"Weeeiiiisssss… I wanna go do something!" Ruby whined as she smacked her head into the window of the limo that was carting them and their luggage from the airport, across Vacuo's largely desert countryside, to the house that Winter had told Weiss about prior to her wedding. Weiss had conveniently neglected to mention it to Ruby, meaning she'd be in for a big shock just as Weiss had experienced when she learned about it.
"We are doing something, Ruby. We're taking our luggage to where we'll be staying for the week." Weiss replied. She stealthily pulled out her scroll to check the map she had open. It wouldn't be much longer until they were near their house. Winter had given her the point on the map that was located within a small inlet, a dozen kilometers wide, along the coast. The land that reached out to the bay blocked it from the popular beaches on either side by what the scale told her was a fair amount of cliff.
"But the beach is right there!" Ruby argued, pointing out the window to hundreds of families that were lazing on blankets on the soft sand or splashing in the water. "I've never even seen a beach this big!"
"It goes up the entire coast. This is just one of the more popular spots. There's far fewer grimm in the surrounding forests." Weiss spoke about what she could recall from the travel brochures she'd viewed in passing while she'd waited for the wedding and her plan to start. "We can come back after if that's what you want."
"Why don't we just stop here and go to the place we're staying later?" Ruby asked as she slid back into the seat and leaned into Weiss's shoulder. "I can think of a few ways to… convince you…"
Weiss gulped at the way she looked at her, the implication of Ruby's whisper heavy in the air as shining silver met blue. She couldn't force any words out, but her blood had no trouble rushing to her cheeks. She noticed a similar blush adorn Ruby's face and looked away before taking a deep breath to calm herself.
"Ruby, I know… just…."
"Yeah, I know…."
Weiss waited for any continuation of the response but none came.
"I'm-"
Ruby silenced Weiss's lips with her own. After a few seconds, she pulled back to look at her wife seriously.
"Listen, I know. I really, really, really know. Okay?" Ruby took a deep breath and backed into her own seat. Weiss shook her head to clear it from the haze the kiss had brought to her mind.
"I'm sorry Ruby… it's just…" Weiss thought what she wanted to say, but it never left her lips. Instead, only the same words from the previous night echoed back through her lips. "Not the right time… okay?"
Ruby shrugged and looked around as the limo carrying them entered a tunnel in a very steep hillside. She sighed and leaned herself back onto Weiss's shoulder. It wasn't really anyone's fault, after all. Even if they were married, they'd only been dating for a month. That's not to say that they hadn't had their fair share of trials, the feeling of being put through the wringer coming to mind, but for all the development Ruby knew they'd done as a couple, they must have skipped over some of the more subtle things that required more than an hour of relaxation.
"Never say sorry for something like that, okay?" Ruby said, her voice half between the one she used when commanding her team, and the one she used with Weiss mostly when they were cuddling. If she was honest with herself, she wouldn't have had the guts to raise the subject in the first place if she knew there was a serious chance Weiss would agree. Heck, she was so nervous about it she'd probably resist just like Weiss was doing now. After all, didn't I do the same thing when we were in patch?
Ruby smiled when Weiss wrapped her arm around her shoulders and rested her head on top of Ruby's own. It was overall a nice moment, which was unfortunately shattered when light flooded back in through the tinted windows. Weiss's body went stiff and she hit the button on the nearby remote to roll down the Ruby's window. Ruby sat back up and looked out to see… nothing.
No sand castles, no blankets, no umbrellas, no people, no boardwalk, nothing.
"What's this place?" Ruby asked, moving to the window to get a better view. It surprised her when she felt Weiss hug her from behind and turn her head slightly, pressing her cheek into Ruby's.
"Look over there." Weiss whispered through the roaring wind that blew in the window, making a mess of their hair.
Ruby turned and saw a single small house sitting on the sand about a minute's drive away. It stood on the very edge of the smooth sand and the road they were traveling on, approximately half way between the tunnel they'd just left and another one that was barely visible in the heat distorted distance along the road.
"Is that where we're going?" Ruby asked hopefully.
Weiss refrained from answering and instead gave a slight squeeze with her arms around Ruby's waist as the car started to slow down. It stopped in front of the small house and Ruby looked up at it curiously as the newlyweds stepped out of the car. The driver brought out their luggage before presenting Weiss with a set of two keys, an envelope, and a slight bow.
"Thank you." Weiss took the keys and walked to the door with Ruby on her heels. Weiss stopped when she placed the key in the lock and took a deep breath. "Ruby, welcome home."
She pushed the door open and stepped into the simple entryway. She didn't know exactly what she'd been expecting, but it was very plain compared to the norm for her father. The furnishings were simple rather than intricately carved decorations, and the stairway to her right that led to the small second floor had a minimally designed railing and plain baseboards. There were no visible chandeliers, in their place a few simple fixtures enclosed in glass domes hung from the ceiling. To the left, a doorway led to what looked like a sitting room with a fireplace and a television mounted over it, directly across from a couch and a plain rectangular coffee table. Two chairs were placed in corners and a wide opening led to a kitchen with a large island to separate it from the sitting room. Straight ahead, Weiss could see a set of doors that led to a terrace that extended out over the beginning of the sand, and three other doors that led to the kitchen and to what she assumed would be a closet and a guest room.
Turning back towards the door, Weiss saw Ruby staring into the house with wide eyes like she was excited and afraid to step inside. Smiling a little, knowing that Ruby most likely thought this was her house, Weiss decided to make the meaning of her previous statement clearer. "Ruby, are you afraid to step into your own house?"
"Huh?" Ruby snapped out of her trance and thought of what Weiss had just said. "Wait… you don't… right?"
"Ruby, this is our house." Weiss stepped up to her and took her hands before slowly stepping back to draw Ruby into the house. "It was a gift from my father, for both of us."
"But… a HOUSE?" Ruby's jaw went slack in disbelief.
"Yes, according to Winter, we have one in each kingdom, but I assume that's what this letter is going to explain." Weiss nodded to the letter sticking out of her pocket.
"But I-I can't own a house! I don't even have a job yet!" Ruby exclaimed, looking around at everything yet taking nothing in.
"Ruby, you don't need a job to own a house. And you're definitely old enough." Weiss said before the argument could come from Ruby's lips. "This is our house, Ruby. It's mine, and it's yours, and nobody else's. Somewhere we might find ourselves calling home in the future."
"Right… you're right… of course…." Ruby nodded as she slowed her breathing. She looked around again, this time taking in all the details of what she could see. She nodded once to herself before looking back at her wife with a small smile on her lips. "It's actually really nice."
"I thought so too. I bet Winter helped father otherwise we'd be under millions of pieces of crystal." Weiss pointed at the cieling, drawing Ruby's gaze.
"I bet… I'm going to get the bags." Ruby hesitated before taking one more quick breath. "Then can we go swimming?"
Weiss laughed at Ruby and shook her head in defeat. "Yes, we can go swimming after we look around the house and I give my father a call about whatever is in this letter. Does that sound fair?"
"Yup! No take-backs!" Ruby shouted excitedly before rushing back out the door.
Weiss decided she'd read the letter first and let Ruby explore. She made her way to the kitchen as she flipped the pages open and started reading the preface to the legal documents beneath. It seemed her father really had given her and Ruby four houses with a large amount of property surrounding them.