A What Hotel?
"Honestly, I don't know how you managed to screw this up so badly!" Weiss threw her hands up into the air, exasperated. Ruby shrunk in embarrassment.
The two girls were supposed to be on a train heading back to their hotel in Osaka with their friends, Yang and Blake, but Ruby absolutely needed to help a stray dog find it's owner. So now the two girls were stuck in Kyoto.
Weiss and Ruby were now walking down a street, attempting to find a hotel they could stay in for the night, as the next train to Osaka wasn't due to leave until the next morning.
The white-haired girl stopped in front of a building with the word 'Hotel' on the sign. No other English words, but the katakana was longer than just one word. She couldn't read the sign, but she assumed it was a classier place than a cheap motel.
"I guess we can stay here for the night. It doesn't seem too cheap." She said to her friend. Ruby simply nodded and followed Weiss inside.
When the two entered the doors, they were greeted with a large screen and a panel of buttons. On the screen were pictures of a bunch of rooms, each one labeled with a number. The panel had buttons with a number corresponding to each room, and a note written in katakana, with a translation under it.
"Press to have room for a time. Light button shows rooms not taken." Weiss read the broken English.
"So I guess if the button is lit up it means we can take that room?" Ruby suggested. Weiss nodded in agreement.
Looking at the rooms, Weiss saw one she liked. It looked simple, stylish, and very cozy. Pressing the button, an automated machine gave her a set of keys to the room.
Ruby and Weiss took the stairs up to their room, neither of them talking to each other. Ruby took the silence as a sign that Weiss was still mad. As the white-haired girl opened the door to the room, a problem started glaring them in the face.
The picture Weiss looked at was of a bed, with a rather simple and modern setup. It looked open yet cozy and had hoped that the other bed was the same way. She hadn't thought for even a second that it was the only bed.
Both girls looked at it with their own expressions. Weiss was a bit disappointed, while Ruby looked a bit worried.
"I-it's ok, I'll just take the couch…" Ruby offered quietly, taking off her shoes and setting her messenger bag down next to the sofa, which was facing a nicely sized TV. The bathroom looked nice, with a large bathtub and another TV screen. Weiss walked into the bathroom, immediately noticing another large problem: there was no door.
At this point, Weiss started to piece a few things together. She had read up on Japanese culture when she was learning how to speak the language, and she'd seen places like this advertised as 'love hotels'. No large windows, a single large bed, and absolutely no privacy. Luckily, the toilet itself was in a smaller room with an actual door located inside the bathroom.
Weiss wasn't certain until she found the defining characteristics of a love hotel. A few wrapped condoms, massage lotion, and…
"I think someone left this here…" Ruby said, holding up a magazine with a bunch of women on the front, all dressed up in different cosplay.
Ruby didn't know it, but Weiss wasn't exactly the straightest arrow in the quiver. The white-haired girl started blushing as her imagination got the better of her, picturing Ruby in some of those costumes.
'NO! Bad Weiss! This is RUBY we're talking about here! Your BEST FRIEND!' Weiss screamed at herself mentally, shaking her head.
"Are you okay? You're getting kinda red, and I don't want you to get sick…" Ruby asked, concern lacing her voice.
"N-no, I'm fine." Weiss responded. "Though, I may have made a tiny little mistake…"
Ruby looked at her, confused.
"W-well, this isn't exactly a… normal hotel…" Weiss started, still getting a confused expression. "T-this is-" she couldn't say it. "This is a l-" she cut off again.
Ruby walked up to her friend and put the back of her hand against Weiss' forehead.
"Liar. You're totally getting sick. You're way too warm." Ruby said.
"I'm not sick, you dolt!" Weiss said back, pulling away from Ruby. "I'm embarrassed."
"Why are you embarrassed?" Ruby asked, even more confused now.
Weiss took a deep breath. "This is a love hotel." She said bluntly.
It took Ruby a few seconds to register the information. Her face shifted from confusion to embarrassment, eyes going wide and cheeks turning near-crimson.
"Y-you m-mean…" Ruby stuttered. Weiss simply nodded in response.
An uncomfortable silence fell over the two.
"W-well, it's not like we, you know, have to do… t-that…" Ruby reasoned, trying to break the awkward tension.
Weiss simply squeaked and grew even redder, her thoughts drifting to a less that respectable place.
"I-I'm going to take a bath!" Weiss said suddenly, walking quickly into the bathroom and going to close the- oh right. There wasn't a door.
Turning to her friend, who had been standing near the bathroom door the whole time, Weiss looked her dead in the eyes. "If you look while I'm in here, you won't be leaving here until you're in a bodybag." Weiss warned, cheeks still burning. Ruby nodded quickly, moving to sit on the couch around the corner.
Weiss turned on the water. As she undressed, she heard the shuffling of papers and the click of the TV turning on. After a few seconds, the noise turned from easy-listening menu music to the sounds of a knife chopping ingredients. Ruby had found the cooking channel, somehow. A Japanese man was talking over the process, and Weiss assumed there were English subtitles.
As Weiss lowered herself into the now full bath, she noticed a small switch on the wall labeled jacuzzi. She flicked the switch on, immediately attempting not to laugh as the bubbles hit her insanely ticklish lower back. She scrambled to turn off the switch, causing a bit of noise.
"You okay in there?" Ruby asked from around the corner.
"Y-yeah! Everything's ok!" Weiss responded, her voice a bit shaky.
"If you say so…" Ruby said, returning her attention to her show.
A while longer passed. Weiss decided she'd had enough of her bath and started to drain the basin, when she noticed a problem. A REAL problem.
"Uhh… Ruby?" Weiss asked shakily, a bit of panic in her voice.
"Yeah?" Ruby responded, still watching her show.
"I-is there a closet out there with some towels?" Weiss asked.
Ruby looked around for any such closet, finding nothing of the sort. "No, doesn't seem like there is…"
"Great." Weiss muttered under her breath. She was now wet AND naked in the same hotel room as her best friend.
"Are there really no towels in there?" Ruby asked her white-haired friend.
"No, not even a towel bar." Weiss said flatly.
Ruby thought for a moment, looking around the room. "Hey! You could just sit on the bed! There's a curtain to separate the two parts of the room, and it looks pretty solid to me!" Ruby said happily.
"Really?" Weiss was hopeful.
"Yep! And it looks like there's an extra set of sheets under the bed, too!" Ruby responded, lifting the covers on the edge of the bed to see a set of extra linens.
"Oh, great! Bring those over here!" Weiss cheered.
Ruby grabbed the plastic pack that held the extra sheets and started walking to the bathroom. She was just about to enter the room, when Weiss stopped her.
"Wait!" Ruby halted, nearly stumbling at the sudden change in momentum.
"What's wrong?" Ruby asked, not sure what the problem was.
"This whole room is mirrors. If you walk in here there's no way you won't see me… naked." Weiss explained.
"So, what do I do then?" Ruby asked her friend.
"Just, leave them by the door and go watch your show for a bit." Weiss responded. She heard Ruby place the pack down on the ground and shuffle back to the couch.
When she was sure Ruby was on the couch, Weiss got out of the tub and walked over to the door. Leaning down, she picked up the sheets and unzipped the pack. After she had wrapped herself in the soft cotton blanket, she grabbed her clothes and shuffled over to the bed. Ruby giggled at the sight.
"What?" Weiss asked her.
"You look like a big fluffy caterpillar." Ruby started full-on laughing. Weiss couldn't help but smile at her friend's adorable laughter.
"Well maybe I like being a big fluffy caterpillar. After all, caterpillars turn into butterflies, don't they?" Weiss argued, still smiling.
After a little while, Weiss had dropped her clothes next to the bed and flopped onto the sheets, rustling them from their perfectly smoothed orientation. Weiss knew she was dry enough, so she wriggled her way under the sheets that were already on the bed, careful to keep her naked form hidden from Ruby.
"You're gonna sleep naked?" Ruby asked, noticing that Weiss had gotten under the sheets and discarded the extra blanket.
Weiss simply shrugged in response.
"You do know people have… you know… done it, in that bed, right?" Ruby asked again, a bit disturbed.
"Yep. But I also know that places like this make sure their sheets are as clean as possible." Weiss replied.
Ruby shrugged. She turned her attention back to the TV.
Some time later, Ruby yawned. Her eyes began to droop a little.
"Tired?" Weiss asked her friend. Ruby nodded in response.
Weiss was feeling a bit exhausted as well. They had been walking around all day, seeing the sights.
"Let's get some sleep." Weiss suggested.
Ruby agreed, walking over to the still-open pack of linens. She pulled out a few of the spare sheets and laid them out on the couch. She then laid down and threw the extra comforter over herself.
"Goodnight, Weiss!" Ruby said as she flicked off the light.
"Goodnight, Ruby." Weiss replied, turning onto her side and closing her eyes. She quickly found herself greeting a blissful rest.
Until a few hours later, when Ruby woke her up.
"Weiss," Ruby whispered shakily, poking her white-haired friend.
She groaned in response. Tiredly, she opened her eyes.
Weiss knew something was wrong when she saw Ruby's expression.
Ruby looked scared. Weiss could see a slight shine on her friend's cheeks, which led Weiss to believe Ruby had been crying.
"What's wrong?" Weiss asked, pushing herself up a bit, making sure to keep her chest covered.
Ruby said nothing, opting instead to hug Weiss, which was slowly returned.
At this point Weiss could feel the tremors coming from the girl in her arms. It didn't take long for her to put 2 and 2 together.
"It's ok, Ruby. Just take deep breaths. Remember the feather trick." Weiss comforted her friend, who soon started to take more even breaths.
Weiss soon felt her shoulders get damp and realized that Ruby was crying again.
"I'm sorry." Ruby sobbed quietly.
"Why are you sorry?" Weiss asked gently.
"I woke you up." Ruby replied, still crying.
Weiss started rubbing Ruby's back gently.
"You don't have to be sorry about that. I'm always going to be here for you." Weiss reassured her.
After a while, Ruby had calmed down.
"You good?" Weiss asked, smiling at her friend as they separated.
Ruby nodded, wiping her eyes with her sleeve. "Thanks." Ruby said quietly, voice still a bit shaky.
Weiss leaned over in the bed, reaching to the floor to pick up her shirt. After putting it on, she sat up the rest of the way, leaning against the headboard.
"Are you going to be ok?" Weiss asked gently.
"I-" Ruby started, "I don't know." She frowned.
Weiss thought for a moment before snapping her fingers. "How about we just stay up then?" the heiress suggested.
"Are you sure? You always yell at me when I do that at home…" Ruby responded, voice still a little stuffy from the crying.
"But we're not at home, are we?" Weiss asked, a smirk on her face.
Ruby looked up at her friend, eyes wide and a small smile on her face. "Movie night?" the brunette asked.
"Movie night." Weiss answered, her smirk growing into a full smile.
Weiss leaned over to the nightstand and grabbed the remote to the television. Turning the TV on, Weiss was greeted by a channel guide in both Japanese and English.
"Well, there's only 3 English channels," Weiss said, disappointed. Thankfully one of the English channels was a channel that showed good movies. Weiss turned to the channel and patted the empty spot on the bed next to her, signaling for Ruby to come join her.
The younger girl showed no hesitation as she jumped onto the bed next to her best friend. Flipping the covers, the brunette dove under the covers.
Weiss immediately blushed, opting not to say anything out of sheer embarrassment.
A while passed as the two girls watched an old movie about a pair of boys who traveled back in time for a history report. It was a pretty funny movie, and Weiss had grown comfortable with Ruby being there.
And then Ruby shifted under the covers, laying her head against the heiress's shoulder.
Weiss tensed. She could smell the shampoo Ruby used, a pleasant, relaxing mix of wildflowers and lavender. The heiress barely resisted the urge to rest her head on Ruby's, still extremely embarrassed of her situation.
When Weiss heard steady breathing, she looked down to see that Ruby had fallen asleep.
'She must be really tired after that panic attack…' Weiss thought to herself, still staring at Ruby. 'She looks so adorable when she's asleep.' She stopped, catching herself after that line.
The movie had ended a while ago and Weiss was starting to get tired. Leaning over carefully, she turned the TV off and placed the remote down on the table. Turning off the light, Weiss resituated herself under the covers to be more comfortable while Ruby was sleep-cuddling her, and soon joined her best friend in the land of dreams.
A/N: Hey guys! So I've actually been working on this one for about 2 weeks on and off, and it's finally at a place that I feel comfortable publishing it!
I hope you like it, and If you want me to I'll continue this into a two-shot! I might do that anyway, depending on how my mind finishes this story without any criticism to work with, so anything could happen really!
Hope to see you guys again soon!