Ruby opened her eyes to a curtain of silken white pressed against her nose. She smiled against Weiss' head, then planted a soft kiss. Breathing deep. Savoring the simple thrill of a warm body and a good night's sleep.

Well, not just anybody. A warm Weiss. A brave Weiss. A naked Weiss as well. Her toes tangled with Ruby's shins. Her hair tickling Ruby's belly. Her butt-

Ruby let out a quiet squee, her whole body tensing in joy and barely contained horniness.

Then Weiss shifted.

Ruby froze. She gently lifted her head off the pillow.

"Weiss?" She asked, a whisper of a whisper.

No response.

Grinning to herself, Ruby relaxed. Her eyes wandered the shape of Weiss. Her knuckles softly grazed Weiss' hair. Eventually, her fingers settled on a small patch of shoulder. Her index finger twisted and turned, drawing stars.

"What is this nonsense?" Weiss grumbled.

"Hey!" Ruby pulled Weiss closer to her, smacking a kiss on her cheek. "Good morning!"

"Explain this nonsense." Weiss pressed.

"What nonsense?" Ruby asked.

"Were you writing words on my skin or not?" Weiss sleepily poked her shoulder.

"Oooooh. I was drawing."

"Drawing what?" Weiss asked.

"Doesn't matter." Ruby grinned. "What did you think I was writing?"

"Doesn't matter." Weiss turned tighter into the pillow.

"Did you just wake up?" Ruby asked.

"No. You woke me up when you had a seizure earlier." Weiss said, closing her eyes tight.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Ruby said.

"Mostly, I was annoyed." Weiss said with a smile. Ruby pouted. "But, it was kind of nice feeling you just. . ." Weiss finished, trailing off.

Ruby said nothing. Instead, she kissed the back of Weiss' head. She scootched up, sitting against her headboard. She pulled back from Weiss.

Weiss turned to look at Ruby.

Ruby patted her lap.

"Put your head here." She requested.

Weiss looked up at Ruby in a pre-caffeinated delirium. Then, she surrendered, swinging her arm around to rest as her head did. Comfortably on Ruby's legs.

Ruby then gently stroked her fingers through Weiss' hair. Softly brushing the strands apart. Letting her nails drag against Weiss' scalp. They elicited a soft giggle when they played too close to the ear.

In minutes, Weiss was close to sleep again. She'd never felt so warm. So safe. So. . . Loved.

Weiss tensed.

Ruby stopped.

"Sorry. Did I catch a scab?" Ruby asked, looking at Weiss' scalp.

Weiss shot Ruby a dirty look.

"What? You get cuts on the head, you get a scab." Ruby shrugged.

"Is this something I have to look forward to?" Weiss asked plainly, thinking of brushing Ruby's hair and watching blood bloom in her locks.

"Well, I bump my head a ton." Ruby frowned.

"I have not seen you bump your head ever. In fact, the only head injury I remember is you dropping me." Weiss stated matter-of-fact.

"I'm pretty good at pretending nothing happened." Ruby admitted shyly, rubbing the back of her head.

"Oh." Weiss frowned.

"I-It's not that bad." Ruby said.

Weiss frowned harder.

"Hey, look, a subject change." Ruby patted Weiss' head like a small drum. Weiss' brow twitched. "Did I hurt you?" Ruby asked.

"You hurt me when you hurt yourself." Weiss deadpanned.

"How about breakfast?" Ruby moved to get out of bed.

Weiss clamped down on Ruby's legs, holding her in place.

Ruby stopped.

"You didn't hurt me. I was just feeling your fingers and I felt so spoiled and warm and the last time I felt that was when my Mom was alive." Weiss said, each word running from her lips like her tongue was chasing them out. She immediately retreated, pushing her face into Ruby's lap, hiding from the words ringing in her ears.

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"Your Mom's dead?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah." Weiss said, voice muffled against the blanket.

"Well, huh." Ruby laughed nervously. "Samesies."

Weiss' head shot up.

"What?" She asked.

Ruby pointed at herself.

"No Moms in this house either." She said, trying to play it off.

Weiss pushed herself up, saying nothing. She watched as Ruby's instinctive defense crumbled, leaving a heavy sadness behind her eyes. Weiss reached out, and cupped Ruby's cheek. She leaned in, and gave Ruby a soft kiss. When she pulled away, Ruby's eyes were wet, looking away from her.

"I'm sorry." Weiss said, wrapping her arms around Ruby's shoulders.

"Don't be." Ruby sniffed. "It was a long time ago. I don't really remember much about her." Ruby returned the hug, squeezing Weiss tight against her. "But what about you?"

Weiss sighed. She gave Ruby one more gentle squeeze, then pulled away. She brushed her hair from her face, then folded her hands in her lap.

"My Mother and my Father were in love once. So I'm told. But I never saw it. Mother only seemed to have two loves in her life. Her children, and her bottle. When she was- when she was there, she was incredible." A smile tugged at Weiss' lips. "She would sing with me. Read with me. She was so playful and brilliant." A sadness settled in her belly. "Then she'd drink, and she was numb to the rest of the world. Nothing could bring her out. I hated her, I hated the booze for the longest time. Why couldn't she be my Mom all the time? It took me a long time before I made the connection; When Father was gone, I got to see my Mom. When he came back, she. . . She went away."

A few tears slipped from Weiss' eyes. She brushed them away, taking a shaky breath.

"She died when a drunk driver rammed her car. The funeral was closed casket. And it was raining hard. So hard we couldn't bury her. We just left it in the fucking funeral home and someone else took care of it. She didn't leave a will, or any sort of message. She was just gone."

The tears were flowing hard, streaming down Weiss' face. She tried wiping them but they still flowed.

Ruby leaned forward, long arms pulling Weiss into her, and Weiss began sobbing in earnest, hot tears dripping down Ruby's collar. Her nails dug into Ruby's back, and Weiss just cried.

They held each other, until the tears ran dry, and all Weiss could feel was Ruby's warmth next to her. Could hear the birds chirping in the early morning. The sun cradling her back.

After a while, Ruby shifted, pulling away so she could brush Weiss' hair from her face.

"Wanna have some breakfast?" Ruby asked quietly.

"Yeah." Weiss nodded. She bit her lip. "And after?"

Ruby chuckled. She pecked Weiss on the lips, nuzzling her forehead against Weiss'.

"Whatever you want." Ruby said softly.

"Good." Weiss yawned. "I want coffee."

"Oh, shoot." Ruby snapped her fingers. "I don't have that."

Weiss narrowed her eyes.

"You don't?"

"Nope."

"Then I want you to go get coffee." Weiss poked Ruby's sternum. "I'll make breakfast. Then. . ."

"Then what?" Ruby asked.

"Then, I want to talk to you." Weiss answered.

"What, no fucking?" Ruby pouted.

"Little Red, I'm going to absolutely ravish you later." Weiss purred. "But before that, I need to ask you something, and then I want you to think on it."

"Okay." Ruby perked up. "What is it?"

"Will you run away with me?" Weiss whispered.

"Oh, is that all?"