When Pyrrha asked Ruby to help set up the stage for the University's charity event, she knew that the soon to be sophomore would get easily distracted. Even Jaune, a one-track mind man himself knew this. It wasn't a matter of if, but a question of what.

What would carry Ruby away from her volunteer work? What was her inevitable distraction? What made her so happy that she dropped a box on Jaune's foot?

"Blakey!" Ruby shouted.

"Son-Of-A-Biscuit!" Jaune cried. He hopped on his good foot while Ruby hopped from the stage to her waiting girlfriend.

Pyrrha grabbed the box knowing her friend would be okay. But she gave him a kiss on the cheek just to make sure. Likewise, Blake was being smothered in kisses from her small girlfriend.

"You're 22 Jaune." Blake casually said, "You can curse." She turned to face the rose wrapped around her like a clamp, "You okay Ruby?"

Ruby nuzzled Belladonna's chest. Her legs locked on Blake's hips and her arms anchored around her back. Blake kept her up with both hands under Ruby's hamstrings. Although, it wasn't necessary. Ruby's grip was just that tight.

"I missed you!" Ruby announced.

"I talked to you last night," Blake informed.

Her job hunting escapade had kept her from giving Ruby good morning kisses, or even good night hugs. Ruby was awoken from an alarm on her phone. She was close to living one of her fears.

Touch starved, "I don't care!"

Ruby kissed her partner on the lips again. This time, less cutesy, and more forcefully. Blake had no objections letting her love in. Although, the taste left Blake confused.

She pulled back, cutting the kiss short. There was something under it that bothered her. Ruby had used mouthwash, to mask something just barely there.

"What's up?" Ruby asked.

Blake didn't want to say it. Not in front of everyone. Not with so little evidence. She had to wait. Make a call first.

But for now, "You're so emotional."

Their foreheads touched and it was as if everything else was gone.

They could feel the light breeze but that was it. The people that stared at them weren't there anymore. Ruby's duty to set up was meaningless. Blake's stress from being in an interview was irrelevant. Something as simple as a kiss, a hug, and a joke evaporated the pair's concerns. If only for less than a minute, Ruby Rose & Blake Belladonna were the only people on the planet.

"Salutations!"

On stage was their call back to reality. Penny Polendina, being the event's DJ, was testing the mic. Blake seemed surprised by this despite knowing prior. Ruby was the best kisser she'd ever met, by Belladonna's admission.

"Penny!" Ruby called, still hanging onto Blake.

"Ruby!" Penny shouted into the microphone. Everyone winced at the feedback looking at her with annoyance. "I'm sorry."

Ruby finally set foot back on land if only to jump to the stage. She didn't hear Blake's thankful exhale. But Blake did see Ruby slip on the edge.

Time didn't slow down like it usually did when Ruby was walking toward a wall or was about to make a less than intelligent comment. When it did, Blake always caught her. She always grabbed Ruby's hood before she hit the wall or tripped into a fountain. She never let Ruby go on without informing her of the proper pronunciation. She never failed to catch her Rose. But that changed today.

Penny's grip on Ruby's t-shirt collar saved Blake's sanity. She was fine. Ruby was pulled further onto the stage and was safe. Penny had saved Blake's girlfriend from serious injury. She should've been happy. Ecstatic even that Penny was there.

So, why was this image of Ruby still unbalanced, scaring her? Just as much as the visual of Ruby's near tumble, this sight of Ruby needing Penny to stay upright was terrifying.

"Are you unharmed?" Penny asked.

"I'm cool," Ruby said. She gave a warm smile, "Thanks, Penny."

Doubling in enthusiasm, "Of course!"

The two didn't part. Penny's hand remained on Ruby's shoulder. They were only an inch or two apart.

They began talking. Both of them cheery and upbeat. Blake managed to hear Penny's question on Ruby being 'more agile in high school'. But that was it. She was, unfortunately, too concerned about Ruby's problem.

Blake got on stage holding Ruby from behind. Rose believed it to be an 'I'm happy you're safe' embrace. It was, to a certain degree. Blake was pleased that her partner was safe. But, Penny saw the other side of things.

Ruby held onto Blake's arms, closing her eyes. Arms that were digging into her. Blake's muscular arms indenting into Ruby's got a whimper out of the young woman. Penny could see how terrified Blake was. This was her rose that she never wanted to let go.

Penny understood, but stood concerned.

-

"A little to the left," Ren instructed. Nora moved the TV, as her new roommate said, 'a little to the left'. "Perfect."

"Who-ho!" Nora shouted. She jumped off the couch joining Ren in observing their mounted TV. Not on yet, it served as a 50-inch mirror. "Looks good." Valkyrie said, "The TV isn't bad either."

Ren smirked, placing his arm over her. Looking at the woman through the glass, he saw nothing but pride. Pride in their relationship's progress. Pride in his partner's achievements. Pride in himself for, well, being in a happy place in life.

"You too," He said.

"Aww!" Nora teased. She kissed his cheek and was about to kiss his lips, but the doorbell cut that short. "Ugh!"

"Easy Nora," Ren said.

He answered the door presented with, well, a present.

"Hey-Yo!" the man said to Ren. "Just found out you moved into the building! And house warming stuff is a good luck charm, so, here's a good luck cake!"

Just like that, Nora was no longer upset about the unintentional interruption. She had sugar.

She screamed like a child, "AWESOME! Thank you-Thank you-Thank you!"

"Nora," Ren said, "You've already had two sodas. You know what the dentist told you."

She huffed, "And I told you that dentists are a part of an evil organization with the goal of scamming people under the guise of helping them!" Both of the men stared at her. Her boyfriend was disinterested in the conspiracy. The neighbor, new to Nora's antics, stood there with a puzzled expression.

"Okay?" he said, dragging out the 'o'. "It's a dual cake. Chocolate on the left and vanilla on the right." He handed it off to Ren, "Whenever you want to eat it. I, uh, didn't get your names."

"I'm Lie Ren. Preferably 'Ren'. This is Nora Valkyrie."

Nora smiled, "I prefer vanilla. But, chocolate is delicious too."

The man laughed, "I like her. Name's Neptune Wukong. My husband, Sun & I are on your left in 206. Stop by if you want." Joking, "Preferably during the sun."

The couple nodded. Nora laughing and Ren smirking.

"Whelp, have a nice afternoon." Neptune took a big step and continued onto his apartment waving off.

Nora shut the door, "He was cute." Hopefully, this would get a happy little eye roll from Ren. Or maybe a confused glance. It was an empty statement meant to stun him long enough for her to swipe the cake. Unfortunately, he was already loading it into the fridge. But, when he responded, Nora was stunned.

"Yeah, he kind of was."

Nora tilted her head and squinted at Ren. He came out of the kitchen saying nothing for about ten seconds. And then he smirked.

"You upset," Ren teased, "Nora Ren?"

"Oh please! You're Ren Valkyrie."

Not caring in the lightest, "Okay."

 

-Meanwhile-

 

"This is nice," Yang said. The restaurant she had been brought to clearly spent a lot of time on its western royalty aesthetic. Each wall had crossed swords over a shield on them. The angel white wallpaper was covered with the saint logo in gold. The classical music being played over the speakers was a nice idea, but Yang found it to be a bit pretentious.

"Of course," Winter said.

Sitting across from Yang was her girlfriend's older sibling. Both women wore a suit for their meeting. Winter's white blazer and platinum shirt tied together with her fair complexion and hair. The red tie popped amongst the cold colors. The diamond earrings and bracelet destroyed any chance of appearing casual. It was like she was boasting about her wealth.

Yang's clothes were a black shirt with the top three buttons left open. Her vest was a sparkling hornet yellow. It stood out against the white wallpaper more than the sunglasses on her head. A Chinese character was stitched on the shirt collar. Winter didn't know much Chinese. But she recognized 'fire' and found it fitting of Yang's character.

"Now." Winter began, "Are you sure about this decision?"

"It's not my decision," Yang clarified, grabbing the glass of water. "It's your sister's." She took a sip wondering if Winter had a reply to that. She did not. "You can be a part of it, or not. We both would rather you side with us."

"Don't insult me," Winter ordered. "I will always be in Weiss' corner. That's not what this is about." The women eyed one another. A fierce glare from Yang clashed with Winter's cold stare. "This is about my sister being safe with you."

Yang chuckled being told this. Winter just raised a brow seeing her smile.

"Is there something funny?" Winter asked, "You find that amusing?"

"Duh." Long retorted, "If I didn't want my wife to be safe, I wouldn't be here."

Winter's eye twitched at the word 'wife'. Yang's elbow hit the table feeling satisfied with her taunt. The only thing aggravating Schnee even more than Yang's choice of words was that toothy grin. Maybe her table manners as well.

Sharply, "You're not doing a good job giving me reasons to support your plan."

Yang shrugged and leaned back in her seat.

"It's pretty simple. I don't see why you need convincing." The dragon laid it out for her, "Weiss is going to come out to your guy's dad. You can support her, or not. What's your decision?"

"First of all, I'm not a 'guy'," Winter stated. Yang kept the joke about Schnee's large bust being an indicator of that to herself. "Secondly, I will stand by Weiss and hold her hand during the process if I have to. My concern is that you don't understand the gravity of an heir telling a homophobe that she's a lesbian."

With no shame, "I understand that it's something she wants to do." Yang replied, "I asked her if she was sure and if she knew what the fallout would be. She said 'yes'. So I'm with her. All I care about is her being happy."

Winter sighed. Yang was not moving on this. Her legs crossed under the table and her hand's clasped together waiting for Winter's next protest. If she had one that is. Winter knew this woman was stubborn and that they'd be here all day playing 'hen of the house'.

"What career do you have?" Winter asked.

Sincerely, "I'm going to be a health trainer/coach."

"No." Winter asked again, more sternly, "What financially reliable job do you currently have? When my father discontinues Weiss' financial support and blacklists you both for being 'less than acceptable', will you be able to buy food and pay for bills?"

Not missing a beat, Yang had a half-serious joke ready.

"I do under the table stuff at this biker joint. I can ask them for a permanent job if you like."

"Miss Xiao-Long." Winter leaned forward. Her elbows hit the table. She interlaced her fingers. Her tone was dripping with trepidation.

"Weiss is going to get a master's degree in engineering. Her four-year tuition is paid for in full and she's intelligent. But, she doesn't have it yet. She's not working because our father wanted her to be so impressive with her grades that she could be considered for valedictorian. That credit card she used for your boots belongs to Jacques Schnee."

There was nothing funny about her next statement.

"My sister being in love with someone who's not white, someone who's Asian, would be enough to turn the cards off. Her being involved with a woman would be the fuel to burn down any chance of you two living with financial security in this city. Worst of all, there's plenty of managers and businessmen who, while not associated with the Schnee Company, carry Jacques' opinions." One more time, "Are you sure about this decision?"

Perturbation took hold of Yang. Her jocular attitude was gone. She had no jokes or quips. Winter was right. Yang knew she was right. The severity of how right Winter was both scaring and angering Yang. Reality was horrible sometimes.

"Weiss told me that she's tired of being afraid. Afraid to express herself and live like a doll. I promised her that she'd never have to hide around me." Pride filled the woman's voice. She looked Winter in the eye and made her a promise. "If that means that I have eat instant noodles with her during my last year of school, then so be it."

Winter unlaced her fingers. Her palm rested under her chin, seemingly annoyed with Yang's belief. Instead, what followed her exhale was a cute snicker. Yang tilted her head a bit confused by the woman's action.

"Your optimism is admirable. Foolish, but admirable." Winter placed her purse on the table, brought out her checkbook, and began to write in it.

"Giving me lottery money?" Yang asked.

"No." Winter corrected, "You're not a child. I'm going to help you and my sister through this. But I'm not going to pay for all of your bills."

Deadpan, "You just established that my waifu's credit card belongs to 'daddy dearest'."

"I'm not my fa—." Winter stopped, "What on earth is a 'waifu'?"

"It's an anime thing." Yang pointed at the checkbook, "You were saying?"

"I'm going to give you a large amount of money that will help you both after my father inevitably cancels Weiss' money flow. I will be your safety net while you and Weiss continue through college. But that's it. I'm not going to be giving you jobs after graduation."

Yang accepted the check. She had lowered her brows in a less than pleased stance. She spoke with sarcasm. A little bit of gratitude, but facetious nonetheless.

"Gee, thanks. You sure are a summer shine."

"I could just burn that check you 'Push-Up-Bra-Barbie'."

Yang thought about pointing out the similarity in insults amongst the sisters, but that made some bit sense. She couldn't give the money back. Not only because of the challenge her and Weiss were about to face, but the elder Schnee did have a lighter visible in her purse. That only left one thing left to comment on.

"I'm not wearing a bra."

Winter looked downward seeing that her little sister very clearly had a 'type'. Not wanting to dignify that, she chose a different topic of conversation.

"...Explain to me what 'anime' is."

"Ever seen 'Dragon Ball Z'?" Yang asked.

No hesitation, "If I wanted to watch a bunch of men yelling at each other and making foolish choices for no other reason than to pad out time, I would work at one of my father's auto shops."

Yang then smiled ear to ear, "...I like you."

END