A boring, unfamiliar ceiling was the first thing Weiss noticed when her eyes opened. Next, unfamiliar blankets, unfamiliar sounds, and subtle humidity that felt like tiny drops of moisture pricking her skin. She could smell Ruby though and, upon turning her head, found Ruby sitting beside her.
“Hey…” Ruby’s near grimace served as a reminder of their previous interaction, so Weiss sat up so fast that Ruby’s hands shot up. “Please don’t break anything! This isn’t my place; they'll be pissed if you wreck it.”
The rapid position change left Weiss vaguely lightheaded, making ‘breaking’ anything far from her mind.
“Where am I?” she mumbled instead, rubbing her neck.
“Yang and Blake’s house.”
A hiss escaped her lips.
“Yang’s my sister and Blake’s her girlfriend, so you don’t need to be jealous or anything.”
“I’m not jealous.” When Ruby arched her brow, Weiss faintly scoffed and looked around the small bedroom. She felt sluggish, as if her mind had slowed from ‘superhuman’ to ‘still far above average.’ “What’d they do to me…?”
“They - uh, well, we - gave you something to help you calm down. I really should’ve had it with me, but it’s not like I planned for this to happen. Then I thought I could reason with you, which was stupid - no one reasons with a newborn. I should’ve called for help right away. Instead, I put people at risk and put you through hell and -”
“Ruby.”
Ruby stopped rambling, her expression was so apologetic that someone might think she committed an unforgivable sin. Weiss didn’t like it, not really, but part of her relished collecting these new sides of Ruby. The girls of Ember Heights would be the jealous ones.
Thinking of Ember Heights, and track, and everything that felt like a lifetime ago, she tilted her head back and sighed.
“What the hell happened…?”
“A lot, honestly.” Ruby scooted forward, perched almost precariously on the edge of her chair. “Do you feel ok?”
“I feel better than ok.” Weiss chuckled and motioned a hand to herself, free of aches and pains for the first time in years. “I’m starving though.”
“Yeah, I’ll bet.” Ruby grabbed a thermos from the side table, twisted the cap, and offered it to Weiss. “Probably best not to look. Just drink.”
It smelled too good for Weiss to bother looking. Besides, she knew what it was now: blood. Ruby made that pretty clear earlier. She didn’t know whose blood or how Ruby got it, but she took a sip and then chugged the rest. She hardly finished before Ruby offered her a second one, and it wasn’t until the third that she finally slowed down.
“God,” she sighed, jumping a bit when some dribbled down her chin. She wiped it off, her fingers coming away red, and then noticed Ruby’s dark eyes. “Want some?” she offered, but Ruby leaned away.
“That’s all yours. I…I ate recently.”
The comment might have passed unnoticed if Ruby hadn’t suddenly grown an aversion to meeting Weiss’ gaze.
“You mean me, don’t you.” When Ruby stared at the corner of the room, Weiss felt - well, she wasn’t blushing, but her embarrassment was rising. Still, she had to ask. “…how was it?”
“Oh, uh, you know -” Ruby blew a breath through her lips before finally meeting Weiss’ gaze. “I’ll spend eternity wishing I could have you again.”
Arousal replaced Weiss’ embarrassment. Suddenly, her mouth started watering.
“Maybe there are other parts of me that taste equally good…” she breathed out, vividly envisioning her legs wrapped around Ruby’s head in this very bed, gasping and moaning while Ruby’s tongue worked magic.
Noticing Ruby’s rapidly darkening eyes and stilted breathing, another unexpected thought occurred to her.
“Did you just…see that, too?”
“Uh…yeah,” Ruby admitted, her gaze returning to the corner of the room.
“As in…you can see my thoughts?” Weiss pressed, unsure if she was more mortified or enthralled.
“Um, yeah, but…that one was mine.”
A full second passed before Weiss spoke again.
“What do you mean ‘that one?’” Ruby coughed into her hand, squirming in the chair, and Weiss had her answer. “Please tell me you’re kidding,” she said, though she already knew that Ruby wasn’t. “You’re telling me…everything I was thinking about you, you could see it, too??”
“Um…yes. Just as clearly as you could.” Weiss buried her face in her hands, humiliated and vaguely frustrated, but Ruby quickly grabbed her hand. “I loved it though. Why do you think you got some of mine in return?”
“But which ones were yours…?”
It didn’t take long for Weiss to put two and two together. Knowing what she knew now, Ruby’s fantasies involved biting her neck. She had vaguely wondered if she’d developed a strange fetish...
Of course, now she focused on Ruby, not letting her eyes stray while imagining straddling Ruby in that chair. One hand palmed Ruby’s chest while the other tugged Ruby’s head to one side, revealing an expanse of smooth porcelain that Weiss bit into like softened caramel.
Ruby’s pupils engulfed silver as Weiss pushed the daydream further. Ruby’s hands were on Weiss’ thighs now, sliding upward…but then the fantasy abruptly evaporated with the appearance of Ruby’s fangs - deathly sharp and accompanied by a low growl. Ruby grabbed Weiss’ wrists and slammed them to the pillow above her head while seamlessly climbing on top of her. Every inch of Weiss’ body reacted to Ruby’s strength and power, arching up in a silent plea that Ruby rewarded with a searing kiss.
There was nothing better than kissing Ruby with every sense dialed up to eleven. Weiss could feel everything. Taste everything. Hear everything.
The last ‘perk’ ended up being a drawback when she moaned - rather loudly - and someone in another part of the house responded by clearing their throat. Ruby pulled back as if someone had just zapped her with electricity, but her gaze hungrily roved over Weiss before she slipped off the bed.
“Sorry, you - um, really get to me sometimes.” Ruby took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, ignoring Weiss’ pleased smile. “Let’s just…focus on the big stuff right now, ok? You must have lots of questions.”
Most of Weiss’ questions revolved around how a tryst between them would play out, but she tried to focus on the big, huge bomb that Ruby had dropped on her. Superhuman blood drinkers. Ruby might not have given it a name, but Weiss had seen enough movies to get the idea.
“Are you like a hundred years old?”
A startled laugh slipped through Ruby’s lips before she shook her head.
“No, I’m new at this, too. We all are. I turned a little over a year ago, and Blake turned Yang not much before that.”
When Weiss huffed at Blake’s name, Ruby scooted closer.
“She’s really nice. She just doesn’t put up with crap from newborns. I’d know.” Ruby chuckled for a moment before gently sneaking a hand over Weiss’. “The beginning is rough. Knowing that you died…lots of strong feelings come up. Even for me, and I asked for it. Begged, really, and I still threw Yang through a wall.” When Weiss’ brow rose, Ruby sighed. “I was super pissed that she ‘got a girlfriend and abandoned me.’” Ruby shook her head and waved it away. “I was a little unreasonable.”
“I threw you through several walls. And off some buildings.”
“Yes,” Ruby said, laughing now. “If it was a competition, you definitely won.”
“I guess I was a little unreasonable, too…”
“You were pretty reasonable, considering -” Ruby made a small motion with one hand and then leaned forward to meet Weiss’ gaze. “I think I get it now, but…why were you so mad at me? Was it really because I ‘cheated’ or was it because I let you win?”
Drawn back to what felt like a lifetime ago, Weiss sighed at her hands. She wasn’t angry now. She was mostly in shock at it all.
“This was one of the best years of my life,” she quietly admitted. “For the first time, I felt like a part of something. It wasn’t ‘Weiss Schnee and the track team.’ It was just…us. Sure, my dad pushed me to the point of exhaustion, but it was all easier without being alone. So finding out that none of it was real…”
“It was real.” Ruby squeezed Weiss’ hand and nodded. “The only things that weren't real were my times. Your teammates, your coaches, your dad…I never talked to them. I only showed them that you’re human.” When Weiss’ brow furrowed, Ruby grimaced. “Well, you were human. And you might’ve gotten perfect grades and looked perfect and ran like a goddess, but you still had feelings and deserved to be seen. I can’t make other people be nice to you, Weiss. They saw you like I did.”
“But…why?”
Ruby sat back and blew a breath through her lips. Eventually, she shook her head. “I guess…when I saw you standing alone, I just…wanted to make you happy. I hoped that if everyone else saw that you weren’t perfect, that they’d…rally to help you.”
“Risky gamble.” Weiss wiped a tear from her eye and then sighed. “God, I don’t even know why I’m crying…”
“Like you said, you had a big year. And for the next few months, you’re going to feel everything without a filter. It’ll be a lot…but cathartic, in a way.”
Feeling ‘everything without a filter’ sounded overwhelming but much more manageable when Ruby sat on the bed beside her and gently draped an arm around her shoulders.
“So…are you still mad at me?”
Weiss closed her eyes and leaned into Ruby’s side.
“I kind of want to strangle you, but I also don’t want to let you out of my sight.”
“Now you know how Yang feels.”
Weiss’ eyes snapped open as she looked at Ruby.
“Does Yang also want to chain you naked to this bed?”
Ruby froze, mid-laugh and smile, then coughed into one hand.
“Uh, not that I’m aware of, no.”
Mollified, Weiss melted back into Ruby’s side.
“I was really looking forward to going out with you though…”
“Then let’s do that!” When Weiss glanced up, Ruby nodded. “Let’s go out. Just you and me. We can still go on a date.”
“Really?”
“Why not?” As Weiss warmed up to the idea, Ruby added, “You just have to promise to stay as calm as possible. No more getting angry at me.”
“What if you do something worth getting angry about?”
“Then I need to not do things that’ll make you angry!” Grinning now, Ruby stood and offered Weiss a hand. “What do you say?”
Weiss didn’t need convincing. Once she let Ruby pull her to her feet, however, she looked down at herself and shook her head. “I can’t go out like this.” She lifted the t-shirt’s hem and let it fall back into place.
“Why not? You look cute.”
“‘Cute,’” Weiss huffed. “I didn’t want to look ‘cute’ for our first date, Ruby. I wanted to look so jaw-dropping gorgeous that you had to have me.”
Desire flashed through Ruby’s eyes, but she didn’t act on it more than by faintly baring her teeth. “Ok,” she concluded before glancing around and holding a finger to her lips. “Follow me,” she whispered, taking Weiss’ hand and leading them into the hall.
Monster aficionados would be woefully disappointed by the stunningly average hallway of a stunningly average home. Next to the bedroom that Weiss had awoken in, the master bedroom revealed a large closet filled with…clothes.
“Pick whatever,” Ruby instructed, motioning to one side of the closet. “Most of it might be a little big, but…”
“I can make it work.” Weiss moved closer but then paused. “These aren’t Blake’s, right?”
“Yang’s. And she won’t care, so have at it.”
Mollified, Weiss hummed to herself and perused Yang’s extensive closet. “She has good taste,” she mused after spotting several possibilities. Minutes later, the perfect outfit had materialized and, after a few adjustments to help it fit better, Weiss turned around and held out her arms.
“What do you think?”
The appreciative gleam in Ruby’s eyes sent her desire racing. She stepped forward without thinking, keen to chase the feeling, but Ruby’s hands landed on her shoulders to keep her at bay.
“You look incredible,” Ruby said before Weiss could feel annoyed. “You’ve always looked incredible though,” Ruby added, along with a light kiss on Weiss’ cheek, before smiling and grabbing Weiss’ hand.
Subtle frustration burned in Weiss’ veins, but nowhere near as scorching hot as earlier. That was fortunate, as it turned out, since Ruby led her to the living room where Blake and Yang waited. Blake, curled into Yang’s side, read a book while Yang looked at something on her phone. Movie nerds everywhere wept at the scene’s domestic bliss, especially when Yang noticed them and brightened like sunshine.
“Sleeping Beauty awakes!” Yang’s eyes briefly widened when a low hiss slipped through Weiss’ lips, but then she chuckled. “Sleeping Beauty doesn’t like nicknames. Got it.” Undaunted, Yang tilted her head and squinted. “...is that my shirt?”
“She wanted something nice to wear,” Ruby explained while Weiss glanced down at the clothes. “I figured who better to borrow from than the person with a mini department store at home.”
“I hope you don’t mind,” Weiss added, but Yang waved her off.
“Nah, no problem. It looks good on you! And I never thought to tie it up like that.”
The compliment wormed its way through Weiss’ general moodiness, prompting a smile. Ruby was right - Yang didn’t care - but, as the amber eyes glowering over the top of a book suggested, Blake took offense to someone wearing her girlfriend’s clothes.
So Weiss preened a little, tugging at a sleeve here, cinching the skirt’s hem tighter there. Ordinarily, she knew when to leave well enough alone, but a new, unshakable confidence steered her actions. Once she was positive that Blake had duly noted the outfit, she dropped the word that no one seemed to want to say.
“So you’re all vampires.”
The book snapped shut.
Yang glanced at Blake and then nervously chuckled.
“We prefer to think of ourselves as not-quite-humans with peculiar eating habits.”
“I see…so you’re the cheerful one. What’re you doing with Medusa?”
Forget smirking - Blake was in Weiss’ face faster than she could blink.
“Listen,” Blake said, her voice low and dangerous. “You’re new here…so you might want to watch what you say.”
A growl started in the back of Weiss’ throat, but Ruby tugged her away while Yang did the same with Blake.
“Ok…the nap didn’t help.” Yang again chuckled, somehow finding humor while Weiss and Blake seethed at each other. But Weiss gleaned some vindication when Blake turned away first, courtesy of Yang lightly kissing her cheek, and then Yang melted Weiss’ irritation with a winning smile.
“While you were out, we found the guy who shot you.”
“You did?” She glanced at Ruby. “Is he still alive?”
“We don’t kill people,” Blake snapped. “If we need to protect ourselves, sure, but we don’t go after them for revenge.”
“Except Ruby almost tore his arm off, so…”
When Weiss turned to Ruby, brow raised, Ruby blew a breath through her lips.
“Not my fault he had weak joints…”
As a delightful feeling slipped through Weiss’ skin, Yang held a hand up to her mouth and leaned closer to whisper, “Seriously. Ruby went feral on his ass.”
“He shot her,” Ruby growled - and oh how Weiss needed to hear that again. Unfortunately, Ruby pressed her hands together and collected herself. “He was plotting to kill your whole family,” she explained, her fangs slowly fading away. “Once we left, we sent the cops an anonymous tip and they raided his place. Found all the evidence and arrested him. They can fix his arm if they want.”
The delightful feeling morphed into outright desire that Weiss would have acted on had Yang not playfully nudged her shoulder.
“Pretty sure he’ll lose his shit when he hears you’ve never been shot.”
Weiss smiled, deciding that she liked Yang, before looking at Ruby.
“I wish I’d been there.”
“I’m glad you weren’t. Definitely not my finest hour.” Ruby grimaced at the memory before perking up. “But since that’s taken care of and you’re feeling better, we can go on our date.”
With little filter, Weiss’ thrill at going on a date with Ruby beat all of the trophies and races she had ever won.
“Sure that’s a good idea?”
But her jaw audibly snapped shut at Blake’s dry question, so Ruby tugged her closer and said, “She just drank like three liters of blood -”
“So? If she gets out of control…”
“She’ll be fine.” Ruby’s arm wrapping around Weiss’ waist was the only thing preventing Weiss from flying across the room. “There aren’t many people out now and I’ll be with her the whole time. Besides, I think I’m pretty good at distracting her.”
“Can you distract her without her beating you to a pulp?” Yang teased. Ruby punched her in the shoulder, but she didn’t even flinch. Blake, meanwhile, studied Weiss.
“Are you hungry?”
“Not really, but I probably have space for one bitchy vampire,” Weiss drawled. Ruby choked back a laugh and Yang huffed before quickly forcing a neutral face, but Blake glowered and opened her book.
“Fucking newborns…” she muttered under her breath as she returned to reading. Ruby, fortunately, seized the opportunity to leave unscathed. Yang mouthed ‘sorry’ before settling on the arm of the sofa, setting one hand on Blake’s shoulder in support.
Ordinarily, Weiss would find it sweet. Tonight, she scoffed as Ruby led her out of the ordinary house nestled in a dark, quiet neighborhood.
“Why does Blake hate me?” she asked as soon as they reached the sidewalk.
“Well, you did just call her a bitch…” Weiss’ jaw locked shut, so Ruby hurriedly added, “But she started it - you only finished it.” At Weiss’ pleased hum, Ruby took another breath. “And she doesn’t hate you…but there’s something weird going on. Yang and I think it’s a territorial thing. You’re not, like, hers, so she’s all worked up about it.”
“‘Hers?’”
“Yeah. Since she turned me and Yang, we’re both close to the family tree. But since I turned you, it’s a little…different?” As Weiss’ brow rose, Ruby waved her free hand in front of her. “I’m not really sure how it works, but I do know that she’ll come around. She’s probably just worried this’ll cut into her reading time - and you are really pretty. She hasn’t had competition for Yang in…forever.”
“So she’s jealous. Lovely.”
Feeling a swell of annoyance - the kind that almost convinced her to turn around and settle this issue the fast way - she took a short breath and focused on Ruby’s hand instead. They were holding hands - the her from a few days ago would have been over the moon about holding Ruby’s hand. The her now was still pretty fucking thrilled about it, so she tried not to make a fool of herself.
“It’s late,” she commented, noting the dark neighborhood.
“Yeah, it’s best if you aren’t around too many people right now.”
“Why? Do I look that awful?”
“You look amazing. It’s them I’m worried about.” Ruby motioned a shoulder to one of the houses, where lights shone through the windows. If Weiss strained her ears, she heard the voices inside. She could even faintly smell them.
“Incredible…” she murmured, testing her new senses. When focused, she could pinpoint small creatures in the trees and track bats careening through the air - she could even see the insects they were chasing. She could hear individual leaves rustling…a car driving in the distance…televisions in some houses, silence in others.
“Pretty cool, right?” Ruby smiled at her before looking up at the stars. “There are definitely some perks.”
They walked several more seconds in silence, with Weiss marveling at how much detail she could see in the stars, before Ruby glanced over.
“I know it’s a lot, but you don’t have to figure everything out right away. Your family shouldn’t suspect anything until they realize you aren’t aging, so you have time. The most important thing is to get your emotions under control. And learn how to, you know, not kill people.”
“Is that what happens? Whenever you…you know.”
“Drink from someone?” Ruby waited for Weiss’ hesitant nod before shaking her head. “They don’t die. Or they shouldn’t. But it’s easy to lose control, especially when you’re new.”
“Has that ever happened to you?”
The way Ruby sighed suggested that she’d expected the question yet still didn’t want to answer it.
“Almost,” she admitted anyway. “Luckily, Yang was there. Just like I’ll be here to help you.” Ruby paused and quickly backtracked. “I mean, only if you want me to be. I don’t want to assume. It’s just - I know how hard it is, so if you want someone to…guide you, I guess, then I’m here for you. I’m the reason you’re in this mess to begin with.”
“So you shot me?” When Ruby’s brow furrowed, Weiss clutched her elbow close to herself and tried to control her warring emotions. “My father’s the reason I’m here,” she forced through clenched teeth. “He doesn’t care who he hurts even if that means putting his family in danger. He made the whole city hate us enough to kill us. You had nothing to do with that. You saved me.”
Despite the absolution, Ruby looked up and sighed.
“It still sucks. You had your whole life ahead of you. I won’t lie and say I didn’t imagine this, but I wanted you to have a long, happy, human life.”
“‘Happy?’” Weiss scoffed and shook her head. “Ruby, my life wasn’t going to be ‘happy.’ That’s why this year was so important. It was my last year with any sort of freedom. After graduation, my dad would be in charge and I’d be…powerless. The end of school was the end of life as I knew it.”
“I still didn’t want this to happen…”
Weiss wasn’t so sure that she agreed as she stared at the park across the street, teeming with life that would have once been invisible to her. Tonight, she noticed everything. She even noticed the way Ruby drew in a short breath before faintly chuckling.
“It’s a little better this way,” Ruby admitted. “I was really worried about going out with you when you were human.”
“Why?”
“Because humans are…fragile…and you were already testing my self-control. That kiss after the championships…” Ruby blew a breath through her lips while a tingle ran down Weiss’ spine. “You’re lucky I didn’t bite you. That would’ve freaked you out and then I’d have to move to the other side of the world.”
“So you’re saying sex was off the table.”
“Oh, god.” Ruby laughed and shook her head. “I don’t know…I might’ve hurt you. Like, badly.”
‘How badly?’ Weiss nearly asked, only to be sidetracked by the sound of footsteps preceding a door opening. A young woman in scrubs crossed a front porch before unlocking the car in the driveway, and Weiss inhaled deeply.
“I can see how you might lose control…” she breathed out as her muscles coiled in preparation for something. Ruby’s fingers wrapped around her wrist, holding tight but not tight enough to set off her bubbling anger.
“She’s just going to work. You don’t want to make her late for work, do you?”
Two pieces of Weiss’ mind battled in separate directions until the car started, filling the air with a cloud of exhaust that briefly masked everything else.
“I guess not…” she mumbled as headlights moved down the road. The other desires faded, yet she still took another deep breath searching for remnants of the lady’s scent. “She smelled good though…” she admitted with a long exhale, but looked over when Ruby muffled a giggle. “What?”
“Nothing.” Ruby shook her head, but a smile sprang to her lips. “It’s just…Yang has this theory that the people you want to bite…says something about you.”
“Says what?”
“Well, uh, you’ve only been interested in women so far.” Weiss’ mouth fell open, so Ruby quickly waved her hands in front of her. “No judgment here! Just…commenting.”
‘Just commenting’ might have ‘just confirmed’ something Weiss always suspected about herself, but they passed several more houses before she summoned the courage to ask, “What about you?”
“What about me?” Weiss gestured back to where the woman lived. “Oh. I’m an equal opportunity drinker.” Ruby paused then tilted her head back and sighed. “But god if I could taste you again…”
The slight moan in Ruby’s voice let something uncontrollable take over Weiss. She grabbed hold of Ruby and had her pinned against the nearest tree before recognizing what she was even doing. Ruby’s eyes widened, surprised but unafraid.
“I’m right here, aren’t I?” she asked and, even in the darkness, could watch blackness take over Ruby’s eyes.
Noises reached their ears before either of them could respond - loud voices and wheels scratching over the sidewalk, approaching them from within the park. Ruby cleared her throat and gently pushed Weiss a step away as a group of teenage boys on skateboards and bicycles rode past. Weiss spun towards them, hissing, but Ruby grabbed her arm.
“Easy. Just let them pass.”
“I don’t want to.”
“I know.” Ruby’s arms wrapped around Weiss’ stomach and carefully but firmly pulled Weiss back against her. “But they’re not doing anything to you,” she whispered. “I am.”
The words were a soft breath on Weiss’ neck and, suddenly, that was all Weiss could think about. Her senses zeroed in on Ruby - how Ruby felt against her, how Ruby’s exhales dusted across her skin, how Ruby’s hair lightly grazed her cheek. Her hand covered Ruby’s over her stomach and squeezed, silently imploring Ruby’s lips to follow.
A vision flashed into her thoughts instead: Ruby’s arm tightening around her waist while the other slipped down the front of her skirt. Weiss’ fingers clawed at Ruby’s arms…shoulders…hair…her hips bucking, lost in desire with no other care in the world.
Then the fantasy disappeared, the boys were gone, and Ruby’s hands were still chastely clasped around Weiss’ waist.
An annoyed growl broke the silence, but then Ruby kissed her neck - just once, but once was enough to send her emotions down a different path. While she decided that public decency was for people who cared - and she no longer did - Ruby’s hand clasped hers and tugged her onward. She needed an extra second to wrangle her emotions before following Ruby deeper into the park.
“Is that normal?” she eventually asked. “That I can see what you’re thinking?”
“I actually don’t know, and I’ve been too embarrassed to ask. It makes sense though. I knew you were special the instant I smelled you.” Ruby closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “It felt like I had to have you. Really glad we met in public.”
“Otherwise, you would’ve…what? Kidnapped me to use as your blood slave?”
Weiss’ laughter trailed off when Ruby just stared at her. Before she asked what being a ‘blood slave’ would even look like, her phone interrupted with an obnoxiously loud chime. That was followed quickly by another, then another.
“God. Who the hell is it??”
She nearly crushed her phone in frustration but, once she saw the messages, her anger morphed into humor.
“What is it?”
“It’s the sprinter chat. They’re wondering where I disappeared to.” Weiss held up her phone so that Ruby could read the messages. Several were quite graphic in their suggestions for Weiss’ location over the past twenty-four hours - the last saying, ‘She can’t come to the phone right now. Too busy being pinned down by Ruby.’
“She’s not entirely wrong,” Ruby joked, pointing at the screen. When Weiss laughed, Ruby perked up. “Why don’t we send them a picture?”
Weiss’ brow rose, but Ruby already had an arm wrapped around her shoulders to pose beside her. She smiled and took the photo instead, then marveled at it for a second before sending it. The chimes returned in quick succession, and she joined in Ruby’s laughter as they watched the early responses float up the screen.
No way. She actually did it.
Actually did RUBY, you mean!
Atlas just keeps winning.
The last one pulled another laugh from Ruby as she leaned away.
“Gotta keep the rumor mill turning.”
“Is that all this is? A rumor?”
Ruby froze and looked at Weiss.
“It can be whatever you want it to be. You’re free now. If you want to go off and do your own thing, I won’t stop you. But…I want you to stick around. With me.”
Ruby’s hopeful smile made Weiss’ decision. Who was she without her father telling her what to do? She had no idea, but she knew that she wanted to find out with Ruby.
“Well, someone has to keep you from fixing track meets.” As soon as Ruby laughed, Weiss leaned against her and sighed when Ruby obligingly wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “This isn’t how I thought our first date would go,” she admitted.
“How’d you think it’d go?” Weiss scoffed and arched her brow, but Ruby waved that thought away. “I mean, besides that. What’d you think we’d do?”
“I don’t know…talk about track or something?”
“We can still do that. Did you see the look on Sasha’s face yesterday?”
“Who’s Sasha?”
“The girl from Summit Ridge? The one who beat Jocelyn a few times?” When Weiss finally said, “Ah,” Ruby smiled at her. “Did you not know anyone behind you?”
“I was more concerned about the person in front of me.” She paused and snuck Ruby a look. “How do you know everyone’s names?”
“They all just kind of introduced themselves.”
“Of course they did…”
Jealousy started at a rolling boil in Weiss’ chest as she remembered how the other girls treated Ruby. Fawning over her, batting their eyes, preening for attention.
“Anyway, Sasha was pissed,” Ruby carried on. “Called it the crime of the century and kept insisting that Jocelyn cheated.”
“Jocelyn cheated.” Weiss huffed and then side-eyed Ruby, who had the decency to cringe. “You couldn't even let me win once.”
“You won today!” Weiss rolled her eyes, so Ruby chuckled. “I thought if you beat me, it’d ruin how your teammates were rallying around you. I didn’t want that, so I figured I’d save your wins for when it mattered most.”
Reminded of how her team had rallied around her, lifting her up while also supporting each other, she blew a breath through her lips and turned away.
“You might’ve been right.”
“I have a sneaky hunch I was.” Ruby nudged Weiss’ elbow and snuck a cute smile her way. “I have the perfect date idea though…come with me?” Ruby froze and then tilted her head as an image popped into Weiss’ mind. “Not that,” Ruby added, grinning now. “Come on.”
Hand in hand, they left sleepy neighborhood streets in favor of dead, deserted streets. Weiss hadn’t realized they were so close to the outskirts until they reached the neighborhood’s edge, which sharply gave way to a paved street leading to the middle of seemingly nowhere. Barren slopes of dirt had been left for future development or rot. Without streetlights, the road disappeared into a black void lit only by the moon and stars strewn across the sky.
“Is this where you kill me and dump my body?” Weiss asked, warily eyeing the abandoned wilderness.
“As if I even could,” Ruby huffed. “And no. This is where we race.”
“‘Race?’” Ruby eagerly nodded, so Weiss looked around again. The road held potential for a straight-line sprint and, despite the wall of darkness, the moon offered more than enough light to see by. “A race,” she repeated as a smile slipped onto her lips. “You want to lose that badly?”
“Oh, I don’t plan on losing.” Weiss’ eyes narrowed as Ruby chuckled. “Let’s race from here to that little shack out there.”
With her new vision, Weiss easily picked out the abandoned shed miles away. She could even see the gaps in the weathered wood boards, the sagging roof, and the wooden fence practically disintegrating around it. A stiff gust of wind would blow the whole thing over, but it was the only landmark in a reasonable distance.
“Fine. It’ll be a fair race for once.”
“For all the bragging rights,” Ruby added while setting her phone on the road. “We go when the timer goes off.”
Weiss’ eyes flitted to the numbers illuminated on the screen before choosing one side of the road and crouching down. “We should go to an actual track next time,” she commented while Ruby did the same. “And wear appropriate gear.”
“Next time,” Ruby repeated, beaming at Weiss before turning forward. Weiss stared for a second longer, cheerful and warm at the familiar yet new experience. She was used to feeling like this in a stadium surrounded by fans, haters, and teammates. Tonight, it was just her, Ruby, and an empty road in front of them.
The timer hardly beeped before they shot off like they were strapped to rockets. Weiss instantly understood why Ruby chose an abandoned road leading nowhere - they were fast. Faster than any human could dream of being. So fast that the white dashes painted in the middle of the road melded into a single line.
It felt incredible. Effortless. She could probably run around the world without taking a breath, her arms and legs moving in perfect rhythm, smooth as honey. Ruby kept pace, sticking in that tailing position that Weiss had grown so accustomed to. Their finish line neared, so Weiss pushed herself as hard as her new limits allowed, keeping Ruby firmly behind her as the last few hundred meters disappeared underfoot.
Then history repeated itself.
Victory within reach, Ruby blew past Weiss so fast that a gust of wind rustled Weiss’ hair from behind. Weiss slowed to a stop and rested her hands on her hips, frowning, as Ruby loped back to her, grinning.
“What the hell was that?”
“That…was something I haven’t mentioned yet.” Ruby stood in front of Weiss, all perfect hair, perfect smile, and perfect skin without a drop of perspiration to be found, while Weiss narrowed her eyes. “So…most of us have our own special trait. Something we’re really good at even by our standards. Yang’s really strong, Blake’s super sneaky…and I’m really fast. Fast enough to beat a newborn, apparently!”
Ruby’s chuckle ended with a yelp when Weiss shoved her shoulder - accidentally hard enough to send her crashing through the dilapidated fence.
“God, I don’t like you right now…” Weiss sighed when Ruby popped back to her feet and dusted off splinters.
“That means you like me other times.”
“Obviously,” she huffed before eyeing Ruby. “What’s my ‘special trait’ then?”
“I’m not sure yet. It usually isn’t clear until everything’s…calmed down.” Ruby paused for a second before smiling bashfully. “It might be beauty though.”
The most recent loss and the prospect of losing every race for the rest of her life was swept away by the idea that Ruby might keep smiling at her like she was the most beautiful person in the world.
“Well,” she scoffed, flipping her hair over her shoulder before pausing. “Wait. If you’re so fast, how could I catch you yesterday?”
“I, uh, let you.” Ruby rubbed the back of her head and shot Weiss a little smile. “The first few hours are…chaos. I didn’t want you to kill anyone, but I figured you probably had some stuff to work out.”
“So you let me beat the shit out of you?”
“Hey, it’s not like I didn’t enjoy it.”
When Ruby chuckled, Weiss arched a brow and stepped closer.
“Oh?” Weiss grabbed the front of Ruby’s shirt and tugged her forward. “Is there something you’d like to admit to the class, Miss Rose?”
“Not to the whole class, but to you…”
Ruby searched Weiss’ eyes before leaning in and kissing her. Under the night sky, out in the middle of nowhere, just the two of them, secrets finally out in the open…finally free. Weiss’ desire quickly spiraled out of control, but Ruby didn’t stop this time. They melted into the kiss together, breaths deepening and hands exploring like Weiss had always dreamed it.
“Ruby…” she mustered first. Ruby pulled away, her eyes as dark as the night, and Weiss nearly lost her words. “Is there somewhere we can go?” she got out. “Somewhere…private?”
Ruby’s eyes glinted as a knowing smirk tugged at her lips.
“Like a cabin in the woods where no one can hear you scream?”
“Exactly like that.”
Far from preaching patience and control, Ruby’s grin took on a wolf-like sharpness as she swept Weiss into her arms and took off at a sprint. Weiss threaded her fingers through Ruby’s hair and kissed Ruby’s neck, sprinkling in light bites that earned pleased hisses. Her imagination spooled up, blessing Ruby with some very clear expectations for what would happen when they arrived wherever Ruby was taking them.
Ruby ran faster, whipping through the night like a comet.
And Weiss was right: the end of school signified the end of one life and the beginning of another. That new life was supposed to be oppressive and strangling. Instead, she had never felt more free. More alive. And, if Ruby granted even half of her wishes tonight, that feeling wouldn't disappear anytime soon.