Chapter Thirty-eight: Just Another Lullaby Part III

When Ruby first tuned into the possibilities of being in a relationship, she expected more arguing, cheating, and hardships until the grand reunion after a time skip. Morbid, right? Well, movies and books conditioned her to think these things were normal and her friends certainly didn't help change her mind.

Back in middle school, Ruby found herself acquainted with a rather popular girl. She was the pretty sort like Yang, only she tried to apply herself in school. She was also funny as hell. Ruby remembered laughing at almost everything she said, but her best feature was the fact that she was friendly to everyone regardless of their social standing. She didn't care if you wore tattered old clothes or smelled like a conversation centre, she'd greet you in the hall just like she'd greet her closest friends. All the boys fawned over her and tripped themselves trying to get her attention, but she never chose the nice guys—the genuinely nice guys, not the ones that pretended to be nice just to get a girl. She'd fall for one overconfident jock with the chiselled jaw and six-packs abs, have her heartbroken, then move onto the next douche canoe within a week. The cycle continued until she dated all the notable names in the yearbook and a few others just to add to the long list. Ruby thought of her sometimes and wondered what she was up to. Was she still chasing after all the wrong people, or maybe she found someone perfect for her like Ruby did and settled down? Either way, Ruby supposed she should thank this girl whose name she'd long forgotten for teaching her what not to look for in a relationship.

Domesticity was bliss, truly.

Ruby didn't need the excitement of a stranger's fleeting touch or the rush people get when they sneak around. All she needed was Weiss and the rock-solid stability she brought—like right now. They were relaxing in the tub together after making love for the past two hours. Ruby's muscles were sore for all the right reasons and soaking in some warm water with the girl of her dreams was the reward she got for a job well done. And never in her days did she think that having someone wash her hair would feel so much more intimate than being tangled in the sheets with, but it was.

It started as a one-off thing shortly after they'd first been intimate. Ruby was still extremely shy about being fully naked in front of Weiss with the lights on, but after a hellish gym session with Yang following another argument with Blake about Winter, Ruby desperately needed a good soak. She came home to Weiss and asked to borrow her bathtub. Weiss' motherly instinct kicked in and she did more than just help Ruby get to the tub. She helped her undress and massaged her from shoulders to the soles of her feet. Weiss kept her gaze focused and respectful the whole time. And somewhere along the line, Ruby fell asleep and woke up a few hours later, just in time for dinner, and found herself tucked snuggly in Weiss' bed with some water and painkillers waiting for her on the nightstand. Weiss wasn't the most verbally affectionate in the world, even now after they'd confirmed their feelings, Weiss still preferred to speak through her actions. But, at that time, Ruby didn't fully realize this was just how things were. She was so full of self-doubt that the little things kept slipping past her. She wasn't anywhere close to giving up, but this act of selflessness gave Ruby hope, and it kept her strong until she weathered through all the hardships and found herself on the other side with Weiss in hand. There had been plenty of opportunities to return the favour since then, but Ruby always found herself in the tub with Weiss—and always the little spoon at that.

"Your hair's getting so long," Weiss pointed out as she massaged Ruby's scalp. The scrubbing noise was rhythmic, as was a lot of the things Weiss did. It was a little strange when Ruby first noticed it, but now she loved secretly counting along. One, two, three, four. One, two, three, four. "Any plans to have it cut soon?"

Ruby glanced over her shoulder and smiled at the focused look on Weiss' face. "A trim would be kind of nice," she said, idly slapping the surface of the water in time with Weiss. "I've been meaning to ask Neptune for one, but he's been so busy lately."

"Sorry, it's been all-hands-on-deck since the merger was finalized," Weiss said. "We've been working close to eighty hours a week, and we'll probably continue to do so for the next little while."

"What?!" Ruby whipped her head around and gapped at Weiss. "That's insane!"

"It is, but we have to if we want to save as many jobs as we can," Weiss said, kissing the tip of Ruby's nose. "It's slowed down a little since we've started discussing whether we should add to our current build or buy a new one entirely. My new senior VP—Cin—is pushing for the new location while everyone else is fighting to stay where we are now."

"Oh…" Ruby murmured, her brows furrowed together. She sunk back into the water to let Weiss continue using her head like a giant stress ball.

"I'm leaning towards the new building since its cost falls within our range. I'd also like to give everyone a bit more room to work."

Ruby raised an eyebrow. "Where's the 'but'?"

"Buuut," Weiss chuckled before her face turned grim, "the new build is about… oh… thirty stories taller than the one we have now. Yay."

"How big is that?" Ruby asked.

Weiss pursed her lips then scrunched them to the side, a sign Ruby learned meant she was about to drop one hell of an adult word—and she was right!

"It's really fucking tall, and my office is going to be at the top."

"You're a little freaked out, huh?" Ruby laugh as she poked the crinkle between Weiss' brows. "Haha, crinkle."

"You have no idea," Weiss sighed, swatting Ruby's hand away to rest her forehead on Ruby's shoulder. "I miss being a receptionist. I never had to leave the ground floor unless Maman asked for me to come up personally."

"You can just put the blinds up like you do now," Ruby suggested, patting Weiss' thigh to comfort her.

"I know, but the elevator ride—I can see the numbers rising, Ruby!"

"Can't you negotiate an office on the lower floors?"

"I've tried!" Weiss whined. "But no one's on my side except Cin and she's only agreeing because she wants the top floor for herself—greedy little cunt, I swear she wants my job. But she's so good at hers I can't get rid of her."

"Just let her have it then?" Ruby said, patting Weiss' head next. "Why fight for something you don't want? Sounds like a recipe for disaster if you ask me."

"I would if I could, but everyone else is arguing about 'hierarchy' like it fucking matters where my office is," Weiss said as she gently doused Ruby with some water. She helped her rinse the rest of the shampoo off and laughed when Ruby submerged herself entirely. "Who am I trying to kid? We'll probably buy the new building," Weiss said with a heavy sigh after Ruby resurfaced. "It's a necessary upgrade, but I'm sad all the work I put into the one we have now is going to go to waste."

"Will you guys be moving immediately?" Ruby asked, wiping the water off her face.

"No, there's still some construction left to do on the new skyscraper, not to mention my personal changes like the daycare and cafeteria, so the estimated move should be in a year or two at most. Until then, a lot will either have to work from home, relocate to a different branch, or stay in the old building until it sells." Weiss stretched her arms out on the tub's side and slid down to sit more comfortably. She pulled a folded washcloth out from under the water and wrung it out before laying it over her eyes and sighing. "Either way, it's going to be a big change for everyone."

"Fancy," Ruby whistled. "You've been one busy future CEO, Mrs. Adel."

"Please don't remind me," Weiss whimpered, pulling Ruby back so they could lie together. "Anyway, what were you up to while I was asleep?"

"Nothing much," Ruby said with a weak smile. "I watched you sleep for a bit and read Coco's journal."

"Anything spicy?"

"Not really…" Ruby said, thinking about her next words carefully. "I read a letter she wrote for Chrys. I'm sorry."

"Huh?"

"She wrote one for you too—but I didn't read that one," Ruby said. "My curiosity just got a bit ahead of me, and I'll admit… I got a little jealous."

"Of what?"

"Of you and Coco… there were pictures too."

"Please tell me we had clothes on," Weiss groaned.

"What?" Ruby glanced back at Weiss and blinked, her mouth slightly agape.

"Don't think you're original with wanting those nudes, you little perv," Weiss said with a knowing smirk.

"N-No, you guys did—have clothes on I mean—and you both looked happy," Ruby blushed, whipping her head around to pout out of Weiss' view, not that she could see from under the washcloth.

"Wow, a picture of me happy?" Weiss snorted. "Now that's rare."

"What are you talking about? I have tons of pictures of you happy," Ruby said, drumming her fingers on Weiss' knee. "And don't say it's because I make you happy—that's an excuse and you know it!"

Weiss lifted a corner of the washcloth and glowered at Ruby.

"I was going to say it's because you don't shove the camera in my face without asking first, but okay, we'll go with what you said," she said with some bite in her tone. "What did Nicole write exactly?"

"Well, the first real entry I read was about her bringing a hooker home—"

"Ilia," Weiss corrected, dropping the cloth back over her eye.

"You know the story I'm talking about?"

"Mm, Nic was an asshole that day," Weiss hissed. "She completely missed dinner and Chrys' bedtime even though she promised she'd be home early. But I couldn't stay mad after she explained herself."

"And the girl—Ilia?"

"I took her under my wing since Nicole was so worried about her. And after I got to know her a bit better, I gave her a job managing my charity and keeping me notified about any shifts in the Faunus community."

"Coco also mentioned she lost her parents in an SDC mine. Is everything okay?"

Weiss nodded her head. "It came as a bit of a shock to her that a Schnee was the one helping her, but Nicole was adamant she try and look past it. It wasn't easy working with her at the start though, but Nicole eventually got her way and Ilia's essentially family now. I haven't seen her in a while, but I know she's somewhere in Menagerie spending my money."

"Helping people hopefully?"

"Definitely." Weiss smiled. "She started a new charity over there that's helping low-income families by providing essential goods, education, and food. Aside from my substantial support, people are allowed to sponsor a child or a whole family. Chrys is actually sponsoring two and we've gone to visit them once."

"That's incredible," Ruby said.

"I suppose," Weiss hummed. "All this goodwill created just because I took a chance on a girl that said she'd sleep with my wife for food. Haha, the world is weird, mon amour. Real weird."

"Coco was… something else," Ruby murmured, sinking down into the water. "If it was me, I would've kept driving."

"So would I," Weiss said, dunking the cloth back into the hot water. "But that's okay. I learned early on that we can't help everyone even if we want to. I'm in a position where I can do a lot for those less fortunate, but giving things away for free is pointless if the person receiving it can't make something of it."

Ruby nodded her head and blew some more bubbles to pass the time. She wanted to bring up the entry that caused her the most turmoil but didn't know how to properly broach the subject.

"You're brooding again," Weiss said as she idly ran a hand over Ruby's tattoo.

"Sorry."

"What is it this time?"

"I don't know if I can ask you this without making you upset," Ruby replied with a shiver.

"Try me."

Ruby let out a rueful chuckle and said, "Y'know, one of these days, I'm going to end up crossing a line with my questions."

"I highly doubt that," Weiss countered. "You already know my hard no's. No cheating, no threesomes, and if you're going to break up with me, I'd rather you do it face to face instead of over text. I also won't allow an open relationship or be pressured into certain sexual acts—"

"Nope! Nope! Nope! " Ruby yelped. "I am not brooding about any of those! Seriously, why are those your only hard no's?"

"Because I trust you not to hurt me," Weiss said in all seriousness. "You've never pushed me to open up before I was ready, so I'm giving you the same trust back. Whether your questions upset me or not, I know you won't ever push the boundaries."

"Weiss, I…" Ruby swallowed the lump in her throat.

"Ugh, spit it out already, Ruby! Whatever it is you want to ask me, just do it—and don't apologize, I'm not angry."

Ruby opened her mouth to retort, but nothing came out.

"Well?" Weiss took the cloth off.

"Okay," Ruby sighed. "Coco, she, uh, wrote some things that made me really upset."

"Understandable. She tended to push buttons whether she wanted to not," Weiss said, rubbing Ruby's back. "What did she write exactly?"

"She wrote about how she treated you back when you were pregnant with Chrys… things like how she kept her distance because she was scared to start a fight, not doing anything while you threw up, and really only doing the bare minimum for you." Ruby clenched her fists tight. "If it was me, I would've done everything in my power to make sure you were okay. I wouldn't have left you alone for a second."

"I see…" Weiss murmured in thought.

"She also wrote about how she tried to prank you with some other lady's perfume while you waited for her at home—ugh, just thinking about it is making me so angry!" Ruby yelled in frustration. "How could she do that to you!? Weiss, you deserved better than that jerk."

"Ruby, darling," Weiss said as she carefully took Ruby's tightly balled fists into her hands, "you don't have to get angry on my behalf. Nicole did all those things, yes, but she and I recall those events completely different."

"Huh?"

"My pride was all I had left back then and I assumed Nicole understood that, so her boorish behaviour never bothered me. I was fine with the distance between us, I preferred it to be honest," Weiss explained. "I didn't want her to see me as some weak little girl that needed saving. I had gotten myself into that situation and I was determined to see myself out of it. I also didn't care what she did with other women because we weren't together. I only shared her room with her because it was the only one I felt safe enough to sleep in."

Ruby blinked, fists loosening. "That…"

"Doesn't sound like what she wrote at all, right?" Weiss smiled. "We talked about it all one night after Chrys went to bed. Nicole had been carrying that weight on her shoulders for so long it was shocking to have it all laid out in front of us. We were both so terrible at communication. If we had just worked up the courage to talk, we could've figured something out sooner."

"She did say she wanted things to be different if you got pregnant again," Ruby murmured, hiding the hurt in her voice. "She also mentioned not feeling any connection to the pregnancy until Chrys was born. I-if things work out for us, do you think...?"

"What Nicole went through won't happen to you, Ruby, I promise," Weiss said, putting an immediate stop to Ruby's question. "If I had known she was feeling left out, I would've allowed her to help more. But I didn't want her touching me while she was in a relationship with another woman."

"She said she never got to feel Chrys kick."

"Mm, that is regrettable, but only because Chrys didn't kick much when Nicole was nearby," Weiss said. "She had this way of settling her just by being around. It was almost like magic."

"Did you ever tell her that?"

"Of course, but Nicole had one concussion too many after she joined the force and it kept slipping her mind. We had this conversation so many times, but she was so focused on her negative feelings that she forgot all the good things she did," Weiss said with a sad smile. "I never once felt like I was alone when I was with her. If she hadn't been so supportive, I doubt I would've made it as far in life as I did."

"Maybe it wasn't magic," Ruby said. "Maybe Chrys could feel your anxiousness, and since you only felt safe around Coco? Ah… I don't know, ignore me."

"No, I don't think I will because you're right," Weiss said, nuzzling Ruby's temple as she wrapped her arms around Ruby's shoulders.

"Really?"

"Mhm, but I am sorry, Ruby," Weiss said. "Maybe in a couple of years we can try discussing it in earnest, but right now I'm just not ready."

"Don't worry, Weiss, I'm not rushing for that particular milestone," Ruby said with a lighthearted chuckle to settle Weiss' nerves. "I want to enjoy my time with you and Chrys for as long as possible. I just sort of assumed it was completely off the table for us, so if anyone should be sorry, it's me. I didn't mean to sound like I wanted one right away."

"Oh, okay." After a moment of silence, Weiss smiled and poked Ruby's neck, tickling. "Say," she said with a chuckle, "before we met, how many children did you picture yourself having?"

"I don't know, but I've always wanted a big family," Ruby answered, shrinking away from the offending finger. "Maybe two or three kids at most with a loving partner. We'd have a nice house in the suburbs with a pool and a treehouse—nothing to the size you and Coco probably had, but big enough, y'know?" Ruby scratched the back of her neck, ears tinged red. "It's a silly dream though."

"Why would you say that?" Weiss asked, leaning over to look at Ruby's face. "I think it's a wonderful dream. All I dreamt of when I was younger was overthrowing Jacques and restoring the Schnee name to its former glory… but I kind of donked that up royally."

"Nah," Ruby snorted, "you're just forging your own destiny free from your family's shadow!"

"By becoming the heiress to the family I married into?"

"Oh."

"Mm, it's okay though, I'm happier than I've ever been. I miss Nicole more than words can describe, but I wouldn't trade you in for anything," Weiss said as she kissed Ruby' cheek. "So keep dreaming those big, beautiful dreams of yours, Ruby, because as long as you keep loving me the way you do, nothing will stop me from granting you your every wish."

"Like a genie?" Ruby asked, melting into Weiss' embrace.

"Sure," Weiss snorted. "But depending on who you speak to, you might as well be making a deal with the devil instead."

Ruby hummed in thought. "Depending on the religion, some demons are actually benevolent gods, and I just so happen to be part of a religion that worships a goddess in human form with white hair and blue eyes."

"Ew, when did Winter start a cult?" Weiss snapped back with a look of disgust.

"Wha—oh no, ew!" Ruby gagged. "I was talking about you!"

"Aw, that's sweet in a… creepy way," Weiss said.

"I was trying to be romantic," Ruby pouted. Weiss feigned another smile and nodded along to humour her, but Ruby knew Weiss a little too well to leave it be. "You know you're pretty great, right?"

"Oh?"

"You deserve all the love and praise in the world," Ruby said, pulling herself away from Weiss to face her. "We glossed over a lot of our feelings today to rush to the reconciliation. I love you, Weiss. I love you and Chrys more than I thought I could love someone else. So when you told me to not worry about you two and to keep following my dreams, I couldn't help but think about my dreams of a family. I didn't have some blank face standing next to me while a stock picture kid ran around the lawn. I saw you and Chrys."

"My daughter is hardly the type to run around on a lawn," Weiss said with a look of concern.

"Coco's journal says otherwise!" Ruby laughed, resting her forehead against Weiss'. "Look, all I'm trying to say is that I'm not going to change my mind about switching careers. Coco's journal only told me things I already knew. I wasn't going in thinking I'd change the world or be a hero like you, I'm not that naïve, but I also wasn't going in for the right reasons."

"Your uncle said you wanted to follow in his footsteps," Weiss said after she cupped Ruby's neck with both hands.

"I did, but I wanna do my own thing now," Ruby said with a happy sigh.

"Any idea what that might be?"

"Who knows, but I'm heading in the right direction."

"You're not scared?" Weiss asked.

"I'm terrified," Ruby answered bluntly. "I wanted to be just like Uncle Qrow for so long that I never really gave myself time to figure out who I was. I've got hobbies and things I'm good at—"

"Show choir?"

"Mm, thanks again for that massive donation, by the way," Ruby said, flipping herself around to use Weiss as a pillow again. She stretched her arms out and sank into the water, sighing in content. "My kids are so excited they finally get to compete."

"It's no problem," Weiss replied, resting her arms over the edge of the tub. "But the school really should have a budget for these things. Relying on donors and bakesales is an unsustainable practice."

"They do, but the sports teams get it all. It's bullshit, Weiss—the arts are just as important!" Ruby roared, throwing an angry fist up in protest.

"They are," Weiss agreed, "so I really hope all of that money went directly to your club because if it didn't… it'd be a breach of contract and I'll have to sue a high school, and I really don't want to do that."

"We got it all, don't worry," Ruby said with a nonchalant laugh. "Mr. Clay fought tooth and nail to make sure the principal didn't get his grubby mitts on the cheque."

"Clay's a good man," Weiss nodded. "I'm happy you reached out to me, I know it must've been hard to ask for something like this."

"You're right, it wasn't easy," Ruby said with a blush. "But at that time all I could think about was the look on everyone's faces when Mr. Clay said we couldn't compete again this year."

"I hope I can see at least one performance in person," Weiss said.

"I'll make sure to get a recording if you can't," Ruby said, patting Weiss' thigh.

"Hey, speaking of kids, Chrys has something she wants to give you," Weiss said.

"Oh, what is it?" Ruby asked.

"I'll tell you, but you have to promise to act surprised when she gives it to you, okay?"

Ruby held her pinky up and waved it around. "I promise, now tell meeee!"

"I'll take your word for it," Weiss said, hooking her pinky around Ruby's before claiming her whole hand. "It's a key to the apartment."

"Wha?" Ruby's face lost its excitement. "N-No way."

"Yes, way. Chrys was worried the reason why you weren't coming home was because you didn't have a key," Weiss explained, kissing the pads of Ruby's fingers one by one. "She bought one for you with her own money. I will warn you though, it's one of those silly My Little Budgie novelty keys you can get at a kiosk; she got you Spectrum Bolt at least."

"Chrys…" Ruby furrowed her brows together, apprehension clear on her face. "Is it really okay though? Giving me a key is a crazy big step."

"I thought so too," Weiss said. "I wanted to wait a bit longer and have Chrys adjust to our new dynamic, but I guess she made the decision for us."

"I'll gladly accept the key, but only if you're okay with it."

"I'm okay with it," Weiss said. "The apartment feels empty without you around. It was too quiet."

"So I can come home today?"

"Yes, Ruby," Weiss said, pulling her in for a kiss, "you can come home."