Rated T only because it's more geared towards that audience.
"Favorite season?"
"Uh, probably summer."
"Favorite holiday?"
"New Year."
"Favorite song?"
She flashed a goofy grin in my direction. "Ice Ice Ba-"
"Yang."
"Okay, okay. Um, Renegades."
"Last one. Favorite color?"
"Pink."
I stared at my friend from across the bed, an eyebrow raised in doubt. It was just us in the dorm for the rest of the day, as Ruby went to visit Penny over the weekend and Blake is with a friend from her old school. It had been uncomfortably quiet for about an hour, and though it was a nice change from Ruby's usual yelling, Yang broke the awkward silence and decided it'd be fun to play a game to get to know each other. I didn't necessarily agree to play along, but she started the game and we ended up continuing. Her answers were surprising, for the most part. Especially the last one.
"Pink? Of all colors?" I asked, my voice ringing in disbelief. Yang was well known for refusing to conform to gender stereotypes and feminine expectations. I mean, I suppose that doesn't disqualify her from liking any girly thing, but it's still shocking to hear nonetheless. She nodded, her eyes shining enthusiastically.
"Well, yeah. I've liked it since I was a kid. Haha, when I was like, ten, I thought it'd be a great idea to sneak some hair dye that Ruby's mom had into my hair. I totally messed up and my hair was like, bright pink for five months. It was horrible." She grinned reminiscently, and I snickered in return. The scene wasn't hard to imagine. In all honesty, I could still picture it happening at this point in time, but the thought of a little Yang Xiao Long with bright pink hair was fun to picture.
"I would have never guessed." I said, shaking my head. "I mean, I know you mentioned your first hairstyle wasn't the best, but I could never imagine doing something so drastic to my hair."
This time, she rose an eyebrow, prodding her leg up so she could rest her arm on her knee. "Really? So your hair is naturally white, then?" She asked, and I nodded. I have had a countless amount of people ask me where I purchased such white hair dye, and it was getting extremely old. I also hear a lot of people assume it's just from stress or something of the sort. A lot of gossip goes around Beacon.
"Huh. Guess I owe Coco twenty lien." She leaned forwards and softly grabbed a lock of my hair from my ponytail, examining it carefully. I eyed her suspiciously, not used to any type of touch, even if I couldn't feel it. She stared at it for a moment before letting it go, and I felt my body loosen up a bit, as though I had been tense. She smiled.
"Alright, what now? Should I ask you?" She asked, leaning back against the wall. I repositioned myself on the bed, forgetting that I could easily cross my legs now as I removed my usual attire and replaced it with shorts and a sweatshirt. I shrugged.
"I could easily answer them now. My favorite season is Winter, holiday is also New Year, song would be Wild Things, and color would probably be mint." I effortlessly recited my answers that I had thought of as I waited for her to answer them earlier. Her head tilted to the side just enough to notice, like a curious pet. I fought the urge to smile as I waited for her to ask the question I knew she was forming in her head.
"Mint? Why mint?"
It wasn't like she had asked me anything serious – in fact, I had asked her the same thing about liking pink. But I felt my stomach drop a bit when I thought about the answer, remembering an old memory that I had long forgotten. She looked a bit worried.
"Oh- if you don't want to talk about it, it's okay." She put her hand on top of mine, the sudden warmth of her hand felt like a much-needed hug. I shook my head, smiling a bit at her.
"No, that's okay. You're probably the only person I could talk to about this. You're the only one who knows about my family situation." I was grateful that she hadn't moved her hand yet as her big eyes stared into mine, a silent way of her asking if I was sure. I nodded again. The sight of her looking so worried and determined made a bit hard to answer verbally. How annoying.
I took a small breath, letting the memories of a better time wash over me. "When I was little, before my family turned into such a mess, there was this art gallery that everyone would attend together. Me, mother and father, Winter, and little baby Whitley. It was so fun – my father would tell my mother 'oh, it's nice. But it's not nearly as beautiful as you, sweetheart." I glanced down at my hands, the sound of his voice was so much kinder then.
I shrugged. "I had this beautiful mint dress that I'd wear every single time we went. It was my favorite part of the event. My mother would do my hair in this elaborate braid while my sister let me borrow her make up. Whitley would say 'look! A princess!' and I felt like one every time." His voice sounded kinder back then, too. I frowned. "It's just. . . one of those moments you really wish you could relive, you know?"
I wasn't sure if I should smile wistfully or let myself cry in self-pity. I glanced at Yang, who was staring at me intently.
I glared a bit, a feeling of anxiety washed over me. "What? You shared a childhood memory, so I shared mine." I felt a bit uneasy, like I had shared just a bit too much. I wasn't really one to share my past with others. Maybe I sounded like a child, whining about these things. She never had half of it.
"I'm sor-"
She moved towards me a bit.
"No, no, no! It was really cute!" She said hastily, and my glare faltered as she bashfully realized what she said. She scooted back to her original position, clearing her throat as she shook her head. "I mean, like, a nice story and stuff. Don't worry about sharing that kinda thing with me, I'm not going to tell anyone else."
I smirked a bit at her, the anxious feeling toning down at her words. She didn't look uncomfortable. In fact, she looked like she really wanted to say something. I rose an eyebrow. "What?"
"I was just. . . wondering something. What happened to your family to make them all change so much?" She glanced over at me, her hand slipping off of mine. The warmth of her hand was intoxicating – the second she moved it, I felt my body return to its usual temperature. Maybe the conversation made the room feel a bit colder, too.
"If I knew, I'd feel a lot more at peace with it." I sighed, shaking my head a bit. What had happened to them? My mother used to despise alcohol and refused to take even a sip of wine when I was younger. My father gave mother love and affection as often as he could before he took over the job of handling the Schnee Dust Company taxes, and my brother was just a curious and excited toddler who adored Winter more than anything. And now. . . this.
"Right, I'm sorry. I forgot it happened when you were still pretty young." She didn't look at me, and I could tell she felt ashamed of her question. I looked over at her, her story sparking a question inside of me.
"What about you, Yang? Was it. . Was it Summer's hair dye?" I asked quietly. Her eyes widened a bit and her body straightened at the sound of her name. Her expression was one of uncertainty, and I could tell she felt a bit reminiscent.
"Yeah, it was Summer's hair dye. I've shown you a picture of her, right?"
"I believe so. But I'd be lying if I said that it's a clear image in my head."
She leaned forward, opening the small desk that sat in between the bunk-beds. I waited patiently as she fished through the top drawer, dropping envelopes and makeup containers onto the floor carelessly. "I think I stuffed it in here – aha!"
A look of triumph momentarily replacing her previous one, she handed me a dusty photo with mug and teardrop stains littered around each team member.
"So – this is like, a picture of your whole family, right?" I looked at her. "Excluding you and Ruby, of course."
"And ZWEI." She smiled, scooting next to me so she could look at it over my shoulder. Her arm was pressed against mine and it didn't help that we were both wearing shorts. I wasn't used to any skin-to-skin contact, let alone with her. I didn't move though. I just smiled at her comment.
"Of course. So, remind me, which one is Summer?" I asked, and she pointed to the young girl who stood in the back, most of her covered in a white cloak.
"Oh. She looks a lot like Ruby." The resemblance was almost creepy. They had the same silver eyes and the same cloak, just different colors. She snickered, absently nudging her foot against mine. I gripped the photo tighter, hoping I wasn't too flushed. The action was tiny, but really cute. She's so irritating to be alone with.
"She probably doesn't remember this, but the moment Summer left to go on her mission, she started dressing like mom so she could take her place while she was gone. She was determined to be the new mother of the house." She was grinning now, but I could still see a pang of sadness in her eyes. I nudged her foot with mine, letting her softly play with my foot as she gathered her thoughts.
"You grew up with Ruby and your father, right?" I asked after a moment of silence. She nodded, pointing to the blond male in the image.
"Was he the leader?"
"No, Summer was. Their team name was STRQ."
Another similarity. I was started to detect a pattern. "Does Ruby purposefully act like her mother?" I asked, not sure how to word it in a gentle way.
"I don't really know. Sometimes I wonder that, too. I'm not sure she remembers enough about mom to be able to do it intentionally. But. . . I don't know. I know her love of Corgis and cookies comes from memories of her."
We didn't talk for a bit after that, but we stayed sitting close with our feet nuzzling each other. I knew it was hard for her to talk about all of this, but it was nice to know more about her. She leaned a bit closer, pointing to the other woman on the picture.
"You met her, do you remember?" She asked, and I studied the face carefully. She looked a lot like Yang, but memories of her attitude when I met her made it easy to tell them apart.
"Ugh, I do remember. She was worse than your uncle. No offense."
She just laughed, and the sound was like music to my ears. I could've listened to that laugh for a lot longer if the situation were different. She shook her head. "None taken. He's not exactly your favorite type of adult."
"The drunk loudmouth?" I snickered. "My mother could probably learn a thing or two from them. I'm sure they'd be great friends."
She looked a bit surprised that I brought my mother up into a joke, but the look disappeared when she laughed again, more wholeheartedly this time. "That'd be a dangerous pair. I'm so in, let's set them up."
She scooted away from me a bit, giving me some space between us as she put the photo back into the desk. I looked up at her. It was weird to be so much closer to her face when we sat down, since our height difference wasn't being rubbed into my face. I still had to look up to face her, though.
"Then we'd be related, right? That'd make things kind of strange." I spoke without thinking, and found my body heating up at my words. They might have sounded innocent, but I knew better than that. And by the look on her face, she did too.
Did she realize how close we still were? It would only take slight movement before our lips would accidentally touch or something. I found myself staring at her lips as the thought crossed my mind. Had they always looked so soft?
Keep it together, Weiss.
I cleared my throat, turning away from her and scooting back a bit. It wasn't that I wanted to, but I felt like I should. It was more of a flustered move that showed I wasn't entirely sure what to make of the situation. She cleared her throat, avoiding my gaze as well.
She nodded, avoiding eye contact with me. "Uh, enough of all that family talk, then. Do you want to do something else?" I could tell that if I didn't have a suggestion, she wouldn't know what to do. I wasn't entirely sure what we could do, either. Beacon was quiet this week because of the holiday season. It was definitely a nice change.
I remained silent for a minute, the weight of the event before still lingering in my head. I wasn't as good as moving on from moments like she was. I had to convince myself it wasn't what I thought it was, which was getting harder and harder with each second I was alone with her. I just did what I do best. I pushed the feelings down and return to the present.
"You don't have to keep me entertained or anything." I told her, the desperation gleaming in her eye to keep noise in the room was a little sad. I guess silence wasn't something she was used to like I was. The family members I've met of hers were certainly never quiet.
Her eyes widened a bit. "What? No! I wasn't thinking anything like that. It's just cool to be hanging out with you." She snickered, a grin replacing her worried frown. "It's cool to be hanging out with you. Get it?"
I rolled my eyes, the smidge of surprise I had felt at the beginning of her words disappearing when she repeated her accidental pun. "Haha. Like I haven't heard that one fifty times this week."
She laughed again, a snort slipping through. She didn't seem to mind, and I definitely didn't either. I found myself smiling through my forceful disapproving frown. "Quit laughing." I mumbled, not used to whatever it was I was feeling. Her laugh turned into a fit of giggles that slowly faded out as she tried to calm herself down.
"Okay, okay. I'm good. It's just funny that everyone around here harasses you with puns. Like, of all people to do it to, you're the best." She grinned, leaning back against the wall that the bed was pushed against. I stared at her for a moment – I didn't really mean to stare, I just found myself doing it. I didn't get to really look or pay attention to her as often as the others. This was the first time in a long time we've actually been alone.
Her hair seems to have gotten longer. Not nearly as long as my own, but longer than it was last time I actually looked at it. It was brushing against the bedspread and I could hear the faint sound of fire crackling. Was that from her hair? I never noticed that before. I knew it would go aflame when she was angry, but I didn't realize they might always be there. It made the room feel a lot warmer.
"See something you like?" She asked, a coy smirk on her lips. I tore my eyes off of her and stared at the floor, my cheeks burning. Feelings from earlier rushed back to me. What was all this about?
"Oh, haha. I just realized it's been awhile since we've been alone. Your. . . hair got longer." I muttered, twiddling my thumbs around each other. I really hadn't meant to stare at her in silence. It was just suddenly very hard to take my eyes off of her.
She made a soft noise, like a hum of both surprise and amusement. "My hair? Funny. That's like, the third thing people usually mention."
I looked back at her. "What are the other two?"
With a tired eye-roll not directed at me, she ticked the two things on her fingers. "My 'hour-glass figure' and 'those bewitching violet eyes'."
"Ew. Do you deal with people like that a lot?" I asked, unable to imagine how I would deal with that situation. I've had a few unwanted guys flirt with me, but never for something like my figure or anything. She nodded, scoffing under her breath.
"Oh yeah. Guys around here can be creepy. Cardin and each of his little followers harassed me for a week. Once these bewitching violet eyes turned red, though, they were gone." She winked, and I felt a tiny spark in the back of my neck. She winks at people all of the time. Don't overthink it.
I shook my head. "I'm glad I don't have to deal with people like him. I can't imagine." I wasn't jealous of the disgusting situation they put her in, but it was a little embarrassing to rarely – if ever at all – have anyone take interest in you.
"There's always Jaune." She smirked, and I groaned on reflex. Right. Never mind, I take all of that back. Jaune still tries to get my attention and he still fails. It hasn't been as intense recently, but it was still incredibly annoying.
She laughed a bit, leaning over towards me. She softly patted my bare knee, and I shivered at how nice the contact was. Her hands were just warm, so my reaction wasn't necessarily my fault. I was naturally cold, and she was naturally warm. So. It's only natural for me to react that way. She smiled softly at me.
"Well, I'd be there to help you out if it happened to you from someone like Cardin. Jaune means well, at least."
I nodded. I really knew he did, and I didn't resent him for his actions. Just his thought process. It was a bit flattering to gain his affection like that, but someday he has to understand that no means no. Besides, Pyrrha would never forgive me. Half of Beacon wouldn't forgive me. The school has bets on who will end up together, and Jaune and Pyrrha are at the top.
I focused back on her previous words, another flattering comment from her that made my face feel warm and my heart feel safe. I liked the thought of her protecting me, even if I didn't really need it.
Ugh. When were Blake and Ruby coming back again?
"Thank you." Is all I said, though I wish I could have said more. She just nodded, taking her hand off of my knee. I already felt a lot colder. She fell back onto the bed, laying across it with her head hanging off the edge.
"So, what should we do, ice queen?" She looked up at me, her eyes wide with curiosity. I half smiled at the sight before shrugging in response.
"I didn't really have any plans. I might end up studying while I can." I still had a project for Professor Oobleck's class that I needed to complete. It was practically done, save for a few touch ups. Still, it was easier to work on school things when Ruby and Blake weren't here. Blake and Yang innocently bicker a lot, and Ruby is just obnoxiously loud.
"Aw, no way. We have another week before school starts up again. Don't use today to work on school." She pouted, still looking up at me with wide eyes. I felt my head spin a little as I looked at her, unsure of what to say. She really wanted to spend time with me. Still, responsibilities are important. Sometimes I hated being so stubborn.
"Just for twenty minutes. I'm almost finished with the project Professor Oobleck assigned." I said, and she sat up quickly, spinning in her spot to face me. The speed of her movement caught me off guard.
"Then we can study together or something. I just. . . want to spend time with you." She smiled weakly, and I found it even harder to speak. I just nodded. "Okay, cool. I've been working on the project a bit too. I'll probably need more than twenty minutes, though."
I nodded again as she slid off the bed, heading towards the door to flip the light switch on. I stared at her as she walked, even though I knew I probably shouldn't have. It's not like I was weird like Cardin or anything, but staring at her felt wrong after knowing how he treated her. I stared at the floor instead. "Oh, that's fine. Take your time. I'll work on the readings Professor Port assigned as well."
She offered a thumbs up, falling into the chair of her desk, which was an absolute mess. Old soda cans and candy wrappers were scattered around the floor and on the desk itself, and the trashcan was already overflowing with miscellaneous pieces of garbage. She effortlessly moved past all of that, opening the bottom draw and grabbing a file from it. I was curious to see what her project was, but I didn't want to invade her privacy or anything. It wasn't my business, anyway.
I slid off of the bed and made my way over to my own desk, which was kept as pristine as possible. I'm severely allergic to regular dust, so I wash it every other week to ensure it shines and doesn't gather anything. All of my textbooks were neatly aligned in a shelf above the desk – of course, in alphabetical order – and my trashcan was completely empty. Comparing our desks, which sat next to each other, was a little amusing. Gross, but amusing.
I sat down in my chair, looking down at the project that already sat in the middle of the desk. The first project I truly struggled with all semester, and the first one I rewrote multiple times.
I was supposed to write anything that would have been written by a Faunus activist during the war a few years back, when the White Fang was still an innocent group of tired Faunus. If this project was handed to me a year ago, I can only imagine how bigoted I'd sound. My change of heart didn't make the process any easier. I didn't know anything about the Faunus now, save for the few things I've discovered during my time in Beacon. All I really knew was what my father told me before I arrived. And that obviously wasn't decent.
That wasn't the only difficulty. Even if I support the Faunus now, I've never fought for Faunus equality, and I didn't have a personal relation to it at all. The closest thing I have is what Blake has told me she's been through, but even then she just skimmed the surface and hastily moved on. I didn't know any decent facts about the White Fang, and the protests from their early years only angered me when they were brought up in class the beginning of the school year. No matter how often Professor Oobleck mentioned it, I couldn't personally connect enough to be able to confidently complete this assignment.
"Why do you think they protest?" I asked after a few minutes, scribbling down ideas on a black piece of paper. They're oppressed. They're not evil. They're misunderstood. They aren't all bad. Things like that. Things I couldn't get myself to work into a paper about a Faunus activist. Yang looked up from her own project, a look of surprise on her face.
"What?"
I glanced away from her, looking at the paper again. The ideas were kind of there, just unorganized and confusing. I shrugged. "I don't know. I just. . . I never really understood what the protests were for. The crude signs. . the chanting and yelling. . . I don't understand what it accomplished, you know?" I softly dragged my pencil along the paper, doodling something that wouldn't have a result. I heard her sigh, followed by her chair creaking a bit as she sat sideways to face me.
"Why are you so vocal about fighting to change the view of your family name?" She asked, and I felt a twinge of embarrassment. I didn't think I was that vocal about it, but I went along with her question.
"To show I'm more than just a monopoly-crazed Schnee." I answered. I had an idea where she was going with this, but I wasn't sure how it'd play out. She nodded, a smile on her lips as she carefully thought over her words. She grabbed a paper from her file that sat on her desk, looking down at it thoughtfully.
"Yeah, see? To show you're not what you're born as. You were born as a Schnee, and they don't exactly have the best reputation." She said that carelessly, as though it was totally obvious. I scoffed in agreement. "You didn't ask to be born into a family like yours, and the Faunus didn't ask to be born the way they are, either. You're both treated unfairly for something you can't control, so you both do something about it. Nothing wrong with that, right?"
I blinked, glancing down at my own papers again. I read through the monotone words that held no meaning. Only facts that my textbooks and things my friends told me. What if I had been born a Faunus rather than a Schnee? Would I be working for my father at this age, like many poor Faunus are now?
"I guess that makes sense." I wasn't used to asking for advice or help on an assignment, but it was nice to hear her talk about it with such a determined voice. I took a breath, sliding my papers off of the desk and into the trash. I could see Yang faintly smiling out of the corner of my eye, and I returned it slightly.
"It might take me more than twenty minutes, too." I said, grabbing my scroll from my sweatshirt pocket. "You don't mind if I play music, do you?"
"Not at all. That'd be great, actually." She grinned, turning her attention back to the paper on her desk. "The silence isn't as fun to work in."
I nodded in agreement. I appreciated silence wherever I could find it, but studying with quiet music playing seemed to inspire me more. I stared at the blank piece of paper in front of me, drumming my nails against the desk as I thought about Yang's words carefully.
Treat this as I do my family name. In a sense, I understand their struggle. How infuriating it is to be labeled and hated over something that cannot be changed. Every paper I've sent in on the Faunus received an A, but they never felt genuine. They seemed robotic. Like it's what I was expected to write. This time. . .
I glanced at Yang, who was writing and scribbling furiously, her tongue poking from her mouth as she creased her eyebrows in concentration. It only seemed to inspire me more.
This time it's going to be different.
It was about two weeks since my day alone with Yang, and my paper was supposed to be graded after lunch. I wasn't used to feeling nervous about the things I turned in, but I went a lot deeper on that one. Yang was sitting next to me again, as she had been for the past week. She put her hand my shoulder delicately.
"You're gonna do fine, ice queen. Don't stress. You showed me it, remember? I'd totally give it an A." She grinned, squeezing my shoulder softly. I rubbed my temples, faintly flattered and pleased by her words. I read her work myself, and it was a lot stronger than mine. It took me by surprise, actually. She had a very strong view on Faunus equality.
"Don't stress!" Ruby's voice rung from across the table through a mouthful of her sandwich. "Mmph- it'sh like, imposshible for you to get lower than an A." She swallowed her food, wiping the crumbs from her mouth like a little kid. I didn't know whether to thank her for her words or scold her for her childish behavior. Before I could decide, the bell rang. I took a deep breath, nervously rubbing at the hem of my dress. I used a lot of personal stories in that paper, and a lot of thoughts that I didn't know I even had. It was like a release. But I was worried it wouldn't do the Faunus justice. Or myself justice.
Yang squeezed my shoulder again as she stood up. "You did great, Weiss." She assured me softly, her hand sliding down my arm and extending towards my own to help me up. I felt my mouth sit agape as she stood there, not used to the gesture. I tried to brush it off, letting her help me up as I took her hand. She didn't let go right away, and I didn't either. I could feel Blake's eyes staring at us mischievously, and I knew Ruby would too if her cape wasn't stuck under her seat. Again.
"Um, thank you." I mumbled, glancing down at our hands and then back up at her. She blinked multiple times, as though she only just noticed the situation she put us in. She looked down at our hands and quickly let hers fall to her side, smiling sheepishly.
"Haha, no problem. C'mon, Oobleck will probably send Ruby and I to detention if we're late one more time."
"No! Not again!" Ruby looked terrified at the thought of returning to detention, which is ridiculous because all that she has to do there is extra readings. Nothing scary. Still, she yanks herself free from her seat and takes off in a flash, leaving her tray on the table and rose petals following after her.
Getting my paper back wasn't as stressful as I had been building up in my head. Professor Oobleck told me he liked the change in my tone of writing before speeding off to the next student. I wasn't sure if that meant I should continue writing like that or not, but it was a nice change from the 'excellent work as always, Ms. Schnee' I received every other time.
"Hey there, ice queen." Yang hopped next to me as I exited the classroom, my newly graded paper still in hand. She glanced down at it curiously.
"What'cha get? I'm assuming it's an A-"
I held it up for her to see, cutting off what I knew she'd start saying. I didn't want to let her praise me for me to only disappoint her. Before there, in the top right corner in bright red marker, sat a giant B. She took it, her eyebrows furrowing as though it personally hurt her.
"Seriously? That's total garbage! It was totally A+ material!" She exclaimed, causing a few people to turn their heads towards us. I shushed her, yanking the paper out of her hands. I was pleased by her words, but I knew she was wrong.
I neatly folded the paper and slipped it into my bad. "It wasn't, though." I told her quietly, after people began to mind their own business once more. She crossed her arms, an angry expression on her face. A face I was growing very fond of seeing so often. We had been spending a lot more time together recently, and I really appreciated it. Especially right now. "There were errors and a lot of personal opinions. It didn't meet a lot of the Professor's requirements."
She looked at me, her eyebrows raised. "Why'd you send it in, then? Doesn't sound like you."
I smiled. Not necessarily at her, more towards the question. We started walking again, though I wasn't sure where to since classes were now over. I was more focused on her question. I myself asked that at first I expected to be absolutely disgusted with myself for not receiving an A. Or angry at the Professor. But instead, I felt proud. This wasn't just some textbook copy this time.
"Because it met my requirements." I said. She stared at me for a moment before smiling an incredibly warm smile.
"I still would have given it an A." She said, and I could tell she was still annoyed at my grade and that she believed I deserved better. I smirked at her, knowing she was being completely genuine.
"I know you would have. You'd give everyone an A if you could." I rolled my eyes playfully.
"Well, yeah, I guess. But yours was really great! It would be one I'd give an A because I really liked it, not because I felt bad."
I nudged her a bit with my arm, but it didn't move her much from her spot much, it just made us stand closer together. It was hard to nudge her since she was like, a foot taller than me and a lot stronger. With a small smile on her face from my actions, she glanced at her own bag, and I remembered that I still hadn't seen what she received on her assignment.
"How'd you do?" I asked, and after a moment of me looking up at her impatiently, she reluctantly pulled it out. Usually, this behavior from her would show that she received another C-, but as I took the paper, I could already see the outline of an A+. I smiled brightly, a wave of pride rushing through me.
"It- it doesn't mean mine is any better than yours or anything. I just. . . I dunno. . . Maybe he felt bad for always sending me to detention or somethi-"
I interrupted her mumbling with an enthusiastic hug, the two of us freezing in the middle of the hall. Luckily it was fairly empty, save for a few students I didn't recognize, so I wasn't causing too much of a scene. I wasn't exactly sure why I hugged her, but the urge to do so was too much to fight.
She stumbled back a bit at the sudden hug before wrapping one of her own arms around my waist, pulling me a bit closer to her, "What's this for?" She asked, laughing a bit. I couldn't tell if it was a nervous laugh or an excited one, but she still wasn't pushing me away, so I didn't pull away either. I smiled up at her.
"You deserved that A."
She laughed again, and I could feel her heart beating rapidly against me. Was mine doing that too? Why were we both doing it? Maybe I did it too suddenly and it surprised us both. She finally pushed me away just a bit to look down at me, though her arm was still around my waist.
"Heck, if this is what happens whenever I get an A, I'm gonna be studying nonstop." She grinned, suddenly looking extremely proud of herself and the grade she received. I could feel her breath against me as she spoke, making me realize that we were incredibly close. I just stared at her wordlessly, getting lost in her eyes. They were shining enthusiastically and awaiting my repose.
"I'll hold you to that." I replied after a moment of gathering my thoughts. Her arm slid off of my waist as she placed her hand on her hip, and I stepped backwards a bit, giving us a little bit of space.
"Oh yeah? So I'll get a famous Weiss hug whenever I get a good grade, then?" She asked. I couldn't tell if she was serious or not, but I decided to take advantage of it and just go with it, like she does. If the recklessness of Yang Xiao Long starts to rub off on me, I will never forgive her.
"Whenever you get a good grade from studying. Cheating automatically disqualifies you." I crossed my arms, her paper still in my hand. I could see some of the words written on it, which were so eloquent and fierce. Her passion for the topic was extremely admirable.
As if she could hear the praises I was giving her in my head, she snatched the paper from my hand and carefully putting it back into her bag, her face slightly flushed.
"Alright, deal." She turned back to me, holding out her hand. I looked up at her, a smirk crawling onto my lips. I took her hand and we shook them firmly. And, as I had expected, held onto each other for a bit longer than we needed to. The hall was pretty much empty now, anyway, so there wasn't a reason to hastily let go this time. So we stood there, holding each other's hands as innocently and as friendly as we could. She flashed me a tired grin as we heard familiar footsteps running down the hall.
"Yaaaang! Weiiiiiiss! Sun and Neptune are about to go up against Blake and Iliaaaaa!" Ruby yelled at us from across the hall, and we quickly released the other's hand.
"I'd love to stand here with you, but I don't think either of us want to miss this train wreck." Her grin turned into a nervous smile. "We'll have to find a place more comfortable and private if we're gonna be holding onto each other like that. Can't exactly cuddle in the hall."
Before I could say anything, she began walking off towards Ruby, leaving me confused at the feelings that had surfaced over the past two weeks. Her words were still ringing in my head and they were driving my insane as I slowly followed behind her. Cuddle. Cuddle. When's the last time I've had affection like that? Have I even had affection like that? The thought of it usually disgusted me, but now I couldn't stop imagining it. I felt my stomach drop a bit as I realized what all of this meant. Great going, Weiss. You've fallen for Yang.
A/N
Just to make things a bit easier, this is sort of set towards the third volume timeline, before the magical problems the characters face. More of an AU though, because it isn't meant to be a piece of the show, just what could happen if their lives weren't so hectic.