Boundless - Ch. 2 (Patreon)

After staring for several moments, Ruby finally shut her mouth and cleared her throat. No words came out, but that was to be expected.

Weiss understood that she’d just dropped a bomb of information on Ruby’s life, but she would help pick up the pieces. Plus, she was still certain Ruby could handle the information - and that she could accept it in some way, shape, or form before they left this table behind.

If not, Weiss had Plans B, C, and D already prepared. Plan A was simply the quickest and easiest way to reclaim a fraction of their current lives. More than anything, she wanted to hold Ruby in her arms again...which was why she was willing to attempt the shortest route possible.

“Ok, so...you get a rose on your birthday, then you get all these memories, so you come find me and tell me that we’re supposed to be together?” After the summary, Ruby gave Weiss a searching look. “And do I just...believe you?”

“Well...not always,” Weiss answered, again opting for the truth. “Plus, sometimes I wait years to tell you. Sometimes I tell you right away. And then there’s those rare instances where I don’t have to tell you at all.”

Her lips curled with a smile as she thought about some of those memories, which were amongst her favorites.

“What do you mean?” Ruby asked, her curiosity again peaked by the comment.

“Sometimes you just...know. As concretely as I know you’re the one.” Taking a sip of water, Weiss sighed. “I’ll admit to being particularly fond of those…”

“But how would I know? Do I get a rose too?”

“No,” Weiss answered with a smile. “No rose...but have you ever thought about what other worlds might be out there? What those other universes might be like?”

“Uhhh...I mean...sometimes…”

“Do you imagine they’re exactly like this?” Weiss waved her hand at the restaurant patio, the cars passing by, the buildings and the bridge in the distance. Ruby followed the path of Weiss’ hand while her brow furrowed in thought.

“I guess so? I haven’t really thought about it that much though...”

“Well, sometimes things are...different. Sometimes, the laws of society revolve around different goals and wishes.”

“Uh...like what do you mean?” Ruby asked. Weiss smiled at the question - because Ruby was asking questions. She wasn’t discounting these stories just yet - she was listening and seeking out more information on her own.

“Are you willing to hear another story?” Weiss asked anyway, smiling when Ruby nodded her head. “Keep in mind, this world doesn’t work quite like our own…”

 ------ 

“But what if they’re like...super ugly?”

While a majority of the class seriously considered that question, Weiss rolled her eyes and sighed. This was her punishment for arriving early. Actually, this was her punishment for arriving early when the professor was late - now she was forced to listen to her classmates pontificate on what their ideal soulmate would be like, and how the tiny compasses hanging around their necks would lead them to the person of their dreams.

Of course, because they were in college, much of the discussion centered around how ‘hot’ or ‘ugly’ that person would be. Regular scholars were admitted to this university, apparently.

She used to hate the compasses - whose only purpose was to guide them to their true loves or soulmates or whatever term they wanted to use. The damn things wouldn’t even tell the direction in the meantime. Instead, the needle was perpetually listless until that special day arrived, and it pointed you straight to your true love.

Personally, she thought it was a gimmick - that the company manufacturing the compasses predetermined which ones ‘spoke’ to each other. To swing the odds even more in their favor, there were probably multiple matches for each compass, but how would people ever find that out? The contraptions stopped working after meeting the first match.

When she turned eighteen, everything changed.

Knowing that Ruby was out there, somewhere, Weiss now saw the compass as a potentially helpful tool rather than useless accessory. If it worked, it would point her to Ruby while simultaneously erasing Ruby’s concerns that they were destined to be together.

In the meantime, Weiss would continue searching on her own while attending classes as her father stipulated. She wished that she could drop everything and find Ruby right away, but she didn’t have the necessary resources to launch a full-scale quest. She needed access to her family’s money first, and to gain access to her family’s money she needed to finish school. If it meant she waited a couple more years, then so be it. She was willing to wait for Ruby, as she always did.

However, she did already have an important piece of the puzzle…

“Can you believe them…” Blake muttered, her tone rather annoyed as they overheard the lengthy debate taking place toward the front of the class.

“It’s the same thing every day,” Weiss replied before placing her hand on her chest and mimicking her classmates’ voices. “‘Oh my god - so-and-so found their soulmate yesterday! Their compass led them straight to the captain of the football team!’”

When Blake chuckled, Weiss smiled and dropped her hand to the desk.

It was fortunate that she ran into Blake at one of the campus libraries during their first year. Knowing Blake’s importance in her life, Weiss made sure they became friends - not that that was entirely difficult, seeing as how they shared the same mentality when it came to schoolwork and responsibilities. Now the two of them aligned their schedules whenever possible, and even shared an off-campus apartment together.

Keeping Blake nearby was dual-purposed. First, and most important - they got along well and Weiss enjoyed having Blake as a friend. Second, Weiss knew that Blake might lead her to Yang - and Yang could lead her to Ruby. In this way, she almost guaranteed that they would find their true soulmates around the same time.

“Oh thank god,” Weiss muttered when their professor finally raced into the room.

“Sorry I’m late!” he shouted to the class while dumping a haphazard stack of papers onto his desk. “Let’s get started, shall we?”

After sharing an amused glance with Blake, Weiss picked up her pen and prepared to be enlightened - or at least entertained - by the lecture that was to follow.

Due to her...condition...she remembered multiple lectures on the very subject they were learning today. Some universes varied the laws that applied to science, of course, but for the most part the fundamentals remained the same.

Essentially, she was coasting through her classes and only showed up because a substantial portion of her grade was tied to attendance. Her rigid upbringing meant that she took notes regardless, but most of the time her mind wandered to Ruby - wondering what that ball of energy might be up to right now.

What type of person was Ruby becoming? Was she in school somewhere? Had she decided to forego school and pursue something greater? Probably not yet, as she should be finishing up high school right about now...

The answers to those questions were far more important than the information strewn across the board at the front of the class, but Weiss paid half-attention regardless.

When class was dismissed an hour later, she calmly packed her bag while the rest of the students raced towards the exits. Seeing as how this was the end of the school day for her, she was in no hurry to join the crush of people at the door. Instead, she and Blake took their time and were last to leave the classroom for their walk home.

Stepping out of the building and into the warm, springtime sun, Weiss took a deep breath of scented air and allowed her thoughts to drift back to Ruby. The rose she’d found on her 18th birthday had smelled like Ruby...and she would admit to spending her fair share of afternoons sniffing at the fragrant flower while wishing their paths had already crossed. But one day she would find Ruby - she was certain of it. It was only a matter of when.

“What do you think they’ll be like?” Blake asked while they walked towards the edge of campus, the sudden question pulling Weiss from her thoughts.

“Hm?”

“The people at the other end of these.” Blake held up the small compass attached to her necklace to show Weiss what she was talking about.

“Oh.” Already knowing the answer to that, Weiss smiled as Ruby’s image filled her mind. But Blake was probably curious about her own soulmate - a certain blonde with a penchant for mischief.

There were so many times when Weiss very nearly told Blake the truth about everything. They were best friends, after all, and Weiss thought Blake would believe her. However, she always talked herself out of it because this secret felt like something that should be shared with Ruby first.

After Ruby knew, then Yang and Blake could be included on this secret. They were often told eventually, but Ruby spearheaded those conversations - usually by accidentally spilling the beans.

But Weiss really wanted to tell Blake about Yang…

“Hmm…” she replied, conjuring several memories of Yang to mind. “I bet your soulmate is a loud, peppy blonde.”

Blake burst out laughing at the statement.

“Are you serious?” she asked, giving Weiss an amused look - to which she nodded emphatically.

“Yes. She probably only reads fashion magazines and makes horrible jokes nonstop.”

Still chuckling at the thought, Blake shook her head. “I don't know if I see myself with someone like that…”

“What if she's really pretty?” Weiss asked, knowing that Yang was always some shade of ‘too pretty.’

“She doesn't read though?” 

“She does - magazines.”

Laughing, Blake shook her head again. “I think it would be someone more...mellow. Someone intellectual and well-read.” 

As they left campus behind, Weiss smiled at the irony. The person Blake just described was herself, but that was far from who her soulmate would be - and that was a good thing. Blake didn’t need to spend the rest of her life with a clone of herself. She needed someone to break her out of her routine and keep her on her toes.

Plus, Blake had no idea how Yang would bend over backwards making all of her fairytale dreams come true.

“What about you?” Blake asked after a few moments of silence. “Who do you see yourself with?”

That question was easy. Weiss could describe her soulmate down to their shoe size.

“Someone...sweet and bubbly,” she replied instead, thinking that those two words summed Ruby up nicely. Surprised, Blake gave Weiss a sideways glance as their apartment building neared.

“Sweet and bubbly?” Blake repeated. “I’m not sure I see you with someone like that…”

“I wouldn’t have either,” Weiss replied with a grin. She never would’ve imagined herself with someone like Ruby, but now she couldn’t unsee it. They were perfect together - so perfect, they weren’t bound by the laws of the universe.

“Well...if that’s who the compass leads you to, it’s supposed to work out, right?”

“That’s the idea,” Weiss agreed. Hearing her stomach grumble, she paused on the sidewalk instead of following Blake up the steps to the building. “I think I’ll go buy lunch. Would you like anything?”

“That sounds great, actually. Anything with fish is good with me.”

Weiss very nearly shook her head at the expected comment, but smiled instead. Across the universes, Blake always had a predisposition to liking fish.

“I’ll catch up with you in a bit then,” Weiss said, separating from Blake and crossing the street. 

Their apartment was located off campus but in an area comprised mostly of students. As such, there were shopping centers nearby that catered heavily to a younger, less sophisticated crowd. Only a few blocks from their building was such shopping area, complete with a small theater, grocery store, and several different eateries.

Ducking inside one of the nicer establishments, Weiss ordered lunch to go - a tuna sandwich for Blake and a salad for herself. It was while she was standing there waiting for her order that she felt something...different. 

It started as a soft buzz, but quickly became a low rattle against her chest that was impossible to ignore. Surprised, and a bit concerned, she looked down - and her breathing immediately stopped.

The needle on her compass had stopped its constant swaying. Now, it was pointed in one definitive direction while rumbling to get her attention.

It was telling her that Ruby was nearby.

Her first thought was that she wasn’t ready - she hadn’t dressed for this moment, and she hadn’t prepared anything to say.

Her second thought was that she had to get to Ruby as soon as possible.

Forgetting lunch, she hurried out of the restaurant and re-joined the rush of other students finding places to eat for lunch. She paid them no mind as the compass led her away from the restaurant, across the walkway, and towards the businesses on the other side of the shopping center.

With every step she took, her heart beat wildly while her anticipation rose without limit. She wasn’t prepared, but she was beyond ready to finally meet Ruby and start their next happily ever after.

When she turned the corner, the compass vibrated even more, demanding her full attention as it pointed towards the storefront directly ahead of her. Following its orders, she walked across the path and…

The compass suddenly stopped its rattling, with its needle pointing straight ahead.

Her breath catching in her throat, Weiss looked up and found…

Frowning, she re-checked the compass only to find it still pointing in the same direction - directly towards a young man with blonde hair sitting outside of an ice cream parlor. He was looking at her curiously, his spoon held mid-air while he waited for her to speak first. 

This couldn’t be right.

“Who the hell are you?” she asked, upset and annoyed that the compass - which should’ve made her life easier - had made it more difficult instead.

“Oh, uh -”

“Don’t tell me,” she cut him off, raising one hand. “Just leave.”

He didn’t need to be told twice, dropping his spoon into his cup before standing and hurrying away. Sighing out loud, Weiss ignored the look he sent her over his shoulder - probably wondering why she’d rushed over only to demand he leave her presence.

She had no idea who he was, but he wasn’t her soulmate. It didn’t matter what the broken piece of useless metal around her neck said - that wasn’t her soulmate.

Lifting up the compass with a frown, she suddenly realized something very important.

The needle hadn’t followed the boy out of the shopping center. It was still pointing forward - through the frosted glass of the business in front of her. Glancing at the sign one more time and reaffirming it was the ice cream shop, Weiss had barely scolded herself for being so naive when the door burst open. Dropping the compass, she breathed out a single word - “Ruby.”

Ruby didn’t hear her name and was too busy staring at her compass to see where she was going - nearly walking into Weiss in the process.

“Oh - sorry!” she said, finally looking up and freezing when she caught Weiss’ eyes.

No matter how many times Weiss experienced this moment, she never grew tired of it. Her skin came alive with excitement in Ruby’s presence, and her heart thundered like a drum in her chest. A smile instantly lit her lips, and there was no possible way she could prevent every part of her from singing with love.

“Are you looking for someone?” she asked, looping a finger underneath the chain of her necklace and holding up the compass hanging upon the end. Ruby’s eyes went from Weiss’ compass, to her own, and back again - then her jaw fell open in shock.

“No way!” she said, dropping her hand and pointing towards Weiss’ compass. “That’s totally pointing at me, right?”

Testing out the theory, Ruby moved her own compass side-to-side and watched the needle on Weiss’ swing to match. 

“I believe it is,” Weiss replied, smiling widely. “My name’s Weiss,” she added, extending one hand to shake Ruby’s. 

“Ruby! Oh, wow - I can’t believe - like…”

Taking a deep breath, Ruby shook her head and smiled - her smile not wavering in the slightest while she fidgeted in excitement.

“I can’t believe I met you here! In Vale! I mean, I’m only here for a soccer game, so like...I never expected you to show up now!”

-------  

“Woah, woah, woah.” Waving both hands in front of her, Ruby looked positively miffed while Weiss stopped speaking to see what the issue was. 

“I played soccer?” Ruby asked in disbelief. “I can barely walk out the front door without tripping over my feet!”

The response nearly made Weiss giggle, being exactly as she would have guessed. Ruby was often blessed with below-average coordination, which made playing soccer a bit of a stretch in most of her lives.

“You weren’t the one playing,” Weiss explained, delighted that Ruby was participating in the stories. “Your friend was on the team.”

“Oh.”

After looking briefly disappointed, Ruby gave Weiss an apologetic smile.

“Sorry, totally interrupted you. Won’t do it again, I swear!”

“I wouldn’t mind if you did,” Weiss replied, sending Ruby another smile before continuing the story.

------  

“I’m only here for a friend’s soccer game!” Ruby explained, shifting between her feet in a way that was both familiar and comforting to Weiss. “I’m home for break and my friend’s playing today! But like, I never thought - that here -”

Eyes widening in realization, Ruby looked down at her outfit and blushed. “I’m so sorry! If I’d known, I would’ve worn something nicer! Or like, not sweatpants.”

Weiss laughed at the response, feeling every bit of the excitement Ruby was openly displaying. “Don’t worry about it - you look fantastic.” 

Her smile grew when Ruby’s blush darkened. This was everything Weiss had simultaneously hoped and knew it would be. Even if the wait was long, Ruby made it all worth it within the first few minutes of being together again.

“Where are you going to school?” Weiss asked, since Ruby said she was ‘home for break.’ Weiss wanted as much information about Ruby as possible...so that she could be tracked down again, if need be.

“I’m in Mistral - at Mistral U.” 

Nodding, Weiss filed away the answer. No wonder she hadn’t found Ruby yet. Her search was focused on the high schools in the area -

“Wait,” Weiss said when her mind stumbled over that very important fact. “You’re in college already??”

“Yeah! Second year.”

Weiss’ eyes widened at the disclosure. Ruby was supposed to be two years younger than her - how were they in the same year?

“You skipped two years of school?” Weiss asked, her voice coming out high in surprise. Ruby looked almost embarrassed by the question, running a hand through her short hair while nodding.

“Yeah...l mean, school was a little easy, so they kept moving me forward.”

Weiss stared in both surprise and absolute delight at the response. Ruby was always smart, but the subjects she mastered rarely matched up with schoolwork. It was rare to find a version of her that excelled in what the general public wanted her to excel in - basically, school. 

This was quickly shaping up to be one of Weiss’ favorite scenarios. Although...if she actually tried to create a list of favorites, it would be next to impossible to come to any actual decisions on which were ‘better.’ They were all fantastic.

“Ruby!”

Both of them turned towards the voice, and Weiss found Yang standing several shops away - holding a bag of food in one hand while waving Ruby towards her.

“Come on, we’re gonna be late!”

“Shoot - uh…” Scrambling for something to say, Ruby suddenly brightened up. “Oh! Why don’t you come with us?”

A ‘yes’ was on the tip of her tongue, but Weiss paused. Ruby was here to watch a friend - did Weiss really want to barge in on that? Yes, she did, but that was unfair to whoever Ruby’s friend might be. Plus, a little extra time would give her the opportunity to prepare for a true first meeting.

“How about you come meet me after?” she suggested. “l live right over there -” She pointed in the right direction before pulling a piece of paper out of her bag and finding a pen to write her address. “Here’s the address,” she said, handing it to Ruby. “Come over as soon as you’re done?”

“l will!” Before Ruby could rush away, Weiss reached out and touched her elbow.

“That wouldn’t happen to be your sister, would it?” Weiss asked, playing dumb while gesturing in Yang’s direction. Seeing as how the two of them looked nothing alike, Ruby was slightly baffled by the question but grinned anyway.

“It is! Her name is Yang.”

“Can she stop by too? I’d like to meet her.” The statement was mostly true. Weiss would like to see how Yang was doing, but there was also a certain avid reader who needed to meet Yang.

“Sure! I’ll ask her to come. Then we can, I dunno, hang out or something? Talk and stuff?”

God, Weiss loved the way Ruby rambled. She was the only person in the world who could make ‘talk and stuff’ sound so appealing.

“I’d love to. Maybe we can have dinner, as well?”

When Ruby grinned, Weiss’ heart skipped a beat.

“Yeah! Let’s do that!” Ruby said while slowly backing away. “The game should be done at three - I’ll see you around then?”

A part of Weiss didn’t want Ruby to leave, but she knew their separation was only temporary. She could already feel, from this brief interaction, that Ruby would come back to her as quickly as possible. 

Still...she hated when they were apart.

“Looking forward to it,” she said with a nod, earning one last smile before Ruby turned and rushed after Yang. 

Ruby was practically skipping now, and the instant she caught up to Yang she started gesturing excitedly with both hands. She must’ve told Yang who Weiss was, because Yang looked over her shoulder in surprise before both of them disappeared from view.

Frozen to her spot in front of the ice cream parlor, Weiss couldn’t dim her smile if someone paid her.

Their interaction might have been short, but it was still one of the sweetest moments Weiss had had in this life so far. It left her nearly light-headed with giddiness as love and adoration flowed through her.

What an unexpected change to this day.  Thankfully, she was already done with classes, otherwise she would skip them. And she had every intention of missing the rest of her classes this week - this month, if that’s how long Ruby was free.

The game would end at three...which gave Weiss several hours to pull herself together and figure out how she wanted their first date to go. She needed to find the perfect outfit, make a dinner reservation, decide on what she wanted to say...there was a lot to be done.

About to rush home, she remembered at the last second that her purpose for coming here was ordering lunch. After picking up the food, she walked home as quickly as possible, hardly noticing anything happening around her while her mind was consumed by thoughts of Ruby. 

Letting herself through the door to her apartment, she found Blake reading in the oversized armchair near the window.

“Were they busy?” Blake asked, her eyes never leaving the book as she turned the page.

Pausing to think about Ruby, Weiss broke into a huge smile. She was so happy, she might be able to levitate right off the ground. 

“l met my soulmate.”

Blake immediately lowered her book.

“You what?”

“I met her,” Weiss repeated, taking off her necklace and handing it to Blake - showing her that the compass was no longer working.  Blake looked at it with wide eyes before setting it on the table beside her.

“What’s she like?”

“She’s…”

Ruby was everything Weiss ever wanted or needed.

“She’s amazing…” Weiss replied, sinking into the chair beside Blake. At this point, she didn’t even bother trying to keep the smile from appearing. She was so happy - so, so happy that she’d found Ruby. This was years before she’d planned it, but that made it all the better. Now they could spend the rest of their lives together, from this point onward.

Blake smiled, and Weiss could tell that the happiness was genuine. Of course it was genuine - Blake was a great friend.

“What’s her name?”

It was the perfect question, as Weiss’ love was bubbling over at the moment, begging to burst out.

“Her name is Ruby. She’s in our year at Mistral University - she skipped two grades! And she’s just...pretty and adorable…with a smile that makes you melt inside...”

Weiss knew she was gushing, but she didn’t care. She’d waited so long - all this time keeping her knowledge of Ruby to herself. It felt so good to finally get it out in the open and say a bit of what she truly felt.

“Wow, sounds like you’re already in love,” Blake replied with an amused smile before looking towards the door. “But where is she now? Shouldn’t you be spending more time together? Getting to know each other?”

“She’s watching her friend’s soccer game.” When Blake raised a brow in question, Weiss waved a hand through the air. “I didn’t want to barge in and steal all her attention. Plus, I need to find something to wear!”

Standing up and rushing to her room, Weiss smiled when she heard Blake chuckling from the living room. Maybe she was acting like a lovestruck teenager at the moment, but...she wouldn’t be shy in saying that she desperately loved Ruby. 

Pulling open her closet, she searched for an outfit to wear. She already knew what Ruby was wearing - and Ruby probably wouldn’t change after the soccer game - so Weiss didn’t want to overdress. But she also wanted to look very, very nice.  It was a balancing act of assembling an outfit that wouldn’t make Ruby feel uncomfortable, but would still be coordinated enough to make a great impression.

And, selfishly so, Weiss wanted Ruby to find her attractive. That meant she needed the perfect outfit - which meant she needed to try on basically everything in her closet.

While piecing together potential ensembles for the afternoon, she thought about what she wanted to tell Ruby today. There wasn’t much point in bringing up the whole ‘soulmates across the universes’ secret at this time - not when Ruby was already ready and willing to accept Weiss as a soulmate based on the compasses. 

No, Weiss wouldn’t bring that up today - that could wait until later. Today should be about Ruby and what she’s been up to - what she’s in school for and what their future plans would be. Being enrolled at Mistral University, Ruby would have to go back eventually. How would that work? 

Realistically, Weiss didn’t think she could handle being apart now that they’d found each other. Transferring was always an option...one that she was already seriously considering. She had the grades to transfer, and her father would approve based on Mistral U.’s reputation for excellence...

When Weiss finally found the perfect outfit and brushed her hair to perfection, she still had a little time to spare - which she used to secure reservations at several of the top restaurants in Vale. She wasn’t sure what Ruby would want to eat, so kept their options open. Although, knowing Ruby, they’d probably end up at some fast food restaurant - and have one of the best dates Weiss had ever had.

With everything in place, she took a deep breath and walked into the living room. 

“How do I look?” she asked, doing a spin after Blake looked up from her book.

“Wow.”

Taking that response as a good sign, Weiss smiled to herself and checked her reflection in the hall mirror. She did look rather nice, but in a way that wouldn't make Ruby uncomfortable. At least, Ruby wouldn’t be insecure about her own outfit, but if she was a little nervous because she thought Weiss looked really nice...well, that wouldn’t be a horrible thing.

As an added bonus, even Yang should be impressed by Weiss’ put-together appearance.

The thought gave Weiss reason to pause, as she glanced in the mirror to see what Blake was currently wearing. Blake had no idea she was about to meet Yang...and Weiss didn’t want her friend to go through the same outfit conundrum she’d just suffered upon stumbling into Ruby.

“I have a great idea,” she said, spinning around. “Why don’t you dress up too?”

The statement earned her a look of disbelief.

“Why do I need to dress up to meet your soulmate?”

“Because l want her to really like you!” Weiss fibbed, immediately hearing how unconvincing that reasoning was. “Just humor me for once?” she added.

On an ordinary day, she knew that Blake’s answer would be ‘no.’ But today was no ordinary day - today was the day Weiss met her soulmate. On such a special occasion, Blake had more reason to agree.

Which she did, playfully grumbling under her breath while putting her book down and heading towards her room. With everything coming together perfectly, Weiss ran her fingers through her hair and smiled. 

She knew Blake was curious to see what Ruby was like - both for Weiss’ sake and for her own imagination. Little did she know that she was going to find out what her soulmate was like sooner rather than later.

Glancing at the clock and finding that it was just after three, Weiss’ heart sped up while her sense of expectation doubled. Blake was still finding an outfit...but Weiss was rather unwilling to delay her reunitement with Ruby for a second longer than necessary.

“I’ll meet you downstairs?” she called towards Blake’s room.

“Sure - I’ll meet you outside,” Blake replied. 

Happy with the answer, Weiss grabbed her bag and quickly left the apartment behind. She flew down the steps and out the doors to the building, her eyes already searching - and finding Ruby walking down the sidewalk towards her.

The second their eyes met, Ruby broke into a jog - her face lighting up with a giant smile as she crashed into Weiss for a hug, lifting Weiss’ feet right off the ground and spinning her in a circle before setting her down.

The greeting was unexpected, but Weiss laughed at how stunningly perfect it was. 

“I’m so happy to see you again!” Ruby said, her honesty warming Weiss’ cheeks with a blush.

“I’m happy to see you, too,” she replied with a smile.

“I was thinking about you the entire time,” Ruby continued, not at all shy to admit these thoughts out loud. “It was really hard to pay attention to what was going on.”

The candor was like a ray of sunshine, warming Weiss’ soul and encouraging her to respond in turn.

“I was thinking about you, too,” she admitted. “I’m really looking forward to spending more time together.”

When Ruby smiled and nodded, Weiss thought that she could stay in this moment forever - accepting Ruby’s smile forever. But, hearing another set of footsteps approach, she turned and spotted Yang walking towards them, removing her sunglasses and perching them atop her hair. As expected, Yang was something of a looker - with the trademark blonde hair, lilac eyes, toned muscles, and perfect fashion sense.

“Oh! Yang, this is Weiss!” As Yang joined them, Ruby gestured between her and Weiss. “And Weiss, this is my sister, Yang!”

“Nice to meet you,” Weiss said, extending her hand to shake Yang’s.

“You too,” Yang replied with an easy grin. The smile was supposed to put people at ease, but Weiss felt that intent gaze scanning her closely, searching for any and every hint that she might be ill-suited for Ruby.

This was how their introductions always went, but Weiss couldn't say she’d ever grown accustomed to being analyzed so critically by someone so important to her. The situation always made her worry that maybe there was something there, something Yang would find and use as a reason to keep them apart.

But when her smile grew, Weiss sighed in relief.

“I didn’t believe Ruby when she said her compass went off,” Yang said, reaching over and rustling Ruby’s hair. “Looks like she’s a lucky son-of-a-gun, huh.”

“Yangggg.”

Chuckling at Ruby’s whine, Yang was about to say something else when her eyes widened in surprise. Grabbing the chain hanging around her neck and pulling the compass out from inside her shirt, she glanced at it before looking in the direction the needle was now firmly pointing.

When Blake stepped outside the lobby door, Yang’s jaw nearly dropped to the ground.

“Ruby…” Yang said, her eyes never leaving Blake as she looked down at her own compass. “Pinch me so I know I’m not dreaming.”

Reaching over to pinch Yang on the arm, Ruby giggled when Yang flinched and swatted her hand away.

“That’s her -” was all she said before giving Weiss a dumbstruck glance. “Excuse me.”

Without another word, Yang bounded up the steps and met Blake by the entrance to the building.

“Who’s that??” Ruby asked while she and Weiss watched the introduction take place. 

“That’s my roommate, Blake.”

“That’s your roommate?” 

“Yes,” Weiss replied with a smile that grew while she watched her two closest friends finally meet. Yang was beyond thrilled, talking amicably while gesturing with both hands. Meanwhile, Blake was already blushing but unable to keep her eyes off of Yang.

“Wow, what’re the chances of that?”

Turning away from Blake and Yang, Weiss grinned at Ruby.

“You’re right...what are the chances?” she repeated, hardly able to control her own joy that Ruby was standing right beside her.

“This is so awesome though!” Bouncing on her toes, Ruby nodded back towards the doorway. 

When Weiss turned back, she was just in time to watch Yang raise one hand and gently caress Blake’s cheek - before kissing her. Instead of being surprised, Blake kissed Yang right back - because it was Blake’s unspoken dream to find this type of crazy love at first sight. Obviously, Yang was more than willing to oblige.

“Of course,” Weiss mumbled, rolling her eyes and leaving the new couple to themselves.

“She's been saying for years that she'd kiss her soulmate as soon as they met,” Ruby quipped before turning to Weiss with a grin. “Can’t believe she actually did it!”

“Can’t say I’m surprised…”

“But, uh...what about you?”

Caught off guard by the question, Weiss looked up into Ruby’s eyes and found bashfulness looking back at her.

“Are you asking if I wanted to kiss my soulmate the first time we met?” she clarified, her heart pounding in her chest when Ruby shuffled her feet.

“Uh, yeah, or I guess...maybe the second time you met?”

Someday in the future, Weiss would explain that she’d wanted to kiss Ruby from the moment she picked up that rose on her eighteenth birthday. Right now, she was simply overjoyed that this was even an option.

“I think the second meeting sounds pretty perfect,” she replied, hiding a smile when her response sparked an abundance of nerves and waves of fidgets from Ruby.

“Y-yeah? I mean, because...this is kind of our second meeting…”

Smiling at the sputters, Weiss wasted now time wrapping both arms around Ruby’s neck and pulling her down for a kiss. It was light and sweet, but perfect for a first kiss...a first kiss in this life, at least. 

Loosening her arms and leaning away, she found that Ruby’s cheeks were now burning red. The look was so adorable that she very nearly kissed Ruby again, but...they would have more than enough opportunities for that later. Now that they were back together, there was no rush. They had the rest of their lives to make more memories and share more kisses.

“I’ve missed you,” Weiss sighed, unclasping her hands and running her fingers through Ruby’s short hair. Unperturbed by the intimate gesture, Ruby simply giggled and looked down at her. 

“The game was only like three hours!”

When Ruby smiled, Weiss smiled in return. There was no reason to bring up that she waited years for Ruby to show up - or that she’d been prepared to wait several years more. One day she’d tell Ruby, but today they could just enjoy being in each other’s company.

“I know,” Weiss replied, tucking several strands of hair behind Ruby’s ear only for them to stubbornly fall out of place again. “It just felt like a really long time.”

“We have tons of time to spend together now!” Ruby said, sporting another heart-melting smile. “Yang said that when you find your soulmate, you’re supposed to run away somewhere for like a whole week.”

“Did she?” Weiss shot a glance at Yang, who was still far too preoccupied with Blake to notice anything else going on around her. When Ruby nodded, clearly believing in her sister’s words, Weiss did her best not to smirk. “Well, if Yang says so...I guess that’s what we’ll have to do.”

She was going to thank Yang for that one later.

“I can’t wait! But...where should we go now?” Ruby asked, offering her hand to Weiss.

“Anywhere you want to,” Weiss replied, taking Ruby’s hand and gesturing in a random direction. “How about we go for a walk and catch up?”

After Ruby nodded, the two of them set off down the sidewalk hand-in-hand - taking the first step leading towards their happily ever after.

Of all the thoughts flitting through Weiss’ mind at the moment, there was one that kept popping out at her.

Those damn compasses worked. They really worked. All this time she questioned their usefulness, but she just proved their accuracy beyond a shadow of a doubt. Of course, no one would ever understand that except for her. That was fine though - she didn't need anyone to believe her. As long as she had Ruby in her life, there was nothing else worth searching for.

------  

With the story finished, Weiss smiled. That life was one of the great ones, where she and Ruby skipped most of the pretense of dating and went straight to falling in love. Was it really so bad that Weiss wanted to do that again? She wanted to get right to the cuddles, snuggles, kisses, and holding hands in the rain. 

“A compass?” Ruby asked in disbelief. “Like those things pirates use?”

“More sophisticated and fashionable versions, but yes,” Weiss replied, smiling at the analogy.

“So if I had a magic compass that pointed me to my soulmate, it would be pointing at you?”

“Yes,” Weiss answered with a nod. “It would.”

“You’re sure?”

“Ruby...I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life.”

It was the one thing she was absolutely certain about - and she knew that one day Ruby would also believe her...she just hoped that day was today.

But when Ruby sat back in her seat and let out a quick huff of air, Weiss felt a pinprick of uncertainty appear in her chest.