Chapter Text
What does a baby do for fun? It doesn't have to be that complicated but not that boring either. After the movie Osiria looked and acted, so to speak, restless. I formulated the idea that maybe she wanted to do something more entertaining for herself, but the problem is that it has to be something fun and SAFE for her. I thought it would be something easy to find out, but it wasn't. I'm racking my brains trying to come up with something for her at my sister's house with things on hand, but my head was giving me no ideas.
She's still very small and I really have no idea what to do with a baby, and Blake, who would be my encyclopedia for learning how to take care of a baby, isn't here at the moment, so I'm going to turn to the best source of information for everything... my scroll. Handling my scroll with one hand while holding Osiria, I began searching for information from different sources to get as much information as possible.
' What does a one-week-old baby do? ' Perfect.
' Sleep '
I expected to find all kinds of information, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that the thing they do the most is sleep. Maybe that's why Osiria looks kind of bitter. Maybe she wants to sleep. Okay, I would have put her to sleep if I knew the fact that sleeping is what they do most of the time. No one told me that. Or maybe she just looks bitter because she's Weiss's daughter... that's also possible... Weiss always had a mean face.
I looked at Osiria's face, her eyes were open and she didn't look tired at all. The second thing babies do seems to be that they eat a lot, but I've been feeding her for a while and she hasn't made a distinctive movement that she seems to make when she's hungry, which is to start kicking, so I don't think she wants that.
I think I know why she wasn't interested in the movie. According to medical information, at this stage, babies are just developing their sight, which is why they only see certain things close to them. I didn't know that either. Does she see me? Could she see Weiss? I hope she was able to distinguish her so she has a memory, something to hold on to, but I guess I am asking too much. I don't remember my mom from memory but from photographs. It breaks my heart that Osiria has to remember such a fantastic person as Weiss only from stories that we will tell her.
It seems that playing for a short while will do her good but I will have to send her to sleep after, it is important that she sleeps a lot, I want her to grow strong and healthy, as I do not have any toys at the moment, buying them will be my priority, I took off a bracelet from my wrist, it was made of leather so nothing bad will happen to her, it was the only thing I had that was remotely healthy and close to a toy, I could not give her a cartridge of Dust or show her Crescent Rose.
" It's not much but it's just for now alright? " I moved my bracelet slowly so that Osiria would be interested, she tried to catch it but since she was a newborn it was obviously complicated to coordinate her body, some time passed and Osiria gave up trying to catch my bracelet this time she closed her eyes and it was my signal that she wanted to sleep.
Seeing her so fragile and tiny gave me a spark inside, I suppose that holding a baby is never easy for anyone but I believe that for a woman the maternal instinct to hold your child is something very big and marked, it is obvious that for a father too but imagine holding something that your body kept for nine months, a part of you, that you created, breathing and opening its eyes to the world, I did not give life to Osiria but without a doubt seeing a baby and holding it and hugging it is something that has no words.
Someone opened the door and pulled me out of my thoughts, Blake appeared again, I didn't know it had been so long, I looked at my scroll for the time and it said one in the afternoon, Blake gave me a smile it seemed like she was going to say something but she noticed little Osiria asleep in my arms.
" You should put her in her cribe, I need to talk with you about something " She whispered to me loud enough for me to hear without disturbing Osiria, I got up slowly and took Osiria to her crib, I was a little wary of leaving Osiria alone, anything can happen in a few seconds and what would happen if I wasn't there in those vital seconds, I would never forgive myself if something happened to her.
I carefully unwrapped her blanket. Osiria was wearing a cute teddy bear pajama. I laid Osiria down on top of her blanket. I noticed the night before that Osiria tends to move a lot while sleeping, and I didn't want to overheat her, so it's better to be safe than sorry. Besides, I doubt she's cold; we're in Kuo Kuana. It's never cold in Menagerie.
Everything looked fine, I left the bedroom door open in case Osiria cried or something strange sounded, I went down to the living room where Blake was already waiting for me.
" Problems at work? " It was obvious that he didn't come to talk to me about work, but it still doesn't hurt to ask.
" Not at all, it seems that the campaigns are working. Every day more people are starting to join our cause and the hatred towards faunus is decreasing " I am amazed at how far Blake has come in achieving equity and equality in faun rights, it was to be expected; she has always been someone skilled with words, brilliant and noble in her cause.
" That's awesome, I'm really proud of you! " I always follow all the news about my friend and her cause, I try to support her as much as I can, my certain reputation as a huntress is useful sometimes.
" Thank you but I don't want to talk to you about work " She gave me an honest smile but got straight to the point, Blake has always been someone who goes straight to the point without beating around the bush.
" What is it? " I feel like it's going to be something about Osiria and thinking about the only serious issue the little girl has would be her stupid dad and the truth is I wouldn't like the idea of that jerk coming very much, what if he wants to take Osiria, I wouldn't let him, but in court he has more value than me and possibilities to win custody of Osiria. I'm just... Weiss's ex-teammate and ex-partner, I wouldn't have as many opportunities to win her if that were the case.
" Osiria still doesn't have her birth certificate, you have to get it for her " I thought it would be something uglier or more difficult.
" Oh... how do I get it? " I could ask Blake to watch over Osiria for the moment to get her certificate. I'd rather do all the paperwork at once because it becomes a real pain later.
" You can go to the civil registry, it's much easier than going to the hospital since Osiria was born in Atlas " Will there be a long line to go through all that? I hope not, because it would be very boring, but I guess that's how things are.
" Right, so what's the name of the jerk? Even if we hate him he is still her father... sadly " To be honest, it was recently that I found out about a guy who was dating Weiss. Yang and Blake never told me, but I found out through news since Weiss was still an important figure in Atlas. It was a hard blow. I don't think any grimm had ever hit me as hard as that news. It was a block of ice straight to my heart.
" I was thinking that maybe you could put yourself as the father of Osiria " ...
" What? "
" I don't know anything about the guy and it's very clear that he doesn't want anything to do with his daughter. Weiss left us in charge of her and you're her partner. It only makes sense that you put yourself on the certificate as the father " My face was pure astonishment. What Blake was saying couldn't be real, could it? Could it even be possible?
" Ex-partner. It doesn't even make sense that I put myself as the father when I have nothing to do with her " I have everthing to do with her. Well maybe not really but my heart does, even if there is no blood there is a connection but it feels wrong to call myself the father when I did nothing, if she had bits of red in her hair, silver eyes, the perfect combination I would proudly call me her father but that's not the case, she is not mine but even then I don't want to give her to him. I can't decide if what I am doing is wrong or right.
What shoud I do?
" It makes all the sense in the world to call you her father not because of your love with Weiss but because Osiria already see's you as her father or mother or anything, haven't you notice? She feels safe with you, she feels loved with you, she feels protected with you and while she can spend time with me and Yang it's not the same like when she is with you, deny all you want Ruby but that kid it's yours not by genes but by love " My bracelet felt heavier with Blake's words.
" I... I don't thi- " Before I could finish I heard Osiria crying, thinking the worst I used my semblance to get to where she was as quickly as possible. When I reached the crib I saw Osiria crying loudly, I carefully picked her up and cuddled her in my arms.
" I'm really sorry petal I guess... me and Blake talked a bit to loud " As if to reinforce what Blake had said, Osiria calmed down quite quickly in my arms, she was still crying a little but she was no longer screaming, one of her small hands grabbed onto my cape and that was enough to make my knees weak. I sat on the bed trying to calm my feelings and thoughts, more doubts than answers arose in my head, I had no idea what I was going to do.
" I won't force you to do anything Ruby... I leave you to decide what to do, Yang knows the father's name... if it helps I think you are an excellent dad to Osiria " Blake said while leaning against the door frame, she spoke to me calmly and rationally. In the end, what we both wanted was to support Osiria.
" What do you think Weiss would have done? " I don't know if this question is for the purpose of knowing who really had to take care of Osiria or simply to delude me with more words, to make me believe.
Believe that maybe she still loved something of me, even the smallest and most minuscule part of me, I can live with that but knowing that there is nothing left takes away all my strength, I always thought that I am a strong person but my strength depends on a woman who only lives and loves me in my memories, I can't continue, it's silly, very silly, this love that I still feel for her is my ruin, it's like a fire that spreads and I can't put it out, I don't want to put it out, if loving Weiss is like fire I want to burn till I'm just ashes, just for her.
Only for her.
" I don't know... I really don't know " I don't think we'll ever know.
" When she was still here... did she ever told you something? " Something about our love. I didn't need to specify what I meant, Blake knows very well what I mean.
" She never told me anything but her actions told me other things, she always wore red, she asked about you, she loved to hear all the crazy missions you told me about, she missed you a lot " That's enough, it was what I just needed to hear years ago, if only I had spoken to her, if only I had tried, if only I had done something... something at all, I feel very selfish for talking about Weiss in my things when all this started because we didn't know who to put as Osiria's father, I chose not to answer Blake and just looked at Osiria who was already sleeping again, I didn't notice when she dropped my cloak.
" Do you think Osiria would be angry if she found out that I am not really her family? " If that were to happen... I don't even want to imagine it.
" No because you really are her family, we all are " It's just a piece of paper, just a piece of paper that says I'm her dad, it's not a big deal.
" Okay, can you watch over her while I do that thing? " Blake gave me a big smile, I carefully put Osiria back into her cribe.
" Thank you Ruby " Blake gave me a hug that I didn't refuse to return.
" For what? " This is all very crazy.
" Everything " Blake is winning the favorite sister position, after all Yang raised me, she has a much more significant position than just sister, she's more like my mom.
" All right I' gonna get going I don't want to wait in lind for hours " Blake gave me the address and went in search of the much acclaimed civil registry, according to Blake there shouldn't be a long wait in line but unfortunately for me it seems I'm Murphy's Law walking or maybe my uncle Qrow passed some of his bad luck on to me because right now there was a line that looked like it was going to take a while.
I got in line and the waiting process began. The civil registry was a large and clean-looking place. Everyone was a faunus since it's a Menagerie. There were workers who attended to each person who arrived with the best efficiency, and maybe that's why they were taking so long. The building had an old but cool design.
It's not that bad, it's just a piece of paper and that's it, that's all, there's no reason to get so nervous Ruby... wait, what last name am I going to give her? I mean Weiss and I never got to that level of conversation to know who takes whose last name, it would be correct to name her Schnee since it's her blood but I'm the father and it sounds much better Osiria Rose it has a charm but also Osiria Schnee sounds imposing and classy but it would bring more problems to Osiria, she would be in the spotlight of the news by having Schnee as her last name and don't even talk about Weiss's father, the truth is I don't want to deal with that man, there's no other choice, sorry Weiss if you don't like my last name but Osiria will be a Rose... I think it's better this way I say there are already some Schnee in the world my last name would be lost if Osiria didn't take it... AND IT SOUNDS WAY BETTER THAN SCHNEE.
Much more cool.
Yeah... I think that I'm going to call dad later, all of this is too much and well I need someone to talk with, he knows all about this the good and the bad things.
Never thought that I would call my dad for tips on how to be a dad... life truly is weird.
I think I'm doing pretty well in my grieving process. I mean, my dad wasn't the best after my mom's death and it took him a while to heal and be there for me and Yang, she was the one who raised me. I say this without belittling the process my dad went through, but I think I'm doing this better than him. I'm really here for Osiria and I didn't leave her, I'm really trying.
After a while it was finally my turn to be attended. I got a young man who looked like he had just come out of school. Wow, time never stops. I think I'm old now.
" Good afternoon Ma'am how may I help you? " He has the attitude, I'll give him that... did he just call me Ma'am!? Man I am old.
" Good afternoon I'm want to do a birth certificate " Okay, I think this is killing me, I think I'm shaking.
" Alright, I need the full name, place of birth, date of birth, sex and parents' names " The young man took out a paper that was actually the birth certificate, except he was going to fill in the blank parts.
" Osiria Rose, she's a girl, born on July 8 in Atlas, her mother is Weiss Schnne and I am Ruby Rose " The young man paused in his writing upon hearing Weiss's name.
" Weiss Schnne? Isn't she... well " I knew what he meant, I'm surprised it wasn't a racism issue.
" She had complications during childbirth " The young man looked at me sympathetically and wrote on the certificate again.
" Ms. Rose can you show me your ID? " I reached into my pocket for my scroll and put in my huntress license because it's the most important one I have and the only one, I don't have a driver's license or anything like that.
" Mrs. Rose Schnee was born in Atlas and you Ms. Rose? " I guess the young man thinks we were married.
" Patch close to Vale " I don't know why my information was relevant if this was the Osiria certificate but who am I to judge?
The young man signed part of the certificate in the last part, and passed me the document with a pen, apparently what he signed is the court record.
" Sign her Ms. Rose " They were the father's and mother's signatures, but it would only be mine. On Weiss's part, I noticed that it only said 'deceased' as the cause for the lack of signature, but she did appear on the document as the legitimate mother. With a trembling hand, I signed and returned it to him. The young man stamped the certificate and handed it back to me.
" Have a good day Ms. Rose " That was faster than I thought.
" Thank you, have a good day too " It was crazy to see my name on the certificate as Osiria's legitimate father, I stopped at a store and bought a folder for the certificate, this was too important for me to carry it around.
I returned to my sister's house again, it wouldn't be long before she and the twins returned.
" So how did it go? " Blake asked me while he seemed to be making a bottle for Osiria who I think was still in her crib.
" Good... I got the certificate " I approached my sister-in-law and showed her the folder, took out the certificate and showed it to her.
" Osiria Rose? " She raised an eyebrow as she asked.
" Well there are many Schnee's plus I don't want her to deal with the noisy people for having the Schnee name and well I don't want to talk with Weiss's father " That man would demand me just for thinking about the Schnee the first time and last time I ever saw him was when Weiss invited me to her house for winter break, her dad barely saw me and he was already calling the police for trespassing and he gave me a warning that I couldn't be within 50 meters of his house, he kicked me out the same day I arrived at least Weiss's mom was nice enough to apologize and pay for my ticket back to Patch.
" True that man hates you " That man was going to kill me when he found out I was dating Weiss, he wanted to send me to hell when he found out I was kissing Weiss and he wanted to send me to meet the god of darkness when he realized that I was Weiss first time.
I don't even know how he got that PRIVATE information.
HE IS A CRAZY MAN.
" Osiria Rose... I like it "