A/N: Please enjoy and as always, opinions and constructive criticism are welcome.
Weiss sighs as she reads the same page in her textbook for the twentieth time, and she decides no amount of effort could help her focus on music theory right now. She closes the book and opens her laptop, smiling sadly at the lock screen, a photo of herself and Ruby cuddled close together on Yang's couch during a party. Weiss had gotten entirely too drunk at that party—which hadn't taken long since she usually stayed away from alcohol—to drown out thoughts of everything going wrong in her life and then spent an hour pouring her heart out to Ruby, the cute sister of the hostess, the same girl she had been silently crushing on since they were in second grade. Ruby had admitted to sharing those feelings but insisted that they wait until the next morning to make sure that Weiss still felt the same.
And the next morning, of course she had still felt the same.
Four years later, here she was at the university she had dreamt about attending since she was a little girl, studying music, and yet she wasn't happy. Today is—was—their fourth anniversary, and Ruby isn't here. She hadn't heard from Ruby since this morning, after Ruby had kissed her before leaving for an emergency at work, and something ominous was tugging at the back of her mind, creating worry and anxiety that something bad had happened to Ruby.
Her chest is tight as her heart races, and she knows she needs to calm down before she goes into full panic mode. She glances around her bedroom, her eyes finding exactly what she needs, and she crosses the room. Grabbing the red hoodie from the floor next to her dresser, she slips it over her head and sits in the same corner, burying her face in the material. The smell of roses fills her senses, and she feels her heart begin to slow back to its normal pace. She sighs, ignoring the tears on her cheeks as she focuses on Ruby's scent.
"Hey, Weiss, are you up here—?" Ruby trails off, stepping into her room and closing the door behind her. Weiss sits on the floor against the dresser, knees pulled under her chin as she cries, and she barely registers Ruby crossing the room to kneel in front of her. Leaning forward, Ruby embraces Weiss, kissing her temple and whispering the sweetest possible compliments to assure her girlfriend that everything will be okay, that she's here for her, and she feels Weiss's arms finally slip around her shoulders, pulling her closer.
Eventually Weiss sniffles, indicating the end to her tears, and she inhales the scent of roses that is ingrained in Ruby's red hoodie, something that always seems to help. "You smell nice," Weiss murmurs as Ruby kisses her cheek, arms tight around her waist. She buries her face in Ruby's neck, and her girlfriend chuckles as she slowly rubs her back.
"How are you feeling?" Ruby asks instead of replying.
"I think I'm feeling better," Weiss says quietly after a moment, kissing Ruby's neck, the corners of her mouth twitching upward when Ruby shudders. "Thank you, Ruby, for always knowing how to help me when my anxiety is horrible."
"That's what I do," Ruby says proudly, grinning as Weiss pulls away and kisses her.
A knock on her bedroom door brings her back to reality, and she sniffles, wiping her face. "Yes?" she greets. One of her roommates must have come home in the past few minutes, while she had been too distracted to notice. Although, she seems to be inattentive often lately and doesn't notice much going on around her anymore.
"Weiss," Blake's voice drifts through the barrier, "can I come in?"
"Yes," she responds. She remains where she is in the corner, arms wrapped around her knees. The door opens slowly, and Blake steps in, closing the door behind her. She glances around, and Weiss realizes she can't be seen from the door. "I'm over here," she adds helpfully.
Blake moves closer to the middle of the room and amber eyes meet blue. There's a sadness in them, which does nothing to slow Weiss's heartbeat. "I was going to call you, but it's better to tell you in person. Ruby's in the hospital." Her chest hurts. "She was hit by a car. Yang got the call a few minutes ago when we were coming home. I asked her to drop me off, and I'd take you to the hospital."
Weiss is frozen for a moment, before dropping her head against her knees and sobbing.
"Weiss!" Ruby greets, hugging her tightly and lifting her off the ground. "I thought you wouldn't be here until tonight!"
Weiss chuckled, burying her face in her taller girlfriend's chest, the rosy smell filling her senses. "I couldn't wait until later. I missed you too much." Ruby grins and leans down to kiss her.
They find Yang sitting in a chair in the emergency room, expressionless with her hands in her lap. Blake kisses her forehead and sits beside her, and Weiss takes the seat on the other side of Yang. "Have they said anything?" she asks quietly.
Yang shifts her eyes to her and shakes her head. "They only said she's in surgery." Blake reaches for one of her hands and squeezes it, causing Yang to lean against her and cry quietly. Weiss's eyes are restless, moving around the emergency room in search of something to distract her. "She'll be okay, right?" Yang murmurs, drawing both her attention and Blake's. "I mean, it's Ruby. She'll be okay, she always is."
"It's Ruby," Weiss says with a sad smile, and Yang takes her hand, squeezing it.
"Weiss." Weiss hums in response as she skims over the diagrams in her textbook, searching for a specific answer. "Marry me?"
Her eyes snap up to look at her girlfriend, to find her sprawled out on the bed, eyes closed, and she crosses the room to check if she's awake. Ruby's breathing is steady and slow, indicating sleep, and she kneels by the edge of the bed. "Dolt," she whispers, reaching out and brushing hair out of Ruby's face.
"Is that a 'yes'?" the girl continues sleepily.
"Maybe one day when you ask me while you're awake."
She smiles fondly as her girlfriend pouts. This happens often, Ruby talking in her sleep and responding to living conversation, and Weiss doesn't know if anyone had told her. She remembers the first time, when Ruby had scared the hell out of her in the middle of the night, but she's gotten used to it.
A nurse enters the waiting room, glancing between the three of them. "Yang?" Yang nods, staring at the nurse. "Miss Rose is pulling through just fine. She has a broken clavicle, a broken arm, and she had some internal bleeding that has been taken care of. She's asleep now, but you'll be able to visit her in a while."
The three girls nod and watch as she walks away, and they each breathe a sigh of relief. "It's Ruby," Weiss says quietly, smiling.