Chapter 6

It did not take Ruby long to unpack her things. The majority were just clothes and body care products, then her laptop and accessories. Unfortunately she had been forced to leave her desktop in Patch. It was too risky to transport over such a long distance. She had heard too many horror stories of customs tearing apart expensive possessions to take that gamble. She could have shipped it, a much safer option, but that cost far too much. In time she planned to build a new one, or perhaps the SDC would even provide one for her. She did not have time to drool over the one at her desk, but it was SDC made. It had to be good, and expensive...it would probably come out of her pay.

Until then her laptop would suffice. It was cheap and slow, but reliable. It was covered in random stickers and marred with buffs and nicks from being shoved in her backpack hundreds of times. It somehow survived four years of university, Ruby's clumsiness, and occasional spills from placing it back in precarious positions. The screen was intact, it retained all its keys, and apart from a single hard drive failure it powered on, lumbering but strong.

With her clothes packed away in the chest of drawers, and her remaining belongings stacked on top, Ruby kicked off her shoes, shedding her work clothes to finally don something more comfortable. She chose pyjama shorts and her favorite hoodie. Why bother with underwear? She needed to shower anyway, maybe later when Blake was not asleep. Until then she had other things to do. She pressed the power button on her laptop, crawled into bed, and waited patiently for the device to boot.

Her new room was larger than what she had back in Patch. It had originally been the intended master bedroom of the apartment. It comfortably fit a double bed, two bedside tables and a chest of drawers. She could fit a desk and wardrobe if she wanted to as well. Maybe she would. Maybe, if things settled, if Blake truly warmed up to her. Otherwise she would not intrude long. She would find her own way, regardless of what Sun said. She refused to be a burden any longer. She was an adult now, she needed to better herself.

The login screen finally appeared, and one password later she was at her desktop. The wallpaper was a photo of Yang carrying Ruby bridal style, their smiles bright, tears in their eyes, Ruby's graduation gown billowing in the breeze. It was Ruby's proudest moment, the culmination of years of studying and suffering, changing her entire career path. That day had been the start of the rest of her life. She never could have done it without Yang, and it showed.

Picking up her scroll, she unlocked it. Opening her messages she saw Yang had gushed over her meeting with Sun, begging for more pictures and details, asking if they were on a date. Ruby rolled her eyes, sending off a text. "Vid chat? I'm in my new room!"

It only took a minute for the speech dots to flash as Yang responded. "New room!? Hell ye, gimme a sec"

Ruby opened the video chat program on her laptop. With a brief moment of confusion, she saw that she was already connected to the internet. Odd, she had not asked if Sun had a router, let alone one for the building. Clicking the connections icon she was surprised to find the culprit. SEC-SDC-NET-M

Weird. The laptop should have been searching for hotel wifi. Did the SDC provide free service in Atlas? The machine did run an SDC-made operating system, so perhaps it connected automatically. She did not have time to further consider the oddity, as Yang's grinning visage popped up on her screen, a call tone ringing loudly. Ruby scrambled for her headphones, plugging them in before accepting the call.

"Sis!" Yang greeted, loudly as expected. "Long time no see. How'd you find Sun?"

"I met him in a club." Ruby replied. "He's a bartender now."

"A club?" Yang asked. "Your leg playing up again?"

"Just a little." Ruby admitted. "My first day was rough. I just wanted to relax, and I asked my Ryde driver if she knew a safe club and...well Sun was there!"

"And what, you dropped off the face of Remnant with him?" Yang pressed.

"I got a little drunk, Sun said the drinks were on him…" Ruby trailed off.

"How many did it take this time?" Yang inquired.

"Four, I think." Ruby answered.

Yang laughed. "You're goin' soft Rubes."

"I hadn't eaten much okay?" Ruby defended. "I barely had time to eat a sandwich yesterday."

"Didn't you have breakfast?" Yang asked. Ruby clammed up. "Ruby-"

"I didn't wanna' be late!" Ruby protested.

"You gotta' wake up earlier Rubes." Yang advised.

"I know, I know, it's just...I'm so tired lately." Ruby complained.

"Because you haven't been eating properly!" Yang suggested.

"I'm gonna' try and get better Yang, I promise." Ruby insisted. "It's just been so hectic...but hey, good news, I got a place to stay now!"

"With Sun?" Yang asked.

"And Blake, his partner." Ruby nodded.

"Ooooh, Monkey Boy got himself a lady now?" Yang smirked. "Or is it a boyfriend?"

"Girlfriend, I'm pretty sure." Ruby replied. "She's kinda' scary, apart from the kitty ears."

"Uh-oh, did you tick her off?" Yang inquired.

"Yeah, I think I got clingy last night." Ruby admitted. "I woke up on the couch...and Sun."

"Pfft, hah, think she knows about the skinny dipping?" Yang laughed.

"I really hope not." Ruby groaned. "She's got claws Yang, claws. And these big yellow eyes that glare even when she's not glaring. And she doesn't really like humans."

Yang frowned at that. "Are you sure you're safe there?"

"I trust Sun, Yang." Ruby assured her sister. "He says Blake has had a rough life, that she just needs time to warm up to me."

Yang's frown softened, and she nodded. "If you say so...if he says so."

"She gave me water and a bagel this morning, so she's not all mean." Ruby noted. "Just grumpy. I don't think she got much sleep last night."

"My heart goes out to her, I didn't get any sleep last night." Yang chuckled.

"How is everything over there?" Ruby asked.

"Boring." Yang shrugged. "No break-ins, no crazy people. Saw a drunk on the video feed, but he just kept walking...it's getting cold as shit here."

"Oh man, it's nothing compared to here." Ruby complained. "It's like twice as cold. I'm surprised it isn't snowing yet."

"I've heard that." Yang nodded. "How'd the first day go anyway? A lot going on?"

"Fridays are the busiest apparently." Ruby explained. "Ms. Schnee likes to get a lot done so everyone can enjoy their weekends stress free."

"Really?" Yang grinned. "She seems the type to give homework."

"She's kinda' intense at first, but surprisingly gentle otherwise." Ruby suggested. "She's probably under a lot of stress, but if she ever blows up, I can handle it."

"Oh yeah, that was fun to deal with." Yang grumbled.

"Not everyone has your hugs to heal them Yang." Ruby noted.

"Hugs can't heal everything Rubes." Yang said.

"Yeah...but it can take the pain away." Ruby smiled.

Yang smiled too, but it was tinged with sadness. "I love you Rubes, and I miss you."

"I love you too Yang." Ruby responded. "I'm gonna' get some sleep. Wish you were here, could really use one of those hugs right now."

"I'll send a stuffed dragon." Yang joked. "It won't crush you, but you can pretend it might."

"I'd like that." Ruby chuckled. "G'morning sis."

"Good morning sis, don't let the kitty bite." Yang teased, blowing a kiss.

Ruby laughed, blowing a kiss back before ending the call. She yawned. "Here's hoping."

Ruby awoke to the familiar ache of a growling belly. Clearly breakfast had not been enough. Fumbling in the dark for her scroll, she hissed as the harsh screen burned her deprived eyes. Squinting, she made out the time: 9:24PM.

No wonder she was hungry. She did not expect to nap that long, maybe a few hours at most. Then she would have woken up, got some lunch, done some exercise and made a shopping list. Well, it was the weekend, she could be nocturnal for the day. Stretching, she shuffled out of the bed, ignoring the stiffness in her leg as she fumbled her way to the door. She opened it as gently as possible, crossing the hall to the bathroom and slipping inside.

After being thoroughly blinded by the hellish lighting characteristics shared by every generic bathroom ever, she made a mental note to buy a shampoo rack for the shower. She hated leaving the bottles on the floor or the edge of the tub, it just felt wrong for some reason. She was deep in thought when she emerged, walking past the living room when a soft voice called. "Good evening."

Ruby jumped looking to the source to find Blake, who was fully dressed and wide awake on the couch. The Faunus was hunched over the coffee table, which was covered in a greasy towel and several handguns, one of which was partially disassembled in her hand. If Ruby had not been awake before, she was now. "Good evening?"

"Yes, we are in the evening Ruby." Blake murmured, inspecting the gun's loose barrel. Well that was more polite than usual. Still, the scene was freaky, with the whole not looking at her while cleaning a firearm thing. Wasn't this how fathers are supposed to intimidate their daughter's dates? "I'm not going to shoot you."

"I know, well, I hoped." Ruby managed a little laugh. "You don't really seem the type. You just caught me a little off guard is all." She stammered, rubbing a bit of stray sleep from her eye.

Blake huffed a chuckle. "Sure."

Ruby stood awkwardly, mind frazzled as she attempted to center herself. "Um, Blake, can I have another bagel? I'll buy some tomorrow."

"Sun went shopping for you." Blake replied. She began to reassemble the weapon. "The bag in the pantry is yours, as is the full cream milk in the fridge."

"Thank you." Ruby responded. Blake shot her a look. Ruby shrugged. "For telling me. I know you don't like me."

Blake sighed, dropping the nearly finished gun on the table to stretch, popping her back with a groan. "I don't dislike you, I dislike your existence."

Ruby quirked her head. "Oh...kay?"

"Just go eat." Blake rolled her eyes. "Any thinner and you'll make me look fat."

Ruby chuckled. "Yeah, I've been slacking lately." She agreed, crossing to the kitchen.

"Sun said you had an accident, are you sick?" Blake pressed.

"No, I broke my leg really bad years ago." Ruby located the pantry, finding the mentioned bag within and picking it up. "It hurts sometimes, but that's not why I'm thin, not really."

"Bulimic?" Blake suggested.

"No!" Ruby cried as she opened the bag. "University and work, and scrambling to move. I used to be amazing, got into Uni on an athletic scholarship." The bag contained her favorite cereal - Pumpkin Pete's Double Choc - along with a fresh loaf of bread, a jar of protein powder, and- "Cookies." She murmured gleefully, spinning to place the bag on the kitchen bench.

"So what, you switched majors?" Blake asked.

"Yeah, to engineering, robotics mainly." Ruby replied. "I thought I was getting a prosthetic and Yang cracked a few jokes, and they stuck."

"So you've been sitting at a desk the whole time?" Blake inquired.

"No, I used to still work out." Ruby shook her head. "I still looked good, just couldn't run anymore. I kept up my upper body workouts, but the last year was really rough, between the stress and being super busy all the time I just...faded. I couldn't work out, could barely make meals. Mom tried to help fatten me up when I got home, but a few weeks later and I'm out here already."

"Hmm." Blake suddenly appeared at the counter. "Bowls are beside the range hood."

Ruby murmured thanks, pulling a bowl free from said cupboard, followed by milk from the fridge. "Blake, can we start over?" She requested, opening the cereal and pouring a bowl full. "I know first impressions are everything but...I really don't wanna' be the human who got drunk and slept on your...partner." She folded the box back up and opened the milk, looking up to meet Blake's usual passive gaze.

"No Ruby, you can't start over." Blake stated bluntly.

Ruby sighed, shoulders slumping as she filled the bowl with milk. "Okay." She mumbled, opening the top drawer to find the cutlery. A clunk on the counter drew her attention to a spray can beneath Blake's hand. Ursaid Premium Mace.

"Just do better from now on." Blake pushed the can forward and turned back to the living room.

"I'll try my best." Ruby promised. "Thank you Blake."

"Did you bring anything else with you?" Blake asked.

Ruby pulled free a spoon, knocking the drawer shut and scooping up a mouthful of the chocolate cereal. "Mngo? Whee?" Ruby managed between bites, picking up the can and inspecting it.

"Nothing?" Blake pressed. "No gun? No knives? No baton?"

"No, I don't like guns, but I'm not really against them." Ruby reasoned. "I just don't want to risk killing someone. I don't think I could take that, even if they were trying to kill me."

Blake hummed. "Understandable I suppose...so you're just walking around with onion spray as protection?"

Yang said it was good quality! "Patch isn't exactly a crime capital Blake." Ruby noted.

"And Atlas keeps its statistics suppressed at the best of times." Blake countered. "If you can't run, you need to be able to fight."

"I'm not exactly roaming the streets at night." Ruby protested.

"No one ever is, until they are, and what then?" Blake pressed. Ruby did not have an answer for that. 'What ifs' were always unfair. "I'll loan you a taser."

"Thank you Blake." Ruby repeated.

"Hmm...you need to shower." Blake suggested.

"Sorry, I didn't want to wake anyone up." Ruby explained.

"Just hurry up and eat, you won't wake up Sun." Blake instructed.

"I know." Ruby nodded. "Yang once covered his face in whipped cream, he didn't wake up all night."

Blake snorted, and for the first time Ruby heard her actually laugh. It was deep and muted, but with a hint of cheer that reminded Ruby of Yang. It was nice...the entire exchange had been nice, mostly...small victories. She hoped this Blake would be around more often. Or was Blake just coming off a sex high? Ruby tried not to think about that.

"She didn't really say much else." Ruby noted. "I showered, spent a bit in my room, and when I came out she gave me a taser." She explained to Sun, as he pushed the shopping cart down the aisle. "Told me to use it on you if you got rowdy."

"That's the closest thing to a joke she's cracked in a week, and I wasn't around to hear it." Sun lamented.

Ruby checked her list, pulling a cheap towel and facecloth from a nearby shelf. "It was really weird, but I like her when she's like this." She dumped the item into the trolley. "But I feel like the hammer's gonna' fall, ya' know?"

"She has bad days and good days." Sun shrugged. "You caught her in a really good mood for sure."

"She's really big on self defense." Ruby observed.

Sun snorted. "Yeah, she gets off on it. She doesn't let me touch anything anymore though."

"What did you do?" Ruby sighed.

"It was unloaded, and the safety was on-" Sun started.

"Oh gods, you were playing cops weren't you?" Ruby accused.

"I thought I was alone!" Sun protested.

"Sun!" Ruby admonished. "You're supposed to treat all guns like they're loaded all the time, even when you know they're not! It's like, the rules! Even if a gun is unloaded, it's loaded, even if the safety is on, it's loose. Why don't you just buy a toy gun?"

"They're too small and stupid." Sun grumbled.

"You can buy prop guns for like fifty lien." Ruby noted.

"What?" Sun gasped. "Where?"

"The internet." Ruby replied. "You do know what that is, right?"

"I know what the internet is!" Sun insisted. "I just don't use it."

"Ugh, that explains everything." Ruby groaned. "You dope, where's your scroll?"

"It's here!" Sun pulled out...a relic from the past.

"A flip phone." Ruby rolled her eyes.

"I like it." Sun defended.

"Sun...everyone has a scroll these days." Ruby noted.

"Blake has a swipe." Sun countered.

"Same thing!" Ruby exclaimed. "How do you not have one?"

"I didn't see the point." Sun shrugged.

"Now you sound like dad." Ruby complained.

"If I'm half the man he was when I knew him, I'd say I'm doing alright." Sun declared.

"He has a scroll now!" Ruby yelled.

"Well la-dee-dah, big daddy has a fancy scroll." Sun teased. "I bet you nagged him into getting it."

"He got it after I showed him how to take slow motion video on mine." Ruby explained. "He basically rushed to the store and bought one on the spot."

"Lemme' guess, he filmed Zwei for two weeks?" Sun guessed.

"Days, then he moved on to me and Yang, and mom." Ruby nodded. "He still sends me videos sometimes, like of a hummingbird or something."

"And what's Summer up to?" Sun asked.

"Still cooking, she's head chef now." Ruby answered.

"Oh, awesome!" Sun cheered.

Ruby stopped in front of the feminine products, sighing as she scanned the selection. "Ugh, I hate buying pads. It's super weird when the cashier scans them, and it's like 'oh yeah, this is going on your puss.'"

"What I wanna' know is why they're so colorful." Sun scratched his chin. "Is it meant to, like, make them less intimidating or something?"

"They look like candy packets!" Ruby grabbed one of the multicolored packages, examining the details.

"It's for the kids Ruby, do it for the kids!" Sun laughed.

"That's stupid, these are marketed to adults." Ruby chucked two packs into the trolley and continued onward. "I can't imagine Blake buying them...if she buys them. Do Faunus have different cycles from humans?"

"Kinda'?" Sun shrugged. "Uh...it depends on the Faunus."

"Does it hit Blake hard or is she one of those weirdos that thinks everything is fine?" Ruby asked.

"Eeeeeh." Sun shook his head. "Sorta' both?"

"Weird to talk about?" Ruby suggested.

"Yeah, kinda' weird." Sun confirmed.

"Can you at least give me a heads up so I can stay out of her way extra hard?" Ruby requested.

"Oh trust me, you won't need a heads up." Sun grinned. "It's pretty obvious."

"Oh lovely…" Ruby grumbled.

Well, so far so good. Maybe things would be rocky down the line. One day was nothing to really judge a life on, but if things went as smoothly as the prior night, Ruby did not really have much to worry about. She could settle down, get into the groove of things, bond with Sun again. It would be just like when they were kids, just with more responsibility...and Blake. Hopefully things would work out.