After reading BlackendHearts's amazing stories, I just kind of spewed this out in a few hours so I hope you enjoy. Just some senseless RubyxWeiss fluff and my first RWBY fic ever!

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY or anything associated with it in any way, shape, or form.

The Huntress And The Heiress

A warm breeze blew through the tall, shadowed forest beside Beacon Academy. It traveled lazily through the branches of the trees for a long while, until a cold burst sliced through it like the swing of a sword.

A blur of white streaked through the slight darkness of the foliage, never slowing for even a second.

Weiss leapt from branch to branch with confidence, never hesitating, always moving forward, no matter how many twigs snapped in her face or scraped her bare legs.

She had been around the permissible section of the forest twenty eight times that day already, but she always longed to travel through the rest of the area as well. Only a small fraction of the forest was accessible to students, as it was guaranteed to be free of the monsters that prowled the large majority of the acres.

It would take about two hours to walk a straight line through the safe section at a normal sauntering pace, but Weiss had managed to cover that distance nearly thirty times using her own methods in under eight hours. She knew the entire area by heart, knew every nook and chink in all of the one thousand and thirty nine trees there.

It was some of her most basic training to speed through the forest's canopy, attempting to improve her jumping skills, seeing how many times she could go around the area without breaking to rest on the ground.

Her record so far was six laps of constant movement at a time, a record she had just set this morning. But it still was not good enough for her.

If I hadn't stumbled on my twelfth lap around, I could have bumped it up, she cursed silently to herself. And then I couldn't practice at all yesterday because it was raining. That was an entire day of potential training wasted. She would train whenever she was not in class or partaking in lessons or missions, as long as it was not past the school's curfew. If she had no reports to write or exams to study for, she was outside training - alone.

I have to get better, she told herself as she pushed off of a particularly wobbly branch. Better. Better. That's all there is to it. There's always room for improvement, especially in my case.

She noted the distinctly blackened tree that had been purposely charred to mark the edge of her territory, and prepared to head back. Twisting her body in a familiar turn that never lost an once of grace despite how many times she lapped the forest, she angled herself slightly and kicked off a trunk, propelling herself back the way she had come.

This was probably Weiss' favorite part of the training. The rush of the turning motion sent adrenaline coursing through her veins even more so than it already was.

It made her feel alive.

She took off at breakneck speed, unwavering as she followed the invisible path she had created for herself. This was her sixth lap in a row, and she knew she could make it to the seventh this time and break her newest record.

Smirking slightly to herself at the thought, she continued on her way back toward the Academy. The building was in her sight within several minutes and she prepared herself for her next turn. Almost there. I can get through the seventh lap...

The tree where she would complete the lap was in her field of vision now, and she focused on it, building up speed to prepare for her turn.

But just as she made the final leap, a loud sound rose up to meet her ears.

It broke through the continuous sound of rushing air she had been hearing for the past several hours and had gotten so used to. It was not the sound of cracking branches, which she knew quite well by now.

Instead, it was a much more... distracting sound.

"Weiss!"

Ruby was calling out her name as she took the final jump, and Weiss' ears were naturally tuned to pick up on the voice of her girlfriend by now.

She titled her head instinctively to seek out the speaker. But before she could even realize what she was doing, it was already too late.

Her heel slipped just half an inch too low and the momentum she had constructed over the past few hours of training was shattered in a deafeningly new rush of air - the rush associated not with forward movement, but downward movement.

Weiss' body succumbed to gravity as she fell into a backward free-fall. Her mind registered what was happening quickly and she managed to draw Myrtenaster with her left hand.

But there was not enough time to create a glyph to slow her landing, and all she could do was stab her blade into the trunk of the tree as she slid down. It served to break her fall, but only slightly, as the bark chipped under the sharp tip, causing Weiss to lose grip on the handle as she plummeted the final dozen feet.

She closed her eyes, waiting for the same impact that had fractured four of her ribs the first time.

But it felt somewhat softer this time around, and she knew exactly why once she heard the "oomp!" from beneath her.

What Ruby had planned to be a courageous, clean catch ended up as a painful tangle of hair and legs as her girlfriend landed on top of her. Ruby's head hit the ground as she felt Weiss impale herself on her elbow.

The young huntress moaned as she slowly lifted her head, blinking her eyes open to find the heiress coughing a violent bout as she weakly pushed herself off.

As Ruby got herself up into a sitting position, she felt a headache coming on, but saw that Weiss was in much worse condition, apparently having had her solar plexus rammed after the fall. She was hunched over next to Ruby in an ungracious curtain of knotted alabaster hair, desperately trying to gasp in air and cough at the same time.

"Ah..." Ruby muttered sheepishly. "Thaaaat wasn't supposed to happen." She scrambled up and scooted closer to Weiss, gently patting her back as her frantic fit continued. "S-Sorry about that, Weiss! Did I distract you?" Past her labored breathing, Weiss managed to send her an icy glare, and Ruby recoiled. "Yeah. Guess I did..." she laughed nervously. She continued to rub her palm over Weiss' shoulders until her panting finally slowed and the coughing ceased.

With one final inhale, Weiss managed to find her voice again. "What were you thinking?" she sighed.

Several weeks ago, it was have been an outraged bellow, but now it was a much softer tone Weiss spoke with. She and Ruby had grown quite close over the months, enough to be more than friends and just barely less than lovers, at least publicly. Weiss still offered the occasional shout or glare, but they were significantly less common than they had used to be.

"I was just wondering where you were," Ruby pouted. "It's one of our few rare days off from both classes and missions, and I was wondering where you'd ran off to."

"Why would you think I was anywhere else but here?" Weiss blinked her mist-blue eyes seriously.

"Well, I was hoping maybe you'd be, I don't know, relaxing back in the room or something?" Ruby suggested hopefully.

Weiss stared at her girlfriend as though she could not process the thought of relaxation, and Ruby was under the impression that she really had no idea what it was.

Weiss was the type of hardworking person who was always pushing herself too hard, too often. She did not believe in motivation; instead, Weiss believed in forcing herself to do things like train and fight, forcing herself to chase after improvement rather than waiting for the motivation to come to her.

Since Ruby had gotten to know her better, she had been striving to open Weiss' eyes to the fact that her style of living sometimes proved more detrimental than beneficial, especially to her health. She could count on one hand how many times Weiss had fallen ill due to her excessive training methods and lack of sufficient sustenance due to it.

Each time Ruby or anyone else attempted to help her recover, they were sent away, as Weiss believed in never showing weakness to another. Ruby wished she would open up more and let others help her, yet she soon realized that Weiss simply did not know how to go about it. This was precisely why Ruby was always trying to think of different ways to help Weiss help herself.

Ruby was pulled out of here reverie when Weiss addressed her.

"Are you okay?" she was asking. "Did you hit your head?" The concern in her voice was a fairly new element, and Ruby felt she had scored at least a few points.

"Oh, yeah I'm fine!" She laughed, waving her hand dismissively. "M-More importantly..." She looked guiltily over Weiss who was still pressing her hand to her torso. "I'm really sorry!" Ruby clapped her hands together in apology.

"It's fine." Weiss exhaled, trying to get her mind off the pain as it began to ebb away.

"But that's the thing! It's not fine! So stop acting like it is," Ruby scolded her gently. "If it hurts, then say something so I can help you."

"It's fine now," Weiss repeated, taking her hand away but failing to hide the wince that resulted from a pang that shot through her stomach.

"Stop lyiiiing," Ruby pleaded, eyes threatening water.

"I'm not," Weiss challenged stubbornly.

"Urrg. Why can't you just be honest?" Ruby grabbed her dark hair with both hands and tugged dramatically at it.

"You worry too much," Weiss huffed as she pushed herself shakily to her feet. Myrtenaster had fallen to the ground several yards away and Weiss tried to appear composed as she limped over to pick it up and sheath it. "What are you doing out here anyway? Don't you have a make-up essay you should be writing?"

"Ahhh, I was trying to forget about that..." Ruby groaned, jumping to her feet as well. "But I can finish it later. I'm great at procrastinating and then throwing things together at the last minute. It's one of the things I do best!" she said proudly, and Weiss almost chuckled at her hopelessness.

"You should go write it. I'll be a while yet," she announced.

"What? Don't tell me you're going to keep training, after that!" Ruby was appalled and her tone showed it. "After that fall, you've probably fractured your ribs all over again! They only just healed two weeks ago! But then again... I guess it's my fault you fell this time..." she trailed off guiltily.

Weiss said nothing in response as she gazed up at the tree her blade had damaged, assessing whether or not it could bear her weight anymore.

"Wonderful..." she muttered. "I'll have to change my course from now on."

"Are you even listening to me, Weiss?" Ruby cut into her thoughts. "You should really take a break. How long have you been at it, anyway? It's past noon now and you left so early this morning!"

"It's only been eight hours," Weiss replied. Her tone suggested that was not enough as she wanted it to be, not even close.

"What?!" Ruby cried. "Are you insane? You'll really hurt yourself if you keep this up!"

"I won't."

"You will!" Ruby stomped her foot in a rare show of anger that took Weiss aback. "You're not indestructible, Weiss! I worry about you, always going off on your own to do this overly-exerting training. It's fine if you want to get better at something, but you don't have to do it all in one day! You're already more than amazing enough!"

Ruby let the words tumble out like a waterfall and did not realize she was saying something a little embarrassing until it was already out of her lips. She turned slightly red and thought she glimpsed Weiss' cheeks turn pink as well, but the older girl turned her head away too quickly to be certain.

"Thanks for your concern, but it's unnecessary." The heiress squared her shoulders and straightened her posture as she sought out her next target to jump onto. "You should go back and relax, or at least start your essay. I'll be along soon enough."

Before Ruby could protest any further, Weiss gave a short bounce and darted forward, kicking off the ground and sending a billow of dust into the air as she sailed upward to land and teeter precariously on a branch for an instant. A second later, she disappeared in a blur of white.

"Weiss, wait!"

She was aware of Ruby calling out for her, but ignored her girlfriend's concerned voice. There's still a lot to be done today. I won't get a chance like this again for a while, she reminded herself.

However, Weiss was starting to feel the effects of her training now. Her stomach twisted in pain as she moved, occasionally causing her vision to blur. On only her first lap around, she slipped and just barely managed to hold onto a branch before pulling herself back up and continuing.

After some time, she reached the charred tree and headed back, but when she neared the Academy again, she could sense a familiar presence even before she saw the red cloak.

Ruby stood where Weiss had left her, arms crossed, looking irked as she awaited Weiss' return. The white-haired girl hastily changed her course and veered off to one side, keeping out of her partner's sight and making sure to keep silent. She'll leave soon. I'm sorry Ruby, but I've got to finish this. She apologized silently before turning around again, heading back out into the trees.

But even when Weiss had come around a second, third, and fourth time, Ruby had not moved an inch, effectively blocking Weiss' only path back to the Academy.

Rather than wait the stubborn girl out, Weiss decided to confront her and put her mind at ease instead.

Weiss made one final lap, only managing a pitiful five rounds this time before she returned to where Ruby stood. Weiss dropped down of her own volition, although her eyes closed without her permission on the way down.

The lightheadedness that had been assaulting her for the past hour overpowered her now. Just before she hit the ground, she managed to focus on her feet to land, but she instantly felt herself falling sideways from the impact.

"Woah, there!" Ruby's slightly alarmed voice sounded in her ear as Weiss felt two strong arms supporting her, wrapping around her waist and holding her shoulders. "You're even more insane than I'd thought!" Now she sounded a mixture of angry and concerned. "Hey! Are you okay? Weiss!" Her voice rose in panic as she realized she was now supporting all of her partner's weight, even though that was hardly anything.

"I'm... fine..." Weiss murmured, her eyes refusing to open as her mind slipped onto and off of of the border of unconsciousness.

"Just... shush!" Ruby exclaimed, exasperated. "You are the most stubborn person on the face of this planet! What am I gonna do with you? Hey, can you hear me?" She kept riding the spiral of furious to worried until she felt Weiss try to stand on her own.

"I can hear you..." Weiss' eyelashes fluttered open, like tattered butterflies' wings as she tried to ignore the dizzying headache that crashed over her repeatedly like powerful ocean waves.

"Good." Ruby sighed, a bit relieved. "Can you walk? Come on, we're going back and I'm taking you to the infirmary." She grasped Weiss' wrist and was about to drag her off until she heard Weiss' feeble voice:

"No, please don't..." she begged, something Ruby had never thought the confident heiress capable of. Ruby almost snapped a retort at her, something like "leader's orders!" until she remembered that Weiss hated people seeing her weaknesses exposed.

She recalled that during the times she was sick, Weiss had never left her room nor permitted any others' entry. Ruby briefly wondered if Weiss had ever even seen a doctor before when she was ill; she felt a pang of worry and sadness at the thought of Weiss always having to deal with her pain completely on her own.

But what was more concerning to Ruby at the moment was how hot Weiss' wrist felt, her pulse racing quickly enough to make Ruby recoil.

"Oh my gosh! You are so not fine! Come on, let me carry you." She tried to take Weiss into her arms, but was her girlfriend took a defiant step back.

"Don't take me to the infirmary..." Weiss panted. "I won't... forgive you... if you do..." Her breathing became more shallow as she involuntarily clutched onto Ruby's sleeve.

Ruby desperately wanted to tell her to be quiet and just take her anyway, but the thought of Weiss being upset with her did not sit well with her at all. She knew Weiss was dead serious with what she said, and would never lift her grudge against Ruby if she were to expose the heiress to another person in her weakest moments.

"Ohh, fine! I won't take you to the infirmary! Just lean on me, okay?"

She saw Weiss give a very small, but thankful smile before she slumped into Ruby once again, this time completely.

Ruby carefully lifted the half-conscious girl into her arms and went to the nearest tree, sitting down and leaning against the trunk while holding her partner in her lap, supporting her shoulders with one arm as her free hand felt Weiss' forehead. She felt hot, way too hot to be "fine", and sweat clung to her skin. Her breathing was fast and irregular, her chest heaving. Ruby bit her lip when she felt Weiss' heart thundering against her ribcage, and she was at a loss for what to do.

"Oh god, Weiss..." she whispered. "What are you doing to yourself?" She leaned down to lightly press her forehead to her girlfriend's. "Or rather, what am I letting you do to yourself?" she sighed.

The breeze became cooler as Ruby continued to hold onto Weiss, knowing she had fallen unconscious a while ago. Thankfully, her pounding heartbeat slowed soon enough and her breathing deepened, causing Ruby to believe it was all just due to the adrenaline of her training. In the end, it seemed Weiss only had a slight fever, nothing as bad as what Ruby had initially anticipated, so she sighed with relief.

Cradling Weiss in her arms, Ruby shifted and crossed her legs, pulling the heiress to her chest so that Weiss' shoulders rested on hers. Ruby slipped her arms around her girlfriend's waist and loosely interlocked her fingers over her stomach, pulling Weiss as close as possible.

Ruby realized this was probably the only time her partner had been still all day, and when she finally stopped jumping around like a jackrabbit, Ruby could tell just how exhausted she was. Although her temperature had gone down a little, there were several other factors about Weiss' condition that concerned Ruby.

The heiress' skinny shoulder blades were jabbing into Ruby's front, making her realize how gaunt her girlfriend was. Weiss' stomach growled not a moment later, and Ruby assumed she had eaten nothing all day. She also twitched in her sleep, as though there were pangs of pain running inside of her, aftereffects of her brutal training methods.

Ruby decided that she would sit with Weiss a little longer, but if she did not awaken within half an hour, she would take her to the infirmary, despite the consequences the young leader might face afterward.

However, the worries that had plagued her mind for the past several minutes finally began to dissipate when she realized Weiss was now sleeping peacefully in her arms, her breathing soft and even.

Ruby let out a long sigh, still exasperated with the girl in her arms and how infuriatingly stubborn she was. But I guess that's part of what makes her Weiss, Ruby reasoned with herself. And when she's not being as stubborn as a herd of mules, she's using her strong-willed confidence to better herself as much as possible.

Ruby knew that part of her job as Weiss' leader and girlfriend was striving to help her with anything and everything, but sometimes she got scared of what might happen if she failed.

She shook the troublesome thoughts away vigorously, not wanting to even fathom a life without the girl she held at present.

A gust of wind blew just then, sending Weiss' silky white ponytail drifting up a little to tickle Ruby's nose. Unable to control herself, Ruby turned her head sideways and let out a loud sneeze. "Ah-chooy!" She scattered several leaves on the ground and sniffed.

Unfortunately, Weiss was a light sleeper, and she moved slightly in Ruby's embrace.

"Mmn..." She made a small, tired sound that made Ruby ache just listening to her. "Ruby..." Blinking open her mist-blue eyes, Weiss waited for her vision to shift into focus before she realized the two firm arms around her. It was then that she registered the warmth coming from behind her - the warmth of another person - which was something she could not remember experiencing for a very, very long time until she had met Ruby. Her familiar scent wreathed around Weiss who tilted her head back slightly, wincing from a pain in her neck. "Ah!" She hissed, gritting her teeth.

"H-Hey, be careful!" Ruby warned frantically. "Tell me where it hurts."

"Nowhere," Weiss muttered. "That was only for a second."

"Don't start this agaiiiin," Ruby whimpered. "Ugh, this is the problem with your type of people. Always pretending to be okay when you're obviously not."

"And this is the problem with your type," Weiss sighed. "Always butting in."

"It's what I do best!" Her leader's tone quickly changed to a proud one, and Weiss rolled her eyes at her girlfriend's hopelessness. "Either way, you shouldn't get up yet," Ruby added as she felt Weiss trying to push herself up. Ruby tightened her grip on the heiress' stomach accordingly to keep her down.

"I've rested long enough." Weiss struggled against Ruby's strength, but the huntress refused to give way to her feeble attempts at escape. "Ruby, let me go. I still have things to do."

"Nooo, actually, you don't~" Ruby corrected, smirking to herself at the fact that Weiss could not even shake her. "If you were in any condition to go anywhere right now, you'd be able to toss me like a rock."

"...I wouldn't do that," Weiss muttered. Perhaps she would have a month ago, but not now.

"Then just accept your defeat for now. As the victor, I order you to go back to sleep."

"Ruby, I'm serious."

"So am I. Weiss, you've lost this round. You can hound me about it later, but for now just... please. I'm begging you just... rest." Her voice was earnest, but there was a tiny waver as well, as though if Weiss told her one last time to let her go, Ruby would unwillingly comply.

But surprisingly, Weiss took a minute before she replied with a sigh.

"What time is it?"

"What?"

"Just answer me, please."

"Right, it's uh... about 3 in the afternoon," Ruby reported.

Weiss was silent for another moment and Ruby could hear her mumbling calculations.

"That's six hours of training I'd be missing out on if I were to stop now."

"Weiss." Ruby cut off her train of thought before she could convince herself she needed to keep going. It appeared Weiss noticed Ruby's rare, serious tone and went still, listening. "Just stop. Pleeease. You can train again tomorrow after classes just like you always do - I promise! I'll train with you if you want, even though you probably don't, but I'll put the offer out there anyway, okay? But for now: Please. Just. Rest. You have no idea how painful it is for me to watch you pushing yourself to your limits like this. Haven't you ever seen someone you care about getting hurt and being worried about them? It's not a nice feeling at all."

As Ruby said this, it resurfaced a few memories Weiss had locked away and hoped to have forgotten. She made a small whimpering sound before she could shove them back down into the depths of her heart.

"Weiss...?" Ruby wished she could see her eyes right now, wished she could understand what she was thinking, what she was feeling.

At last, the heiress admitted her defeat.

"Fine. You win." Her tense shoulders relaxed as she willingly leaned back against Ruby. The younger girl was a bit surprised at the forfeit, but asked no further questions, slackening her tight grip on Weiss' stomach just a little.

"Thank you," Ruby sighed happily. Weiss gave a tiny snort of indifference, but her partner only chuckled in response.

Weiss then hesitantly snuggled her back against Ruby's chest, pulling her legs in a little in an attempt to huddle into that warmth as much as possible. Closing her eyes, Weiss rested her head on Ruby's right shoulder, and Ruby gently placed her chin on Weiss' left in return.

She brushed her cheek against Weiss', happy to find her skin was no longer hot, but rather it was cool and soft. Ruby gently kissed that cheek before she too closed her eyes, hugging Weiss as close to her as possible.

She let the afternoon breeze caress her face as she listened to Weiss' quiet breathing, feeling her heart beating rhythmically within her chest. She waited until she was sure Weiss had fallen asleep before Ruby allowed herself to fall into a light slumber as well.

She awoke an hour or so later, feeling fully refreshed, but slightly numb, considering Weiss was still asleep in her arms. But Ruby let her sleep, knowing full-well that she needed it.

The huntress contented herself with playing with Weiss' long, silky hair, gently brushing her fingers through her soft tresses, while still securing the sleeping girl with her other arm.

The sunlight shifted, dyeing the forest in orange rays as the light filtered through the leaves and branches, painting speckled images on the ground below.

Ruby was in bliss as she held her girlfriend for such a long time, never having gotten to hold her so close for so long before. She also counted herself lucky that they were in a private area where the chances of being discovered were quite low; neither of them were ashamed about their relationship, they just were still too embarrassed to tell the others, even though such a revelation would not shock anyone.

The distant birdsong gradually changed into the sounds of crickets, and Ruby knew it was finally time to head back.

"Psssst! Weiss~ Weiss, we have to go now," she said softly into the sleeping girl's ear while gently rocking her back and forth.

Normally, Ruby knew that simply calling her name would suffice to wake Weiss, although she rarely required other people to wake her up, as Weiss was an early riser for the sake of getting in as many training hours as possible. Even less common were times when Weiss had had to be physically shaken awake by someone else or have the whistle blown to rouse her - Ruby could only ever remember having to resort to those methods a handful of mornings, usually after Weiss had stayed up particularly late studying for an exam.

But this was the first time Weiss did not stir after her name was called, so Ruby tried again. "Weiss?" Frowning, she checked to make sure Weiss was not feverish and confirmed that she was indeed sleeping healthily now.

But just before Ruby could become worried all over again, Weiss made a small sound in her sleep.

It was not a sound that could be elicited from Weiss Schnee as the rest of the world knew her. It was not the sound of an irked heiress being bothered in her sleep, but rather, it resembled the mew of a newborn kitten seeking out its mother's warmth.

It was... yearning, soft, and undeniably adorable.

Ruby had to hold back a squeal when she heard it, and it took her a minute to register the fact that Weiss - one of the lightest sleepers in all of Beacon - was in a deep slumber. "Okay, fine, you've totally won me over," she admitted on a mumble. "But only fifteen more minutes."

Muttering this to the sleeping heiress, Ruby readjusted herself against the tree trunk and relaxed, trying to savor the last few minutes when she would get to hold Weiss like this. She passed the minutes by trailing her fingers through that familiar, snowy hair, taking in that nostalgic yet wild scent, nuzzling into that soft, alabaster skin.

When her time limit finally ran out, Ruby sighed regretfully. "Weiss... Weeeeiiissss..." she sang. "Time to rise and shine, sleepyhead. Well, maybe time to rise and then go back to the room and sleep again, but you get the point." She tapped her girlfriend's shoulder, but still got no response other than quiet breathing.

The thought of simply carrying her back to the room popped into Ruby's mind, but she instantly discarded it, knowing that Weiss would be angry at her if anyone saw her being carried around in such an unsightly manner.

"Okay, fine. Don't wake up within my first fourteen attempts. Fine by me." Ruby talked to herself as if Weiss could hear her. "But don't worry. I've read plenty of fairytales, so I know just how to wake a princess~"

Moving Weiss a little to one side, Ruby tilted her head sideways before gingerly placing a soft kiss on her lips. She made sure not to get lost in the sensation as butterflies fluttered in her stomach, and when she felt Weiss stir slightly, Ruby broke the kiss.

Weiss finally opened her eyes, still hazy from slumber as she remembered exactly where she was. When her gaze locked with Ruby's, she felt her cheeks grow warm.

"Morning!" Ruby beamed. "Or, well, I guess it's evening now. I'm sorry I had to wake you up. I really wanted to let you sleep longer but it's getting dark out and then all the gross icky bugs start coming out and you know me- throw me in front of a one-ton Beowulf and I'm all for it, but throw me in front of a marble-sized spider and I'm out," she laughed nervously.

Weiss could not hold back the amused smile that graced her lips. "It's fine," she reassured.

Ruby finally released her embrace on Weiss who got to her feet before reaching down a hand to help pull her leader up beside her. "Actually, that was probably the best sleep I've had in years," the heiress admitted bashfully. "I feel... really refreshed. Like I could go at least a hundred more laps around the forest right now." She looked up with eager eyes, and Ruby immediately grabbed her wrist in an attempt to hold her back. "Don't worry," Weiss chuckled lightly. "I won't do it now. I know you wouldn't like it."

She turned back to look at Ruby, who's lips slowly formed into a big smile. It was the first time Weiss had ever put someone else's feelings before her own, and Ruby felt a surge of both accomplishment and happiness come over her.

"Thanks, Weiss!" she grinned, patting the heiress' back affectionately.

"I should be the one thanking you," Weiss admitted. "For a lot of things... So just... thank you, Ruby." Weiss slid her hand to find her girlfriend's and entwined their fingers together.

"Any time~" Ruby smiled. "You know I'll always be there for you, Weiss. Whether you want me there or not."

"Idiot." Weiss swiftly leaned in and pecked Ruby's cheek, causing her face to accurately portray her namesake. "Of course I'll want you there beside me." She reflected Ruby's smile with one of her own, and although it was small, it was undoubtedly genuine.

Ruby was just about bursting with delightedness and could not help but wrap her arms around Weiss' waist and pull her into another kiss. Their lips collided once, gently at first before they broke apart for an instant to catch their breath. Then, they met for a second kiss which was stronger, more passionate, more loving.

When the two finally stepped back, they rested their foreheads against one another's for a minute until their blushes faded. Then, hands still entwined, they began walking off toward the school buildings.

"So you're okay now?" Ruby checked.

"Yes," Weiss nodded. "I really am fine now."

"That's good to hear. I'll make you something to eat!"

"That sounds wonderful," Weiss replied earnestly.

They walked on in comfortable silence for a moment more before Weiss spoke again, a bit uncertainly now. "Ruby...? Thanks again. And not just for today. I mean for everything up until now. Since the day I met you, I've been wanting to thank you properly, but just... could never find the confidence to do it."

"You don't need to thank me," Ruby smiled. "As long as you're okay now, it's my pleasure." She kissed her girlfriend one last time before they found themselves before the building's entrance.

Ruby assumed Weiss would want to let go of her hand now, as she always did whenever they were about to enter the public's view.

But this time, Weiss never loosened her grip on Ruby's hand as they walked through the doors. Ruby smiled to herself.

"Oh, and Ruby?" Weiss asked.

"Yes?"

"I'd love to train together with you tomorrow." She offered a small smile.

Ruby's grin only widened. "Sure thing!"

With smiles on their faces and a new warmth in their hearts, the huntress and the heiress walked off together, hand in hand.

A/N: Well that was just about the sappiest thing ever. Ah, well. Also, sorry for OOC-ness.

Please review!