Chapter written by Sev

Warning: Mentions of implied child abuse

Weiss giggled as she sat at the dinner table. Today was the perfect birthday so far! Most of the day she spent it with her family, except her father. Of course he was busy but Winter convinced her that it was alright and that his job was a very busy one.

The young ten-year-old wished that her family could spend more time together, but as long as she had Ruby, she could stand being away from her family for a little while.

Speaking of the red angel… Weiss glanced around. She hasn't been able to see Ruby as of late. Maybe she should start calling Ruby a cat or something similar since she comes and goes as she pleases. Ruby told her once before that she was her 'Guardian Angel' and that she would protect her from harm.

Today… Weiss had an uneasy feeling.

That feeling grew worse once her mother called for her father and he came in yelling. Then the yelling escalated into pain…

Weiss sniffed as she ran into her room, locking the door shut. She cried as she pushed away from the door and stumbled towards the corner of her room.

This had to be the worst birthday of her life.

"Weiss! Weiss, come on out!" Winter called from the door.

Weiss didn't say anything and curled into a tight ball, crying to herself while cradling her left arm. She took a hit from her father and from a bottle her mother threw at her and Whitley.

"Weiss! Please! Let me in!" Winter tried to open the door, but sighed when it was locked. "Weiss… I still love you."

The ten-year-old child covered her ears as she closed her eyes. She didn't want to hear any lies from her family.

Winter sighed and left the door. "I...I'll be back soon." Maybe if she gave Weiss some time alone, she'd let her in. If not, then she'd have to ask Klein to open the door for her later.

Once Weiss was sure that Winter was gone, she called out to her guardian angel. "R-Ruby… a-are you here…?" She whimpered as she held onto herself tightly to stop the pain in her chest.

A few seconds passed and there was no sign of the red angel, who usually appeared just before Weiss finished calling her name.

"R-Ruby…? P-Please ..." Weiss tried again. "Please… help…" She really needed her angel to be by her side.

Five minutes passed and Ruby appeared in front of Weiss. "Weiss! I'm here, what's wrong?" Ruby frowned as she kneeled down in front of the ten-year-old. The red angel didn't like seeing how upset the Weiss looked was and pulled her into her arms carefully.

"I-I just really needed a hug…" Weiss whimpered as she nuzzled into Ruby's arms.

Ruby scowled, knowing that something was off. Weiss could've easily went to Winter or her mother. Were they busy? She quickly glanced at Weiss and noticed a few dark spots and a few cuts that wasn't there the last time she visited.

"Weiss… sweetie…" Ruby started carefully. "Where did you get these wounds?"

Weiss flinched at the question and shook within Ruby's arms. "I-I got them… during fencing practice."

Ruby frowned at the answer. Weiss would have cleaned the cuts at least and bandaged them up but she trusted the child to tell her the truth.

The angel didn't want to assume that Jacques did something to Weiss, even though she knows that most of her bruises came from him. The last time Ruby did anything to Jacques, it only resulted in him causing Weiss more pain, and that was the last thing that she wanted.

Sighing, Ruby rubbed Weiss' back and kissed her forehead. Weiss didn't seem like she wanted to talk, but she couldn't force her to talk either.

"Weiss… you can always talk to me about anything you know…" The red angel rubbed Weiss' back in slow circles. Wasn't there anything that she can do to help her anymore? She knew how to ease her Weiss' pain and make her laugh. But this Weiss? She was at a loss.

Weiss just sniffed as she held onto Ruby, nuzzling against her shoulder.

"Weiss?" Ruby blinked, looking down at the child. Was she ready now?

"...It's my birthday…" Weiss whispered.

Ruby's eyes widened. How could she forget Weiss' birthday? Why was she crying on her birthday? What did Jacques do this time to cause her former beloved so much pain?

"F-Father… he…" Weiss shook. "He was late to dinner… Mother went to get him and they were both angry. I guess a trade went bad or something…" She wiped her tears away. "He told mother… told us that he never loved her… us." The child sniffed as Ruby held onto her closer. "He told mother that he only married her for the family name. That we were just tools for him to use." The young child forced a weak smile. "Mother said… that we shouldn't have been born."

"Weiss…" Ruby's heart broke seeing her former wife being born into this family. What did she ever do to deserve this? All of her hard work that she's done only to be repeated even worse here on Earth.

Weiss whimpered as she shifted in Ruby's embrace.

"Weiss." Ruby looked over Weiss carefully. "Did your father…" She couldn't even bring herself to ask such a horrid question to a child.

"He… hit me…" She admitted slowly. "Mother… threw bottles. They were in an argument…" Weiss cried as she wiped her tears. "I tried to protect Whitley. I-It hurt. I…" The child looked up at Ruby. "I-I was never wanted… you were the only one that wanted me…"

Ruby's heart broke when she heard Weiss say that and held her closely. "Don't say that! You're wanted! Not just by me. Winter wants you too! And you'll have friends that wants you as well!"

"Ruby…" Weiss sniffed as she held onto her guardian angel closely. "Father said so… He never wanted me. Mother said so too… a-and Whitley… W-Winter too…Th-They..." Tears fell from her eyes. "I-I don-"

"Weiss… trust me." The red angel interrupted quickly. "If I could be here for you at all times, I would." Ruby frowned as she wiped Weiss' tears away. "I'm sorry for leaving you alone… But believe me. You are wanted. In the future, someone will love you for who you are. They will make you feel complete ." She sighed, feeling a stinging pain in her heart as she told her this. "Life isn't fair… but that doesn't stop us from living life to the fullest."

Weiss sniffed and held onto Ruby. "C-Can't you stay the night…? I don't want father or anyone coming in…"

"I'll be here. I promise." Ruby kissed Weiss' head and held her close, knowing that she was breaking even more rules now. But she didn't care. If it was for Weiss, she'd fight the heavens. Just so that her beloved can live a happy and safe life.

"Thank you." Weiss smiled, feeling lightly better in Ruby's arms than she was earlier.

"Of course, Weiss. Anything for you. I'm your guardian angel after all." Ruby smiled and ran her fingers through her hair. "Want me to comb your hair? Maybe we can play with your dolls."

Weiss thought about it and just shook her head, closing her eyes as she nuzzled against Ruby within her arms. "Just hold me… I don't think mother is going to hold me anymore…"

"Want me to be your new mommy?" Ruby chuckled, rubbing Weiss' back.

"No. I don't want you to be my mommy." Weiss shook her head. She wiped the remnants of her tears away then looked up at Ruby. "I want you to be my BFF."

Ruby's heart soared when Weiss said that. It reminded her of the time the former Weiss finally admitted that she and Ruby were BFFs.

"Of course. I'll be anything you want me to be."

A/N: This is a small project that Dixie (Dreaming-Paradise) or DreamingParadise14 (on Ao3) and I are collabing together. I will state which chapters Dixie wrote and which I wrote (though if I forget, it's usually odd numbered chaps for me and even numbered chaps for Dixie). Updates will be on and off as we're working on our own fanfics, but hope that y'all enjoy!