It was over. Somehow, some way they’d done it. Salem was defeated.
The brother gods had seen humanity united and in return finally granted Salem, and by extension Ozma the death they’d longed for before returning to the Ever After.
So much had happened in so little time it was hard to believe. She’d gotten to meet Winter and the rest of her family once more, and while there was a lot of rebuilding to do, the important thing was that there was a reason to do so, a tangible future for the first time in what felt like forever.
She was free to finally make the Schnee name mean something worthwhile, and she had her team to thank for it. There were others certainly, including their friends, but well, her team were at the forefront of her mind.
After Ever After she had to admit she’d realized she’d been taking Ruby for granted and as per her promise she decided to make up for lost time and be the best teammate and partner ever.
If Ruby needed to talk Weiss made herself available. If Ruby looked even remotely upset Weiss made sure she was nearby so if Ruby wanted to talk she could or if she just needed some time to process she wasn’t alone. If Ruby needed a drink Weiss was on it.
It was the least she could do for the one who never stopped being there for her even as she broke down.
Ruby was the castle in her heart, and while Ruby shielded Weiss it was up to Weiss to care for the castle and make sure it never crumbled again.
They’d all come… such a long way. And to think this had started in their first year of schooling. She idly wondered if they could get credit towards graduation for saving the world. That had to be worth at least a handful of credits right?
A waiter stopped to offer her a drink. Weiss’s first instinct was to refuse. She had no desire to end up like her mother after all, but perhaps…this once would be alright.
After all they’d saved the world hadn’t they? There was no reason for her not to enjoy at least the evening was there?
Remnant even had their precious relay system back up so they could watch their soap operas, and whatever took their fancy.
They, or she at least deserved it, so with that in mind, she grabbed a single glass and brought it up to her lips for a drink.
Yes, she certainly deserved this. She picked up the small plate Ruby had given her with a smile the last time she’d circled the room containing most of her preferred foods from these functions.
The cucumber sandwiches were exquisite. That’s not to say she didn’t enjoy a good burger but at this venue that wasn’t likely to be offered. She did roll her eye at the cookies on her plate.
She broke off part of one to eat knowing Ruby wouldn’t let her get away with eating none of them even if her partner preferred strawberries.
Truthfully it was a minor miracle she wasn’t being swarmed at the moment, although that again was down to her wonderful team doing their best to draw most of the attention to themselves with Blake and Yang announcing their engagement with Coco and Velvet following suit.
“How are you doing?” Qrow asked as he took a seat and swiped one of her sandwiches and made a face once he bit into it.
Weiss decided arguing was pointless and pushed the plate more equally between them.
“Surprised you’re drinking at all,” Qrow offered as he held up his flask which Weiss knew now contained merely water, juice, or some sort of soft drink.
“I don’t want to make a habit of it, but if I can’t drink tonight then when can I? We all saved the world, so it seems fitting we take this one night for ourselves,” Weiss defended her decision.
“I’m not saying I blame you, but try not to get too sloshed. Who will keep an eye on Ruby if you don’t?”
“I’m…so glad she’s here and doing better now,” Weiss confided to the older man. Strangely even though Tai was very open Weiss found it easier to speak with Qrow. Perhaps it was the bond they’d forged in battle, or perhaps it was because he knew essentially all of her secrets over time, but the point was Weiss trusted him more than most others outside her team.
“I am too…I damn near had the…well suffice to say if it weren’t for Robyn after what happened with Atlas…” Qrow trailed off as Weiss gently squeezed his hand and took another drink from the tray as it came by.
“Where is the future Mrs. Branwen?” Weiss teased the older man and was even more shocked when he actually gained a slight bit of color rather than be dismissive.
Weiss felt a smile pull at her face at his response before she asked gently. “What happened?”
“She used her semblance and told me she wasn’t leaving me. Some other stuff but that was the gist of it. Told me she would wait but only for so long…so,” Qrow flushed a bit more before he withdrew a small box from his pocket,showed it to her and stowed it back away over Weiss’s gasp.
“Congratulations!” Weiss said giddily.
“More emotion than I got from your sister when Robyn told her,” Qrow admitted.
Weiss tilted her head and Qrow smirked. “Just asked her if she was really sure a few times,” Qrow confided in her as Weiss giggled.
“I’m sure in the end she offered her congratulations,” Weiss said confident in her sister as Qrow nodded.
“So what about you?” Qrow asked, jolting Weiss out of her thoughts.
“Sorry, pardon?”
“When are you,” Qrow nodded to Weiss and then to his niece, “gonna make a move on kiddo?”
Weiss felt herself go red before she sighed.
“I don’t know if that’s something she’s even amenable too. She’s so focused on being a huntress, and even with Salem gone, the Grimm still remain.”
Qrow merely sighed and fixed her with a stare telling her to keep going.
“I don’t know. I know about my… feelings ,” Weiss said delicately as Qrow snorted.
“I just don’t know if…what if she says no?”
“What if she says yes?” Qrow asked, seeming to be highly amused.
“That’s almost worse. We’d be together forever!” Weiss said.
“That’s a lot different than now isn’t it?” Qrow teased her as Sun drug Neptune to the dance floor the two making up random moves to their own music much to Qrow’s amusement.
“I’m…a lot, and not always easy to love,” Weiss said as she waved down the waiter for another drink and ignored Qrow’s raised eyebrow.
“That’s really up to her isn’t it?” Qrow said seriously.
“I won’t break any confidences, but you can’t expect her to wait forever can you? You’ve never been overly affectionate with her have you? Grabbing her hands a few times, and looking when she doesn’t know doesn't really count,” Qrow snarked.
“I…suppose not.”
“Her message was shown world wide. Everyone knows her, and they know she and your team are a large part of why Salem is gone. She’ll have an entire planet of people vying for her attention.”
Weiss felt herself frown at that. That was true. When faced with an entire world of people, why ever would Ruby choose her?
She was brought back to her senses as Qrow flicked her nose drawing a noise of indignation from the younger woman.
“She’s had plenty of offers, but I’m pretty sure she’s waiting on someone in particular, and no I won’t tell you,” Qrow said, rolling his eyes at her predictable pout. “Just think about it, or I won’t tell you that Robyn wanted you to be one of her bridesmaids.”
Qrow swiped one of her tomatoes before he disappeared back into the crowd after nodding his head toward Ruby where she was talking with some random nobleman Weiss was only vaguely familiar with.
Her first instinct was to go over there and pull away the man who was standing far too close for Weiss’s comfort, but…Ruby could make her own choices, and she shouldn’t interfere with that.
Instead she merely downed her drink and motioned for another. She could talk with Ruby in a bit.
One drink turned into many as minutes turned into hours. Weiss never let her eyes drift off Ruby unless it was to get another drink, or eat the plates of food Ruby prepared for her and dropped off as she went around the room.
Brothers, Ruby she was just…so radiant. She really needed to talk to her. It seemed like a good idea, but she didn’t know if her feet were currently working, and based on how the room was starting to swim she didn’t think she’d make it to her, but then she saw Oscar standing close to Ruby.
Far too close, and wow it turned out she could still move incredibly fast even when intoxicated.
In fact based on the way people scrambled out of her way she figured they realized she was in a hurry. How thoughtful of them.
As soon as his hand reached out toward Ruby’s arm she made it to the two of them and pulled her away from his grabby hands.
“Excuse me, I need to borrow Ruby for a moment,” Weiss said, not really meaning her apology.
For one moment it looked like he might say something, and Weiss really hoped he did but he clearly thought better of it. Smart, but unsatisfying.
“Hey Weiss what’s up? Are you ok?” Ruby asked, seeing her sway slightly.
“No. I’m drunk but that’s ok,” Weiss assured her.
“Well as long as you’re sure,” Ruby said with a soft smile which made Weiss's decision for her.
“Excuse me!” Weiss shouted, getting everyone’s focus on the two of them slowly but surely.
“It has come to my attention that some of you are looking at my partner. I wish to make something perfectly clear,” Weiss said before she turned and pulled a startled Ruby into a kiss as she flushed red and squeaked.
“This is mine. Remember that. Thank you,” Weiss said before she collapsed into Ruby’s arms and promptly fell asleep.
Ruby felt her face flush as adorable snores echoed from her slumbering partner.
“Wow, way to go, Ruby! I had no idea you guys were dating,” Yang congratulated her sister who went even more red as her free hand twitched toward her pouch for a moment.
“We’re not!” Ruby insisted before she lost her courage and vanished with Weiss in tow in a swirl of pink petals.
“Well I’ll be damned,” Yang said as she raised an eyebrow at Blake and ignored the despondent looking Oscar.
They’d cheer him up later but now they needed another partner in crime…and there was Nora. Perfect!
Weiss groaned as she felt her head pound as she sat up, or tried to, only to find a weight on her chest.
She nearly pushed it off until she smelled the scent of her partner. The smell of roses helped soothe her mind, and she decided she could put up with it for now as she smiled down at her partner’s sleeping face.
She took a look at the clock and decided to indulge in a bit of mindless scroll watching. She flipped on the news station and saw Lisa Lavender who apparently was now the anchor for the Vale News Network. Good for her.
“And we've gone over the latest news to come out of last night's victory celebrations. Apparently Ruby Rose is no longer Remnants most eligible as she was claimed very publicly by her own teammate Weiss Schnee!”
Weiss felt her blood run cold as a video played showing her drunkenly kissing her partner and then passing out in her arms after glaring at Oscar hard enough that he almost looked to be about to cry…well, ok, she felt less bad about that after going back and watching him try to touch Ruby.
This was a disaster. Oh brothers, and Ruby had still carried her back after that.
Why had she drank anything at all? Ugh. She scrolled back to the start and there it was on the bottom of the screen. Video supplied by Nora Ren, and Yang Xiao-Long.
She was going to kill them. Salem might not have managed it but Weiss was sure she could do so…as soon as Ruby woke up.
She might as well enjoy these last few minutes of peace she’d get with her partner before Ruby woke up and told her she was flattered but only saw her as a friend.
Or because the universe had a sense of humor Ruby would start waking up now. Of course.
Weiss Schnee was many things but now that she was in this mess she’d take charge of the situation.
“You sure Weiss is gonna be alright with everyone? Or Ruby?” Nora asked feeling slightly guilty over the whole thing, well mostly on Ruby’s behalf as pranking Weiss was always amusing.
A scream rang throughout the home they were currently staying in before they heard Weiss begin cackling maniacally and screaming the word ‘Yes’ over and over.
“I guess you were right,” Nora said, any guilt evaporating as she went back to look for something for lunch.
“You know Weiss is going to be related to you now, right?” Blake asked to tease Yang.
“Yeah…I’m trying really hard not to think about it,” Yang admitted with a smirk. “How long should we give them you think before we go in and bother them?”
“You do that and Weiss might actually try to kill you,” Blake joked before her eyes widened.
“Please, she wouldn’t possibly…Blake?” Yang asked as Blake sprang away from Yang as Weiss’s Boarbatusk, which Ruby had named Baconator, crashed into Yang knocking her out the back door before a veritable army of Grimm followed, all of them clearly Weiss’s summons on their way to waylay Yang.
Although whether it was for revenge on sharing the video or if Weiss knew Yang well enough to know she’d try to bother the new couple she didn’t know. It could be either with Weiss.
Either way she got her scroll out to record this. If she did and gave a copy to Weiss there was a good chance Weiss might forgive her at least.
Hopefully. At least life wasn't going to be boring after everything settled down. Not with those two around at any rate.