When the alarm went off, Ruby had rolled over, still in her PJs and found the bed empty. It took a moment or two for the mental cobwebs to declutter as her brain began to wake up and shake off the doldrums of sleep before she could piece together what was going on. The date with Weiss, the video game high score, karaoke...and Weiss' "surprise" that never materialized because she had fallen asleep. Now feeling incredibly guilty, Ruby slowly made her way out of bed to see where her girlfriend had gone. She didn't have to look long, as she could Weiss' angelic singing voice coming from the shower behind the closed bathroom door, which was frustratingly locked.

"Hey, uh, Weiss?" Ruby yelled so she could be heard over the singing and rushing water. "I'm sorry about last night, I didn't mean to fall asleep. Any chance I can come in and...make it up to you?"

The shower quickly shut off, Weiss singing now replaced with happy humming. Ruby could hear her bare, wet feet slap against the tiled floor of her private bathroom as the door swung open to reveal Weiss in a fluffy blue towel and a matching one wrapped around her hair.

"I deliberately took the shower with you asleep because I knew if you had joined me, we wouldn't be getting out for hours," Weiss said with a smile. "And don't blame yourself. I took way too long getting ready, so it was only natural you fell asleep." The two girls shared a quick kiss before Weiss threw open her wardrobe closet to find her outfit for this afternoon's speech.

"So, are you going to read what your Dad wrote for you?" Ruby asked timidly, wanting to approach the subject with as much reverence as possible. Weiss sighed as she found the off-white pants-suit she liked so much.

"I know what I'm going to say if that's what you're asking," she said, drying her hair with the fluffy towel. "I thought about it all last night before I fell asleep." Ruby bit her lip as this wasn't a direct answer and the fact that Weiss was being evasive made her slightly worried.

"Okay, but, um, you didn't answer my question..."

Weiss smiled and placed her hands on Ruby's shoulders, before giving her team leader a soft kiss on the lips.

"Everything is under control, I promise you. You have nothing to worry about. Now, go get dressed and Klein will drive you to the press conference at the SDC factory. I have to be there early, so Winter is giving me a ride."

"Get dressed? Aw, no, does that mean the lady stilts have to go back on?" Ruby pouted. She detested those pumps and would banish them to the furthest reaches of Remnant if she could.

"Actually, no!" Weiss said with a sly smile. "After the...unfortunate...dinner last night, I had taken the liberty of ordering you a new outfit from one of my favorite designers. I had it expressed shipped, same day delivery and it arrived while we were at that detestable greasy arcade."

"First of all, I know you loved Papa Pepperoni, so don't even try and pretend you didn't have a good time. And secondly, what did you pick out? You know I'm not really a fancy clothes type of girl..."

In response, Weiss reached back into her stand-up wardrobe and produced an outfit hanging on a solid oak hanger. It was a black and red plaid skirt that hung down to the knees and a simple button up red blouse.

"For you," Weiss said with a smile. Ruby was in awe, as it was still cute and functional but 'fancy' enough for anything Schnee related. "And, if you're wondering about accessories, I thought you could wear your black tights and boots that are normally part of your combat skirt."

"This! Is! Perfect!" Ruby squealed, lunging forward with a tackle/hug that sent the heiress reeling back on her bed. The two huntresses shared an emotional, passionate kiss full of love and desire, before Ruby's hands began to wander to untie the knot on Weiss' towel. However, Ruby's hands were slapped away by a blushing Weiss.

"Not now, you horny dolt." she playfully scolded. "Shower and get dressed and let's get today over with and then we can talk about any extra-circular actives."

"And you say I'm bad with pillow talk..." Ruby grinned, sticking her tongue out in defiance. "Fine, if you insist, m'lady!" she added, giving a fake, exaggerated curtsy. Giggling at her own joke, she soon disappeared in a poof of rose petals as the bathroom door shut behind her.

"Dolt," Weiss said with a smile and finished getting dressed. Later, now fully dressed with her hair and makeup to her exact standards, she greeted Winter in the driveway of Schnee Manor, her sister behind the wheel of an extravagant Snurb XL 9000, a luxury class four-door car that would cost more than most people could even fathom. It was a dark shade of black with an all-white interior made from a synthetic leather-like material that was exclusive to the SDC. Winter owned two.

"Good afternoon, dear sister," Weiss said as she slid into the passenger seat. "Thank you for the ride."

"Think nothing of it." Winter dismissed with a hand wave. "But enough pleasantries, let's discuss your decision for today. Are you sure you wish to go through with this?"

Weiss chewed on her bottom lip as she thought it over. What she planned on doing was huge, monumental that would change everything she had ever known. But the more she dwelled on it, the more she let it rattle around in her brain, the more it became apparent that this was the right thing to do.

"Yes, I am absolutely sure," she said quietly.

"Than I am proud of you. You are acting like a Schnee by standing on your own two feet and making a name for yourself, just as our Grandfather did when he founded the company."

"Thank you," Weiss said with a blush. "I have the package that I need. I'm assuming everything is set to deal with Father's reaction?" The tiniest hint of a smirk teased on the corner of Winter's mouth in response

"You have nothing to worry about." was all Winter said.

This was Ruby's first time at the SDC front office and she quickly found herself in awe of the massive monolith of glass and concrete. It seemed to stretch upwards for an infinite amount, with Ruby having to crane her neck far back just to see where it stopped off at. A giant crystal snowflake, the same one that bedazzled all official SDC products (and Weiss' combat skirt) hung above the front door with the letters "SDC" below it in a pale blue lettering.

"Wow..." Ruby mouthed silently. She remembered setting foot on Beacon Academy and how large that seemed compared to her home back on Patch, but this dwarfed even the academy. She imagined Jacques' office was on the very top floor with a window as big as the wall and he would just stare out of it, muttering to himself about great it was to be rich and better than everyone in Atlas and how his daughter's girlfriend was so stupid and-

"You're the girlfriend, right?"

Ruby blinked as she snapped back to reality, her head locking back into place. The person who broke her concentration looked to be in her mid-20's, thin (too thin, Ruby thought, almost sickly thin), with brown hair, tired blue eyes, think wire-rim glasses and a headset with a microphone jutting in front of her mouth. Her suit was immaculate, not single thread out of place or wrinkled and was black as night.

"Uh, I'm Ruby Rose, if that's what you're asking...?"

"Right, terrific. I'm Madison, Mr. Schnee's personal assistant. I'm here to escort you to your seat in the amphitheater." Madison blurted out, her words rushing from her mouth like she was twenty minutes behind schedule. Ruby barely had any time to reply before Madison grabbed her wrist and half-dragged/half-lead her across the lobby to the huge wooden doors that held the entrance for the amphitheater. The interior was something out of an old-timey movie, with elegant bronze statues of various mythological figures perched over the ceilings and walls and murals showing smiling faces, interestingly enough no Faunus faces, using dust from everything from cooking to powering a car. The press had already gathered, double-checking their cameras and tape recorders. "Here," Madison said, gesturing towards a seat right in front "Ms. Schnee has picked this seat for you, front and center."

Ruby didn't really want to be front and center, but at least the press was behind her, so if she wound up in the papers, it would only be the back of her head.

"Normal girl...normal knees..." she sighed quietly to herself as she sat down. Both seats to the side of her were empty, as was the entire row. It was literally just her a few feet away from the stage and podium. She turned to ask Madison why she was alone in this row, but the frantic assistant was gone, screaming into her headset about Jacques needing "artisanal water" for his private room above the balcony. Shrugging to herself in defeat, Ruby made herself comfortable and browsed her Scroll a bit, playing a few rounds of 'Cookie Crush' or checking her social media feeds. She had lost track of the time when the lights in the room suddenly began to dim and everyone broke out into applause like this was a game of Grimmball. Adding to Ruby's confusion was a giant projector screen that lowered from the ceiling, blocking the podium in the middle of the stage.

"50 YEARS AGO, MY FATHER IN LAW DISCOVERED A CAVE OF DUST CRYSTALS AND NEVER LOOKED BACK..." boomed Jacques pre-recorded voice over the speakers. A slideshow began to project on the screen, showing blurry black and white photos of the early days of the SDC. Ruby couldn't help but roll her eyes over the arrogance, knowing full well the truth of the matter that Weiss had told her in the car. "...SINCE THEN THE SCHNEE DUST COMPANY HAS STOOD FOR HONESTY, INTEGRITY, AND QUALITY. TO THIS DAY, WE USE SOME OF THE SAME DUST MINING TECHNIQUES..."

Sighing with boredom, Ruby brought her Scroll back out to play a few more rounds of Cookie Crush when it buzzed with a text from Weiss.

W_Schnee: Enjoying the show? ;-)

Ruby stifled a giggle as she replied back.

RlyRlyKoolKid: i thought ur dad sold dust not fertilizer?! this guy is FULL OF IT!

Ruby barely had to wait before Weiss replied.

W_Schnee: You are too cute sometimes. Just watch. The best has yet to come!

"Heh, I kinda doubt that..." Ruby said quietly to herself, sliding the scroll back into her messenger bag that doubled as a purse.

"...AND NOW, WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, PLEASE WELCOME MY DAUGHTER...WEISS SCHNEE!"

The lights immediately blinked back on, hurting Ruby's silver eyes. When her vision came back into focus, the screen had risen back up the ceiling and Weiss was now behind the podium in the pants suit she had produced from her wardrobe earlier. The room exploded with a standing ovation, Weiss blushing ever so slightly and motioning for the crowd to quiet down.

"Thank you, ladies and gentleman. If I had known I would have had such a receptive audience, I would have sung first," she said with a smile. The audience politely laughed at this banter, but Ruby knew Weiss long enough to see something in her eyes that put the RWBY team leader at unease. It wasn't fear...or was it? It was hard to figure out, but something was boiling inside of Weiss and the fact she was being so secretive about it earlier only made it worse. "As my Father said earlier, this is the fifty year anniversary of the SDC and I am happy to be here because I have a special announcement to make. But first, I would like to introduce you to someone. Ruby? Would you please come here?"

Ruby's eyes flew open to the size of two dinner plates, as she was not expecting this in the slightest.

'Me?' she mouthed silently, pointing at her chest.

'Yes, you!' Weiss mouthed back. Stunned and in shock, Ruby gingerly left her seat and went up the side stairs to the podium on stage. The crowd was silent, except for a few nervous coughs from the dim blackness of the crowd. The stage lights were bright and hot and made Ruby glad she had doubled up on her usual deodorant this morning.

"Please, stand right here next to me," Weiss said flatly before turning back to the crowd. "Before I explain why I brought her up here, I wanted to say a quick word about the SDC. The SDC my grandfather built, the one he invested his lien, his blood, his sweat, his tears, his life into...is gone. Jacques Schnee has perverted the name 'Schnee' and took what was once a respectable company and has run it into the ground with horrible business tactics, including, but not limited to Faunus forced labor camps, price gouging, tax evasion and more. Because of this, I can no longer associate myself with such unbelievable levels of corruption. I am hereby forsaking my title as an heiress."

Ruby's mouth went slack, her eyes shocked and glassy as a direct result of this announcement. Being a Schnee was Weiss pride, it was practically her whole identity and now she was just going to throw it away?! Was she crazy?! Was she bit by a diseased beowulf and now had Mad Grimm disease?! It was so unlike her.

"Weiss...are you sure?" Ruby whispered, her voice low enough so the house microphone didn't pick it up. Weiss merely held up her finger to silence Ruby and cleared her throat to quiet the shouted questions from the press in the audience.

"Now I wish to introduce to you my girlfriend, the love of my life, Ruby Rose. Ruby...I owe you so much. You've taught me how to let go and enjoy life, how to laugh, how to be me and not this version that is expected of me. You make my heart sing and I love you so much."

Ruby dot exe has stopped working.

"And...well, I have something important I want to ask you..."

Time slowed down to a crawl for Ruby, as if someone had a galactic remote control and set things to slow motion. She watched as Weiss, blushing an adorable shade of pink, dropped down to one knee and reached into her pants pocket. She watched as her girlfriend, the former heiress of the SDC produced a small black box and she watched as the box was opened in front of her and inside was a small white gold ring.

"Ruby Rose, would you do the honor of marrying me?"

Ruby's jaw dropped and her tongue was tied in knots. She couldn't hear any of the crowd, just a faint buzzing sound that echoed in her brain like it was hooked to a dying speaker. The ring looked so small that for a brief moment, she wondered if it would fit. Her vision was getting blurry before she realized her eyes were welling up with tears.

"...yes..." Ruby said in a throaty whisper.

"...I'm sorry?" Weiss asked, legitimately unable to hear Ruby over the ruckus from the crowd.

"YES, you amazing, fantastic woman!" Ruby squealed, lunging down and tackling Weiss to the floor. Her arms on either side of Weiss' head, the two lovers shared a passionate kiss to the snapping of flash photography. At that point, they were the only two people in all of Remnant and they couldn't be happier. The (former) heiress and her dolt.

From his private room above the balcony, Jacques Schnee was furious. In less than ten minutes he had been completely humiliated and had his company defiled and slandered!

"Cut the signal!" he ordered into his Scroll, but there was no reply from the camera crew. Heaving his device across the room in a fit of rage, he watched with no satisfaction as it shattered into dozens of pieces. He swung open the door to his private room, only to be blocked by two Atlesian Knight-200s. "What is the meaning of this? Move at once!" he barked and attempted to pass between the two androids, only for them to block his path.

"UNAUTHORIZED" one of them ordered in an artificial monotone screech. What little patience Jacques had left was quickly deteriorating.

"Do you know who I am, you worthless scrap heap?! I am Jacques Schnee! Who ordered you to stand here?!"

"I did, Father," said Winter, stepping out from around the corner. "I had ordered them to guard your room and to not allow anyone in or out unless given clearance by me." Jacques blustered with blind rage, his balled up fists shaking with grotesque anger.

"H-how could you!? After all I have done for you and your sister! I am betrayed by my own seed!" he bellowed. Winter shook her head in disappointment.

"We are not your seed, Father. We are your children! We are not pawns in your games, we are not props for you to use at free will. If you had bothered to realize this, bothered to love us, you would be happy for Weiss right now. But no, you are blinded by your own arrogance and greed and now you are going to lose another daughter, just like you lost me."

Jacques took a deep breath to attempt to calm himself down, not wanting to do something the Knights might consider a threat to their commander.

"If this is your idea of teaching me a lesson, you are sorely mistaken. Did you forget that I pay for her tuition at Beacon? One phone call to my accountant and she can wave goodbye to her annoying partner and everyone else at that waste of resources." he sneered, his words dripping like venom. Weiss merely smirked.

"Oh Madison?" she yelled, getting the assistant's attention from inside the room. "Do be a good assistant and please pull up the SDC website to see the latest announcement."

Confused, Madison pulled out her Scroll and brought up the SDC's corporate information page and gasped loudly at what she saw.

"S-sir, um, you're not going to like this..." she stammered.

"What? Show me at once!" Jacques demanded, ripping the phone from Madison's hands. His eyes glanced over the press released, his brow furrowing and his teeth clenching so hard that Winter thought it was a miracle the enamel didn't crack. "How...how did you do this?" he demanded, his voice booming with a quiet rage.

"It was easy. I'll spare you the technical details, but Atlesian Military cybersecurity is top notch. I typed up the press release announcing how thrilled you are that your daughter is engaged and that not only will you continue to pay for her education in full, but you will also pay every last expense for her wedding, no matter what she wants. Of course, you could always deny that was you, but that would give you even more bad press, wouldn't it? And we all know how much you hate bad press."

Jacques' shoulders slumped. He was defeated. Broken and bitter, he merely turned his back on Winter and calmly walked back into the private suite, locking the door behind him.

"Monitor him for another two hours," she ordered the droids. "After which, report back to the cargo ship for reassignment."

'AFFIRMATIVE.' both droids replied. Winter smiled as she casually walked away, her hands folded neatly behind her back. Maybe having Ruby Rose as a sister-in-law wouldn't be so bad after all...

EPILOGUE

"So...that was a thing..." Yang said in utter disbelief. Right before Weiss had taken the stage, she had texted Yang to ask her to bring the rest of RWBY, as well as JNPR, into the common room to see the press event on television. No reason was given, but Yang did so out of curiosity.

"I can't believe it..." Blake said, just as stunned. "I had no idea this was being planned."

"You had no idea?!" Yang snorted. "I'm her sister and I had no idea. My lil' sis is getting married!"

"So you know what this means, right?" Nora said, barely able to restrain her excitement. She was bouncing up and down like an engine piston, squealing with delight at what she had just witnessed. "Bachelorette party for both ladies! I better reserve the strippers now! Do they make pancake thongs? Guess I'll find out!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on!" Yang countered. "If anyone is planning a bachelorette party for Rubes, it's me! Big Sisters call first dibs."

"Uh, no?" Nora shot back. "No one wants to go a bachelorette party thrown by their sister. That's like taking your sister to prom!"

"Hey, I told you that in confidence! And I only did it because her date stood her up the night before!" Jaune yelled.