Recon missions were always Weiss' favorite – mostly because it was the only real downtime they had these days.

This mission was unique because they were simply scouting and were told, multiple times, that they could not use any kind of force.

Reports of Grimm activity increasing throughout Forever Falls was troublesome simply because Forever Falls was home to one of the most vital shipping lines left in Remnant. The supplies that kept their army going were coming straight through this area. So Weiss and Ruby had been pinned to see if there was any truth to the rise in Grimm activity and to see if those Grimm were being led there by anyone.

So far, the results had been mild, at best. The last three days had been spent at the campsite with Ruby. Weiss hated camping – she hated it with every fiber of her being. It was messy and uncomfortable and despite Ruby's constant reassurance that the food would taste "even better by campfire", it did not. It tasted like ass, burnt ass.

Still, Weiss tried her best not to complain. Because this was still a solo mission with Ruby away from everyone else. It was almost like an accidental honeymoon – the first time they'd really had a few consecutive days (and nights) alone.

So Weiss kept her mouth shut and enjoyed it.

Curled up against a tree, Weiss leaned against Ruby as the sun continued to slowly dip beyond the horizon. It made the surrounding trees a darker shade of red and the way the sun would blast through the branches and shine down on them was beautiful.

Weiss pulled her leg up, bringing red leaves and dirt with her as she reached to adjust the buckle on her boot. These boots were her best pair for extended walking and even they were taking a pounding from the mission. Her feet hurt and her body was sore – in any other circumstance she'd be whining to go home for a bath and a queen sized bed.

Neither of those places, however, could let her curl up with Ruby and not worry that anyone would say anything or tease them.

Glancing to her right, she saw Ruby sitting up next to her, using a stick to carve into the dirt. Ruby's hair had started to grow and Weiss couldn't help but admire – she loved it and thought it really framed her face well.

She enjoyed a lot of things about Ruby that she would never say about anyone else. The way Ruby always smelled of roses because of her semblance and how Ruby would constantly blush when their eyes met.

The fact that even though Weiss knew Ruby was a tiny ball of energy, she would sit like this in the quiet just because Weiss asked her to.

It was why Weiss cared for her so much.

Reaching out, Weiss tucked her fingers under Ruby's chin to turn her head. She noted the wide eyed look in her girlfriend's face but before Ruby could even ask what was going on, Weiss pressed their lips together.

Ruby squealed slightly against her before exhaling through her nose and reciprocating. Kissing Ruby was an entirely different experience than anything she'd ever done before in her life. No amount of money, no victory over her father and no new skill on the battlefield could compare to the sensation of this.

However, when Ruby reached up to touch Weiss' face, she noted the stains of dirt on Ruby's hand out of the corner of her eye and quickly snatched Ruby by the wrist.

"Ah," she pulled back and stared into curious, silver eyes. "Were you really going to touch my face with your dirty hands?"

Ruby looked at her hands and then back at Weiss. "You kissed me," she said perplexedly.

Weiss held Ruby's hand in front of her. "How in the world did your hand get this dirty?"

"I was playing in the dirt." Ruby returned with a hint of sarcasm that made Weiss scowl. "Come on, Weiss – don't you want to get dirty with me?" She asked with a wink.

Weiss merely rolled her eyes. "You're all talk, Ruby Rose."

"No I'm not!" Ruby gasped dramatically. "I can be dirty!"

"Is that so?"

"Yes! I'll uh…I'll take you! Right here and right now!"

Weiss smirked. "Take me where?"

Ruby seemed to panic a little – her brain wracking for what to say. "To…to the sex! I'll take you to the sex right here in the dirt!"

"Oh please," she let Ruby's hand go and laughed. "We both know we're not ready for that – especially if you're still calling it 'the sex'."

"Well what am I supposed to call it?" Ruby asked genuinely and Weiss ignored the hammering in her chest.

"Wh—when you figure that out, then we'll talk." It was a silly answer, one meant to keep the charade up and when Ruby pouted Weiss knew she'd won.

She had not been able to process the idea of doing anything like that with Ruby, not yet. Though the fact that it was even a part of conversation was terrifying – if only because Weiss didn't entirely hate the idea.

"Well then what can we do?" Ruby was looking at her again and Weiss knew this was coming. A bored Ruby Rose was a handful and she'd given Weiss a good amount of quiet cuddling time. The least she could do was return the favor.

"What do you want to do?" Ruby shrugged. "That's so helpful."

"I don't know! Uh…um…" Ruby stuck her tongue out as she thought and Weiss had to internally hide her desire to groan about how cute it was. "Oh!" Ruby jumped and nearly smacked Weiss in the jaw with her head. "Teach me something fancy!"

Weiss' eyes narrowed. "Ruby we're in the middle of the woods – what could I possibly teach you?"

"I—I don't know! Why am I the only one coming up with the fun ideas?"

"Because sitting here and cuddling was my fun idea."

Ruby frowned. "But it's so quiet! We don't have another scheduled patrol for two hours! We need to pass the time with something fun. Teach me something fancy that you know that I wouldn't."

With a sigh, Weiss pinched the bridge of her nose and tried to think of something. Fancy was such an annoying word – it was one step up from pretentious when the truth was Weiss grew up very…classy.

Yes, that was a much better word. She was given ample opportunity to learn a wide variety of skills that would do her absolutely no good in normal, every day life.

She had to smile at that – at how little she missed any of it.

There was one skill that she could remember enjoying quite fondly – one that would fit this situation well and keep Ruby close to her.

Pulling out her scroll, Weiss quickly went to her stored music and shuffled through her songs before finding the proper one and letting it play. From there, she sat her phone down on the pouch she carried her dust in and let the soft music play around them.

"Do you think that's too loud?"

Ruby shook her head, clearly perplexed. "I can barely hear it. What is it?"

Weiss pushed to her feet, dusted off her skirt and extended a hand out to Ruby. Gently, Ruby took the proffered hand and Weiss pulled her to her feet. Suddenly, they were face to face again. That was when Weiss decided to press her hand to the small of Ruby's back, making her eyes go wide.

"It's the closest thing I have to dancing music."

"Oh!" Ruby squealed, making Weiss jump. "You're going to teach me how to dance?!"

Ruby's excitement made her smile. "I'm going to teach you my favorite dance. The foxtrot."

"Aw," Ruby cooed and clapped her hands together. "That sounds so cute! Is it like this?!" She watched in both admiration and horror as Ruby put her arms in front of her and started to hop up and down like a rabbit. "Is this a foxtrot?"

Rolling her eyes, Weiss again pulled Ruby in closer and this time she took Ruby's hand in her own to still her. "No, as cute as that was, it was not a dance of any kind and if you did that at a Schnee event you would be quickly removed and banned from future Schnee events."

"Oh," Ruby didn't seem the least bit deterred. "Well Schnee events sound boring and rude!"

"They are, without question, the most important and illustrious extravaganzas to happen to Atlas each year." Ruby quirked a brow at her and Weiss sighed. "They're dreadfully boring."

Suddenly, Ruby was pressing against her and leaning in well into Weiss' personal space. "Guess it's a good thing I stole you away, huh?"

Weiss didn't answer for fear her voice would give away just how lucky she was for that.

Yang Xiao Long was a very persuasive person. That was one of the first things Weiss ever learned about her back at Beacon. When she wanted something – she could make it happen. Didn't matter who you were or what you wanted out of her, she could convince you that she had a great idea.

Weiss would be lying if she said part of it wasn't Yang's obvious beauty. She carried herself with such confidence (even if it had been temporarily lost after the fall of Beacon) and such charisma that she could control a room and everyone in it.

Tonight was no different. The night fell over Taiyang's home and despite Ruby's constant pleas to return to her own home and Weiss' whining about how tired she was, Yang had somehow managed to make them all agree to drinks and a bonfire in the back yard.

The smell of smoke permeated in the air as a light chill ghosted over them. Weiss was bundled up in an incredibly soft (and very white) sweater that shielded her from the cold but was also vulnerable to the dirtier elements around her.

She was curled up in a folding chair near the fire, trying to stay warm while Yang and Sun were sharing stories of some of their adventures together.

Weiss was genuinely surprised to see how good of friends they were – considering the fact that they had once been dueling suitors for Blake's affection. Granted, Sun bowed out fairly easily, but the tension remained for a while shortly after Blake and Yang gave in. To see now that Sun had not only accepted it but supported and seemingly promoted it, was a pleasant surprise.

Still, the two of them telling stories of some bar fight they had in Vale a year earlier was a little hard to handle for Weiss as they obviously stretched the truth with just how many people they "demolished".

The only person who seemed less interested in the story than her, was Ruby. Weiss hadn't said a word to Ruby and the favor had been returned in kind. They stayed on opposite sides of the room and even now the fire was between them. It was surreal to be this close to her again but it almost didn't feel real at all.

Ruby felt disconnected and Weiss could tell she didn't want to be here. She was obviously putting on her best face for Yang's wedding and being support and all the things a sister is supposed to be.

Weiss couldn't understand why Yang was so insistent on her sticking around. Usually Yang was first to make sure that her baby sister was comfortable and right now, she was far from it.

Unfortunately, no one around them was able to grasp that because they were all more than slightly intoxicated. Weiss had stopped after her one drink for Blake's sake and even though she and Blake had spent a good amount of time going over the details of the wedding, Weiss never took another sip while Blake continued to slowly chase after her fiancé in consumption.

Beyond that, Violet was drunk and Sun had enough to drink that he was singing odes to his own abs.

So when Ruby stood up and excused herself to go to the bathroom, Weiss felt that old pull drawing her in to need to make sure that Ruby was okay. It wasn't fair, really, how much of a hold Ruby still had on her. It had been years and yet Weiss felt the same tug of responsibility that she'd had the day they met.

Unsure of what to do, Weiss decided she could at least go back inside. She wouldn't stalk Ruby into the bathroom but maybe if she was in the kitchen and away from everyone else, she might at least have the chance to ask Ruby if she was okay.

So she stood up and waited to excuse herself, only to have no one even give her a second look when Yang suddenly started explaining her finishing move of the bar fight – completely with red eyes and flickering hair that made Sun clap in delight.

Not to mention that Blake was practically clinging to her fiancé at this point.

Weiss rolled her eyes, at least happy that they were all enjoying themselves.

The quiet was welcome as she walked back into the home and shut the door behind her – now barely able to hear Yang's boasting. Though once in the kitchen, she had no idea what to do with herself so she merely opened the fridge and pulled out a bottle of water. She should probably get it to someone out there, perhaps Violet, to make sure they didn't get too sick or hungover in the morning.

With water bottle in hand, she stood in the middle of the kitchen like an idiot and just…waited. Ruby had slunk off to the bathroom and she could hear the sink running when she suddenly realized she was staring right at it.

Not wanting to look like every bit the stalker she was, Weiss turned to stare at anything else only to have her toe catch the corner of the counter.

Pain radiated through her big toe and into her foot and ankle. It hurt so badly and she cried out, clutching the counter to stay upright.

"Weiss?" A soft voice called to her and she locked up, still feeling the pain but also realizing that Ruby had just spoken to her. She turned to respond but her foot let out another pulse of pain and she winced before stumbling.

In a burst of speed, there was a pair of hands on her shoulders holding her up and she swore her heart stopped.

Ruby was right next to her, touching her and it felt so familiar. She smelled the same and up close, those silver eyes were still as stunning as ever.

"Ruby," she whispered, forgetting the world.

However, the hands on her shoulder dropped away and Ruby took a step back. "Are you…okay?"

"I—I think so," she tried to curl her toe only to have it hurt more. "I kicked the counter and I think I've done something to my toe."

Ruby glanced down at her foot and nodded to herself before taking a deep breath and clearly steadying herself for something. "Can I take a look?"

Weiss' eyes went wide. "Ruby," she tried but earned a shake of the head.

"You might have broken it."

"And you're gonna determine that?" She raised a questioning brow.

To her surprise, Ruby grinned. "I've learned a few things about injuries in the last few years." Weiss' expression must have been concerning. "I am a full time huntress."

"R—right," Weiss said like she didn't know that already and Ruby's smile fell away.

"You just have to sit down and take your shoe off, I'll look really quick and that will be that."

Then we can go back to ignoring each other.

Instead of saying that, Weiss merely nodded and limped around the counter to the couch where she plopped down as Ruby knelt in front of her.

Ruby had grown…in so many ways. The first thing she noticed and the last thing she'd remember on her death bed, was Ruby's arms. They were…magnificent – which sounded dramatic but also the only way to describe them.

Weiss knew first hand how strong Ruby was. She wielded a giant scythe that weighed a ton and did it with such ease. Now though, it was like that strength had blossomed as the baby fat went away and Ruby was left with strong, well sculpted arms.

Her hair was longer than Weiss had ever seen it before – far longer than she ever wore it during the war.

It suited her and Weiss knew she was staring but it had been so long. She just wanted to take it in, because she knew it wouldn't be the same but Ruby was always so…

"Ow!" Weiss hissed as Ruby pulled her shoe off too fast and hooked the injured toe she was supposed to be checking on. "You dolt! You know what my injury is!"

Ruby grimaced. "Sorry! Your shoe came off easier than I expected! You usually wore them so tight!"

"Yes, and I'm on vacation – these are my vacation shoes!"

This earned her a smirk. "Your…vacation shoes?"

"Yes," Weiss glared at her. "I wore my boots tight during combat and my sneakers tight during school because they were functional. I don't want to suffocate my feet while I'm relaxing."

With a shake of her head and a smile still lingering, Ruby studied Weiss' foot carefully. It wasn't until Ruby touched Weiss' second toe that reality set in and the haze of the moment went away.

This was her ex-girlfriend. The same girl she had loved for so long and missed for even longer. The same girl who drifted away from her and started sneaking out at night and stopped talking to her at all.

Weiss could still remember how scared she was when Ruby wouldn't be there in the morning. How upset she was when she knew Ruby was blatantly lying to her and how it was even worse when she started lying to Ruby as well.

The war brought them together and its end tore them apart.

"You broke the nail a little, but it's mostly just jammed, put something on it and try not to, you know, hit it on anything." Ruby looked up at her with those gray eyes and Weiss couldn't help but feel that old tug in her chest.

"That your expert advice?"

Ruby smiled. "More or less – probably shouldn't have hit it on anything to begin with."

"You're such a brat," Weiss said in a teasing tone and Ruby's smile grew. "I am not used to kitchens this…"

"Small?"

"That's not what I was going to say!" It was, but that was before she remembered that this was Ruby's childhood home.

Ruby clicked her tongue. "Uh huh."

"It's not!"

"Then what were you going to say?"

Weiss stared at Ruby with every bit of anger and frustration she could muster – which wasn't much given the adorable look on her face. "I was going to say that it's more…cozy than what I'm used to."

"Funny," Ruby's smirk grew. "I didn't think you were familiar with kitchens at all."

With a roll of her eyes, Weiss gently kicked Ruby's shoulder with her injured foot. "Quiet, you."

"It is small, even compared to the group rooms at Beacon." Ruby stared off at the kitchen beside them with a wistful look on her face. "I used to sit on that counter while mom cooked. Some of the earliest memories I have."

Oh…

Weiss was never great at talking about Ruby's mother with her – Summer Rose was the one subject she had zero personal experience with. "I'm sorry, Ruby. I didn't—"

"It's fine, Weiss." Ruby brushed her off but something about those words sunk deep into Weiss' skin and irritated her.

"All these years later, and you still say you're fine even when you're not?"

Ruby's smile faded and she turned back to face Weiss. "I am fine – why do you do that?"

"Do what?" Weiss sat up a little straighter. "I'm only making sure you're okay!"

"And when I say I am you call me out for it!"

"Because you're not! You never were! I asked you so many times over and over again and you would say you were yet I'd wake up in the night and hear you crying!"

Ruby groaned and stood up in a hurry, nearly knocking over the table behind her. "Are we really doing this again? Picking up this argument right where we left it?"

Weiss couldn't stop herself. "Might as well…you're still just as childish as ever."

"You know what…" Ruby stepped back with her hands in the air. "I'm not doing this, Weiss. Tell Yang I wasn't feeling well. Tell her whatever you want."

Tears brimmed in Weiss' eyes as she watched Ruby leave – it was all too familiar.

Thoughts?