Chapter Text
Weiss stared at her reflection, sharp features and blue eyes piercing back at her. She raised an eyebrow watching the image follow before slouching with a sigh. She moved away from the mirror and headed towards her bed where a few short ties were set on display. Weiss hesitated over the light blue tie, and the white. She picked up the black one.
The top of her dress was a button up shirt, before cinching into a ribbon to transition into a skirt which flared. The sleeves of her dress were black matching with the black undercurrent of the skirt. She didn't feel like soft blues or bright colors of her house. She carefully put the tie around her neck, flipping the larger over the small and pulling it under in a knot. A rock settled in her stomach and she thought about just staying home, call with an apology and a gift, but she knew she couldn't. It would crush Ruby if she didn't go. She took a deep breath and left the room.
Three weeks ago
Weiss felt wary as she entered her office and promptly flopped into her seat. Her father in his last ditch efforts of control sent her to the corners of the earth in Grimm infested, and little civilization for "the company". Weiss thinks he's just throwing a fit. She groaned bringing a hand behind her neck and massaging it enjoying the silence of her dark office.... She was interrupted as her scroll rang and she blinked looking around her desk. Locating it in a drawer she pulled it out seeing a familiar face lighting up, after all these years her stomach still swooped in excitement every time she heard from Ruby. She answered quickly,
"Hello Ruby." she said smoothly.
"Weiss!!!" The other side squealed. "You answered!"
Weiss was confused for a moment suppressing a smile, "well, it is my scroll."
"Oh well yeah," Ruby giggled, "actually I've been trying to contact you for a while! But your scary assistant guys kept saying I er what was it? 'didn't have the clearance to contact Miss Schnee for personal matters on a private company line’ or something stuffy like that. I was actually a little worried..." Ruby trailed off shyly," I know you’re busy and have a lot of important work, running a company trying to save the world!” The girl said as if she wasn’t the most accomplished huntress of their time and literally saved the world. Although Weiss very much doubted Ruby knew exactly how famous she is considering she is dense as a rock.
Ruby laughed again but it had a sad tinge to it, “and I'm just you know me ..." she said softly. Weiss felt a protective urge surge in her chest at the self deprecating tone in Ruby’s voice. She clamped a hand on her arm chair and suppressed a growl; she would ruin whoever made her feel that way.
"Ruby, can you hold on one moment?" Weiss said sweetly, interrupting the girls rambling.
"Oh sure."
With the confirmation Weiss put her scroll at her side, walked back to her door and out to the assistant made babysitter her father tagged on her. And then proceeded to thoroughly destroy his self esteem all without dropping her smile. She then left him in a flushed stuttering mess with clear instructions to give Ruby Rose access to Weiss at all times, and the Schnee heiress entered her office once more taking her scroll to her ear again.
"Now where were we?" Weiss said and only heard Ruby's happy giggling. "What?" she demanded but Ruby only laughed more, "what's so funny you dolt." Weiss grumbled.
"Nothing~" Ruby sang, "I just really love you Weiss!" She said happily and Weiss nearly dropped the scroll. She cleared her throat begging her heart to calm down.
"Yes, well, thank you. Now you called for a reason I assume?" She said clipped but not unkindly.
"Oh yeah!" Ruby said, "I'm getting MARRIED!" she called out gleefully. This time Weiss really did drop the damn scroll.
She floundered and swept it up from the floor bringing it back to her ear.
"Excuse me?" She said breathless. Her chest tight, too tight, she felt light headed, was she having a heart attack? She was too young but stress was a killer. Ruby babbled on as her brain continued its ramblings. If she collapsed would anyone find her? Or would she lie here and die in this office as her coffin? Should she call for that ignorant man child of an assistant to call a doctor? No, that was ridiculous she wasn’t actually dying, right? Probably.
"I'm so excited! I can't wait!"
But it sure felt a lot like dying. She would know, she's been impaled before.
"I see." She finally choked out beginning to tremble. "I wasn't aware you... Or well I thought ...Uh" She stopped pressing a hand to her forehead trying to calm her racing thoughts.
"Ahhhh well.... Its um... It's a little complicated? I'd rather tell you in person. Any -way! It's in two weeks please please say you'll be there! It's just going to be something small in Patch." Ruby explained.
Weiss felt herself giving her agreement but her head spun in circles. She looked at the screen of her scroll as it went to the home screen. She looked in the drawer at the notifications and brought down the bar to view them; it was a bunch of texts from both Blake and Yang (the only people contacting her). The date read a couple of weeks ago, just as Weiss had left for the middle of nowhere,
Yang: can you BELIEVE it! My sister is a hoe!!! TT^TT What will the ancestors think! What will the neighbors! Oh H-woe!
The message was followed with multiple crying emojis and then a winky face showing the lack of bite.
Yang: lolz cause ya know, it's a shotgun wedding
Yang: Weiss?
Yang: I was only kidding you know about the hoe thing.
Yang:....
Weiss felt her stomach twist painfully and she almost fainted.
She trembled as she typed a reply.
Weiss: been out of town on business. What do you mean?
Yang: oh! thought I had offended your majesty for a moment Lmao. our little Ruby got pregnant. Now she's marrying the guy! He's pretty nice though. Everyone always thought it'd be me, well ha! shows them.
Weiss really did almost faint. She swiped over to Blake's message instead.
Blake: will you be going to Vale?
It was relaxed but open, a reflection of her personality.
Weiss hesitated over the keyboard attempting to write back a simple 'yes'
Weiss: I don't know
Blake: I understand. Let me know if you need anything.
Weiss trembled harder and set aside the scroll. She dropped her head in her hands and tried her best not to cry.
The ceremony was held in a wooden structure near their house in Patch. It seemed like some type of meeting hall and featured rows of pews and a raised stage. Near by there were barns abandoned, others in use. One of the barns Weiss had noticed was flipped into a bar, and the guests would more than likely raid it afterwards (Weiss already ducked in and grabbed some wine. Just a glass ...And the bottle.) At first entering the guests were greeted by Yang and a crying, blubbering Taiyang who Weiss greeted warily watching the man sob into the sleeve of his suit. She moved further into the hall observing the mingling guests: she could spot a few Beacon classmates, Velvet on Coco’s arm and even team SSSN. She frowned not spotting Jaune, Nora or Ren but when she glanced over a figure in an electric pink dress she did a double take.
“Jaune!?” She squawked. Walking up to him. The blonde turned around at the sound of his name spotting her he gave a smile and a wave.
“Hey Weiss!” He greeted, his eyes glanced down, “that’s a lot of wine.” She came to a stop in front of him and observed his...dress.
“It’s a gift.” She deflected easily, “um...you look…” She started a little unsure.
Jaune sighed exasperated, “I know, I told Nora it wasn’t my color but she didn’t listen. I pull off blues a lot better.” He pointed out clearly miffed.
“Yes. That’s what is wrong with this picture, the color .” She grumbled rolling her eyes. “Where’s Ren and Nora?” She asked instead.
“Nora is….” Jaune shrugged which Weiss nodded in understanding, Nora was just being Nora somewhere. “Ren is actually getting ready to officiate, can you believe he’s licensed?” Jaune laughed, “It kind of figures though! Ruby forgot to book anyone and started freaking out and he stepped forward all calm and Ren-like.”
“Ah, that is fortunate,” she said with little enthusiasm. If only Ren kept his mouth shut and the wedding had gotten canceled. She shook off the negativity and said a quick goodbye to him moving across the room. She went to the right of the stage where a wall of windows stood tall inviting the sun in. She groaned and took out her smuggled Wine. She poured a generous glass and took a tentative sip. The tried and true method worked and she began to feel a little less miserable and gulped down some more. She poured her second glass and sipped that one more slowly lost in thought as the buzz of conversation happened around her, everyone anxious for the ceremony to start. Weiss scoffed in annoyance, she reached for her glass of wine once more but a hand grasped her wrist stopping her. She blinked and looked to her right to find Blake standing by her side, ears relaxed and looking at Weiss with concerned amber eyes.
"I didn't know you drank so much wine." Blake said half joking.
"It's not unusual, we are celebrating." Weiss said back.
"It's 2 in the afternoon." Blake countered raising an eyebrow. "I thought with... Your parents," Blake started carefully, edging around a wound she knew still festered for Weiss. "You detested day drinking."
Weiss looked away feeling an odd mix of hot shame, coiling anger, and cooling understanding.
"Yeah well, I understand it more now." Weiss responded looking straight ahead and away from Blake. The faunus took her statement in and slowly released the heiress's hand. Weiss picked up her wine glass and downed it in one go. The burn eased the pain in her chest like a cooling salve and she never felt closer with her mother before in her life. It almost made Weiss laugh. Blake sighed at the sight but didn't stop her.
"You could say something you know." Blake said quietly.
Weiss didn’t bother with playing dumb or asking how Blake knew, the way she might have when they were younger. She was too tired. "That's just it isn't it? I can't. It's over." She poured herself another glass from the bottle she had stolen.
"You can't say that without trying." Blake said gently.
Weiss gritted her teeth and clenched the glass resisting the urge to smash it back down on the window sill. " Yes I can. This is the wedding Blake. What's going to happen? What could I really give her? My father--" she lowered her rapidly growing voice, "my father would bury us both before we could even blink. That’s if, if someone like Ruby could actually...It's better this way." She drank heavily again swallowing. "I ruin everything my remnant damn family touches." she scoffed again. “Happiness isn’t a Schnee trait.”
“Weiss…” Blake said, and somehow the way she said the heiress’s name seemed to culminate the entire situation. Weiss felt her lip tremble and she swallowed; if only she had the courage. If only she wasn’t such a miserable sham of a person.
If only, if only.
I remember when I almost kissed her, yeah I kind of freaked out
Ruby looked across the street at the dress boutique, a gaggle of women could be seen through the window (and the occasional guy mixed in) they cheered or shook their heads depending on different selections as a bride to be picked out her gown. The red cloaked leader gave a wistful sigh, Weiss attuned to every movement of Ruby’s turned to her.
“What’s wrong?” She asked as she tapped her foot annoyed with having to wait for Yang and now Blake who they elected to send after the blonde and drag her from the store.
“Do you ever think about it?”
“About what?” Weiss mumbled back distracted hiking on her tiptoes to look for any sign of the other two. If there is one thing Weiss hated it’s waiting.
“Getting married? Having a family? Kids?” Ruby explained causing Weiss to freeze.
The fantasy of a wedding soured a long time ago for Weiss, and she fiercely avoided the topic with every one of her father's “subtle” references to different suitors. Have you heard so and so’s son just got in to Atlas Business School? He’s the top of the class! Barf.
Weiss gave a clipped “no”.
Ruby deflated at the response, “really? Not even a little?” She whined. Weiss sighed and let her edge give way a little in the face of her affection for Ruby. A dangerous affection that only grew each day.
“At one point maybe…” Weiss thought about her parents, and worse she thought of her father and how sometimes she could see him in herself, and she felt a sharp fear that she may treat her own children the same one day. “No, not anymore. I have a business to run first and foremost, not to mention all of remnant is kind of falling apart, which apparently only a bunch of students can remedy. Why, do you want to get married?”
“Uh...not after everything you just said…” Ruby mumbled, “but yeah, I’d want to settle down in a cute home just like the one I grew up in! I would really want to be a mom. I think it’d be nice.” Weiss felt mesmerized by the shy blush on Ruby’s cheeks as she thought about her potential future family and she thought for a moment, Weiss could do it, have children if it were with Ruby.
“But…” Ruby’s face fell, “I doubt anyone would actually marry me.”
Weiss blinked. Then blinked again. Her brain could not even comprehend those words. “Ruby Rose that is the most ridiculous thing I have heard in a long time.” She said flatly.
"So what, even you would marry me?" Ruby teased, knowing the heiress would deny it and prove her point.
Weiss rolled her eyes feeling heated in the moment, ‘duh, I’d be lucky to marry you’. And didn’t give a response. Ruby looked at Weiss wide eyed and her mouth flopped open. Weiss looked at her for a moment wondering what she said, "what?"
Ruby was red and she looked shy, "you said..."
Weiss then felt her face grow hot. Did she say that out loud? Oh well, might as well go with it, she straightened, a Schnee doesn’t go back on their word.
"It's true." Weiss said confidently, well, as confidently as she could while internally screaming.
"Ah," Ruby started and her eyes flicked back and forth from the ground to Weiss. The heiress felt her throat go a little dry and she hesitantly touched Ruby's hand lightly with hers, the red cloaked girl jumped a little and her ears were red but she moved her fingers against Weiss's eventually tangling them together. She looked at Weiss through her bangs and Weiss felt herself move closer, eyes trained on Ruby's lips....
Ruby's eyes held a question in them and Weiss may even thought hope. It seemed so simple suddenly, and they were only a few inches apart....
"Yo! Sorry it took so long!" Yang cheered coming up to them. Weiss jumped away as if burned and the moment shattered around her, her hope and easy going thoughts breaking to shards at her feet as she berated herself in her mind--what an idiot she was! She peeked over to Ruby but the red head was chatting happily with Yang and Blake whining at her older sister for taking to long and Weiss panicked thinking she had ruined everything, but maybe Ruby hadn't noticed?
The leader then turned and smiled at her without any awkwardness or change and Weiss knew she should feel relieved, but all she felt was disappointment balloon in her chest.
----
__-_
She walked through the barn like structure hoping for some peace only to stumble upon a figure seated at a makeshift bar table.
“What are you doing here?” Weiss asked. Qrow blinked at her and grunted,
“Thinking.” He grumbled. She sank down next to him,
“That seems like a dangerous activity for you.”
“Har har.” Qrow responded sipping at his glass. “This is my drinking spot find somewhere else princess.”
“Didn't know you required a spot to drink, aren't you more of an anywhere anytime guy?"
Qrow didn't bother responding.
"Besides, shouldn’t you be celebrating with your family?” Weiss said instead referring to the group still in the little hall next door.
He gave her a sideways look.
“Why are you sitting here?” She asked again.
“Cause...all of it reminds me of what I don’t have I guess.”
“Like what?”
“A family.”
Weiss was quiet.
“Your turn.” Qrow said draining his glass and refilling it.
“About the same.” Weiss admitted quietly. Qrow slurped loudly. Weiss huffed, "you look pathetic." Weiss muttered trying to take the seriousness out of the air, and redirect her pain by hurting someone else.
He scoffed and rolled his eyes. "you're one to talk." He responded gruffly.
Weiss pursed her lips. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Suuuure." He grumbled downing his glass once more. He reached to his side for his bottle of whiskey movements slow and dumbed from alcohol. "Ah--hey!" He said startled as Weiss snatched the bottle away. He looked at her warily as she lifted it and chugged from the bottle making him gape at her. She sputtered and coughed putting it down.
"Why do you have to drink such cheap stuff." She coughed.
"uh... Sorry." he said staring at her. She sniffed,
"It tastes awful."
"It's not that bad." He defended
"It is," she said wiping at her mouth, "see? It’s so disgusting it’s making my eyes water..." she sniffed again putting her head in her hands.
Qrow was quiet for a moment. He turned forward again, he grabbed the bottle from in front of her and poured his glass. Slowly he sipped from it giving her some semblance of privacy.
"It's so awful..." she choked out.
"Yeah." he said quietly looking at his glass.
“I hate this.” She hiccuped sobbing into her hand.
Qrow awkwardly placed a hand on her shoulder. "I know kid."
Weiss cried, and cried.
She ain't gonna marry me.