Summary: Ruby always knew what the future had in store for her. But before that time comes, she prepares three hundred and sixty five messages for Weiss.

*Warning: Implicit major character death. It looks happy but it's a lie. It's actually sad.


"Good morning, my love. Did you have a good sleep? Take a look out of the window for me and tell me what you see. Is the sun shining down on the city today, or does it look like it's about to rain? When you get out of bed, remember to brush your teeth. I know you're not the type of person to go one morning without it, but I want to remind you just in case. Make sure you brush your teeth twice every day: one after you wake up and one before you sleep. Did you have your morning cup of coffee yet? I know you can't go through your day without it. Cream and one sugar, that's how you like your coffee every morning. Remember to eat some breakfast before you leave the house. They say breakfast is the most important meal of the day, so try to make yourself a warm meal. If that isn't an option, grab a fruit on your way out."

"It's sunny today," Weiss mumbled as she tried to shield herself from the sunlight filtering through her curtains. She gave herself another five minutes in bed to get rid of the last remaining drowsiness out of her system. Once she rolled out of bed, she reached for her necklace on the bedside table and put it on. The cold band linked by a metal chain had her shuddering until she finally got acclimated.

Admiring the ring one final time, Weiss sent herself to the bathroom and carried out her routine. She brushed her teeth, washed her face, changed out of her attire, combed her bed hair, and added a touch of makeup. She made her way into the kitchen next to make herself a steaming, hot cup of coffee. Like everyday, she added cream and one sugar.

Most mornings she would nurse her drink while she cooked up breakfast. A hearty omelet if she had the time, or egg and toast if she wanted something simple and easy. But breakfast didn't seem like an option after she noted the time. She was running a little later than usual, so she grabbed her bag and took her coffee to go.

Two steps out the door, Weiss turned back to the house. She hurried into the kitchen and grabbed an apple from the fridge before heading outside again.

"Whether you're outside as a huntress or cooped up inside your office, take the time to have lunch. It's okay to push your work to the side. You can't conquer the day on an empty stomach. If you can, grab a friend with you. Did you know the food tastes sooo much better when you're having a meal with someone? That's probably why our cafeteria food always tastes good."

"Come in," Weiss said after she heard a knock. She was too busy reading through her miscellaneous files that she couldn't spare a single glance to see who was at the door. There were mountains of paperwork left untouched from yesterday, so she was trying to go through them as quickly as possible before the day ended.

"Weiss?" Blake entered the head office. Weiss didn't notice her presence, so Blake walked up and gently tapped on her desk. It startled Weiss out of her work zone, and Blake smiled apologetically for disturbing her. "It's 12 o'clock. Do you want to have lunch?"

Weiss glanced between the clock and the stacks of papers on the side of her desk. She didn't realize time had flown by so quick. There was still a lot that needed to be done, and taking a lunch break would only put her behind even more. With a smile, Weiss pushed her workload off to the side.

"Yeah, actually. Lunch sounds great right now."

"Keep smiling, my love. Show the world that Weiss Schnee has the most beautiful smile. If your day isn't going the way you want it, keep your head up and smile. Sometimes, it only takes one of your smiles to brighten someone's day."

It was Vacuo's turn to hold the 42nd Vytal Festival this year, and Weiss decided to celebrate it with a couple of old friends. She strolled through the crowded night market quietly, while her two noisy companions buzzed all over the place.

"Dude!" Sun ran up to the display window of a bookstore and pressed his face against the glass. "Check this out, bro. Are you seeing what I'm seeing?"

"What?" Neptune asked as he followed Sun to the front of the shop. "Ninjas of Love Guide to Flirting: How to Get Out of The Friend Zone. Dude, are you serious…?"

Weiss wandered over to the neighboring shops while the two best friends prate about Sun's new point of interest. She'd rather look at trinkets sold by small shops rather than visit a bookstore that she could find just about anywhere. While she looked through the trifling souvenirs on the stand, a hand sneaked into her purse.

Grimacing that someone had the audacity to try and steal from her, Weiss grabbed the thief by the wrist before they could escape. It was a young Faunus dressed in tattered clothes. He looked like he hadn't eaten for a day or two; his cheeks were thin compared to most boys of his age.

The Faunus wilted with fear as Weiss glowered at him. Instead of scolding the young boy or delivering him to the authorities, she crouched down to his height and smiled. "Do you want to grab something to eat with me? Food tastes better with company."

"Back at the manor in Atlas, I left a little gift for you. Do you remember how I told you that I needed to run a quick errand before we began our strategy meeting? I didn't lie to you, I promise! Sneaking back into the manor was a really, really important errand! I hid your gift inside the drawer of your nightstand besides your bed. Play it when you can't sleep at night."

Weiss closed the bedroom door behind her and walked sluggishly to her empty, half made bed. She slipped underneath her covers and closed her eyes. Seconds turned to minutes. Minutes turned into an hour.

Weiss rolled over onto her side and reached inside the drawer of her nightstand. She pushed aside the bottles of melatonin in favor of a small recorder. She pressed the play button and placed the device on top of the nightstand. Shutting her eyes, she listened to the sounds of Ruby's hum until she finally fell into deep slumber.

"Happy birthday, Weiss! Did the year go by fast? You never did like celebrating your own birthday back at Beacon. I still remember how mad you got when you got caked by us during our first year. But to be fair, you eventually got your revenge. You threw five whole cakes at me on my birthday. Five whole cakes! I have never been covered in so much frosting before in my life, but seeing you laugh so much on that day was worth it. I'd let you cake me again in a heartbeat. Rain or shine, celebrate your birthday with the people that you love."

The rain pelted against her window. Lightning crackled across the sky while thunder crashed. Weiss flipped to the next page of her book as she sat crossed legged on the sofa. The torrential downpour steadily drummed against her roof, and Weiss knew it wasn't going to let up any time soon.

She had canceled all of her social outings she had scheduled for today. Staying indoors was many times better than going out during a thunderstorm. Thirty minutes into her book, the doorbell rang. Weiss closed her book and set it down on the coffee table. She went to the door to greet her guests that she was expecting.

"Happy birthday, Weiss!" Blake and Yang cheered together.

"You didn't bring an umbrella?" Weiss hid her amusement behind a hand. From head to toe, her two best friends were drenched. The rainstorm did a number on them during their walk from their car.

Blake slicked her wet, black hair out of her miserable face. "Yang's fault."

"But… I didn't forget the cake!" Yang lifted the box for Weiss to see. "That's the most important part, right birthday girl? I can't wait for you to try it. I got this from a new bakery place that just opened up. I heard it's delicious."

"The cake is always important," Weiss chuckled as she took the box out of Yang's hands. "Thank you. Come on in. I have your spare clothes and dry towels already prepared for you."

"Have you picked up a hobby other than singing? Back at Beacon, we didn't have any leisure time to pick up a fun activity. We spent most of our days' training and studying — but you should have some free time on your hands by now, right? Have you tried gardening? Velvet used to rave about it back when we were at Beacon. She said that being around nature and getting fresh air and sunlight can improve your mood. Plus, you can eat all those fresh fruits and vegetables when they're ready for harvest! Also, guess what I've heard. Apparently, the secret to growing a healthy, fruitful crop is to say one thing you love after you water it. I'm not sure if that's true, but I'm no plant expert."

Weiss adjusted her braided sun hat and gave one long look at her garden. The tomato plants she had sowed last year were now flourishing. Blooming at the side of her walls were red roses. The trees she had grafted years ago were bearing fruits again.

Picking up her watering can, Weiss made her way to the last of her crops. She had planted her vegetable in the previous month, and it was starting to look green and healthy like everything else in her yard. She crouched down, gave it a nice serving of water, and said the first thing that always came to mind.

"Ruby Rose."

"Has your cooking improved yet? I remember Ren permitted you to use the kitchen, and you almost burned the whole house down. I can't believe you managed to burn water! But, do you know what I love about you? You're always striving to become better. I bet your cooking tastes amazing now."

"All in favor of Weiss cooking this year, say I."

"I!" The votes poured in unanimously, and the quick response surprised Weiss.

"Me, again?" Weiss gave each and every person a raised eyebrow. "Don't you guys want to try something different? How about you, Ren? I bet you're dying to cook this year."

"Not really." Ren shook his head. "Your cooking tastes way better than mine."

"Especially your homemade lasagna," Nora gushed. "Can you make that again? Instead of three layers, make five!"

"The honey garlic glazed salmon was good," Oscar added too.

"Remember when Weiss cooked up that beef wellington?" Penny brought up.

"Oooh," everyone collectively sighed when they remembered how the meat melted perfectly onto their tongues.

"That was delicious," Jaune remarked. "Please tell me you're going to be our chef again. Your cooking is waaay better than everyone else in this group!"

With all those flattering compliments, Weiss caved in with a smile. How could she say no? Besides, it wasn't often that she got to make something for a large gathering. "Fine, I'll cook again this year."

"Hey, Weiss? I'm sorry, but this will have to be my last recording. I'm almost out of time because the sun is about to rise. In a few minutes, I'll be waking you and everyone else up. Once I do, I have to go over our equipment to check if we have everything we need before our final battle. You know… I feel like I should be afraid. We're going against someone who is out of our caliber, someone who has Grimm at her beck and call. But to be honest, I'm not scared. I'm not alone, and I'm not going through this alone either. I know I have you and everyone else fighting next to me, and I truly believe that is what's giving me the courage to stand on my feet oh shoot. I think I just heard you wake up from the other room which means I gotta hurry this up. There's this app I downloaded on my scroll that allows me to send you all of my pre-recordings. It lets me pick a date and time of which recordings you can receive. So if it's working correctly, you should be getting a recording every day from me for the next year. Pretty neat, huh?"

Ruby went silent as she paused in the middle of her recording. She seemed to be tapping her nail against what sounded like a table, and she broke the silence by drawing in an audible, deep breath.

"We've been through a lot together. We laughed, we played, we argued, we fought, we cried, we forgave, and most importantly, we loved. We entered Beacon to become licensed huntresses, but things have taken a different turn. Now, we are trying to save the world to protect our future. When this is all over, I hope I can wake up next to your beautiful face every morning. I hope we can spend a relaxing day cuddling in bed or binge-watch a television series on the couch. I hope to spend the rest of my life with you because you're the only person I want to raise a family with. Once this war ends, I'm going to put this ring on your hand. From the bottom of my heart, I love you, Weiss."

Weiss turned the car ignition off and stepped out of her vehicle. The sun graced her warmly as its rays reflected off the ring attached to her necklace. She strolled through the quiet grounds as her heart guided her through the beaten-down path until she found a glade.

"Hello, my love." Weiss smiled softly as she walked up to the gravestone. She placed down the bundle of flowers next to everyone else's and began recounting the memories that had happened over the last year out loud. She had lost track of time as she shared all of her stories, both good and the bad.

As nightfall came, Weiss promised her that she will return in the near future. She wiped the tears falling from her eyes and went back to her car. She played the recordings from the beginning again.