Summary: It all started when a family emergency called Pyrrha back to Mistral for a couple of weeks. Wanting to uphold her promise to Jaune to train him, she called upon Weiss to be her substitute. Set after Volume 2.

Slow Burn

RWBY

"So once again, Weiss, thank you so much for doing this," Pyrrha Nikos said with the biggest of smiles.

"Of course," said Weiss. "Anything for a friend! Give your family the Schnee's' regards."

Slam.

The sound of the door shutting echoed around the room.

"U-uh…"

The facade of the friendly smile shattered as Weiss Schnee turned to glower at the other person in the room. "Right then-" she began.

"I uh, really appreciate this Weiss! I promise I won't screw up too badly. I mean, I'm still completely new at this so I might not be very good at i- does it sound like I'm talking about a sex thing? Aw crap it sounds like I'm talking about a sex thing. I swear on my mother's life that I am not talking about a sex thing-"

"Jaune."

"Y-yeah?"

Weiss' cold eyes blazed. "Please shut up."

"Oh… right, okay. Shutting up now. Zipping the lip and throwing away the key. Way silent. Can do. Will do. Shutting all speaking faculties do-"

"Jaune."

"… sorry ma'am," the eighteen-year-old Jaune Arc meekly replied. It was a strange sight, if not peculiar. Despite Weiss' shorter stature compared to him, her very presence made him feel like a mere ant in the training room. Oh, to be Weiss Schnee, indeed.

"Now then," Weiss said. "To be clear, Pyrrha has some family matters to deal with at home. And since she's made a promise to train your sorry excuse of a hunter into something not so sorry and I owe her a favour, I accepted her request to train you until she gets back. But," she added, pointing an accusatory finger at Jaune, "only until she gets back. Do you understand? No more, no less. Are we in agreement?"

Jaune nodded.

"Good," Weiss sighed as she got into her stance. "Now let's just get this over with…"

Following her lead, Jaune scrambled at the ready. Weiss fought the urge to groan and roll her eyes when she saw how open he had left himself.

This is going to be a painful, she thought before charging forward.

Open.

Swipe.

"Ow!"

Open.

Stab.

"Argh!"

Open.

Swish.

"Okay, okay, yield!"

Swish.

"I said yield!"

Swish, swish, swish, swish, swish-

"Ahh!" Jaune yelped as he dove away. "Oof!" he groaned. "Do you not understand what yield means?"

"Sorry. My body reacted on its own," Weiss said nonchalantly. "I thought I was in danger."

"In danger of what?"

"Of you stepping on my boots. I just got these shined." Weiss folded her arms. "Pyrrha's been taking it too easy on you."

"Yeah, well, I'm not exactly a prodigy when it comes to fighting, you know… Nora once said she was amazed I could tie my shoelaces together," Jaune said. "I wore slip-ons for a week after that," he added quietly.

"I'm leaving."

"Wh-what? Why?!"

"You're not taking this seriously."

"I am!" Jaune argued.

"You're not."

Weiss' voice was cold.

"You're not going to get the luxury of a slower opponent on the battlefield," she said quietly. "Training at a level you're comfortable with can only take you so far. It makes you complacent and think that you're fine as you are. And that's all fine and dandy until reality smacks you in the face and suddenly you're incredibly aware of your own mortality. And it's terrifying." She grimaced as she remembered the sound of a chainsaw roaring through her ears. "The only way to get better is to put yourself in situations that force you to be better. If you don't, then we're done here."

Jaune's face slackened into something that looked like shame. The entire room was quiet, save for the hum of the training interface. Weiss bit her lip. Did I go too far? she thought as she spared a glance at Jaune sitting on the floor. Oh well. He needed to hear it anyway.

"I'll tell Pyrrha that something came up," she said, turning to leave. "I'll try and get someone from my team to train you inste-"

"Wait."

Weiss paused. Metal clinked behind her as Jaune got back to his feet. Taking a deep breath, he got back into his fighting stance.

"Let's go again," he said quietly, his face serious.

Weiss turned around. "Are you sure?" she asked.

Jaune nodded. "Yeah."

Pause.

Breath.

Stance.

"Okay."

Clang.

"Aha… ahahahaaaaaaanononononononononooooooo-!"

A resonating thud made its presence known as Jaune slammed into the padded wall.

"Good block," Weiss observed. "Not enough power behind it, though."

"I think that's as close to a compliment that you've ever given me," Jaune gasped, shakily coming back to his feet. "Oh man…"

"Well, you've shown some improvement," she said, throwing a bottle of water at him. "I think Pyrrha'll be happy with your progress when she comes back tomorrow."

"Another almost compliment? You're spoiling me," he said before taking a swig. "After all these weeks fighting you, I'm gonna kinda miss this, though."

Weiss' scarred eye twitched. "You're going to miss me beating you up?"

"Well… yeah?"

"Are you a masochist?"

"What? No!"

"Have I been feeding your fetish all this time? Oh flip, so this is why Winter said to be careful around boys and their weird fantasies…"

"No, no!" Jaune's face was beet red. "I meant that it was, you know, kinda… fun sparring with you."

"Fun?" Weiss asked. "You thought this was fun?" You thought I was fun?

"Yeah, I mean… didn't you?"

Weiss took a moment before replying. "It wasn't the worst thing I've done in my life," she admitted.

Jaune snapped his fingers. "Almost compliment number three. Can confirm, am on a roll."

Weiss scoffed and rolled her eyes before glancing at the time. "I think we should call it here," she said.

"Okay," Jaune said, clambering back to his feet. "Uh… well…" he awkwardly scratched the back of his head. "Thanks for the education."

Weiss hesitated. "Um…" she started, looking off to the side. "If Pyrrha's ever busy again, get Ruby to ask if my schedule's free."

Jaune was taken back. "You actually want to voluntarily train me?"

A scene of red and yellow blurs colliding into each other flashed through Weiss' mind. "Believe it or not, you're not one of the worst sparring partners I've had."

"Huh…" Jaune murmured. "Well then." He outstretched his hand. "I'll keep it in mind."

Weiss slowly reached out and shook it.

"Okay then."

"So what do you do for fun?"

"Hm?" Weiss turned her gaze from the ceiling back to Jaune. "Sorry, come again?"

"I said," Jaune repeated, wiping his brow of sweat. "What do you do for fun? I mostly only see you studying or training."

"Didn't you call me here to train you until Pyrrha got back from her meeting?"

"I'm just curious…"

Weiss sighed. "You also see me hanging out with my team, don't you?"

"Well yeah," Jaune said, crawling back to his feet. "But aside from that, what else do you do as a hobby? I mean, I know you can sing, but do you like, do anything else?"

Weiss stared off into space. "No."

"Nothing? Even as a kid?"

"That's…" A pang ran through Weiss' body. "I don't… um…" She hardened her gaze and turned back to Jaune. "Can we just get back to training?"

Jaune nodded.

"Ah, Weiss!"

"Pyrrha?" Weiss halted in the doorway to the training room. "What are you-? Sorry, Ruby told me that Jaune wanted me to train him today because you had something on. But if you're here then I can-"

"Oh, I do, don't worry," Pyrrha said with a smile. "I was just hoping to catch you before he got here."

"I see," Weiss said slowly. "What did you want to talk about?"

"I just wanted to thank you for helping Jaune out so much."

"Eh, it's no problem really-"

"Weiss," Pyrrha said, her eyes crinkling with warmth. "Everybody knows that you're not exactly Jaune's biggest fan."

"W-well, I-" Weiss stuttered. "He's not the worst person in the world, I guess?"

"That's what I was hoping for," Pyrrha laughed. "Well, don't let me keep you from your warm up. Good luck," she said, striding past Weiss.

"Yeah… wait." Weiss turned around. "What do you mean by 'that's what I was hoping for'?"

Her only answer was Pyrrha's amused green eyes.

Open.

Swipe.

Slam.

"Yield," came the croak of nineteen-year-old Jaune Arc.

"Ninety-two seconds," said Weiss. "Impressive."

Jaune gave another incoherent moan.

With a sigh, Weiss stalked over to the fallen boy. "Stop sleeping," she said, poking him with her boot.

"Alright, alright." Jaune unsteadily climbed back to his feet. "I'm up… I think. Okay. Whoa, there are five of you… owie," he grimaced, tensing his right shoulder.

Weiss' eyes narrowed on the injury. "Still tender?"

"Yeah," he said. "But the doctor said that movement's good, so don't worry about it."

A sigh. "You didn't have to take that hit for me, you know. Everything was under control."

"I know," Jaune said. "But it's kind of like you said, right? It's better to be in uncomfortable situations because then it makes you work harder. And hey, at least I got my big hero moment and got to save someone from a Grimm attack… even though it ended up with them saving me. Thanks for that, by the way," he added.

Weiss shook her head. "You're… something," she offered.

"Yep, that's me-waaaaaaaaaaiiit, is that a smile I see?"

"On me? No."

"It is a smile…"

"You're delusional. Schnee's don't smile."

"Then show me your face!"

"No."

"Oh come on!"

"I said 'no'."

"Favourite gem?"

"Amethyst."

Clang.

"Type of music?"

"Jazz."

Clash.

"Dessert?"

"Frozen bananas."

Clunk.

Jaune staggered back, panting for air. "Frozen bananas?" he repeated.

Weiss stiffened. "It's one of those… things that I've become quite partial to during my stay at Beacon."

"Frozen bananas?"

"Hey, you don't see me judging you and Ruby for your Pumpkin Pete's cereal obsession!"

"It's not an obsession if you're the one in control," Jaune sniffed dismissively. "But seriously, I assumed that frozen bananas seem a little low tier for someone like you."

"Well," Weiss said, folding her arms. "You know what they say about trying to assume things about people, don't you?"

"Yeah, yeah… but like, what's next, you know? Maybe one day I'll see you pigging out on a cheeseburg- whoawhoawhoa at least let me put my guard u-!"

"Jaune's improved greatly," said Pyrrha, nodding at Weiss. It had become somewhat of their routine to occasionally meet up in front of the training room before Jaune's training began.

"Mm." Weiss nodded. "He still flinches a little when something comes near his face, though."

Pyrrha laughed. "I believe he said it was something to do with living with so much oestrogen at home. For his sanity, he developed a habit of always guarding his face."

Weiss rolled her eyes. "And the three of you follow under his leadership," she said dully. "That's faith if I've ever seen it."

Pyrrha laughed again. "Indeed. But don't you agree that it's Jaune's shortcomings that draw you towards him?"

Weiss snorted. "Call it whatever you want, Pyrrha. Call it whatever you want."

"Remind me again why I asked you to train me?" Jaune groaned as he was slammed into the ground for the umpteenth time.

"Because Pyrrha's busy with the Vale-Mistral exchange program," Weiss said as-a-matter-of-factly, running her fingers along her blade.

"Oh. Right. That."

"Don't be a baby about it," she said, smirking at the sight of the twenty-year-old rolling back and forth on the floor. "You told me to move faster."

"Yeah. Faster. Like slightly faster. Not faster like Mach 1 to Mach 2."

Weiss shrugged. "You should know how this works by now," she said, steadying her rapier.

"Yeah, yeah…" Jaune sighed. "Unfortunately for me, I do."

"Hey," Weiss called out. "Sorry I'm late, the meeting with Goodwitch took longer than expec-"

She was interrupted by the sound of steel striking steel.

Swing. Clang. Swish. Clash. Stab. Clink.

"Okay, okay,!" Jaune cried as he skidded backwards, holding his hands up in defeat. "I yield."

A short blade appeared inches from his throat. "At least try to put up more of a fight," his assailant murmured in amusement.

"Oh, trust me, I'm trying," Jaune gasped. "Now please put that away? You could really hurt someone with that."

Breathing out a laugh, Blake Belladonna sheathed her weapon before turning to Weiss. "Hello Weiss," she said.

"Blake," Weiss said, her voice oddly cheery. "What are you doing here?"

"Ruby ripped her cloak, remember?" Blake said. "So Yang's gone with her into the city to get it fixed." She nodded towards Jaune. "Then I bumped into Jaune, who asked me to spar with him until you got back."

"Right," Weiss said, her voice still incredibly cheery. "Well, I'm here now, so you're free to go now. I'm sure you have better things to do, right?"

Blake's eyes widened slightly before coughing out a laugh. "Right. Yes, I do," she said, smirking. "I'll see you around, Jaune."

"Seeya," Jaune said as he was inspecting his gear.

As Blake neared Weiss, she slowed down. "Don't worry," she said quietly. "In Yang's terms, I believe she classifies me as 'batting for the other team'." She paused. "Unfortunately, I don't think she knows who I'm batting towards, though."

"Worry?" Weiss scoffed. "Why would I be worried?" And yet, even as she said that she could feel a weird tightness in her chest slowly unravel.

Blake's eyes glinted. "You're very obvious, you know," she teased as she walked out the door.

"Obvious?" Weiss looked back out after her. "What do you mean I'm 'obvious'?"

"I never really had a childhood."

"Ah?" Jaune lifted his head from the ground.

Weiss was looking up at the ceiling. "Remember when you asked me what I did for fun when I was younger?"

"Uh… yeah," Jaune said slowly. "I think I do."

"I didn't get those opportunities that other kids got," Weiss said quietly. "It was very sheltered, very… isolated." She took a breath. "My father wanted specific things from the future successor of the company. I only got to be normal when I came to Beacon."

"Oh," said Jaune. "Well, at least you get to have it now, right? I mean, you're free."

A bitter laugh reached his ears.

"Freedom?" she whispered. "Oh, I wish that were the case…"

"What do you mean?"

She turned towards him. "It's my birthday next week," she said.

"I know. I'm pretty sure Ruby and Nora are letting the entire school know right this very instant."

Weiss smiled. "You know, when people celebrate a birthday, they're celebrating getting older. They're celebrating the time they've spent in this world being alive and living in the moment." She looked at the ground. "I see it the other way."

"The other way?" Jaune asked.

And when Weiss looked up at him, Jaune was met with a gaze filled with pain that he never could imagine experiencing.

"Time running out."

"You've fallen for him, haven't you?"

"Wha-?" Weiss spat out the water she was drinking. "What? No!"

"You have," Pyrrha said. "It's written all over your face."

"I haven't!"

Pyrrha gave Weiss a long look.

"… or maybe, I guess? I don't know!" Weiss threw her hands up in the air. "It's confusing!"

"Wonderful!" Pyrrha clapped her hands together. "It's about time, too!"

"About time? Wait a moment…" Weiss gave Pyrrha a scrutinising glare. "How long have you been planning this?"

"… a long time?" Pyrrha said sheepishly.

"So you weren't actually all that busy?"

"Well, to be fair, I was… most of the time…"

"Pyrrha Nikos!"

"I'm sorry!" she laughed, batting away Weiss' feeble punches. "I thought it was the only way!"

Weiss swatted at her a few more times before settling for a glare. Then, a smirk went through. Then a snicker. Soon the hallway to the training room was filled with laughter.

"But seriously though," Weiss said. "Don't you… didn't you and Jaune… you know…?"

"In that way? No," Pyrrha said. "Maybe at first, but it was more of…" She paused. "Jaune is very… different with you than he is with me. You bring out sides of him that I've never even seen. I could even see shards of that all those years ago." She gave Weiss a knowing stare. "But all he needed was a chance from you."

"Ack!" Weiss stamped her foot, blushing pink. "Well it's kind of working. Happy?"

"Oh, absolutely," Pyrrha said, mirth evident in both her eyes and voice. "My plans very rarely go according to plan, you see."

"You know," Jaune gasped, staggering to his knees. "If I had a lien for every time I landed on my butt when I fight against you, I could drop out of Beacon and never work again."

"Yes, well, unfortunately you still have to pass a physical to graduate," Weiss said brusquely. "Now get up," she said, offering him her hand. "Try again, maybe this time you'll finally beat me."

The twenty-one-year-old inhaled sharply. "Weiss Schnee?" he said. "Quipping jokes? And here was I thinking we were in the serious training business."

"Oh shut up," Weiss said, rolling her eyes.

Laughing, Jaune took her hand. However, his eyes narrowed mischievously. One swift tug and one shriek later, Weiss Schnee found herself on the floor beside him.

"And… bam!" Jaune said in between laughs. "I finally got you on the ground. Still not a sexual thing, I swear," he added hastily.

Weiss shook her head, giggling. "You're seriously an idiot, you know that?"

"Tell me something we all don't know."

More laughter.

"Man," Jaune said quietly once they had both calmed down. "Graduation at the end of the year, huh?"

Weiss hummed in agreement.

"It's so… close," Jaune murmured, reaching out towards the ceiling. "It's kind of… surreal like, you know? I mean, four years ago I didn't even think I'd end up here."

"Neither did I," Weiss panned, looking over to him. "You were kind of terrible at everything."

"That I was," Jaune said, turning to look at her as well. "But hey, apparently I had a good teacher."

"Apparently so. I think I heard she's never let you win. Not so much by choice, but by the fact that you're just not that good."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Ouch," Jaune said, clutching his chest. "Well, what if I said I was letting her win?"

"I'd say you were lying."

"Can confirm, am lying."

"Precisely," Weiss simpered.

They stayed like that for a while longer until Jaune pulled out his scroll.

"Hmm…" He peered at the time. "Right, we have time for one more… so let's make it interesting."

"Interesting?"

"Yep," Jaune said. "Let's say that if you win, I have to carry your bag for you for the next few weeks."

"Ruby already does that for me."

"Voluntarily carry."

"Oh…"

"And if I win…" Jaune paused. "If I win… I uh… uh… I get to take you to 'A Simple Wok'."

Silence reigned over the training room.

"Like a date?" Weiss asked, her heartbeat quickening.

"U-uh, yeah," Jaune stammered. "If you want it to be one."

Weiss blinked, letting it all sink in. Then, "Why 'A Simple Wok'?"

"I'm not exactly raking in dough, ice queen."

"I guess…" Weiss sighed. "It's just that I've seen first-hand the horror stories that have happened to people who've eaten from there."

"Ruby and Yang?"

"Ruby and Yang."

"Huh," Jaune mused. "Well then, I guess I can't make the bet."

"Oh don't be silly," Weiss said, rolling her eyes. "We'll just change the rules to winner gets to choose where to eat."

"Oh." Jaune blinked. "Oh. Wait, so that's a yes?"

"Well it isn't a no," Weiss said, getting to her feet. "Hurry up, it's Friday night. The city's going to be packed."

"Right, right, uh…" Jaune scrambled to his feet. "Need I repeat that I'm on minimum wage?"

"Am I not allowed to pay?"

"Uh… I read that the chivalrous thing to do is for the guy to pay."

"Huh. So it isn't true what they say. Well then, Yang's senior management at the bar you work at, right?"

"Yeah… wait, are you going to ask her for money?"

"In a manner of speaking," Weiss said. "Remember what I said about first-hand horror stories at 'A Simple Wok'?"

"Yeah…?"

"I may have appropriated some evidence during one such episode."

"So… what you're saying is… you're going to extort her?"

"Yes."

Jaune paused in the midst of adjusting his armour. "I am going to be dating this woman," he said aloud in a dumbfounded manner.

"Let's just get this over with," Weiss snapped good-naturedly as she got into her stance.

"Yes ma'am," Jaune saluted before he too got his weapons at the ready. As he did so, Weiss couldn't help but let a smile slip onto her face.

This is going to be fun, she thought before charging forward.

Slow Burn Fin

Author's Note: Weiss beat Jaune in 37 seconds.

Also, this is probably a little OOC. I have not properly RWBY'd like this since Inch. And even then, Inch was well, Inch. In retrospect I'm still surprised that you guys enjoyed it as much as you did.

- Narutochaos22