So...hi! I am so sorry that this chapter took a month to write: I've had to start working Saturdays so my writing schedule has been up in the air. Hopefully I can get back into the swing of it, but no promises. But, hopefully this chapter will be worth the wait. As always, leave a review or send me a PM: I reply to almost everyone.
Also, I had a lot of fun being mean to a certain character this chapter, so I hope you enjoy it too.
Chapter 20:
When Ruby woke up the next morning, she could smell coffee. Ruby hummed as the smell wafted into her nostrils as she breathed deeply, stretching her sore muscles. Memories of last night slowly drifted through her mind, and she felt both embarrassed and emboldened. Had they really done all of those things? It had almost felt like a dream, but the fact she could feel the sheets covering her on her bare skin meant that they had. Ruby had no idea either of them could do that, or how good it felt. It made Ruby feel all tingly just thinking about it.
Ruby decided to finally open her eyes, and she saw Weiss kneeling next to her, holding two steaming mugs of coffee. Weiss was smiling sweetly at her. "Morning, sleepyhead," she said, holding out a mug for Ruby. Ruby sat up, wrapping the sheets around her tightly for modesty, and took the coffee, taking a long sip. Cream and three sugars, just how she liked it.
"Oh, that's heaven," Ruby sighed, as the warmth of the coffee spread through her limbs.
"I thought heaven was last night," Weiss said coyly, and Ruby blushed, but smiled, "I didn't think…that would be so…"
"Amazing?" Ruby offered, grinning a little. Weiss nodded and grinned back, Ruby taking the time to finish her coffee. "You know," Ruby said, I'm kinda glad we finally got there."
"Me too," Weiss said, leaning forward and kissing Ruby on the forehead, "You should probably get dressed: it's already noon."
"What?" Ruby said, twisting to look at her alarm clock. That made it twice now that Weiss had woken up before she had. "Huh, okay. Can you hand me my dress?"
"I don't know," Weiss said, gently taking Ruby's coffee from her, setting them down before climbing on top of Ruby, "Maybe you don't have to get up just yet." Weiss gently kissed Ruby, who grinned as she let Weiss slowly drag the sheet away from her body.
A knocking at the door stopped Weiss from having her way with Ruby. "Really?" she asked as she stared at the door, "Again?"
"It's the universe telling you to stop being greedy," Ruby joked, shoving Weiss off of her so she could get up and get dressed. The door rattled again and Weiss answered the door once Ruby was decent.
"Hey Weiss," it was Yang, craning her neck to see inside the room, "is Ruby up yet?"
"Here," Ruby said, walking up, "What's up?"
"Dad's doing lunch," Yang said, jerking a thumb towards the stairs, "And Winter's back, looking for you." Weiss nodded and left, but when Ruby made to follow her, Yang stopped her.
"What's up?" Ruby asked, confused. Yang gave Ruby a critical look, giving her a once over.
"You and Weiss had sex, didn't you?" Yang asked, very bluntly. "Don't play dumb with me."
Ruby considered lying and acting affronted, but it was Yang. If she couldn't share with her, who could she share with?
"Maybe…" Ruby said evasively, before grinning widely. Yang shared her grin and gave her sister a big hug. Yang draped an arm over Ruby's shoulder and escorted her down the stairs, Ruby still grinning and blushing as they descended the stairs. They got down the stairs to see JNPR, Blake, Winter and Weiss as well as Taiyang all crammed around their table, eating the massive amount of food he'd put on. The sisters sat down near their dad and for the next hour or so, everything bad was forgotten and it was all laughter and good times.
As they ate, Weiss found herself looking at Ruby, watching her smile and those silver eyes light up. Weiss remembered when she first looked at Ruby and realised she was in love with her. She was smiling like this, at something Yang had said, and it was like she transformed in Weiss' eyes and her heart was set aflame with emotion. In this moment, Weiss could see their future together. Travelling the world together, the perfect team of Huntresses. Living in a house like this, one they built together, maybe with a dog like Zwei. Lovers, partners, the truest of best friends. Weiss let her hand drift down and wrap tightly around the box containing the engagement ring she'd bought over a week ago. Weiss stood up and announced she was going to go for a walk. Once she was outside, Weiss pulled out her scroll and sent a message to Ruby, telling her to meet her around the back, without telling anyone.
"Okay, I'm here," Ruby said once she arrived, before Weiss told her to shush and led her to a secluded area behind the barn. "What's going on?" Ruby asked once she was able to talk.
"There's something I want to ask you," Weiss said, "And I wanted to do it away from everyone else."
"Weiss, are you okay?" Ruby asked, a little concerned. The last time Weiss was like this, she was asking Ruby to be her girlfriend.
"I am," Weiss said, "Current situation with my father notwithstanding. But back to what I wanted to ask you."
"Okay," Ruby was seriously lost, but this was clearly very important to Weiss, which meant it was important to her.
Weiss was unsure on how to ask this, so she just decided to see what words formed as she opened her mouth. Weiss gently took Ruby's hands in her own, her delicate fingers rubbing over the calluses on Ruby's palms and fingers.
"Ruby Rose, you are the single most important person in my life. I love you with all of my heart and I never want to be without you. I know this is sudden, and I understand if you don't want to. But I need to know," Weiss pulled out the box and dropped to one knee. Ruby gasped as Weiss opened the box, revealing the silver ring and the ruby set into it. "I'm certain I'm no longer the Schnee heiress, and I don't really have much money for us anymore, but I love you. Will you marry me?"
"Yes," Ruby said instantly, before her brain had fully processed what Weiss had asked. Marriage? Ruby was sure she'd never get married. It was the sort of thing that seemed so far away that she never thought it would ever happen to her. But now, with Weiss and that ring, there was nothing else she wanted more. "Yes, I will marry you, Weiss Schnee." Weiss was frozen with shock at Ruby's sudden answer. It took her a second to get control over her body again and gently slip the ring on to Ruby's finger.
"Perfect fit," Weiss said as she stood, admiring the way the ruby caught the light, "I hoped it was: I did have to guess."
"Weiss," Ruby said, taking her fiancé's face in her hands, "Stop talking and kiss me." Ruby pulled Weiss into a passionate embrace, kissing with raw love and desire in equal measure.
Which lasted for a few seconds until literally everyone fell out from behind a wall, crashing into a pile. Everyone except Winter and Taiyang, who emerged from behind the same wall, looked down at the pile of young people and sighed.
"Really?" Weiss asked, not actually that surprised they had eavesdropped on her and Ruby, "You couldn't give us just a minute of privacy?"
"We got concerned that the two of you might try and run for it," Winter told her, "Keep father guessing if he tracked us down. Suffice to say, I think we're all pleasantly surprised."
"Letmeseeletmeseeletmesee," Yang said, finally getting out of the pile and rushing over to Ruby, grabbing her hand to see the ring before hugging both her and Weiss tightly. Everyone else came over and congratulated them as well, leaving Ruby a grinning mess and Weiss smiling widely as well. Even Taiyang, who had been most critical of Weiss' plan, came up and gave her a hug.
'So,' Weiss thought to herself as everyone took turns to hug and start offering suggestions for wedding planning. 'This is what family is really like.'
"Well now," a very cold, very angry voice said. Everyone turned slowly to see the white suited, furious face of Jacques Schnee, "Isn't this all so sweet?"
"Father," Weiss said, walking forward in front of everyone. The jig was up, it seemed. "How did you find us?"
"None of you are as clever as you think you are," Jacques said, before wagging his finger at Weiss, "Now you've had your fun. It's time to come home."
"I am going nowhere with you," Weiss said coldly, walking forward to face her father, "I am staying at Beacon, father. And that is final."
"You are coming home!" Jacques snarled, bringing his hand up and, to everyone's shock, brought his hand down and smacking Weiss across the face, sending her reeling. Before Weiss could react, Jacques grabbed Weiss' arm and tried to drag her away. Not the smartest decision when in the company of over a dozen trained Huntsman and Huntresses.
Winter was the first to start moving, but before she even made it halfway, a blur of rose petals zoomed past her. Ruby let out a battle scream as she impacted against Jacques, before somehow turning in mid-air and grabbing Weiss before she fell over. Ruby stood in front of Weiss, silver eyes practically glowing with rage.
"Don't," Ruby snarled, her voice dripping with uncharacteristic malice, "Ever. Touch her again."
Jacques struggled to his feet, world spinning, perfect white suit covered with dirt. "Who are you to strike me?" he spat, hands balled into fists.
"Your future daughter in law," Ruby said, taking distinct pleasure in the confusion and frustration on Jacques face, "And I'm laying down the law. Don't," and now, Ruby's eyes (unbeknownst to her) really were glowing, "Ever come near Weiss again."
Jacques was ready to argue, but Weiss stepped out from behind Ruby and stood next to her fiancé. A glyph, larger and more intricate than any other Weiss had used before, appeared in front of them, spinning furiously. As Jacques attempted to stand his ground, everyone else began to move forward, standing with Weiss and Ruby. Some drawing weapons, all of them glaring at Jacques.
Taiyang put a hand on Weiss' shoulder, giving her a warm and comforting smile before striding forward, face turning hard as he looked at Jacques.
"Sorry, we haven't been properly introduced," he said in a cheerful tone that conflicted with his expression. "I'm Taiyang, Ruby's father. Put it there." Instead of holding his hand out for a friendly handshake, Taiyang threw a punch that sent connected with the smug prick's face and sent Jacques flying backwards, blood pouring from his nose. "I'd tell you how to be a parent, but I have a funny feeling you wouldn't listen. So I'm going to make this easy for you. Get off of my property and if I ever see you again, you'll know how a real father is supposed to behave."
In the first real showing of intelligence since he arrived in Vale, Jacques stood up and put a hand to his face, looking at the blood that stained his gloves and the front of his suit. Then, he turned and left without saying another word. Once he was out of sight, everyone breathed a sigh of relief and Weiss let the glyph disappear. Weiss felt a little tired after doing that, but nothing she couldn't handle.
Ruby collapsed.
Ruby was only vaguely aware of being carried into the house and laid on a couch. It felt like her head was being split open by a hammer. It was all she could do to keep from screaming. Ruby felt someone squeeze her hand, and she applied the pressure back.
"Here," she heard her dad's voice, and Ruby felt him gently push something into her mouth. Ruby went to spit it out, but Taiyang stopped her. "It's just a painkiller, honey. Yang, where's that glass of water?"
"Right here," Yang said, kneeling down next to Ruby and gently helping her drink the water. Once Ruby swallowed the painkiller, the pain finally began to subside and she could take in her surroundings. Everyone that wasn't her dad, Yang or Weiss was standing back, looking concerned. "Hey, there you are," Yang said, "You okay?"
"Yeah," Ruby groaned, reaching out for Weiss, who took her hand tenderly, "Don't know where that came from."
"That guy…" Yang said, her eyes turning a bright shade of crimson, "I'm going to break his legs."
"Oooh, let me get my hammer," Nora said enthusiastically, making to run off before Ren caught her by the ear and dragged her back.
"Honey," Ren said reproachingly, "We shouldn't do anything rash."
"I agree," Pyrrha said, nodding at Ren, "We should plan for if he comes back. Otherwise he'll catch us off guard again."
"If he comes back," Winter said, looking towards the door and frowning, "We'll be ready. But I do believe we have something to celebrate." Everyone looked around blankly before their eyes all settled on the ring now adorning Ruby's finger.
"So, party?" Nora asked, breaking free of Ren's grip and looking around, "Nobody panic, I'll take care of everything!" With that, Nora rushed out of the house, leaving a trail of dust in her wake. Everyone stared at the door swinging in the wind, until Nora very slowly and very sheepishly walked back inside. "Uh, where's the nearest shop?"
Taiyang laughed and shook his head, grabbing his car keys. "Come on," he said, "I needed to go shopping anyway: you guys eat way too much food. You can come with, put those arms to use." Nora grinned and flexed, causing Ren to shake his head while smiling.
"Mind if I come along?" Jaune asked, "I'd like to see more of Patch."
"Room for one more," Taiyang said to the room, and Yang looked at Ruby, who had Weiss fussing over her now. Yang smiled, but it didn't touch her eyes. Her little sister would be fine without her for now. Yang went along with her father, Jaune and Nora while everyone else stayed behind.
"So, Ruby said, looking at Weiss, "Your dad isn't getting an invitation, is he?" Weiss couldn't help herself; she laughed.
"So, Ruby's getting married," Taiyang mused to his eldest daughter, "That is going to take some getting used to." Nora and Jaune had wandered off in the shop, leaving Taiyang with a trolley full of goods and Yang holding a bag of decorations.
"Yeah," Yang said, "It's weird to think about, but I'm excited! I hope Weiss is up to planning it all."
"You want to help, don't you?"
"Well," Yang said evasively, not meeting her dad's eyes, "Weiss isn't exactly going to be rolling in lien anymore, so if she wants a hand…"
"I'm sure she'd be grateful if you offered," Taiyang said, looking around the store for Jaune and Nora, spotting them with another trolley.
"It's not my fault I've never been to a wedding between two girls before," Nora was complaining, "It's not like there's a glossary of terms or anything."
"Well, I don't know if they both get maids of honour or not, so stop asking me!" Jaune was irritated, rolling his eyes. "They're not gonna get married until Ruby turns sixteen anyway."
"Probably a while after that," Taiyang said as they joined up, "Weddings take a lot of planning, so don't be surprised if it doesn't happen for a while."
Nora looked a bit sad about that, then brightened up and looked at Yang. "Hey, once we get back to Beacon, why don't we throw a big engagement party? Invite everyone we know?"
"Maybe once the craziness dies down," Yang said, "But yeah, that sounds like an awesome idea."
"You know what would be really cool," Jaune said casually, "If the wedding was held at Beacon." Everyone stopped and stared at Jaune, who looked very confused. "What? Not a good idea?"
"No, it's a great idea," Yang said, "It's just…"
"You're the one who thought of it." Nora finished Yang's sentence.
"Hey, I come up with great ideas all the time," Jaune said defensively, "I planned their first date, didn't I?"
Taiyang smiled as he watched the young huntsman argue with the huntresses. It reminded him of when STRQ was still together. How he'd argue with Raven and Summer when they wanted to humiliate him and Qrow. Back before it all got…complicated, when he started dating Raven.
Ruby and Weiss could make it work, though. Taiyang had faith they could avoid the mistakes he had made.
Ruby was laying on her bed, admiring her ring. Marriage, huh? If someone had told Ruby over three months ago that she would getting married to Weiss, Ruby would have laughed in their face. Now though, even amidst all of this insanity, there was nothing that she wanted more.
"Hey," Ruby looked up and saw Weiss standing in the doorway, smiling at her. "How are you feeling?"
"My head still hurts a little," Ruby told her, smiling back, "What's up?"
"Dad's back with Yang, Nora and Jaune," Weiss said, "Nora wanted to throw the party today, but I managed to talk her out of it so you could rest."
"Thanks," Ruby said, "I don't know if I could handle a party tonight. Maybe we could wait until your citizenship thing comes in? Have a double celebration?"
"That would be a good idea," Weiss said, sitting next to Ruby and wrapping an arm around her. Ruby laid her head on Weiss' shoulder. "So, today was a bit intense, huh?"
"Yeah," Ruby said, a little sleepily, "I was kinda hoping you and Winter were exaggerating what giant asshole your dad was, though."
"So did I," Weiss said, before searching for a different subject. Almost out of nowhere, Weiss remembered the piece of paper she doodled on, back when she and Ruby had just gotten together. "Not to start being pushy," Weiss said, "But what do you think about being Ruby Schnee?"
Ruby frowned as she thought about it through her headache. "I dunno," she answered, "Do I have to change my name?"
"You don't have to do anything you don't want to," Weiss said, "But traditionally you're supposed to…I think."
"Let's make that decision another day," Ruby said, drifting off to sleep and snoring slightly. Weiss shook her head and gently put Ruby to bed, drawing the covers up to chin.
"Pleasant dreams, my love," Weiss said, going to leave so Ruby could sleep peacefully. Everything was going to be fine. It had to be.