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Weiss clicked the control in her hand and started her prepared presentation on the screen at the front of the conference room. The first slide appeared on the screen and she methodically checked in on each and every one of her potential investors as they soaked in the information.
Cinder Fall sat at the far end of the conference table, representing Salem’s Lot Banking. She specialized in less-than-savory acquisitions that often spelled doom for those being acquired, but Weiss knew that Salem held no affection for Jacques and hoped that might sway things in her favor.
Hazel Rainart, owner of Fairytale Financing, had taken a seat along the right side of the table. Despite his firm’s name, he had a reputation for being ever the pragmatist and that had cost him quite a few opportunities in the past. Weiss doubted that he would be interested, but his presence at the table gave her company credibility to the other investors that she was banking on.
A few other investors filled the rest of the seating around the conference room, none that Weiss knew well enough to place names to faces, all representing smaller firms and interests. One investor had taken her chair to sit in a corner at the back of the room and Weiss couldn’t immediately place her, but her time examining the people in front of her came to an end as she needed to re-engage in her presentation.
“Our team of engineers are working to continue refining the first marketable iteration of our proprietary Renewable Water-based Battery sYstem or, as we have taken to calling it, the RWBY.”
She was quite proud of the name she’d come up with, an intelligent acronym that was easily marketable and an homage to its brilliant, wonderful inventor.
“We expect to have several contracts lined up by the end of the quarter with several mid-sized, reputable companies. With your funding, we would be able to begin the work of identifying and paying for our first factory line to begin production in advance.” She kept her eyes on the room in front of her. Her presentation had been iterated upon time and time again after each round of discussions of meetings and, despite the dozens of iterations, Weiss never needed to look anywhere but at her audience.
“You have yet to sell a single unit?” Cinder Fall leaned forward from the far end of the conference room table, the satin of her dress sleeves slipping down to her elbows to reveal a set of large, golden bracelets dangling off one wrist.
“That is correct, but as you can see here-” Weiss clicked the control again to move onto the next slide “-our predominant overhead currently is in acquiring the necessary hardware. Our employees are taking the bare minimum as salaries and opting for stock options to keep expenses low until we begin padding our portfolio.”
“May I be honest?”
“Of course, Ms. Fall.”
“If this were a pitch by any other venture capitalist out there I would already have my checkbook at the ready.” Cinder leaned back in her seat, clearly bored with the proceedings thus far.
“If I may be so bold, what is holding you back?” Weiss held both her hands behind her, a polite smile plastered across her face. “I'm certain that it can be addressed or at the very least explored further.”
“How, pray tell, would you have us evaluate the risk posed by your father?” Cinder lazily rolled her wrist, the gold bracelets clinking together. “As I see it, and please correct me if I am mistaken, this is nothing more than an outgrown childish rebellion that will come to an end soon enough.”
Hazel grumbled in his seat, shifting his weight so that his elbows were planted on the conference table. “Or what if this is another of Jacques' attempts to ferret out unfaithful investors and business partners? The two of you could merely be colluding for all we know; after all it is common knowledge that you are keeping majority control of your Iceflower Industries.”
Pietro had bought a five percent stake in the company in exchange for the three, maybe four, months in front of them. Penny and Nora each had a five percent stake as compensation. Ruby held twenty five and a half percent, mostly under protest, and Weiss had another twenty five and a half percent stake. There was still plenty to be sold off. That wasn’t the issue.
She was acutely aware that, as always, she was the issue.
Cinder laughed with a roll of her eyes. “Your paranoia will be the end of you, Hazel.”
“Funny, coming from the vulture capitalist all too willing to rip companies apart and sell them off for their individual parts.” Hazel shot back.
“Enough .” Weiss stated calmly and clearly but firmly. She could not have the two of them sniping at each other this entire time. “I am not my father. I will not tolerate these accusations, nor will I dignify them with a response. If you have no interest in our proposed business model or product, I invite you to take your leave.”
To her shock, Cinder and Hazel both stood to do just that.
Weiss’ heart sank in her chest as the other investors followed their lead.
Except for the lady in the back corner of the room.
Cinder lingered in the doorway for a moment longer as the rest of the investors filed out of Iceflower Industries sole conference room. She glanced at the woman seated in the corner and sneered as she looked at Weiss.“You must be desperate if you are seriously contemplating working with the cursed princess, Schnee.”
Weiss readjusted the lapel of her icy blue blazer and took in a deep breath.
There was still the unknown investor remaining and beggars could hardly be choosers, Cinder’s so-called warning pushed to the side of Weiss’ thoughts.
She strode towards the still-seated investor, her heels clicking against the faux-hardwood flooring. “Pay those snakes no mind, but I am afraid that I have not yet made your acquaintance.”
Weiss reached out her hand to assist the woman in standing and the woman looked up at her before taking the assistance.
Patches of vitiligo, white splotches of skin across otherwise bronze skin, marked the investor’s arms and face but Weiss paid it no mind although she was fascinated by how the woman’s brown ponytail curled back into itself at the end of its length like a tail.
“My name is Ilia Amitola and I am here on behalf of Belladonna Banking, more specifically on behalf of Blake Belladonna.” Weiss filed those names away as research items for later today while Ilia tilted her head to one side, staring at Weiss in near-fascination. “Did you mean what you said?”
“My apologies, that was quite a long presentation I provided.” Weiss held her hands behind her back, releasing tension by gripping her hands together ever more tightly. “What, specifically, are you inquiring about?”
“I'm sorry.” Ilia rubbed the back of her head with a lopsided grin. “Can we speak more plainly?”
“Absolutely.” Weiss nodded.
It was just the two of them and, frankly, if Cinder disliked Ilia then that could only speak to Ilia’s character.
Ilia’s shoulders fell and she slumped just a little. Whatever formality she held had evaporated as she cracked her knuckles. “That you aren't affiliated with Jacques Schnee?”
Weiss sucked in a breath. Of course that particular accusation had lingered, not that Weiss could blame anyone for their concern.
“I would be happy to refer you to the years of tabloids, media investigations, and interviews-”
“Okay, but-”
“-Or my wonderful girlfriend of five years and lead engineer, Ruby Rose.” Weiss hummed, gesturing to the energetic redhead bouncing past the glass wall partitioning the conference room from their open office space.
Ilia laughed as Ruby caught the two of them talking and blew Weiss a kiss.
She made a note to reprimand her girlfriend later. Despite how cute the gesture was, nevermind the blush on her cheeks, it was not exactly professional behavior in front of a potential investor.
“Point taken. This was a lovely presentation, Miss Schnee.” Ilia grinned. “May I have your business card?”
Weiss pulled one out of her blazer pocket and handed it to Ilia with a smile. “Please, call me Weiss, and I look forward to hearing from you.”
***
Weiss cleared the old mechanical calculator, whirring to and fro with audible and satisfying clicks, ready to rerun the accounting numbers again.
The ghost of a smile formed at the creases of her mouth as a particular picture frame grabbed her attention. She gently reached out, running her finger along the edge of the white frame before picking it up.
Ruby had made Weiss sit in the only chair at the front desk with her hands on the test RWBY model. Ruby stood over Weiss, arms wrapped around her from behind the chair. Penny and Nora flanked the desk, Penny with her trademark green apron and goggles while Nora held onto a soldering iron. Weiss had been outvoted when it came to the official logo of Iceflower Industries in the background of the picture. One of her fridge doodles - the snowflake and rose that Weiss had doodled while Ruby was completing her capstone project - had been decided as the logo.
The future had seemed so bright then, almost two years ago on the day they opened the office. Nora had dragged Ren out, along with Pyrrha and Jaune while Yang had stayed a week longer after graduation to help get everything moved. Pietro had come to visit to see Penny graduate but stuck around longer as an informal advisor for the bunch of them.
Now, Weiss fought the compulsion to tug at her hair, they had three months of runway left before they either took off or stalled on the ground floor. They might be able to squeeze out a fourth month if they vacated their meager office space once the contract ended in two months and if Weiss and Ruby went down to one dismal salary rather than two.
She sat the picture frame back down and resumed entering figures into her calculator, a hand-me-down from Grandfather once upon a time.
Her nose wrinkled in disgust as she began entering the monthly salaries into the equation. They should really only be paying Ruby anyway at this point. All she had done was… nothing. Wasted hours upon hours with cold calls, reinventing pitches, studying market trends, anything and everything she could rack her brain to do.
The only successes she had were in organizing parties for morale in their small conference room and running errands for every one of her team members to make their lives easier. The mini-fridge, microwave, coffee maker, and foldable table that served as an impromptu kitchenette had done wonders for team morale.
Sure, she'd burnt through her entire inheritance but everyone else was actually achieving something with results and causes for celebration. All she had managed so far was to give out a single business card in a room of investors representing mid-sized firms and banks. None of the big dogs wanted to even be seen talking to her.
That inheritance of hers would have, in another life, made sure she was set. It was originally intended as nothing more than a rainy day fund or an allowance when she was still the heiress. If she knew she would try to build a company after graduating, she would have tried taking more cash out when she had the chance rather than cutting and running with what she had on hand.
She knew all too well the trap of getting caught in paths untaken. There were no regrets to be had in separating herself from Jacques and a last name that still cast a long, deathly shadow across her life.
Content that her calculations were correct, even if the numbers themselves were abysmal, Weiss flicked the mechanical calculator off and stood up from the front desk of Iceflower Industries. Everyone else had long gone home for the evening and it was time for her to turn the lights off.
Hopefully they wouldn’t go off one day forever.
***
My problem, it's my problem
That I never am happy
It's my problem, it's my problem
On how fast I will succeed
She braked, slowly coming to a halt in front of the red stoplight and Weiss turned the radio off.
The silence was only broken up by the dull rattle of her used car's muffler.
So she screamed.
And screamed.
For nothing: Her corrupted family name, her father, the scared investors and bankers, their failing budgets, and most of all herself.
For everything: Her dreams, her friends that relied on her, and most of all Ruby.
Until her lungs gave out and she broke into a cacophony of coughing.
That was a disappointing venue for catharsis, but she hadn’t tried it before.After all, she couldn’t scream anywhere else. That might frighten the janitors in the office complex, yelling in public might draw attention of tabloids, and she couldn’t do that to Ruby in their apartment without drawing a whole bevy of questions that she frankly wasn’t prepared to handle. It hadn’t helped that there had been no time lately for the gym to tire herself out.
Still, she had to try and vent some of this frustration before arriving home to Ruby and Zwei if only for their sakes.
The stoplight turned green and Weiss dialed in her scroll as she accelerated.
The scroll rang only once.
“Yes, dear sister?” If one didn’t know better, Winter would have come off cold and unwelcoming with her initial question but there was the barest hint of warmth that betrayed her true intent. “What troubles you?”
Weiss huffed. “I don’t need a reason-”
“True.” Weiss could imagine Winter as she cut her off, the younger sister grateful they weren’t on a video call as she rolled her eyes. “However, you are typically sitting down to dinner with your Rose at this time.”
Weiss bit her tongue and she tapped her fingers along the steering wheel. If Winter wanted to get to the heart of why she called without the barest hint of pleasantries, so be it.
“How did you escape the shadow of our last name in the military?”
A pause.
Silence returned as her sister was speechless for once.
“Truthfully?” There was something in Winter’s voice that she hadn’t heard before, couldn’t place in their years of living together.
“Of course.” Weiss nodded, despite it not being a video call.
“I…I did not.” Winter said in the barest hint of a whisper, as though she were confessing a secret.
In ways, Weiss supposed, she was. Winter was supposed to be the strong one of the three of them. She had fled at an early age into the welcoming embrace of the Atlas army where even Jacques Schnee dared not trespass. Her knuckles whitened on the steering wheel as her grip grew ever stronger. She had expected his grasp to fall short of reaching Winter and-
“But you’re a Colonel!”
Weiss blinked. She hadn’t meant to say that and yet now it was out in the open. Was she mad for her sister? Truly? Or was she mad that Winter had no easy solution to lay before her? She huffed.
Life had never been easy before. No sense in why it would start now.
“General Ironwood has made it quite clear, unfortunately, that I cannot rise above my current rank given the current… geopolitical climate.” Winter’s measured tone betrayed the fragility of her feelings. It had taken too long for her to craft a response, far too long to regain composure. “The Atlas Council does not want the perception of impropriety to be a possibility given-”
“Win.” Weiss tried her best not to sigh as she interrupted what was clearly becoming a monologue. “Please. It’s been a horrid day.”
“I’m sorry, Weiss, that I don’t have a better answer for you.”
Weiss sucked in a deep breath and slowly exhaled.
She was driving and she could not afford to cry right now.
There would be time later to process this conversation buried under blankets in the warm embrace of Ruby’s arms. The two of them could talk about it, together, and Ruby would hold Weiss as she always did when the tears inevitably began to flow. Until such time, Weiss would occupy herself with other things or she would risk falling apart and her life had made one thing abundantly clear if nothing else:
She could not fall apart.
“I’ll… talk to you later, Win.” She tried her best not to sound rattled as pulled her scroll away to end the call and-
A quiet murmur came from her scroll.
Weiss pressed her scroll back up to her ear. “Yes?”
“If you wish to tell me more about what is bothering you, I will listen. I don’t…” Winter trailed off and static came across the call. “I don’t say it often enough. I love you.”
Her voice threatened to warble, but she kept it steady enough to maintain her precious dignity. “I love you too.”
Weiss hadn’t heard those words from another Schnee in ages.
***
The elevator dinged as the doors slid open to her apartment floor. She stepped off the elevator, checked that nobody was around, and stood in the hallway.
The investors earlier today had rattled her.
That phone conversation with Winter had certainly shaken her.
She could afford to be neither of those things in front of Ruby tonight, not because Ruby would be anything but empathetic and comforting but precisely because of that fact. Whatever resilience and tenacity still in her after today wouldn't stand a chance against the resolve of her valiant and equally stubborn girlfriend.
It was the double-edged sword that Weiss had come to recognize these past five years as love. Ruby couldn't just let it go when Weiss was upset and ordinarily she loved when her girlfriend wouldn't give her peace in that way.
Tonight had proven itself to be anything but ordinary.
Weiss stood in front of her apartment door, briefcase in one hand and key in another. She closed her eyes and walked herself through one of Ruby's calming exercises. She took in a slow, measured breath and exhaled it just as carefully before opening her eyes and entering her home.
“I’m home!” She called out, more a habit than necessity given their cozy apartment and Ruby was sitting at her desk in the living room.
“Weiss!” Ruby spun in her desk chair, arms up in the air and darted towards her before-
Zwei drifted into the short hallway from the bedroom, barking as he dashed towards her.
He managed to beat Ruby in racing for her affections and Weiss bent down to pet the best dog in the whole wide world. She grinned as she cooed at their baby, scratching him right under the chin like he loved. It was easier to fake being happy while doting on Zwei and that today went fine-
“How did today go?”
Weiss gave Zwei one last good scritch-scratch before standing back up, their poor baby whining a little before shuffling over to the couch. Her girlfriend’s silver eyes were doing their best to read her and Weiss was too exhausted to try and hide her feelings.
“Winter sends her regards.”
Ruby's eyes widened, a hint of cautious excitement in her voice. “That well?”
“Quite the opposite.” Weiss winced as venom leaked out of her mouth. She hadn't meant to be short with Ruby, but Ruby gave no hint of minding it as she swallowed Weiss up in a hug.
Weiss could drown in Ruby’s oversized hoodies big enough to envelop the both of them and the scent of roses that clung to Ruby like a comfortable blanket. Ruby’s hands rubbed along the shoulders of her blazer before trailing up and down her spine, the taller girl pressing her cheekbones into the crown of Weiss’ head.
She could stay like this forever, truthfully, if they could.
Ruby Rose was warm where all she’d ever felt was frost.
“Do you want to talk about it?” Ruby whispered in her ear.
Weiss shook her head and buried herself further into Ruby’s chest, hands clinging to the back of Ruby’s hood.
“Or would you like to hear about my day?”
She nodded, not trusting the words that might come out of her mouth.
Ruby deserved better than her venom.
Better than her.
“Penny discovered that we could reuse the-”
Ruby continued talking as Weiss zoned out, the musical lilt and playfulness to Ruby’s voice the only thing that Weiss was truly following. Her girlfriend was so happy when she was able to figure something new out or fix something that's been bothering her.
Maybe one day she’d learn how to fix Weiss.
Maybe that would be when they would be over.
Ruby would get bored and move on.
Or she would, Weiss swallowed a mouthful of mucus and snot, if Weiss was capable of being fixed.
Five years with the most wonderful woman in the world and Weiss was still no better for the experience. She had been raised in a competition to inherit one of Remnant’s largest companies and the presumed heiress for nearly a decade but couldn’t even get a small startup off the ground.
The product was fantastic.
Their profit model was stellar.
They had a favorable market.
It would be one thing if Weiss was a horrid partner but at least a successful businesswoman. Jacques Schnee could do that much and yet she was succeeding in neither endeavor, no matter how much she wanted it.
“-We found a way to increase energy capacity by five percent and Nora found a way to better encase the batteries so they can stack on top of each other like big, forkliftable Legos!” Weiss opened her eyes to realize that Ruby had partially separated from her, big silver eyes like the moon staring at her. “Weiss?”
Ruby leaned in for a forehead kiss and-
Weiss jerked away and broke free from her grasp.
“I am failing, okay?” She yelled, either at Ruby or herself and she didn't care to make a distinction.
“You aren’t-”
“My job is to sell myself, project confidence, and close deals.” Weiss crossed her arms, ignoring the snot on her upper lip as her face froze to granite as surely as the warmth fled from her voice. “For that, I need a well-tuned and perfect image. You know what my image says, Ruby?”
Ruby cocked her head to one side as if trying to read one of her diagnostic tools giving her conflicting signals.
“That I am damaged goods. That my white hair on my head-” Weiss grabbed a handful of hair and tugged at it as if Ruby had never seen it before “-and the last name on my business card tells a story that I can’t seem to ever escape from.”
All that turmoil and work years ago to secure her own funds for her own future.
For naught.
She always knew that life was going to be hard with a bevy of variables to take into consideration. It had taken far longer to realize that she'd broken out of the cage only to still be tethered to the ground, wings broken by a legacy that still haunted her.
If she failed, if she succeeded, she wanted it on her terms.
No.
Needed it on her terms.
To be frustrated by a force outside her control was-
Weiss winced. The flesh of her palm throbbed from where she had dug in her nails.
“When I’m lucky and I’ve managed to secure an invite into a boardroom, do you know what happens next?” Weiss laughed, too afraid of the alternative to do anything else. “The entire board goes silent as they realize who I am, I walk through a sales pitch, and the executive assistant escorts me to the door without another word.”
“You're trying-”
“Trying doesn't put money in the bank or food on the table! For any of us!” Weiss snarled, fists at her sides, before trying to take in a deep breath and combing her hands through her hair. “You would all be better off with someone else at the head. Someone that doesn’t come with my baggage.”
“Everyone is still-” Ruby snapped her fingers and beamed one of her brilliant smiles. “You’ve sold one contract to Pine Agriculture already! What do you call that?”
Weiss rolled her eyes.“Only if we can manage to produce the amount of units in time for their planned harvest this fall.”
If anybody read their contracts, they’d know that this was growing slimmer with every day.
“That’s still something, Weiss!”
“I- I appreciate that you are trying to cheer me up. I do.” Weiss sucked in a deep breath as she palmed her eyes. Ruby was starting to cry and Weiss couldn’t watch before inevitably joining in, but Zwei was resting on the couch. That gave her an idea. “I’m… I'm going to go on a walk with Zwei.”
“Let me grab my-”
“Alone?”
Ruby stared at her, eyes watering and mouth slightly agape, but no words came out.
Weiss knew that to signal the end of their conversation. The question had hurt more than anything else she had said tonight and Weiss didn’t have it in her to feel anything but a sense of perverted accomplishment at the realization.
Shame would come later as it always did but, for now, she needed out of this warm apartment and into the cold spring air.
She grabbed the leash off the coat rack by the door and bent down as Zwei and Ruby switched places, one energetically hopping off the couch while the other fell back into it.
“Don’t feel like you need to wait up, Ruby.” The leash clicked around Zwei’s collar and she tugged it once for good measure.
Without another word the two of them left the apartment, Weiss unable to bring herself to look upon what she’d done to Ruby.
***
Weiss hunched over on the bench, leash in both hands as she stared at Zwei sitting and staring back up at her.
They hadn’t gone further than the nearest park bench across the street, despite Zwei’s protest at such a short walk. Heels weren't ideal for long walks in the park and she hadn't meant to go far anyway.
She didn't really even know why she came outside.
Ruby was only trying to be her considerate, loving self.
No, Weiss clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth, she was lying to herself. She didn't know how to handle Ruby when she was like that. Not really. Accepting love and kindness wasn't something to be read in a book or digested in an article. It took time and patience and self-acceptance and all these things that-
She pinched the bridge of her nose.
The two of them had come outside so she wouldn’t spiral again.
They were in public after all and it wouldn’t be proper of her to do so.
“You don’t know last names, do you?”
Zwei's stub of a tail thumped against the concrete as she rubbed his floppy little ears.
He didn’t hate her, which she supposed was enough of an answer.
“It’s always Ruby or Weiss, isn't it boy? You only know you’re Zwei.”
Tai had adopted Drei and Vier once Zwei had gotten too old to properly herd on their family farm. Zwei would’ve been happy to be retired on the farm, but Tai had offered him to the two of them once they found a pet-friendly apartment.
They couldn’t exactly say no to that face.
“Are you a Xiao-Long?”
Upbeat. Feisty. Resilient. Life of the party.
“A Rose?”
Considerate. Brilliant. Empathetic. Persistent.
“Perhaps a Branwen?”
Independent. Stubborn. Proud. Loners.
Zwei cocked his head to one side, tongue lolling out of his mouth in what she decided was confusion.
“Don’t look at me like that. It could be worse. You could be a Schnee.”
Drunk. Narcissistic. Abusive. Toxic.
Melodramatic, too, if her own actions tonight were anything to go by.
She chuckled to herself, shaking her head to and fro. “Or talking to a dog, I suppose.”
“Come on.” She ruffled the top of Zwei's head before standing up. “I’d hate to stay out too late and worry Ruby.”
She had an apology to make in the morning and she might be failing their company, but she wasn't about to fail personally or professionally without even showing up.
***
Weiss quietly latched the apartment door behind her and unleashed Zwei before taking her blazer off. She looked over at the kitchen light Ruby must have left on and-
Ruby sat at the kitchen counter, steam rolling off two cups in front of her, propping her head up with one hand while she sipped from one of the cups. Her piercing silver eyes never left Weiss for a moment as she sauntered over into the kitchen to stand across the counter from Ruby.
“I expected you would be in bed by now.” Weiss murmured.
“Not without you.” Ruby offered a tired, lopsided grin as she pushed the second cup across the kitchen counter towards her. “I wanted to talk. About what you said.”
Weiss took the cup, inhaling the scent of bergamot and citrus that wafted through the air. It was her favorite non-caffeinated drink that she would relax with in the evenings, a way for Ruby to try and disarm her-
No.
Ruby wasn’t trying anything. This wasn’t a boardroom negotiation or a hostile takeover; her blazer was off at the door here. Ruby was worried about her girlfriend and knew, because she loved and cared for Weiss somehow, that she enjoyed drinking bergamot tea before bed or after a difficult day.
Given the context, it was safe to assume that Ruby wanted to talk. She had said as much.
Why was she continuing to doubt Ruby?
There was no reasonable explanation unless one considered that she was broken and-
“We don’t have to tonight,” Ruby’s eyes flickered for just a moment, “if you don’t want to.”
“What is there to talk about?” Weiss sighed, shaking her head to and fro. She pulled her hair back off to one shoulder. “I was being mean and tired and I-”
“I’m tired too.” Ruby admitted. Her shoulders fell as her whole body sagged into itself. She let go of her cup to run her fingers through her hair and a worn down smile appeared on her face as she stared at Weiss. “Tired of hearing you put yourself down day after day when you are working so hard for us. Tired of you not taking any time for yourself. Tired of you not seeing how fantastic you are and-”
“But I'm not doing anything- “
“This was your vision.”
“You made the battery-”
“Weiss, you put every cent you had into this idea and you have fought for it relentlessly. I’m just…” Ruby shrugged her shoulders, “showing up.”
“Exactly!” Weiss tapped the counter with the flat of her hand. Why couldn’t Ruby see how Weiss had ruined everything for the both of them? “We could have had an easy life with all that money and-”
“But that wouldn’t have made you happy.” Ruby said it with such conviction that Weiss wanted to believe her but Ruby was beyond reasoning. “This makes you happy.”
“What about your-”
“I get to work with you and our friends every day on something that could change the world.” Ruby leaned across the kitchen counter, her calloused hand enveloping Weiss’ in its warmth. “Nothing could be better than that.”
“Ruby…” Weiss faltered.
Ruby wouldn’t lie to her.
Ruby was happy.
She was making Ruby happy, day in and day out.
Making her proud, even, somehow.
Weiss didn’t know how to square that with how she felt about herself.
“I knew this was going to be hard, starting this company with you, but I have the easy part. I get to work on projects with clear outcomes. What I do either works or it doesn’t. There isn’t much of a gray area to navigate.”
“But-”
“Let me finish, please?” Ruby asked, patiently waiting for Weiss.
Always patiently waiting for Weiss.
Weiss relented with a nod of her head.
“I can’t imagine the strength it takes to put yourself out there like you do knowing that there are so many people reacting to you for things out of your control. You haven’t given up yet, I’ve never known you to do that, so please don’t give up now.” Ruby gave Weiss’ hand a gentle squeeze, Ruby’s hand shaking ever so slightly. “I wouldn’t know what to do without you in my life and I know this won’t fix everything but…”
Ruby chewed on her bottom lip, eyes flickering between Weiss and her lap. She took in a deep breath and Weiss instinctively squeezed her hand, knowing that Ruby was trying her best to calm her own nerves, interlacing their fingers as Ruby gazed fondly at their hands. Her silver eyes meekly trailed up Weiss’ arm to stare into hers and Ruby smiled. “If you want a different last name, would you do me the honor of taking mine?”
Weiss froze in place even as her mind raced in a million different directions.
They could start a family.
Ruby in a wedding dress, or maybe a suit, would be fantastic.
Gods.
Ruby wanted her in her life forever.
“Weiss?” Trepidation clear across Ruby’s face, Weiss distantly realized she hadn’t responded.
“Yes, meine Schatze , yes!”
***
It was warm, but not excessively so, and there was a buzzing-
Her scroll glowed on the nightstand beside her and she answered it before she'd even had a chance to check the caller.
“Is this Miss Schnee of Iceflower Industries?” A lady's voice crooned across the scroll.
“For the time being.” Weiss muffled her scroll's receiver before yawning. An involuntary shiver ran down her spine at the acknowledgment of the handmade silver and sapphire rose ring on her finger with all it entailed. “May I ask who is calling?”
Weiss blinked and reoriented herself as she gained the hint of consciousness at the realization the call was work related. Ruby was pressed into her back, ever so slightly but certainly enveloping her in a warm embrace as the redhead gently scored into the back of her head. The ring still felt unreal and its presence foreign but not unwelcome in the slightest.
“My apologies for the late hour.” In truth, Weiss had no idea what time it was other than after her and her fiancée - she shuddered at that particular acknowledgment - fell asleep and the sun had yet to make its presence known. “I believe you spoke with Ilia earlier today?”
“I certainly did speak with Miss Amitola.” Weiss scrunched her face up in the darkness trying to remember the name Ilia had given her. It came to her after a moment with the click of her tongue. “Am I to assume that you are Blake Belladonna?”
“Yes.” There was a pause long enough on the other end of the line that Weiss double checked to make sure she hadn't accidentally ended the call early. “I’m sure you have heard of my baggage as an investor, and I do apologize for that, but I am interested in speaking further if you are amenable to it.”
At this point her curiosity would have agreed to a meeting regardless of investment chances. Between Cinder Fall calling Blake a cursed princess, Ilia’s unwillingness or inability to refute the claim, and Blake's own apology for wanting to invest she had a desire to learn more about this figure representing a firm that she'd never heard of before.
Weiss chuckled at that. “You aren’t the only one with baggage, I assure you.”
“How does lunch sound? Or dinner tomorrow?” Blake’s tone came across as decidedly warmer than when the call had started and Weiss was too sleepy to read much further into it than that.
Ruby murmured from behind her and Weiss snuggled in ever closer to Ruby. Her fiancée sighed contentedly into her ear as dexterous fingers pressed into Weiss’ arm, wrapping her in an even tighter embrace.
Weiss smiled to herself, shaking her head ever so slightly at her ridiculous partner’s antics, and whispered into the phone. “Does the day after work?”
“Perfect.” The investor purred over the phone before ending the call.
Maybe this Blake Belladonna would be the right investor for their company.
Maybe she wouldn’t be.
Weiss only knew one thing for certain as she laid her scroll on her nightstand and closed her eyes:
She had what mattered most in life.
Love.