Archive of Our Own

However, not everyone loved the winter like she did. When the temperatures started to change, the humans below would bemoan the death of their crops. They would pray to the goddess of growth for assistance, and in the same breath would curse her for bringing such a cold season upon their lands. She would scowl at such cheek, as the land had been created for them. They did not own it. In an instant, she could erase the world and their existence from the chaos. 

More than anger, though, she felt an irreparable sadness. When the snow would melt, and the sun would shine brightly, she would watch the humans cheer. They tended to their fields, and they would make offerings to the goddesses of growth and fire. Watching them pay such respect to other goddesses and not to her made her feel miserable inside, which in turn only made the winters colder. The few sacrifices she ever got were from humans that she suspected were better off not being associated with her.

She spent most of her time alone because of that. Even when there were gatherings of the gods, she kept her distance from the rest of them. None of them paid her much mind, and that was fine with her. Even if it ate away at her insides that not even her fellow immortals wanted to associate with her, she had to pretend that it was fine. Showing weakness would only make things worse for her. Besides, she didn't need any companionship. With her powers, she could make friends. She could carve wolves and bears out of ice and breathe life into them. They would follow her to the ends of the earth if she so willed them. It just wasn't the same as someone wanting to be around her without coercion.

That all led to the day where everything changed. It was at another gathering that she went to reluctantly. During the summer, she felt more comfortable staying in the place she had carved out for herself in the world. It was an area that was far from civilization: always cold, always foreboding. Whenever she went to those gatherings, she never felt like she was home. There were gods and goddesses all around her, yet she never felt more alone. That was, until for the first time, she was approached by someone.

"Hi there!" She had just been sitting in her chair, keeping to herself like she always did. Naturally, she was startled by the sudden appearance. Jumping onto her feet, she found herself staring right into the most arresting eyes she had ever seen. "You're Weiss, right? We've never spoken before, so I wanted to come say hi!" It was Ruby, the goddess of growth and younger sister to the goddess of fire, Yang. That was quite unexpected.

"No, we haven't." She felt on edge, wondering if there was some ulterior motive to Ruby coming to talk to her. It just didn't seem likely that she would appear out of the blue to initiate conversation --- she was too important to humanity for that. Like the other gods and goddesses, she knew all about Ruby. Crafted from starlight by the god of the sun and entwined with the reddest flowers on Remnant, she was beyond reproach. The other gods and goddesses adored her cuteness and her constant, beautiful smile, while the humans praised her for the growth she brought their crops. It was the kind of praise she herself would never receive. "I know who you are."

"Yeah, I've heard that before." Ruby laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of her neck. It was hard to look away from her with how adorable she was being. She knew that others found their eyes drawn to Yang, as a goddess of incredible strength and attractiveness. While she wasn't there to judge, she was starting to wonder if their wandering eyes weren't better trained on the young goddess standing in front of her. Her cute smile was positively blinding. "I guess I should have expected such a pretty goddess like you to know what everyone's talking about."

"Pretty?" She blinked, wondering if she had heard that correctly. When she determined that yes, she had heard Ruby correctly, her face started to heat up. "Well, naturally. I always keep abreast of what's happening with the other gods and goddesses." She expected the conversation to end there, and for Ruby to go back to speak with the others. However, she instead stuck around, standing there and fidgeting as if desperate to say something else. "Are you alright, Ruby?"

"I like the snow you created." That took her aback. She had never heard someone say that they liked the snow. Sure, they would say that it was pretty, but the way their sentences dragged on without words, she knew they wished for clearer ground. It never made sense to her, and it fed into her sadness and isolation. To hear someone actually say they liked it was throwing her for a loop. "It's so pretty! Every time I see that it's snowing, I wanna just dive in and roll around in it. I wish we had snow in the spring."

"I don't think you want that." She rolled her eyes, sensing the naivety dripping from Ruby's tone. "The humans aren't as fond of it as you are." She could only imagine the uproar that would happen if it started snowing during the spring. All the crops would die when they were supposed to be blooming, and then she would be cursed again for her existence. The thought soured her extremely.

"But it's so pretty! Yang and I watch it snowing in the winter and I just love how it looks. It makes the world look so pure and beautiful. I wish more people could see that as well." She could barely believe what she was hearing. The cutest goddess in the entire pantheon was talking to her, and telling her how beautiful her creation was. It made her nearly speechless, wanting to try and hold on to those words verbatim as long as she could.

"I do too," she whispered, feeling an aching pang in her heart. If only the others felt the same way as Ruby did, then maybe she wouldn't be so alone. "It's nice to just walk in the cold of the night and let the snow fall around me, coating the ground in its purity. There's no better place to just be by yourself and think." She figured it was better if she didn't say out loud exactly what she was always thinking about.

"Yeah, it seems awesome! I wanna do it next time the snow falls!" She seemed so innocent and truthful, despite everything in her mind telling her that it had to be nothing but lies. Why would Ruby want to spend time in her environment, though? Most of the gods and goddesses stayed up in their home when the first flakes of snow fell, leaving her to wander the lands alone. To hear Ruby say that made her heart feel warm.

"Well, nothing's stopping you. I can always take you on a walk during the winter if you want." She didn't expect to see Ruby's eyes light up so brightly from such a simple offer. It felt like she was going to be blinded by those shining silver eyes. Only her sudden need to keep focused on Ruby kept her from looking away, not wanting to miss a second of the goddess in front of her.

"Really? You really mean that?" She nodded, wondering why Ruby would think she didn't mean it. Why else would she offer up the opportunity, then? "Ooh yay! I can't wait!" She started to hop up and down, drawing attention towards them from a couple other gods. Embarrassed, Weiss finally looked away from Ruby, trying to pretend that the two of them weren't in each other's company. "I wish it was winter already!"

"Why would you want that?" Both of them were surprised by the appearance of a third party. The wild blonde hair of the goddess slapping her strong hands down on Ruby's shoulders, nearly making her knees buckle, gave away exactly who it was: Yang, the goddess of fire, and Ruby's big sister. Closely related to the god of the sun, also known as her father, Yang was revered among humans and gods alike for her beauty as well as her strength. She was always willing to show both traits off. "Summer's the best, sis! It's so hot and perfect for competition!"

"I know, but we're always playing in the sun! Wouldn't it be fun to spend some time in the snow?" Ruby shrugged off Yang's hands, circling around to jump onto her back. "You scared of getting cold?" Yang's eyes started to burn, which made Weiss take a couple of steps back. It seemed as if the temptation of competition got her fired up.

"No way! I burn so bright that all the snow will just melt!" She reached back to try and grab Ruby, who slipped off her back and stuck her tongue out at her. The two of them then began to playfully shove and trash talk each other, forgetting that Weiss was even there. Lowering her eyes, she decided it was time to leave. Clearly the conversation was over, and there wasn't another reason for her to keep being there. So while the sisters were distracted, she disappeared from the gathering.

"Wait wait wait!" Ruby ducked out of Yang's grasp, looking to where Weiss had previously been standing. Now there was just nothing but an empty chair. "Where did she go?"

"Where'd who go?" Yang slung an arm around Ruby's shoulder, looking where she was looking. "Oh, Weiss? The snowflake queen's probably ducked out or somethin'. She never sticks around for our gatherings. Always been a loner and all that."

"Oh..." Ruby frowned, still staring at the empty spot. "That sucks," she muttered to herself, thinking about the extremely pretty lady who controlled all the cool-looking snow, and how maybe there had been something more in her eyes than she originally let on. "Everyone should have a friend."

There were different sounds around her humble, wintery abode that she had learned to ignore. The wind was always blowing outside, sending flurries swirling around the wood that her house was built out of. Occasionally, when her mood was as low as it was then, the wind would be enough to make the entire place shake a bit. She would have to ignore the rattling of her meager cooking supplies and other trinkets on their shelves. All of those sounds had become commonplace to her, but knocking on her door? That was unusual.

She cautiously walked to the door, holding her breath as she pressed her ear to the wood. It could have been something outside that hit her door, and it just happened to sound like knocking. If there was actually someone there, they would knock again- There it was: another knock. She stood up straight, frowning. Who in the world would be foolish enough to venture all the way into the tundra just to see her? Who even knew she was there? On edge now, she opened the door, expecting the worst.

"Hi Weiss!" Her jaw dropped upon seeing Ruby and Yang standing at her door. Ruby was bundled up in a large jacket that seemed to have been sewn together out of grass blades and different-colored flowers. On anyone else, she would have scoffed at such ridiculous attire, but Ruby made it look adorable. She looked so warm, comfortable, and so... so her. This fit the tales she had heard of the young goddess with ears tuned to idle gossip.

"Let us in," Yang huffed out through gritted teeth. Unlike her warmly-dressed sister, she was just standing there in a yellow top with a black symbol drawn on it. From what she remembered wandering about Remnant, it looked like a symbol of fire that the humans had made in honor of her. She didn't look particularly fiery at the moment. Between that top and her leggings that were cut off at the knees, she was dressed for a warm summer day, not the frozen landscape she found herself in.

Rolling her eyes, she stepped back and let Yang burst into the house. "Great Father, it's still cold in here! How do you live like this?!" Ruby followed in after her, laughing as she thanked Weiss for giving them shelter. She could only nod stiffly, struck dumb by how beautiful Ruby's laugh sounded.

"Because she's the goddess of winter, genius." Weiss shut the door, wondering why just seeing Ruby in her house was making her heart beat like crazy. She barely even knew her! "I thought you said you could handle this kind of weather. You seem, you know..." She sidled over to Yang, placing a gloved hand on her bare arm and whispering in her ear. "... cold."

"I..." Yang threw her hands up, groaning before bowing in defeat. "Fine, alright? I'm cold! I can't hack it, alright? You happy?!" The huge smile on Ruby's face showed that yes, she was very happy. "Ugh, can we get a fire going in here or something? Ah, you know what? Never mind, I'll do it myself." Holding out her hands, a ball of flames suddenly appeared floating in her palms. It grew larger, until it seemed to engulf her hands. "Ahh, that's much better!"

"Please don't set my chairs on fire." Shaking her head in disbelief, Weiss decided it was better to spend her time looking at Ruby. She just happened to look at her at the same time as Ruby turned to face her. Now they were looking in each other's eyes, and she couldn't take the purity inside them. She looked away first, a blush on her cheeks as she remembered that there was an important question she was supposed to ask. "What are you two doing here?"

"We came to see you, of course!" Ruby acted like that was the most normal thing in the world, when it most assuredly was not. Nobody came to visit her: nobody even knew where she lived! Which was actually a good follow-up question once she got a word in edgewise. "I was talking with Yang, and we decided that it wasn't fair that you had to live out here all alone with no friends."

"She decided that," Yang chimed in, sitting down on one of Weiss's chairs with her hands still on fire. "I came because I wasn't going to let my lil' sis get lost finding your crazy living conditions. If this is where you choose to live, I can't imagine where your followers build your temples."

"That's their business," she huffed back, deciding to not admit that she didn't have enough temples built in her honor to be picky about their locations. "... Wait a minute. What do you mean by that?" She narrowed her eyes at Ruby, her initial question being forgotten by a newer, more-important one. "What do you mean that I have no friends?"

"Well, do you?" Ruby's blunt response caught her completely off-guard. She stood there with her mouth opening, trying to make words come out that would say that she had plenty of friends, or even that she didn't need friends. Instead, she looked like a fish flopping about on the bottom of a fisherman's boat. There was no need for her to even say anything at that point.

"No... I don't have any friends." She couldn't even put on a strong front because she knew how pathetic the truth was. The other gods didn't bother to spend time with her, her worshippers were few and crazy at that, and her family was... complicated, to say the least. For her, this was normal. Having someone like Ruby come all this way just to talk with her was foreign. "Don't look at me like that," she felt compelled to respond when she saw Ruby looking at her with the biggest, saddest puppy-dog eyes.

"But Weisss!" Ruby wrapped her up in a surprisingly tight hug which almost took her breath away. However, it wasn't because Ruby was squeezing the air out of her lungs, but because she had hugged her. She couldn't remember the last time she had felt such pure affection from someone, if it had ever happened. It was making her feel things that she knew she shouldn't be. "Everyone deserves a friend! Let me be your friend!" She let go of her and started bouncing on her toes, her eyes wide and eager. "Please please pleeease?!"

"Alright, alright! You don't have to beg!" She had never met someone quite like Ruby. There were a plethora of personalities within their pantheon, but never had she found a fellow deity who was just so uncompromisingly energetic and nice. It threw her well-crafted wall that tried to keep her from feeling too hurt out the window. She felt bare without that wall, with all kinds of emotions washing over her that she had tried so hard not to feel. Knowing that there was someone like Ruby made her feel lonely for having not known her sooner. "I suppose we can be friends, as long as you behave."

"Good luck with that. She's a real hassle to reign in." Ruby whipped around, looking crushed at Yang's utter betrayal. "If you turn around for one second, poof-" She flicked the fire from her left hand out of existence. "-she's gone. I'm surprised she's stayed still long enough to talk to you in the first place."

"Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaang!" She drew her name out so long, Weiss was surprised she still had enough breath to keep talking. "Don't embarrass me in front of my new friend!" She whirled back around to face Weiss, looking legitimately concerned. "That's not true, Weiss! I can stand here as long as you want! I'll stay here all night if you want me to!"

"You... don't have to do that, Ruby." How could she just so casually say she would stay at her place all night? Nobody just said that so innocently like that! She knew that some of the other gods - well, most of the other gods - had certain proclivities that she personally did not take part in. Saying that she would 'stay all night' was par for the course, really, but it didn't sound like she expected it to coming out of Ruby's mouth. It sounded way too innocent for that.

"Well, then can I least keep coming to see you? Without supervision?" She shot a pointed look Yang's way, who just shrugged before bringing the fire back to life in her hand. "I can make it here without trouble, as you can see. Plus, I know how to dress properly." She couldn't help but get that last dig in, and even Weiss had to crack a smile at that. Yang couldn't even say something to the contrary: she was the idiot who had risen to the challenge.

"If you want to come visit me again, I'm not opposed to that. However, I believe you'll find my company rather boring." She didn't have a lot of long interactions to prove such a claim, but she couldn't imagine that anything about herself would be appealing to Ruby. This was clearly a goddess who needed to be free, and the slow shackles of ice and snow didn't fit. She would never want to spend more than one more day coming to see her, and then she could go back to her normal, lonely life. The thought made her feel hollow.

"Aww, I'm sure that's not true! You seem like lots of fun!" Now that she certainly didn't believe. She couldn't imagine a single person saying she was 'a lot of fun.' All of those farmers whose crops perished during her season would likely beg to differ. "I just have so many questions I wanna ask! And you don't have to answer them all if you don't wanna, but I just wanna know more about you!"

"I... suppose I could answer a few questions." Ruby was becoming overbearing for her lonely mind. It wasn't a bad thing, though. Secretly, she did want companionship, but she had resigned herself to being alone forever. Then suddenly Ruby decides she wants to talk to her, and then somehow find where she lived to spend more time with her. It was overbearing because she kept expecting Ruby to disappear, leaving nothing but a memory to prove she had been there at all. "How did the two of you find where I lived anyway? I don't exactly advertise my location."

"Oh yeah, we asked your mom where we could find you."

"WHAT?! You asked my mother?!" Ruby nodded happily, and Yang gave her a helpless shrug from across the room. At that point, with the deed done, she could only hang her head and sigh deeply. Somehow Ruby had gotten through the elusive, drunken haze that surrounded her mother every forsaken second. That was... she didn't even know what it was. How in the world was she going to deal with this?

The summer sun sank beneath the horizon, and the autumn leaves blew away into the night. As winter fell onto the lands, snow naturally followed. The browning grass was hidden beneath blankets of pure white snow, making a beautiful, pristine landscape. Due to the drop in temperature, most people stayed in their homes, stoking the fires in their furnaces and cursing the goddess of winter for bringing such terrible weather onto their lands. Weiss did her best to pretend people weren't thinking such things.

She and Ruby were taking a walk together, their first while the snow was falling. It was fascinating seeing Ruby watch it fall with such wide-eyed wonder. To her, snow was a common occurrence: it was beautiful, but familiar. However, Ruby was experiencing it in person for the first time, and she was clearly wowed by it. She couldn't admit it out loud, but it made her happy to see someone truly enjoying her creation. It wasn't something she got much of before.

"This is incredible!" Ruby shouted, running forward and spreading out her arms. She laughed as she started spinning in circles, sticking out her tongue to catch a few snowflakes. The scene was so childish and adorable that Weiss started to laugh. She covered her mouth to try and hide it, but she had been heard. "I made you laugh! Score one for Ruby!"

"You are such a child. Were you created yesterday?" It felt good to have those little back and forth conversations with Ruby. Sometimes she would go so long without speaking that she feared her voice would disappear. 

"Nope! I am a fully-fledged goddess, just like you." Sticking out her tongue like the fully-fledged goddess she was, Ruby suddenly dropped down into the snow. Lying on her back, she started flailing her arms and legs back and forth, laughing the whole time. "Look Weiss, I'm making snow people!"

"Careful you don't bring them to life. We already have enough people in this world." She walked over to stand in front of Ruby, looking down at her with an amused look. "Are you having fun acting like a child down there?"

"Well excuuuse me for having fun! Haven't you ever wanted to play around in the snow before? I mean, you're the one who created all of this."

"No, I suppose I haven't." It seemed too childish for her to do, and Ruby showing her the proof helped explain why she didn't. However, it seemed that Ruby wasn't as fond of that answer. Sitting up, she suddenly grabbed Weiss's hand and yanked her down. "RubYYY!" She let out an undignified screech as she was pulled down, falling right on top of Ruby.

"Doesn't the snow look better up close?" Ruby giggled, hands tight around Weiss's wrists. Weiss could only nod, feeling as if the entire world had just been flipped upside down. She was lying on top of Ruby, as close as she had ever been to the goddess that had steadily gained her affection. For the first time, she truly felt what she could only describe as warmth. It made her feel more like Yang. In that moment, there was no place she would rather be than lying on top of Ruby.

"I... I suppose it does," she murmured, reluctantly rolling off of Ruby and down into the snow. Staring up at the sky, she watched the snow come down and sighed deeply, feeling her mind getting lost in the dark cosmos above. She swore that the snowflakes falling above her were perfectly mimicking the constellation of Beowulf. "I have never had anyone to do things like this with."

"Not even your sister?" As loathe as she was to mention the details of her family to anyone, she had felt comfortable enough to divulge a few details to Ruby one fall evening. Ever since, she had constantly felt that she had made a mistake, but Ruby didn't bring them up much, thank goodness. That didn't mean she never did, though. "Which, by the way, I can't believe your sister's name is Winter, and she's not the goddess of winter. I mean, she was named so perfectly!"

"She didn't ask to be named that. Blame my parents." She felt her stomach twisting uncomfortably. Conversations concerning her family were always awkward to her, and she never really had to experience them that much before. Now she had a super curious goddess in her company, and sometimes it seemed she just couldn't help herself. It wasn't like she could blame Ruby, but that didn't make talking about them any easier. "I haven't seen her in awhile." She decided that being vague about how long 'awhile' was would be prudent.

"Aww..." Ruby fell silent for a moment, meaning that all there was to listen to was the wind. "Well, I'll always be here for you!" She tilted her head to see Ruby staring at her, smiling her big, innocent smile that she had begun to fall for. "As long as I'm here, you won't ever have to be alone!"

"Thank you, Ruby." Her voice came out as a whisper, feeling emotions welling up inside her. Ruby was just such a nice person: there were no ulterior motives in her actions. She legitimately wanted to spend time with her, even if no one else would. For months and months, she had been coming to see her without a desire for anything but her company. It confused her, and it made her feel like the luckiest goddess in the pantheon. "I appreciate that."

"And I appreciate you spending time with me too!" Ruby sat up and scooped up some snow with her hands. She tossed it up into the air, smiling as it all came back down. "It's nice to make new friends, especially when they treat me like a normal goddess." For the first time, she saw a crack in the normally happy air that always surrounded Ruby. "Because of how I came to be, everyone treats me like I'm a special, precious object. As if I would break if they stopped watching me for one second."

That wasn't surprising to hear. While it had never been explicitly stated, she had noticed the way others acted around Ruby, especially Yang. For the first few times that Ruby visited her, Yang tagged along despite her aversion to the cold. It took a lot of pleading from Ruby to get her to back off, but apparently that wasn't the end of it. From what she had been told, Ruby's father, the sun god Taiyang, was likely watching over her from above. It all seemed overbearing, but she also felt a certain longing when she heard it. She wondered what it would be like to have family that cared enough to constantly watch over her.

"Well, you seem perfectly capable of taking care of yourself." She sat up as well, running a hand along the ground. Sometimes the snow felt like a representation of herself: a lonely, oft-undisturbed substance that people cursed with every breath. To see Ruby playing with it like it was the most fun thing she had ever experienced made her feel so much different about it. If she wasn't careful, her emotions were going to overwhelm her.

"Right?! What's the point of being a goddess if I'm not allowed to do anything?!" As quickly as she had sat up, she flopped back down, kicking her legs in a fit of petulance. When she finally calmed down, she let out a weary sigh. It sounded too ancient for someone so young and vibrant. "Sometimes I wish I was just a normal goddess like the others. I just want to be able to do things like everyone else."

"Then why don't you?" In a way, she could understand why Ruby's family was so overprotective. The more time she spent around Ruby, the more she wanted to protect her as well. Still, Ruby was her own person, and she should be allowed to dictate what she did with her time. "You're a goddess just like the rest of us. Whether or not you're special doesn't matter. We all have our powers and our domains, and you do as well. Don't let your family tell you how to go about your business."

"I wish," Ruby laughed, flicking the snow around with her fingers. "I say that I can take care of myself all the time, but my parents and Yang are just so protective. Maybe it's because Yang's-" She shut up in an instant, eyes widening for a second. "Uh, forget I said anything," she mumbled, which only piqued Weiss's curiosity. However, wanting to respect her only friend, she didn't pry. "It just sucks, you know?" She could only nod, not truly understanding Ruby's plight, but wishing she could do something to make her feel better.

"Well, as long as you're here with me, you're free to do anything you want. As long as you don't destroy anything." She meant every word, but seeing Ruby's smile was an extra bonus to saying it. Seeing Ruby smile at her always made her lose track of where she was. It felt like she was floating in the Mistral River, having nowhere to go and no place to be. If she could see Ruby smile like that every day, she would never complain about her loneliness ever again.

"Aww, you just had to take the fun out of it, didn't you?" She held the straightest face she could until Weiss's frown was too much to handle, bursting into giggles right afterwards. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I won't destroy anything, promise!" Once she calmed down, she resumed her normal, smiling ways, which continued to make Weiss's heart do a series of flips. "I'm really glad we get to spend time together, Weiss. You're such an awesome friend, and I really wanna spend more time playing in the snow with you!"

"I..." She swallowed thickly, a wave of emotions cresting inside her. It was taking everything she had to not let them overcome her. "I want to spend more time with you too. I'm just... surprised you're not bored with me yet." That had been a constant fear rooted in her mind. She had been so sure that her presence would be uninteresting to Ruby, and even after all the time they had spent together, it was hard to not believe it would eventually happen. The thought of Ruby not showing up one day, and never coming back, hurt her more than she ever expected it to.

"Are you kidding? You're lots of fun! Besides, we don't always have to be doing something. Like right now. We're just lying together in the snow, right? It's not 'fun', but it's nice because it's with you." Weiss blushed at that comment, wondering if she could hide it in the snow. It was too late for that, as Ruby was already giggling at her embarrassment. She didn't feel angry about it, though. There were other, much stronger emotions at play, and every word Ruby said made it harder to not let them overwhelm her. "Sooo, you said I could do anything I want when I'm with you, right?"

"I did say that..." She quirked an eyebrow, feeling suspicious about where this was going. "Maybe I ought to put in some qualifiers just in case."

"Oh no, it's nothing bad! At least, I hope it's not." Ruby laughed, but it was more nervous than before. She picked up on it instantly. "But you're sure I can do anything?" There was a hopeful look in her eyes as she waited for a response. Weiss wasn't sure she could say no, even if it ended up destroying something.

"That's what I said, isn't it?" She wasn't sure what to wait for, so she tried to prepare herself for anything. However, there were things she couldn't prepare for, and Ruby chose something that she never would have predicted: she leaned in and kissed her. It lasted for a mere second, but the ghostly sensation stayed long after Ruby moved away.

"Was... Was that okay?" Ruby slapped her hands against her legs, touching her lips with her tongue. "I mean, it felt okay, but maybe that was just me." She laughed, looking so innocent and cute and just... too much. Way too much. It was all too much for Weiss's fragile, lonely heart to handle. Without warning, tears started to fall down her cheeks. "O-Oh! Weiss, I'm sorry!" Panicking, Ruby started trying to wipe her tears away.

However, Ruby's eyes widened when she saw Weiss's tears turn to ice. As she wiped them away, the teardrops froze and swam around in the air, circling around the pair. The more Weiss cried, the more frozen teardrops appeared. Ruby was caught between awe and worry, watching it all happen while being unsure of what to do. All she knew was that she never, ever wanted to see Weiss crying like that.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, staring at Ruby through blurry eyes. There didn't seem to be a way to stop herself from crying. "I didn't expect you to kiss me. No, that isn't it." There was more to it than that. The kiss was surprising: no doubt about that. However, everything had been leading up to her letting her emotions out, and the kiss was the final straw. "It's everything about you. I don't understand... Why do you care about me? Why do you spend so much time with me?" She had to choke back a sob before continuing. "Why do you like me enough to kiss me?"

"Well, because you're likable?" Ruby tilted her head, seemingly confused by all of the questions. "I don't understand, Weiss. Why would you think I wouldn't care about you? You're awesome! I mean, you're super pretty, and you have so much knowledge of Remnant. You're powerful too! I mean, the snow?" She grabbed some and tossed it up in the air, watching it fall with a smile. "It's so beautiful. I'm so happy you let me see it with you!"

"You're the only one," she muttered, feeling her tears finally starting to abate. "All of the humans hate me. The winter weather kills their crops, and they curse me for it. Only strange humans bother to populate my temples, and none of the other gods come to see me during my season. Not even my family..." Her tone was extremely bitter, cutting through the air like a knife.

"That's... That's terrible." Ruby let out a whimper, looking like she was about to cry as well. "They're wrong, though. The snow is beautiful, and winter is a necessary season. Every season exists for a reason, don't they?" Weiss nodded slowly, looking down at the snow. "If they can't see that, then they don't deserve to worship you anyway!"

"I appreciate that, Ruby." She actually laughed at that, wiping away a few more stray tears. The frozen teardrops almost completely encircled them, as if keeping them in a world of their own. "That doesn't change the fact that you're one of the few who actually care about what I do. It's hard not to feel lonely." She hadn't meant to dump all of that on Ruby. That was all supposed to be kept internally, her pain and loneliness for her heart only. There was just something about Ruby that made the truth easier to let slip out.

"Then I won't let you feel lonely! I'll always be here to spend time with you!" Ruby put her hands on Weiss's shoulders, staring at her with an intense seriousness. "Maybe they don't understand the beauty behind winter, but I do. I'll... I'll do something to show them that there's beauty in the season! I just need time to think on it." There was no hesitation or falsehoods in her eyes. Everything she had spoken was the truth.

"You don't have to do that, Ruby. Having you here is enough for me." She too meant those words. Smiling, she pressed her forehead against Ruby's and sighed softly. "I have no idea what I deserved to gain a friend like you."

"By being yourself," Ruby replied with a big smile. "I wanna be friends with you because you're you. I'm so happy that we talked at the gathering! Otherwise, I may never have gotten to know you, and I don't even wanna think about that." A light blush crossed her face before she spoke again. "So, uh, I can still do whatever I want when I'm with you, right?"

"Yes, that's still alright." Weiss started to blush too, having a feeling that she knew what was about to happen. When Ruby started to lean in, her feelings were confirmed. This time, their kiss lasted quite a while longer.

It was unusual to see so many people coming outside in the dead of winter. In the warmest clothes they could make, they filed together to stare in awe at what had happened. Growing outside were flowers, their petals a perfect swirl of red and white. There were dozens upon dozens of them, all popping up through the snow-covered fields. Everybody seemed to be entranced by their beauty.

"They smell amazing!" someone exclaimed, and others murmured in agreement. They started to get closer, some kneeling to look at the flowers up close. Multiple people spoke of how wonderful the smell was, which led to one adventurous soul plucking one and giving it a taste. The others watched them in both amazement and curiosity, waiting to see what would happen. 

"It... It tastes good!" they shouted in amazement, catching the attention of everyone else. "It's sweet..." They bit into the flower again, confirming that it indeed was a sweet-tasting flower. "I bet we could eat these!" With that, everybody charged forward to grab a flower of their own, wanting to see if what had been said was true. As everyone would soon find out, it was just as sweet as had been promised.

"Wow, this is wonderful!" "Thank you, Weiss!" "The goddess has granted our prayers!" "We need to go pray for her blessings!" Everyone grabbed another flower before heading off towards the closest temple. Of course, that temple was abandoned, having been for a deity that no humans would remember. They were determined to re-purpose it into a new temple for Weiss, though.

"See?" Watching from the skies, Ruby turned to Weiss with the giddiest expression all over her face. "They love you now! I told you I'd figure something out!"

"I suppose you did." She could only shake her head in disbelief. While she had appreciated what Ruby was trying to do, she found it difficult to believe that anything would make the humans love her. Leave it to Ruby, the most wonderful goddess ever created, to find a way to prove her wrong. Though she didn't want to admit it out loud, she was in awe of her powers. "They should be praying to you, though. You're the one who grew those flowers."

"Aw, that's not necessary. They already pray to me enough. You deserve this." In their time together, Weiss had found out something surprising about Ruby: she could be very, very stubborn. Maybe the two of them weren't as different as she had originally thought. She was determined to make the people worship Weiss, and she refused to take any sort of credit. It was flattering, but also annoying.

"But you did it. It's because of you that they even care about me."

"I did it for you, though. If I was just trying to get more people to pray to me, I wouldn't have bothered." She crossed her arms, looking a lot more mature than she usually did. "I'm not budging on this, Weiss. I did this for you, because I love you, and I want everyone down there to feel the same way I do." She stopped, seeing Weiss's face rapidly turning red. "What? What's wrong?"

"You said you..." Weiss could barely get the words out, unable to believe Ruby didn't realize what she had said. "You said you love me, Ruby..."

"Huh?" She blinked in confusion, thinking back on what she had just said. "I did?" She went back, back, until Weiss wasn't the only one with a red face. "Oh... I, uh, I guess I did," she laughed, rubbing the back of her neck. "Ahaha, I'm sorry, but... yeah, I do love you, Weiss. I mean, you're my friend, so of course I'd love you, but..." She clasped her hands together, biting on her lip. "I think it's become more than that. I, uh, actually talked to my dad about how I was feeling."

"You did what?!" What was it with Ruby talking to their parents about these things? First her mom, now the literal god of the sun. She could feel herself already melting away beneath the angry glare of Taiyang. There was no way he would be happy that his younger daughter was telling the least-liked goddess that she loved her.

"I didn't say I loved you," which was not reassuring in the slightest. As if Taiyang didn't have more omnipotence than most. "I just said I thought I had feelings for someone, and I asked for advice. When I told him how I was feeling, he said he had felt the same way about his wives. If I was feeling that way, then it must be something special." She smiled, taking one of Weiss's hands in hers, stroking her palm with a finger. "And they are special. You're special to me, Weiss."

"Ruby..." She sniffled, feeling tears falling down her cheeks. Ruby had a way of making her emotions come out in a way that nothing and no one else could. She had always had emotions, but she kept them bottled up inside where they belonged. It wasn't befitting of a goddess such as herself, and she had no one to truly confide in anyway. Now that Ruby had offered herself up in such a way, she found it too hard to keep herself in control. "I... I love you too."

"Yay!" Ruby happily jumped onto Weiss, kissing her with everything she had. Laughing and crying, Weiss kissed her back, holding on as tightly as she could. Snow fell as they confirmed their affections for one another, and the humans down below danced, sang, and prayed for the bounty of the goddesses above. The goddess of winter had never experienced a better winter than she had then.

For the first time, no one wanted the snow to go away.