Hey guys, this is new territory for me. First time writing a normal au, and it was kind of weird. So sorry if it's not as good as my other stories. Feedback would be great, considering this was outside of my comfort zone. Enjoy!
"Ruby, we were supposed to exit an hour ago!" Weiss complained, arms crossed and cheeks puffed out. The rolled down windows kept the pair awake and alert as they drove through the barren desert in the late hours of the night. Weiss had her hair in a sideways ponytail to keep it from being blown in her face, only slightly envious of Ruby's short hair that simply spiked up as the wind combed through it.
"I'm pretty sure it's up ahead." Ruby said happily, ignoring the venom that had laced Weiss's voice for the last half hour. To be honest, Ruby thought she had missed the turn too. But according to Ruby, a road trip was about the journey, not the destination. Weiss, having never been on a road trip, didn't grasp the concept. 'Not yet, but she will.' Ruby said to herself, determined to make Weiss genuinely smile before they slept that night.
"Oh, lighten up Weiss, it's an adventure! It's not about where we go but how we get there!" Ruby exclaimed loudly, her smile widening. One arm hung out of her open window, hand tapping against the pickup truck to a tune only she heard. The radio had been turned off forty minutes ago when Weiss decided she was 'sick of listening to music no one liked whilst lost'.
They were going to visit Yang and Blake, who had moved a few states over for school. The four of them didn't like being split up after four years of being inseparable. Though after many promises of regular visits from both parties and a few tears, they went their separate ways for the time being. Yang and Blake had drove down a couple of months ago, leaving this trip to Ruby and Weiss.
They drove in silence for another half hour, Weiss studying the passing landscape to entertain her mind. She didn't sleep well in vehicles, it gave her an awful stomach ache when she would wake. Plus she didn't want to leave Ruby to drive alone in the middle of the night. Though, with the landscape being nothing but seemingly endless stretches of flat ground, her mind wandered.
Ruby glanced at her companion, noting unhappily that Weiss was not enjoying the trip thus far. "Hey Weiss, dontcha think that cloud kind of looks like a puppy?" She asked to break the silence, using her free hand to point at a cloud ahead of them. It was just visible, bathing in the light of the waxing moon that poured over the landscape. Weiss tore her eyes from the ground to glance at the sky.
"Calling that a puppy is quite a stretch, if anything it looks like a mutated wolf." Weiss scoffed halfheartedly. She knew what Ruby was trying to do, and did her best to not snap. "C'mon, Weiss, where's your imagination? Next you're going to tell me that cloud doesn't look like a typewriter." She said, moving her finger to pick out another cloud, just barely visible in the sky.
Weiss stared at the cloud for a second before raising her eyebrows and turning to give Ruby an incredulous look. "How on earth does that resemble a typewriter in any possible meaning of the word?" She asked, stifling a giggle at her girlfriend's wild imagination.
"Hey, not my fault you don't see it!" Ruby cried indignantly. Weiss smirked at her girlfriend's pout, reaching over to gently comb her fingers through the messy hair. Ruby subconsciously leaned closer, trying to obtain more physical contact. This time, the silence that settled was comfortable. Weiss continued playing with the soft black hair as Ruby drove, arm once again hanging out her window.
While Weiss was distracting herself, Ruby suddenly shot her arm forward, pointing to a light in the distance. "Hey, look! Maybe they'll have food," She exclaimed, Weiss now squinting at the building ahead of them. They were too far away to see what it was yet, but Weiss could agree on the food part. They had been driving all day, well into the night, with nothing to eat but snacky junk food.
As they neared the building Ruby began bouncing up and down in her seat. "It's a diner! A cute little diner out in the middle of nowhere, now it's officially a road trip!" Weiss rolled her eyes but said nothing, not wanting to ruin Ruby's good mood. They took the exit towards the diner and parked right in front, only a few other cars being in the parking lot.
Ruby jumped out of the pickup and stretched, letting out a happy sigh as her muscles loosened. She walked over to Weiss's side, locking the truck before taking her girlfriend's hand and holding the door for her. The shorter girl found it amusing how chivalrous Ruby was; holding doors, giving her her jacket whenever the chance presented itself.
The diner was almost completely empty, the only other occupant aside from the employees being a lone trucker sitting at the counter. The pair took a booth at the window where they could see the truck. A waitress bustled out of the kitchen, the door swinging open to briefly reveal what seemed to be a couple men playing cards in front of an oven.
"Well hullo there darlings, can I get'cha something to drink to start?" She asked in a thick accent. Ruby asked for root beer, Weiss sticking to water. Looking over their menus, Ruby immediately began rambling off all the desserts. "You're going to rot your teeth out." Weiss said automatically, not even bothering to lift her gaze from her own menu.
"Oh come on, Weiss, I'm gonna be driving through the night and I need sugar to keep me alert!" Weiss rolled her eyes and lowered her menu.
"If you're worried about falling asleep then let me drive." She offered, calling Ruby's bluff and holding out her hand. "I'll be fine, sugar just helps!" Ruby replied quickly, giving a large lopsided smile. The white haired girl rolled her eyes again before studying her menu.
When the waitress returned Ruby ordered a burger and large chocolate milkshake, Weiss simply asking for clam chowder. The diner was quiet aside from the occasional clink of silverware on plates and shuffle of feet in the kitchen. Ruby and Weiss sat in comfortable silence, enjoying the time out of the car. When their food arrived they ate in silence also, hunger making communication impossible even if they wanted to. When they finished Ruby continued to try and suck every last drop of milkshake from the glass. "Are you going to eat the glass, too?" Weiss asked, one eyebrow raised as she watched her girlfriend.
"Lighten up, Weiss. We're on adventure. remember?" Ruby said when she put down the glass, pulling out her wallet. While Ruby paid Weiss went to use the restroom, knowing Ruby didn't like to stop at rest areas unless completely necessary. When she returned Ruby handed her the keys before heading to the restroom herself.
Weiss sat in the car while waiting for her girlfriend, making herself comfortable in the leather seat. Ruby was out in a few minutes, waving the to waitress as she got in to the truck. Weiss raised an eyebrow questioningly at her. "She told me about this really cool place we should check out!" Her girlfriend replied excitedly.
"Ruby, we're not even going the right way!" Weiss argued, wanting to get back on track as soon as possible.
"Don't worry Weiss, you're gonna love it!" Ruby tried again, pulling out of the parking lot and getting back on to the freeway, this time heading back the way they came. "At least we're going in the right direction…" Weiss mumbled to herself. Though tired and wanting to end the drive as quickly as possible, she had to admit to herself she was slightly curious as to what Ruby was planning.
Weiss began to doze slightly, fighting to keep her eyes open. After about twenty minutes of driving Ruby took a poorly marked exit and rolled up the windows as the pavement transitioned to a rocky dirt road. "Almost there," She said when Weiss looked at her confusedly.
They continued on the road for a bit till Ruby pulled off, putting the car in park and turning it off. Ruby rushed over to Weiss's side, opening the door for her while shifting from foot to foot excitedly. "Come on, Weiss! You're gonna love this!"
Weiss slowly got out of the truck, stretching briefly before Ruby grabbed her hand and pulled her to the back of the truck. Ruby jumped in to the bed of the truck, opening the chest she kept in it.
Weiss watched as Ruby pulled out piles of blankets and pillows from the chest. She had always assumed her girlfriend kept car parts or something of a similar nature in it. She watched as Ruby covered the whole bed of the truck in blankets before taking off her shoes and putting them in the chest.
Ruby held out her hand to Weiss, encouraging her to join her in the pile of blankets. Kicking off her shoes, Ruby threw them in the chest with her own before pulling Weiss in to the bed of the truck.. She urged Weiss to lay down in the blankets next to her, cocooning them in warmth. "Ruby, what are we-?" She began before her girlfriend shushed her.
"Weiss, look up." She encouraged lightly, pulling Weiss to her and shifting her gaze upwards. Weiss followed and gasped. The sky was speckled with millions of stars, reaching as far as the eye could see.
Wisps of the Milky Way were streaked across the sky like paint on a canvas. The moon was almost full, providing more than enough light for Weiss when she looked over to see the outlines of her girlfriend's face, her lips curled upward and eyes wide with fascination at the sight above them.
They laid in silence for awhile, drinking in the beauty. Out here there was virtually no light pollution, giving them a spectacular view. The silence was nice, and Weiss felt herself dozing off again, despite wanting to continue stargazing. Trying to stay awake, she searched for familiar patterns in the abyssal sea of black and white.
"Do you know any constellations?" Weiss asked Ruby quietly, expecting to hear a few common ones.
"Oh yeah, my dad used to take Yang and I stargazing all the time! There's the Big Dipper. Did you know it's actually part of Ursa Major? The rest of it is to the side of it, right there!" She exclaimed gleefully, pointing out the constellations and stars as she spoke.
"Just like the Big Dipper in Ursa Major, the Little Dipper itself is Ursa Minor, over there!" Ruby rambled on, pointing out all the constellations Weiss knew and more, jumping from Capricorn to Leo to Canis Minor. Whenever there was a shooting star she'd fall silent, wishing for something and turning to Weiss to see if she was doing the same.
The calm atmosphere was in complete contrast to the rest of their relationship; Ruby's energy constantly kept them moving. Weiss often had trouble keeping up with her girlfriend. Though Ruby never left her behind, regularly resorting, much to Weiss's dismay, to plucking the shorter girl from the ground and carrying her around.
The silence continued, Weiss half laying across Ruby's chest. Strong arms were wrapped around her protectively underneath the blankets, keeping her warm despite the chilly breeze. "This is really nice," Weiss murmured, a yawn emerging and drawing one from Ruby also.
"Definitely," Ruby agreed, closing her eyes as she felt the day catch up with her.
Before Ruby could find sleep, however, she felt a soft pair of lips press against her own. Her arms instinctively wrapped around Weiss, holding her close.
They stayed like that; curled up close, sharing brief soulful kisses and murmured affections in the night. Eventually Weiss nuzzled into the crook of Ruby's neck and sighed happily. Ruby's arms tightened around her, giving a sigh of her own. Weiss's words returned to her, This is really nice.
"I'm still mad about you getting lost, dolt." Weiss murmured into Ruby's collar, causing the taller girl to let out a laugh, kissing Weiss's head. She wouldn't have it any other way.