The door clicked open quietly and he stepped back inside his house. He was thankful that the operation took only slightly longer than he had expected. It was supposed to be his week off after all, but unfortunately people didn't just stop hurting themselves because Beacon had Winter break. If anything, there were more injuries since the mishaps that were usually taken care of by the school were now thrust on the local hospitals.
Still, he had to be thankful that he worked in one of the less busy of those hospitals. He hung his jacket on the hook in the hall and was surprised to hear laughter coming from the kitchen along with the smell of food that had just finished cooking.
"Girls, I'm home!" He called out and the laughter stopped. A moment later, Ruby was turning the corner and running up to him to give him one of her signature hugs. "Hey Ruby, what's this all of a sudden?"
"Um… uh… nothing?" Ruby stuttered. She was nervous, but about what it wasn't clear.
"Hey, dad." Yang greeted as she leaned against the door frame to the dining room. "Dinner just finished, so clean up."
"Yes, mam!" He replied with a mock salute that earned him one of her mocking grins. Yang seemed calm, so that ruled out any bad news to do with her.
Ruby let go of her father and allowed him to pass to the washroom off the kitchen.
"You know, he's already suspicious of you." Yang stated to Ruby as she took the lead back to the table where the food sat ready to be eaten and Blake and Weiss were on the far end of the table, away from their father.
"I didn't mean to make him suspicious, it just happened." Ruby mumbled as she took her seat.
"Well, I wouldn't be much of a father if I didn't pick up on those little things, now would I?" her father responded as he entered the room. "Now, I've already met Blake, and this must be Weiss Schnee. I must apologize again for our earlier introduction, my name is Taiyang."
"Nice to meet you sir. And it's nothing to apologize for." Weiss responded, standing from her chair to shake his hand. She took careful notice that he only introduced himself with his first name.
"Likewise, but don't think you have to be so formal with me. You are Ruby's guest after all." He replied kindly, patting her on the shoulder as he made his way to the head of the table to sit. "Now, let's eat before everything cools off."
The four teammates remained still as they watched their father take a slice of bread and carefully tasted the soup while he braced himself. After the first taste, he relaxed and kept eating. The girls breathed silent sighs of relief as they helped themselves to the fresh bread and stew.
Once they'd finished, a longer ordeal for Taiyang and his eldest daughter than for the rest of the table, Blake volunteered to clear the dishes. Once she'd left, Ruby stood, drawing an interested gaze from her father.
"Um… dad?" She asked timidly, as if she was already having second thoughts about her plan.
"Yes, Ruby? How can I help you?" Her father answered in a mockingly timid voice that got a suppressed giggle out of Yang. Ruby looked deflated and her father wiped the grin off his face and replied normally. "Sorry, Ruby. I couldn't resist. What did you want to say?"
Ruby looked to Weiss who gave the barest of nods before she returned her gaze to the table. She looked over at Yang who smiled one of her big sister smiles that said nothing could go wrong. And as Blake resumed her seat, she offered a small grin as her support. Ruby inhaled deeply and looked back at her father.
"I just wanted to say that I love you and please-don't-hate-me!" Ruby hung her head as she took another deep breath but seemed unable to continue.
"Did you blow up beacon and send everyone injured in the blast to my hospital?" Taiyang asked, seemingly serious. Ruby shook her head as an answer and he continued. "Then there's nothing you've done, and besides that one thing there's nothing you could ever do to make me hate you. And even then I'd get over it after an hour or two in surgery."
"Are you sure?" Ruby asked cautiously as if afraid he was luring her into a trap.
"I'm sure. How many times has your sister done things that left me to bail her out. Literally, in one case." He laughed as his blond daughter shook her head in defeat.
"Okay…" Ruby took a deep breath and let it out before she started. "I know it's only been four months since I entered Beacon, but I've made a lot of friends and had plenty of new experiences. One of those was falling in love with my best friend."
"Oh, so that's what this is about!" Taiyang sighed as he leaned farther back into his chair. "I'm happy that you told me, Ruby. But I'm sure you understand that until I meet him, I can't give you my opinion which is what I'm guessing you're after. Not that it matters one way or another, you've always been as wayward as your mother. Thankfully you inherited your common sense from me so I'm almost sure you've picked a good one."
The atmosphere changed at the mention of Ruby's mother. Weiss watched Yang look from her father to Ruby with a hint of concern, but it seemed Ruby was okay with it. And she simply nodded.
"Okay then, on to the details." Taiyang said, reaching out and taking his daughter's hand that was fumbling with the edge of her skirt. "Start simple, what's his name?"
"Actually… about that…" Ruby laughed nervously as she took her hand back from him and clasped her hands behind her back.
"No… don't tell me…" Taiyang mocked shock as he put a hand to his head. "Due to some incompetent doctor, he was born and his birth certificate was left blank, so he has no name!"
His badly timed joke made everyone around the table start to laugh before the atmosphere returned and everyone fell silent once again.
"No… it's actually a she." Ruby corrected finally looking up at her father for his reaction.
What she didn't expect was the calm smile that remained frozen on his face. His reaction to her coming out of the closet was absolutely nothing. He simply nodded and continued to smile up at her.
"So… what's her name, then?" He asked when it became apparent Ruby'd forgotten his question.
"Wait, so you mean you're okay with that?" Ruby asked in disbelief.
"What? Shouldn't I be? Or did you want me to go on some outrageous, semi-religious rant like on TV? I could probably remember most of the one from that black and white film we watched in the summer if you wanted…" He responded with his own offer.
"No, but… shouldn't you be more surprised?" Ruby asked again in confusion now more than disbelief.
"Trust me, I am surprised, but apparently not as much as you thought I'd be." He replied, his smile just growing slightly. "I guess you could say I'm less surprised than thankful."
"What? Why?" Ruby asked, her confusion only growing from his answer.
"Well, you are two years younger than the other students at your school." Taiyang started, waving for Ruby to sit back in her chair while they talked. "When you said you were dating, I was afraid I'd have to deal with a boy who didn't understand that you were at least two years younger than him. Believe it or not, I was a boy once and that would definitely be something difficult to deal with. Especially if the girl was someone as beautiful as one of my two daughters."
"Aw, shucks." Yang pretended to blush and got a laugh out of Ruby.
"Knowing that you're dating a girl doesn't change that, but it makes things easier since there are certain concerns that go out the window with a same sex relationship." He stated. "So what's her name?"
"Oh… Um…" Ruby hesitated and stood up again. "You've already met, but I'd like to introduce her properly as my girlfriend. Weiss, this is my dad. Dad, my girlfriend is Weiss Schnee."
"So, what do you see in Ruby?" Taiyang asked as he once again took Weiss's hand in a firm shake, but this time with a sly smile pulling at his lips.
"What? Oh…" Weiss blinked in surprise at the inquiry. Not that she hadn't been expecting something along similar lines, just at how quickly he jumped from one part of the conversation to the next. It actually explained some of Ruby's finer habits such as her method for studying before she'd managed to correct it. The thought brought a small smile to her lips as she looked over at her girlfriend. "I suppose what I see in her is… summarized by the word happiness."
"Good answer!" Taiyang laughed and released her hand. "I was just joking, though. What I really want to know is how my daughter managed to snag the richest girl on Remnant as her girlfriend."
"Well, I suppose you could say she came exploding into my life and wouldn't leave." Weiss answered honestly. For a moment there was silence and then Taiyang broke down into laughter and clutched his stomach.
"Details, please!" He managed to breathe out between his laughs and Weiss felt comforted that she wasn't being shut down like she was when joking with Yang in the room.
"I had just arrived on the landing platform, and Ruby plows into my suitcases full of dust." Weiss spoke with a grin while the others kept their silence. "I was furious with her and then when I think she isn't paying attention to me, she sneezes into the cloud of dust hovering around us, and there's still a scorch mark on the pavement where the fireball engulfed us."
"Sounds like fate to me." Both Yang and Taiyang spoke at the same time.
"But seriously, as long as you care for each other…" He looked from Weiss to Ruby who both nodded in turn. "Then I have nothing more to say other than take care of each other, and have fun. But not that kind of fun."
"Dad!" Ruby interrupted at the suggestion, causing him to chuckle a bit more.
"Alright. I get it. I'll be quiet." Taiyang finished his sentence and muffled a yawn. "I think I'm gonna hit the hay. Just don't let me hear too much noise from your room, okay?"
"Dad!" Ruby whined again, blushing furiously. She quickly helped him out of his chair and started pushing him out of the room.
"That is much more fun than I thought it would be!" Taiyang commented as he leaned against Ruby. "Yang, you should get a girlfriend too, then I can have even more!"
"Not on your life!" Yang replied with a wink as he finally let Ruby push him out of the room. "So how are you? You look a little shell shocked."
"I'm not quite sure." Weiss answered honestly. She hadn't even started processing the entire event that had just concluded. All she knew for sure was there was apparently one less obstacle standing between her and Ruby.
"It's alright. I'm sure he knows that you two haven't gone that far." Yang stated as she stood.
Weiss felt her face flush with another blush as her teammates left her to her thoughts. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes while she sorted her emotions.
Of course she was happy that Ruby's father accepted their relationship, but it was still early. There were any number of things that could still go wrong. Namely, what he would think when he found out about her impending marriage. It's not that she wanted to keep it a secret, but at the same time she felt that she had a duty to Ruby's family to be honest. Maybe then she'd feel better, when she'd made her intentions towards Ruby clear to not only her girlfriend, but her family as well.
She pushed those thoughts from her head. She could worry about them later, after she calmed down from the stressful excitement that had hovered throughout the air all afternoon.
As she finally let out her breath, she relaxed into her chair and felt a large goofy smile tug her lips upwards. Yes, this was probably the happiest she'd been in a while, and she knew that at least for the time being, that was all that she wanted.
"Hey, um…" Ruby trailed off as she stopped in the doorway. Weiss opened her eyes and instantly felt her smile grow slightly larger. "You look happy."
"I am." Weiss replied as she got up to meet Ruby, threading her arm around Ruby's as she started to lead them up to Ruby's room to change into something more comfortable.
"Well… I mean you look really, really happy. Are you sure you're okay?" Ruby asked jokingly, only the slightest hint of concern behind her words as she followed Weiss up the stairs.
"I'm perfectly fine." Weiss replied with a small laugh. "I actually don't think I've been so happy for a long, long time."
"But what about-" Ruby started just to have her mouth covered by Weiss's delicate palm.
"Not today, okay? I haven't forgotten." Weiss said seriously, her smile fading at her reference. "I'm trying to take your advice, so I'm only going to worry when I can do something about it. Sound fair?"
Ruby nodded, shaking Weiss's hand from her mouth. The two entered Ruby's room and Ruby shut the door behind them quietly as if being cautious of others listening from down the hall. Weiss realized that it wouldn't be completely abnormal especially since Ruby's father had just found out about their relationship.
"So what do you want to do once we get changed?" Weiss asked as she bent over her suitcase.
"Um… well, I was sort of thinking of something, but…" Ruby trailed off as she uncharacteristically kicked the ground in embarrassment.
"What is it Ruby?" Weiss asked patiently as she placed her clothing on the bed and turned to face Ruby fully.
"Well, I know you're not exactly the biggest fan of movies…" Ruby mumbled.
"I'm not sure I want to go out tonight. Is there anything we can do in your house?" Weiss asked, trying to be kind since Ruby was obviously thinking of her.
"Well actually, the movie I wanted to watch is already downloaded on my scroll." Ruby said with a nervous laugh. "I was going to watch it whenever, but I thought you might want to watch it with me?"
Weiss couldn't find a valid argument to Ruby's proposition. They could really watch a movie on their scrolls anywhere in the world and it wouldn't matter as long as it was saved on the device. In other words, they didn't even have to leave the room. She nodded to herself, reminding herself once again that Ruby was the one who was always willing to try what she proposed, so she should be open to things Ruby proposed as well.
"Sure, lets get changed first though." Weiss smiled as she was nearly tackled in Ruby's excited hug. Ruby clung to her for a few seconds and Weiss combed her fingers through Ruby's hair, the sensation of Ruby's soft hair sliding against her fingers bringing a familiar sensation of contentment into her mind.
Just as fast as Ruby had come, she separated and collected her clothing from her dresser.
"I'll use the washroom since I'll be quicker." Ruby announced. "You can just change here. I'll knock before I come back."
"Okay." Weiss nodded, the logic already familiar to her as they'd used it their entire stay thus far.
Ruby disappeared, closing the door while Weiss stripped to her underwear. She reached out to her night gown on the bed but faltered when she saw Ruby's fresh pajamas laying neatly folded just inches away from her gown.
Weiss hesitated while she was still reaching for her gown, looking between her clothing and Ruby's. She knew they were both the same size, and that all the clothing was freshly laundered, but she was somewhat hesitant to get into the familiar gown.
Whether it was because of the rapidity that their relationship had progressed, or due to the somewhat unhealthy wish to see Ruby wearing her nightgown in her own bed, Weiss couldn't decide which pair of pajamas she wanted to wear, since Ruby most likely only had the one pair clean.
A sudden knock at the door sounded, making Weiss jump as if caught in the act of doing something wrong. Then she remembered that it was Ruby wanting to come in after she'd changed into the sweat pants and t-shirt she'd taken with her. Weiss hadn't taken any of that type of clothing with her, which had led to her current dilemma.
"Weiss? Are you done yet?" Ruby asked after she knocked a second time.
"No! Don't open the door yet!" Weiss ordered quickly, still unable to take the gown she'd set on the bed.
"What's taking so long? You never take this long!" Ruby complained as she tapped the wood of the door quietly in time with the clock on her night table.
"Pick a number between one and two." Weiss instructed, numbering her gown one and Ruby's pajamas two for the sake of decision making. That way, she thought, if Ruby picked two, at least she could play it off as a fifty fifty chance. She hoped that Ruby would pick one, and that she'd just stop being so stupid.
"Two! Can I come in now?" Ruby asked again, the tapping continuing relentlessly.
"No. Just wait a little longer!" Weiss spoke, as she picked up Ruby's pajamas and made the quick decision to wear them the same way Ruby always did. That meant she quickly slipped out of her bra and underwear before she put on the tank top and bottoms, the different sensation of the clothing giving her goosebumps but also a feeling of justification. She turned to the door and stood, suddenly self-conscious as she took a deep breath into her lungs. "Alright. You can come in now."
"Finally!" Ruby sighed, her voice both relieved and sarcastic at the same time.
She opened the door and shut it behind her without looking at Weiss. As she turned, her eyes grew wide and her mouth fell open in a slight gape upon seeing Weiss in her pajamas.
"I… uh…" Weiss couldn't form words to express her uneasy emotion that sprang into being as Ruby glared at her, her eyes different from how she normally looked at her. But exactly how they were different, she couldn't tell. If she could describe them in one word though, it would be devouring. Ruby seemed to be drinking in her appearance, much like she had that night at the new years dance, but differently, very, very differently.
"You…" Ruby stopped and swallowed, her voice cracking as she tried to speak. "You look…"
"Are you alright with this?" Weiss asked tentatively. She was afraid she'd pushed Ruby farther into their relationship than maybe she was willing to go at this point.
"Yes!" Ruby's answer sprung quickly and clearly from her mouth that she snapped closed as if just realizing she'd been gaping at the heiress. "Oh, god yes."
Weiss waited for Ruby to continue, but she didn't. She simply stared, her eyes slowly roving from Weiss's face where she was definitely blushing a bright red, down to the black tank-top that contrasted with her pale skin brilliantly and the red heart that stretched just barely over her chest, down to the white bottoms with pink hearts that fell to her ankles and stopped just an inch above her feet which were now bare of their socks.
"So… about that movie…" Weiss prompted when it became apparent that Ruby was just going to stand there and look at her if she didn't do anything to distract her. It's not as if the attention was uncomfortable, but it was starting to feel embarrassing with Ruby silently memorizing every detail of her appearance.
"Uh, right." Ruby snapped her head up and away from Weiss, her face flooding with a blush as she realized she'd been staring for at least a solid minute. She quickly turned back to the door and locked its deadbolt with a flick of her wrist. "I was thinking we could just watch on my bed?"
Weiss couldn't help but feel nervous with the way Ruby'd just been watching her, and now the casual invitation to her bed where they'd inevitably cuddle together to watch the movie on Ruby's scroll. The thought made Weiss want to run and she didn't exactly know why.
"What about your sister? Doesn't she want to watch the movie too?" Weiss asked, knowing that Yang was the biggest movie fan on the whole team, and possibly in all of Beacon as well.
"Yeah, but…" Ruby trailed off, still avoiding looking at Weiss as she made her way to sit near the head of the bed.
"What is it?" Weiss asked, sitting beside Ruby and placing her hand on her leg as assurance that whatever it was, she wouldn't be angry.
Ruby surprised her and pulled her into a passionate kiss that soon had Weiss gasping at how fierce and forcefully Ruby explored her mouth, sucking on her tongue as if it was the sweetest thing in the world, and maybe to Ruby it was.
Ruby broke away, placing her forehead down on Weiss's shoulder as Weiss caught her breath and allowed the sensation to fade.
"You… I don't want anyone to see you." Ruby whispered as if she was revealing a secret she was ashamed of.
"Why not?" Weiss asked, confused at Ruby's response to her outfit choice.
"You look amazing." Ruby replied sullenly.
"Isn't that good?" Weiss asked, her eyebrows rising in surprise at Ruby's logic.
"No." Ruby sighed as she moved so she was staring directly into Weiss's eyes. "I want to be the only one to see you in my clothes. Especially when you look as sexy as you do now."
Ruby's eyes remained serious for a moment after she'd finished her sentence then widened slightly at the realization that she'd said something she'd obviously meant to keep to herself.
"You're jealous." Weiss almost laughed as Ruby looked down sheepishly, but tightened her grip on the embrace. Weiss saw the confirmation on Ruby's face and in the embrace and started laughing, returning the hug.
"It's not funny." Ruby mumbled grumpily as she burrowed her face into Weiss's neck. The contact of her lips made Weiss freeze. The sensation of Ruby lightly pressing her lips to Weiss's jugular shutting her up as she closed her eyes into the barely there touch.
When Ruby removed her lips, Weiss felt her racing heartbeat that was thundering in her head as her heart forced blood around her body, giving it a slight pink that was normal only when she'd been exercising strenuously. She shook off the feeling Ruby'd sent into her and calmed down as she pushed Ruby away from her, holding her head in between her hands so she was forced to look her in the eyes.
"If it really means that much to you, we can stay here and watch the movie." Weiss spoke, trying to push the thoughts of what she'd much rather be doing out of her head. "And you don't need to be jealous. Especially of Yang and Blake."
"I know…" Ruby sighed, leaning back against the headboard, forcing Weiss to release her hold. "It's just… I didn't really realize it until the other day, but… we haven't been around them much."
"What do you mean?" Weiss asked with a small laugh. "We've shared a room with them since the start of the year."
"That's not what I meant." Ruby said, sitting back up. "I mean as a couple."
"I suppose you're right." Weiss agreed. "But you'll get used to it."
"But what if I don't?" Ruby asked worriedly. "What if I turn into one of those people who can't bear to see you smile at anyone who isn't me, or that person who ends up going crazy and makes you stay at home all the time."
Weiss almost laughed at Ruby's silly question, but realized she was being at least partially serious.
"I suppose if you can't stand me smiling at anyone, I'll just have to continue on like normal." Weiss smiled lovingly at Ruby, knowing she wasn't putting two and two together. "When was the last time you actually saw me smile at anyone when you weren't around?"
"Uh… how would I know if you smiled if I wasn't around?" Ruby asked, confused with Weiss's question.
"Then here's what I'd tell you… if you aren't around, I can't smile." Weiss started, making sure Ruby knew she was just addressing the concerns she'd raised. "And if I smile at anyone, it's only because you were there to make me happy enough to smile. Does that work?"
"Uh… I guess…" Ruby nodded and smiled a little at Weiss's words.
"And as for keeping me inside, number one, what would you do to keep me there? If I want to go out, I'll go where I want." Weiss stated firmly, making sure Ruby knew there was no way she'd ever be ordered around, well, at least not anymore. "And two, if I always stayed at home, how do you think you'd be able to show off to the world what an amazingly beautiful and talented girlfriend you have?"
Ruby laughed at Weiss's second response and couldn't help commenting. "And I guess you'd want to show me off also."
"Exactly. So you shouldn't be concerned." Weiss said, giving Ruby a small peck on her lips. "Not to mention that you aren't the type of person to get controllingly possessive…. But if you were to get a little possessive like you did a few moments ago, I wouldn't mind too much."
Ruby blushed at Weiss's indirect assertion that she'd enjoyed their kiss. She nodded sheepishly and gave Weiss another kiss as thanks.
"So I guess we should watch the movie, huh?" Ruby asked.
"I'm not tired yet, so if you want to stay in this room then you better have something for us to do." Weiss stated sarcastically at Ruby's usual self returning.
"Alright! Then get ready to watch the most awesome movie of all time! It's got car chases, gun fights, a bad guy and the hero is the only one who can do anything about him!" Ruby announced as she loaded up her scroll and moved the pillows on her headboard.
"This sounds like the description of all the movies Yang has ever talked about." Weiss stated as she positioned herself beside Ruby.
"I guess. But they all have a story behind them. It's not just explosions and gunfights because its cool." Ruby said to a skeptical look from Weiss. "Fine… mostly because its cool but there's still a story."
"I suppose I'll judge that on my own." Weiss said with a smile, giving Ruby the okay to start the movie. After a couple minutes as Ruby held the scroll, Weiss noticed the angle was slowly changing so she was starting to get a distorted view of the screen as Ruby undoubtedly started to get lost in the gunfights and explosions that started within the first few minutes. "Can you turn it back to me a little?"
Ruby silently complied, turning the device so she could once again watch as the hero's squad moved through some hideout where there was supposed to be a drug lord. She supposed that's what constituted the start to these types of movies as an excuse to jump straight to the action.
Once again, after a few minutes, Ruby's hand started turning back to herself as she became so involved in the movie, she forgot to pay attention to how she was holding the device.
Weiss was going to ask her to move it back so she could watch when another possibility crossed her mind. The way Ruby was sitting made for the perfect way for her to cuddle up and watch the movie without having to keep interrupting since her point of view would be resting almost directly below Ruby's.
The thought made her cheeks burn, but at the same time she realized she had no reason not to. After all, both her and Ruby had gotten closer to each other over the past few days, and every night that they slept in the same bed Ruby would end up clinging to her as if she were a stuffed animal. Logically, there was no reason that the inverse was anything less than normal.
So with that thought in her brain, Weiss slid down on the bed slightly and turned so she could rest her head just below Ruby's chin on her chest. She wrapped her arms around Ruby's waist and even entwined one of her legs over Ruby's so they were connected completely.
Weiss felt Ruby lay a lingering kiss on the back of her head as she wrapped her arm around her shoulders and they continued to watch the movie.
Weiss remained like that for the rest of the movie. It turns out she actually enjoyed watching it much more than she thought she would. But whether or not that was due to actually enjoying the action and plot line or because she could hear Ruby's heart beat with only the slightest of readjustments, she couldn't tell. Maybe she'd watch it again on her own and see if she enjoyed it equally.
"So how was that?" Ruby asked quietly as if she wasn't sure if Weiss was awake. Ruby's hand slowly stroked Weiss's hair while she pulled out the pin that kept it in the usual ponytail.
"It was good." Weiss said, deciding she didn't really care anymore. Whether it was good or not, she was able to spend some down time with Ruby. A commodity that she knew would be in short supply in the very near future.
"I knew you'd like it." Ruby said as Weiss turned to face her. "Want to watch number two?"
"There's a second one?" Weiss asked, surprised that Ruby wasn't watching a new movie.
"Yeah, there's four and another one is coming out in a couple of months." Ruby said enthusiastically. "So you wanna watch the sequel?"
"Not today. I think I'm ready to turn in. How about you?" Weiss asked, knowing Ruby was probably hoping she'd say yes.
"I guess I am a bit tired." Ruby's yawn confirmed her statement. "Maybe tomorrow night?"
"Sure." Weiss smiled and gave Ruby a small kiss before sinking down on the bed and pulling at the covers. "It's a date."