It was a very boring Saturday night. Yang had been over at Blake's the entire day, leaving her alone with their dad. However, he had conked out early, leaving her up by herself with nothing to do. She'd watched some TV, but there wasn't anything on that really captivated her. There weren't any video games that she wanted to play either. Online, these symptoms were supposedly signs of depression, but she didn't think it was that severe. She was just very, very bored.
The fact that it was pouring rain outside didn't help matters. Even if there was something outside that she wanted to do, the terrible weather had decided to put the kibosh on that. At this point, she was sitting in her bedroom with the curtains open, staring out into the rain and sighing oh-so dramatically. Weiss would've been proud. She was just so freaking bored! If only the stuff she could do inside interested her at the moment. It'd be more fun if Yang was there, but of course she wasn't. If only she'd gone over to Blake's with her... Then she would be third-wheeling hard, and she suddenly appreciated her boredom a bit more.
She heard the doorbell ring, faint but audible against the pounding storm. That caught her by surprise. Her first thought was that Yang had returned, but that didn't make sense. She had the keys to get in, so she wouldn't need to bother with waiting. Unless she had lost them... It didn't seem likely, but no other explanation made sense. The weather was too awful for anybody to come around trying to sell something, and nobody had mentioned to her that they wanted to come over. Not that they'd likely want to when it was raining like this. Her curiosity was now heightened as she left her room and headed for the front door.
Looking through the peephole, her surprise didn't end, but her concern immediately ratcheted up to ridiculous levels. Standing on her porch was Weiss, staring at the ground with completely disheveled hair. Ruby hurriedly unlocked the door and flung it open, gaping at the sight of the Schnee heiress. She was soaked from head to toe, her arms wrapped around her stomach as she shivered where she stood. An angry red mark was visible on her left cheek, which only made Ruby's concern worsen. She had no idea what was going on, but she knew she couldn't leave Weiss standing out there a moment longer.
Grabbing Weiss's hand, she helped her inside and shut the door. Water dripped from her body, quickly creating a puddle on the wood paneling beneath her. "Wait right here!" Ruby turned and ran towards the bathroom, nearly tripping over herself in her haste to grab some towels. She raided the cabinet and grabbed three of them, hustling back to the front door. Weiss still stood there just as she'd left her: staring down and frozen, as if in shock. It was making her stomach feel sick with worry.
She set down a towel in front of Weiss's feet, which she stepped on without a word. Now the majority of the water was dripping onto the towel, though a few errant drops kept hitting the floor. That could be dried off later, though. Dropping one of the towels next to her, Ruby used the other to start drying Weiss off. She had a feeling that Weiss didn't feel like doing it herself, and she wasn't wrong. Weiss didn't make a move to help, or really any move at all. She just stood there with a dead-to-the-world expression, neither thanking Ruby nor acknowledging her presence.
The silence between them was torturous. Ruby wanted to make Weiss look her in the eye and tell her what was wrong, but she had to keep holding her tongue. Weiss was usually not very upfront about her emotions, but she didn't tend to stay this quiet. Seeing how she was at the moment let her know that something serious had happened. If she pushed her for an answer like she so desperately wanted to, then she might end up doing more damage. As much as it pained her, she was forced to remain silent.
The two remaining towels got full usage as she dried Weiss off. It took quite a bit of time, since it was somewhat awkward to dry off another person, but eventually she was as dry as she was gonna be. That wasn't saying much, though, since her clothes still retained a good amount of rainwater. Her towels weren't going to do much to combat that, nor were they going to help keep Weiss very warm. A passing shiver along her body showed that truth very well. Okay, so she needed something that would bring warmth back into her body. A bath should do the trick.
Leaving the wet towels by the door, Ruby took Weiss's hand and led her to the bathroom. Once in there, she closed the door behind them and started up a bath. Standing there with nothing to do but wait for the bath to fill up, the silence that still permeated the room became truly unbearable. She caught herself tapping her foot several times when the sound reached her ears. While the bathtub was being filled up, Weiss mostly just stared silently at the water, though Ruby caught her staring at herself in the mirror once. It was only for a moment before she looked away.
Eventually the bath was filled up completely. Ruby shut off the water and walked to the other side of the room. She turned around to give Weiss her privacy, which was understood even without words. With nothing else going on, Ruby could hear the sound of Weiss's clothes being removed, then there was nothing for about fifteen seconds. It made her want to turn around and see what was wrong, even at the risk of being yelled at for glimpsing Weiss's nudity. At least she'd say something.
The sound of water being displaced quelled some of her fears, though she kept facing the door until she was sure Weiss had become fully submerged in the water. "You can turn around." She was surprised when she heard Weiss's voice, turning around due to that shock more than having been given permission to do so. Weiss was indeed hidden beneath the water, with the bubbles Ruby had added truly covering everything below the very top of her chest. Ruby headed back over to her, cautiously sitting down on the side of the tub.
"Is the water warm enough?" Weiss nodded, still not looking at Ruby. It wreaked havoc on her heart, but she just had to take a deep breath and not take it too personally. Weiss was obviously going through something, and she wasn't going to coax the truth out of her by being sad. So she sacked up and gently ran her fingers through Weiss's hair, hoping that she could inject some happiness into the otherwise-tense scenario. "Nice weather we're having, huh?"
"Hah." Weiss scoffed, subtly leaning into Ruby's hands. "Hardly." Well, at least she was saying words now. It wasn't much, but it was better than nothing. Ruby kept stroking her hair, having a feeling that it was helping calm Weiss down somewhat. Well, it was either that or the bath. Or both. She wasn't being told to stop, at least. "Thank you, Ruby."
"Huh? For what?"
"For letting me in."
"I wasn't going to let you stand outside in the rain." Ruby laughed, untangling her fingers from Weiss's hair so she could stand up and look for a couple more towels that Weiss could use when she was done with her bath. There had at least been one more remaining after she raided the cabinet for them originally. Hopefully there was another one just in case. "You're always welcome in my house, Weiss."
"Huh..." Weiss hummed quietly, lifting a hand to slowly swirl the bubbles around her. Ruby came back with two towels, setting them nearby so they didn't get any water splashed on them. She felt her heart start to swell with hope as she sat down again, feeling like Weiss was getting closer to saying something about what was going on. How close, she couldn't be sure. There was something in the little she had said, though, and she just needed to figure out what it meant.
Things were mostly quiet for the rest of Weiss's bath. Once the bubbles started to fade out, that was around the time she was ready to come out and dry off. Ruby grabbed one of the towels and held it out for Weiss, turning the other way and closing her eyes. She heard the water starting to drain from the tub, then felt the towel being taken from her hands. Taking a few steps towards the door, she opened her eyes again and kept walking, making sure to avoid looking in the mirror. Her face felt a bit warm, but she tried to chalk it up to the room being heated up from the bath than the fact that Weiss was in that bath.
"You can turn around again." When she did, she nearly lost her breath. Weiss was still standing in the bathtub as the water drained around her, the towel she'd been given now tied around her body. It hugged her really well, and seeing her standing there like that nearly made Ruby overheat. She had to keep reminding herself that this was a serious situation, and she needed to be hyper-focused on helping Weiss through whatever she was going through. It was just sort of hard to fully concentrate on that when she was just standing there in a towel! And looking super good as well. 'Focus, Ruby, focus!' "Can you, uh, leave while I dry off?"
"Oh, yeah, yeah sure." She hastily tore her eyes away and stepped out of the bathroom, shutting the door and leaning against it. Sighing quietly, she lightly slapped her cheeks before starting to pace around the living room. This was finally her chance to try and burn off some of her worries. She really wanted to know what was going on, but she knew it wasn't the right time to ask. It made her wonder if she was even equipped to deal with whatever was happening. She wasn't much of a therapist or a problem solver. Yang, with her years of big sister experience, would be much more helpful. If only she was here and not sucking face with Blake...
She could do this, though! If she doubted herself now, she'd just be handicapping her chances right off the bat. Weiss needed her, and she was going to be there for her for as long as it took. Whatever she had to do to make her feel better, that's what she was going to do. She just needed to remember how Yang made her feel better whenever she was sad as a child. Not that she was going to treat Weiss like a child. She just figured it could help in some way. She hoped so, anyway.
"Uh, Ruby?" Weiss's voice made her stop pacing and turn back to the bathroom. She had stuck just her head out, eyes searching for Ruby. "My clothes are still wet. Do you have anything I can wear?" Crap, she'd forgotten all about that!
"I'm sorry! I'll get you something right now!" She raced off to her room, yanking open drawers to grab something for Weiss to wear. They weren't too different when it came to body type, so she figured most things she had would fit. She didn't spend too much time finding clothes, since she didn't want to keep Weiss waiting. A red 'Vale Raiders Athletic Club' t-shirt and a pair of black shorts seemed fine enough, at least for one night. She also grabbed a white bra and panties before running back to the bathroom. Holding them out, she smiled apologetically as Weiss opened the door more to grab the clothes offered to her. She had wrapped the towel around her body again, something noticeable for only a moment before the door was closed again. Once more, she had to wait out in the living room with nothing to do but worry and try to pep herself up to pep Weiss up.
When Weiss opened the door and came out, Ruby was struck by just how cute she looked in her clothing. It all seemed to fit her pretty well, but the fact that she was wearing Ruby's clothes specifically made it seem different. Now she understood why Yang always seemed so happy to see Blake wearing one of her nightshirts. It made her heart flutter in a way that was almost medically concerning.
She grabbed Weiss's wet clothes from the bathroom and took them to the laundry room, which she should've done in the first place. It'd kind of escaped her mind with all the worry and Weiss being all naked in her tub. Kind of hard to remember what she was supposed to do with all that going on. Thankfully things were finally getting done: the clothes were in the wash and a warmer Weiss had followed her into her bedroom. Now all that was left was the rest of the night. Time to see how that went.
"So, you can sleep on my bed tonight, and I can sleep in Yang's room, since she won't be here tonight. Or if you want me to stay with you, I can sleep on the floor. I have a sleeping bag in the garage, I think." They were both sitting together on Ruby's bed. Weiss was now looking at her, which was an improvement over her staring at the floor earlier.
"Absolutely not. You're not going to sleep on the floor. This is your room, after all." Weiss crossed her arms, staring at Ruby with an expression that told her there was no room for discussing. At least her stubbornness was back on display. She'd been worried about where that had gone.
"You're my guest, though, so you're not sleeping on the floor either. You wanna sleep in the same bed or something?"
"Yes. I would prefer that, actually." That made Ruby do a double take. She gawked at Weiss, half-expecting her to say that she was joking. Her serious expression never wavered, though. So she was being serious. Being allowed to touch Weiss was one thing, and that thing had taken quite an effort to happen. Sleeping in the same bed was a completely different animal. That was... really intimate.
"Really?" Ruby couldn't help but ask, being too surprised to say nothing. With the sad look that appeared on Weiss's face, she wished she had said nothing.
"I... don't want to sleep alone tonight." Say no more. Ruby moved over to hug Weiss, continuing to see the depths of how serious whatever had happened to her was. Otherwise she likely wouldn't have even thought to ask for this to happen. She had, though, and Ruby wasn't going to blow that chance.
"Then we'll sleep in the same bed. I'll be right here next to you if you need me. It'll be like a sleepover!" That got Weiss to laugh. It was a dry laugh, but it was a positive reaction in Ruby's book. Better still, it opened up the dialogue between them. It wasn't much, and there was no talk about what had happened to Weiss, but Ruby appreciated what she could get at this point. She was doing most of the talking, but she was willing to do whatever it took to take Weiss's mind off of what happened and onto something more lighthearted.
Eventually there was a lull in the conversation, and Ruby watched Weiss move over towards the window. She pulled up one of the blinds' flaps and looked outside, staring at the rain coming down. Ruby scooted over and grabbed the blinds' cord, opening them up so that they both could see the weather. Weiss didn't say anything, instead leaning against Ruby and watching the raindrops fall. They both sat there together in silence for a few minutes, with the sound of the storm acting as a likely soundtrack for whatever was going on inside Weiss's head.
"You said I was always welcome in your home earlier." She turned to look at Ruby, something flashing in her eyes that Ruby couldn't place. "Did you really mean that?"
"Of course! You've always been welcome here." Ruby smiled brightly, gently stroking Weiss's arm. "No matter where I live, you'll always be welcome there."
"I appreciate that. I really do." Weiss laid her head down on Ruby's shoulder and closed her eyes, listening to the rain and the sound of Ruby's soft breathing. "I wish I could stay here instead of going home. That place..." She sighed deeply, rubbing her left cheek. "It doesn't feel like a home anymore. Maybe it never did. It's just a house now." Her eyes fluttered opened, glancing up towards Ruby. "This place feels more like a home to me. You and your family have always treated me so wonderfully, even when I didn't deserve it."
"You could stay here if you wanted. I'm sure my dad wouldn't mind having you over more often." Ruby's stomach was churning at the thought of Weiss being that miserable at home. She'd known things weren't all that 'fairy tale'-like, but this sounded much worse. At the same time, she definitely wasn't opposed to Weiss spending more time over at her house. They'd be able to be in each other's company more often, which was never a bad thing. "And I bet Yang would like to have someone else to talk about haircare products or whatever." She laughed, running a hand through her short hair. "I'm not exactly Herman Li or anything."
"I can't do that, Ruby. As much as I want to... My family wouldn't allow it, and they would do everything they could to get me back. It'd just make more hassle for you and your family. That's the last thing I want." She lifted her head off of Ruby's shoulder and shuffled towards the window, staring out in the black. The streetlights were the only thing allowing true sight of the storm. For how roughly it was raging on, it was strangely comforting.
"Well, if your dad tries to take you home, then... then I'll punch him right in the nose!" For emphasis, Ruby made a quick jab at the air, making Weiss laugh. "He won't dare come around when I'm protecting you."
"While I appreciate the sentiment, I'd rather not become prison pen pals with you." She shook her head with a light smirk on her face, but it faded quickly as she came back to Ruby. "I know it can't happen, but... I'd like to pretend, just for tonight, that I can live here with you. I won't have to go back home, and I don't have to worry about anything." She closed her eyes again, a sudden heaviness overtaking them as she pressed herself against Ruby. "Can we pretend?"
"Sure, we can pretend." Ruby ran her hands down Weiss's back, an uncomfortable lump in her throat. She didn't want to pretend: she wanted it to be real. How incredible it would be to get to live with Weiss. It'd be much better than sending her home to whatever was awaiting her there. Weiss still hadn't elaborated on it, but it surely wasn't good. Knowing that she was going to have to let Weiss go and watch her head back there made her feel sick to her stomach. It made her feel like she was enabling something bad, but she didn't know what.
She didn't realize the silence wasn't intentional until she heard Weiss's quiet breathing. Looking down, she realized Weiss had fallen asleep. She smiled softly at the sight, noting how calm she looked in the throes of slumber. There weren't any of the lines on her face caused by annoyance or worry: it was as peaceful as she ever looked. She wished that she could make Weiss feel that peaceful every day. There was only so much she could do, though, and that made her feel like a failure.
Somehow, though, in some way, she'd help Weiss. At some point they'd both be out in the world, and there'd be nothing stopping them from living together. Then she'd always be able to protect Weiss from anything that wanted to harm her. If her family wanted to say something about it, then they'd have to go through her first. Gently kissing the top of Weiss's forehead, she whispered a promise to her sleeping form. A promise that she'd protect her from anything. That they'd live together someday, and that would be a home for her. A real home.
She promised that someday, they wouldn't have to pretend.