Honeycomb Hearts

On the Clock

Not a second passed since the door had opened, yet Ruby had already flung herself onto her bed with a sigh of relief.

"Oh, bed!" Ruby said, "I'll never take advantage of you again! You're soft, smooth, and not full of ants!"

Yang and Weiss followed through the door. They looked at Ruby then gave each other a similar glance.

"Listen, it's not my fault the blanket just so happened to fall right onto an ant's nest." Yang said.

"But you're the one who put it down!" Ruby flipped herself over and glared at Yang. "I swear, I can still feel them in my socks. Tons of tiny little ants trying to eat me."

"Well if they ate you, we wouldn't need as much food for the next picnic," Weiss said, "I remember you being a big eater but five sandwiches in almost two minutes is still insane."

"If you two are just going to keep making fun of me for being a perfectly normal person with perfectly normal needs, I'll just listen to perfectly normal music." Ruby pulled her headphones out from under her pillow and jammed the wire into her phone. Faint rock music played from the headphones even after she put them on, and Yang could hear it all the way across the room.

"She's gonna go deaf before she hits thirty." Yang sighed.

"She's in her twenties but still acts like a five-year-old," Weiss said, "But there is something to be said about her constant positivity."

"I guess you're right." Yang sat down on the couch and let out a sigh. Her stomach growled – she wasn't sure if it was from eating too much, or not enough. She began to lay down, but remembered her dad's words about how girls who laid down after eating all became cows who were abducted by aliens. Absurd? Absolutely, but Yang still reflexively straightened back up.

"So, Yang, how are you liking Apis Mellifera?" Weiss asked.

"It's a really nice place. Fresh air, new friends, the whole shebang. Plus, it's not too far from Malleus, so when I eventually get a job again, it's just a little ride away from free employment. Speaking of which, how's business?"

"Yeah, I really like Apis Mellifera. There's a reason I'm saving up to get a house here." Weiss replied.

"Yeah... but I meant the coffee shop. How're things going there?"

"Y'know, I think this room could use some sprucing up. Maybe some flowers on the windowsill, or a poster or two."

Yang sighed. "That bad, huh?"

"To be honest, it's been downhill ever since Ruby left. I understand that she needed time to help you move here and all, but I'm just barely above the black. One more bad month and I'll need to close it down."

"Why not just ask Ruby to come back? We've settled in nicely, and I'm sure she would love to go back to working with you."

"I just... I don't know. I don't want to seem desperate to get her back here before she's ready. I know you just said you two were settled, but I don't want to rush it and ask before she feels ready, you know? It's sort of-" Weiss was cut off by a scream.

"Noooo!" Ruby cried, "This can't be!"

Yang shot up. "What? What's wrong?"

Ruby turned towards Yang and Weiss, tears brimming in her eyes. She turned the phone screen towards them to show a blinking orange circle and a short message with a large dollar sign at the end.

"My free three months of Spotted Fly just ran out!"

Yang slumped her shoulders. "Okay, well, can't you just go back to paying for it? You've had a Spotted Fly account for years now."

"That's the thing... my checking account only has three dollars left, and the account is five dollars a month..." Ruby pressed her head into her pillow and sighed deeply.

Yang and Weiss exchanged glances. Yang nodded her head towards Ruby, to which Weiss responded with a confused stare.

"Oh no, Ruby, if only there was some way of getting money!" Yang said, "Perhaps an action that's done by almost every adult in the country that gives out money for doing various things!"

Ruby's head shot up. "I could become a video game streamer!"

"You could get a job." Yang said.

Ruby rolled onto her back. "But where can I find a job? Weiss probably won't want me back after I quit so suddenly, and I don't want to be in a cubicle..."

"I'm... right here you know." Weiss cleared her throat. "And you didn't quit without reason. Or quit at all, actually, you're on unpaid vacation right now."

"Wait, when did you get here?" Ruby asked, "Also, really?! I've just been on vacation?"

"Yup – I was hoping you would come back to the shop after you two got settled in." Weiss said.

"You mean I can come back?"

"I'd have it no other way."

"Weiss! You're my hero!" Ruby shot up and wrapped her arms around Weiss, squeezing every bit of air out from her lungs.

"Don't... mention... it..." Weiss gasped. Ruby finished her hug and left Weiss gasping for air.

"Will it be the same thing? Do we still need ideas? Ooh, I had a good idea for strawberry meringue cookies the other day, let me find the paper for it!" Ruby dove under her bed and began shoving papers aside.

Yang placed her hand on Weiss' shoulder. "See? Nothing to it."

"No, no, that's not it..." Ruby threw a paper behind her that fluttered towards Yang's feet. At the top in scribbled letters was "Yang B-Day Ideas!!!" Yang picked up the paper and skimmed through it. She had meal names scribbled every which way that Yang had never even heard of, with stick figure drawings of herself celebrating with her, Weiss, and Blake. Her eyes fell to the "Presents" area... which laid empty, other than a single sentence: "Ask Blake for ideas – need something big to cheer up Yang."

"Oh yeah, your birthday is in a week, isn't it?" Weiss asked, peering over Yang's shoulder.

"Huh?" Yang dropped the paper, which fluttered right back under the bed. "Oh, yeah. It's been pretty relaxed around here, so I almost forgot."

"If there's a party, I'll bring the cake. Free of charge." Weiss gave Yang a gentle hug, and whispered two words into Yang's ear: "Thank you."