Sitting in front of the monitor, Ruby idly tapped her fingers on the desk while waiting for her call to connect. Her ability to procrastinate the important things in her life carried over from her youth into adulthood, which landed her in this predicament right now, trying to call someone in Mistral, just after noon. There was always a mission or some modification or rescuing other Hunter teams when things get too hairy for them. With a sigh, she looked over the screen and saw Yang standing with her arms crossed over her chest, standing at the only exit out of the little cubicle, making sure she didn't run away.
She had an amusing look of annoyance on her face, she wasn't too impressed by her procrastination skills, much like her wife-to-be, Weiss. "Yang, is it necessary to play goalie here?" She asked as the small green ball bounced in a small bar on the screen, still trying to connect to the CCT in Mistral.
"Yes" She said said with a hint of annoyance in her voice. "You'll just find another way to worm your way out of this. Again."
Ruby sighed and placed her head on the desk with a not so gentle thud. "I know! I'm sorry! But I'm always so busy"
"Too busy to plan your own wedding?" Yang argued with a raised eyebrow. "You're lucky Weiss is a perfectionist and she's planned everything else out"
"I know..." Ruby whined as a long tone sounded out as the call finally connected. Quickly sitting up, Ruby brushed the hair out of her face and smiled at the image of Jaune Arc on the other side of the screen.
"Hey, Ruby!" He said with a smile and a small wave. His hair had grown out some since last she saw him, still just as scraggly as it always has been. A few faint lines creased the corners of his eyes as he gently waved at her.
"Hey, Jaune. How's it going?" Ruby said with a wave of her own.
"Oh, everyone's doing good over here" He said with a smile. "Pyrrha told me about the happy announcement, congratulations" He said with a quick gesture over his left eye, making Ruby smile just a little wider as she gently traced the healed scar over her left eye.
"Thanks" Ruby said before taking a deep breath. "Which actually brings me to the reason why I called you" She said with a little more serious tone. Jaune simply raised his eyebrow and waited for her to continue. "I need a best man" Jaune simply blinked a few times while trying to process the request. After a couple more blinks, he looked at her and laughed nervously.
"Really?" He said in disbelief. "I mean, don't get me wrong, Ruby. I'm honoured, but shouldn't the best man be your best friend?" He said slowly.
"I'm marrying my best friend" Ruby said with a roll of her eyes.
"Oh, right. Uh, your sister?"
"Bridesmaid"
"Blake?"
"Maid of honour"
"Wow" Jaune laughed a bit. "Really scraping the bottom of the barrel of your friends now, eh?" He said with a small smirk on his lips.
"Jaune, that's not what I-"
A couple of laughs cut her off before she could finish speaking. "Relax, Ruby. I'm just teasing" He said with a smile. "I'd be honoured, Ruby" Ruby smiled and breathed a sigh of relief.
"Thanks, Jaune" She smiled into the screen as the blond man nodded.
"Any time, Ruby" He said with a smile. A few seconds later, he furrowed his brow in thought. "Hang on a sec" He said raising his finger and looking at her. "Isn't the wedding in two weeks?"
Ruby paused long enough to place her face in her hand and groan out. "Yes..."
"You asked me to be your best me two weeks before your wedding?!"
"I know! I know!" Ruby groaned out as she added her second hand onto her face and slapped her head onto the table. "I'm terrible at planning things!"
"Yeah! I noticed. And here I thought you cut it close when handing in your hunter reports" He said with a shake of his head.
"How do you know about my reports?" Ruby asked as she looked up from her hands at Jaune.
"Weiss talks to Pyrrha regularly..."
Ruby groaned out louder as she buried her face in her hands again, her forehead making contact with the table. "At least you gave yourself enough time to get your tuxedo, right? Rental lineups for the good ones are insane"
The silence from Ruby spoke volumes.
"Please tell me you put your order in already..." Jaune said cautiously. Again, silence said everything that needed to be said.
"Ruby!" Yang snapped as she stormed over to her younger sister.
"Oh, hey Yang!" Jaune said happily as Yang came into view, but she ignored him in favour of yelling at her sister.
"You can't honestly believe that Weiss will let you wear your cape to the wedding"
"Why not? it's my wedding?"
"Because she'll kill you, then me for letting you do that" Yang said with a shake of her head. Then stopped her younger sister from speaking with a lift of her metal hand. "And, if you even think about wearing that outfit for the wedding, I'll kill you since it looks like Jaune's suit he wore. And it looked like it belonged to his great grandfather"
"Actually, it did belong to my great grandfather..." Jaune interrupted with a raise of his finger.
The sisters simply stared at Jaune though the screen in silence before looking back at each other. "Okay. We're going to an expert. Goodbye Jaune" Yang said as she reached over to the console.
"Okay see yo-" Jaune was cut off before he could finish as the screen returned back to its default logo.
"We know an expert?" Ruby asked as she was dragged out of her seat and into downtown Vale.
"Ruby Rose!" Coco Adel called out as she walked up to the young woman and gently hugged her. She stood awkwardly as the, 'fashion expert', as Yang called her, kissed both of her cheeks. Taking a few steps back to give her a quick look from behind her signature sunglasses. "I have to say, it might not be my product but you still manage to pull off that gothic look after all these years" Coco mused as she raised an eyebrow, throwing the caramel lock to the side.
"Hey, Coco" Ruby said with a small smile as she looked around the large clothing store that team CFVY owns and manages. Its mostly Coco making the clothing while the rest keep it afloat as something at actually turns a profit. Behind her, Yang and Blake entered and looked around and smiled at the other team members as the walked around to help other customers. Yang had insisted on bringing Blake as backup just in case.
"Hey Coco" Yang said with a quick wave. "We need an outfit for Ruby for the wedding. You're still coming, right?" Yang asked as she looked around. Coco didn't take her eyes off Ruby as she nodded. "Of course, you think I'd miss this wedding when both outfits are designed by me?" She said with a small smirk as she turned and waved them to follow her. "Come on, lets see what we can get for you" They walked past a few customers who were looking at some shirts.
Coco had set up a speciality clothing store for Hunters and Huntresses, the material they used was made to be extremely durable material that could stand up against Grimm and semblances and still look great three weeks into a mission that required trudging through knee high mud. Sure they were much more expensive that regular clothing, but a great top that lasted was well worth it, and sometimes Coco gave them the student discount on good days.
Walking towards the back, the massive form of Yatsuhashiwalked up to them. He gave them a polite nod before turning to his team leader. "Coco, you're two o'clock is-"
"Can them, I'm busy" She waved him off without breaking her stride. The large man sighed heavily before turning around and going to tell the customer to reschedule. The look on his face made Ruby wonder if she did that often. Reaching the back room, Coco made her stand on a small stool in front of a row of mirrors that showed her off in several different angles. Yang and Blake found a set of chairs and sat down as Coco began to circle her while tapping her chin, a small tape measure wrapped around her neck.
She then began to take measurements of Ruby's form, stretching her arms out and jotting down the numbers on the back of her hand. "FOX!" She screamed out after a few silent minutes, making everyone jump slightly. "Bring me the white number six!" She called out to the man somewhere. The woman was starting to mumble something before speaking up and looking up at Ruby. "Wait, did you propose or did she?" Coco asked with a slight tilt of her head.
"Uh, I did..." Ruby said as she raised her eyebrow slightly and titled her head to look at the woman.
"Oh...Never mind Fox!" Coco called out just as the man in question turned the corner not four feet away with an arm full of white fabric. With a sigh, he turned to put it back where he brought it from, earning a small laugh from Blake who had pulled out a book and started to read it.
"So how's business going Coco?" Yang asked as she watched the woman work.
"Its going. A new school year is always busy for us" She said as she took a step back and tapped her chin. "Velvet, Sweetie! Can you bring me the base black?" She called out, after a few moments the rabbit faunus walked out with an arm full of material and handed it to Coco, who began to drape it over Ruby's shoulders, her suit taking shape.
"Hey guys" Velvet said with a small smile and a wave. "Congratulations again, Ruby" She said with a smile. Ruby smiled back and went to turn to her but was stopped by Coco gripping her hips and forcing her to stay in position as she continued to work, the suit slowly taking shape as Coco ordered Fox for something called red number seven. "Excited for the big day?" She asked as she began to collect scrap piles of fabric that Coco seemed to toss during an earlier session.
"Yeah, I'm getting really nervous though" Ruby admitted as she continued to hold her arms out as Coco began to pin the fabric while writing more measurements in time for Fox to walk towards them.
"No no no Fox. I said number seven! That's eleven. Are you blind?" She asked as she returned to Ruby. Fox simply blinked and looked at her, his blank eyes staring at her in disbelief. Yang struggling not to giggle and failing if it weren't for Blake to tap her shoulder in a light slap.
"Really Coco?" Fox asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Obviously you are if you're wearing that" She said with a gesture in his general direction while still paying attention to what was in front of her. Fox simply shook his head and walked off once more. "I have to say, Ruby. You really filled out great" She said with a smirk as she wrapped some of the material around her waist.
"Easy Coco." Yang warned with a small smile. "She's getting married"
Coco just shrugged it off and continued. "So? I'm in a relationship and slept with others before." She said off handedly. From one of the many piles of fabric, Fox's head slowly popped up and looked over in their direction.
"Who have you been sleeping with other than me?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. All eyes shifted over to Coco who shrugged simply.
"Velvet" She said with a point over to the woman. Everyone's gazes moved over to the chocolate haired woman, who's face quickly became red and stood still in embarrassment.
Fox simply looked over at her and raised his eyebrow. "I am okay with this"
With that, Yang and Blake divulged into a fit of laughter as Velvet's face grew redder and tried to hide behind one of the piles of clothing, her tall brown ears the only showing her position. It was always brought a good bout of laughter whenever they started talking about their relationship with each other. After the laughter settled, the outfit was beginning to take shape. It was a simple suit with red under a black jacket. Coco, smiling at her own handiwork tapped her chin slightly while comparing two shades of red. "So, going all out on the ceremony?" Coco asked as she adjusted Ruby ever so slightly.
"No, actually. Weiss wanted something small. Just friends and close family" Ruby said as she looked at herself in the row of mirror, despite wanting to come in in the first place, she really appreciated the work that was going into it. Coco knew exactly what was going to work perfectly on Ruby's form, a few more touches and it would be perfect for her. "Weiss wants to play it close to the chest to make sure she father doesn't show up and ruin everything for her"
The mention of Mister Schnee sobered everyone up rather quickly. He was more than unhappy when he found out that Weiss ran away to help reclaim Vale after the White Fang attack, even stealing money to get Yang her new arm and their shared home. Curiously enough, he didn't revoke her status as his heiress to the company. "We're having at the cliff side in Patch, its going to be great" She said with a smile, remembering that it didn't take much to convince Weiss to have it in front of her mother's grave.
Smiles were shared all around at that news as they continued to watch as Ruby's suit began to take form. Suddenly, Yatsuhashi came up to them with a bit of a hurry. "Uh. Weiss is here looking or her dress" All eyes quickly went from the man down through the door way that lead into the main store, where Weiss was standing with a raised eyebrow, looking at everyone.
Coco quickly pointed to Velvet and snapped her fingers. "Velv! Distraction!" At once, Velvet threw the clothing that she was carrying up in the air and sprinted over to Weiss, literally hopping over obstacles and skidding in front of her, blocking her view to the rest of them.
"Hey, Weiss!" She said awkwardly. "How about some coffee" Weiss simply smirked as her cool blue gaze shifted from Velvet over to Coco and Ruby. She simply smiled back at her girlfriend and have a nervous chuckle.
"Hi, Weiss..." She simply rolled her eyes and began to walk away.
"I'll be back in an hour, Coco. Make it count" She said with a smile and left with Velvet in tow for coffee. They all shared another laugh as Coco began to take the suit to be off of her and nodded.
"Don't worry, Ruby. Everything will be perfect for your big day" She said as she set it down and smiled at them. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to finish up Weiss's dress before she comes back and buys majority shares of my business" Coco have Ruby one last hug. "Congrats again, Ruby. If any of us truly deserve this, its you" With that, Coco retreated to the deep reaches of her work space while the rest of team RWBY went to track down Weiss so they could all have a mid afternoon snack before the rest of the wedding was planned. Ruby wanted everything to be perfect for Weiss, because she deserved nothing less than that.
That afternoon, Weiss and Ruby decided to spend the rest of the day shopping and simply enjoying each other's company. Hand in hand, walking around calmly. In the back of Ruby's mind, she couldn't shake the feeling she was being watched.