Ruby dragged her feet with each stupid step she had to take through the courtyard and into the boring brick building. It wasn't that she didn't want to be here, not really. She loved helping people, even if the helping part was several levels above the people part. But like all new things, Ruby was anxious to jump into a new place with new people. She would have much preferred to stay at home and doodle in her notebook.
That was in fact what she had been doing, right up until she was rudely interrupted by Yang. Her older sister was usually the source of great amusement, or great annoyance. But that morning she had been the bearer of unhappy news. Well, more like Ruby really didn't like what the blonde had to say.
To make a long story short, their father who would usually volunteer his time every Saturday at the rehab center in town had a work thing come up out of no where. This of course led to a series of events that had Ruby and Yang taking his place as helpers for the facility. It was in fact the same facility that their Uncle Qrow had gone to after the intervention so the family was relatively close with the people who ran the place.
All of this would have been fine on any other day, but today was not a good day for Ruby. They didn't happen often, but every once in a while the young girl had days where she felt as though she couldn't accomplish even the simplest of tasks. Her head would pound and her back would crawl with an aching, empty feeling that was hard to forget. Usually, a handful of doodles in her notebook while she watched TV and sipped coco would have her right back to normal. But that wasn't an option today.
The glass door swung open for Ruby as she approached. Each step towards the door was smaller than the last until she was standing just outside the entry way. She really didn't want to do this. Not today. But before she could convince her feet to turn around she felt the ever comforting hand of her sister rest softly on her shoulder.
"Just relax, Ruby. We'll be fine. We're just gonna clean some rooms and talk to some people."
"I know I know." Ruby knew Yang just wanted to reassure her, but reminding the younger girl about the talking to people aspect was really not the best way to do it.
"Come on, I'll lead the way."
Yang took Ruby's hand in her own and led the pair through the still open door and into a modest lobby. Everything was a muted green with rich wooden accents. The place felt homey, or as homey as a care facility could feel. The carpet was so soft that Ruby could feel it through her boots. She was so distracted by this interesting phenomenon that she didn't realize that Yang had brought them right up to what must have been the front desk.
Seated behind the desk and apparently very busy on the phone and on his computer, sat an older gentleman with silver hair and thickly rimmed glasses. Ruby couldn't decide if he was old or his hair was just naturally that color. She was shocked when the man looked up from his computer screen and met her gaze. Her eyes widened in surprise and she nearly jumped out of her skin. Too much excitement for the morning.
"Excuse me for just one second," the man said as he moved the phone away from his ear.
"Hello, can I help you young ladies with something?"
His face was neutral but Ruby decided that he looked ready to smile at a moments notice. It gave him an undeniably friendly aura. He looked between the two sisters awaiting their response before a knowing grin made its way to his lips.
"You're Tai's kids, aren't you?"
"That's us." Yang replied cheerfully. She was always cheerful like that, maybe just a little too much so. But Ruby couldn't fault her for it. She secretly wished she could have even half as much charisma, especially on days like today.
"Why don't you go down the hall there and see if you can find a woman named Glynda. She should be able to get you two something you can help with. I'm Oz by the way, please feel free to come and find me if you have any questions."
Alright, thank you very much." Yang smiled at the man again before leading Ruby down the hall towards where they had been directed.
The halls were the same as the entrance, if a little less worn down by the constant foot traffic seen in the building's lobby. The weren't many sounds to hear this early on a Saturday morning. To Ruby, the only thing making noise seemed to be her heart pounding in her chest. She wasn't nervous, just, really ready to run away from anyone who tried to strike up a conversation. Not that she could actually walk away when someone was talking, that would be rude.
The hallway led to a large open room that kind of reminded Ruby of an airport. There were rows and rows of seats set out all over the floor. Some of them came with tables and some sat without. There seemed to be two or three older people sitting by the window, likely enjoying the view of a small garden area that brought color to an otherwise muted grassy field. The only other individual she could see was a blonde woman who seemed to be in the middle of wiping down some of the tables that dotted the lounge.
She grew slightly, less than not nervous, when Yang began guiding her right to the woman in question. Right before they stopped, Ruby made sure to take a deep breath and swallow the knot in her throat that definitely didn't come from social anxiety. The woman turned to them and gave them an inquisitive look before asking the obvious question.
"Is there something I can help you with?"
"You bet. I'm Yang and this is my sister Ruby. We're here to help out today. Our dad usually volunteers on Saturdays but he had a work thing come up."
Thank god Yang liked people and talking so much. Ruby felt like even trying to open her mouth would end up badly for everyone involved. Maybe she should have stayed home. If she was feeling this sick already, what were the chances she gave someone else whatever ailment was clearly plaguing her? She didn't want to be responsible for getting anyone sick with her case of totally not stage fright.
"Oh, so you're Tai's kids. It's nice to meet you. My name is Glynda." The blonde woman smiled at the sisters before turning back to the table she had been scrubbing. She spoke while she worked, clearly still paying attention to the sisters.
"Would either of you happen to know how to make a bed or use a vacuum?"
"Of course. Ruby and I are master bed makers. Vacuums should be easy enough to figure out. I think."
Glynda smiled at the response, expecting as much from high schoolers. She continued to scrub away at the wooden surface and Ruby began to relax as she grew more familiar with her environment. No one was going to yell at her, no one was going to make fun of her, not here.
"Well, if that's the case why don't you follow me and I can see about getting you two some clean linens. You're just in time to change sheets in the east wing. The rooms should be empty. It goes without saying that you should not be doing anything other than making the beds."
"Oh you don't have to worry. Ruby and I don't have a single bad bone in our bodies."
Glynda smiled at the response shaking her head as she stood up from her previous position.
"Yep, you're definitely Tai's kids."
From there the blonde woman led the two volunteers down a new hall to another, smaller room. There didn't seem to be anyone inside but the walls were lined with dozens of shelves stocked with just about every cleaning product Ruby could name. From one of the shelves Glynda took down a neatly folded square of fabric.
"Each bundle should have everything you will need. There is a bed sheet, a thin comforter, and two pillow cases. Once you've changed the bed, you can take the dirty sheets to the room next door. We have staff who will put it through the wash. Sound easy enough?"
Ruby was still not entirely sure if this would be ok. Making her bed at home was always the worst part of cleaning her room. Not that she didn't like clean sheets or anything, it just took her forever to get the stupid fitted sheet to stay on the bed. Most of the time she would have to ask Yang to hold it down. Or do it for her. But she definitely hadn't had to ask for help in more than, at least, two weeks? Maybe?
"We've got it covered."
If Yang was that confident then Ruby definitely couldn't say no. For as loathe as she was to admit it, Ruby really wanted Yang to see her as an equal. Sure they were sisters, but Ruby wanted them to be like friends too, to have an even stronger bond. The fact that she had few other friends definitely had no effect on this desire at all, obviously. Yang of course thought of Ruby as the most important person in her life. But Ruby somehow still had trouble believing it even after hearing it everyday since before she could remember.
"Well I guess I'll leave you to it. Let me know if you have any questions."
And with that, Glynda turned and left the room. It was quiet for a moment before Yang went ahead and grabbed a stack of three sets of sheets and headed for the door. Ruby should have known she wasn't going to get any help making those beds. So with her head hung in overly melodramatic resignation, she grabbed a bundle of sheets and followed her sister out the door.
She went back the way she came and stopped outside the first room she found. The hallways felt a lot less cozy without Yang standing next to her. She gave the rather plain wooden door a quick knock and called out a meek hello but received no response. Assuming that meant the room was empty, she turned the handle and stepped inside, closing the door behind herself.
She made it halfway around the room with her curious gaze before she remembered what Glynda had said. She was just here to change the sheets. There would be zero snooping, even just with her eyes. Heaving another overly exaggerated sigh, the girl began the simple process of stripping the bed. The sheets came off without a problem and the pillowcases took only an extra couple of seconds to figure out.
Then of course came the hard part. Ruby first tried getting the opposite corners of the evil fitted sheet into place but that proved to be ineffective. The mattress would not hold the corners no matter how much Ruby yelled at them in her head. Not wanting to have to ask her sister for help so soon, Ruby decided she would try to get all of the corners on at once. It usually worked at home so it was probably her best shot at getting the stupid sheet to cooperate.
Of course, she forgot that her bed was only a double. These beds were several inches longer and nearly a foot wider than the one in her room. The result was horribly embarrassing and vaguely resembled a giant, pathetic starfish desperately trying to make a snow angel. Deciding that she had tried her best and that the sheet was just not going to cooperate, Ruby stopped flailing around and tried halfheartedly to smother herself in the sheet. Why did fitted sheets have to suck so much? She groaned into the mattress, cursing whoever had thought that such a cloth should ever be created.
"Who's there?"
Ruby bolted upright from the bed, on her feet as fast as she could. Had she not seen someone in the room? Had the occupant come back at some point during her little, meltdown thing? Had they seen her trying to put the stupid sheet onto the bed? How could she explain that?
"I know there's someone there. Did He send you?"
Scared to speak, Ruby instead used her time to assess just what her current situation was. Looking towards the door, she could see a girl who looked not much older than herself standing in the hall. The stranger's hair was a clean alabaster that was even brighter than the pale tone of her ivory skin. It flowed over her shoulders in delicate curls and obscured a good portion of her face. For a moment Ruby entertained the idea that she had been successful in her attempts to drown herself in the sheets and that this was some kind of an angel. That idea was quickly shattered when the girl continued to speak.
"He should know by now that I'm not coming back. Not after what he's done. Especially if he can't even come to talk to me himself."
Ruby's eyed bulged as she realized that not only was this not the after life, but that this girl thought she was talking to someone who was clearly not Ruby. How was she supposed to tell the girl that she was just here to change the sheets, or try to at least. Ruby's mouth opened and closed repeatedly as she desperately tried to find any words at all. Ruby knew she could speak, she had been doing it since she was less than two years old. But try as she might she couldn't think of a single word to say.
"Hello?"
The girls tone had very quickly shifted from upset to what Ruby could only describe as uneasy. What was going on with this girl? Ruby's head was spinning from just the unbridled awkwardness of the situation. But then certain details started to fit together in her head. How did this girl mistake Ruby for some, goon? The girl seemed to think Ruby was some person who was going to kidnap her or something. Why would she think that? Couldn't she see that Ruby was just some stupid teenager who couldn't even figure out how to make a stupid bed?
"I-I know how to defend myself."
Now the girl sounded almost fearful. Why would she be scared? Ruby could not figure out why this girl couldn't just see that she was-
…
Then it finally hit her, like an orca bound for orbit that didn't have the money to afford that third booster rocket. This girl was living in a rehab center. This girl couldn't see that Ruby was just there to change the bed. This girl couldn't see, period. Ruby almost hit herself over the head with how stupid she felt. How had she not realized it? Looking at the girl again, it was obvious that her eyes were covered in a thick bandage that seemed to blend into the whole white theme she had going on.
"Please don't hurt me."
The girl was now cowering on the ground, crouching, covering her head as if expecting a blow any second. Ruby was mortified by the scene before her. The girl must be absolutely terrified, coming back to her room to discover a silent stranger that she couldn't see or hope to defend herself from.
"I'm sorry!"
Not the best of introductions, but Ruby couldn't think of anything else to say to the poor girl. She really didn't have any kind of proper procedure for talking to new people, and this situation was not helping her one bit. In response to the admittedly overly excited exclamation, the white haired girl was still crouching down but seemed to have stopped cowering. Ruby could feel the fear the girl was experiencing. She had always been too empathetic for her own good.
Ruby moved to help the girl up off the floor but before she could take even a single step forward the stranger sprung, rather clumsily, to her feet. All of a sudden the scared girl that had just then been cowering on the ground was replaced with a woman who stood with her back straight and her head held high. She maintained a certain poise that reminded Ruby of a drawing she had made just that morning. Shoulders down, head back, foot forward, this girl might as well have been a fairy tale princess. But then she opened her mouth.
"Just what the hell do you think you are doing in my room?"
The tone was biting and if Ruby hadn't been present just moments ago she would never have believed that the person standing there was capable of cowering. The complete one eighty in the girl's demeanor only further added to the amalgamation of proper etiquette Ruby was still trying to put together in her head. Still on the mental back foot, Ruby decided to try and explain herself.
"I'm just here to change the sheets…"
Her meek voice seemed to ease some of the tension in the strangers posture. The white haired girl slumped forward ever so slightly at the revelation, the scowl she had been wearing loosening ever so gently.
"Are you finished? I was quite hoping I would have a chance to rest."
Ruby's cheeks reddened as she was reminded at her spectacular failure to secure the fitted sheet to the bed. She was probably going to have to ask Yang for help after all. Unless this girl wanted to help her. This blind girl, who wasn't responsible for cleaning, who couldn't see what she was doing, who had no reason to help her. That girl. But it couldn't hurt to ask, right?
"Actually, I um… I could use a hand…"
…
It was a miracle. It had to be. Ruby could actually see the girl's eyes rolling. Covered in hair and bandages and only half facing her, Ruby could actually feel the girl's eyes spinning at the ephemeral stupidity she had just uttered.
"You know what, on second thought, why don't I just do it myself real quick and I'll let you know as soon as I'm finished."
How the hell was she supposed to get the stupid sheet onto the stupid bed?
Author's Note: Hello all. Hopefully you enjoyed this first of what I hope to be many chapters of this story. I've been sitting on this idea for a long time so I decided, with some helpful persuasion, that it was about time I actually start writing it.
For those of you who are curious, this is going to be a whiterose story. Other pairings are up in the air but I'm happy to take suggestions. It will be very heavily slowburn/buildup focused because everyone knows that's the best part of the story. I am currently as open to suggestions or criticisms as Penny is after this most recent episode so please please please, tell me what you think. What you like, what you don't like, things you want to see, thing's you don't want to see, all of it.
That's all I have to say for now. Hopefully I'll see you all again soon, but no promises. Keep reading, keep writing, keep being awesome.
P.S. Lewdness warning. There is definitely going to be some pretty heavy handholding once this story picks up steam so don't complain that I didn't warn you.