Seasons of Love
Winter
The cold of winter makes it so much easier to savour the warmth of a kindred spirit.
It was winter when Blake kissed Weiss.
She hadn't meant to.
They were ice-skating at a frozen lake. Weiss, of course, was already an expert, gliding smoothly over the ice. Without a moment's hesitation, she leapt, spinning through the air several times before she landed, one leg flaring out and back as her arms swept up.
For a split-second, Weiss was perfect.
Blake was not an expert. In fact, she was barely able to keep on her feet. To avoid embarrassing herself, she skated as slowly as possible, doing her best to disguise her lack of speed as a matter of choice rather than a matter of necessity.
Ruby and Yang didn't notice. They were content to race each other around the outskirts of the lake. Yang didn't stand a chance. Ruby had none of Weiss's effortless grace on the ice, but she'd kept almost all of her speed.
But Weiss noticed. She was kind enough to wait until all the others were thoroughly occupied before she skated over to Blake. Weiss was silent, her blue eyes narrowed in contemplation as she catalogued all of Blake's mistakes.
"Are you here to make fun of me?" Blake asked.
Weiss's lips curled. "I can do that if you want, but I was hoping to help you."
"Why?" Blake hated how trapped she was out on the ice. Weiss had all of the power, and she had none.
Weiss only smiled faintly. "Because even I wasn't born skating well. It's an acquired skill." She reached out with both hands, putting one on Blake's shoulder and the other on her hip. "Here, let me help you."
Despite the thick coat she wore, Blake shivered. She could feel Weiss's hands all the way through the other girl's gloves and her own coat.
"Okay."
Weiss was a patient teacher, easing Blake into the right stance and helping her through the basic movements. She talked a lot too, whispering words of encouragement laced with a hint of amusement. After all, she was Weiss. She couldn't be completely nice.
But by the time Blake was ready to skate on her own, she was no longer watching the ice. She was watching Weiss.
How strange. Blake had always thought that with her pale skin and hair, Weiss would get lost amidst all the ice and snow. She was wrong. All the white only accentuated the faint flush on Weiss's cheeks and the brightness of her blue eyes. She was in her element here, not lost in the chill of winter, but in command of it.
Blake's inattention had a price. One of her skates caught in a rut in the ice, and she stumbled. Weiss moved swiftly, darting forward to prop her up. Blake shivered. Weiss was so close to her now.
She leaned in, eyes drifting shut – and so did Weiss.
Their lips met, and Blake was lost in silk and softness. Gently, she pulled Weiss closer. The other girl sighed and opened her mouth. The kiss ended a few moments later, but they stayed close, their foreheads pressed against each other's.
Weiss's breath played across Blake's lips. "I thought you liked Yang."
"I do." Blake trembled, but not from the cold. "But I like you too." She paused as laughter echoed from the other side of the lake. "I thought you liked Ruby."
"I do." Weiss gave her a mocking smile. "But I like you too."
Blake was about to reply – it was never a good idea to let Weiss have the last word – when suddenly, Ruby was there. The dark-haired girl grabbed them both and dragged them toward the other side of the lake. Team JNPR had challenged them to a relay race.
X X X
Spring
The beauty of spring makes even the simplest things magnificent.
In spring, Blake kissed Ruby.
It was an impulse she'd had a thousand times before, and it was one she'd stopped just as many. Not this time.
They were walking through a flower-laden meadow. There were supposed to be Grimm around, but they hadn't seen any sign of them for days. After the initial excitement of their mission had worn off, Ruby had decided that there was plenty of time for them to stop and smell the flowers. And in typical Ruby fashion, she hadn't meant that as a metaphor.
Funnily enough, it hadn't occurred to Ruby that Blake had no problems smelling the flowers. She was, after all, a Faunus, with a much keener sense of smell than the others. Still, Blake had yet to say word about that as Ruby zipped from one flower to the next, picking particularly pretty examples of each to bring back to Blake, so that she could smell them.
"We're supposed to be on the lookout for Grimm." Despite her solemn tone, Blake smiled. Ruby was so warm, so full of life. She was living proof that humans weren't the monsters that the White Fang believed them to be. She was also a soothing contrast to the fire that burned so brilliantly in Yang, and the ice that rippled underneath Weiss's pristine exterior. "Not picking flowers."
"We've already looked around. There's nothing here. It must have been a false alarm." Ruby grinned, picked another flower, and then flicked a few of its petals at Blake. "Don't be such a stick in the mud."
"Excuse me?" Blake put on a mock-frown, knowing full well that Ruby enjoyed this sort of verbal play fighting.
"You heard me." Ruby laughed and poked Blake in the side. "Tag, Blake. You're it."
And then Ruby was running, not using her Semblance yet, but still blindingly fast. Blake gave a laugh of her own and then followed her. They darted back and forth through the woods, leaping from tree to tree and then winding their way through shrubs and bushes. Ruby was using her Semblance now, but Blake had a Semblance too.
A few clones distracted Ruby long enough for Blake to tackle her to the ground. There was a brief scuffle then, but Blake was far more experienced in hand-to-hand combat. It ended with Blake smirking down at Ruby, the younger girl pinned beneath her.
There was something unbearably innocent and lovely about Ruby as she lay there, her cloak askew, her hair tousled and filled with flower petals, and her eyes filled with such warmth and affection. Blake leaned down, wanting to either press a kiss to Ruby's forehead or get some of the flower petals out of her hair, but Ruby shifted, pressing their lips together.
The kiss was clumsy and hesitant, but it was sweet and loving too. Blake cupped Ruby's cheek and deepened it ever so slightly, showing Ruby what to do. When they parted, Ruby's cheeks were as red as her cloak.
"Uh… oops?" Ruby whispered.
Blake chuckled softly and helped Ruby back to her feet. "It's okay."
And somehow it was. If Blake knew anything about Yang and Weiss, it was that neither of them would ever begrudge Ruby anything, even if it were a kiss from Blake.
X X X
Summer
The heat of summer can stoke the fires of passion.
During summer, Blake kissed Yang.
It wasn't an accident. It was very much on purpose, and there was nothing innocent about it.
It was so easy for Blake to love Yang. Yang was the sun, burning so brightly that sometimes it hurt to look at her. She oozed confidence and power, so utterly comfortable in her own skin. Blake had only seen Yang uncertain a handful of times, but those moments had never lasted long, had been like the fleeting shadows cast by clouds passing in front of the sun.
Blake was alone in their dorm room reading. Ruby had convinced Weiss to take her shopping, and the heiress had agreed without so much as a word of protest. That should have given the game away, but Blake had been too occupied with her book to notice. It was a very good book.
Yang threw the door open and strode into the room. Her presence filled the room, and Blake's entire being hummed, every one of her senses sharpened almost to the point of pain. Yang's tank top was drenched in sweat, and the sports bra she wore underneath did little more than draw Blake's eyes to her chest. She had a split lip too and the beginnings of a black eye. Still, Blake had never thought she looked more beautiful. This was Yang – bruised and bloodied, but utterly unbowed.
"Sparring again?" Blake asked. "You really should be more careful."
Yang laughed. "What can I say? Pyrrha's no slouch, and she has a mean left hook."
"I can see that." Blake got up, guiding Yang to one of their chairs. "Let me take a look. Ruby is not going to be happy if that scars or you need stitches."
"Relax. It'll be fine." Even so, Yang kept still, letting Blake fuss over her as the Faunus checked and cleaned each wound. "I know it looks bad, but it's nothing serious. I just asked Pyrrha to stop holding back, that's all. It turns out, she's been holding back a lot."
"Can I at least assume that Pyrrha is sporting a few cuts and bruises of her own?"
"Well, yeah." Yang laughed and then winced as Blake prodded a cut over her eye. "It might just be sparring, but I'm not going to let her walk all over me."
"You're lucky. I don't think this is going to need any stitches." Blake sighed and then froze as Yang caught both of her wrists. She looked down into Yang's eyes. Heat rippled through her.
"I know you've kissed Weiss." Yang's hands tightened ever so slightly around Blake's wrists and then loosened, the blonde changing her grip to rub soothing circles over Blake's skin. "And I know you've kissed Ruby." Blake had to remind herself to breathe as Yang smirked. "So I've been wondering… when am I going to get a kiss?"
Blake read the challenge in Yang's eyes and knew that she had to meet it. But Yang was never one to just sit there and let things happen. The moment their lips met, Yang was standing, backing Blake up until they fell onto her bed together. This kiss wasn't gentle like the one with Weiss, or even sweet like the one with Ruby, it was hot and passionate and wild. It was Yang.
When Yang finally pulled away, her blonde hair tumbled down, framing Blake's whole world. "Enjoy yourself?"
"Yes," Blake murmured. "Maybe… too much."
"You don't have to choose, you know." Yang climbed off Blake, eyes burning. "They'll understand."
"Understand what?" Blake touched her lips. "In the end, you always have to choose."
X X X
Autumn
The winds of autumn sweep everything away, leaving only the truth behind.
It was autumn before Blake realised that she was wrong, and Yang was right.
Snow came early that year, a few, light falls that left the ground dappled in white. And amidst all the snow were dying leaves, vivid bursts of red and yellow. As night fell, the shadows lengthened, casting long tendrils of black over the snow and the leaves. The others found her by the window, her book forgotten, watching the colours blend until the sun sank below the horizon and there was only darkness.
"Stop brooding." It was Weiss, the words less a request and more a command. "We're a team – an odd team, but still a team. You're starting to worry us." She paused and then leaned down to kiss first Blake's cheek and then the corner of her mouth. "And I'll have you know that I've spoken to Yang and Ruby."
"And?" Blake closed her eyes. If only everything was as easy as just letting the seasons roll by.
"They're okay with it." Weiss blushed. "With… with you and me… and… and us… all of us." She paused. "And it's not like you're the only one benefiting here. Ruby is… well, Ruby. And Yang can be very… persuasive."
Blake turned and studied the others. There was no mistaking the twinkle in Yang's eyes as she watched them from the doorway. And Ruby, who couldn't possibly have misinterpreted what Weiss meant, merely smiled and shrugged.
"Hey, what can I say?" Ruby smiled. "Weiss is pretty awesome, so I'm not too surprised that Yang likes her although I totally call dibs on her first."
That was such a Ruby thing to say – utterly ridiculous yet, from the steel in her gaze, completely serious too. Blake couldn't help it. She laughed. "Fine, you guys win. We can give it a try."
"Yeah, that's right." Ruby dragged Yang and Weiss over to Blake. "We're a team – a team that, well, kind of likes each other a whole lot, as in, a whole lot." She paused. "Except for me and Yang. We totally don't like each other that way. Right?"
Yang gave Ruby a teasing look. "I don't know…"
"Yang!" Ruby gaped. "What?"
"Ruby…" Weiss covered her face with her hands. "She's joking."
Blake's heart had never felt so full. "Never change, you three. Never change."
When Blake went to sleep that night, she felt more at peace than she had in years. She drifted in and out of dreams of snow, shadows, and autumn leaves mixing together. Later, perhaps, everything would fall apart. Maybe Ruby and Yang would finally realise that there were some things they couldn't share, or maybe Weiss would pick favourites. But for now – just for now – everything was perfect.
"Blake." It was Yang. "It's really late, but I can still hear you thinking. Just go with it."
"How can you hear me thinking?" Blake asked.
"Well, we can't actually hear your thoughts." That was Weiss. "But you keep moving around in your bed. Stop it."
"And that's keeping you up?"
"It kind of is." Ruby giggled. Apparently, none of them were having much luck getting proper sleep. "But it's okay. We don't have class tomorrow."
"Oh, yeah." Blake laid back and closed her eyes. "Why don't we go out somewhere? Just the four of us?"
X X X
Omake: Topological Conundrum
Yang grimaced. "Not that I mind touching you or Weiss, Blake, but I'd really rather not touch Ruby, at least, not in this kind of situation."
More than a little scantily clad, Ruby nodded. "Yeah, I mean… Yang and I are close… but not that close."
Blake sighed and stopped kissing Weiss, so that she could scowl at the two sisters. "You were the ones who wanted all of us to do this together. You can work out the whole… geometry of it."
"Blake, stop talking." Weiss reached up and yanked Blake down into another fiery kiss before directing a glare at Ruby and Yang. "Don't think we're stopping while you two try to work out how this is going to go." She groaned as Blake lavished attention on her throat. "Just… don't take too long."
X X X
Author's Notes
As always, I don't own RWBY. I'm not making any money off of this either.
This is one of those weird chapters where I kind of had an idea, then I came up with the blurb for that idea, and then I used that blurb to try and reverse engineer a better version of the original idea. If that sounds confusing, it's because it is. For those of you that are interested, my original idea was for a story that explored the possibility of a relationship between Blake and the other members of Team RWBY. And here is the blurb I came up with after writing a very rough draft:
It was winter when Blake kissed Weiss, and it was spring when she kissed Ruby. It was summer when she kissed Yang, and autumn when everything finally made sense.
That blurb helped crystallise a lot of my thoughts on this story, so that I could finally come up with something that I was happy with. Hopefully, you guys enjoyed the story too. As an aside, I just couldn't resist adding that omake. Trust Team RWBY to make everything complicated. And, just in case you were wondering, there is no explicit version of this story… or is there? (No, there really isn't).
I also write original fiction, mostly fantasy. You can find links to it in my profile.
As always, I appreciate feedback. Reviews and comments are welcome.