*creeps around the corner nervously* Heh… Hey guys! *waves* Uh, so I'm not dead! I've just been VERY -VERY busy with nursing school (look it up because it's crazy with eating up your time and energy) and I've been dealing with a lot of family things too. I'm sorry this took so long, and even worse— it's not even a continuation of the story. I hope that's okay though because I do have the next chapter mostly written out already. I've wanted to write this piece for this story for a while actually. This is going to be about Weiss and how she was doing while Ruby went on her hunt with Blake back in chapter 5. Personally, I think this is important to address for the story just to explore more on Weiss's perspective on things and her anxiety. Hope you enjoy! (And I hope you forgive me for my extended absence) …
Disclaimer: I DO NOT own anything from RWBY.
Extra Chapter: Anxiety and Company
~At the SDC Headquarters~
Weiss rested her back on her chair and released a shaky breath she wasn't even aware she was holding. She was finally done with all her meetings this morning and was on her lunch break. She was surprised she even survived the huge barrage of consultations she'd scheduled on purpose without having any form of a panic attack. What could she do though? She couldn't help it. She needed to keep distracting herself with work. She just kept worrying—about Ruby, their baby, the mission—everything. Her anxious thoughts just kept echoing in her mind like some mantra. It was driving her crazy, but despite that, she still needed to take her breaks.
She'd promised Ruby long ago that while she worked, she had to take her breaks—and actually taking a break. She couldn't work while she ate her lunch, she can't skip lunch or her breaks unless she absolutely had to, and most especially, she couldn't call/be with her wife and work at the same time. Weiss shook her head thinking back on Ruby's little rules for her well-being, but dust, did she just miss her so much.
"Ruby…" Her wife's name slipped between lips in a whisper so naturally as if she was just breathing.
Dust, please be safe you big dolt. She thought as she looked down on her scroll and read Ruby's last message to her from an hour or so ago.
"Hey Weiss! Your wife: Ruby Schnee-Rose reporting in to say we made it to the village safe and sound! Blake and I'll be going through the forest in about an hour. Don't worry too much Princess! Team Ladybug's got this! :)
Oh! And I saw Raine again! He's all grown up and already designing his own weapons! I really should start training him soon. He's gonna unlock his aura any day now and might tap into his powers soon too. Let's talk about visiting here more often when I get back, okay? Me and Little Rose miss you so much. I'll send another text as soon as we're done. I promise! I love you to the stars and back, Princess~!"
There were several hearts and kissing emojis at the end of her message that made Weiss melt like some lovesick teenager and her heart flutter in ways that made her feel giddy. How her wife can still manage to swoon her (and through a scroll text no less), she'll never know.
… And, if she had to admit, she was still somewhat floating from ecstasy with the kisses they shared earlier that morning. Her cheeks warmed when she remembered how she kissed Ruby in front of all their house workers and Blake. It was so unlike her. She… kind of just forgotten they were even there and too wrapped up in the idea that she wouldn't see her wife for a while, she just couldn't help herself.
With a sigh, she placed her scroll down on her desk and got up to walk over to her small office storage for her lunch. Ruby had it built in there to make sure she'll always have refreshments whenever she'd need them, and even snacks for Ruby (cookies, of course) since she came to her office so often during her breaks.
Once she had an apple, a salad, and an iced tea in her hands she made her way back to her desk. However, the moment she took a bite of her food, it was hard to chew or swallow. It was delicious—the taste wasn't the issue, it was her nerves kicking in again. It was hard eating knowing her wife and child could potentially be hurt at any time right now, but she just had to keep reminding herself that this was for Ruby. For her happiness, her freedom, her love for being a huntress. Ruby could handle it, she was Ruby Schnee-Rose after all.; top huntress in Vale, a silver-eyed warrior, with plenty of years of experience for a mission this small. And Blake was with her! So, it was fine. Totally fine.
Weiss scowled as it was still hard for her to eat her food. She drowned whatever was left in her mouth with tea then opened one of her locked side drawers. She gingerly pulled out Ruby's cloak and wrapped it around herself quickly. The instant the scent of roses hit her nose, she smiled and breathed deeply several times. It made her feel better, the cloak always did whenever Ruby was away. The soft article of clothing almost felt like an anchor for Weiss, something to keep her grounded while her wife was away or else she'd get washed away from the loneliness. Although, sometimes the cloak did just make Weiss wish Ruby was there with her even more. Nothing did make her feel emptier than being without her better half anyways.
She frowned and shook her head.
This is silly. Ruby's only been gone for half a day and I'm losing it. She'll be back tomorrow, so stop worrying. Weiss berated herself and continued eating.
More than anything, she wished the day just didn't feel so lonely.
~Just Outside Weiss's Office~
On days like this, things were hard for Lucy, Weiss's secretary. Lucy was an experienced older woman in the business field, and was a skilled fighter to boot; so, this lead her acting as Weiss's direct assistant and bodyguard when needed. Even though the CEO was young and had barely gotten her feet wet with running the largest company on Remnant, Weiss had proven well that she can handle it and raise to any challenge that may come her way over the past few years. Seeing that, Lucy grew to hold a great respect for her boss and nearly treated her as if she were a younger sister.
Lucy enjoyed her job, she really did. Mrs. Sch—Mrs. Schnee-Rose was an excellent superior, despite her family history, and would always make sure she and all the workers of the SDC were treated fairly and rightfully so. She had a great rapport with her boss; Weiss would often greet her with warm smiles and greetings every morning—except for mornings like the one today, which came every so often.
The most any employee had gotten from Weiss as a greeting was a mere nod or no sort of interaction at all. Lucy was lucky enough to get a nod and a wave. It was no mystery why the CEO of their company was like this though, everyone in the building knew that. The only reason their boss could be this… miserable if not cold, was the lack of her wife's presence.
Lucy had met the young huntress and mother-to-be herself. Ruby was kind and energetic, easy to get along with and a great pleasure to know. At first, she never understood how her boss and Ruby would get along until she witnessed them in the same room together. Seeing the two of the together was an experience to say the least; she'd never seen two people more happy and smitten with each other than the Schnee-Rose couple. They were one of those couples that made marriage look easy and actually something people should want to do in their lives rather than dread it. So, whenever Ruby was around, Weiss would just naturally be radiant, practically glowing with joy at every moment like things were brighter somehow. But when she was away… her boss would just be so lonely. Her entire demeanor would just be colder and empty until she knew her wife was definitely back home, safe and sound.
But her boss being colder wasn't the real issue, the real issue was Weiss's unhealthy tendencies to overwork herself when Ruby wasn't home. Today had been the worst case she'd ever experience with Mrs. Schnee-Rose. She was tasked to book 5 meetings and an interview back-to-back in just one morning and more to come later after her boss's break. It was insane, but at the same time she had to do her job… and she felt absolutely awful about it.
Lucy sighed sadly in her office desk and slumped in her seat. She could always order Weiss's favorite foods from the places she frequented to make her feel better… but that probably would just back-fire since Ruby was the one to take her to those places for their dates. She could also attempt to cancel Weiss's meeting or some of them, but her boss would most likely just bristle and say that she doesn't want to get behind with work. She could also call Winter, the older sister would always be ready to help her younger sister out. However, she had checked in earlier this morning and Winter was currently out on a mission somewhere in Mistral and wouldn't be returning until another few days.
The secretary just pouted and blew a few strands away from her face as she ran out of ideas to take care of her boss. If only there was something-
"Hey, Lucy! How're ya doing?" A sudden greeting broke her out of her reverie.
Lucy looked towards the hallway entrance to see who had come in and addressed then stood up as soon as she recognized who it was.
"H-huh? Oh! Mrs. Belladonna-"
"Lucy, I told you, you can just call me Yang." She chuckled. "It's fine."
"Yang… right! My apologies. I wasn't expecting you to be here. Are you here to visit Mrs. Schnee-Rose?" She asked.
"Yep!" Yang chirped happily. "And~ I made sure to bring some goods along with me since I know Weiss is probably a bit broody today, huh?"
Lucy simply gave a meek smile and a nod as her answer.
Yang shook her head. "Figures… I swear, she's lost without my sister around…" She mumbled. "Welp! I'm gonna change that! It is her lunch break right about now, right?"
Lucy grinned, grateful for the blonde's help. She came just in time to save Weiss from… well, herself.
"Yes! She should be having her lunch break right now." She said almost eagerly. "And…" She trailed off, her tone causing Yang to perk up a bit.
"…maybe I can extend her lunch time. She was supposed to have a meeting with one of our smaller business partners in an hour, but it's not very urgent and they're understanding." She suggested. She could get it done, whatever worked as long as Weiss could relax with her friend a while longer.
Yang gave a happy whoop at that and tenderly patted the secretary's back.
"You're amazing Lucy! I'd really appreciate that. And don't worry, I won't let Weiss snap at you for it. She deserves a break and one meeting won't kill her." Yang said as she gave her wink and strolled over to Weiss's office.
With a content smile, Lucy sat back on her desk and gave her business call; it had been the best thing she'd done all day.
~Back in Weiss's office~
Before Weiss could even finish her food (not that she was eating in a quick pace anyways), there was a sudden loud rapping on her door that made her perk up. Weiss didn't even bother taking off her wife's cloak. Sure, it was a little bit embarrassing, but this was her company and her office, so she'll wear her wife's cloak if she wanted to. Professional image be damned.
"Come in." She called after a sip of her tea to wash out her food.
The office door opened by just a foot before a familiar blonde poked her head through smiling widely at her.
"Yo~! Weiss, my favorite sister-in-law! How are you?" Yang greeted warmly with a wave of her hand.
"Wha- Yang? What are you doing here?" Weiss asked, surprised to see her teammate. She got up immediately and walked up to greet her properly.
Yang grinned at the CEO and finally entered the room fully while hiding the small bag she brought behind her.
"Aww, what? I can't come over spontaneously to greet you, Weiss? I do miss you, ya know."
She proved her point by giving the smaller woman a tight one-armed hug. After her initial surprise was gone, Weiss melted in Yang's embrace and hugged her back fully. It had just felt so good to have her there; having any of her friends around just made things a little less lonely and a lot more warm. Yang would do this sometimes: showing up out of the blue and coincidentally on the days Ruby would be away for hunts. Weiss always had her suspicions that the blonde would do this on purpose, but she also knew Yang probably did this to make sure she was okay and had company. A kind gesture that Weiss would always be grateful for.
Once she pulled back, she smiled up at Yang. "No, of course there's nothing wrong with that. I'm happy to see you. I just wasn't expecting you to be here. I thought you'd be busy organizing our trip or maybe something else." She crossed her arms and raised her brow.
Yang had to suppress her face from forming a large grin. Her friend looked way too cute. She didn't even know if Weiss realized she still had Ruby's cloak wrapped around her. And she was even in her classic 'Weiss sassy stance' she dubbed it. Dust how she wished she could take a picture for her sister. This would make Ruby squeal in glee for sure.
"Ah, well I figured since both of our wives are out on a mission and we were both left at home, I should pay you a visit you so, we both won't get lonely. And! Don't even deny it, Weiss! I know you miss my baby sister and are probably too worried to relax."
Weiss huffed and looked at away at the assumption.
Well… she's not wrong. She thought as she remembered how hard it was for her to eat earlier.
Yang shot Weiss a knowing smirk then lifted her arm from behind her to reveal a plastic bag.
"Heh, don't worry Weiss, our wives totally have this mission in the bag!" This was immediately followed by a groan.
"Ugh… Yang, you are such an oaf. But uh, what's in the bag anyways?"
With a grin, she spoke. "I brought you your favorite blue berry muffins from Patch!"
The little announcement instantly made Weiss's eyes glaze over with excitement and sheer want. She could already feel her mouth watering and her previous anxiousness was gone without a trace. Blue berry muffins were her weakness! Something dangerously close to how Ruby loved cookies. And Patch had the best blue berry muffins any Schnee company owner could afford.
"Is it… the one baked by Miss Berries?" She asked slowly, trying not to lunge at the bag Yang was hold to steal the goods hidden within.
Miss Berries was a baker back in Patch whom ran her own family baking business (Weiss made sure to invest in them indefinitely) where Ruby and Yang used to go to order Ruby's favorite cookies on Remnant. One day, Weiss made a mistake of trying their homemade blue berry muffins… and her wife never let her down about being a blue berry muffin monster from that day forward.
Yang grinned wider. "Yep~! She even made them especially moist and soft just for you~." She was about giggle but then Weiss pouted—Weiss was actually pouting and Yang almost clutched her chest with how adorable it was!
"That's not fair! Don't tease me like that, Yang! You know Miss Berries only makes those muffins seasonally and I ran out of my stock weeks ago. Wait- did Ruby tell you I was out of muffins?"
"Heh, yeah. Ruby knew you were too busy to realize it was the season to buy them so, I went ahead and got you Miss Berries' first batch. You're her special customer after all." Yang gestured to Weiss's desk. "Come on, let's sit down and eat them!"
It was amusing how quickly the CEO obliged without so much as a single snarky comment. It was even more amusing the moment Weiss took bite of her favorite delectable.
"Mmm~! Oh, my goodness I've missed this! Sooo good!" Weiss practically moaned out uncharacteristically. She had never felt happier all day.
"Thank you so much for bringing this over. You are a life saver."
"I'm just happy you don't have that worried look on your face anymore." Yang said, truly glad her friend wasn't as anxious as she knew she was.
"Oh." Weiss uttered. "Well, um, thank you… for cheering me up."
Yang hummed in response then there was a short pause while she ate the rest of the muffin in her hand before the blonde broke the silence by placing a hand on her shoulder.
"Look Weiss, I get it. I know how worried you get over Ruby and I bet it's even harder with her pregnant now and all. But they'll be fine! You better than anyone how strong Ruby is."
Weiss almost scowled at the assumption she didn't know about Ruby's strength, of course she knows. That's not the part of Ruby's she's worried about.
"It's not really Ruby's strength I'm worried about or my trust that Blake will watch out for her… I'm just worried Ruby might push herself too hard without knowing or trip or get snuck up on… then end up losing the baby…"
Weiss sucked in a shaky breath before she continued, "You didn't see her, Yang. You weren't there whe- when she didn't get pregnant the first two times…"
Yang frowned at this, not expecting this type of response. No, she wasn't there for her sister during that. At least, not physically. Ruby… did end up telling her, but not for a while afterwards. Her sister at the time was sad… maybe more disappointed than anything. That was the first time though. The second time it happened, Ruby didn't even tell her. She'd only found out after Ruby finally got pregnant on the third try. Apparently, her sister just didn't feel like talking about it and Weiss didn't speak about it either.
"After the first time, Ruby was okay. She just kept saying how it's 'just a new thing!' or 'we can always try again!' But I knew it hurt her, and I never pushed her to talk about until she was ready to. Eventually, we moved past the first try, mostly convinced it was just the first try after all. But the second time she didn't get pregnant…" Weiss had to pause, trying to collect her thoughts and emotions without getting upset.
Yang stayed quiet the entire time, just soaking up the new information about her sister. Ruby would just do things like that after something happens to her: smile and just say it's okay! Things will get better! And just… never talk about how much it actually hurt her. As a team, they've told Ruby long ago and multiple times throughout the years that it wasn't healthy and she always had them when she needed to talk.
But bad habits die hard.
"She just… seemed so defeated by it. I could see it every time I looked into her eyes. And on the first night, she cried in my arms. She told me… she was scared. Ruby felt as if she couldn't give me what I wanted—a family, and that frightened her because it was if she wasn't going to make me happy anymore. Of course, I told her that even without having a family, we could still be happy, and we were still just trying things out." Weiss sighed and looked out her office window.
"I'd thought she was okay after that, but then she'd do these things where she kept wanting to be alone. Spending less and less time with me. Doing things like work in her shop or go on a hunt. She told me she just needed her space for a while and blow off steam, which I gave her, of course… even if it was hard." She grumbled with a small pout.
"So, what changed her mind to try again?" Yang asked, finally getting a word in.
"I have no idea." Weiss said simply and looked back to see Yang's confused expression. So, she continued.
"One night when she got back from one of her extensive hunts, she was unusually quiet, as if she was thinking deeply about something. I didn't pry. Ruby's stubborn when you try to push her so I stayed patient with her. And then once we went to bed, she held me for a long time then told me she wanted to try again. Just one more time." She smiled back at the memory.
"That's… weird. I wonder what changed her mind."
A small shrug was what Yang got in response.
"I really don't know. Ruby was back to her old self so, I never asked. I am grateful for whatever it was though because now we're happy and expecting." Weiss said with a sparkle in her eyes.
Yang smiled at that. "Yeah, you two are pretty lucky."
"I suppose we are, but honestly that's why I'm so worried though. That Ruby might lose the baby now that we're this happy and the loss pushing her too far… I can't even bare the thought of it."
That's what made Yang get up and kneel right by Weiss to give her a tender side hug.
"It'll be all right, Weiss, okay? Trust me on this."
Weiss only grunted, probably not wanting to believe her and still wallowing in her worries.
"Look, I know Ruby can be really frustrating with how she handles her emotions, but that's why we're here for her, Weiss. Blake's got her back right now and always, I'll always be just one call away to be there for her, and you're too stubborn to let her hurt herself even in the worst-case scenario… so things will be okay. We won't let Ruby get hurt 'cause we're family!"
Weiss chuckled. "You two are so alike; both so stubborn and annoyingly positive and I love you both for it." She squeezed Yang back, finally feeling much better. "Thank you for being here, it really means a lot to me."
"Of course, Weiss! Anytime. Besides, I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I left you alone for too long when I know you need company." Yang said smiling down at her.
Weiss leaned back in her chair and gave Yang a slight smirk.
"You really are a great friend, Yang. You're like a second older sister at this point~. I think Winter might get jealous."
Yang and Winter had this strange relationship as if they were both best friends, but also rivals. They held great respect for each other, not just for their sisters being married, but just how they would do anything to protect and love their families. But then they'd also have these competitions to see which sister loved the Schnee-Rose couple more through things such as arm wrestling, most thoughtful gifts, all-out matches, or simply who could dote on their sister the most. It was amusing, especially during the holidays.
"Hah~ Well, what can I say, it's just natural for me to want to take care of my family. I'm sure Winter feels the same, but just shows her affection in different ways." Yang said and left it at that. Maybe she was trying to be a good sport since Winter was absent at the moment.
They continued eating their muffins then later, Yang brought two glasses of milk from the office storage. The two of them have both grown to love drinking it with sweets because of a certain silver eyed girl they love.
"So, how are you and Blake doing? Has she made up her mind about having a family yet?" Weiss asked after wiping her lips from any muffin crumbs and traces of milk, and was thoroughly satisfied. Though her question seemed to catch Yang a bit off guard.
"Ah, no… not yet. But like how you are with Ruby, I'm trying not to push her on it. It's no big deal, really. I'm happy with how we are now. I can wait on the kids."
The blonde responded as if she was trying to convince herself more than she was with Weiss. It was true she was happy with how their life was… it was just getting harder and harder everyday not to wish for little Blakes or little Yangs running around…
Weiss only hummed, not pushing her on the topic. "Well, if you say so." She knew Blake well enough as much as Yang that she'll come to her decision eventually. Pressuring her on it would only do more damage than good most likely.
"Well, we're done eating now and I feel much better. Was there anything in mind you wanted to do? Unfortunately, I only have a few minutes left to my break before I have another meeting though."
Yang grinned. "Oh, you don't have to worry about that Weiss, you're clear for at least another hour."
"What? But I swear I had another meeting."
Weiss quickly powered up her computer and checked her schedule.
"What… what happened?! Did Lucy cancel my meeting?" She asked incredulously.
"Weiss, calm down. I told her to do it. It's just a meeting with one of your smaller branches, right? So, it's okay. It's just one meeting and you need your breaks, Weiss."
The CEO looked back at her as if she had grown two heads.
"B-but that's- this is my job Yang! You can't just cancel my meetings without telling me!"
The blonde shot her hands up in surrender immediately. "Ah, yeah I'm sorry Weiss… but you need a break! I mean, uh, a longer break! I know you've been pushing yourself too hard today. A-and look…" She brushed her hair with her fingers, feeling guilty for messing with Weiss's work… she forgot that no one really should mess with Weiss's work besides maybe Ruby. "If this gives you set-backs then I'll make it up to you, I promise!"
Weiss let out a frustrated sigh and pinched the bridge of her nose. "No… it's fine. You're just looking out for me. And I know Lucy is too. I just over reacted because you're right, it really wasn't that much of an important meeting… and I suppose I have been very tense as of late. So, it's okay. I can live with it."
Yang had to clutch her chest from relief. "Oh, great! Phew! I thought you were gonna mangle me or something."
"And risk Ruby hating me? I would never."
"Gee, thanks for—oh, I don't know—considering my feelings maybe?"
Weiss only smirked and was about to open up her files to do some work before Yang caught her wrist to stop her.
"Nope! No working! We're going to have fun together, Weiss because I came up with a brilliant idea for us to do before you work again."
This made the CEO grumble. "Ugh… fine. What did you have in mind exactly? And please let it be civil Yang."
"Oh~! Don't worry it's going to be great and something we both love to do."
This made Weiss perk up a bit. "I'm listening."
The blonde leaned in and smirked. "What do you think about us writing a song and serenading our wives with it?"
Weiss was absolutely pleased with the idea. "Sounds like a great plan. Where do we start?"
Author's Note: I honestly wasn't expecting this measly extra chapter to be this long but oh well haha! I'm sorry, but I do hope you enjoyed that! I had a lot of fun with it, especially the secretary part for whatever reason. This chapter was mostly just for me to warm up my writing again cuz it's been a looooong time… The next legit chapter should up soon, but unfortunately it won't be as long as this one is. But I still hope you look forward to it! Please review and tell me your thoughts! Love you guys!
