Summary: Ruby struggles to accept hers and Weiss' height difference.

Ruby hurled a full, gallon size milk angrily out of her dorm room window. She didn't care if it crash landed on an innocent passerby minding their own business. She also didn't care for the actual screams when the milk did flump! gruesomely all over the courtyard.

Her life had been a big, fat lie.

The one thing she believed in turned out to be a sham — milk lied to her. It was supposed to make her grow stronger... and taller! That was what the adults had preached to her! That was what all the advertisements and studies had told her.

After drinking a cup of milk twice a day ritually for so many years, she hadn't grown a single inch since coming to Beacon. Nada. None. Not even an itty-bitty centimeter, and this frustrated Ruby.

She couldn't deny she had grown stronger. Enduring the strenuous training at Beacon Academy forced her to build new muscles on top of preexisting muscles. However, she didn't need to grow stronger. She needed to grow vertically.

"Umm… Ruby?" Weiss wasn't certain if she was overreacting, but it wasn't normal for people to toss their groceries out the window. She closed the textbook that she was skimming through down on her bed. "Are you okay?"

"No," Ruby grumbled. She paced back and forth in their room until she remembered there were more traitorous milk cartons cowering in the back of their mini fridge.

"Do you want to talk about it...?" Weiss flinched when she heard a couple of glass condiment bottles knock over inside the fridge after Ruby slammed its door.

Ruby did a once-over on Weiss as she strangled the last carton of milk in her hands. Two inches taller without heels — Weiss is that much taller than her without a glass of milk accompanied in every meal. She envied her.

"No." Ruby eventually muttered before turning back to the window. "It's stupid."

The milk carton she hurled out of the window triggered another cry that screamed bloody murder. It nailed someone on the head like an asteroid, but Ruby turned a blind eye to the sobbing cries.

"I don't think it's stupid," Weiss said with worry. "What's the matter? You'd never toss out your favorite drink, especially out the window of all places.

"I'm growing tired of milk," Ruby retorted whimsically.

Weiss wanted to believe her, but she had seen Ruby guzzle down milk like a sink drain last night.

"You know I'm your girlfriend, right? I'm always here to listen if you want to talk about it."

Weiss watched Ruby quietly climb onto the top bunk. It wasn't a cliff climb, but with how unorthodox the bed was roped to the ceiling, it might as well have been. It wasn't the most stable do-it-yourself bunk bed to be ever made. The bed was swaying sideways as Ruby struggled to lift herself up to the top.

"Ruby?" Weiss said her name after she didn't get a reply.

"I'm okay, Weiss." Tired, Ruby mustered a smile as she was hanging awkwardly on the ledge of the bed. Her legs were too short to smoothly climb up. "I'm just going to lay in bed and listen to music for a bit. Is that cool?"

Weiss didn't want to push it since Ruby seemed exhausted.

"Yeah, that's fine."

All Weiss saw was dangling legs flailing around as Ruby continued her fruitless endeavor. She hesitated to help, but then she quickly decided that doing something was better than watching her girlfriend struggle.

"Do you need help? I can —"

"No, I got it." By that time, Ruby was out of breath from trying to wiggle up. "I-I'm… Hah… I'm almost there! I just… Hah… Needa… Haah… Ugggh, who even let me install ropes on this darn bed?!"

"Here, let me help you." With a single wave of a hand, Weiss summoned a glyph and elevated Ruby to the top. It was effortless, efficient, and a blow to Ruby's already diminished pride.

"Thanks," Ruby muttered.

Ruby tried to assert her dominance over the washing machine by glaring at it. She hated doing laundry the most, but all the dirty clothes that had been piling up needed to be cleaned today.

It wasn't a simple task that most people made it out to be. It was easy to throw her clothes in then douse it with liquid detergent. However, transferring wet clothes to the dryer was a whole new dilemma of its own.

"Dumb laundry machine," Ruby muttered. She climbed halfway inside the washing machine to grab the socks that were stuck to the bottom. Her feet were no longer touching the floor, and anyone with a pair of eyes would think the washing machine was swallowing her alive. "Whoever invented a top loading washer has some vendetta against short people."

Then again, she wouldn't be climbing inside the machine if the school had installed front loading washing machines to begin with.

"Do you need some help there, Ruby?"

With the edge of the laundry machine digging into her stomach, Ruby popped her head out of the washer. Weiss had walked right in with a curious look, but Ruby dived back inside like some dumpster diving animal.

"Nope!" Her voice echoed from inside. "I'm toooottallllyyy fine."

"Okay, let me know if you need some help."

After struggling to retrieve the last sock at the bottom, Ruby pulled herself out with a sense of accomplishment.

"So I was thinking…" Weiss flapped a damp shirt that she had fished out of the washer. Ruby noticed how easy Weiss made laundry look. There was no diving, jumping, or any signs of struggling… Ruby envied her tall height and long arms. "There's a nice restaurant in the city that I've heard so many good things about. Do you want to go while we wait for our clothes to be dried?"

Weiss tossed the last sock inside the dryer and it hummed to life when she programmed it to run.

"It's been awhile since we went on a date," Weiss said with a smile. "What do you think?"

"Next time," Ruby turned her down. Watching Weiss do her laundry destroyed the sense of accomplishment she had in a matter of seconds. She didn't feel like going out after that. She wanted to crawl into bed and search up what home remedies she could cook up to fix her height issue.

"Oh." Weiss' shoulders dropped as she watched Ruby sulk out of the laundry room. "Yeah, um, sure, maybe next time."

Ruby boosted herself up using the tip of her toes and tried to reach for a book that was out of her height range.

"Come on, come on, come on!" Ruby grunted in frustration.

She stretched her arm to the best of her ability and almost pulled a muscle for it. She tried jumping up, but her fingers brushed the base of the book spine. The book was tightly wedged in between the other books, like that one time Pyrrha had accidentally gotten her spear lodged into Cardin's ass — it wasn't pretty.

"Urgh, just a little more…" Poking a tongue out of her mouth, Ruby barely touched the bottom end of the book spine again. "Gosh dang it."

"Ruby?"

Startled, Ruby jumped up. She was too busy concentrating on the book that she failed to notice Weiss was standing behind her.

"Hi Weiss," Ruby pulled a smile as if it was out of a magician's top hat. The height difference between them was plain to see. She couldn't remember what the top of Weiss' head looked like.

"Hi Ruby," Weiss smiled back. "What are you doing?"

"I was getting a book from the shelf."

With her hands on her hips, Ruby turned her back towards Weiss and lifted her chin up as if she was staring at the peak of a mountain.

The book had been silently laughing and mocking her short stature, and it ticked off many of her billion nerves. She could think of a few ways she could do this. One, use the shelves like a ladder and climb it like an uncivilized savage. Two, drag a chair over and use it as a step stool. Three —

"Is this what you wanted?"

Weiss walked up and pulled the book out effortlessly from its spot. She handed the book to Ruby with a small smile, but Ruby scowled. Getting spoon fed like this felt patronizing, but she took the book right out of Weiss' hand anyway. The deed had been done. There was no point of crying over spilled milk, not like she had any more milk in her fridge anyway.

"I could've gotten it myself," Ruby muttered.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Weiss backed off, apologizing immediately after picking up the sourness in her girlfriend's tone. "I-I thought you wouldn't mind a little help…"

Ruby felt a pang of guilt in her chest. She knew better than to let her insecurities work her up. Weiss was genuinely trying to help.

"No, I'm sorry, Weiss." Ruby bridged the gap between them with an apologetic hug. Because she was too short, she leaned her head between Weiss' chest and shoulder. "That was mean of me to say. Thank you for getting the book for me."

"Is there something bugging you?" Weiss asked hesitatingly, as she reciprocated Ruby's embrace. "I noticed every time we talk, you're not in a good mood. I-Is it me? Is there something I'm doing wrong? I-I promise I'll be better, I'll try to fix it."

Ruby shook her head as she nuzzled deeper into their hug. "It's not you, it's me."

"Oh," Weiss then gulped, "do you… do you need space? I can give you space — we can take a break if it makes you happier."

"No!" The word rushed out faster than they both could blink. Ruby pulled out from Weiss' arms. Initially she didn't know how Weiss could jump to that conclusion, but she recalled the number of times she had projected her own insecurity onto Weiss. It made sense why Weiss said what she had said. "I still love you, Weiss. I promise you there is nothing wrong with us or our relationship. It's just… The thing that has been bugging me is really, really stupid."

Weiss cupped Ruby's hands and asked, "is there anything I can do to help?"

"There's nothing that can help me anymore." Ruby slumped in defeat. "Calcium, vitamins, milk… It's hopeless. I'm doomed to be short for my entire life. There's no growth spurt waiting for me at my age."

"Wait…" Weiss tilted her head, giving Ruby a funny look. "Is that what has been bothering you the entire time?"

"Yes..." Ruby meekly admitted.

Weiss burst out laughing as all the unnecessary worries that had been plaguing her mind disappeared. When she saw how Ruby hunched her shoulders even more, she stopped and smiled at her.

"There's nothing wrong with being short, Ruby. I still love you the same, regardless of your height."

"But it sucks to be short," Ruby whined. "I'm jealous of you. You're a lot taller than me with your heels. Even without them you're still taller than me! You can reach for things that I can't. There are so many disadvantages to being short."

"Actually, there are a few things you can benefit from being short," Weiss said thoughtfully, "such as not banging your head on the corner of the cupboard."

"I guess," Ruby mumbled. She had never experienced the cupboard door painfully digging into her skull, so she couldn't sympathize with Weiss.

"There's one more benefit you're completely forgetting," Weiss chuckled.

"Like what?"

"I'll show you." Weiss guided her back to their dorm room. She told Ruby to kick off her boots before she motioned to her own bed. "Lay down."

Ruby didn't question her. She crawled into Weiss' bed and laid flat on her back. She stared up at the roped bed dangling above her as she waited for the next set of instructions.

"Roll over."

Ruby did as she was told.

"The other way."

With a quiet huff, Ruby turned her back towards Weiss. "Okay, now what do I do?"

"Nothing," Weiss simply answered. Kicking off her heels, she slipped into bed with Ruby and snuggled behind her. "How does this feel?"

Ruby didn't need to contemplate long and hard over her question. She always tried to be the big spoon in their relationship even after Weiss had her sudden growth spurt. But the amount of times they cuddled together became less once she realized she couldn't wrap Weiss into her arms like how she used to when she was the taller one in the relationship.

So having Weiss pressed against her back felt good. There was something comforting about being the little spoon. She felt content, loved, and safe, as if all her problems — the short one, especially that one — instantly melted away.

"Wonderful," Ruby murmured. Her cheeks flared with a blush when she felt Weiss spoiling her with kisses on the shoulder. "It's very nice."

"Do you like it?"

Ruby quietly nodded.

"Do you still think being short is all that bad?" Weiss questioned. Her hand found a comfortable spot on Ruby's belly and she stroked in a slow, affectionate circle. "We can cuddle like this every time we go to bed together if you want to."

"Can we?" The plea in Ruby's voice made Weiss smile.

"We can." Weiss parted through the crimson mass of hair to leave a kiss on Ruby's neck. "Can you promise me one thing? If there is anything that is bugging you, I want you to come talk to me. We can work together to figure something out."

"I promise. I'm sorry for making you think that you did something wrong."

Weiss buried her face into Ruby's hair and held her tight. "It's okay. Problem solved, right?"

"Problem solved," Ruby smiled. "If I get to be a little spoon, then being short has its perks."

"Good."

They spooned in silence as Ruby enjoyed the soft touches Weiss left behind. Weiss was right. Being short wasn't all that bad because she had found a new reason to appreciate her height. It was cozy, and having Weiss curled up against her back felt just perfectly right. The insecurities Ruby had felt before seemed like a silly thing to be upset about.

"Hey, Weiss?"

The hand stroking her stomach stopped. "Hm?"

"Does that offer still stand? Do you still want to go on that date with me? And, after we come back, can we cuddle like this together?"

"Yes, of course, I'd love to."

Prompt given by InductionMagnet!

Ruby angsts over a tall Weiss after her recent growth spurt, even though she's only two inches taller than Ruby. Naturally, Weiss shows her the benefits of being short, such as being the little spooning.

I suck at angst.

Also, excuse my grammatical errors. My beta is unavailable for the next few months.