Chapter 11

Blake had been very gentle with Ruby, and it occurred to her that this had always been the case. In spite of her intimidating nature, Blake had not touched Ruby until the prior night. Every contact since had been feather light or firmly gentle. It filled her with a familiar warmth, warmth that persisted despite the stinging sensations of antiseptic on her back. Ruby was reminded of all the times Yang had patched up her bumps and scrapes as a kid. It was something that had persisted into their teens, up until Ruby's accident. Of course after the accident Yang had become Ruby's full time caretaker, at least until she recovered enough to move around reliably. Yang had reluctantly returned to work, half expecting to be reprimanded for an overly long leave. She had received a promotion instead.

Blake retreated to the shower with Sun, mumbling that if she did not wash his hair, no one would. He ambled out half an hour later, dressed and poofy-haired, much to Ruby's amusement. He flipped her the bird. "Breakfast and shopping?" He asked.

"My shout!" Ruby claimed.

An hour later the pair were once again well fed, but before they could begin their shopping proper, Ruby had a stop to make. "Didn't you just get a scroll?" Sun asked as they entered the SDC tech retailer Schnee Electronics - otherwise known by it's fan name, Schneetronics. Ruby had rarely had the funds to enter before now. Her old scroll had been a birthday gift, following a lengthy trial period with a cheaper flip phone.

"I need to get a case for it." Ruby explained. "It feels really weird in my hands, and I saw a leather one that looked nice."

"Those things look so fragile." Sun observed.

"They're actually really tough." Ruby countered. "If you drop it hard enough at the wrong angle it might chip, but the glass is dust impregnated to prevent shattering."

"Well don't sell me on it or anything." Sun joked.

Ruby chuckled. "I don't need to. You're getting one either way."

"What now?" Sun blurted.

"I was reading my employee handbook, and it turns out I've got some really cool benefits." Ruby continued. "Lifetime warranty on all SDC products, premium account upgrade for all SDC sponsored applications, aaaaand a really nice employee discount. Plus my pay was...kinda' scary. I need to get rid of some of it, so I'm buying you a real scroll. And I'll figure out something for Blake, and giving her rent, which we still haven't discussed yet. Probably should."

"I don't know how to use those things!" Sun protested. "Blake never lets me touch hers."

"Well it's a good thing you've got me to be your teacher, isn't it?" She stopped to grin smugly at the Faunus.

Sun sighed, chuckling. "Rubes, come on-"

"Sun." Ruby cut in, seriously. "I missed you. I really, really missed you. I never really had another friend like you. It was just me and Yang. Teammates and flings don't count. It sucked, I missed you. I tried to find you, but you didn't exist online and no one had your contact details. If you at any point had a profile somewhere I'd have been able to talk to you sooner. Now here we are, because of the craziest fluke ever, and you gave me a home without a second thought anyway. The least I can do is buy you something that's actually useful. You could chat with Yang, and mom and dad!" Ruby pouted her poutiest, shimmery-eyed puppy dog pout up at Sun.

The Faunus crumbled like a cookie. "Alright, alright!" He mock shielded his face. "I'll accept...just don't guilt trip me like that. Those eyes are weaponized."

Ruby laughed, rushing forward to wrap her friend in a hug. "Oh, we're gonna' get you into the electronic age so hard!"

"I don't want everything electronic." Sun resisted. "I like to do it manually."

"Suuun!" Ruby jumped back, swatting at his chest and shaking her finger. "Bad! Don't make me taze you!"

"In public?" Sun smirked. "Ruby, that's a hate crime. I'm feeling very hated right now."

"Just for that I'm making your background a dick-pic." Ruby grumbled.

Sun laughed. "Joke's on you. I'm used to dicks. Neugh."

Seated in the food court, Ruby sipped on a strawberry thickshake, watching as Sun fiddled with his new scroll. It was an older mode, but still quite capable, and not too much bigger than his flip phone. Ruby's own was nearly twice its size, not to mention its thickness. But compared to his prior device it may as well have been a supercomputer. "Hey, we should send a selfie to Blake." Sun suggested.

"Isn't she asleep?" Ruby asked.

"Nah, she doesn't like sleeping alone." Sun replied.

"Oh." Ruby nodded.

"So...you think things are good between you two?" Sun inquired.

"I think so." Ruby shrugged. "She explained Faunus culture, and instincts, and Alphas…" She trailed off before frowning. "Why didn't you tell me this stuff?"

"Because I only know some of it." Sun answered. "I wasn't raised like she was. My family's from Vacuo. We've been living among humans for two generations. Tradition and belief isn't really a thing with us anymore, and none of us are Alphas." He paused. "Blake's from Menagerie. She was raised traditionally. That stuff is important to her, but it also causes problems. She doesn't usually deal with ignorance well. I've been working on it. This is actually really big Ruby. She's never explained things like this to a human before, at least that I know of. She's never like humans because she's never been around them much."

"So what, being around me made her like me?" Ruby asked.

"Pretty much." Sun confirmed. "It's like...you walk into someone's home, and it smells funny. But you stay there a while and you don't notice it anymore. Except it's the other way around. You came in, it was different, you stayed for a while and she got used to it-"

"And now she's fine sleeping with me?" Ruby quirked her brow.

"Well when you put it like that…" Sun trailed off.

"I don't mind, not really." Ruby noted. "It was nice, but...weird. Blake is still Blake, but now she can snuggle. Like, those two shouldn't go together in my brain, but they do."

"Think of it like this." Sun suggested. "Blake is Blake, but she's got all this stuff buried under all the indifference. When she's comfortable, or you dig a little, you get to see who she really is, and it's beautiful. But then she covers it back up again, and it's sad, but you know you'll see it again. You just have to keep at it."

"And you've been doing this for how long?" Ruby asked.

"Three years...last month." Sun replied.

"Wow…" Ruby managed.

"And uh, just a thing about Neon-" Sun started.

"Oh gods, do you have her number?" Ruby cut in. She cursed herself for almost letting her newfound partner slip away.

"No, that's the thing." Sun shook his head. "Neon isn't really a relationship kind of girl. She's uh...she's looking for a good time, and comes to Sunrise because people are trying to find one."

Ruby felt her heart drop, disappointment mixing with concern. "Oh."

"She's not a bad person Ruby." Sun continued. "She's just like a lot of people, runnin' from their pain in their own way. Problem is she crossed Blake at a bad time, and she's never forgiven her for it."

"Aw...well…" Ruby sighed. "Shoot."

"Also we kinda' banged too." Sun added.

"Oh gods who else?" Ruby groaned.

"Myron." Sun answered.

"Oh, well, I don't really blame her." Ruby shrugged.

"Hey!" Sun protested.

"What?" Ruby smirked. "He's hot!"

"And I'm not!?" Sun exclaimed.

"You're in a committed relationship, but yes." Ruby allowed.

"Pfft, want me to get his number?" Sun offered.

"Shut up!" Ruby snapped, slapping his arm.

Sun was already laughing as he returned to his phone. "I have it somewhere on here, once I find contacts...somewhere."

"Dude, he would break me." Ruby laughed. "He's the size of our couch!"

"I have it on good authority he's a very gentle lover." Sun noted.

"From personal experience?" Ruby teased.

"I'm not insecure about my sexuality, so I won't take the bait." Sun huffed.

"Sure." Ruby persisted.

"Nope." Sun grinned. "Also say cheese!"

Ruby was caught mid sip of her thickshake by the camera flash. She pouted as Sun laughed, only to be distracted by her own scroll ringing. Yang's tune blared above the crowded din. "Hey Yang." She greeted as she answered.

"Heya sis!" Yang responded. "How's things?"

"Good, good!" Ruby half lied. "I got my first pay this morning!"

"Oooh, how many zeroes?" Yang asked.

"A few more than I'm used to." Ruby replied.

"Oh, I know that feel." Yang stated. "You look at the number and think holy fuck I can buy everything!"

"Language!" Summer's voice singsonged faintly. "Hello Little Rose. Please don't go overboard with spending. You never know when you'll need it for an emergency." She advised.

Ruby flushed with just a small amount of guilt. "I'm doing a bigger shop this weekend. I've been making a list of things. But after that I'll be more careful...I kinda' got paid a lot more than I expected."

"How was your second week?" Summer asked. "Is your injury flaring? How is Sun? And his partner? Are you getting along?"

"She's only got one mouth Summer, calm down." Yang laughed.

"You're taking too long!" Summer protested. "My baby's a world away and I get one call a week!"

"It was fine mom!" Ruby chuckled. "My leg is fine, Sun's good. I helped him get a new scroll so he's like dad all over again. Blake and I are making progress. Oh, I need to get that fish recipe from you!"

"The beer battered cod?" Summer asked.

"Yeah, I wanna' make something Blake'll like for dinner." Ruby confirmed.

"I'll write up a few recipes and email them to you." Summer offered.

"Thanks mom." Ruby responded.

"You gotta' send me a pic of Blake." Yang cut in. "I keep imagining a grumpy cat whenever I think of you guys."

Ruby laughed, then remembered the picture she had accidentally taken that morning, and flushed. "That's not too far from the truth."

"Well come on!" Yang insisted. "I wanna' see the mystery gal who made a man of Sunny boy!"

"I'll ask, but I don't think she's the type for pictures." Ruby warned. Sun raised his scroll to snap another picture. Ruby poked her tongue out, crossing her eyes.

"If anyone can change that it's you Rubes." Yang encouraged. Sun gave her a thumbs up.

"Pfft, sure." Ruby chuckled. "Look, I gotta' go. I'll text you when I get home, okay?"

"Okay!" Yang cheered. "Have fun, give Sun a hug for me, and Blake too. Tell her Yang says hi. Love you! Miss you!"

"Miss you too Yang." Ruby replied. "I love you. Love you too mom!"

"I love you too Ruby, take care." Summer ended the call.

As Ruby hung up, Sun showed her his phone screen. It displayed the goofy picture he had sent to Blake, followed by her reply. "I hope her face gets stuck like that." Classic Blake.

"Come on, we should actually shop sometime today." Ruby suggested.

"How was everyone?" Sun asked.

"Good." Ruby answered. "Dad wasn't there though."

"You gotta' give me their numbers." Sun requested.

"What, so you can send them pictures of my butt?" Ruby scoffed. "No thanks."

"And Blake's!" Sun exclaimed.

"Not to Yang, she'll get a nosebleed." Ruby warned.

"She always was an ass gal." Sun chuckled.

"I know." Ruby groaned. "Every damn day, hey Rubes, look at datass! And I'm like Yang, that's your ass and she's like damn straight!"

Sun snorted. "The word straight shouldn't ever come out of her mouth. She was gay as a rainbow even when we were kids."

"Yeah, she was...but a few years after you left she just...went through a phase." Ruby explained. "Yang wasn't so gay anymore."

"Phase?" Sun questioned.

"Yeah, a phase." Ruby nodded. "It's done now, we moved on. Come on, I know what I wanna' get Blake."

"Fish?" Sun guessed.

"That too, but no." Ruby corrected. "This is more functional."

"Functional?" Sun quirked his brow. "Blake might like functional."

"Let's hope so." Ruby laughed. "I've always wanted on myself. If she likes it, everyone wins."

Blake looked incredulously at the bagged box Ruby had placed in her lap. "It's a gift!" Ruby had chirped. Then she had returned to the kitchn, helping Sun unpack the much larger than usual haul of groceries.

"Will it explode?" Blake asked, half serious. Sun had learned the hard way that sudden loud noises and bursts of streamers were very much not appreciated. Ruby on the other hand…

"No, it's a gift, not a surprise." Ruby answered, as if explosions were perfectly normal, expected, and not in any way unacceptable.

"If it does explode we got a warranty." Sun chimed in. Ruby threw a bag of chips at his head and he snickered.

"Reassuring." Blake bit, lifting the box upright. The bag was matte white, branded with the SDC snowflake. She wrinkled her nose at it before pulling the sides down. "What the fuck…" A familiar, anime-style illustration of an ivory haired girl beamed at her, sitting cross-legged, clutching a circular device to her chest.

"It was a limited edition!" Ruby called from across the breakfast bar, looking far too excited.

"It's Weiss Schnee." Blake deadpanned. "How the hell did this happen?"

"Merchandising!" Sun gave an answer that did not really help.

"This...is an autovac." Blake noted.

"It's a Schnee Dustbuster." Ruby corrected.

"A Weiss Schnee Dustbuster." Sun added.

"It's supposed to be really quiet." Ruby explained. "I thought maybe it wouldn't hurt your ears, and Sun wouldn't have to vacuum as much."

"Oh." Blake managed.

"Is it okay?" Ruby asked. There was such faint hope in her voice, Blake had to resist smiling. It was touching that after the events of the previous night, Ruby still cared for Blake's comfort.

"Yes Ruby, thank you, I appreciate this." Blake offered a small smile. Ruby's own magnified it. It was strange to feel that warmth again, the pride brought forth by a packmate's happiness...she chose not to dwell on the feeling, lest memories overcome her. Instead she focused on the box, slitting the tape with her nail and exposing the interior. Foam packaging surrounded the Buster, covered in yet more plastic. A harsh chemical smell pervaded Blake's senses. She pulled the device out, stripping the foul material and tossing it aside. That just left the ivory device in her lap.

"They said it comes charged already, and the charger is wireless as well." Ruby explained. "It just needs to be placed out of the way so we don't trip over it."

"Hmm." Blake acknowledged. She searched the packaging for a quick start menu. A minute later she placed the device on the floor and turned it on. She braced herself, ears folding down, but the expected whine did not come. The Buster hummed instead, and began to move around. It bumped into objects, learning the environment through trial and error. It was kind of cute, like a cub learning to walk.

"No pain?" Sun asked.

Blake smiled wider and shook her head. "Now you can clean the bathroom instead."

Sun groaned. The Buster ran into the coffee table. Ruby laughed.

When Ruby first arrived in Atlas, she had been exhausted. Between the chaos of scrambling to pack and the ordeal that had been the long flight, she had been left with little energy. Since then, she had not really had time to recharge. Work had been taxing, and life in Blake's apartment had been wrought with conflict. Now work was still tough, but at least she and Blake were getting along. That, combined with a night of carnal pleasure, an eye-popping paycheck and a fun shopping trip had given Ruby a boost of energy.

Ruby decided to channel that energy into exercise. It had been far too long since she had really worked out, and there was no good reason not to make use of the equipment sitting right there in the apartment. For a warmup, Ruby started off on the stationary bike. Before her accident she would have chosen the treadmill, but now she could not afford the high impact, not unless she wanted to wake up in agony the following morning. She sat down on the bike, set the resistance to medium, and pedaled for fifteen minutes. Having biked several theoretical kilometers, Ruby was ready to really get started.

Ruby began with the lighter lifts, using a multi-purpose machine to work out the smaller muscles in her arms and back. Next up were her triceps. She was always proud of how she demolished tricep exercises, even if most people were more interested in bicep curls. Those curls were next, followed by some rowing. After working on her core for a while, Ruby moved on to the grand finale, slipping into the seat of the bench press machine. She looked over at the weight stack, pondering how heavy she should set it. At her peak, she had been able to bench 100 kilos without too much of an issue. Sure, she could not do many reps at that weight, but it was impressive. She decided on 50 kg, a nice intermediate weight.

Ruby gripped the handles, took a few deep breaths, then began pumping the bar back and forth. She made it four reps before her arms refused to cooperate. It was disappointing to say the least. Just a few months earlier she could do dozens of reps at that weight, hardly breaking a sweat. It seemed the move had drained her more than she had thought. Ruby attempted another set, but only made it another three reps before her arms gave out. Getting back into shape was going to be harder than expected.

Ruby decided to forgo her usual post-workout cooldown walk on the treadmill. She was just too exhausted, her muscles burning with lactic acid. Instead she grabbed the rag and bottle of cleaning solution from the counter nearby and started wiping down the machines. It was something she did no matter where she was working out, but given Blake's firm insistence Ruby went the extra mile. Now was not the time to incur the Alpha's wrath, not when she was weak and exhausted. That was when predators always struck.

Ruby turned around to move the cleaning supplies back to the counter- "Hey." Blake greeted, suddenly standing just inches away.

"Gah….Blake...hey…" It took everything Ruby had not to scream and run away.

"Are you done or should I come back later?" Blake asked, seeming to take little note of Ruby's agitation.

"I just finished." Ruby replied. After a few deep breaths to calm herself down, she finally noticed that Blake was dressed to exercise - hair tied in a ponytail. She wore a snug orange tank top over a sports bra, with tight black sweatpants to round out the ensamble. "Hey, just a sec."

"What's up?" Blake responded.

"Can I uh...get a picture of you?" Ruby requested. "My family wants to see the girl who's dating their little boy."

Blake rolled her eyes. "Yeah, fine."

"Oh, good!" Ruby cheered. She grabbed her scroll from the counter and moved beside Blake, holding the device up for a selfie. "Smile!" Blake managed what could best be described as a small smirk as Ruby snapped the photo. "There. Like it?" Ruby showed the Faunus the screen.

Blake looked at herself. She looked...alright. "It's fine."

"Sweet." Ruby smiled. "I'll send it. Yang's gonna' be disappointed I didn't snap a pic of your butt in those pants."

"Don't even think about it." Blake warned, baring her fangs and extending her claws.

"I-I wasn't gonna' I-" Ruby stammered.

Blake's smile grew. "I'm just messing with you. But seriously, don't do it."

"O-oh, okay." Ruby laughed uneasily.

"Now go shower." Blake instructed.

"Right, I'll do that...um...have a good workout?" Ruby managed.

"I will." Blake grinned. Ruby grabbed her towel and rushed out of the room. Blake could not deny that she had grown quite fond of the little human. A part of her still hated the idea, but for now she chose to ignore it.