Weiss knew the moment that she went along with Ruby's plan that she was agreeing to a great responsibility. It was one she was used to of course, as Sun and Octavia had left the boy with them for overnight missions in the past. Even so, those times were few and far between, and normally it was only for one night. An entire week was asking a bit much, but here they were, spending the evening in the company of a very small child who was happily hogging the middle of the bed.
"That is completely unsanitary…" Weiss frowned as Zhu stuck his foot into his mouth.
"Better than his tail." Blake shrugged, laying across the bed in a nightgown that showed off just a little too much skin for her mate's sanity. Still, she agreed that it probably shouldn't be in his mouth and gently removed it, giving him something of a look.
Weiss saw the boy glance back at Blake. An entire unspoken conversation passing between the two Faunus. Eventually, Zhu seemed to come to some form of conclusion on his own about the matter puckering is lips and making a small hooting noise at Blake. Blake smiled at in, fluffing the messy and unkempt hair that stuck wildly in all directions as he nuzzled into the contact.
Weiss wasn't sure what was transpiring between the two Faunus, and she suspected she never would. Instead, she focused on the one thing that she could be sure of. That Ruby, ever the procrastinator, had somehow found a way to be late with her reports once again. She sent another text, and then began to let her worries trail off again. The time on the clock ticking by as Blake went back to her book, and Zhu to playing with his toes, although this time he wasn't trying to suck on them.
Finally, Weiss could take no more. "I told Ruby to inform me of her status every three hours." Weiss said, pointing at her scroll. "Where is she?"
"If Ruby needed help, she would have told us." Blake, largely unconcerned about Ruby's welfare. "This isn't an SDC mission, this is Sun we're talking about. You can stand to be a little lax on timing."
"I mandated these check-ins to be sure that Ruby hasn't bitten off more than she can chew. She shouldn't be on her own dealing with Sun in the first place." Weiss retorted hotly, though her voice remained even. "I wanted Neptune to stay with them both, but he refused to do that."
"Somebody needs to bring in some money. Besides, that's Neptune's home too, you know."
"I would have paid the bills for as long as they needed!"
A long, slow, slightly annoyed sigh drifted from Blake as she looked over at her mate. Weiss did enjoy throwing her money around, and there was no question that she felt that doing so would always be a help, not a hindrance. Her heart, and her wallet were both in the right place, but her good sense had left her the moment that Ruby involved herself so heatedly in this whole debacle.
"Weiss, sweetheart, Neptune and Sun don't think the way you do. You paid off thousands in debt, and while that might be a drop in the bucket for you, for them..." Blake trailed off. "Anyway, Neptune probably needs some time away too. This probably isn't any easier on him. At least if he's working, he can feel useful."
"If I were Yang, I'd be over there in an instant." Weiss muttered. "I'm not Yang, and I should be over there in an instant."
"You're staying right here, where you belong." Blake replied back. "Yang was over there in an instant. Ruby told her that if she wanted to help then she would be more useful keeping an eye on Zhu." Blake returned to her reading, turning the page. "Have a little faith, don't worry so much."
"Someone has to worry."
"It doesn't have to be you, though."
Weiss wanted to argue the point, but found herself transfixed on the sight in front of her. Little hands clung to the fabric of Blake's nightgown, holding tightly as Zhu grunted, trying to climb onto her back with little success. The silk was slippery, and his feet just couldn't get it right. He fussed a bit before Blake helped him, using the palm of her hand to give a gentle nudge to his diaper clad behind. The white haired woman shook her head at the entire scene. Zhu had always liked Blake and took to her almost as easily as he took to his own parents.
"No matter how many times I see that, it never ceases to amaze me." She meant it, too. She didn't quite understand the bond they seemed to share. It was largely unspoken, Blake's actions speaking to the child in ways words never could. Adorable though the sight was, she was mystified by the minor details.
"Weiss, stop trying to solve the problems of the world and come to bed." Blake chastised with a roll of her eyes. "We're all tired, and you're the only one who can't see in the dark."
The doorbell rang, and Ruby became intimately aware of the duffle bag smashing her in her face only a moment later.
"Yang…really?" Ruby wheezed, knowing that her sister was the only one who could pummel her with a piece of luggage in quite that fashion.
"A week of clothes, your vitamins, aura enhancers, not to mention your sleeping bag." Yang said ticking the list off on her fingers. "Toothbrush, toothpaste, womanly crap - you're on in three days by the way, check your scroll – box of condoms, and whatever else I just sort of shoved in there. Next time you're staying in some dude's house, pact a damn overnight bag. You didn't think to actually bringing anything."
"I've been a little busy." Ruby said tiredly.
"I've noticed that, scatterbrain." Yang said, her voice full of concern. "Speaking of, Ruby, why are you all wet?"
"Sun was covered in puke. I had to give him a shower."
"Give him a…" Yang smacked her own forehead. "You're kidding."
"No, I'm not. I put a kitchen chair in the shower, sat him down, and gave him one. He was stumbling around too much not to." Pushing her still wet hair out of her eyes, she gave Yang her most defeated look. It was honest, open, and entirely lost. "I just got done with him, but now he's just crying his eyes out. Honestly, I don't know what to do. I don't remember dad ever being like this."
"He was, though." Yang said, pushing away the bad memories that came to her.. "You were probably too little to remember the worst of it, Ruby, but dad was that bad. Some ways, he was probably worse." Yang shoved passed Ruby and into the house. "how about this, you get your own shower, dry off, and get dressed. I'll deal with Sun for a little bit so he's not on his own to get into trouble."
Ruby didn't have the heart to argue about it. Instead she nodded slowly, bag in hand as she went off towards the bathroom.
Rampant alcoholism was something Ruby knew like the back of her hand. Not from firsthand experience, but from observation. When she was small, 'drunk' was a frequent word used to describe both her father, and her uncle. The two people in her life that were her protectors, guardians, and role models seemed to be defined by the term.
It was so common, she didn't even think anything of it. Murmurs from people around them happened all the time, but she never felt inclined to ask why.
As she got older, she learned to know better. Eventually, she understood that being drunk wasn't exactly a positive thing. She could remember the slow dawning of realization, plain as day. A handful of memories painted the picture perfectly. There were plenty of times her family made a mess of themselves.
Her earliest memory happened when she was three. Her uncle fell face first into a punch bowl. She had giggled at the time. Uncle Qrow, trying to make her laugh on her birthday. Another happened when Yang won her first match at Signal. Qrow leaned too far over the railing, dragging Taiyang and himself down into the arena. Thankfully, they landed on the soft sand. She had hidden under her cloak at the display.
There he was again, Qrow, making a spectacle of himself, Taiyang no better in retrospect.
Everything came to a cynical reality when Ruby got into Beacon and witnessed Qrow's continual antics on the campus. He was almost always drunk. Almost always causing disorderly conduct. Almost always destroying property, fighting, and getting kicked out of reputable places. She merely smirked and accepted it back then, egging him on a little, resigning herself to the truth of the matter.
Qrow had a terrible drinking problem, plain and simple.
Her father was no saint either, and grappled with the substance like a starving lion craving a piece meat. With keen fixation, and ravenous intent. Not a single thought given to anyone who might accidentally by harmed by his actions. In fact, it was rumored that Taiyang was almost more reckless than Qrow. Those rumors Yang refused to ever speak of, at least, not to Ruby.
Ruby didn't remember it directly, she was too young, but she had heard the whispers. Taiyang had nearly killed himself once by drinking too much. It was up in the air if that amount of drinking had been accidental, or on purpose. All in all, it was in the past, and it didn't matter. What did matter was that Ruby was sure of one thing.
Loss could break a man. It could destroy him beyond reason, and leave him haunted. It could make him stubborn, angry, and blinded to everything else around him. Lastly, most importantly, it could push him to give up, give in, forsaking everything else good inside himself, and in the world around him.
Ruby knew this demon known as alcoholism well, but Sun was one person who wouldn't get dragged down into its clutches. Not if she had anything to say about it.