More Monochrome (my guilty ship). Based off a headcanon that Weiss has some form of sensory-overload.
I wrote this so it could be a partner fic to Caretaker, but it also works if you haven't read that.
Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.
A Shoulder To Cry On
"Weiss, Weiss, come oooon!"
"Ruby, hold on a second-!"
"Nope! We've waited enough seconds! It's finally here, we can't wait any longer!" Ruby tugged her partner through the crowds of people that were gathered on Beacon Academy's campus.
Blake and Yang followed quickly after them, making sure to stick close.
It was the day they had been waiting for, training for, for weeks until now. The Vytal Tournament was being set up today, and the events and combat were to begin tomorrow.
Presently, team RWBY made up a small portion of a much larger crowd that stood at one of the school's exits, trying to slip through the doors to get a look at what everything was like outside.
Blake could feel the excitement pulsing off of Yang in waves beside her, her lavender eyes sparkling with excitement. The Faunus herself felt her ears tremble in anticipation; she was eager to see what everything would look like, what the combat events would entail, what kinds of people would be visiting and from which kingdoms.
She could tell that Ruby was just as excited as her elder sister was, quite literally bouncing up and down as she tried to peer over the shoulder of the person in front of her and get a glimpse of what was going on outside.
Blake smiled as she noticed how thrilled her teammates seemed, but her ears drooped slightly as her gaze rested on her last companion.
Weiss was grimacing and just managed to shake her wrist free of her leader's grasp. She crossed her arms over her chest and scowled about her as she was jostled amongst the crowd.
Blake had expected Weiss to be more excited about the festival, considering the heiress' initial reaction to it all. Weiss was a connoisseur for organization, particularly for large events such as these, but her sour reaction to it now puzzled Blake. She was about to make an effort to slip over to the heiress, but a sudden surge from the crowd prevented her from doing so.
"Oh boy!" Yang exclaimed as she found a path to the door. "Come on you guys, let's get out there!" She grabbed Blake's wrist with one hand and her sister's with the other. Ruby managed to take hold of Weiss once more, and the four of them squeezed out the door.
They stumbled a bit once their feet met with soft grass, however it was refreshing to breathe clean air again and not be sandwiched within the masses. The four girls gazed around again, and Blake saw that even Weiss' eyes were sparking with mild interest now.
For the most part, it was people - crowds stretched across the entire campus of Beacon Academy, in lines and in clusters and scattered about. It was clear that some of the people were staff for the tournament, as they were setting up concession stands and other small attractions, but the majority were either students, participants, or both.
Many of them were Beacon's students, but when Blake looked closer, she could see various school uniforms thrown into the mix. Faunus ears of all shapes and sizes twitched and flicked about in excitement, and Blake felt a rush of contentedness when she saw that the races were seeming to intermingle quite nicely.
"Hey, you guys!" Yang's boisterous voice broke above the din of the crowd to catch her teammates' attention. "Check this out!" She waved them over to where a team of people was carrying in various types of weapons and shields.
"They must be doing some kind of demonstration at some point," Blake observed. That earned a loud squeal from Ruby.
"Wow! Do you really think so? I hope it's not during the combat portion because I really need to go to that but just... oh, wow! A weapons demonstration!" She bounced up and down joyously and the corners of Blake's lips rose upward in amusement.
But again, when her eyes traveled to Weiss, the heiress was standing stiffly with her arms crossed, glancing every which way. Once more, Blake tried to approach her, but stopped when an enthusiastic flash of red beat her to it.
"Come on, Weiss! Let's go see the sights!" Ruby cheered. She darted behind her partner and started pushing her back.
"R-Ruby-! Hold on a moment, would you? I can walk by myself!" the heiress quipped.
Blake watched the two as they squirmed away bickering, and she chuckled a little.
"Us, too!" Yang's warm grip grasped her hand. "Let's see what they've set up so far!"
"Sure." Blake followed along after her partner, but made sure to keep her ears open to the voices of her other teammates.
And she was certainly glad she had done that.
Less than ten minutes into their sightseeing, Blake glimpsed the familiar splashes of red and white amongst the unfamiliar bodies. Ruby was jumping up and down again as she babbled on about anything and everything, but at one point she finally looked back to notice her partner's abnormally pale complexion.
Blake's sharp ears honed in on their voices and picked up every word they said:
"Weiss, are you okay?" Ruby's chipper tone immediately faded when she saw her partner's face.
"Yes..." The heiress' voice was strained in a way Blake knew humans wouldn't be able to pick up on; there was a frequency Blake's ears could hear that indicated just how unsettled her teammate was.
But Weiss continued in a voice that strived for steadiness. "I just... I think I'm going to go back inside for a moment." She slipped out of Ruby's grasp and gave a small smile. "Don't wait up for me. Go find Blake and Yang and look around a bit."
With that, the heiress took off through the crowd, heading back toward the school building.
Blake had witnessed the entire scene and felt her stomach churn a bit; she hadn't liked the waver in Weiss' voice just before she had disappeared.
"Blake?" She jumped as Yang came up beside her. "What's up? Your ears were gettin' all droopy."
"Huh?" Blake realized what the blonde said was true and quickly perked her ears up again. "Oh, it's nothing. But could you come with me for a second?"
"Sure."
Yang followed her as she cut through the mass of people, bound for her leader. Ruby was still looking worriedly after Weiss when she noticed them approaching.
"Oh, hey guys!" She gave a small wave before her crestfallen expression returned. "Weiss just ran off. She looked kinda sick..."
"I'll find her," Blake offered. Her ears twitched once to indicate she already had a good guess as to where the heiress had run off to.
"Would you?" Ruby fiddled her fingers. "Just make sure she's okay?"
"Of course." Blake hadn't put it past her leader for a second to pick up on the fact that something was troubling Weiss; despite the recreational atmosphere about them, Ruby would never let such a thing take priority over one of her companions' health.
"And Blake!" Yang called out just before she could take off. "You'll know if she's lying, she's pretty bad at it. If she insists on coming back when you know she can't, don't let her."
Blake's smile widened a little - Yang too, all of her friends were incredibly perceptive and cared for one another, and Blake couldn't have asked for a better team.
"Right." She nodded back to them reassuringly before slipping away.
She swerved through the tangle of bodies with ease, maneuvering her way back to the school building.
Blake came to a halt as she entered the hallway they had all been waiting in not too long ago. The school was mostly vacant now, as the majority of students were all outside to welcome the tournament. Therefore, it was easier for Blake to listen for what she needed to hear.
Her first instinct was to head back to the dorm rooms, but just before she could tear off, a small sound indicated the heiress hadn't even managed to get that far. It was a feeble sound, like a mouse skittering on ice as an owl circled above it, but Blake heard it nonetheless.
She changed her course and headed for the common room of the school, only to find the couches and chairs there all vacant.
However, it wasn't long before a sound similar to the one a moment ago echoed through the wide room, and Blake whipped around to one side.
Weiss was leaning heavily against the wall on the far side of the room, probably intending to make for the ladies' restroom, but never getting there. Blake rushed to her instantly, the fur on her ears standing anxiously on end.
"Weiss? Are you-?" Her voice cut off in dismay as she stopped beside her teammate.
Weiss had her palms pressed tightly over her ears, her eyes squeezed shut and yet still managing to let slip tears. She was shaking uncontrollably, and Blake instantly took a step back in shock. She had expected to find Weiss a little unsettled perhaps, but never in a condition as bad as this.
Blake felt extremely overwhelmed herself now as she stared at her teammate with despairing eyes. "Weiss!" She reached out her hand but froze, afraid that touching her might make things worse.
But a few seconds later, Weiss swayed, and Blake was left with no choice. She quickly caught the heiress in her arms before she could collapse, but holding her only deepened Blake's crushing concern.
Weiss was trembling much more than Blake had initially thought, and she could feel it now. Her skin was beaded with sweat and her cheeks drenched with frightened tears, her lips letting slip several choked sobs.
But when she felt Blake's arms around her, Weiss lowered her hands, clutching onto her teammate for support.
"B... Blake..." Her voice was meek, cracked with terror that the Faunus girl never would have imagined Weiss was capable of displaying.
"D-Don't talk. It's okay." Blake carefully slung Weiss' arm around her shoulders, supporting her waist as she slowly led her over to the nearest couch and sat down beside her.
The Faunus girl looked worriedly on as Weiss wiped her sleeves over her face.
Never before had Blake's ears managed to catch the sound of another person's heartbeat. But Weiss' heart was so frantic right now, pounding painfully hard and unnaturally fast that it made Blake's ears ache as they reverberated with the sounds of panicked throbbing.
She couldn't hold back any longer.
Not caring how mortified Weiss might act about it later, the Faunus girl wrapped one arm around the heiress' quivering shoulders. She circled her palm over Weiss' shuddering back, silently willing her to be calm, for both their sakes.
But even after several minutes, Weiss' condition hadn't improved, and Blake felt the helplessness knot tighter in her stomach.
"Weiss, I'm going to get help."
She made a move to get up, but Weiss' fearful gasp stopped her.
"N-No, wait!" she begged, her mist-blue eyes faltering. "Just... stay here... please."
Blake bit her lip until she tasted blood; of course the last thing she wanted to do was leave Weiss there as she went to fetch help. But Blake knew she could no longer bring herself to do that.
She hissed in frustration as she moved back to Weiss to continue rubbing her back gently. That seemed to relax her distressed teammate just a little, and Weiss let out a sigh. "Thank you... I'm fine, Blake. I just..."
Blake's voice was laden with concern as she stared down into her teammate's eyes. "Weiss, your heart is pounding. You can hardly breathe! In no way are you 'fine'!" She was exasperated, but still couldn't bring herself to leave the heiress' side.
Weiss sniffed as she adjusted her posture a bit.
"I appreciate the concern... Truly I do. But I'll be okay in a few minutes..."
"But you aren't okay now." Blake narrowed her eyes. "This has happened before, hasn't it?"
Weiss sighed, allowing herself to lean slightly against her teammate as she tried to quell her rapid breathing.
"It's sort of like... I guess you could call it sensory overload..." she rasped. "It hasn't happened since I was a child, but..." Her voice hitched and she coughed on a sob.
"Okay, I understand!" Blake soothed. "You don't have to say any more. Just breathe, Weiss."
For once, the heiress did as she was told and closed her eyes as Blake continued to trace her palm over her back.
Blake understood what was hindering her companion now; surely growing up in a large, spacious mansion for the first portion of her life had been a drastic contrast to Beacon Academy. But the sheer loudness of the tournament just now, the masses of people, the heat of their bodies and jostling motions... It was all simply too stifling, too much too quickly for Weiss to handle.
Blake understood the feeling all too well, as her Faunus ears had initially been so acute in hearing everything she didn't need to hear. Only through adapting and learning to focus had Blake overcome her own struggles in that department, but Weiss never got the opportunity to do so.
"You should have told us..." Blake whispered, drawing the heiress closer. "You know we want to help you. How do you think Ruby would feel if she found out you were keeping this from her?"
"...Please don't tell her..." Weiss croaked. "Not yet. I'll tell her one day soon, I will. I'll tell Yang as well..." She inhaled a deep breath, and Blake noticed the tears had finally stopped.
Weiss blinked up at her, the trademark determination returning to her eyes. "I don't want any of you keeping secrets from me, so I won't keep any from you either." Her gaze flicked away guiltily. "I'm sorry you had to find out this way. I didn't think it would be a problem again..."
Blake looked her over once more, relieved to find that Weiss seemed to have calmed down now.
"It's okay," she said. "Just remember, what you said to me a while back, the same goes for you, too; whenever something comes up, you should come to your teammates. That's why we're here."
She paused briefly before slowly leaning forward, giving the heiress a soft hug to prove the sincerity of her words.
Weiss savored the contact for as long as it lasted.
Then, she raised her head, her mist-blue eyes alight with her usual feistiness once more.
"Right." A small smile found its way to her lips. "Thank you, Blake."
"Don't mention it." Her ears finally perked back to their usual placement atop her head, no longer assaulted by her teammate's ailments. Blake stood from the couch but frowned when Weiss did the same. "You should go back to the room and rest."
But the heiress refused. "Nonsense. The Vytal Tournament only happens once a year. How could I miss out on the organization of it the day before?" Her eyes softened a little. "It won't happen again, Blake. Not with the three of you there to support me." She smiled again.
Blake looked her over one last time, but her golden eyes could detect no traces of uncertainty. She relented.
"Alright. Come on, then."
She led Weiss back to the exit, but the heiress no longer seemed troubled about entering the crowds again. Blake could tell that a good portion of the people had spread out and moved away, so it would hopefully prove to produce a less stressful atmosphere for Weiss.
They stepped outside again, letting the fresh air fill their lungs. Blake checked on the other girl one more time, but Weiss merely nodded in reassurance. Relieved, Blake led her back to their partners who had evidently done nothing but wait anxiously for their return.
"Weiss!" Ruby bolted forward and threw her arms around her. "Are you okay?"
Blake caught the heiress' eye; she saw Weiss was serious about what she had said before, and fully intended to tell Ruby and Yang everything.
"Yes, I'm fine, Red... Now get off of me." After letting Ruby clutch onto her a second longer than necessary, Weiss cleared her throat and stepped away. Yang had been fidgeting the entire time, trying to find something to say, but Weiss beat her to it. "And stop looking at me as though I'm a lost child, Yang."
"But you-"
"Ah-pup-pup!" Weiss held up her hand. "Enough of that. I'll explain later, but for now, let's just get to enjoying the festival."
Yang and Ruby shared a glance before smiling again.
"Yeah! That's the spirit, princess!"
"Alright! Time to see the sights of the Vytal Tournament!" Ruby hooked her arm around Weiss' elbow as Yang did the same for Blake.
Even as she was dragged along by her enthusiastic leader, Weiss smiled, and Blake happily followed.
A/N: Always love some Monochrome~
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