7

Chapter 7: The Ice Queen

Summary:

RWBY and JNPR prepare for an end-of-semester party, as Blake reveals her secret to the rest of her team.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Friday afternoons were not the most popular time to be at the library, yet Weiss found herself there with her team leader anyway, as the two of them figured out how to take a jumbled mess of handouts and notes from Oobleck's class and get them condensed into a rough draft for his latest paper.

"We've been at this for hours… can we take a snack break yet?" Ruby asked. Weiss rolled her eyes.

"It hasn't even been an hour. Why did you volunteer to help if you were just going to complain the entire time? Blake said she was going to help me; you didn't need to take her place."

Ruby perked up. "Oh right, helping! And I- uh, thought we should work together! It could be fun!"

Weiss scoffed. "Fine. What should our thesis be?"

Ruby scrunched up her nose. "What was our topic again?"

Weiss grabbed one of the handouts in front of them and squinted at Oobleck's tiny handwriting. "Discuss the impact of nationalism in the creation of Atlas after the Great War." Ruby stared off into the distance, her eyes glazed over.

"… Do you think our grades could survive getting a zero for this?"

"Please, we both know that there's no way we could keep our place at the top of the class if we didn't complete the assignment." That was the rub. Despite her leader's… everything, she had shown herself to be effective. They had proven themselves as one of, if not the most capable first-year team, being top of the class in both academics and combat. Weiss waved at Ruby. "Our thesis?"

Ruby picked at a couple of the handouts. After a few minutes, Ruby set down the collection of papers and regarded Weiss with some seriousness.

"I have no clue what any of this is about." Ruby declared. Weiss just stared at her teammate.

"… Are you serious?"

"I just don't get this stuff!! It's super old, why do I need to know about it? How does history help me destroy grimm? Or run a mission better? Or do anything that huntresses are supposed to do?"

"It helps you graduate so you can spend the rest of your days killing grimm."

"…Oh. Right. Heh." Ruby laughed quietly.

"I think we should focus our paper on how Mantle's identity was completely shattered in the aftermath of the great war. In such a state, Atlesian Exceptionalism was an ideology that could flourish, and provided a rallying point for a people desperately in need of some unifying force that put them above others again."

Ruby took in Weiss' idea and smiled enthusiastically. "Hey, that sounds great! Can we go with that one?"

"… You don't have a better idea?" Weiss asked, perplexed. Ruby always seemed to have the answer, whether it was in class or in combat. One that Weiss usually begrudgingly admitted was better than her own.

"Nope! You're wayyy better at this than I am."

"I'm—what?"

"Yeah, you're way better than me at this. Oh! I know how I can help! I can run errands for you while you do the smart-person thing! Do you need any specific books? Or are you hungry? I could run to the cafeteria. What about coffee? I happen to know the best spot on campus for great coffee." Ruby asked her questions in rapid succession.

"I—coffee would be great…"

"You got it, boss!" Ruby gave a smile and a wave, then whisked herself off in a slew of rose petals.

What just happened?

Had… had Ruby admitted that Weiss was better at something? She just… came out and said it, like it was no big deal. Then, to top that off, she was offering to play servant for Weiss?

Just as quickly as she had disappeared, a ball of rose petals materialized back into her team leader, coffee in hand. Weiss regarded the cup with some suspicion before grabbing it. She brought it to her lips and inhaled.

"How did you know how I liked to take my coffee?" She asked.

"I watched how you made it when we all went down to Vale last weekend!" Ruby beamed. That was… strangely thoughtful of her. Weiss dismissed the notion. Ruby was just trying to show how once again she was the perfectly attentive leader, conscious of all of her teammates habits and patterns.

"That's- At least you didn't drop it! I didn't realize your semblance was capable of such precision."

"Huh? Of course it is! I can transport anything light enough with it. If I couldn't that would be kinda awkward, cause my clothing-" Weiss raised a hand.

"Okay, that's enough." She had heard enough to know that the end of that sentence was not something she wanted to hear. "I'm going to get started now."

"What can I do?" Ruby asked. Weiss really didn't have anything for the girl.

"Just—stay here and wait for me to come up with something for you to do."

Ruby nodded and took her seat next to Weiss. For her part, Weiss got down to business, collecting pieces of evidence, writing down her thesis, and trying to brainstorm. At least, that was what she was trying to do, but Ruby was just, intensely staring at her. Weiss had told her to just, sit there, but she was making it difficult to concentrate.

Still, Weiss was a professional, and did her best to ignore it. As time went on, it became increasingly difficult to ignore. After only a couple minutes, Weiss could bare it no more.

"Ruby… I can't concentrate with you staring at me like that!"

"But you told me-" Weiss cut her off.

"I know! But you're not helping me! If you really don't have anything better to do, make yourself useful and just leave!!" Weiss lashed out.

When Ruby recoiled Weiss knew immediately that she had gone too far.

"Ruby, I…" She tried to apologize, but it was already too late. Ruby got up and barely even looked at Weiss as she left.

"I'll come see how you're doing in a little bit…" Ruby said before using her semblance once again.

Well, great. That was just great. Where had that even come from? She was supposed to be a Schnee, and losing control over her emotions and lashing out was not something a Schnee would do.

She hadn't meant to snap at Ruby, but the girl was just making everything harder. Weiss instinctively moved to grab her coffee, but put it down almost immediately, feeling guilty. Her team leader was doing her best for Weiss even though it was something she wasn't comfortable with, and yet all Weiss had done was snap at her.

She would have to apologize later, and, at least owed her an explanation. She didn't have to tell her that she was taking her anger at her own inadequacy, but she could at least apologize for the outburst.

Weiss mentally berated herself for several more minutes before she accepted the fact that there was still a paper to draft that wouldn't get done by itself. She would apologize to Ruby afterwards.

Eventually she was able to distract herself and didn't even notice Ruby sneak back into the room with a plate of cookies in hand. She tapped Weiss' shoulder, causing her to jump. Weiss wheeled around and Ruby presented her cookies with a small smile.

"Food always makes me feel better when I'm cranky."

"I wasn't-" Weiss started before stopping herself. "Thank you, Ruby." Ruby set the plate down between them and took up the seat opposite Weiss. Weiss took a deep breath. Now was as good a time as any. "I'm—sorry, for yelling at you. I shouldn't have done that. Lashing out at you was not okay."

"Thanks. Apology accepted." Ruby replied. This time her smile was genuine. "What was Atlas like growing up?" Ruby asked.

"What?"

"I thought about how I could be helpful, and there's no better way for me to understand Atlas then by learning about it from someone who was raised there."

"Oh…" That was, shockingly considerate. Just like with the coffee.

… Perhaps Weiss had been too quick to judge her leader.

The pair spent the next couple of hours discussing Weiss' childhood and life in Atlas and her opinion of the kingdom. Any time the conversation would lull, Ruby asked yet more questions, and Weiss did the best she could to try and summarize Atlesian culture and history with her responses.

Ruby paid such rapt attention that Weiss couldn't help but open up her to bit by bit. Only in the service of providing complete answers to her questions of course.

"Why did you leave?" Ruby asked. Weiss paused to think through her response.

"When I was ten, my father told me I should learn to think in commas, because he had already dotted all my sentences with periods. All of this," Weiss gestured at the library around them, at Beacon at large, "is just a distraction. A comma in the life that was already chosen for me."

Ruby looked forlorn. "That isn't fair."

"Life hardly ever is." Weiss struggled to keep the emotion from her voice. "I've accepted it. I'm a Schnee. I have a legacy of honor to uphold."

Ruby frowned and knitted her eyebrows together before reaching out a hand.

"You'll always just be Weiss to us. Another coffee?" Ruby tapped the empty cup before picking it up and whisking away.

"… Thank you."

---

"Thanks for helping out." Yang maneuvered the box in her hand so she could get the door open. Blake followed her through it.

"Your sister was going to help you; this is the least I can do after Ruby swapped with me."

Yang set her box of party decorations on the center table next to Blake. Over the course of the next hour, they were going to transform the common room into a party room. The end of the semester was almost here, and if that wasn't a cause for a party, Yang didn't know what was.

She and Ruby had already bought all the food they would need, and now it was just decoration, and then celebrating the last week of classes before finals started. Their sister team, JNPR, was going to be showing up too! Ren had offered to bake a cake for the occasion. Yang had offered to buy one instead, but Nora shut that down pretty quickly, citing Ren's superior baking skills.

"Yeah… any ideas why Rubes decided to swap with you?" Yang asked. Sure, Ruby had changed a bit recently, but Yang was still pretty sure her sister didn't like writing papers. Especially history papers.

"Maybe she wanted to spend more time with Weiss?" Blake offered. Yang mulled it over before shrugging. It was possible, but it didn't seem like the whole truth to her. And her intuition when it came to her sister was unmatched. Nah, there had to be something more to why she wanted them to swap.

Yang shrugged before grabbing a couple of rainbow swirl decorations and some tape. "I was thinking we start with these, taped to the ceiling."

"Rainbows?" Blake eyed the decorations.

"Yeah! What, did you think I'd just choose yellow decorations or something?" Blake shook her head.

"No, I think they're quite fitting for you."

The two of them go to work, and soon got into a comfortable rhythm. Blake worked in silence, and eventually the quiet was starting to get to Yang. It wasn't oppressive, but she could only take the quiet for so long.

Unfortunately, she really couldn't think of anything to talk to Blake about. She really hadn't been with her dark-haired teammate alone before. Usually either Ruby was around, which meant that Blake's attention was consumed with her, or Weiss was around, … which meant Yang's attention was consumed.

Still, that left her in the semi-uncomfortable situation of not really having had a real conversation with someone she lived with for nearly two months. Well, beyond the basic getting to know you stuff. Which for her was… kind of embarrassing.

Fortunately, that would end today!

"Hey Blake, how do you feel about party games?"

"What?" Blake was apparently taken off-guard by the question, and the balloon she was filling up escaped her grasp and whizzed around the room, losing its air before falling to the ground.

"You know, party games! Truth or dare, charades, pin the tail on the donkey, that kinda thing!"

"I… don't really have an opinion on them. I haven't played very many."

"Whaaaatttt??" Okay, this Yang could work with. "We've gotta play then!"

"We're not done decorating yet." Blake said. Yang waved off her concern.

"We can multitask. How about two truths and a lie? It's pretty easy, and we don't need our hands. Just tell three facts about yourself, but one of them is a lie. The other person has to figure out which one is the lie. It's fun! Here, I'll go first! I grew up on the island of Patch, I've visited Menagerie-"

"You've never been to Menagerie." Blake answered mid-sentence. Yang looked at her in surprise.

"Wow, okay hotshot. Maybe I made that one too easy. Your turn!"

Blake hesitated, and for a moment Yang thought she had decided not to participate. "I'm the first person in my family to attend a huntsmen academy, I hate the smell of tea, and I've read over 400 books."

Yang didn't really have to think about this one. "You don't hate the smell of tea; I've only seen you drink it like a dozen times!" Blake smiled and nodded to Yang, indicating it was her turn. Let's see… this one should be at least a bit more difficult.

"I let my sister cut my hair once, my uncle hid an entire case of Mistrali wine from my dad in my room for a month, and I can name all of the members of the Achieve Men." Blake at least had to think for long enough to allow Yang to finish her three statements.

"You've never let your sister cut your hair." Blake announced. Two for two.

"Dang, how'd you know?"

"With hair that long, you must not have cut it in a long time. Ruby's two years younger than you, and at some point a child's probably too young to let them use scissors anywhere near your head. So, Ruby was probably too young to cut your hair the last time that it was cut."

Yang raised her eyebrows. "Smart. I really thought that the one about my uncle would get you."

"He sounds like quite the character." Yang chuckled.

"You have no idea. Okay, your turn." Yang said eagerly.

Blake hung another balloon. "I've been to all four kingdoms, I'm left-handed, and I've never seen any of the Spruce Willis films."

Going to all four kingdoms was impressive. That was usually only reserved for star hunters and those who could afford the expensive travel. Even more impressive that Blake had actually done it.

"I've seen you fight. You hold Gambol in your dominant hand. Your right hand." Blake nodded. "All four kingdoms, huh?" Yang smiled.

"Not all under the greatest of circumstances…" Blake let her words trail off.

Oh. Yang didn't really know where Blake was from, but any childhood that engendered that reaction couldn't have been rosy.

"We can stop, if you want." Yang didn't want to make Blake dwell on any bad memories, but Blake shook her head.

"No, I- Even if it doesn't look like it, I'm having fun. It's… good, to talk to you more."

… Bit awkward phrasing, but hey, Yang would take it!

"Heh, thanks. Alright, lemme think for a minute." Yang busied herself with throwing away all the various trash they had scattered about the room in their efforts to set up. "I can hold my breath for three minutes underwater, I own a bike called bumblebee, and uh… I once ate an entire large pizza by myself."

Blake looked at Yang for a moment before responding. "You can't hold your breath for three minutes. I've seen your bike, and Ruby's the one who inhales food." Ack, Yang should've known that would be too easy.

"Three for three, Belladonna. Let's see if I can tie."

"I hate dogs, I always use a fake name at restaurants, and I believe soulmates exist."

"Wow, one of those not like the others." Yang chuckled. It had to be a bluff. "You don't believe soulmates exist?" Blake only shook her head and smiled slyly.

"I do. I don't use fake names at restaurants, but only because I don't go to any." Aw, that had to be cheating.

"So uh, if you believe in soulmates, do you think you're gonna meet yours?"

"I think we'll always find our ways back to each other."

"Ways?" Yang asked.

"I'm polyamorous." Blake replied.

"Really??" Yang asked excitedly. Blake nodded. Yang had never met anyone who was polyamorous before. "Have you ever dated two people at once?" She couldn't resist asking.

Blake rolled her eyes playfully. "I have."

"No way. You totally should've used that as a lie. What was it like??"

"It was… wonderful. We were in a tough situation, but they made it bearable." Blake brushed her hair behind her ear and blushed lightly. It was a cute reaction, but of course left Yang with the obvious question.

"If it's okay to ask… what happened to them? You haven't mentioned anyone like them before."

Blake exhaled and let her expression drop. "I left. I had a choice, and I left." She waved her hand. "I don't know if it was the right choice to make, but it led me here."

Yang paused what she was doing to look over at Blake. "For what it's worth, I'm glad you're here." Blake smiled back at her.

Yang stepped back to admire their handiwork. They had gone a bit overboard, decorations covered the room, but the common room was officially fit to be called a party room. "Alright! I think we did a pretty good job! Thanks for playing while we decorated. After a while the silence just drives me insane, you know?"

"I enjoyed it." Blake paused. "Um, could we play one more time? I want to go once more."

Yang grinned. See, everyone loved party games. "Of course! Hit me, Belladonna."

Blake took a deep breath. "Okay. My semblance allows me to make clones of myself, I was there when the moon was shattered, and I'm a faunus."

Well that was easy, there was no way that-

No way that…

"You're… a faunus?" Blake nodded. Her hand went up to her bow, and she tugged on the fabric until a pair of cat ears revealed themselves. "No way…" If Yang's jaw was any lower, it would be on the floor. "Okay, dumb question, but did you always have those?"

Blake chuckled softly. "I have. Hidden in plain sight, all with the help of a little black bow." She wiggled her cat ears adorably.

"That is awesome. Wait, does that mean you have super hearing, and night vision??"

"I do."

"Damn." Those were two pretty nifty abilities. "You don't have to answer this if you don't want to, but why do you wear the bow?"

Blake looked to the ribbon in her hand. "I want people to see me for who I am, not what I am. But lately… Maybe one day I won't need it. Until then, please don't tell anyone."

"Of course, you got it. Thank you for trusting me with this."

"You're my teammate. If I can't trust you, who can I trust?"

Oof. Yang could think of one teammate for which that might be a problem.

"Yeah… about that. Have you—told Weiss?" Growing up among the conservative elite of Atlas, Weiss might harbor some… prejudices, against the faunus.

"I haven't, but I want to. Tonight. After the party. I've told Ruby, and she agreed to help me break it to Weiss. Could you help us too?"

"Yeah, definitely." There's no way she would leave her teammate out to dry like that.

Blake nodded a couple times. "Okay. Thank you." She affixed her bow back in place. "Don't worry about it until then though. After all, we just went through all this effort to set all this up. I'd hate for it to be a waste."

"Oh Blake-y, I think you're about to find that I never let a party go to waste." Yang gave her trademark thousand-watt grin.

---

"Are you sure you don't need any help?" Jaune asked. He was sitting at what passed for a kitchen table at the little kitchenette in their dormitory, while Ren worked at the counter, mixing various ingredients together.

"Keeping Nora from interfering is doing more than enough." He responded.

"Hey! I can't help it that cake batter tastes delicious!" Nora spoke up from across the table, grinning. Pyrrha walked down the hallway with a bag of groceries in hand before depositing them on the counter and laying the contents out.

"I think this is everything else that you needed?" Pyrrha asked. Ren took a brief glance at the delivery.

"Yes, thank you, Pyrrha. Would you mind whisking this until it comes together?" Pyrrha nodded and the two of them switched places, Ren prepping the ingredients for the next step while Pyrrha stirred.

"Wha-? You're letting Pyrrha help, why can't I?" Jaune whined.

"Yeah! I could whisk that ten times faster than her!!" Nora added.

"Nora can't help, because we need to deliver a cake to team RWBY, not a mess. You can't help because you're the only one who can control Nora." Pyrrha explained over her shoulder.

"Wait, really? You only listen to me?" Jaune looked over at Nora, who shrugged.

"You're our fearless team leader. I'm supposed to listen to you." Ren turned away from the groceries address Jaune.

"You've shouldered the burden of leadership, and worn its badge with honor." He said. Pyrrha nodded in agreement.

"Indeed, you've proven yourself to be quite the adept leader." She added.

Jaune was amazed. He hadn't always gotten right the first time around. He was inexperienced, and dumb, and made oh so many mistakes. But now to hear now the confidence they placed in him, it filled him with determination to protect his team, his family, no matter what happened.

"Thanks guys." He smiled weakly. Nora launched herself across the table and wrapped her arms around Jaune's shoulders.

"Aww, don't get all mushy on us!" She playfully poked Jaune's cheek. Pyrrha laughed as Ren shook his head, smiling.

While Jaune distracted Nora, Ren and Pyrrha finished baking their cake together. Just in time too, as it was about time to head over for the party. The end of the semester might have been here, but for Jaune, this was only just the beginning.

---

"That was great! You and Blake did a great job decorating! We should do this more often!! Next time we should bring ice cream!" Ruby excitedly prattled on as her team got back to their own dorm room. They definitely needed to do this every semester. Even Weiss had enjoyed herself!

"It was pretty awesome. We make a good team, huh Belladonna?" Yang grinned at her.

"Yeah... a good team." Blake said nervously. Oh right, the night wasn't quite over yet. Beforehand, Ruby and Blake had decided that after the party would be the best time to tell Weiss and Yang about Blake.

"Yes, well, as enjoyable as that was, I think it is about time we all got some sleep." Weiss said.

Ruby looked over at Blake, who was fidgeting. She wasn't going to force Blake to tell Weiss now if she had reconsidered. It was Blake's secret to reveal, and Ruby would support whatever decision she made. Still, Blake only hesitated for a moment.

"A-Actually, can we all talk? I have something important to tell you guys." Blake said. Weiss looked like she tempted to refuse, but after enthusiastic agreement from both Ruby and Yang, she acquiesced. Yang and Weiss sat down on Weiss' bed, while Blake and Ruby sat down on Blake's. Blake looked way more nervous this time then when she had told Ruby. Ruby reached out and placed a hand comfortingly on her partner's shoulder. "Right, um. I don't know how to begin with this… maybe it's just better if I show you."

Blake reached up and untied her bow, letting the fabric drop to the ground. Her cat ears on full display. "I—decided I didn't want to keep this from you any longer." Ruby looked over at her teammates. Yang was smiling and didn't look the least bit phased. Blake had quietly informed her during the party that she told Yang while they were decorating.

Weiss on the other hand… Well, Ruby knew that look, and it wasn't good. As Weiss processed the news, the emotions on her face flickered first to surprise, then quickly to a more measured expression as she clamped down on her reaction.

"No matter who you are, you're still an important part of this team." Ruby told Blake.

"Yeah! A pair of cat ears isn't going to change how we see you." Yang added.

All eyes turned to Weiss to see what her reaction was going to be. Weiss inhaled deliberately and smoothed out her top before responding. "Yes, thank you for telling us about this." It was a measured response. Weiss had taken stock of the room, and decided to file this under 'unpack later'. "I appreciate your openness regarding this-"

"There's more." Blake quickly interjected.

Wait, there was? What else would-

Oh no. No no no, Blake wasn't about to reveal that she was a part of the-

"I used to be a part of the White Fang." Blake finished.

… Okay! Apparently she was! This time Weiss wasn't able to maintain her composure, her shock evident on her face as she processed the news. Yang was similarly confused.

"Wait, the faunus rights organization…?" Yang spoke first. Blake nodded but kept her attention on Weiss.

"You… you're a terrorist…" Weiss said in no one to particular. "My teammate is a terrorist…" She stood up. "I… I thought that…" Her shock morphed into anger. "Is that why you came to Beacon? To attack it? Were you going to kidnap me? Sell me out to the White Fang?" She pointed a finger accusingly at Blake.

Ruby got up. "Blake would never-!" Weiss wheeled on Ruby.

"How can you even trust her? She's been lying to all of us this entire time!"

"She hasn't! She- she told me." Ruby tried to cover for Blake.

"And you didn't think it was important to tell us?!" Weiss frantically gestured to herself and Yang.

"I asked her not to." Blake addressed Weiss calmly, but firmly. "I wanted you to hear it from me. I left the white fang. I'm no longer involved with them. I know it is difficult to hear, but I want to trust you with this."

Weiss didn't quite know what to do with the statement. "I—I need to not be here right now." She took quick, measured steps to the door and exited without a word.

Ruby quickly tried to follow Weiss out the door but her sister stopped her. "I need to go see if she's okay!" Ruby said. Yang shook her head.

"Ruby, right now she needs her partner. I'll make sure she's okay." Yang quickly left leaving just Blake and Ruby in their dorm room.

"… That actually went better than I expected." Blake said softly.

---

Yang scoured the campus, looking for where Weiss had gone. She checked all of their favorite haunts, the library, the training rooms, the cafeteria. Still, no heiress to be found in any of them. She briefly considered that Weiss had fled Beacon altogether, maybe going down into Vale, but it was already dark, and Yang really couldn't imagine the prim and proper heiress venturing into the city after dark, regardless of how upset she was.

No, she would be seeking comfort somewhere familiar, something she could understand, somewhere safe. Yang paused once she reached the courtyard. Where would Weiss have gone… what fit that description…? Where would Weiss feel most comfortable being vulnerable?

Suddenly, it clicked in her head, and she turned back towards the dorms.

Yang opened the door to the common room where they had their party earlier that night. The party where she had spent most of the night just talking with her partner off to one side, lost in their own little world. Weiss stood in the center, holding one of the half-deflated balloons that still adorned much of the room.

"Hey." Yang smiled sadly as Weiss turned to face the noise.

"If you're here to tell me to be understanding about our teammate, you're wasting your time." Weiss stated defiantly. Yang shook her head.

"I'm not here to tell you how to feel. You have every right to be angry. I'm just here to make sure you're okay."

Weiss scoffed. "Okay? Of course I'm not okay. I just learned that one of my teammates lied to me for months and befriended me on false pretenses that could have possibly gotten me killed." Weiss let her balloon float to the ground.

Yang considered that for a moment, and moved to her partner's side. "Why don't we sit down?" She gently guided Weiss into one of the comfy chairs in the room, and pulled up a plastic one across from her so she could face her partner. "Ruby and I grew up in Patch. Our parents were hunters. Dad taught at Signal, and our mom would take on missions around the kingdom. Her name was Summer Rose, and she was like, super mom. Baker of cookies, and slayer of giant monsters.

"And then, one day she left for a mission and never came back. It was tough. Ruby was really torn-up but, I think she was still really too young to get what was going on, you know? And my dad just kinda, shut down. It wasn't long before I learned why. Summer wasn't the first love he'd lost. She was his second. The first, was my mom.

"I didn't take it well when I finally learned the truth. I felt upset, and betrayed. How could they lie to me about my own mother? They kept this from me, for years. I was so angry at my dad and uncle for keeping it from me. I screamed at them, told them they were liars, then didn't speak to them for days."

Weiss digested the story before responding. "I understand what you're trying to say, but it's not the same!" She said.

"What were they supposed to do then, Weiss? Keep it from us forever?" Yang waved her hands. "I'm not telling you to okay with it. I'm not. I was angry for a long time. But it counted for something that they told me. I didn't have to find it out for myself. They chose to tell us because we deserved to know."

"And what am I to do then? Just ignore the fact that she could be responsible for the deaths of people I know, people I cared about!? Am I supposed to just forgive her?" Weiss pointed in the direction of their dorm room.

"Is that what you want to do?" Yang asked.

"I don't know!" Weiss shouted back. "I don't know what I want! I wanted to build a life for myself here, I wanted to prove that I was a Schnee, I wanted form actual connections for once in my fucking life! But now, I'm going to ruin it all because—because-!"

"Because…?" Yang gently prodded.

"Because of all that stupid shit that I believed for so long!" Weiss stood up as she ranted. "Everything I learned! What it means to be a Schnee! That the faunus are animals, that they lie or they're dirty. Blake isn't any of that but it's all I can think about!

"I like being away from Atlas, I like being friends with Blake, I like spending nights talking with you about whatever the fuck we want without worrying you're going to judge me!

"I was finally starting to see in myself what you saw when you asked me to dance with you at the nightclub. And now it's all threatening to fall apart." Weiss sunk back down into her chair.

Yang pulled out her scroll and pulled up her music. She stood up and offered a hand to Weiss. When Weiss was hesitant to take it, she beckoned. Weiss grabbed her hand and Yang pulled her up. She placed a hand on Weiss' back, and another on her hip. Weiss slowly did the same.

Yang made a show of looking at her partner. "You still look like the same girl to me." She gently guided Weiss in a dance that was the exact opposite of the one they had shared at the nightclub. It was slow, and calm, and all Yang could think about was making sure that her partner felt the care and love she deserved. "And I'll be here to support you every day until you see that girl too." She told her as they danced together.

"Gods, you're going to make me fall for you with lines like that." Weiss tried to joke, looking away, even as tears pricked at her eyes. Yang grinned.

"Would that be the worst thing in the world?"

"No, I don't think it would…" Weiss said quietly as she and her partner held each other, dancing the rest of the night away in each other's embrace.

Notes:

This chapter turned out to be more Weiss-centric than I anticipated, but after all the focus others have been getting, I don't mind. We're quickly approaching the fight at the docks, and we'll just have to see what course of action our brave hero's take!

Oh yeah, I should probably mention that I've got a tumblr where I post incorrect RWBY quotes. Come check it out, read some quotes, scream at me about this story, or whatever you feel like!