“Weiss! I’m back!” Ruby called out, closing their door and tossing her keys into a bowl. “I have snacks!”
The sound of a cabinet closing told Ruby where to go as she skipped down the hall, poking her head through the entryway of their kitchen. Weiss was just finishing putting away plates and glasses, turning around to face Ruby once she was done.
“How was your middle school reunion?” she asked as Ruby came in and placed a bag on the counter. Ruby skirted around to place a kiss to Weiss’ lips which she happily sighed into.
“Tons of fun! It was nice seeing everyone from Patch after all this time,” Ruby responded after separating. She took her phone out to show Weiss some photos, letting her girlfriend scroll through at her own pace. “A lot of them actually moved out of the area and have been running their own businesses or starting families or just traveling. Can you believe that they thought I was lying when I said I was dating you?”
Weiss snickered as she imagined the looks of disbelief on Ruby’s old classmates’ faces. “It must’ve been very satisfying when you proved them wrong.”
“You’re dang right it was! I showed them a picture of us when we were visiting with Blake in Menagerie and they wouldn’t stop pestering me about you after that!” Ruby’s mind wandered back to the summer of last year when they spent a week on the tropical island. Weiss and heat did not pair well together, so she was always overheating and required many ice treats throughout their stay. She also wore skin-revealing clothing for the majority of their outdoor activities. Ruby hadn’t complained one bit about that.
Weiss broke her trip down memory lane by poking around the plastic bag she’d plopped between them. “You said you brought snacks?”
“Oh! Yeah! One of my friends is a baker and she brought a few things to share,” Ruby explained excitedly, pulling out some takeout boxes. “I didn’t have a chance to taste them yet. I was in a rush and sort of shoved them all into these. We should visit her in Vale next time!”
Ruby opened all the boxes and each had small portions of pastries, pies, and cakes crammed together. Weiss couldn’t really tell what was what, so she had to trust Ruby’s guidance as her girlfriend reached out for a fork, which Weiss easily handed to her. If only her cake butler were around to help.
“Are you really going to try them all now? It’s nearly eleven at night,” Weiss pointed out. She leaned an elbow on the counter, her chin resting in her palm, as she watched Ruby’s eyes dart between pastries and pies. “You’re already so full of sugar, anyway.”
“How else do you think I’m so sweet?” Ruby teased with her tongue sticking out. “It’s what charmed you in the first place.”
“I’ll think of a comeback to that later,” Weiss said with a roll of her eyes and a small smile. She then flicked Ruby’s forehead. “Don’t have too much. I won’t be able to sleep if you’re just vibrating from all the energy.”
The brunette wasn’t hurt in the slightest by the attack and just stuck her fork into the first chocolate-like item she saw. Once in her mouth, she instantly gushed about how delicious it was. “Are you sure you don’t want any?” she asked as she took a chunk of a pie. Ruby held it out in front of Weiss’ face, carefully waving the treat up and down.
Weiss was prepared to decline, but the puppy-dog eyes that Ruby was blinking at her almost instantly broke her will. Her grinning girlfriend knew all of her weaknesses and her silver eyes was one of them. She sighed in defeat. “After all this time, I’m still unable to not follow your ridiculous plans.”
“They always work, that’s why!” Ruby said triumphantly. She let Weiss take the bite off of her fork before going back for the rest of the pie. It took a few chews to recognize the taste of apple. “I wonder if she has anything seasonal at her shop right now. It’s almost fall!”
“Yes, everything will be pumpkin-flavored, I’m sure,” Weiss responded before clearing her throat, suddenly finding it itchy. She absentmindedly started to scratch the side of her neck. “Well, as soon as you’re done sampling, make sure you put them away properly. The last thing I’d want to wake up to is mice running on the counters. Again.”
Ruby chuckled sheepishly. She nodded as she bit into a cookie next. “You got it!”
Weiss smiled before walking around the counter to Ruby’s side, brushing some stray crumbs from around her mouth before kissing her. “Then I’m getting ready for bed. See you upstairs soon, I hope.”
Ruby watched with a dopey grin as Weiss walked out the kitchen and towards the stairs. She had only a couple more pastry pieces before she made true to her promise of packing up the boxes and then stacking them in the fridge for tomorrow. A few minutes later, as she was turning off the kitchen light, she heard a thud from upstairs.
“Weiss? What was that?” Ruby called out, nervousness settling in her stomach. “Are you ok?” When she didn’t hear an immediate response, she bolted up the stairs and into their bedroom, finding Weiss collapsed on her side on the floor. Her hair splayed out like spilled moonlight with a complexion to match as she weakly reached out for Ruby.
“Weiss!”
Ruby practically teleported to her girlfriend’s side, cradling her in her lap as she tried to stay calm. Weiss was heaving for breath, each one clipped and short, coming out in painful-sounding wheezes. Her eyes were open wide in fear as she focused on Ruby hovering above her with an equally-as-scared expression.
“W-Weiss, what’s happening? W-W-What do I--?” Ruby was nearly in tears at seeing her suffer. She was panicking.
Weiss lifted a shaky hand to her own throat, trying to tell Ruby what was wrong. A breathless word came from her mouth and she choked.
In an instant, Ruby knew what was wrong and how it happened.
Apples.
Weiss was allergic to apples. How could Ruby forget? A wave of intense guilt washed over her for not checking what kind of pastries she’d brought home. Even a small amount of the fruit would be enough to send Weiss into a state of shock and Ruby was the one who gave it to her.
Another choking gasp from her lap brought Ruby out of her self-scolding as she remembered what to do. Gently lying Weiss down on the floor as quickly as she could, she jumped over to their nightstand and tugged open the drawer. Thankfully, Weiss was a very organized person and Ruby found exactly what she needed in less than a second: an epinephrine injection.
Flying back to Weiss’ side, Ruby readied the pen, pulling the top cap off and falling to her knees, one on each side of Weiss’ legs. She grasped the pen firmly in her hand and, without hesitation, stabbed it into Weiss’ thigh. If her girlfriend felt the needle, then she didn’t show it, which relieved Ruby by a fraction as she counted to three in her head. She removed the pen and then tossed it to the side with one hand while the other gently massaged the area she just stabbed.
Weiss let out a feeble breath, but it was considerably much easier than a few seconds ago. She closed her eyes as she tried to relax a little bit, focusing first on her breathing. She hadn’t had an attack like that in years. Now she had to remember to get a replacement pen, just in case. She felt a timid hand brush some hair from her face and she reopened her eyes to Ruby’s full of tears.
“Ruby…”
Weiss’ voice was barely above a whisper, but the brunette heard it loud and clear. Ruby let out a sob as she brought Weiss back into her lap, holding her close. She buried her face into Weiss’ neck, feeling her pulse barely start to return to normal.
“I’m sorry…” she apologized with a hiccup. “I didn’t think -- I forgot and I -- I’m so sorry, Weiss…”
“Ruby...it wasn’t your fault,” Weiss responded, still trying to catch her breath, but feeling better. She managed to bring a hand up to cradle the back of Ruby’s head, gently stroking her hair. “You saved me, technically speaking.” She pressed a kiss to Ruby’s cheek to placate her. “I’ll be fine...but I still need to go to the hospital.”
The younger girl gave a sniffle before rubbing the tears away from her eyes. “R-Right, yeah, I’ll call an ambulance. Weiss, I’m --”
“You can apologize to me later,” Weiss chided her, suddenly feeling the fatigue from this ordeal. She let out a careful sigh. “Just...make sure I’m still breathing.”
“Don’t make jokes right now!” Ruby whimpered, her finger hovering just over her phone’s ‘call’ button.
Weiss gave the barest of smirks. She made sure she had Ruby’s attention before she called for an ambulance. If she were to die from making this joke, then it was worth it. Maybe.
“Remember earlier...when I said I’d think of a comeback? Well… Ruby Rose, you leave me breathless.”
==========
This came about from my headcanon that Weiss is actually very allergic to apples. Considering she’s based on Snow White, I thought it matched pretty appropriately if it put her in a life-or-death situation. I also had to research allergic reactions and how EpiPens work, so that was cool. I hope it’s accurate!
