Cultivating a Rose
Ruby Schnee has gotten many warnings about motherhood.
In her mind, the idea of becoming a mother is supposed to be a beautiful thing, a time of bonding and joy between herself and her new baby boy. Evidently, this is not supposed to be the case. Plenty of parents that she’s talked to have warned her of the perils of babies. Constant crying, terrible messiness, and sleep deprivation for parents.
If babies are supposed to be this way, fussy, angry, and loud, then she has no idea what to make of Frost.
One peculiarity with her new baby is his size. Weighing in at a tiny four pounds and three ounces, getting clothes to fit the small child is rather difficult. Velvet recently has proposed to send the couple specially sized Adel clothing for premature babies, all for free. After all she and her family had done for the Schnees, neither Weiss nor Ruby can accept the offer in good conscience. So, Coco wisely compromises by selling the clothes to them at a significant discount.
Aside from his adorably fashionable clothes, baby Frost is far from a problem child. He takes to nursing well, sleeps often, and is rather quiet compared to the rambunctious demons Ruby has heard of. On the rare occasions when Frost disturbs the couple with his cries late at night, Weiss insists that Ruby go back to sleep so she can be able to have her rest. Sleepily, she drifts back to sleep only to awaken to her wife having left early for work. She always wants to make a point to Weiss, but it slips from her mind throughout the day.
The hardest parts for Ruby throughout the day never involve Frost. Quiet moments have always been the hardest for her, but even more difficult when she has the house to herself. Sitting on the couch, she clutches a baby monitor close to her chest, as Frost sleeps soundly in his bassinet. Part of her hopes that he needs something from her. Maybe she can comfort him, feed him, change him, anything to feel useful. Busying herself with other household chores, she works to make a clean house or keep groceries stocked, pushing down the voices accusing her of being needy, a bad mother.
The highlights of her day are always when Weiss returns home from work. Never does she feel unappreciated or overlooked or forgotten. Her wife is always appreciative of everything she does. From a hot meal after work, to small little rearrangements around the kitchen, Weiss never fails to notice everything Ruby does. Even more impressive is the kind of parent Weiss continues to be with Frost.
No matter how hard her day is, what she must put up with, Weiss always makes a point to spend time with Frost. Whether it’s reading to him, playing with him, or just talking to him, Weiss is always the epitome of love and comfort. Ruby continues to work to shove down jealousy she feels brewing up inside her. What if Weiss is the special parent, the favorite parent, and she is just the one who is always around?
One day, Weiss returns home to a surprisingly romantic dinner. A white tablecloth drapes over the table, contrasting with the bright red roses at its center. Candlelight shimmers, plates of pasta and salad and garlic bread piled on. Ruby’s silver eyes sparkle at seeing her wife. Running over, she pecks her on the cheek before guiding her towards the table.
“How was your day, Working Weiss?”
“Much better now,” Weiss smiles.
With Frost soundly asleep, his two mothers share the table with themselves for some desperately needed quality time. Weiss’s heart swells with gratitude. After all the stress and chaos of her work, knowing that she can return to a home like this makes it all worth it. Happily munching on some salad, she sits in silence as she is immersed in the present moment. Returning from all the noise and ruckus of her work, this cozy little respite is all she needs.
“So, Weiss, how was work today?”
“Ruby Schnee, you never cease to amaze me.” Weiss beams.
Smiling awkwardly, Ruby moves haphazardly to pick at her plate. It is her hope that Weiss would be open about her day. Corporate gossip, infighting, the highs, and lows of the office, she desperately wished to hear something to take her mind off the mundanities of home. Instead, the conversation returns to her, again. Ruby slowly nibbles away at her meal.
“Frost is well-rested and changed, the house is spick and span, and above all that, you find the time to prepare this delicious meal! How did I ever get so lucky to find you?” Weiss sighs dreamily.
“Well, when you only have one thing to day, it’s easy to find the time.”
Ruby gasps, her fork clatters as it hits the table. She freezes, a hand shakily rises to cover her mouth. Quickly, she jumps to her feet to grab two classes from cupboard. Hurriedly, she pours out some wine to share between the two of them. Raising her glass for a toast, she suddenly buries her head in her hands.
“Oh my God!” She yells.
“Ruby, what is it?”
Silver eyes glance towards Weiss’s pregnant belly before Ruby rests her head on the table.
“Weiss, if—if you had drunk that…”
“It’s OK, Ruby. Really, I know we have some sparkling grape juice—”
The two are disturbed by loud wailing. Ruby screws her eyes shut, her hands resting on her head. Every muscle in her body seems tense. She still trembles slightly. Resting back in her chair, her hands rest in her lap. Her head hangs low.
“I woke him up, if I hadn’t been so damn loud…”
“Ruby, it’s fine, let me go get him,” Weiss reaches out a hand to meet Ruby’s.
Ruby gently takes hold of Weiss’s hands and sets them on the table. Slowly rising from the table, a new determined look clouds her face. Silver eyes look at Weiss pleadingly. Still hunched over, it’s almost as if something is weighing on her. Finally, she lets go.
“Weiss, please let me help for once.”
“Ruby…”
Slowly slinking away, slippers creak up the stairs as Ruby goes to comfort their baby. The sight going back down warms Weiss’s heart. Slowly rocking the red-faced squalling child back and forth, Ruby softly sings to their baby. As Weiss recalls, it was one of the first songs she had ever sung to Ruby. Finally, as the child drifts to sleep, Ruby places a kiss on the child’s forehead.
“I love you just the way you are.”
Weiss takes a sip from her sparkling grape juice before having a moment of clarity.
“Ruby, I think I realize what the problem is.”
Hands run through silver hair, as Weiss’s blue eyes dart back and forth. Moving to stroke her chin, one can practically see the gears turn in her head. Clearly, she can tell something is off. From Ruby’s outburst to her defeated posture, to her clear maternal capabilities, there is only one clear solution. Weiss strokes her baby’s cheek.
“You’re clearly overwhelmed.”
“What?” Ruby stares incredulously.
“I’ve done too much to stretch you too thin. Your only focus should be mothering our child. But I’ve burdened you with housekeeping and cooking as well. I wanted to avoid hiring house staff, avoid bossing servants around the way my father had. This is your leave; it shouldn’t cause you stress!”
“Too much? If anything, I’m not doing enough!” Ruby hisses, moving to shush her sleeping baby.
Blue eyes widen at Ruby in surprise. Weiss’s main concern has been shouldering the responsibilities of the workplace. Stepping into holes in leadership and managing those who need it. It had never even occurred to her that Ruby might be looking for more. Now, Weiss tries her best to listen.
“All my life I wanted to be a huntress, to protect people who needed it. Then, I got to spend my career protecting you, the woman I love most. Now, I can protect our baby boy! This, the time I get to do that, is my favorite thing in the world. I just wish I could protect him and protect others at the same time, does that make me selfish?”
Weiss’s eyes brim with realization. Looking at the woman in front of her, she has the same ambitions and goals as when they first met. Becoming a mother hasn’t changed that. Yet, she’s still on leave, and still volunteered to stay at home with Frost. Maybe there was a way she could do both?
“Seeing how hard you work, in everything you do, I wanted to give you the opportunity to rest. But maybe your version of rest is different. Here’s the number for my sister, Winter. The Atlesian military always needs help designing weapons. Whenever you get stir-crazy, maybe you could give her a call?”
Ruby’s silver eyes shine with the light of excitement. After many long, dull, days, helping design weapons might help her reconnect with the huntress from the early days of Beacon. Of course, she loves being able to care for Frost. And, of course, she wants to be there for her children in a way that her mother never was. But helping in this way might be the first step to reconnecting her to a greater sense of purpose.
“Winter Hill?”
“Yes, Ruby, my sister.”
“Wife of Robyn Hill?” Ruby smirks.
“I’m not sure she’d appreciate being called that.”
“Robyn Hill? The cunning linguist? The one who likes to ‘eat the rich?’” Ruby smirks.
“Ruby!” Weiss gasps.
Both girls chuckle silently to themselves, desperately trying not to burst out in laughter in fear of waking Frost again. Weiss cannot believe her wife’s immaturity but is also glad Ruby has that childish glee and joy in her again. Part of her realizes that Ruby has been overwhelmed, not in an abundance of things to do, but in Weiss restricting her from not doing the things she loves.
“I’m sorry for not being the partner that you need. I was so worried about the work I needed to do that I didn’t even think that I might be taking work away from you. I love you, Ruby Schnee, as a wife and a huntress. I just want good things for you. But I need to be more understanding in what those good things are.”
Weiss leans in to kiss Ruby on the cheek. Ruby rests her head in Weiss’s hand. Both women stare down at the life that they made together. In the end, both of each other. In doing so, they love him too.
“I accept your apology, Weiss, but I need you to do one last thing for me.”
“Anything, love, anything in the world.” Weiss vows.
“You mean the world to me, and I love how much you do for me. But just because you want to protect me doesn’t mean you should put yourself in danger. I want to be able to do more work outside of the home. But I also want you not to overwork yourself too much. Can you do that for me?”
Weiss pauses for a moment. She so desperately wants to show love to Ruby, but she can often forget how much Ruby loves her back. All her studying, her work, her dedication, is to afford a good life for herself and the people she cares for. What good is that life she can’t be there to live it with them? Weiss nods.
Ruby rests a hand on Weiss’s belly. The two tenderly lock eyes as they savor each other’s company. With one baby and another on the way, life may get hectic for the two of them. But whatever comes next for the two of them they’ll be able to do it together.
Fighting together, struggling as a team, and now they can finally have a family to share the good of the world with.