Chapter 14:
[Ruby]
Location: Atlas, Greenhouse
"When Jaune finished amplifying my aura, we'd already reached the borders of Atlas and Ren called Blake. I don't know exactly what they spoke about, but when we landed, Winter was there and waiting for us. She seemed surprised to see me! To be honest, I think that's the first time I've ever seen her showing emotion! Anyway, I didn't stick around to find out why she was there, I left as quickly as I could to find you. . ." Ruby trailed off, lowering herself to the floor and sitting back against the glass wall with a sigh.
"And how did you find me?" Weiss asked quietly, Ruby glanced up at her and her heart skipped a beat when her silver eyes met with an affectionate blue pair. "The mansion is pretty big, I could've been anywhere." Ruby chuckled and leaned up, taking Weiss' wrist and giving it a gentle tug. The woman rolled her eyes and sat down beside her, tucking her legs to the side and leaning into Ruby's embrace.
"I snuck into the mansion and Klein found me, said you were in the gardens with Wisteria." Ruby confessed, resting her chin on the woman's shoulder comfortably and wrapping her arms around her fiancee's abdomen. Her heart swelled with emotion as Weiss intertwined their fingers and legs as if to keep her in place. Ruby's eyes instantly shot down to Weiss' ring and relief rolled through her.
'She's not married. I wasn't too late. . .' She ran her finger over the snowflake-crested engagement ring and lifted their hands, revealing her own rose ring to match. Weiss stayed still and quiet, allowing Ruby to admire the rings, "Yang's right," she whispered lovingly, Weiss made a sound of response, "I should've gave you the rose one."
"Given," Weiss corrected lightheartedly, "you should have given me the rose ring."
Ruby rolled her eyes, "Given, gave, gaven, I don't care. It made sense to me.
A moment of silence passed between them, Ruby closed her eyes and inhaled Weiss' scent, but before she could get used to it again, she felt the older woman shuffling around. Ruby opened her eyes as Weiss slid her legs out in front of her and leaned back against her chest. Ruby tightened her embrace, "I was comfortable," she muttered in dismay "why'd you move?"
Weiss chuckled, squeezing her arm. "Well now I'm comfortable!" Ruby pouted, but the frown disappeared when Weiss reached up and tapped her nose, "I love you," the woman whispered, causing Ruby's heart to skip a beat. She was happy. . . Well, if she was happy, then Ruby was too.
"I love you, too." Ruby responded affectionately, "By the way, your security really if I was an assassin sneaking in to murder the wealthy heiress?" Ruby laughed, raising her hand in a gun motion and pretending to shoot, "Bam! One shot and she's dead because the security around here is shit."
Weiss rolled her eyes, "And then I'm dead because my fiancee shot me."
Ruby shook her head, "No! Not me, an assassin! What if I was an assassin and snuck in?" She tried explaining again, she fell quiet when Weiss barely managed to bite back a laugh.
Weiss raised a brow, mischief twinkled in her light blue eyes. "My fiancee still shot me."
Ruby felt a small smile tug at the corners of her lips, noticing the playful glint in Weiss' eyes. "Weeeiiiisssss!"
Weiss just tilted her head back, allowing it to loll to the side limply, "Weiss is dead, her fiancee killed her."
Ruby rolled her eyes and nuzzled the woman, who hummed in response. Weiss gently pushed her away and focused her attention on something above her. "What are we looking at?" She asked, following her gaze to look up at the clear blue sky through the glass.
The woman allowed a small smile graced her lips, "You." Weiss giggled, meeting Ruby's curious silver eyes when she looked back down. Ruby felt a wild blush creep up her neck and she released an embarrassed whine.
"I remember the day you proposed to me." Weiss whispered, the memory flashed through Ruby's mind and she detangled herself from the white-haired woman and approached the flower bed, gesturing for Weiss to continue speaking. She could feel her eyes on her, watching her. "You lead me out to the forest against my will and left me to follow you to a clearing."
Ruby knelt down, admiring the roses before gently plucking the ones she found to be the most vibrant. A white one, a matching red rose, a few osiria roses. . . "Zwei was there, and he presented me with a red and white rose that had a picture tied to the stem," Ruby smiled, still proud of her piece of art, she glanced over her shoulder at the rose Weiss was twirling and stood up. Weiss' eyes flickered up to her, returning the smile, "when I turned around you'd littered the clearing with rose petals."
Ruby smiled as Weiss spoke, the memories of that night still fresh in her mind. She gently took the rose from her fiancee and stepped behind her, taking her seat again. She placed a hand on Weiss' back silently to tell her to remain upright, she set the flowers to the side and began to undo Weiss' ponytail. She felt the woman's stiff posture relax under her touch, Ruby imagined Weiss to have her eyes closed when she spoke again.
"Keep your eyes closed, my love." Ruby told her, threading her fingers through Weiss' long white hair. Weiss just hummed her response to acknowledge her, a smile tugged at the corners of Ruby's lips again as she took a red rose, removed it from the stem, and began braiding it into her fiancee's hair. Next was the white rose, followed by the osiria roses. After a few minutes, she sat back to admire her work.
A single red rose, one white, followed by three red and white roses. Ruby leaned in and planted a gentle kiss on Weiss' neck. "You're so beautiful." Ruby slid her arms around Weiss' waist again, "Gods, I thought I lost you. . ." She squeezed her, "I thought I'd come back and you'd be married. . ."
"Never," Weiss chuckled, "I would have escaped Atlas and disappeared off the face of Remnant before that happened." She was quiet for a second, "I believed you were dead. . . And everybody was expecting me to move on just like that, to accept it and get married. . ." Ruby lifted her head from Weiss' shoulder, "But I couldn't, I kept wishing that I had been the one who lost my life so that you could still be here. . ." Weiss tensed up, her body slightly trembling, "I thought I lost everything."
"Shh," Ruby whispered reassuringly, her thumbs rubbing comforting circles across Weiss' waist, "I'm okay. I'm right here, and I'm not going anywhere."
"Can we change the topic?" Weiss asked, her breathing heavy. Worry coursed through Ruby and she nodded, she wanted to know what was wrong, but she would allow Weiss to tell her when she was ready.
"Sure." Ruby muttered, smiling when Weiss relaxed against her, "I missed you."
Weiss took her hand again, lacing their fingers together, and lifted it to her stomach. "We missed you, too." She whispered lovingly, her head tilting back to watch Ruby. Ruby blinked in confusion, there were only two of them. What in the world was she talking about? She locked her gaze with Weiss', hoping to find the answer in her eyes; all she saw was amusement and affection.
Then it dawned on her.
Excitement shot through her like a bolt of energy and her frown was replaced with a wide grin, her eyes went wide and brimmed with tears. Love bloomed in her chest and she released a childlike squeal, "You're pregnant! We're going to have a baby!" She threw herself back, bringing Weiss down with her and laughing when the woman shrieked in surprise. She let go of her and shifted so that she was hovering over her fiancee. "When did you find out?! How far along are you? Do we know what they're gonna be yet? Wait, of course we don't, you're not showing yet. Well still! I hope we have a little girl, oh wait, a boy would be fantastic too! Either way, I-"
Weiss shushed her by pressing a finger to her lips, "Shhh, my sweet." Ruby stared down at the sight below her, wanting to forever save the image to her mind. Weiss' arm was draped comfortably over her stomach, her hair pooled around her head with petals seemingly decorating the long white locks. Her eyes were calm and adoration shone in the light blue gaze that Ruby had come to love so much.
"Gods you're gorgeous." Ruby blinked, leaning down to press her forehead to Weiss', "How did I get so lucky?"
"Ah," Weiss looped her arms around Ruby's neck, "I'm the one who got lucky, I have you." The brunette leaned back and planted a kiss to Weiss' nose before moving to place one on her lips. Weiss lifted a hand to block the kiss. "Hey, Ruby?"
"Mhm?"
"We're in a greenhouse. The walls are glass, see-through, transparent."
Ruby raised a brow, "So?"
Weiss frowned, "Ruby, somebody could see!"
The brunette just smirked and leaned down again, cupping her fiancee's cheeks with both hands. "My love," she whispered affectionately, "nobody can see us. I promise, just trust me.." Ruby watched as Weiss' eyes widened and fluttered closed, a small smile crossed Ruby's lips, "But if you don't want a kiss," she straightened herself, Weiss' arms falling to her hips, and bit back the laughter at the look of betrayal on Weiss' face.
Weiss reached up and grabbed Ruby's collar, pulling her back down and into a gentle kiss. Electricity and warmth flowed through Ruby when their lips met, her senses flew out the window and the world around her fell deaf. Before she could reciprocate the kiss, Weiss suddenly jerked away and pushed against Ruby's chest, Ruby's brows furrowed and she rolled off to allow Weiss to sit up. "Did you not hear him?!" Weiss exclaimed, sitting upright and scrambling to her feet.
"Nope." Ruby replied in pure confusion, "What was I supposed to hear?" She asked, pushing herself up and standing.
"What if he tells Father?"
"Who?"
"Shit, what if he heard about the baby?"
"Who are you talking about?"
"We need to get out of here right-"
"Weiss!" Ruby grabbed Weiss' shoulders to get her attention, sure enough, panicked blue eyes fixed on Ruby. "Who saw us?"
The woman stared at her for a moment in silence, fear written all over her face. "Liam. . ." Ruby's eyes widened and she turned her attention to the glass door, her brows narrowing. Liam Greer, Weiss' supposed fiance, the man her father had chosen for her to marry. "Ruby, I have to go," Weiss whispered, making no attempt to move, "they can't see you here. . . If he tells Father-"
Ruby shook her head, "What happened to my Weiss?" She asked softly, raising her hands to cup Weiss' face again, "Defiant, brave, strong, she wouldn't allow anything to stand in her way if she had something to say about it, and she always had something to say. She spoke her mind, she was sassy, sarcastic, snarky. She wasn't afraid of anything, she would face a challenge head on. . ."
"Ruby, this is different-"
Ruby smiled, stepping back and away from her fiancee, "Nope!" She grinned, "This is just yet another challenge, this is something standing in your way and stopping you from reaching the other side. Arranged marriage?" Ruby rolled her eyes, waving a hand dismissively. "Psch, Weiss, we've went up against the largest of Grimm and put some of Remnant's most wanted criminals behind bars. Getting out of this 'engagement' will be like a simple warm up exercise."
Weiss hung her head dejectedly, "I know, Ruby, but this is different. You don't know my father. . ."
The other woman sighed, approaching her beloved again. The hopeless look on Weiss' face caused pain to tear at Ruby's heart, she hated seeing the woman looking so broken. . . "Princess," Ruby lifted her chin with one finger, "Your father doesn't know us, he underestimates us, he underestimates you ." She smiled as an attempt to raise Weiss' hopes, "So why don't we show them what Weiss Rose is made of?"
She received no response, Ruby groaned internally and placed her hand on her hip, "Weiss, I'm running out of encouraging speeches here."
"WEISS !" Ruby frowned, hatred brewing in her chest as Jacques' voice echoed through the garden.
Weiss' head snapped towards the door, panic flickered through her eyes and Ruby raised a brow, "He told him. . . Get out of here!" The older woman hissed desperately, refusing to make eye contact with her, Ruby's heart clenched when she realized Weiss was trembling. "Go! Hide! Leave! He can't see you." There were tears in her eyes. . .
'No.' Ruby frowned stubbornly, turning to the door and reaching to grab Weiss' hand. "I'm not going anywhere."
Weiss snatched her hand back to her side and Ruby paused, "Weiss?" She whispered weakly.
The woman just shook her head and started for the door, " Please , just hide if you don't want to leave." Ruby followed her in silence, stopping at the door and stepping out of sight. Weiss had left the door open, allowing Ruby to be able to hear everything.
"Come here, immediately!" She heard Jacques first. He seemed infuriated, nearly boiling with rage. "What's this about a pregnancy?!"
He knew? But how. . . Did Liam tell him? How much did he hear?
"I don't know what you're talking about." Weiss' voice lacked emotion, but Ruby knew her well enough to have heard the hesitation. She'd never been a very good liar. .
"Bullshit!" Jacques' voice was loud, ringing through the garden again, Ruby's nails sunk into her palms, "Doctor Meadows told me everything! That thing belongs to her doesn't it?" So Liam didn't say anything. . . He must not know she was alive, then.
"I'm afraid you were misinformed, then. . . You know that I," Weiss hesitated, "miscarried the baby. The staff at the hospital confirmed-"
"Clearly they were wrong." She could hear the scowl in his voice, but he sounded eerily calm. "You're coming with me to get rid of that abomination ." Wait, what? Surely he wouldn't. . . Of course he would, why wouldn't he? A baby outside of marriage, a child with an 'impure' bloodline, her baby. He tried to have her killed, he wouldn't be above killing a child. . .
Ruby's eyes flew open when she heard Weiss yelp, "Let go of me !" Rage boiled inside of her and she slid out of her hiding place, "I don't have a baby!" She sounded so scared. . . Ruby stepped out of the Greenhouse quietly, reaching to her side and grabbing her temporary weapon. She clicked it once and the blades unfolded.
"What did I say about lying to me?!" Jacques raised his hand and Ruby readied herself, but every nerve in her body screamed for her to shoot forward and decapitate the man. She wasn't a murderer, though.
"I-I'm not lying!" Weiss had frozen, watching him with wide, fearful eyes. "I don't have a baby, I miscarried. . . The hospital said there would still be pregnancy symptoms because my body hasn't comprehended-"
Time slowed down. Ruby saw red.
She felt herself move forward as Jacques' hand descended, and in one quick movement using her semblance, her body collided with his. There was a dull thud and when Ruby's vision cleared, she found him pressed against the wall, shock and fear contorted on his face, with her blade to his throat. There was a small trail of blood slipping down from the tip of the blade. Ruby snarled, her voice dripping with venom as she spoke. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't rip you apart limb from limb ."
"You. . ." He growled, "You release me right this instant, and I might consider sparing your miserable life."
Ruby chuckled, glancing over her shoulder as Weiss approached her. "Babe, look, he still thinks he's in charge." Weiss didn't say a word, "Are you okay?" Ruby asked her fiancee as she refocused her attention on Jacques, keeping him immobile and pinned against the wall.
"I'm fine." Weiss replied, her voice once again blank. "Let him go, Ruby. . ." She whispered, almost inaudible, Ruby's eyes widened and she gave the woman next to her an incredulous look, "Let him go, return to Blake's place. I'll be okay. . . I have a plan. Hopefully."
"What-?"
"You always ask me to trust you," Weiss' eyes softened, "I'm asking you to put your trust in me this time."
Ruby locked eyes with Jacques again, slowly removing her weapon from his neck. "Don't you dare lay a hand on my Weiss again." She threatened with a venomous voice, she attached the weapon to her side again and approached Weiss, who was waiting at the gates. Her expression changed into one of concern, "Please be okay, let me know if anything happens. I don't want you getting hurt. . ."
"Sweetheart, I'm not made of glass, I'll be fine." Weiss raised a brow.
"But, the baby." Ruby whispered quietly.
"We will be fine, Ruby."
Ruby nodded reluctantly and released her fiancee, "I'll be waiting for you," she whispered lovingly, "I love you, Princess." Weiss smiled and whispered the words back, the couple ignored the annoyed huff coming from a few feet away. Ruby hesitated, but stayed put where she was, watching Weiss enter the building and keeping Jacques from following after her. Her gaze hardened, "Stay. Away. From her." Ruby growled, activating her semblance and bolting away.
When she was out of earshot, Jacques sent a glance towards somebody in the shadows, "Did you catch that?" A nod. "Very good."
[Weiss]
Location: Blake's Hotel
"Liam."
"Yes?"
"I need you to do something for me."
Liam's head lifted from his scroll and he gave an understanding nod, "Is it something to do with your girlfriend? Need me to cover for you?" He asked curiously, obviously ready to agree to whatever he needed to do. Weiss felt guilt twist inside of her, remembering how unkind and discourteous she'd been to him; he was ready to help her with absolutely no hesitation.
"Fiancee, actually." Weiss sighed, "I'll make it quick. I need you to listen in on my father and Mr. Greer's conversation, record anything mentioned about my. . . My family."
"Okay, so what do I do with it?"
"I'll give you my contact information and you will send it to me once you get everything, understand?"
"Got it." Liam smiled, "Your fiancee seems to really care about you. By the way, if you don't mind me asking, are you really pregnant?"
Weiss lifted her gaze, "Um. . ." She felt the shield she'd put up slowly crumbling. "I am." She replied carefully and cautiously, "Why do you ask?"
Liam shrugged, "Just curious," he stood to his feet and Weiss took a few steps back, "congratulations." He sounded genuine. . . Weiss' eyes widened in disbelief. He was serious, he was actually happy for her. That didn't make any sense! He was. . .
'He's never done anything to me.' She reeled herself back to reality. "Thank you."
… … … …
"You know where Father hides our stuff?"
"Yep! I watched him once after he took my scroll that Mother bought me!"
"Wisteria," the little girl gazed up at the woman and Weiss drew in a deep sigh, "Liam is distracting Father, so I need you to find a box for me. It's white and has a line down the middle; Do not open it. Okay?" Wisteria nodded her response and Weiss smiled.
"I'll be waiting out behind the manor, close enough to hear if anything happens."
… … …
Wisteria ran up with the box in hand and carefully handed it over to the woman, "Did you open it?" Weiss asked worriedly, quickly scanning her niece for any injuries, Wisteria shook her head and Weiss released a sigh of relief, "Thank you, Wisteria."
"You're welcome!"
[Present]
She'd arrived at the hotel less than thirty minutes ago, after having explained Liam's part in her plan to JNPR and Ruby, Weiss made her way to Blake's bedroom, where the faunus had been working to uncover evidence that they could use against Jacques Schnee. By the looks of it, Blake had already found what they needed.
"What did you find?"
Blake glanced over her shoulder as Weiss walked in, she brought up a file and Weiss stopped behind her. "I managed to find the bank transactions where your father-"
"Jacques."
"-Jacques paid some guys in Mistral to relocate a herd of Deathstalkers towards the town." Blake continued, bringing up said transaction, "It was done anonymously, but if you trace it back," she clicked some buttons and Weiss furrowed her brows in bewilderment as her family's address appeared on the screen, "it was sent from the SDC."
Weiss glanced down as a pair of arms slid around her waist and Ruby's head rested on her shoulder, she smiled and laced their fingers together with one hand. "What else?" Ruby asked tiredly, almost sagging against Weiss. Blake hummed, clicking open another file.
"I also found the call logs discussing the plan with some group," she tapped on the mouse, opening the recording, "listen-"
"Hold on," Weiss whispered, "I gotta put this one to bed." Behind her, Ruby seemed to be struggling to keep her eyes open, her body having relaxed as the adrenaline had worn off. Taking a few steps back and slowly lowering herself onto the bed behind her, Weiss readjusted herself so that she could look at the screen, the brunette's arm was still loosely wrapped around her. She glanced behind her and sighed when she noticed that her fiancee had already dozed off. She turned back to Blake, "Alright, press play."
Blake smiled warmly at the woman and pressed play, leaning back in her chair when the recording began.
"Is everything set?"
"Should be, Sir. The Grimm have been relocated and the mission request has been sent out."
"Did you make sure that it was my daughter's team?"
"Yes Sir, but depending on how things go, we might have to discreetly split the herd to drive the team apart."
"Make sure that Rose girl is separated from the rest of them. I have sent you pictures for reference, but do not underestimate her, she won't be taken out so easily."
"Understood."
The call cut short and Weiss' eyes flickered to Ruby behind her and she released a deep sigh, thankful that her fiancee was asleep, or else the scythe-wielder would be seething. "He was almost successful," Weiss whispered, her voice choked, "I should have seen the signs. . . But I turned a blind eye and Ruby could've died." Guilt and shame washed over her, her chest tightening. "How could she forgive me. . .? How can she still-"
"Because it wasn't your fault," Blake interrupted, "even if it was, she wouldn't blame you, she would still love you. . . She'd probably just be hurt."
"It is my fault," Weiss' knuckles turned white as she clenched her fists, "he had been wanting me to get rid of her for years. He said if I didn't, he would I didn't believe him, and maybe if I had listened. . . None of this would have happened."
"You couldn't have known the mission was rigged, Weiss," Blake whispered comfortingly, "just be thankful that Ruby's still here and that you still have a chance for a family." The faunus leaned forward and opened another recording, "This is after you returned home, according to the date." She sat back again.
"Was the mission successful?"
"I believe so, Sir. Your daughter is unharmed and Rose is nowhere to be found, she may have been eaten. We didn't even have to interfere! She lead the Grimm away herself!"
"Good, good."
Weiss met eyes with Blake, "So we have the evidence," she whispered hesitantly, "the bank transactions, the calls, attempted murder, attempted forced abortion, forced arranged marriage. . ." Weiss hummed, "We could also expose some more things," she confessed quietly, Blake raised a brow, "child abuse, kidnapping, abuse of power, endangering lives. . ."
Blake hummed, "Ruby said that she attacked him," Weiss nodded and the faunus heaved a sigh, "he could try and use that against you, and the fact that we hacked into their system to find the evidence we have."
Weiss blinked in realization and groaned, rubbing her temple. "We're screwed."
She looked back to Blake when she shook her head, "Winter and I have this covered."
Yes, Liam caught Ruby and Weiss, but he did not say a word and chose to leave them alone. Weiss asked for Ruby to let her father go so that Ruby was not arrested for murder. (She wouldn't have killed him any way, she's better than that.) As for the proposal Weiss was talking about, you can read the full story! It's called "Springtime Rose".
Any name/gender suggestions for the baby?