Ruby comes home late, hours after I get back from practice. Considering that I arrived to quiet, tense looks between Mom and Dad, its something of a miracle it's only Mom in the living room when Ruby arrives. I hide myself in the kitchen, staying out of sight just enough to avoid notice while still able to see what's going on.
"Had fun?" Mom asks, sitting on the living room couch with an (unread) book in hand.
Ruby, standing in the entranceway with one shoe in hand, blushes. "I—we lost track of time."
Mom shoots a glance out the darkened windows. "Clearly."
"It won't happen again, I'm sorry."
Mom sighs, putting the book on the coffee table and standing. "I'm not angry, Ruby. I was worried. You still have a fever and…" She pauses. "It's not like you."
Ruby shuffles her feet, staring downwards and refusing the meet Mom's eye. "Where's Dad?"
"Upstairs. Decided to go to bed," Mom replies, crossing her arms. "And your sister is in the kitchen, eavesdropping."
"Wasn't trying to hide that," I say, holding up a half-empty glass. "Just getting a drink."
Mom gives me a look before she shakes her head.
"Am I in trouble?" Ruby asks, soft and quiet.
Mom turns to her, a smile still on her lips. "Well, I don't think you'll be playing your Nintendo for a while, but otherwise, no. You're not grounded or anything, just—don't do it again, please? I don't want to make a curfew or set rules on when you guys can out, but you can't keep wandering home this late."
"I won't," Ruby says. "Do it again, I mean."
"Good."
And like that, the moment's over. A week's worth of exhaustion seems to fall on my mom at once, her shoulders drooping and her voice turning ever so slightly pinched. "Go get some sleep. The both of you."
"I will," Ruby says. "Right after I brush my teeth."
Mom chuckles. "Good answer."
"Good night, Mom," I say, watching as she slowly makes her way up the stairs. "We'll be up in a minute."
She doesn't respond, and a few minutes later, I hear a bedroom door click shut.
The smile slips from my lips.
"How long had she been waiting for me?" Ruby asks.
"Since I got home, at least," I say. "She made supper, and as soon as she got Da off to bed, she started pacing. Couldn't sit still."
"Until she had to."
"Yeah."
Ruby shuffles in place for a few seconds before she begins trudging up the stairs.
"What were you two talking about, anyway?" I ask once she's halfway up.
Ruby stops and turns to glare. "Yang…"
It's only then I realise how that sounded. How my exhaustion and worry mixed with pain and anger until I had all but growled the words out.
"Sorry," I say. "That—that came out wrong."
"Right," Ruby replies, sarcasm dripping from every letter. Not that I can blame her. Still continues a moment later. "She… we didn't really talk about much, honestly. What she did. Why. How she felt about stuff." Her skin tints red. "Whether or not we, um, wanted to still be friends."
"And do you?"
Ruby nods. "I know it seems selfish, but—she means something to me, Yang. Something I didn't really think I'd find, and I don't want to let go of that. Not ever."
She pauses for a moment before looking up and meeting my eyes. "She is sorry, you know. Not just about what she did and said, but for why."
"Apologies don't change what happened," I say.
"I know, Yang," Ruby replies, and I almost open my mouth to ask how, but there's a darker current in her voice that stops me. "I know."
A moment passes.
"I…" I stop and swallow past the sudden lump in my throat. "I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have said what I said the other day."
Ruby shakes her head. "I get it. It's fine."
"It's not. I… I should have trusted you," I reply. "Regardless of anything else, I shouldn't have suggested you'd hurt me on purpose. You're my sister, and I… I almost let myself forget that."
"I should have been thinking about it felt for you too," Ruby insists.
"It's not your responsibility to take care of everyone else."
"I know, I know!" Ruby almost stomps her foot, stopping only at the last second. "I'm still sorry."
"Then you're forgiven," I say, smiling softy. "You always will be."
Ruby smiles, but it doesn't meet her eyes, and for a moment, she seems a million miles away.
"Do you think you can forgive Weiss?" she asks.
"…Go to sleep, Ruby."