Her breath started coming out in white billowy puffs as soon as she left diner. She peeked up into the sky to check if the sun had even showed up yet today. There it was, hanging happily above her.
It took her three minutes to get absolutely fed up with winter.
It's too cold. Weiss thought sullenly to herself as she drew her coat tighter. The morning air nipped fiercely at her nose and ears. Her fingers were deathly chilled, and no matter how far she pulled them up into her coat they wouldn't warm. Ruby had once told her that sticking them in your armpits helped, but the thought of doing that was absolutely disgusting to Weiss.
Despite the cold, it was pretty. Fresh snow had fallen the night before, blanketing Vale's streets and sidewalks in a thin, white coat while trees nervously peeked their green heritage through a white vale. Above the sky was bright and clear, though the sun's warmth didn't seem to be reaching the ground. The houses lining the street proudly displayed their own snowy appearance, windows sparkling from a morning frost. If only snow came with warm weather.
She passed the Vale Sweet n' Spices bakery along her way, and had to pause. A man wrapped up in a rugged brown jacket, ripped jeans and a thin blanket was huddling in the alley beside it. She had only seen the homeless man a few times. She didn't condone homelessness or anything, but over the years she'd come to understand the idea of circumstances. She fished inside her pockets for some spare lien and came up with nothing.
There's nothing to be done for the matter, then. Weiss though regrettably to herself, pushing on through the chill.
By the time she'd walked down the rest of the block she was ice cold. Her toes were numb and her hands burning. Her ears ached and threatened to give her a headache while her lungs felt dry and frozen. It was with a grateful sigh that she stepped through the front door of her house, a small yet cozy two bedroom home. She was instantly hit with a wonderfuly warm blast of air, along with the faint smell of chocolate and strawberries.
She threw off her coat and removed her long boots, trading them in for a pair of white fluffy slippers and a beige, woolen sweater. She made her way to the kitchen, the name of her girlfriend on her lips. She was mildly surprised to not find the brunette fussing over the stove.
"Ruby?" She called curiously, peeking around the kitchen. Baking sheets lined with round mounds of pink, chocolate chip sprinkled dough sat cooking in the oven, though it couldn't have been for long. A pile of dirty dishes sat stacked precariously in the sink, and Weiss scowled. "Dust, Ruby. Learn to pick up after your messes." She grumbled to herself, deciding to look throughout the house for the irresponsible girl.
She checked their small living room first. She winced at the state of their once tidy home. Surely all hope for it is lost. She thought, gingerly stepping through the clutter on the floor. Clothes, both clean and dirty lay all over the place; the back of the couch, the coffee table, the floor. It was with both shock and outrage that Weiss cursed the stray BRA hanging daringly from the curtain rod above their window.
That was, until she realized it was HER bra.
"We're both responsible for our own clothing, got it? I will not be blamed for what you do with yours." Weiss had said when they'd moved in. Ruby had wholeheartedly agreed without any objection. Weiss was wishing that she hadn't.
She retrieved her very personal belongings from the rod with a red face, mentally praying that Ruby wouldn't choose now to walk in on her. Standing on the back of the couch while holding her 'over-the-shoulder-boulder-holder' (a term she'd learned from Yang), Weiss was feeling extremely conscious about herself.
She made it safely to the floor, her precious cargo secure and safe and in her possession. She balled it up in her hand and left the messy room behind, her next destination being the upstairs bathroom. Perhaps her girlfriend had overdosed on sweets; Ruby tended to do that quite a lot while baking. Once she'd even eaten half of a cake BEFORE it was cooked.
"The batter was too wonderful to resist!" Ruby had whined pitifully, clutching at her belly while she rocked back and forth on the couch. Weiss tried to never leave the silly brunette unattended afterwards.
Their upstairs was a small thing. The tiny hallway ended with their master bedroom. To the left there was a spare room they used for storage and to the right a bathroom. Weiss stopped at the bathroom door and poised her hand, ready to knock. Wait wait wait. The bra. Go put the bra away first, dummy. She thought, stopping herself. Ruby was brutal when it came to embarrassing Weiss. The brunette tended to struggle really hard at making Weiss blush and sometimes the heiress thought that was Ruby's only goal in life.
So instead she visited their bedroom first. Her dreams all seemed to die at once; dreams of a clean, respectable household. How did I ever let it come to this? She almost cried out in despair. Pillows, sheets, blankets, more clothing, even DISHES, all of them scattered willy nilly about the room. Her thoughts drifted to the sparkly clean room she had once owned back at her parent's castle in Atlas. Never could one have found a cleaner room. There was never any dust to be found, let alone dirty clothing and dishes.
Distraught and without hope, Weiss placed her bra in the top drawer of her dresser. It was a futile action, she knew, but it relieved some of her sadness. She left that mess behind, too, unable to face it.
Weiss suddenly shuddered, the chill rippling through her like a wave. She truly was frozen right to be bones now. Ruby wasn't in the bathroom, or so it seemed. A quick shower, just to kill the cold. She decided.
Weiss didn't plan staying in it for so long. She had matters that demanded immediate attention to take care of, yet… The water was warm and calming, running down her body in small rivulets as it clung to the curves of her body. Suddenly she realized she was tired, and briefly regretted staying up so late last night. Puzzles, Ruby had said. Lets do some puzzles!
Just like that, Weiss snapped back into reality. Ruby had to be found.
She stepped out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel. It didn't take her long to get dressed, though. Some normal underclothes, a sweater and some jeans and Weiss was ready to go again. "Alright, Weiss. Where haven't you looked yet?"
The storage room. Weiss headed straight for it, although she was pretty sure she wouldn't find the brunette in there either. "Ruby Rose!" She shouted, and upon receiving no answer even went so far as to open the door. Unopened boxes and a strong smell of settled dust was all that greeted her. A pale light shone in through a small circle window at the other end of the room, slightly obscured by transparent white curtains. The effect gave Weiss the spooks, though she would never admit it. We'll have to get Yang and Blake to come help us sort through these damned boxes. She thought to herself. Weiss was still missing a really cute outfit, even though they'd been living here for two years.
What on Remnant had ever happened to her ambitions?
"She's not downstairs, not up here, not in the bathroom, I didn't see her outside… Did I? No, I didn't." Weiss mumbled to herself, making her way back down the stairs. She headed straight for the kitchen, deciding she'd have to check outside despite knowing Ruby wasn't out there.
The first thing she noticed was that the kitchen was quiet. Before it had hummed with the sound of the running oven, which no longer hummed. She peeked into the oven and let out a curse that would have made her flushed in embarrassment had anyone she knew heard it. The cookies were gone.
She glanced around the kitchen and found the empty baking pans placed forgotten on the counter. "What is wrong with this girl?" She had only been away from the kitchen for maybe half an hour. Ruby apparently entered the household at one point, right?
Weiss huffed, irritated, and stormed to the front door. She threw her coat on over her sweater and pulled on her boots.
Just as she went to open the door, it opened for her.
Standing in the doorway was a cherry nosed Ruby Rose, her cheeks coloured pink by the cold and whatever unholy phenomenon that made them that way even when she was sitting in the warmest room in all of Vale. Her hair was messy and unkempt, her silver eyes wide with startle. "We-," Ruby stopped to take a breath. "Weiss?"
Weiss had nothing to say. She was still trying to get over the fact that Ruby was wearing her cloak and… A thin longsleeve shirt. Instead she simply stepped to the side, allowing Ruby to enter. By the passing glance Ruby gave Weiss, she could tell Ruby knew she was in trouble.
Oh ho ho, you are in a LOT of trouble Ruby Rose. Before I'm done with you, you'll be as sorry as the Grimm. She brooded, silently taking off her jacket and boots. She followed Ruby into the kitchen and stopped dead still.
"Uh, Weiss? You okay, or has something got your tongue? It can't be the cat, because you know. Blake isn't here!" Ruby joked, snorting ungraciously.
Weiss couldn't help that her eyebrow twitched. She tried so hard, yet it still did it. "Ruby ROSE." She started, forcing the last name out with merciless force. Ruby winced, and that pleased Weiss. "You have left the kitchen a mess, the living room is in an even worse state, and have you SEEN our bedroom? What were you DOING this morning? And what happened between this morning and… Now?" Weiss had woken up in her bedroom. Ruby had still been asleep, snoring peacefully and tangled up in the blankets. Weiss had only been gone for a little bit to get coffee at the diner, there was no way Ruby could have pulled off this mess by any normal means.
"W-what do you mean? The house looks the sa-," Ruby paused for a moment, squinting hard. Weiss fought an urge to find Ruby cute. "Everything but the kitchen looks the same!"
Weiss guffawed in response. She was Weiss SCHNEE. She would have noticed if her house was in such disarray. "Ruby, don't think you can weasel out of this one! I left this house in perfect condition, and that was only for an hour, TOPS! How in dust's name did you pull this mess off?" Weiss demanded, giving Ruby the sternest look she could muster.
Ruby disposed of her cloak, looking utterly confused. Weiss could approve of the shirt; grey, black and red colours clashing nicely together in the forms of horizontal lines. The stockings and plain, red and black skirt that hung just low enough to be acceptable was enough to give Weiss nightmares. Her girlfriend had to be frozen from both the inside and outside by now. "I'm telling you Weiss, when I got up this morning this house was fine, er, you know. Just as messy as it is now." Ruby thought for a moment. "Save for the kitchen."
Weiss pursed her lips. She hated when Ruby insisted on being right. That just wasn't how it worked! "I can assure you that this house was in tip top shape when I left it!" She told Ruby, who stared back with dewy eyes.
"But it wasnnnnnnn't!" Ruby whined in protest, shaking her boots off. Weiss grumbled something incoherent to herself and took the boots from her, placing them in the small concave next to their front door. "Besides, I was baking stuff all day! I had no time to make messes all over the place!"
Weiss opened her mouth to retort something and stopped, her mouth snapping shut. She's right. Weiss realized, cold fear gripping her like icy fingers around her throat. How could Ruby have eaten food and then left the remains in their room? There had been multiple dishes; mugs, plates, bowls, forks, spoons, the works.
And the bra. How could she explain the bra? Dear dust… This is… Wait.
"Ruby Rose, what happened to all the things you were baking?" Weiss asked calmly yet cooly, turning to face her girlfriend. Perhaps she could somehow catch Ruby in the act of doing something horribly wrong and somehow get away with her accusations.
Instead Ruby smiled brightly, and Weiss' hopes shattered all at once. "Well, you see, that homeless guy living near the Vale Sweet n' Spices bakery and I are friends, so I baked him a bunch of cookies. Well, actually, we shared them. But that's not the point!"
Weiss thought back to the man she'd seen looking in at the cakes, rolls, spice breads and assortments of pastries and tarts. Her hand drifted to her jean's front pocket. "Oh." Was all Weiss could mumble in response. Who am I? Where am I? What…?
Weiss finally sighed in defeat, her anger having completely melted away to be replaced by the realization that she was wrong and Ruby was still adorable. "Alright then. Uh, so, we should clean the mess." Her enthusiasm had deflated. To her ears the suggestion had sounded weak and like a second option.
"Pfft! It can sit there for a while longer! It's cold out there and well, I'm cold." Ruby picked sadly at her skirt, her face a mask of regret. "Apparently I picked a bad day to wear this."
Weiss' brain thought briefly of saying no, but then her eyes swept the kitchen again. Dirty dishes, each sticky or greasy or flaky with caked on food. Then she looked at Ruby, who was watching her with bright, soft eyes. Her cheeks were a wonderful rosey colour, and her hair adorably messy.
Compared to the grossness that was sure to be accompanied with washing dishes and picking up dirty clothes, Ruby was Weiss' first and only choice. Quickly Weiss found herself huddled beneath two heavy blankets and cuddled into Ruby in warm and fuzzy pajamas. They were engrossed in an episode of some drama show Weiss could never recall the name of. One Tree? Hill of One?
And just as Weiss was beginning to drift into a warm, cozy slumber with her head resting in the small nook created between Ruby's neck and head, the brunette said, "Hey, Weiss. I've gotta ask, what was your bra doing up on the curtain rod in the living room?"
Hi! Long time no see, eh? Starting with this oneshot, my really long hiatus has hopefully ended! I've got a couple big things planned for the future, but figured I'd ease myself back into everything with this. Reviews and favourites are extremely appreciated. Don't follow, because that would be silly. ~Aegis