Ruby's morning was pretty simple. Get up at seven, text Weiss a good morning, go running with Zwei and Sun, and then shower. She would then either make herself breakfast or go to the diner and then get ready for work. Today was no different.
As she did every day she went to work, she blasted the same pop station and sang proudly without a single care in the world. Down the road, she saw a new deli in what used to be a lousy pizzeria.
"Maybe I could get Weiss some lunch and eat at her office," Ruby mumbled as she drove by. "Blake said they were pretty good."
The paintball shop came into view, and Ruby parked her car where she always did—the second spot to the left of the entrance. No specific reason as to why, but this had become her favorite spot over the few years she had been working there, and everyone she worked with knew this.
Occasionally upon entering, Sun attempt to scare the young woman with a jump-scare and a loud shout, which usually resulted in a scolding from the store's owner, Qrow Branwen. Sun has never been able to scare her, adding to his humiliation of defeat.
Ruby pushed the door open, the little bell ringing up above her. "Morning y'guys."
"Hey Ruby, good morning," Jaune greeted. "Did you hear about the latest APC? I heard that the PBU Industries came out with a new line of markers and are showcasing them exclusively at the convention!"
"Yeah, I know! I really want to go, but plane tickets to Argus are really expensive, not to mention hotels and the convention tickets themselves." Ruby moved behind her counter and sighed, resting her chin on her palm. "I should save up to go sometime. Then I'd have to save up for both me and Weiss."
"Rubbles, why dontcha just ask her to buy it all? She's pretty loaded, right?"
"Sun, I can't do that to her. I don't want to be like the others that she's dated before. I don't need her money like they did." The young woman stood up straight and looked Sun dead in the eyes. "I want to show her I'm different. She deserves only the best partner, and I will try my damn hardest to fill that role."
"Woah, okay, I get it." Sun put up his hands in defense. "No need to get all noble and heroic about it."
"What's going on out here?" A tall, raven-haired geezer came out of the back room with a flask in hand. "I'm hearing weird acronyms, something about tickets, and Ruby trying to be heroic. Anyone care to explain?"
"Good morning, Uncle Qrow!" Ruby jogged up to the taller man and squeezed him tightly.
The man with unkempt hair ruffled his niece's much tidier head of onyx and red. "Hey kiddo, care to tell me what's going on?"
"The APC stands for the Argus Paintball Convention, PBU stands for Paintball Unlimited (it's a really good marker company, I'm surprised you didn't know that), and I've been wanting to go for a while." The young woman sighed and shuffled back to her counter. "Sun said to ask Weiss to pay for it all, but I can't do that. Honestly Sun, were you raised in a dump? No manners whatsoever?"
"No, actually, I was born in Menagerie and raised in Mistral." Sun sat up on his counter and crossed his legs. "Look, you're making me feel bad. I could just buy you two the tickets if it makes me feel better."
"No, that's okay—wait, if it makes you feel bet—"
The scream of Jaune interrupted Ruby mid thought, and everyone in the room directed their attention to him. Ruby and Sun rushed over to his counter to find him on the ground, cowering in fear over something unknown.
"Jaune, what's wrong?" Ruby helped the slightly taller man up to his feet while Sun looked around to find the problem.
"Th-Th-There w-was a sp-spid-der—"
A collective of groans were released into the quiet atmosphere, Sun and Qrow crossing their arms and face palming as Ruby shook her head in disappointment. "It's just a spider, Jaune."
"It's not just a spider! It's life or death! Have you seen the spiders in Mistral? They're huge!" Jaune motioned with his arms to exaggerate.
"They're not that bad," Sun said as he strode to his counter.
"Alright, alright, sissies, get behind your counters. We're opening in a few minutes, so hurry up and get to work." Qrow took a sip from his flask and went back to the employee room, most likely back to his office. Ruby knew he could be a loose canon and sometimes slack off, but Qrow Branwen was always diligent in whatever he did.
"So Ruby, how've you and Snow Cone been getting along lately?" Sun grinned from across the counters, receiving an eye roll from Ruby.
"We're doing great. Why do you ask? You've got your own man to gawk at," Ruby retorted as she cleaned a marker barrel.
"And you've got your tiny CEO," The blonde answered with a chuckle.
The brunette crossed her arms and grinned. "Funny you talk about my girl when she's much bigger than you'll ever be."
Beside her, Ruby heard Jaune snickering behind his counter as he was restocking a few boxes of vests. "What a low blow."
Ruby laughed even louder at that, Sun pouting like a child with a mild blush on his cheeks. "You two are jerks."
"Is that what your little friend said to your hands whenever Neptune comes to mind?" Ruby was practically wheezing as Jaune gave her a high five.
"Stop it! You're so dirty!"
Jaune and Ruby looked at each other with the same sentence in mind. "That's what he said!"
Sun groaned and flopped onto his counter, his arms sprawled out in defeat and humiliation. Ruby sighed and rolled her eyes, her smile remaining. "Hey don't worry Sun, we're just joking. You know we would never belittle you."
"Because you're as little as they come!" Jaune snorted, causing Ruby to burst out laughing again.
"OhMyGodSomeoneHelpMe..." the poor blonde man whined.
The bell above the door rang, all three employees shaping up as quickly as possible to greet the customer. A tall woman with sunglasses, shiny brown hair with frosted tips, and a beret came in with another brunette, her hair significantly longer.
"Coco?" Ruby called as she moved around her counter. "What're you doing here? Shouldn't you be at work?"
"Nah, it's fine. I'm only here to help Velvet pick up her new marker." The assistant replied with a shrug. "I was actually on the way to get Weiss some coffee."
"Got it." The red-tipped brunette held her hand out for the other brunette beside Coco. "Ruby Rose at your service. I've seen you around before. You ref at Emerald, right?"
The long-haired brunette nodded. "Yes, that's correct. I'm Velvet Scarlatina, Coco's girlfriend. I'm here to pick up the marker on hold."
"Oh, so you're the one who ordered that Dye M2!" Ruby grinned and nudged Velvet's shoulder. "A very professional marker, good choice."
"I do believe it would best suit my speedball abilities." Velvet giggled as she brushed her hair behind an ear. "I will admit that I've tried using magfed markers, but I could never compare to you."
Ruby quickly went to her counter and waved the two women over. "C'mon, it's all just practice! Everyone starts from somewhere!"
"Well that somewhere just gets me nowhere, so I stuck with the normal markers." Velvet picked up the marker on the counter and inspected it thoroughly, starting from the barrel and all the way to the hopper.
"Wanna try it out? We have a shooting range in the back," the professional paintballer suggested.
"No, it's alright. This is fine, thank you. I've already paid online, so I suppose I'll be taking my leave now." The two brunettes started walking to the exit of the shop. "Nice to meet you, Ruby! Thanks again!"
"Later! Hope we can play together sometime!"
And after that, the store was quiet. The three employees went back to work, throwing about the occasional tease or joke until they went on lunch break. When they all started working for Qrow, they all agreed upon a schedule of who was allowed to go out for lunch while the other two stayed at the shop to eat.
Lucky for Ruby, today was her turn.
Ruby pulled out her scroll and wondered whether she should call Weiss or just surprise her. She knew what Weiss would want, and she knew that she'd most likely be haply with whatever the paintballer got her, but Ruby still couldn't help but doubt herself.
She would call Coco instead, she thought. And so she called, notifying Coco that she would provide her incredibly work-addicted girlfriend with food.
As she stepped into the deli, she immediately noticed the slightly long line. At least she had enough time to decide what she wanted. Ruby typically leaned toward anything with meat, preferably in the form of a ball and served with marinara sauce and cheese.
Yes, Ruby did love meatball subs. She loved them ever since the second grade.
Weiss was quite different. She did enjoy meat, but she preferred a fresh cut kind of thing. Like cold slices of ham or turkey. Ruby decided she would get Weiss a BLT. Weiss liked vegetables, unlike herself. She'd eat them, but not out of enjoyment.
Seventeen minutes later, Ruby came out with a plastic bag of two sandwiches, two small bags of chips, and two fizzy beverages. She swiftly trotted to her car and went straight to Weiss's office.
The business facility was tall, huge, and had at least six main wings that branched out from the center tower. Apparently, if you were to view the headquarters from above, the building was supposed to take the shape of the famous Schnee snowflake emblem.
"How the heck did I end up with the CEO of this monstrously huge place?"
Ruby had been here many times before for lunch with Weiss, but that didn't mean she was still familiar with the route to her office. She still had to follow the signs while scratching her head, receiving odd looks from some of the workers.
If I got her flowers, would it make more sense? Ruby wasn't sure what message she was sending to the watching employees, but she knew that she was most definitely lost. She kept walking until she stumbled—literally stumbled—into what happened to be the front desk.
"Do you have an appointment?" The much older woman behind the desk sounded rather impatient and annoyed. She wasn't enjoying her job, Ruby could tell. "Well? We don't have all day here."
"O-Oh, right...um, no? I'm here to see Weiss Schnee?" Ruby nervously chuckled, though no response was received from the grumpy woman.
"Name?"
"Ruby Ro—"
"Rose?" The blonde sighed and adjusted the glasses on her face. "I told you before, the elevator is just to the right of this desk." She continued on with her work, typing away at her computer while sighing every few seconds.
Not knowing what more to say, Ruby left in silence and entered the elevator. Weiss's office was on the top floor, which was the 25th floor.
A good couple of minutes went by before she reached the top floor, Weiss office just a few yards away from the elevator. In a few long strides, she reached the door and nearly got knocked out by it. The door with a covered window flew open and nearly slammed into Ruby with Coco at the knob. Thanks to her quick reflexes, Ruby was able to dodge it, but only just. If she had moved a second later, she would've ended up with a large bruise on her forehead and an even larger one in the abdomen where the door handle would have made contact.
"Oh, holy crap!" Coco gasped and repeatedly apologized for nearly killing the younger girl. "You scared the living daylights out of me! Weiss is still working, but it's not a whole lot, so you can go ahead."
"Do you want to join us?"
"Nah, it's alright. I was sent to fetch a report and then run a few more errands, so I don't think I can. Thanks though, Ruby." The brunette smiled as she left the door open for Ruby, walking into the elevator before the doors slid shut.
Ruby knocked on the open door, hoping to catch Weiss's attention. "Lunch delivery for Miss Weiss Schnee?"
The businesswoman looked up from her laptop and immediately broke out her smile. She rose from her seat and walked over to Ruby, who trotted happily towards the older woman. "Hey Ruby, how are you?" she asked as she wrapped her arms around the taller woman.
"Was doing pretty good, but now I'm doing even better." Ruby returned the embrace and kissed Weiss's lips in turn. "How's your day so far?"
Weiss sighed as she led Ruby to her desk. "Busy, as always, but I don't mind. And you're here, so I'd say my day is going quite well so far."
"That's good. Got you a BLT and a soda. Didn't know if you wanted chips, so I got you some anyway." Ruby laid out the contents of the plastic bag onto the table and handed Weiss her sandwich.
"Thank you, Ruby. I didn't realize how hungry I was until you came."
"Yeah," Ruby smirked, "I have that effect on people. We can skip to dessert if you're that eager to—"
A flick to the forehead stopped the paintballer right in her tracks. "Dolt, you know I didn't mean it that way."
Ruby rubbed her red forehead and chuckled. "You set yourself up for it."
"Now you're turning into Yang. Just eat your food." Weiss rolled her eyes as she bit into her sandwich, partly focused on her work while the rest of her attention was on Ruby.
"Anything new today?"
"Well," Weiss swallowed her food before continuing, "our team negotiated with one of the smaller companies in Mistral and successfully converted it into a Schnee subsidiary."
"Which means?"
"We were able to turn it into a smaller branch of the company."
An 'o' shaped mouth formed on Ruby's face as she silently nodded in understanding.
Weiss shifted in her seat and leaned forward, her elbows propped up on her desk. "What about you? Anything new for you?"
"Nah, not really. Just have another game today, you're welcome to join if you want."
"I'm afraid I have a lot to work on this afternoon, sorry. What's the game?"
"Urban warfare. Domination. There's supposed to be over a hundred players today." Ruby popped open her bag of chips and took a couple in her hand. "It's just a small event. The big events are the ones worth looking forward to."
"What ones are coming up?"
"There's a huge event at the end of the summer called Lights Out. Every year in the Forever Fall Forest, PBU Industries holds a paintball event at night. Thousands of players from around the world come to play." Ruby scooted to the edge of her chair, leaning forward as she prepared to explain the entirety of the event. "Lasts a total of three days, each night being a wave. It's kinda like a zombie apocalypse thing, we get assigned three missions per night, and each night is supposed to get harder. In wave one, you get lanterns that last all night. Wave two, you get a single glow stick that lasts a couple of hours. In wave three, you get a small flashlight with limited range—it only shines a few feet with a small circumference. It's honestly worse than the glow sticks, and the batteries only last about an hour before dying. The missions are the craziest part of the whole experience; if you don't complete each mission by dawn, you lose your light source for the next night."
The businesswoman seemed somewhat lost, but quickly shook herself back into reality. "That sounds intense. How do you win?"
"You survive all three waves. I've never been able to beat it. I made it to the last hour of wave three until I got shot by a zombie. Blake was with me, and we found out Nora was the one who shot me."
"Isn't it dangerous to play paintball in the dark?" Weiss took a few of Ruby's chips despite having her own bag.
"That's exactly why it's fun!" the brunette giggled. "PBU always schedules the event when the moon is at its peak."
"For three whole days? What about weather?"
Ruby smirked. "Makes everything all the more interesting."
As time went on, the couple of paintballers continued to eat and laugh, compliments and flirtatious comments were said, and the occasional kiss found its way to the lips of the two women. But because time stopped for nobody, Ruby and Weiss had to continue with their work.
"Have a good rest of your afternoon, Ruby." Weiss pecked at Ruby's lips and watched the younger woman walk to the door.
"I'll see you later, Weiss!" Ruby blew a kiss at her girlfriend and winked before closing the office door behind her.
Weiss sat back down in her chair and sighed as silence surrounded her. She groaned as she checked her scroll. Five more hours until her shift ended.
She already missed Ruby.
Two more hours since Ruby's lunch date had gone by, and now she had one hour left until she could go to the event in the abandoned establishment near the south end of the city. The two hours that went by were filled with restocking paintball equipment, snarky jokes (most of them directed at Sun, the poor dude), and customers being tended to every so often.
Just when the two blondes and brunette thought they could catch a break, the bell atop the door rang again, and a burly man with a crew cut came in with a marker in hand. With caramel-brown hair, sapphire eyes, and a cocky smirk, all three employees knew exactly who they had to deal with now.
"What do you want this time, Cardin?" Sun was nearly immediate in asking, his tone so clearly agitated.
"I'm here for Rose." The burly man walked towards Ruby's counter with his marker armed. Usually doesn't mean anything good, and considering that this was Cardin Winchester, infamous for cheating in every paintball game he's in, whatever was about to go down was definitely no good.
Ruby stood up straight and steeled herself for whatever he may spit at her. "Cardin."
"Ruby Rose. I think my marker is broken. Mind fixing it?" Cardin's voice was in the most condescending tone Ruby had ever heard. She didn't know what he was getting at, but he was already on her nerves.
"Your marker looks fine, and considering how many times you get hit and never actually hit anyone, I doubt there is anything I need to fix internally. A paintballer of three years should know how to take care of his marker and should know how to clean the inside if there is a jam. Now if that will be all, then you may leave this store." Ruby stuck with her calm voice. She had dealt with Cardin many times in the past, especially during high school. He never directly bullied her, but she had been involved in a couple of fights with him.
"I'm not gonna leave yet. I need to know why you're cheating at paintball, Ruby Rose." Cardin leaned on the counter, his grin only causing Ruby to cringe—internally of course, she was never one to disrespect a customer. "You never miss a single shot. I've seen your games, I've seen your 'skills' and let me tell you: I ain't buying it."
The brunette sighed. "Years of practice, Cardin. That simple. I don't cheat."
"Yes you do."
Sun and Jaune exchanged glances as they watched the scene between Cardin and Ruby unfold. Ruby could tell that they both wanted to intervene, but Cardin was just being too stupid to really do anything without him making a big fit.
"I can take you to the range out back and show you if you'd like."
"Sure. Show me all the paintball-illegal tech you use. I bet you got it all from that Schnee dyke." Cardin's words were a stinging poison that burned Ruby's heart.
As soon as those words were said, Sun and Jaune quickly left their stations to back Ruby up. Sun tapped the taller man on the shoulder, his rare scowl replacing his typical smile. "Cardin, I think it's time you leave this store. Now."
Ruby shook her head and removed Sun's hand from Cardin's shoulder. "I'm not starting anything in my store, so you need to come with me." The brunette dragged the young man just outside the store, being immediate to shove him up against the wall with angry, beady eyes. She was no longer the kind, cheerful woman she usually was. No, a demon of fury had just been released, and now her victim was surely going to pay.
"Don't you ever dare come into my place of work, accuse me of cheating at my own game, and talk shit about my girlfriend. You have no right to do any of those things, and if you come back here, I will call the police for harassment." Ruby's voice was low, but ferocity was hinted with each syllable spoken.
For a moment, Cardin seemed somewhat shocked. His face didn't show it immediately, but underneath was true fear. Ruby knew this because this sort of encounter had happened before. She thought she had won this battle.
But Cardin always refused losing, and when the first punch was thrown, Ruby stumbled back with a bloody nose.
Wiping the blood away, Ruby stood and popped her neck, readying her fists for the brawl about to go down. "Guess I'm not going to that game today."
"Good. You don't deserve to play, you cheating dyke."
He was in for it now. Ruby got into a proper fighting stance, her arms close to her head with one foot in front of the other. Yang had taught her this guarding stance, knowing that Ruby would need to learn self-defense after their first encounter with Cardin. Cardin stood normally, his fists balled up tightly.
Ruby was never one to go straight in for the punch, but he crossed a line. He crossed it by miles. She chambered her arm and extended, thrusting her arm right into his gut. He was now hunched forward, arms holding his stomach. The next punch went straight to his jaw, one of the knockout points in the human body. Her attempt was unsuccessful, resulting in an aching fist while Cardin remained conscious.
Cardin stood up and took a swing, missed, and received a counter attack. He stumbled back only slightly, now charging forward with his fist poised for the strike. He was only relying on his weight now. Because Ruby was never taught how to redirect the energy coming from his fist, she suffered the consequences and ended up on the ground, hitting her head hard. Cardin was now on top of her, one of the worst scenarios for a fight. She didn't know how to turn the tables. She didn't know how to get this asshole off of her. All she could do was block his hits.
As if a sentient being had called upon them, Sun and Jaune came out of the store and rushed in to help Ruby. They tried to lift the man off of her, Jaune holding him in a headlock while Sun helped restrain him. Ruby lay there on the concrete, nearly unconscious with too many bruises and gashes all over. She could barely defend herself in such a position, and it was only a matter of time before her arms became weak to his strikes.
"Get off of her, asshole!" Sun barked, being forced to sock the man a few times to get him up. As a result of that, Sun had to face the barrage of punches coming at him. At least he wasn't focused on Ruby right now.
"What the hell is going on out here?"
All three men and Ruby looked in the direction in which the scruffy, old voice came. It came from Qrow, and he was pissed. "Cardin Winchester. What have I told you before? You need to grow up and get a life and quite messing with my staff!" Qrow stepped towards the now trembling bully, his rusty-red eyes narrowing in anger. "You best get the fuck out of here or I will take you down myself. Don't ever come back to this store."
Cardin was now pale as snow. Nobody ever messes with the Rose Markers staff. Because if you did, you would have to face the wrath of Qrow Branwen. He was a former soldier, a master marksman, and the scariest demon on Remnant if he was ever provoked. Qrow took one hand out of his pocket and held the younger man by his hair. "Scram, douchebag. And get your head out of your ass while you're at it."
He sure as hell ran far away, far enough to get out of their peripheral vision. Jaune attended to Ruby while Sun explained what happened earlier inside.
"Ruby, are you alright?" Jaune was clearly distressed, worry as clear as day in his eyes.
Ruby grunted in response and shook her head slowly.
"Got it. Do you think you can stand? We're gonna have to take you to the hospital."
The brunette attempted to, but failed after suddenly feeling dizzy. She tried to speak to Jaune, but couldn't come up with coherent sentences. Only groans and grunts escaped her mouth, which was a sign to Jaune that she was most likely concussed.
Jaune sighed. "Okay. Hold tight, I'm gonna get you to my car." Despite being a weak wimp, Jaune was built well. Broad shoulders, slim body, and enough muscle to carry Ruby across the parking lot.
The young man gently placed the younger woman in the passenger seat, buckling her seat belt in for her. Ruby knew she had to say something, despite how much pain she felt everywhere.
"Th-Thank you, Jaune." Ruby smiled weakly, receiving a smile in return.
Ruby did indeed have a concussion and received a packet of instructions for care-taking. She was given a few pain meds, some bandages for the open wounds, and a granola bar from Jaune because she was hungry.
Jaune had to drive her home for the reason of not being allowed to operate heavy machinery. He helped her up to her apartment and left about ten minutes later when he needed to help close up shop.
In the heat of all of this, Ruby never had the chance to call Weiss. Jaune was too concerned over Ruby's health to even think about it, and Sun was probably busy back at the shop. Ruby could only feel the disappointment burning a hole in her heart.
"See you in a couple of days, Ruby. Hope you get better soon," were the last words Jaune spoke before he left her alone in the apartment.
Of course she had Zwei, but he didn't provide too much help when it came down to comforting. It was odd, really. Zwei has always managed to help, but right now, Ruby didn't want to be helped. She still felt angry. Her teeth grit every time she thought about what happened today, her anger rising when she remembered what Cardin had called Weiss.
Currently, Ruby was sat down in front of her couch, her knees held tightly to her chest while Zwei sat quietly on the couch. The TV was off, no music was blaring through her surround sound system, and only sounds of quiet breaths filled the silence. She sat there, sulking until it was evening and the sound of keys unlocking the door suddenly startled her.
"Ruby, I brought dinner!" Her voice was what she needed to hear, but Ruby did not make a move to stand and greet Weiss.
Zwei left his spot on the couch and greeted the white-haired woman, Weiss making her usual baby noises for him. After her moment of fun with Zwei, Weiss started to wonder why Ruby was still sitting alone by the couch. "Ruby? Are you alright?"
Weiss removed her bag and coat, placing them on the counter of the kitchenette, noticing the informational packet straight away. She thought to ask Ruby, but realized that if Ruby didn't greet her right away, then something went wrong in her day. She would ask Ruby about the packet later. For now, she decided she would get to the root of Ruby's mood.
The CEO quietly made her way towards Ruby, sitting beside the younger woman in a similar fashion to her. "How was the game?"
"I didn't go."
"How come?" Alarms were now going off in Weiss's mind, her thoughts on something being wrong with Ruby now confirmed.
Ruby refused to look Weiss in the eye, turning her head away from the businesswoman who so desperately wanted to help her girlfriend. "Something happened at work today."
Taking one of Ruby's hands in her own, Weiss scooted closer and started rubbing small circles on the back of the paintballer with her other hand. "I'm listening."
"Cardin Winchester, the king of all assholes and the worst bully since sophomore year, came in today." Ruby sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose with her free hand. Weiss could tell that Ruby was exhausted and bitter. "He came in and accused me of cheating. Then he accused me of using paintball support tech and said I got them from you. Then he...he called you a dyke."
Weiss did not speak, not knowing what to say after something like that. She could tell that Ruby was pained to say it, but nonetheless, she forged on.
"It—it really made me angry, and I spoke to him outside the store. Then he punched me and called me a dyke. And that's how I got all of these," Ruby lifted up her arms to reveal all the bruises and bandage wraps and finally turned her face to show Weiss even more of the damage done. "I'm not happy with him, and I'm even more so upset with myself."
"But you shouldn't be!" Weiss was quick to wrap her arms gently around the girl beside her. "If he did all of those things, then do not be upset for defending yourself."
"He called you a dyke! It just hurt me so much, and I'm so sorry I couldn't bring him to justice. I wanted to defend you, but he ended up running, a-and..." Ruby's resolve was visibly breaking, and Weiss placed a kiss on her girlfriend's head.
"Shhh, don't speak." Holding the girl tighter, Weiss allowed the young woman to bury her head into the nook of her neck. "Defending me alone is already the greatest thing anyone has ever done for me. You're my hero, Ruby."
"I'm not though. I didn't save anyone, I didn't gain any reward or promote justice, and I most definitely don't deserve to be called a hero. I just ended up hurting myself." Ruby sighed and shook her head into Weiss's body. "I always end up hurting someone."
"Don't say that, I know it isn't true—"
"But it is, Weiss. I ended up fighting him and dragging my coworkers into the situation. Even my boss. Now I have a concussion, and you're the only one close enough to take care of me. I'm a burden, Weiss."
"You have a concussion? I suppose that would explain the packet on the counter..." Weiss lifted Ruby's chin so that icy blue eyes could meet silver. "But regardless, Ruby, you are the only burden I would be willing to carry. I can drop work for as long as you need me to until you recover. Coco knows what to do, and as of right now, you are my top priority."
Gently, Weiss kissed her partner and laced her fingers with Ruby's, being careful not to hurt the girl in any way. She wanted to show Ruby that she was no burden, and if anything, she was a blessing from above. The world didn't deserve anyone like Ruby, but here she was, being the kindest she could be without even realizing it. This girl was willing to sacrifice herself for anything she cared so strongly about, and Weiss wanted to put her at ease and show that she could do just the same.
The older woman pulled away and pressed her forehead onto Ruby's own, brushing away any stray locks of hair that hindered her vision of Ruby's beautiful, mercury eyes. "I don't believe that you realize just how noble and kind you are by putting your life on the line for someone like me. I'm honestly at a lost of words just by hearing you speak about the events that took place in a single afternoon, and I just want you to know that you don't have to feel awful about any of this." Weiss brought both of her hands to Ruby's face to feel each wound, gently and carefully. "If what you say is true about him, then he deserved it. He seems like a douche."
Ruby tittered. "You said douche."
"There's the Ruby Rose I know." The businesswoman pecked Ruby's nose and smiled thoughtfully. "Don't let it bring you down anymore, okay? My mother always told me that you must keep moving forward. The body is weak and breakable, but the spirit is indomitable. I know you can be strong, right? Can you do that for me?"
With a quiet sigh, Ruby smiled back and nodded. "I'll try my best."
"That's my dolt," Weiss replied, rustling Ruby's hair. "Now get the table ready while dinner's still hot. I'll go over the packet quickly before we eat."
For the remainder of the evening, the two spent their time eating Weiss's takeout, cuddling afterwards on the couch, and finally resting in bed.
As Weiss slipped under the covers to spoon with Ruby, she felt an odd and rather displeasing sensation from down below. Quickly, she went straight for the bathroom with a change of underwear.
"Are you alright, Weiss?" Ruby called from the bed.
"Yes, I'm fine, I'll be there in a moment! Just go to sleep now! You need your rest for a swift recovery!" Weiss ordered as she struggled on the toilet. She sighed as she grumbled to herself, "I want chocolate now."
It's been a little while, huh? I've been a little busy with work lately, and school's starting up again, so that stinks. Updates will probably take longer than I want them to, but I'll try to get them out for you guys!
also thanks to those who pointed out my mistake, apparently i uploaded the wrong chapter for chapter 5 lol that's what happens when you work till like 11:30pm
But there's chapter five for ya! Hope you enjoyed reading! Thoughts are always appreciated!