lonely before. Can we talk about it over dinner? A pause, then another message. In other news, the shipping company has found my things and they should be here tomorrow

Dinner sounds good, Ruby sent back. Moving party tomorrow, then?

I don't have much to move in, but I think I'd like to invite everyone over anyway

Winter smiled as she put her phone away. "Good news, I hope," Weiss said, sipping her coffee.

"Ruby and I… had a disagreement. We needed some time apart, but we're going to have dinner tonight and talk," Winter said simply, expecting the matter to be closed.

"Ah." Weiss smiled knowingly. "Your first fight."

"We didn't..." Winter stopped, remembering the raised voices that had turned into yelling, and something being thrown. "Okay, yes, we had a fight. I thought… I was afraid..." Her voice trailed off, and she slumped in her seat, something Weiss couldn't ever remember seeing her sister do.

Weiss just shook her head. Time for some sisterly advice. "You thought having a fight meant things were over between the two of you. Would you say that Yang and I love each other?'

"Without question." Anyone who wasn't an utter idiot should notice how Weiss and Yang felt about each other.

'And still, we fight. Sometimes it gets… loud and angry. Once we got into a fight while we were out to dinner. I, um, I ended up getting taken away in handcuffs," Weiss admitted, her face flushed with embarrassment.

"You were arrested?" Now Winter was intrigued. When Winter had visited before they got married, Yang had always acted very stiffly toward Weiss. But now that things were out in the open, she was very affectionate. It was hard imagining the two of them getting that upset with each other.

"In the end, no charges were filed. But we both spent a night in separate cells to give us time to cool off." Weiss shrugged. "Making up afterward was… interesting."

Winter nodded, then another thought crossed her mind. "Weiss… do you think Ruby and I are moving too fast? I mean, are we getting too invested in each other too quickly?"

"That's hard to say." Weiss reached out and took a cookie off the tray, looking at the traffic going past the outdoor cafe where she'd met Winter for lunch. "Since you and Ruby met, you've seen each other practically every day. But you're both used to being alone. Maybe a little more space might do you good. I will tell you something, though." Weiss gave her sister a warmer smile than Winter would have expected from her. "If you two do move in together, I think you'll be that couple that has separate bedrooms, but rarely uses them."

"What makes you say that?"

"Because I think both of you both need that sense of space, of being able to pull back if you need to. But you were also missing something, someone to give you an anchor." Weiss nodded as if she'd finally solved a dilemma that had been annoying her for a while. "Yes, an anchor. You both needed that, otherwise you weren't really living, just surviving."

A shiver ran down Winter's spine as she sputtered, "Are you saying I'm some sort of, of appendage of Ruby's? I have a career, a life of my own."

"I didn't mean to imply otherwise, but… name me something you did outside of work before you met Ruby, something that really brought you joy," Weiss said, raising her left eyebrow in challenge, highlighting her scar.

"I…" Winter licked her lips thinking furiously. "I read, watched television or movies."

"And now? Now what are you likely to find yourself doing on an average evening?"

"Curled up on the couch with Ruby playing video games if not watching television, unless we're not out to dinner or on some mad adventure," Winter admitted. She'd never seen the point of playing video games, but somehow Ruby managed to make them more interesting. Maybe it was the animated way she played, moving her body as if it could make the character on the screen move the way she wanted. "Ruby really loves this independent theater that shows all sorts of odd films."

"So," Weiss dropped a sugar cube in her coffee, stirring it slowly, "you do some of the same things as before, but also a lot of new things. Do you enjoy them more with Ruby than you did alone?"

"Yes." A memory sprang into Winter's mind, the time they'd watched one of Winter's favorite classic films. At first, Ruby had been reluctant, but halfway through, the enjoyment had been plain on her face.

"So there you have it." Weiss lifted the coffee to her lips, sipping to cover the smile on her face. "Winter, every relationship comes together at a different pace. Sun and Blake met the first week of high school but didn't get together until the end of junior year. Yang and I hated each other when we first met, but it wasn't even a month before she asked me out on a date." She set down the coffee, reaching out to take her sister's hand and give it a reassuring squeeze. "Any relationship takes work, but at the same time, don't overthink it. Do what feels right for you, both of you.

"Although I do admit it's rather interesting to be giving my older sister relationship advice."

Ruby groaned as she recognized the restaurant Winter had asked to meet at. No wonder she'd given Ruby the address and not the name. Well, they'd had their blowup over pizza, she guessed they should hash it out the same way. At least it was one of the best pizzerias in town. Ruby would have bet there wasn't another one in Vale that you needed a reservation for.

Inside, the place was all lacquered wood paneling and soft lighting, the sort of look that tries to make a restaurant has been there for a hundred years and usually fails. This place pulled it off in spades. The man at the podium shook his head at her. "I'm sorry, ma'am, but we're booked solid tonight."

"I, uh, I'm meeting someone. Name of Winter Schnee?" Ruby gave him a hopeful smile. She wasn't sure if she wanted him to admit Winter was here or not. If he tossed her out, well, it wasn't her fault, right? And that way Ruby could push this off just that much longer.

No joy. "Oh, yes, party the manager had us hold one of our walk-in tables for." He gave Ruby a disbelieving look before shaking his head. "Follow me."

No wonder the greeter had been giving Ruby the stink- eye. This place was wall to wall with the sort of snobby types who made more in a year than Ruby's house was worth. Yeah, she was wearing her favorite red blouse and tight black jeans, but she still felt decidedly underdressed. And she was pretty sure a couple of them had recognized her too.

Winter was waiting for Ruby in a cozy little booth that was tucked into a corner to give the occupants some privacy. She gestured at the dark beer sitting on the table in front of her. "Would you like a drink?"

Ruby regarded the beer dubiously. "Yeah, I'll try one of those."

"You don't have to, Ruby," Winter said, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, that does kinda look like you could tar roofs with it-" this brought a snort from Winter-"yeah, I did roofing work for a bit, laugh it up, but it, uh, it'll do me good to try something new, right?"

After the waiter had left, the two sat in uncomfortable silence for a bit, neither one of them looking straight at the other. "Ruby, I-"

"Winter-"

They gave each other an awkward look before bursting out in laughter. Ruby could have died happy right then and there. It felt good to laugh with Winter again. Then Winter cleared her throat. "Ruby, I'm the one that owes you an apology. I should have handled that more diplomatically."

"Nah, I'm the one that owes you an apology. Or did the coffee cup sailing past your head fail to register?" Ruby said, embarrassed.

"At least it wasn't a glass ashtray."

"Say what?" Ruby almost choked on her first sip of beer in surprise, not at the taste of the beer but at Winter's words. The beer was as dark and smoky as its color had promised, but it was definitely enjoyable.

"You remember how Weiss used to smoke?" Winter took an appreciative sip of her own beer before continuing. "Apparently she and Yang were arguing one night about Weiss' smoking and Yang threw a heavy glass ashtray at Weiss. She missed, obviously, and the ashtray went through their living room window."

"Oh god," Ruby said, chortling. "Yang must have been mortified."

"It gets better. Your sister inadvertently got enough air on her throw that it went far enough to land on the windshield of her car."

Ruby just sat there stunned, imagining her sister's reaction. "But Weiss does admit that it finally got her to quit smoking," Winter added with a smile.

"I'll bet it did." Ruby cleared her throat. "Listen, Winter, I'm really sorry. I, well, mushrooms are kinda my favorite food, and when you called them disgusting-"

"-it instantly made you so angry you couldn't think straight." Winter grimaced. "I, I talked to Weiss today, and she said that sometimes little annoyances build up, and all it takes is a little spark to set us off." She folded her hands on the table, giving Ruby an unreadable look. "Looking back, how would you normally handle it if someone objected to mushrooms?"

"Um gone without them, or maybe put them on just half the pizza?" Ruby gave Winter a broad smile, trying to lighten the mood. Inwardly, Winter was fighting to keep her cool. It wasn't that she didn't want to make up with Ruby, but they needed to talk about this, not forget about it. Weiss had been very firm about that, to the point of telling her sister that if they didn't sort this out to Weiss' satisfaction, Winter would find her things in the dumpster, if not the Vale River.

Instead, she nodded slowly at Ruby. "Yes, that would have been more appropriate, wouldn't it? Ruby, just because I don't like one thing you like, doesn't mean I don't like you." Winter stopped herself from using another word; this wasn't the time for that. "We are different people, and we are not going to always agree or like something that the other likes. Honestly, the reason I don't like mushrooms is just the texture of them, that's all."

"I guess that's okay." Ruby stifled a yawn. She hadn't really been sleeping well the past week, and right now what she wanted most was a bed, any bed, with Winter in it. "Listen, Winter, I'm sorry, really, sorry. And I guess I really fucked this up, didn't I? Dinner's on me, I guess."

"No. New relationship rule: Whoever picks the restaurant gets the check." Winter cocked one eyebrow challengingly at her.

Did Winter just say-? "S-so you're not breaking up with me?" Ruby breathed a heavy sigh of relief. Maybe she'd dodged the fallout from her own stupidity after all.

"Hardly."Now it was Winter's turn to relax. "The fight was… inevitable in certain regards, although it could have come at any time, or been caused by anything. Ruby, we, we haven't really gotten to know each other yet, have we?"

"Nah." Ruby took a gulp of her beer to hide the flush she could feel rising in her face. "It, uh, it all came together kinda fast, didn't it?" Winter nodded, keeping her expression neutral. She hadn't missed the blush. "So… maybe we take things a little easier?"

"And spend more time just… talking, getting to know each other. I have missed you, Ruby."

"Me too," Ruby said, remembering how just plain good it felt waking up with Winter next to her. Before she could go on, a waiter arrived with a pizza in hand. "Uh, we didn't order."

"I did, just before you arrived."

"Oh, okay." Ruby was annoyed for a moment that Winter had ordered without her, but then her mind stopped dead in its tracks when she saw the topping-laden pizza in front of her. Including mushrooms. "Are you sure about this? There's mushrooms on it."

"Absolutely certain." The white-haired woman reached out and slid two slices onto her plate. "I will admit to cheating and asking my sister what all your favorite toppings were. Now eat; pizza is not something I enjoy often, but I do remember it's best enjoyed hot."

Ruby whistled and broke into an unashamed grin as she turned around in Winter's living room. "Niice. I mean, I've never been an apartment kind of girl, too much stuff, but this is nicer than I imagined. It, uh, it'll look better once all your stuff is in it."

"I hope so, although my 'stuff; is rather minimalist. I've never been much for decorating, so I was hoping you'd help me make it less… spartan?" Hesitantly, Winter reached out and took Ruby's hand. Dammit, why was she nervous now. "But you haven't seen the best part yet."

She led Ruby into the bedroom, and now Ruby couldn't suppress a giggle. The positively enormous bed had black sheets that looked sinfully smooth to the touch. She cleared her throat and looked at Winter, forcing her face into a serious expression. "Somebody was getting ideas, were they?"

Winter looked away, unwilling to look Ruby in the eye. "Like you, I had slept alone so much I, um, I didn't consider company when purchasing a bed. I decided it was high time to correct that. It, um, it was intended to be a surprise for when I moved in, but then the moving company lost my things and, um…" Now Winter took a deep breath and turned to face Ruby, not bothering to hide the embarrassment on her face. "I would like you to stay the night. Please," she added weakly, as Ruby crossed her arms.

Suddenly Ruby catapulted herself forward, wrapping her arms around Winter. "Duh. I mean, obviously."