Iceheart27: So you're my new partner?

rosesarered: uh... yeah? this is the right chatroom im pretty sure

Iceheart27: Prof. Port's Business and Government class, right?

Rosesarered: yeah

Iceheart27: Well alright then. Your grammar is horrifying by the way. I'm sending over the outline I started for the project now.

rosesarered: okay I see it. do I just click on the file?

User: rosesarered has blocked user: Iceheart27. Cancelling peer-to-peer transfer.

Iceheart27: What are you doing?!

User: rosesarered has unblocked user: Iceheart 27

rosesarered: sorry!

Iceheart27: Sorry? Do you have any idea of the damage you could have caused?

rosesarered: uuuhhh...

And thus went Ruby Rose's first conversation with "Iceheart27," her assigned partner for group projects in Professor Port's "Business and Government 101" online class, part of the required curriculum for a Masters in Business Administration.

Ruby would quickly discover running a business wasn't what she wanted out of life, but even after she changed courses and pursued a different direction in life, she still tried her best to maintain contact with the man she knew as Iceheart. She wasn't really sure why at the time, but she was somehow drawn to him.

Initially their relationship was tense and rocky, but after Ruby proved that there was a reason she had graduated high school two years early, things improved. She was incredibly gifted for a young sixteen-year old, and it quickly showed. She was going to college purely on scholarship money after all, and they didn't give that many to just anyone.

Iceheart27: I can't believe he gave us a perfect score.

rosesarered: yeah... I mean that one was all you.

Iceheart27: Believe it or not, I'd say you did more than your fair share of work for this project. Congratulations are in order.

rosesarered: oh! Well uh, weird question, but did you like working with me?

Iceheart27:...

rosesareread: yeah dumb question sorry ill be going

Iceheart27: I didn't hate it.

rosesarered: wait didnt hate what?

Iceheart27: Working with you. I didn't hate it.

rosesarered: ...uh, is that good?

Iceheart27: As good as you'll get from me. I suppose I'll talk to you tomorrow.

rosesarered: but wait our project is already done why would you keep talking to me?

Iceheart27 has exited the chat room.

For reasons Ruby couldn't figure out, Iceheart continued to chat with her. And while she remembered all the talks her parents had given her about "strangers on the internet," there was just something so intriguing about Iceheart. He was a puzzle, and Ruby loved puzzles. She loved figuring things out, finding out what made them tick, and her strange online chat partner was the biggest puzzle of them all. Besides, she had her own apartment, worked her own job - part-time as a server at a nice restaurant - the works. And all in Colorado Springs, Colorado too. Housing there wasn't exactly the cheapest in the country. She could take care of herself.

They talked about work and school at first, even if Iceheart was notoriously closeted about his personal life. But it turned out that once you got to know him, he wasn't as cold and demanding as one would think. He had a strange fascination with the color white, he did fencing in his spare time, and he loved dogs. Absolutely positively adored them. And Ruby absolutely positively adored that.

Iceheart27: Stop sending me all those dog videos! I'm going to die of a cuteness overload!

Rosesarered: but thats totally the plan! Im trying to thaw your stupid ice wall!

Iceheart27: That's nonsensical. I don't have an ice wall.

Rosesarered: oh bull you totally do! You were so mean to me when we first met!

Iceheart27: That's not an ice wall. I just don't trust strangers who haven't proved themselves in any way.

Rosesarered: oh yeah mr. "I dont have an ice wall"? we've been talking for six months now. whats my name?

Iceheart27: ...

Iceheart27: Fine "Roses are red," what's your name?

rosesarered: Ruby.

Iceheart27: Interesting. Also I think that's the first time you've capitalized your sentence without auto-correct doing it for you.

rosesarered: Nuh uh!

Iceheart27: Now you're just doing it because I pointed it out.

rosesarered: Nope. So whats your name then? Thats only fair.

Iceheart27: I'm sorry, I have to go. My father needs me for something.

rosesarered: Okay but im not gonna forget about your name.

Iceheart27: How about we just skype next time? I think that would be a lot easier.

rosesarered: uh yeah okay but why do you wanna skype? What would be easier?

Iceheart27 has exited the chat room.

Ruby had gone into a panic after that, as she prepared for her first skype call with Iceheart. A number of possibilities occurred to her. What if Iceheart was a creepy old man? What if he started stalking her and wouldn't leave her alone? Or worse yet, what if he was a hot guy?

She sat in front of the mirror, wrestling with her hair, an internet self-help guide on applying makeup on the counter along with the strewn-about supplies she needed for such a task. She had never been a girly girl, and she knew that she was also quite plain looking. The only thing that really set her apart was her red-tipped hair, and those were only highlights that she had to refresh once a month.

She wasn't anything special, and she knew it.

And she was terrified, because what if Iceheart was something special? What if he saw her, what she looked like, and lost all interest in her?

What if Iceheart never wanted to talk to her again?

Iceheart27 is calling with video. [Answer] [Answer with voice only] [Decline]

Ruby's finger hovered over the mousepad, the cursor settled somewhere between "answer" and "answer with voice only."

If she declined the video part of the call... she could just fake technical problems. Her webcam was broken, the internet connection was all screwed up, something like that.

But at the same time... a part of her wanted to know what Iceheart looked like. That same insatiable curiosity that had helped her get to where she was today, a seventeen year old sophomore in college with all A's, was telling her to click "accept."

And so, she did.

And as the screen went black, and then the video connected, her deepest, darkest nightmare came true.

Iceheart wasn't a man.

Iceheart was a young woman, with piercing blue eyes, long white hair that angels probably used as a pillow, and a tentative smile that made Ruby's heart flutter.

"So my name is Weiss," she said. And even her voice was attractive. High-pitched and lilted, but not annoyingly so.

And all Ruby could think was: "Oh crap, she's hot!"

After that skype call, things were different. Ruby – now that she knew Weiss wasn't a creepy stalker – started texting and skyping her as much as she could. She knew that it was a slippery slope, because she had no idea if Weiss was into girls, and even if she was, they might as well have been in different parts of the world. Ruby lived and studied in Colorado, and Alaska – where Weiss later revealed her father was the head of an oil company – seemed a million miles away.

But even with the distance between, they somehow grew closer. A year passed, then two, and they skyped eachother at least once every other day. They talked about everything, from clothes, to school, to their families – or Ruby's lack of one – and cute animals. Especially cute animals. Ruby loved replaying the moment in her head of when she had shown Weiss her new German Shepard puppy.

"Soooo I got something today," Ruby started.

On the screen, Weiss plopped down into her usual leather chair with a mug of steaming coffee and a smirk. Her cream sweater and sparkling sapphire earrings were doing this wonderful thing to her ice-blue eyes that, quite frankly, made it hard for Ruby to concentrate. On anything.

"Oh yeah?" Weiss replied. "What did your irrational impulses compel you to do this time?"

"Oh come on, like, nothing I do is irrational," Ruby laughed.

Weiss raised an eyebrow. "What about that time you thought your birthday cake would be fine with cream cheese in place of icing?"

Ruby winced. "Okay, but that was-"

"Or the time when you climbed up in a tree to save a cat?"

"I forgot I was scared of heights and-"

"You forgot you were scared of heights."

Ruby giggled. "Well yeah, it's not like I deal with them on a daily basis or anything. Besides, what about my idea to send you that stuffed wolf plush for your birthday? You liked that one."

Weiss sighed. "I didn't hate it."

"Ugh you're so difficult. Anyway, this idea is totally not like those ones. This idea was a great one."

Weiss simply raised her eyebrow in skepticism, and a wry grin creeped onto her pale face. And damn if it wasn't the most incredibly attractive facial expression Ruby had ever seen. She actually had to struggle with her words for a few seconds.

"Bu.. because uh... oh, because this idea is cute, and small, and fluffy."

"Did you say fluffy?" Weiss deadpanned.

Ruby held up the bundle of fur that had been snuggling in her lap, a small four-month old German Shepard puppy. "Weiss, meet Einz."

The oil company heiress' reply was a squeal that lasted for nearly half a minute.

Another year passed, and Ruby was about to finish her degree in English Literature. But that was only to get a small publishing job, she wasn't done with college yet. After a lot more math classes, and some photography and programming on the side, she would finally start working on getting the credentials to be an astronomer. Maybe she was simply going through a "space phase," but she hoped it wasn't just that.

Weiss, on the other hand, was halfway along towards finishing up her Master's in Business Administration. She fully planned on taking over her father's company, once he grew old enough and passed it on to her. According to Weiss he hadn't always been the best father, but they got along well enough nowadays, and she knew he loved her. So that was enough for her.

They still talked at least once a day, if not by skype then by text or phone call when one or the other was particularly busy. But Ruby was finding it harder and harder to talk to her best friend.

Because now, Ruby was hopelessly, irrevocably in love. In love with her best friend, a girl - which still didn't look too great in 2014, and an heiress to an oil company. Who also might as well live on the other side of the world, as far as Ruby's wallet was concerned. Plane tickets to Alaska – if Weiss would even consider such a thing – didn't exactly fit in her very modest budget. And even if they managed to meet, she thought to herself, what would be the point? If she had trouble talking to Weiss now, over the phone and the computer, how would she even be able to function if she met her in real life?

Nearly every time she saw the girl, her pulse did this stupid pounding thing, her breathing quickened, and her heart ached with so much loneliness and longing that she had to fight the urge to cry every time they said goodbye. She wanted to be next to Weiss, to touch that fragile porcelain skin, to stroke her pure alabaster hair...

But she knew it was hopeless. So she struggled on, for Weiss' sake if not for hers.

And every time the heiress asked her what was wrong, she either deflected the question or made up a story.

So when Weiss told her that she was coming to Colorado to visit her over the summer, it was understandable that her heart stopped for a few beats.

"Y... you... you're what?"

"I'm... coming to see you. My father gave me permission, and I already bought the tickets. Is there... is there a problem?" Weiss asked. Her eyes were full of concern, and that made Ruby's breathing quicken even more.

"No! No I just... I'm really surprised. Really surprised."

"Calm down Ruby, calm down," she thought to herself. "Breathe. Focus on the desk, don't look at her, look at the desk. That's better."

"Ruby, why are you staring at your desk?"

"Um..."

"Are you really not happy about this?" Weiss suddenly sounded nervous. "I mean if you want, I can just cancel the flight. It's not too late and I should be able to get a full refund-"

"Nonono don't do that!" Ruby almost squealed. "I just..."

She paused, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. She opened them again, to find Weiss staring at her with a raised eyebrow. And that stupid, why-does-she-have-to-care-about-me-painful, heart-warming concern in her eyes.

But she was calm now. She had to be. "Weiss, I'd love to finally meet you."

Weiss smiled, and her heart-rate took off again. "Well I definitely wouldn't hate it. So my flight is at-"

But Ruby was having a hard time listening. Because inside, she was terrified. If she couldn't even talk to Weiss over a computer screen, how in the nine hells was she even going to be able to breathe when she finally saw her in person?

How was she even going to able to function?

The airport was bustling, almost frenetic, full of energy and spirit.

And people, lots of people.

Ruby's mind was blank, her legs simply carrying her forward like a robot as she walked through the crowds that stood between her and Weiss' arrival gate. The white roof stretched overhead, a strange and fluted design that some architect fresh out of grad school had probably thought was the greatest work of the generation. She stopped in the arrivals concourse, a large open plaza with a second story that ringed the first in a series of balconies. It made Ruby feel like she was in an arena for some reason, like everyone up on the second floor was watching her and waiting for her to screw up and do something stupid.

There was a large fountain in the center of the plaza, surrounded by some bushes and flowering plants. She took a seat on one of the benches near it, so that she could watch the two escalators that descended from the second floor. The escalators that Weiss would be coming down, sometime in the next thirty to forty-five minutes.

She glanced at a large screen to her left, that listed off flight numbers, the carrying airlines, and whether they were delayed or not. And there it was, Atlas Air flight 271 out of Anchorage, Alaska, with no delays. Scheduled to arrive in a half-hour.

She took a deep breath and tried to slow her racing heart.

And then she made the mistake of looking down, at her clothes, and immediately started worrying again.

"Crap, I knew cargo pants were a bad idea. What is this, 2002? Nobody wears those anymore. And a hoodie, really?" she thought, picking at the crimson fabric with disdain. "Ugh... and should I have worn makeup? Would she even notice? Would she care?"



Truth be told, Ruby didn't really know how to put on makeup, and had been a decisive factor in her decision to not wear any.

"I wish airports let dogs in... I could really use Eins right now. Why did I have to be fucking bi? Couldn't I just have just liked cute guys that just want sex? They just want sex right? That's be soooo much easier than this crap..."



She hung her head and became lost in her worry, and time slipped by without her notice, just like the people all around her.

Roughly half an hour later, someone tapped her on the shoulder. She jolted and glanced up, an apology to whatever random stranger she had somehow managed to offend on the tip of her tongue.

And then it died.

Because Weiss was one that had tapped her on the shoulder.

The girl had her hair in a side ponytail, and was wearing a gorgeous white trench-coat with black buttons and a pair of high-heeled boots. And a pair of earrings, that were like bars of silver that highlighted her face and made it hard for Ruby to breathe and oh crap she was staring and ohmygod why couldn't she say anything-

"Hi," Weiss said. And she smiled. She actually smiled, and that wasn't something she did often.

"H-hey," Ruby managed. She was still staring. She knew she should stop, but she couldn't.

"Are those... are those for me?" Weiss said, pointing at something on the bench next to Ruby.

The brunette glanced down, her eyes wide with shock. The roses. How had she forgotten about the roses?!

A part of her – a part that hadn't been paralyzed with fear when she was driving to the airport – had apparently convinced the rest of her that greeting Weiss with flowers would be a sure way to win her heart.

That part of her had promptly been beaten into submission by the rest of her psyche, but it was too late. She had meant to get rid of the flowers before Weiss had arrived but now... now it was too late. So she did the only thing she could think of, which was lying her ass off.

"Um, no! I mean, uh yes, but, like, they were just a welcome present! For you, cuz I wanted to welcome you. Here. To Colorado. And I mean my name is Ruby and I like roses so I thought roses would be a good welcome present and so I got them... yeah."

Weiss picked up the roses and brought them to her nose, closed her eyes, and inhaled. "Thank you Ruby. You know I've actually always liked roses. That smell always calms me down."

"Crap crap crap crap. Okay, maybe she doesn't think I meant the roses like that. Maybe I can still save this."

She stood up, held out her hand to Weiss for an official welcome-to-Colorado handshake – because she didn't know if she could handle a hug right now – and promptly tripped over her own foot.

And stumbled forward, into Weiss, and accidentally tackled her to the floor.

And now she was on the floor, her hands on either side of Weiss' head, who had this weird blush and this faraway look in her eyes and this strange sound that was her breathing through her nose far more quickly than normal. Far more quickly than she should have been.

And then she made of the mistake of looking at Weiss' lips, which were covered in this beautiful ruby lipstick and looked so soft and amazing and-

And they felt as soft as they looked, they were warm, and tender, and felt fantastic and-

And she froze, as she realized what she had just done.

She had never stood up so quickly in her entire life, nearly flying backwards with the effort as she tried to ignore the stares of the people around her. She looked down at Weiss, at the girl she had just kissed, who was covering her mouth with the back of her hand and staring at the floor.

"She hates me. Holy shit I couldn't have screwed this up any more than this. I'm an idiot. I'm hopeless, how did I manage to fuck this up this badly? Is it even possible to be as clumsy and stupid as I am?" was all Ruby could think.

And then Weiss glanced up at her, and Ruby realized that the oil company heiress was still on the floor, in an airport, with crowds of people walking around them. So she held out her hand, and Weiss hesitantly took it, and Ruby pulled her to her feet.

The brunette sighed, wringing her hands together and trying to not look like she had just fucked up her only chance with the girl she was in love with.

"We'll um, we'll go to my car, okay? It's in the parking garage," Ruby managed to say.

Weiss simply nodded, staring straight ahead. She didn't meet her gaze or make any kind of reaction at all, and it broke her heart.

The brunette fought down hot tears of pain, and shame, and absolute fury at herself for screwing this up so badly, and walked to her car.

And Weiss followed slightly behind, eyes wide and face blank.

Ruby glanced to her right, again, like she had been doing roughly every fifteen seconds for the past forty-five minutes.

And Weiss was doing the exact same thing she had been doing for those past forty-five minutes. Staring straight ahead at the road, and not saying a word. Not saying a single fucking word.

It was dark now, and the orange glow of streetlamps sped past them as they drove on in silence. Ruby didn't even have the courage to turn on any music. At this point, she just wanted to make it to her apartment, show Weiss the bed she had set up for her in the living room – or offer the heiress her own bed, probably that actually – and then sleep for the next five hundred years. Or forever, both would be fine.

But as she merged onto the exit that led to her house, Weiss laid a hand on her arm and asked her to pull over for a second. The touch sent both chills and fire up and down her spine in equal measure, but it was nothing compared to what the heiress' request was doing to her brain.

"This is it," she thought. "This is where she asks me to turn around and take her back to the airport. She'll delete me off skype, block my number, delete all my messages and... and... shit. Shit."

"Ruby..." Weiss began, and the brunette wondered why she, of all people sounded nervous right now. She should sound mad, furious, confused, one or all of those. Not nervous.

"About what... what happened back there... You kissed me, didn't you?" The heiress stared at her with those ice-blue eyes that had started stopping her heart, and they were even worse in person. She was having trouble breathing, looking into those pools of ice-water that shimmered in the darkness of the car's interior.

Ruby had had enough at that point, enough deflecting, enough making excuses, enough torturing herself. So she simply shrugged and said: "Yeap."

The heiress nodded, then returned to staring at the road. And biting her thumb. Why was she biting her thumb?

And then Weiss muttered something, something she didn't hear, and Ruby asked her to repeat it.

"I said I didn't hate it, okay?" Weiss mumbled.

And Ruby's heart stopped.

"Can I... can I have another?" the heiress asked.

And Ruby's heart restarted in overdrive, and pounded and raced and probably exploded.

She rushed forward without thinking, pushing Weiss back into the seat and capturing her lips with her own.

The kiss was soft, and warm, and set every fiber of her being on beautiful, sensual, blazing fire.

It was the first of many that they would share over the course of their lifetimes.

I don't even know what I'm doing anymore. I was flying home to the states from Okinawa, Japan, and the airplane I was flying on said "Atlas" in huge blue letters on the side, and I got this crazy idea and just had to write it. I hope you enjoyed, please leave a review if you liked it. Every time I see a new review my heart skips a little beat. I'm a dork.