RWBY

White Snow and Red Roses

Ruby Rose lay awake on her top bunk, peeking over the edge and watching her partner as she stepped out of the bathroom after just showering and changing into her nightie. It was graduation day tomorrow, so she'd spent twice the time fussing over her appearance than she usually did. Ruby always found it pointless before bed. The pillows would just mess up her hair and the duvet would make her sweat. It would just lead to her spending the exact same amount of time (if not longer) on her appearance before the ceremony.

Ruby couldn't believe that after four years they were finally graduating. Even though she knew it was probably futile, she hoped it would make Weiss see the gift differently this time. She knew full well that after they left Beacon, Weiss' duties as a Schnee would swallow her whole. She was determined to at least have Weiss know how valued she was, not as a Schnee, but as Weiss. Ruby wished more than anything that she would at least ask who'd been leaving a white rose on her pillow every night for the last two months. Ruby certainly knew Ozpin had been asking who'd been taking white roses from the flower patch near the back of the building. Weiss always assumed Jaune snuck into the room during the day and planted it, and every night she'd do the same thing.

Just as she had done every night for the last two months, Weiss picked up the white rose. After taking a second to admire its beauty, she threw it on the floor and grabbed her weapon from by her bed. As she readied it in her left hand, the barrel swung round and positioned the section full of fire dust. A simple downward thrust with the rapier was all it took to instantly incinerate the rose, leaving a black shadow on the floor along with all the others. Ruby wanted to slap her hand against her forehead, but stopped herself when she realised it might alert her teammate. Weiss was just about to climb into bed when her scroll vibrated. The word 'Father' flashed up on the ID bar. Hesitantly, Weiss opened it. After a few seconds, she dashed out from the room. Ruby knew from sometimes sitting in the corridor with Jaune how cold it was out there.

Quickly, she unclipped her cape from where it was attached to her new combat skirt by the two silver cross clips. Gathering it up in her arms, she used her semblance to dash out of the room after Weiss. She made it into the corridor only to find Weiss sobbing her eyes out, slumped against the wall next to the door frame. Ruby pushed the door shut with her foot. She knew all the rooms were fully soundproofed to ensure each team had absolute privacy. No one who was in their room would hear them.

"So are you going to tell me what's wrong or do I have to pester it out of you like I usually do?" Ruby asked.

"Ruby, you know how much responsibility I have on my shoulders." Weiss said as she slid down the wall to sit on the floor.

"I can tell it's a lot more than just that, Weiss." Ruby pressed as she sat down next to her and draped the blanket over them.

"Ruby, I'm fast approaching the time when I have to fulfil one of those responsibilities." Weiss told her. "I'll tell you now, it's the one I've been dreading for years. I joined Beacon when I was sixteen. I've been here for four years. Since Dad picked me to inherit the company, I was expected to find a man about two years ago. Since I haven't because of my studies, he'd picked a final shortlist of four for me. Once I've picked from them, I'm expected to marry him pretty damn soon after."

"Let me get this straight: Your dad's forcing you to marry a man you've never met and giving you no time to even get to know him that well?" Ruby's fury was so strong that she'd turned almost as red as her cape. Weiss knew what was coming. Ruby never turned red like that unless she was angry enough to flatten all of Beacon. But at the same time, she wasn't worried. She knew the best way to calm her down.

"Some believe in fairy stories, and the ghosts that they can't see.

I know that I could do so much, if I could just believe in me.

Mirror, Mirror; I'll tell you something: ..." Weiss was just about to finish the verse to the song when Ruby cut her off

"I think I might change it all!" she finished.

"That's not the last line." Weiss said, confused. "It's supposed to be 'I'm the loneliest of all'."

"I'm not having any of that kind of talk though." Ruby said. "Besides, the version I sung was the version my mum used to sing to me. You have no reason to be lonely. You have Yang, Blake and I."

"No, Ruby; I won't have you once I graduate." Weiss shook her head sadly. "After the graduation, I'll be sucked into the Schnee chain of command and only a puppet of my father's will again."

"Not if I can help it." Ruby said. "My dad always said there was nothing worse than watching someone you love be in love with someone else, but surely it's worse if someone you love is being forced to love someone else. I'm not going to sit back and watch it, Weiss. You deserve so much better than that."

"Wait... You love me?" Weiss asked. Ruby slapped her palm against her forehead at her loose-tongued stupidity.

"Yeah, I do." Ruby confessed. "That's why I was leaving those roses on our pillow every night."

"I thought that was Jaune!" Weiss' hand flew to her mouth. "You could have said something before I burnt them!"

"I was scared, Weiss." Ruby admitted. "But I'm not going to give in to nerves any more. I love you, Weiss Schnee. I won't let you be forced into a marriage you don't want. I can see you don't want it, so I'll punch holes in half your family if need be!"

"The only one you need to get through to is my father." Weiss said. "It's not going to happen, Ruby. Don't get me wrong, it's really sweet of you to say that. I love you too and you're an absolute angel. The only way to save me from this is if you eloped with me straight after the graduation before my father can take me away. If you'd be prepared to do that, you'd be perfect. But I can't expect you to do that. That's basically putting you in the exact position my father's putting me in." Before Weiss had even finished the sentence, Ruby had got up from under the blanket and got down on one knee.

"Weiss Schnee, will you marry me?" she asked.

"What the hell are you doing?" Weiss wanted to scream. "Ruby, you aren't nearly old enough to propose."

"Weiss, I'm eighteen." Ruby reminded her. "You may not see people proposing this young, but I'm still legally old enough. I've known you for four years and we've both just confessed that we love each other."

"Ruby, I really want to say yes, but there's something we haven't done that all couples have to do at least once before they marry."

"I hear the janitor's closet is quite nice this time of night." Ruby said seductively as she went to loop her arms around Weiss. Quickly Weiss shifted round and slapped her hard on the back of the head.

"Not that you idiot!" she snapped. As Ruby slumped back against the wall feeling dazed, she was snapped back to attention by Weiss' lips colliding with hers. Chills crept through Ruby as a warm feeling bloomed inside her. They looped their arms around each other as they slid back so that Ruby was lying on the floor and Weiss was straddling her. Weiss noticed Ruby was starting to shiver. Reluctantly, she broke the kiss. They picked Ruby's cape up and wrapped it around themselves before making their way back into the room. "Now I'll marry you." Weiss concluded.

"That was amazing." Ruby said, her teeth chattering.

"Come on, you dolt. You can sleep with me tonight and get warm." Weiss whispered. She climbed into bed and gestured seductively for Ruby to join her. Ruby went to climb in, but she wasn't used to having such a narrow space from sleeping on the top bunk. She cracked her head on the bottom of her own bed and fell to the floor while swearing a blue streak. The noise woke Blake and Yang up from where they were cuddled up under Yang's duvet. Yang did a double take at Blake being under her duvet before pulling herself up into a sitting position.

"What's going on?" Yang asked.

"They're eloping after the graduation." Blake said bluntly.

"Yeah right, Blake; now what are they really doing?" Yang asked again.

"How did you know what we were planning?" Weiss demanded.

"I'm a Faunus, Weiss. A soundproofed wall doesn't mean much to me." Blake replied. "I wasn't listening on purpose. It's just that I heard you crying and I was so warm I thought I might sit by the door to get a cool breeze. In the end, I got too cold. I decided to use Yang's aura to warm up."

"No one's answered me yet. What the hell are you two up to?" Yang demanded.

"I told you, they're eloping." Blake replied.

"It's true, Yang. We're going to run off together straight after the graduation." Ruby said bluntly.

"Are you sure? Ruby, have you thought about this?" Yang asked.

"I've never been more sure of anything in my life." Ruby's face backed up her determination.

"Well then, there's only one thing for it then, isn't there?" Yang muttered, jumping down from her bed, much to Blake's annoyance at losing her warmth, and pulled her yellow chest from under the bed.

"Why do you have your jewellery box?" Ruby asked.

"I don't actually keep jewellery in it." Yang confessed. "I've been using it to hide this." Yang reached in and pulled out a really old bottle of whiskey.

"Is that Dad's?" Ruby was in awe. How long had Yang been hiding that bottle?

"Actually, it belonged to my mum." Yang told her. "It's been maturing all these years. I stole it before we left for Beacon. I promised myself that I would keep it safe until one of the two of us revealed we were getting married. Since you're eloping tomorrow, we're going to crack this baby open and have a hen party tonight."

"Are you being serious?" Blake asked drowsily.

"Trust me, kitten. I don't care if we turn up looking like zombies tomorrow. Two of our teammates are getting married and we're going to celebrate if it kills us."

"We don't even have any glasses." Weiss pointed out. Without another word, Yang reached in and produced four shot glasses.

"Think again, princess."

"You do realise Dad's going to flip, don't you?" Ruby said. "He's been missing those glasses for over four years now. He's been frantically hunting for them the whole time."

"I was always going to put them back." Yang told her. "I don't know quite how or when, but I would have done it." Yang started pouring out shots of whiskey and passing the glasses round.

"Have you thought about what kind of wedding you want?" Blake asked the girls.

"That's up to Weiss." Ruby said decisively. "I want tomorrow to be perfect for her."

"I honestly don't mind provided it's informal and official." Weiss told everyone. "I want it to be signed and sealed, but I'm also so sick of being prim and proper about everything." As she spoke, Blake and Yang turned to stare at her like she'd just turned into a Beowulf.

"Weiss Schnee is sick of things being formal?" Yang couldn't believe it.

"If you don't mind, Ruby, I'd like to take your name as well." Weiss said. "I want my family to know that I'm my own person. I'm not some doll for my father to play happy families with."

"Let's do it." Ruby nodded as she took her shot of whiskey. Weiss followed before choking.

"I take it that's your first time trying whisky?" Yang asked.

"I'm more used to wine." Weiss told her. "That said, I always loved trying new things and this really has a kick. Can I have a refill?"

"Of course you can." Yang replied. "We have a massive bottle to split between four shot glasses." Weiss held out her glass and Yang refilled it. The rest of the night progressed along the same line, with Weiss having repeated refills. The rest of the team managed to get absolutely wasted, but Ruby and Weiss held back somewhat. They knew they needed to run fast after the graduation if they were going to elope before Weiss' father showed up to introduce her to the boys he'd picked out for her.

"Are you two not drunk yet?" Yang asked.

"We'll need to run tomorrow." Ruby said trying not to let the words slur into each other. "We can't do that if we're hung over."

"Yeah, I can't let my father catch me in the act on this one." Weiss added. She went to lean back against the wall, but misjudged the distance and flopped backwards on her bed unceremoniously.

"Can we come to the wedding?" Blake asked, clearly wasted.

"If the pair of you can stand through the graduation and get to the forever falls for three hours after the end of the ceremony, you can be there." Ruby told her. "We can't wait too long though. If Weiss' father finds us, he'll kill the pair of us."

"Why is there such a rush?" Yang asked. Quickly, Weiss gave her a run-down on what was going to happen if they didn't escape straight after the ceremony.

"He can't do that!" Blake said as her voice cracked under the threat of hiccups.

"Tell him that!" Weiss shot back. "Actually, don't bother. The last person who tried telling him that never made it back."

"Please tell me you're joking." Yang muttered. "How about we see you out and make sure you at least get into the forest safely? Once you're in there, it'll be much harder for anyone to catch up to you."

"What if you do that and Blake stays behind to cover us and make sure no one misses us for a little while." Weiss suggested. Once she's done that, you can come get her and come to the wedding."

"That's a great plan." Blake nodded. "On the other hand, I could take you two to the cliff and Yang could stay behind so there's no chance Weiss' father finds out I'm a Faunus. If that happens, there's going to be hell."

"Good point." Ruby admitted. "That's what we'll do then. Blake can make sure we get into the forest safely while Yang keeps Weiss' father distracted."

"We're a team of masterminds!" Yang cheered before slumping sideways. There was a moment's pause before the team heard her snoring.

"I think it's time we went to bed." Ruby said. "We can at least get two hours sleep before the graduation."

"I think we should all sync our alarms and then hide them." Blake suggested. "We won't be able to ignore them then."

"In that case, I'll hide yours and you hide mine." Ruby replied. "Otherwise we might just go straight to them."

"That would work." Blake said as Ruby threw her scroll across. Blake handed hers over and they quickly hid them from each other. Once they'd done that, they climbed into bed with their respective partners.

"See you in the morning, Blake." Ruby muttered as she kissed Weiss on the forehead. Weiss had fallen asleep before her head hit the pillow, so Ruby made sure she was comfortable before tucking herself in.

"By the way, who's going to marry you tomorrow?" Blake asked.

"I have that all planned out." Ruby replied, giggling slightly from both her sheer brilliance at knowing someone who was both willing and able to marry them at such short notice given the right incentive, combined with a slightly unhealthy amount of alcohol.

"Provided you know what you're doing." Blake said. She turned off the bedside light and snuggled back down into Yang's warm aura. Ruby also cuddled up for the night. She rested her head against Weiss' and let sleep carry her into its arms. She knew deep down that this would be the first of many nights spent together. And she wouldn't have it any other way.

Line Break!

Team RWBY awoke sharply the next morning to the sound of their door being blasted open. Glynda Goodwitch stood in the doorway with a face like thunder.

"The graduation starts half an hour! We needed you all up and about two hours ago!" she yelled over the noise of two scroll alarms blaring in unison. Drowsily, Team RWBY all hauled themselves up. Suddenly, the realisation that their plan is now in jeopardy woke Ruby like a slap to the face.

"We're behind schedule!" she screamed. Quickly, she reached under Blake's pillow and pulled her scroll out from where it was hidden from her.

"How did you find it so easily?" Blake asked.

"It wasn't much of a hiding place, Blake." Ruby scowled as she dialled a number. "Get ready while I make some last-minute arrangements." Blake pulled Yang from the bed and practically threw her into the bathroom as the whiskey threatened to make a reappearance. Ruby waited until she'd finished her call before waking Weiss.

"Hey, Ruby; how was your night?" Weiss asked drowsily, clearly hung over.

"We don't have time for that now, Weiss! We're getting hitched in less than two hours!" This brought Weiss back to reality.

"Is everything in place?" she asked as she threw off the covers and raced over to her wardrobe.

"I just made the one call I needed to." Ruby replied.

"Who's going to be marrying us?" Weiss asked.

"I thought we were marrying each other?" Ruby said, confused at the question.

"No, you idiot! Who's conducting the ceremony?"

"Oh, I get it now." Ruby muttered as it clicked into place. "Let's just say that he's qualified to do it officially, he's the best I could do at such short notice and anything informal is his speciality."

"That's music to my ears." Weiss said as she dressed herself. Ruby didn't even bother turning away. Weiss may have been very conscious of her body, but Ruby loved her for who she was, not what she looked like. Ruby walked to her own wardrobe and grabbed a combat skirt. She slipped it on quickly before spraying herself with deodorant to cover the smell of whiskey

"Here you go!" Ruby called as she threw the can over to Weiss, who caught it expertly. Yang emerged from the bathroom looking pale and drawn. Ruby could see her aura burning to the point where the flames were visible. She was slowly gaining some colour back, and Blake was already throwing her clothes over to her. Yang dressed quickly as Blake disappeared into the bathroom. A few minutes later, the four girls stood ready to take on the world.

"Let's go and take this graduation by storm!" Yang cheered.

Line Break!

The graduation ceremony dragged itself on like a dead slug. Weiss' father was clearly visible amongst the crowd. He'd paid his way into some of the best seats in the hall for the whole Schnee family. Sitting behind him were four worryingly well-dressed boys. Weiss couldn't help but wonder if they were the potential husbands her father picked for her.

Eventually, they were handed their diplomas and allowed to leave the stage. As soon as Weiss' feet hit the ground, her father started walking over. As she watched, he gestured for the four men behind him to follow. There was no doubt in her mind now. These were the people she was doomed to choose from if they failed this final mission. Just then, Yang came barrelling out of nowhere with a glass of punch in her hand. She smashed into Weiss' father, spilling drink all over him. His crisp white suit was stained bright red in patches. However, that was nothing compared to the shade his face had turned. Ruby couldn't help but giggle from watching, but neither of them could imagine someone's face turning that colour being good for their health. With that being said though, Weiss' father wasn't the skinniest person in the world anyway. His stomach looked like it was ready to explode out of his suit.

"You insolent girl!" he spat at Yang. "How can you call yourself a proper huntress if you're too stupid to watch where you're going?" Ruby and Weiss started to slip away as his rage reached its peak. As Blake ushered them out into the courtyard, they all saw Ozpin move in to diffuse the situation.

"Relax, Hail; it was a simple accident." Ozpin said in his usual calm voice. Hail Schnee looked around only to find out that his daughter had vanished.

"If you even want to have a prayer of redeeming yourself, you will tell me where my daughter disappeared to."

"She and Ruby went for a walk around to say goodbye to the campus and some of the students." Yang lied shamelessly. "It's only natural. She's been living here for the last four years. I can text her and ask her to meet you by the campus fountain if you want."

"Do that and then stay the hell away from me." Hail growled. "If you cause any more trouble, I'll pay any amount to have your diploma voided." Yang walked off just as she pulled out her scroll and fired off a text.

"Weiss, your father is furious. Are you and Ruby away yet?"

"We're about a quarter of the way through the forest. Ruby's carrying me with her semblance." Yang tucked her phone away and went to give Blake the good news. She checked her Ember Celica over as she walked, only to find Blake readying Gambol Shroud. They were going to have to cross the forest on foot, so they needed to be ready.

Line Break!

Ruby and Weiss made it to the cliff with time to spare. As Weiss looked over, she saw a figure standing on the edge. His scythe was strapped to his back and his hair was slicked back more than usual. But as Qrow began to walk over, Weiss noticed something odd. He wasn't swaying drunkenly when he walked. As he got nearer, she noticed he didn't smell like a brewery any more. He was completely sober.

"It's been a while, Ruby." Qrow hugged his niece hard. Weiss noticed his words weren't slurred at all. She wasn't dreaming. He'd actually sobered up for the wedding.

"Did you miss me?" Ruby asked, as she jumped up and basically started hanging from his shoulders.

"Please tell me you brought it." Qrow sounded tired. He looked like he wanted a bottle of alcohol so badly he was ready to make it himself. Instantly, Ruby reached into the pocket of her cloak and pulled out the bottle of whiskey Yang was storing for the reception.

"Okay, I'll have the sip we agreed on now for courage, and then we'll get smashed at the reception later." Ruby nodded and handed him the bottle. He carefully tipped it back and let the tiniest amount dribble into his mouth. As he gave it back to Ruby, Weiss could see he was physically restraining himself from just swallowing the lot right then.

"Are you ready, Weiss?" Ruby asked. Just as she was about to answer, a massive explosion in the centre of the forest caught their attention. They looked over to see Blake and Yang running towards them with a cloud of fire behind them. The flames were so hot, they literally burned blue. Yang jumped up onto the cliff from the ground. It was a standing jump with no run-up. Her aura propelled her all the way up the cliff, leaving Blake to use her semblance to get up the cliff.

"Is everything okay?" Weiss asked.

"A Beowulf got a lucky hit on Yang." Blake told them. "It took out several of her hairs and it's left a tiny gap in her fringe." Ruby instantly tried not to laugh. Yang's hair was the most precious thing in the world to her ever since a bully at Signal academy sliced most of it off as revenge for her putting ketchup packs under all the toilet seats. It was a serious thing for anyone to touch Yang's hair, let alone rip one out. To leave a gap in her fringe meant certain death.

"Shall we get on with it then?" Yang asked as her eyes returned to their usual indigo colour and her aura calmed down. Ruby and Weiss linked hands. Qrow stood in front of them on the cliff.

"Wait, he's going to be doing the ceremony?" Weiss asked.

"Why else would I sober up?" Qrow asked. "I wanted to do this in an amicable manner. Besides, I'm going to drink Yang under the table later, so we both win."

"Thanks so much for this, Qrow." Weiss said.

"You can call me Uncle Qrow if you want, Weiss." Qrow said. "Let's face it, I will be after today."

"Thanks, Uncle Qrow." Weiss replied.

"Do you, Ruby Rose, take...?" Qrow was suddenly interrupted by the sound of an Atlesian Military ship overhead. As they watched, Winter Schnee jumped out with her sword drawn and pointed at Weiss.

"Weiss, father sent me to find you." Winter spun the sword in her hand before ejecting the dagger from the hilt.

"You're not taking me back to him!" Weiss yelled, drawing her weapon. Everyone else also readied themselves and aimed their weapons at Winter.

"I know I'm not." Winter said as she dropped her sword and dagger. "I just wanted to make sure I didn't miss the 'I do'"

"You mean you approve of this?" Weiss felt tears prick her eyes.

"I do." Winter nodded. With that, Weiss turned to Ruby.

"I do." Ruby said.

"I do." Weiss replied.

"I now pronounce you Weiss and wife!" Qrow cheered. Everyone burst into a round of applause. "Though since Winter said it as well, who I actually just married to who, I don't know." Just as Qrow took in the scene of love and hugging before him, a hand on his shoulder made him jump.

"What was that you said about drinking me under the table?" Yang asked.

Line Break!

All Yang could manage was a soft groan. There was a thud as she fell onto the seat next to her and rolled under the table before passing out from the level of alcohol she'd had.

"I win again!" Qrow cheered drunkenly.

"Not bad for an old guy." Ruby teased.

"That's not funny." Qrow slurred before his head hit the table and gentle snoring rose from him.

"Is he going to be okay?" Weiss asked.

"He'll be fine." Ruby replied before grabbing a placemat from the table and proceeding to write a note on it.

"What are you doing?" Weiss asked.

"We need to get going on our honeymoon." Ruby explained as Weiss' scroll buzzed for the fifteenth time. Once she saw it was her father calling again, she went to put it away. "I can deal with him if you want." Ruby suggested. Without a word, Weiss handed her scroll over as she smirked from thinking of the possibilities of what Ruby would say.

"Where the hell are you, Weiss Schnee?" Hail's voice blasted out from the scroll.

"Hello, you've reached Ruby Rose. To talk to Weiss Schnee, please press '1' now." Ruby said in an answer machine style voice. Weiss had to bite her lip to stop herself laughing as a beep sounded from the scroll as Hail pressed the '1' key.

"What are you doing?" Blake whispered.

"You'll see." Weiss whispered.

"Unfortunately, Weiss can't come to the phone right now since she's on her honeymoon and trying to avoid someone she doesn't like." Ruby continued in the same voice as she fished out her own scroll and readied the alarm. "Please leave a message after the beep and if she doesn't call back then it's probably you." Ruby pressed the alarm button causing her scroll to let out a short beep.

"Weiss, what's this about a honeymoon?" Hail's voice asked in an almost loving tone. "You never said anything about already being married. What's his name?"

"It's me!" Ruby cheered.

"Weiss Schnee, you are no daughter of mine anymore!" Hail screamed down the phone. Ruby immediately hung up. Weiss had tears in her eyes, but she'd clearly been expecting something along those lines for a response.

"So, he's homophobic on top of all his other faults." Ruby muttered.

"I could have told you that for free." Weiss said, kissing her on the top of the head. Without another word, she walked outside to the little bridge near the pub's entrance. Just as her scroll buzzed again with her father hoping she'd pick up so he could finish disowning her, she threw it into the river. She stormed back in, grabbed a Bloody Mary off the counter and downed it in one before coughing as she realised just how spicy the bartender had made that particular one.

Once she'd straightened up, they looked over and saw that Yang was starting to splutter back to life. At that same moment, Winter's airship touched down outside the pub. She'd agreed to give Ruby and Weiss a lift to Vaccuo for their honeymoon and pick them up when they were coming home in six days. That said, Winter had warned Weiss that if she dared breathe a word to Hail about her involvement, she'd decapitate her.

Ruby and Weiss walked hand-in-hand towards the airship as the side hatch opened. Blake had picked Yang up and was carrying her bridal style in her arms. She drunkenly waved them off; along with Qrow, who was using his weapon to prop himself up. As the hatch closed, Ruby could just see the top of the sign for the Crowbar Inn.

"So then, girls; where should I drop you in Vaccuo?" Winter asked. Ruby only had to think for a second.

"Just take us somewhere with white snow and red roses."

Epilogue

On the airship, Weiss was leaning back in her seat, with Ruby leaning against her fast asleep. Each time Ruby snored, it sent vibrations through Weiss' neck. Weiss ran her hands gently through Ruby's hair as she kissed her gently on the head. Just then, she did something that warmed Winter's heart to the core. She sang the song their mother used to sing to them, but something was different. No longer did the lyrics fill anyone hearing them with a sense of finality and dread, but a deep peace that spoke only of the future, and the possibilities that lay ahead.

"I believe in fairy stories, and the ghosts that I can't see.

I know that I can do so much, now that I can believe in me.

Mirror, mirror; I'll tell you something: I think I've just changed it all!"

End!