I'd just like to say something before I let you start reading. I'm dedicating this story to the person that made it possible to exist at all. Thank you, Monty Oum, for creating RWBY and everything you did in your time at RoosterTeeth. Your departure saddened us all, but we'll never forget the mastermind behind this title.

For it is in passing that we achieve immortality, through this we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all.

Rest in peace, Monty.

The couple walked around the streets of the city, the girl in light blue holding the arm of the girl in red, looking at the lights and the ornaments that signified that Christmas was approaching.

Ruby looked at Weiss from time to time and almost without exception she'd see that the aristocrat was watching her, awe and love present in her eyes. I should be the one looking at her like that, especially after today. Ruby would give her girlfriend a small smile every time she caught her staring and the girl would return the smile, gently squeezing the arm she was holding as well.

Finally the two girls reached their destination, The Blossoming Lotus, a not-too-luxurious-but-still-not-cheap restaurant where Ruby reserved a table for two in her earlier visit to town. There was no dress code, but Ruby saw that most guests were dressed in black tie fashion, so the two of them wouldn't look out of place. A dark-haired maître d'hôtel in a white shirt and black vest and pants greeted them as they entered. Ruby noticed a thin streak of purple in his otherwise jet black hair that was tied into a ponytail down to his mid-back.

"Good evening, ladies. Do you have a reservation?", he said with a gentle and trained voice.

Ruby spoke up, feeling proud of herself. "Good evening, sir. We do have a reservation. Under Rose."

The maître d'hôtel checked the list and found the name quickly. "Ah, yes. Table for two in a private setting. Let me summon your waiter for the evening."

Ruby nodded as the maître d'hôtel rang a bell. Not too long after that, a blond waiter in a similar outfit came out. He spoke with a confident voice, but Ruby could hear a hint of anxiety behind the confidence. It must be his first day or similar.

"Good evening, ladies, I'll be your waiter for the night. My name is Jaune Arc. Rolls off…"

He stopped and looked at the floor. Ruby held back a chuckle and kind of wanted him to continue, but she decided it would not look good for him.

The maître d'hôtel rolled his eyes before sending him a glare. "I thought I told you not to do that anymore."

"I'm sorry, Mr Lie! It won't happen again!"

"Anyway," the man who was identified as 'Mr Lie' spoke as if he didn't hear Jaune, "these two ladies have a reservation in our private room, if you could escort them there, please."

"At once, Mr Lie. Ladies, if you please," he gestured and started walking, the two girls starting to follow him immediately. The waiter took them out of the main dining room and opened a door that led them to a small room with just one table in it, with dimmed lights and two candles on the table. There were also bouquets of red and white flowers scattered around the room, with a large rose bouquet in the middle of the table. Ruby looked at Weiss who was blushing profusely.

"Do you find the room to your liking, Miss… Rose?" He looked down on his notepad where he apparently had written all the details he needed to know.

"Yes, Mr… Arc, was it?" When the waiter nodded, Ruby continued. "It's beautiful, just like I expected."

He watched from the side as Ruby offered Weiss to help her with the jacket, which the blushing girl accepted. Ruby put the two jackets on a stand conveniently placed next to the door.

"If there's nothing else, I'll be fetching you the menus." Ruby gave him a short nod and the waiter bowed slightly before disappearing and leaving the duo alone in the room.

Ruby was watching Weiss take in everything that happened. She then offered a hand to the aristocrat, which she gladly took, and led her to the table, helping her to sit down in a gentlemanly fashion. She then went to the other side of the table and sat herself down. Weiss was still looking around, taking the scenery in, and Ruby revelled in her untainted joy.

Finally, the white-haired girl regained the gift of speech. "Ruby, this place looks fantastic. But are you sure it's not too… Posh?"

"Snowflake, you're forgetting that I'm getting a college teacher salary. I can afford posh. Not the top end, but this is perfectly manageable. And before you say anything, no, we're not splitting the bill. I mean it."

"But Ruby…"

"No buts, except your sexy little one later when we get back home," Ruby said, winking.

Weiss had to chuckle at that. "You dolt."

Ruby smiled at her and sent her a kiss.

The dinner was done and the girls were waiting for the dessert. Weiss had two glasses of wine, the same amount as Ruby, but the girl in red looked as if she hadn't drunk anything while Weiss felt that the world was a bit more blurry than usual. Nothing she couldn't handle, though, she was sure of that.

Their waiter, Jaune, entered with two small bowls, each containing one red and one white ice cream scoop. Weiss assumed one was vanilla and the other strawberry. In the centre of the table, he positioned a plate with chocolate chip cookies. As soon as he left, Weiss noticed Ruby extending her hand, taking two cookies and eating them almost immediately.

"Jeez, rosebud, it's not like anyone will steal those cookies."

Ruby looked down, slightly ashamed. "I… It's just instinct. I love chocolate chip cookies. I can eat a whole bag of them at once."

"Relax, I didn't want to make you feel uncomfortable."

"I know you didn't, but I know it isn't the best thing to do. But I can't stop doing that."

"Hey, better chocolate than drugs."

"I agree with you there."

They finished their meal in silence, Ruby eating the vast majority of the cookies and her ice cream, when the waiter returned with a bill. Ruby took a plastic card from her purse and put it on the bill without even looking at the price. Weiss wanted to say something, but Ruby just lifted her finger, so Weiss backed down. When the plastic card was returned, Ruby stood up and went over to the clothes stand and took the jackets, offering one to Weiss. They dressed, thanked the waiter for his service and left, giving a polite goodbye to the maître d'hôtel, which he gallantly returned, before stepping onto the street, Weiss holding Ruby's arm again.

"So, snowflake, how did you like the dinner?"

"I loved it. Thank you very, very much."

"No need to thank me, you deserved it."

"You really think that?"

"You made me proud back there. I had to make it up to you somehow."

"What if I screwed up?"

"That was never a chance. But, in the hypothetical scenario that something like that would happen, then I'd have to cheer you up somehow, wouldn't I?"

Weiss blushed slightly. "I guess you're right. So, are we going home now?"

"I guess we are. I'd ask you to come stargazing with me, but it's the middle of December. Why, are you so eager to get out of that dress?"

"More like eager to get you out of your dress," Weiss said without batting an eye. Ruby looked at her with widened eyes.

"Damn, if I knew alcohol makes you so brave I'd take you out for a drink earlier."

Weiss blushed. "Stop it."

"As soon as you kiss me."

That took the aristocrat by surprise. "What?"

"You heard me, snowflake. I'll stop teasing you as soon as you kiss me."

Weiss was unsure what to do. I want her to stop teasing at least until we get back to our room, but then again, it's a public place. People might see us kiss. Then again, they already saw me holding her arm before and I really shouldn't be ashamed of it, but what if someone recognizes me and tells my parents about this? Then again, my holding her arm is also a sign of something. To hell with it.

Weiss leaned in and fervently kissed a seemingly surprised Ruby that only returned the kiss a second or so later. Weiss threw her hands around the taller girl's neck and she felt that her girlfriend held her by the waist. Ruby leaned in just a bit more, deepening the kiss. This feels so wrong but so right at the same time. I never want this kiss to end.

Alas, it was not meant to be. The kiss was abruptly broken when Ruby jumped back in surprise at a third voice.

"Ruby?"

Ruby was startled and started looking around her. Weiss did the same, wanting to find out who it was that broke the perfect moment she shared with her girlfriend. She noticed a girl a bit older than the two of them, with short red hair with blonde highlights and blue eyes. She was also taller than the two girls, even with both wearing heels while she didn't. Weiss also saw the tears in the corners of this girl's eyes. Who is this girl?

Ruby apparently knew her. "Hi, Becky." Weiss didn't like the tone of her girlfriend's voice. She had only heard it once, before fighting Cardin on the first day. What did this girl do to make Ruby use that voice?

"I… I guess I shouldn't be surprised," the girl said, looking at the ground in apparent shame and sadness.

"With what? Me getting over you after you dumped me?"

Oh. Is this the girlfriend that broke up with her about three weeks ago? It certainly seemed so, as Weiss didn't really believe someone would be that hostile with someone that broke up with them years ago. The girl seemed down at Ruby's words, too, which only added to the thought Weiss was having.

"I…" Her voice seemed weak, like she was really upset. "No. Not at getting over me. Just… You confirmed my suspicions that you can get better girls than me."

Ruby seemed surprised at this declaration. "What are you talking about?"

"Well, she's much richer than I am, you can see that easily. She's also very pretty, prettier than me, I must admit."

"She's still here, you know. Don't talk like she isn't."

Weiss tried to intervene. "Ruby…"

"Not now, Weiss."

"Ruby, calm down."

"I can't, Weiss! She dumped me because she claimed our long distance thing isn't working out! And not even a month later, she's back here and somehow she's the victim of our breakup!"

The girl, Becky, spoke up again. "Ruby, please, just listen to me."

"What do you have to say I haven't heard yet?"

"I'm sorry I hurt you."

"You said that then, too."

"Ruby, please. I know I hurt you and I really felt bad about it. I know you don't believe me, but it's true. I'm glad you bounced back, but that doesn't change the fact that in the time I… Was away from you, I had time to think about us. And I realized that breaking up with you was a mistake. I realized I still love you. I know it makes no difference now, but for the last week or so I've been trying to find you, but not on the college grounds as I didn't want to come off as a stalker of some sort. As for why I'm living here, I dropped out."

"You dropped out? Why?" Ruby looked at her ex-girlfriend with concern.

"Because I really thought we could start things anew. I guess I'm a kind of a foolish girl that thinks everything will turn out exactly how I want it in the end. I should probably start remembering that fairytales are not real world. I had no business expecting you to come back to me, yet I still held hope. I'm sorry I hurt you and I know I can't repair the damage I've done. I'm glad you moved on and I hope she makes you happier than I could. But, can we be at least friends again? Please. I'd really appreciate it."

Ruby looked at her ex with a blank expression. Weiss stepped in and held Ruby's hand. "Ruby, I think she's being honest."

Ruby looked at Weiss with a similar expression she used on Becky. Weiss spoke again with a warm smile. "Ruby, give her a chance. For me."

Ruby stood there for another moment and then nodded. "I'm doing this because of my girlfriend, Becky. I can try to be friends with you again. But the first time I start suspecting you trying to take me away from Weiss, I'm blanking you until one of us dies."

Becky's face lit up. "Thank you, Ruby! Thank you so much for this chance!"

"Thank Weiss, not me. I had no intention of letting you back into my life. That doesn't mean I'm not still angry with you, though."

Becky was unsure of what to do. Weiss gave her an asserting look. "Yes, of course! Thank you, Weiss! I'm indebted to you! I don't know how to repay you, but I will somehow. I promise!"

"Umm… Don't mention it," Weiss said with a faint blush.

"Yeah, great, great. Now that the pleasantries are through, we must bid you farewell, Becky. We need to get back to the dorms because we have a rough day ahead of us tomorrow. See you!"

Ruby was acting completely unlike her, Weiss noted. Becky waved the pair goodbye enthusiastically and Weiss returned the wave. Ruby, on the other hand, could barely wait that was over with and nearly stormed away. Weiss caught up to her.

"Ruby…"

"Not now, Weiss. Let's just go home."

Ruby held her arm out again and Weiss took it without thinking, wanting to calm the girl down.

"I know I said it was cold for stargazing, but would you like to anyway? I need some romantic activity to forget that I just let someone who hurt me back into my life."

"Anything for you, Ruby. Anything so you stop acting like that."

Ruby said nothing for the remainder of the journey to the college grounds. Stepping inside the grounds, the pair went to the part of the lawn that wasn't occupied by the stage from before, Ruby sitting down under a birch tree and Weiss sitting just in front of her so Ruby could embrace her from behind. They were looking at the stars for a while when Weiss noticed Ruby was shaking. At first she thought Ruby was cold, but then she heard her sob. Weiss clutched her hands around the ones around her neck.

"Ruby…"

"She broke our first official kiss, Weiss! She ruined our first official date!"

"No, she didn't. I still had a great time at the restaurant and I enjoyed the time I got to spend with you. I'd count that as a successful date."

"I wanted it to be perfect."

"And it was, Ruby. Please, stop making yourself feel bad about Becky. She was just insecure and thought she was acting the right way."

"And why exactly would she be insecure? I wasn't her first, she told me that much."

"Maybe she had lots on her mind with her education, maybe her parents weren't too keen on you two together. There are a lot of things that might have gone through her head. Maybe she thought the best way to act on her thoughts was exactly what she did."

"How do you know?"

"I went through a similar phase this summer."

"I'm sorry, Weiss, I shouldn't…"

"Shut up and listen to me now," Weiss said in a no-nonsense voice, "I don't want you moping over her. I want the confident and charismatic Ruby back. I want back Ruby that will flirt with me in the most profane way, making me as uncomfortable as possible. I want back Ruby that almost made me skip dinner while getting me out of my ballet dress earlier. I want back Ruby," she turned around slightly so she could whisper in her ear, "that told me about two hours ago that the only but she'll be happy to get is my sexy little one. That's the Ruby I love. I want that Ruby back. And I want her back now," she finished with an emphasis and kissed Ruby's cheek awkwardly from her position and stood up, holding out her hand. "Now where would I go about finding that girl?", she said to Ruby with a wink.

Ruby then stood up herself and kissed Weiss passionately on the lips before taking her hand and starting to walk towards the dorm. The dark-haired girl spoke just four words.

"I love you, snowflake."

Weiss smiled. "I love you too, rosebud."

Ruby spent the Exterior Design class thinking about things that didn't concern the class. If someone would take a look at her, she would appear to absentmindedly gaze out the window, bewitched by watching the first snow fall. But she had a lot on her mind at that moment. She wanted to concentrate and she shook herself out of her thoughts a couple times, but she always found herself lost in thoughts again, so she stopped trying.

I didn't need this to happen. I can't stand the conflict. On one hand, she seemed sincere enough to make me believe her. On the other, I just wanted to obliterate her for what she did to me. Can I go back to being friends with her?

You have to try. For Weiss's sake.

But I don't want to hurt Weiss if it turns out I still have feelings for Becky.

Do you?

I don't know!

A tear trickled down Ruby's cheek and she quickly wiped it away. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't shake the feeling that there was something wrong. Concentrating on the lesson was in vain, as she noted that there was barely any time left on the clock.

She started thinking about the morning and how she awoke being a smaller spoon for the first time. She could still feel the warm touch of Weiss's hand over her abdomen, her gentle breath on the nape of Ruby's neck, and just how freaking amazing her body felt against Ruby's back. She didn't want to change that feeling for the world, but when Weiss awoke, Ruby was crying instead of smiling. When the white-haired girl wanted to know what was wrong, Ruby lied. She said that she had a bad dream. I lied to her and I felt so bad about it. But I couldn't tell her that our meeting with Becky was still haunting me. She doesn't need to get upset over it.

The bell finally rang and Ruby wanted go outside, but a hand on her shoulder stopped her. She was immediately on guard, jumping away from the touch and positioning herself in a combat stance.

"Woah, Ruby, slow down! It's just me!"

Ruby then noticed just who it was that stopped her. A girl, about two inches taller than Ruby, with glasses over her piercing green eyes. Her hair was platinum blonde and tied into a ponytail that went just slightly below her shoulders.

"Gia Goodwitch. You know better than to sneak up on me like that."

Gia was Ruby's best friend on the campus, excluding Weiss, of course. The two of them were pretty close and Ruby knew that Gia could be trusted. She was also a huge fan of Bleeding Sun, the band Ruby's sister was a frontwoman of, so that helped. Especially once Ruby told her that her sister was in it.

"I know, but you were almost running and I had to get your attention somehow since you wouldn't answer when I was calling your name."

"Sorry, I'm kind of stressed right now," Ruby said while looking at the floor.

"I could see that from a mile away. Want to tell me what's wrong?"

"Not here. Let's go somewhere we won't be interrupted or overheard, shall we?"

Gia nodded and followed Ruby to the bar in the college's basement. While it was usually packed, it was also a place where Ruby knew nobody would listen to their conversations for that same fact. People tend not to overhear what you're talking about if they're talking as well. Not like Ruby intended to yell anyway.

The two girls took a table close to the window. The main reason was that the table was small enough so they wouldn't even need to speak loudly to hear each other. The barista came to them quickly and took their order. He returned not two minutes later with the coffee. Gia took a sip of the liquid, not adding a single grain of sugar to it while Ruby listened to her sweet tooth, as usual, and poured three sugars in it.

"So, now that we are here, can you tell me what's bothering you, Ruby?"

Ruby sighed while stirring her coffee, melting the sugar in the process. "Well, I don't really know. it shouldn't even be an issue, but somehow it is."

Gia took another sip. "I'm listening."

Ruby took a deep breath before continuing. "You already know about my latest breakup. You also know about Weiss and me." Gia nodded at both statements. "Yesterday, I took Weiss out for a dinner after her performance. It was all going perfectly well. We even kissed in public for the first time. Then Becky showed up and interrupted us."

Gia looked at Ruby with a judgingly raised eyebrow. "You mean the girl that was going to college somewhere in the south? The girl that dumped you because you were so far away from each other?"

Ruby nodded. "Yes. That same girl."

"What was she doing here?"

"I'm getting to that. So, she interrupts our kiss and I was ready to kill anyone that dared to do that. Then I see her face and she looked like she was crying. Then she says she dropped out of college and wanted to have another chance with me." Ruby took a large sip of her coffee.

"And what did you say?"

"What do you think I said?", Ruby said, slightly annoyed at the question, putting the cup down. "I was out with my new girlfriend. Naturally I told her no. I even wanted to say I don't want to see her ever again, but Weiss begged me to give Becky another chance at being friends. So I caved in and said I'd try to be friends with her again."

"Well, then, what's upsetting you?"

"That's exactly the problem. It shouldn't even be an issue, but I'm afraid I might still have feelings for her."

Gia finished her coffee and set the cup on the small plate that came with it. "Whether you have feelings for your ex or not is easy to guess. Let me ask you two questions and answer truthfully."

Ruby took another large sip. "Shoot."

"Question number one: How do you feel when you're around Weiss?"

"She makes me feel alive. I'm happier than ever around her," Ruby replied, barely missing a beat.

"Question number two: Did you feel the same when you were with Becky?"

Ruby looked at the floor for a moment. This question shouldn't be that hard to answer, god damn it. This shouldn't even be a question.

Finally, Ruby spoke. "No. I was happy, but not in the same way."

"See? No need to worry then." Gia spread her arms, inviting Ruby into a hug. The dark-haired girl accepted the embrace, getting smothered by her friend's rather ample chest. But she wasn't sure she was telling Gia the whole truth. Was I just saying that because I want to believe it?

Weiss was in a similar train of thought when she went to her Creative Writing class. She found herself thinking about the day before and Ruby and Becky. Did I do the right thing, letting that girl back into Ruby's life? She openly admitted to still having feelings for Ruby. Ruby herself didn't look too sure about her feelings either. She seemed genuinely upset when we were stargazing. She did calm down and we did spend a very enjoyable night together, but when I woke up, she was crying. I'm not buying into her explanation of a bad dream. I know it's connected to Becky somehow. But if she won't tell me, I won't push. But I still have a very bad feeling about this. Did I make a mistake?

Weiss shook her thoughts away as the teacher opened the classroom and the students hurried in. When everyone was seated down, the teacher went to the middle of the room and started talking with his usual calm voice.

"Good morning, students! Since this is our last class before Christmas break, I'm going to keep it short. I will be giving you an assignment that you will have a full month to write. I'm giving you that much time because it will be a very difficult assignment. I can already tell you that the topic of the assignment will be one of the strongest emotions known to mankind."

He then started to ramble on about themes and how to use them effectively, something Weiss read about a month before already and felt couldn't improve much on, but she listened intently anyway. You never know when he'll say something you somehow forgot or didn't pay attention to.

She took notes, but the teacher kept it very short, like he promised, as he was only talking for about half an hour.

"Now, I promised to be short, so this is the end of the lecture. As for the assignment. You will be writing a four to ten pages long composition. I want you to incorporate what you have learned about themes today. As for the prompt: there isn't one. The only thing to keep in mind is that you write about one of the strongest human emotions. The emotion I want you to write about is of course love. It doesn't necessarily need to be romantic love, but it has to be love. This assignment will also be responsible for a part of your final grade. Class dismissed. Happy holidays!"

Weiss finished writing down the instructions and smiled faintly as she put her notebook in her bag. She already knew what she was going to write about. Who knows, maybe this assignment will make me realize what is wrong with Ruby and maybe she'll be more open about the situation.

White Rose encountered a bump in their relationship. Can they pull through? Find out in next chapter.

Thanks for the support! Reviews are welcome, as usual.