"Ah, home sweet home!" Ruby sighed as she stepped up the curb towards the house.
Weiss took in the whole place at a glance and felt a nervous sweat form on the back of her neck. It was a normal-looking two story house, sitting on a small yard that meant the neighboring houses were very close on either side. The front lawn was uneven, with hills of snow that were created from long, uncut grass beneath.
The path from the curb to the deck in front of the door was cement that had cracked over the years with weeds growing up through them here and there. Along the house was what once must have been a flower garden but now held nothing but thistles that stood tall over the few inches of snow.
The house itself matched the yard perfectly. Peeling sky blue paint decorated the wooden paneling, emphasizing the neglect of the structure. Storm shutters were closed over a few windows while others were open to the light. As Weiss followed Ruby up the path, she noticed one of the visible basement windows had a piece of plywood nailed over it.
"It's a bit of a dump, isn't it?" Ruby asked nervously as they stepped up on the deck. It creaked ominously from their weight but otherwise gave no indication that it would be dangerous.
"I… wouldn't use those words…" Weiss said nervously as she looked back to take in the yard again. From this angle it looked even worse than it did from the street.
"I know it's not pretty, but I guess that's what we get for using the front yard as a training ground." Ruby shrugged and opened the door.
Inside, Weiss could tell that whoever lived there didn't do so often. Dust coated everything making the carpet appear light green except where it had been repeatedly walked over. The single small table in the hall had a layer of dust painting the dark wood gray and the board mounted above it with hooks had only a single clean hook as if only one person ever used it.
Ruby led Weiss up the stairs to the second level to find it was in only slightly better condition with what appeared to be a rather clumsy dusting job done on the single table in the hall. Ruby peeked her head into a partially closed door and then pushed it open for Weiss to see an empty room with an iron double bed and heavy wooden furniture that looked older than the house. This room matched the main floor's neglect save the bed sheets that seemed freshly washed and the carpet that looked to be recently vacuumed.
"That's Dad's room." Ruby explained as she continued down the hall. "He's probably working right now. He doesn't have a schedule so it's a general rule to be quiet on the second floor in case he's home and sleeping."
"I'll keep it in mind." Weiss said as she continued to process Ruby's house.
"This is Yang's room." Ruby said just as she tapped on the closed door. There was no answer so she opened it to reveal the freshly cleaned room. "She has the workout bench in here, so its sort of a knock first policy. Otherwise you can use it whenever you want."
"I don't really do weights." Weiss admitted to Ruby who spun quickly and grabbed Weiss's arm.
"Shh! I'm not sure if Uncle Qrow's here or not, but never let him hear that or you'll regret it!" Ruby said more seriously than Weiss had ever heard her. After Weiss nodded, Ruby relaxed and released her. "Okay, so Blake probably has the guest room across from Yang."
Ruby knocked and opened the door to find the room also freshly cleaned but much more generic, with cheaper looking furniture and only generic photos of nature hanging on the walls. Blake's suitcase rested near the foot of the bed as the only evidence that she was occupying the room.
"So we're next door then." Ruby said as she continued down the hall. She slowed at one door that had a window opposite and gently brushed the wood of the door with her hand before continuing to the end of the hall where four doors lined the three walls.
Weiss noticed a small faded sun painted on the door Ruby'd grazed as she walked by and couldn't help wonder what was behind the door that seemed to have been sealed shut, if the dust beneath the door was any indication. She decided against asking since she'd most likely find out sooner or later.
"The first door there is the washroom." Ruby pointed to the one Weiss had stopped in front of. "There's another downstairs off the kitchen if it's busy. The door at the end is to get to the basement, and these two are my room and another guest room."
"Why are the stairs to the basement up here?" Weiss couldn't help but wonder aloud.
"The guy who built the place was a bit paranoid, so these are the only stairs. But you can get there by jumping down a trapdoor under the kitchen table too." Ruby explained as she pulled open the door to her left.
No sooner had it opened an inch she pushed it shut slowly and groaned. Concerned, Weiss asked, "What's wrong?"
"A while back, I went hunting with Qrow and found a baby Boarbatusk. I wanted it as a pet, so I kept it in that room. Turns out I forgot that it sort of destroyed everything so the room is basically empty now." Ruby laughed awkwardly. "I guess it'll be the two of us in my room."
"Is… are you sure about that?" Weiss asked, stopping Ruby with her question. "I mean… are you sure it'll be okay with your father?"
"I honestly have no idea." Ruby replied after a moment of thought. "But Dad always told me to follow my dreams no matter what they were. He told me he'd always root for me even if I had to move across Remnant to do what I wanted to. I'm sure he'll be surprised to meet you, but I don't think he'd be mad."
Weiss sighed. From her words, she'd realized Ruby was probably more nervous about introducing Weiss to her father than she had been about introducing Ruby to hers. And her questioning the outcome of her introduction wasn't helping Ruby at all. So she said the only thing she could. "I trust you Ruby. If you think he'll be fine with us, then I believe you."
"Thanks, Weiss." Ruby turned and gave her a hug but was trapped when she tried to pull away. "Um… Weiss?"
"Sorry." Weiss apologized. "I'm a little nervous myself."
"About meeting Dad?" Ruby guessed.
"Yes, and no. I'm also a bit nervous about seeing your room." Weiss blushed and released Ruby. "I've never actually been in someone else's room before."
"Really? You're nervous about that?" Ruby asked with a giggle.
"Don't laugh. It's just… it's not like the dorm or the penthouse." Weiss said, lacking the words to describe how sleeping in Ruby's room would be infinitely more intimate. Not to mention what might happen behind the closed door when she was in Ruby's domain. Or what Ruby might do if she felt comfortable enough.
She shook her head to clear her thoughts and fight the blush that had crept up her face as she looked at the back of Ruby's turned head.
"I know what you mean, Weiss." She said as she gripped the door handle lightly. "I'm a little nervous too, but I think everything will work out."
"Okay…" Weiss didn't have any other words to give Ruby as she followed her into her room.
The room's walls were plastered with diagrams both hand drawn and digitally printed depicting various versions of scythes ranging from a simple farm tool with notes on the blade's angling to scythes similar to Ruby's with multiple forms and stowage methods. The place was freshly cleaned as if in preparation for her visit with not a speck of dust on the dresser or night table or vanity. Even the carpet was a rich vibrant red that stood out as if it was alive in the shifting rays of sunlight filtering in through the storm shutters.
Ruby threw the window open and pushed the shutters open to let the entire room glow gold with the setting sun. She turned to Weiss with a smile that spoke to her relief that her room was just how she'd left it. She walked back to the door as Weiss continued to take in the details of the small box of jewelery on her vanity and the engraving of the mirror that had her rose symbol repeating around the edge of the long circumference. Finally Weiss's eyes were drawn upward to the ceiling where she found herself gazing into one of the most spectacular paintings she'd ever seen.
The entire ceiling was a mural of the night sky as viewed from a telescope. There were translucent purple and green clouds of gas here and there, obscuring literally millions of tiny white pin pricks that seemed to create their own light source as if they were real stars. There was the depth of space in the painting that seemed as if it were impossible to tell just how far the ceiling stretched out above her as the stars shrunk in the distance to mere motes that seemed almost impossible to see.
"Wow…" Weiss breathed, not realizing she'd been holding her breath until her lungs were screaming at her for fresh air. Her eyes couldn't stop looking and drinking in the intricate details of the art as the more she looked, the more she saw as if the painting had transformed into the real night sky.
"I really missed this." Ruby agreed as she took her and Weiss's suitcases and dropped them to the floor at the foot of her bed.
"Who… who made this?" Weiss asked in awe as she tore her gaze from the ceiling to look at Ruby.
Ruby's face fell for a moment. "My mom… she spent an entire year in this room painting. It was only when she was done she told me that it would be my new room."
Weiss watched Ruby smile at the memory. She hadn't probed much into Ruby's past before since she felt as if it was a line she shouldn't cross, but now she had a feeling that Ruby was intentionally opening up and anything she asked would receive an honest answer.
"Was she nice?" Weiss asked in a whisper so as not to disturb the atmosphere.
"Yeah, she was the best." Ruby smiled wider as a small tear fell from her eye.
Weiss wiped it away and pulled Ruby into a gentle kiss as if to reassure her that everything was okay.
"I love you, Ruby." Weiss whispered gently as she pulled out of the kiss.
"Thanks, Weiss." Ruby smiled, her tears gone. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath through her nose. "I think I'm just tired from everything that happened today."
"Only you could be tired from sleeping in, then taking a nap on a plane." Weiss poked Ruby's side making her giggle.
"Stop!" Ruby giggled as Weiss poked her again, dodging around her defending hands. "Stop!"
Weiss smiled at Ruby as her giggles turned into full blown laughter and gasps as she struggled to breathe. Suddenly Weiss felt Ruby's hands grab each of her wrists and spin her around so she was falling backwards, rose petals falling in the air around her.
"Oof!" Weiss gasped as her head bounced on the bed. Ruby had pinned her down with her hands up near her shoulders making her feel extremely exposed while Ruby straddled her waist still gasping for breath.
Weiss looked up into Ruby's eyes nervously as she processed her position in her head. Ruby's eyes seemed searching as if silently asking a question that Weiss didn't have the answer to.
Weiss closed her eyes, knowing that up till now Ruby had not once purposely made a move on her and respected her space. But she knew, just as she knew how to breathe, that she could trust Ruby with everything. She realized just how much Ruby meant to her as Ruby's lips met hers in a gentle yet passionate frenzy.
Weiss felt her muscles relax as Ruby moved her hands up above her head, leaving her in a position that felt even more exposed than before, yet she couldn't actually bring herself to care. Ruby was always looking to her for help or guidance at school. But here and now, in the comfort of her home under the beautiful star-field her mother had painted, Ruby wasn't some child looking to better herself. She was just herself. An equal to Weiss in absolutely every aspect. And Weiss knew with certainty that her feelings toward Ruby weren't those of normal teenagers. She knew what she felt now would only grow with time and never disappear no matter how hard she might try to force it.
Ruby stopped the kiss with a quick peck to Weiss's lips, prompting her to reopen her eyes.
"Sorry… I…" Ruby started to apologize as she released Weiss but the heiress shook her head and grabbed Ruby's shoulders to keep her from leaving.
"I can't keep a secret from you, Ruby." Weiss said as she braced herself. She hadn't intended to tell Ruby about her problem, but not telling her felt as if she was just lying to her. "I'm going to be married on the twenty first."
"What?" Ruby asked, confused at what Weiss had just told her.
"My sister called this morning to tell me the contract was finalized. I'm being married off by my father as part of a business venture." Weiss said, the pain of her fear drawing tears out of her eyes and making her breathing shake.
"Shh…" Ruby leaned back down, kissing the tears from Weiss's cheeks. "What do you want to do?"
"I just want to stay here." Weiss answered honestly. Her breathing calming from Ruby's close proximity. "I want to go back to Beacon, become a huntress, and be with you."
"Weiss…" Ruby smiled almost sadly at the girl mere centimeters from her face.
"I love you so much, Ruby!" Weiss said more loudly as if to tell anyone listening at the door. "I never want to leave you!"
"Shh…" Ruby leaned down and kissed Weiss. "You don't have to. We'll think of something. What's the worst that could happen? You get kidnapped on your wedding day by your girlfriend?"
Weiss couldn't help the smile that spread on her lips at Ruby's words.
"As long as you don't insist I wear a sack over my head." Weiss joked, already feeling more at ease from Ruby's reassurance.
"Well, as long as you don't try fight me, I think we can manage to get you out of this. Especially if we work together." Ruby nodded.
"I think I like the sound of that. Together." Weiss said while Ruby got off of her. They moved into a more comfortable position and Ruby cuddled up to Weiss after pulling the covers up.
"Mm hmm." Ruby hummed, pressing a kiss to Weiss's shoulder as the two relaxed into the warmth of each other.