"Hey Weiss, thanks for coming. And sorry it's really short notice too. I didn't know that they were back in town, and I don't know why my mom wanted to meet you so suddenly." Ruby smiled at her as she held onto her hand, frowning a bit. "Are you nervous? You're shaking."
"Ruby, I'll be fine. You're by my side." Weiss didn't want to lie, but even though she was told what kind of people Ruby's parents were on the train ride over, she still couldn't help but feel a bit nervous. Though as long as Ruby with her, she knew that everything would be all right.
How bad would it be to meet her parents? Scratch that. It might go horribly. Considering that a drunken person made her remember her mother just yesterday. Who knows what would happen today.
"Just let me know if you're uncomfortable at any time, ok?" Ruby looked at her worriedly. "Remember, you promised." She gave her a gentle smile then knocked on the door. "And… think of them as your dream parents! It's ok to be selfish like that, after all!"
Weiss nodded, remembering that she did promise that and looked away when she said that it was all right for her to be selfish. What kind of person would she be if she were selfish? Just as she was about to argue about that, she saw the door opening.
"Ruby! How's my little girl?" An old man smiled brightly as he opened the door and ruffled his daughter's hair before noticing who was with her. "Oh, and you must be Weiss. It's nice to meet you. My name's Taiyang, but please, just call me Tai." He grinned at her.
"I… I-It's nice to meet you too." Weiss gave a weak smile. She wasn't scared of him, but with how outgoing he seemed, he made her a little nervous.
"So… Yang told me that you two are dating?" Tai looked between them.
"DAD!" Ruby pouted as she fixed her hair and helped Weiss inside. "Let's just ignore him. Go take a seat, want something to drink?" she was trying her hardest to distract Weiss from that conversation and grew worried when Weiss gave her that weak look.
"I'm fine, Ruby." Weiss gave her a weak smile. Her nerves about meeting Ruby's family blocked out the dating comment.
Even though Ruby described them to her earlier, she was still surprised by her father. So far Tai seemed like Yang in a way, and she didn't know if that was a good or bad thing.
But what was she supposed to think about her mother? Would she be another Yang? Or would she be more like Ruby?
"Oh, Ruby. Summer has a batch of cookies in the making right now." Tai pointed towards the kitchen with his thumb. "Weiss, would you like some cookies once they're ready?"
"I…. I'd like some." Weiss nodded. "Thank you for inviting me today."
"Don't mention it. It's nice to see you again outside of those choir concerts. You did an amazing job with Yang, by the way." Tai smiled at her. "We always wanted to talk to you for a little bit after the concerts, but you were usually gone right after it ended."
"Your daughter is an amazing pianist, it made it easier for me to sing." Weiss blushed a bit, unused to praises from a father.
A small frown started to show on her face when he mentioned how quickly she disappeared after each concert, and thought about her own father. She thought about how she had to go home quickly every day to work on her homework and study to please her father. About how she had to make sure that everything was running smoothly within the school as her duty as the student council president. About how little he cared about her and believed in her hard work that she put into just to please him so that she wouldn't face his wrath for 'not being good enough'.
Shaking that thought out of her head, she looked at her hand, surprised to see that Ruby hadn't let go of her hand since they arrived and was thankful for that. It helped her calm down more easily and relax a bit.
"Tai, can you… oh hello." Weiss looked back and saw an older looking Ruby coming down the hallway. Once they made eye contact, she quickly went towards Weiss' side and looked her over. "It's nice to meet you! You must be Weiss~! My name's Summer. Thank you for taking such good care of my daughters!"
"Mom!" Ruby pouted a bit when her mother was paying a lot more attention to Weiss, but was glad to see them interact. Maybe they could get along better than with her father. Sorry, dad.
Summer merely laughed and looked at Ruby. "It's nice to see you too, Ruby." She looked between them, thinking about something for a moment before looking at her daughter again. "Would you two like to come with us to go shopping?"
"Wha?" Ruby looked at Weiss who looked back at her with a confused look and a hint of fear in her eyes.
"I was going to make more of chocolate chip cookies, and I don't think that the batch I'm making now would be enough for you to take home later."
Weiss could see Ruby's will breaking a bit.
"It's just some milk and flour. It shouldn't take us too long." Summer gave Ruby a gentle smile. "Think about all the cookies you and Weiss can have~"
"I…" Ruby pouted then looked between her mother and Weiss. Damn her mother for using her weakness when she wanted to keep her friend safe!
"We'll all be together, so you don't have to worry too much about Weiss. You'll be there to make sure she feels safe right?" Summer looked at Weiss with a soft smile.
"I… would like to see the area around here." Weiss looked at Ruby. She wasn't sure that they'd be completely fine, but as long as Ruby was by her side, they would be ok. She was curious about her hometown anyways.
"Ok…" Ruby gave them puppy dog eyes then got up to grab some bags before returning to Weiss' side. "Remember our promise."
"I know." Weiss nodded and got up, hanging back a bit as she watched Tai and Summer leave the door first and followed after Ruby.
Ruby kept her hand onto Weiss', not wanting to let her go, and it helped her know that she wouldn't get lost.
The trip to the store was slightly eventful. Weiss was used to the ones in town thanks to Ruby, but this one was smaller, and the owners seemed to know practically everyone.
"Weiss? Is this too overwhelming for you?" Ruby looked at the older woman, worried about her.
"N-No. I'm fine." Weiss shook her head as she lied to Ruby. Yes, it was overwhelming, but not in a bad way. It all felt… nice. Just a bit odd to her.
Not trusting that answer, Ruby started to lead Weiss outside the store after letting her parents know that they'd be outside waiting for them.
"Ruby, you don't have—" she was about to scold Ruby for leaving so soon but then froze when she heard someone yelling.
"Hey! I saw you stealing that beer!" A young woman yelled.
"I did not! Don't lie!" A man growled at her.
"Oh dear…" The shopkeeper sighed and started walking towards them. "Break it up you two!"
Tai scratched his head. "We might be here for awhile. Summer, you can go with Ruby and Weiss to look around the store. I don't want the kids to see the fighting in case it escalates."
"Right, good point. Ruby? Weiss? Let's go wander around." Summer smiled then looked at Ruby.
"Ok." Ruby nodded then looked at Weiss, frowning when she froze at the people yelling. Oh no. Not again! "Weiss? Weiss. Are you ok?"
Weiss was shaking but calmed down when she looked at Ruby. "S-Sorry. I'm fi—" she jumped when she heard something crashing.
"Don't tell me what to do!"
"You're a disgrace to the family name!"
The wooden floor slowly turned to marble and the isles were disappearing. If she looked carefully, she could see three figures, two adults and a child. Weiss closed her eyes, not wanting to see that and tried to remember where she was.
Ruby frowned, trying to calm her down. There was no way that she was going to have a repeat of yesterday so soon. "Hey, Weiss. Look at me. You're not at your home." Ruby held onto her hand gently. "Can you repeat that? Can you see me?" She started to walk away from the entrance, wanting Weiss as far away from the commotion as possible.
Weiss shook as she held onto Ruby's hand, using her voice as an anchor to draw herself back to reality. She was still having a hard time but at least she couldn't hear his voice anymore… for now.
"Ruby?" Summer watched them move deeper into the store and noticed how scared Weiss looked. She seemed to be fine until… Then it started to click in her mind. "Tai? I'm sorry dear, but can you help Crystal?"
Tai looked at his wife, then at Weiss, then back at Summer. "Alright." He nodded then walked towards the shopkeeper to help her stop the two arguing and causing a ruckus within the store.
"Weiss, sweetie." Summer followed after them and placed a hand onto her shoulder, frowning when she flinched then pulled her hand back.
"Mom, I got this." Ruby looked at her mother apologetically.
Summer shook her head. "Can I try something?"
Ruby looked at Summer hesitantly then looked at Weiss. "Weiss, it's just me and my mom here. I'm not leaving you this time." She held onto her hand then looked at her mother, unsure of what she was going to do.
"Weiss." Summer gave a gentle smile to the younger woman and slowly pulled Weiss into a gentle, motherly hug while watching her reactions. "It's ok. I'm here and so is Ruby. Nothing is going to hurt you while we're here." She cooed gently, running a hand through her side pony tail gently.
Weiss was shocked by how warm her hugs were. Sure she was used to being hugged by Ruby, but this… was different. This hug was something that she wanted. She shook within Summer's grasp and slowly raised her free hand onto the older woman's arm.
A mother's hug.
"Mother…" Weiss whispered as she freed herself from Ruby's grasp and wrapped her arms around Summer, nuzzling against her shoulder and struggled not to cry.
Now she remembered where she was. She was in a small store with Ruby and her parents in her hometown. And this is Ruby's mother, not her own. But she had the right to be a little selfish, right? Ruby said so.
Summer blinked when she was hugged back like this, then looked at her daughter who looked back at her, surprised.
"How… how did you do that?" Ruby was shocked. Sure she's seen Weiss show weakness before, but not like this.
"A mother's intuition told me that she needed a mother's hug." Summer she chuckled weakly then frowned, unsure of what to think then looked at Ruby. "Did… something happen with her parents?"
Ruby frowned as she looked away. Summer watched her daughter carefully then looked back at Weiss, getting the confirmation that she needed. She slowly let go of Weiss and led her into Ruby's welcoming and protective embrace.
"I'm sorry for asking." She placed a hand onto Weiss' shoulder. "Weiss." Summer waited for Weiss to look at her. "I'm glad that you're here with us. Thank you, for everything that you've done so far."
Weiss eyes widened in shock and she buried her face onto Ruby's shoulder, trying to stop herself from crying in front of them. "Thank you…" she whispered.
"Is… everything ok?" Tai walked back towards them carefully. The cops arrived to take the disruptive man away, and he watched his wife and daughter comforting the latter's friend, wondering what had happened in the little time he was gone.
"I think… they'll be fine now." Summer gave him a reassuring smile and got up, walking towards him. "She's just tired and needs some rest. We should pay for the groceries and head home." She placed a hand onto his shoulder and kissed his cheek.
Tai raised a brow, unsure of that story, but nodded. "Alright."
"I'll tell you the real reason later when Weiss is resting with Ruby, ok? I need your help with something later." Summer gave him a reassuring squeeze on his shoulder then walked back towards the counter.
Tai just frowned a bit and followed after his wife, allowing his daughter to have some alone time to calm her friend down while they paid for the groceries.
"Weiss… are you ok?" Ruby looked at her worriedly, rubbing the last remnants of tears on her cheek away with her thumb.
"I-I'm fine now." Weiss took a few deep breaths, leaning onto the hand on her cheek, and held onto Ruby's other hand to ground herself.
"I'm sorry. People here usually doesn't steal things like that and cause a commotion." Ruby frowned, feeling guilty. Maybe that was her bad feeling that she was getting earlier when they were on their way to see her parents.
"They only raised their voice, I'll be fine." Weiss tried to reassure Ruby.
Ruby frowned. "And broke a couple glass bottles."
Well Weiss couldn't argue with that and sighed. She saw brief flashes of her home, but it probably would've been worse if Ruby didn't quickly remind her of where they were.
Weiss let out a small gasp when she felt Ruby holding her shoulder and hand then looked at her, seeing Ruby's usual concerned look, but there was also fear within them this time.
"W-What is it, Ruby?" she asked, holding her hand to calm her down a bit.
"That look… it just… scared me." Ruby looked away, feeling childish for admitting that. "You… had that same look when you panicked yesterday, I was worried that you were having another attack or something."
"Ruby, you're here with me." Weiss gave her a gentle smile, still holding onto her hand. "Not only that… you made sure that I was safe and knew where I was."
Ruby blinked when she said that and looked at her, smiling brightly. "I'm glad that you feel safe with me." She grinned.
Weiss continued to smile at her then thought about it. Why did she feel safe with Ruby? Yes, Ruby was patient and helping her through some of her problems without know the full story. But she felt a bit safer with Ruby than even Winter, her own sister. Was it because Winter wasn't there for her as much as Ruby?
"Weiss?"
She blinked when Ruby called her. "Ruby… I'm fine. Please stop worrying so much."
"I'm not worrying…" A lie. "Mom said that we're going home now. And that you look a bit tired, so you can go take a nap in my old room if you want to."
Weiss blinked. Twice. Did she look that tired? If she was being honest, she was a little tired from the nerves of meeting Ruby's parents, but she didn't think that she'd look that bad.
The family walked out and left the store, then started to walk home. Tai was talking to Ruby about how much he missed her and asked how she's been doing while Summer watched Weiss from the corner of her eyes.
"Weiss?" Summer started gently and watched Weiss jump out of her thoughts.
"Y-Yes, Mrs…?" Weiss realized that even though Ruby and Yang were sisters, they both had different names and didn't know what to call Summer.
Summer merely chuckled. "Please, call me 'Summer'. Anyways, would you and Ruby like to join Tai and myself for dinner later?"
"Dinner…?" Weiss thought about it then looked at Ruby who stopped talking with her father and looked back.
"Of course, you two can stay the night. I wouldn't want you two to walk home in the dark, late at night after all." Summer quickly added. She wanted to know more about Weiss, and was curious about her reaction earlier.
"I don't know, mom… Yang's expecting us back home tonight." Ruby frowned. Half a lie, she just wasn't sure how comfortable Weiss was feeling spending time with her parents like this.
As if she read her thoughts, Weiss took Ruby's hand. It was almost as if she was saying that she wanted Ruby to spend time with her parents because of how little they see each other.
"Weiss?" Ruby bit her lip, thinking about it then looked at her mother. "Alright, I'll just have to text Yang later that we'll be back sometime tomorrow."
"Of course." Summer smiled at them, silently thanking Weiss for agreeing with her selfish request as they entered their home again. "Ruby, can you show Weiss to your room?"
Ruby looked at Weiss then back at her mother before nodding and walked towards her old room. "Weiss, are you gonna be alright? I'm sorry, she usually doesn't ask requests like that on the fly."
"No, it's alright. It's… rather nice." Weiss mumbled and shook her head. Maybe she was exhausted. "I'll take a nap. You can talk with your parents. I should be fine here." She followed Ruby towards her room and sat on the bed.
"Alright… Sleep well, ok? I'll come get you in an hour or so." Ruby covered Weiss with the blankets and kissed her forehead. Part of her was still worried about leaving her alone, but trusted Weiss when she said that she'll be fine.
"I'll be fine, dolt." Weiss rolled her eyes as she rolled onto her side, watching Ruby make her way out the door.
"See you soon." Ruby laughed, leaving the door ajar in case Weiss called for her.
With a deep sigh, Ruby walked towards the kitchen and saw her mother pulling out some cookies out of the oven. "Ok mom… what are you planning?" she crossed her arms as she looked at her mother, expecting an honest answer.
"Planning?" Summer asked as she placed the cookies onto the cookie rack to cool down. "I'm not sure I'm following…"
Oh, it was going to be like that?
"Mom… you asked if Weiss could come here with me and suggested that we all go out together for shopping and dinner. I don't know what Yang told you, but people makes her nervous." Ruby huffed, knowing that her mother had good intentions.
"It's not people that make her nervous, Ruby." Summer looked at her daughter seriously. "Yes, some people makes her nervous, but, from what I've noticed, it's mostly shouting and something breaking that makes her more nervous."
Ruby frowned. How did her mother figure that out so quickly? Not to mention how she calmed Weiss down earlier too.
"Hey mom…Did you know Weiss before the concerts with Yang?"
Summer just gave Ruby a sly smile. "What makes you think that?" She then turned towards the cookies and grabbed a glass to fill it with milk. "These are ready, by the way. I'll make another batch for Weiss and then some for you two to take home tomorrow."
Ruby blinked. Twice. That answer… so did her mother know Weiss before? Since when?! She just pouted as she took some cookies, placed them onto a plate, grabbed the offered glass and watched her mother cook the next batch of cookies.
"I still want an honest answer, mom…" Ruby was watching her carefully.
"I'll tell you the truth… after I've made sure of something first, alright?" Summer didn't even have to look at her daughter to know that she was giving her a dissatisfied look. The older woman only hoped that what she was thinking was wrong and that she didn't have to step in and talk to a certain someone later.
A/N: And here's the next chapter~ Hoped that you enjoyed reading so far! Thanks Sojamanic and iamking for the reviews! See you in the next chapter!