N/A: Okay, this is kind of a twisted and really beta version of Dash's Arranged Marriage!AU where Weiss and Blake knew each other before Beacon and lived together until they we admitted, the arranged marriage going as planned with the pleasant consequence of them falling in love. I excuse myself for something so random, but I've written this quite a while ago and feel like it has to end this way. I'll probably write a whole story about this, like from the beginning, but this is it for now.
The am!au belongs to Dashingicecream.
Ok, Blake, keep calm, you can do this. It's simple: you wait for her at the altar, you give her the ring, you both pronounce your vows, you kiss, and here Blake blushed lightly then you're out of it. You can do it, you faced bigger foes, it's not like you're going to marry a King Taijitu! It's just a marriage with your little snowflake. Nothing too tragic.
Blake was lost in her thoughts, but was snapped back into reality by a knock on the door. "Who's there?" she said in a shaky tone.
"It's me, Yang!" said a girl's voice, muffled from the large wooden door. "Come in, it's unlocked."
"How's it goin- Wow… you're gorgeous!" said the blonde with wide eyes.
Blake was wearing a white shirt under a black purple-shadowed smoking, a white handkerchief in the pocket just above her heart and two cufflinks attached on the cuffs of her shirt, depicting her emblem. She didn't wear her bow, not since the day of the graduation ceremony at Beacon, two years ago, and her black hair was tied in a high ponytail.
"If that's the case, you're gorgeous too, Yang" said Blake with a timid smile.
Yang, on the other hand, was wearing a knee-length yellow dress. The cloth around her neckline was sprinkled of golden beads, and that really helped to show off her "twins". Yang had a considerable quantity of bust and Blake had always wondered how she could bear such a weight almost effortlessly. As always, the brawler's hair was a complete mess let free to fall on her bare back.
"Thank you very much my bride, but y'know," she said bending down and slipping off her yellow shoes "these heels are really uncomfortable" she continued with a grunt.
"You wish! I'm not your bride, sweetheart" Blake said in a mocking tone.
"I swear, if you weren't engaged and a wife-to-be, I'd marry you!"
"Ahw, that's so cute~ " a large smile on her face and a light blush creeping up her neck.
"No, no, no, no. I'm serious!" said Yang with decision. "You're hot, smart, beautiful, you know when to be serious and when to have fun, you know how to have fun, you're always calm and collected but you laughing is one of the most stunning view I've ever had the pleasure to see. And you're hot."
Before Blake could speak she added: "Yes, I said hot twice."
"Ah, you dolt!" said the black haired girl laughing and giving the blonde a light punch on her shoulder.
Then they stopped for a second and lilac eyes met golden ones.
Suddenly, Yang grabbed Blake's wrist and hugged her tightly, pushing her head in the crook of her neck.
"How are you? I know you're scared, but it will be ok, don't worry" said Yang in a soothing voice as Blake started trembling and sobbing lightly on her shoulder.
"I really am scared Yang… I might screw all up, panic and not be able to control myself!" said Blake rising her head to look Yang in the eyes and then dropping it again, crying harder. "I… don't want to hurt her, Yang. This should be the best day of her life and I…"
"Wanna know something, kitty cat?" said the blonde with a kind smile, stroking gently the hair of her former partner. Years had passed since the last time had Yang used that nickname for Blake. "This is supposed to be also the best day of your life. So, be happy and relax, that's all you have to do." She took her friend's head up and kissed Blake on the forehead. "Ok?"
Blake just nodded, wiping away her tears with the back of her hand. "Thank you, Yang. I don't know what I would do without you" she then said with a smile, her eyes slightly red.
"Well, are you ready now? The show is going to start soon" Yang said, smiling gently. She didn't want to push Blake, but it was about time for her to enter the church.
"Just wait a second…" then she went towards a little bedside table and took something from one of the drawers. Eventually Yang saw what it was and understood: Blake now had her old bow tied on her right wrist, hidden partially by the sleeve of her shirt.
"Let's go" Blake said stepping out of the door. Yang smiled and followed her out.
"… she was really nervous, but eventually she calmed do-"
"RUBY!" a shout echoed through the hallways.
"Ok, maybe I talked too early… can you excuse me?" asked the red and black haired girl with pleading eyes.
"Of course! I think she's in trouble and needs help, plus today it's her day; I'm not going to steal her bridesmaid from her!" answered the platinum blond boy in front of her.
"Thanks Sun! You really are a friend!" said Ruby running away in the direction the scream came from.
"You're welcome!" shouted back the monkey Faunus, waving her goodbye with his tail.
Meanwhile in one of the several dressing rooms, Weiss was desperately searching for her tiara, the black one that used to always hold her hair up.
"RUBY!" she shouted, aware that Ruby was somewhere near her room.
"I'm here, I'm here" said the taller girl panting, peeping from the door.
"Finally!" Weiss exclaimed. "Come in, I need you to find my tiara!" she continued in her usual imperative tone.
"Yeah, yeah… coming" replied Ruby tiredly, entering the room. "You said you're looking for your tiara, mh? Let's see…" she thought out loud beginning to look around.
She looked in every place possible: under the sofa, under the cushions, among Weiss belongings on her bedside table, in the drawers, in the wardrobe. Nothing.
"I'm sorry Weiss, I can't find it…" apologized Ruby.
"HOW IS IT THAT TOU CAN'T FIND IT?! I NEED IT!" shouted the white haired girl, stomping towards Ruby. The younger girl truly expected the heiress to give her a slap, and she tried to protect herself putting her arms in front of her face.
She waited a bit, but no slap came. She opened her eyes to see Weiss dropping herself on the sofa and covering her face with her hands, her shoulders shaking.
"Weiss are you… crying?" Ruby asked hesitantly. No response came from the white dressed girl.
Her gown was truly beautiful. It seemed a traditional wedding dress, but if you looked closely at it you would notice a subtle snowflake pattern, all over the fabric, and her waist was encircled by an icy blue piece of silk that ended up in a ribbon on her left side. As requested she was wearing white heels and a white veil lay near her on the mirror. In that moment her hair were loose on her back, a cascade of pure silky white.
It broke Ruby's heart to see her best friend like that, crying desperately and silently just before her wedding.
She went towards the sofa and kneeled before the other girl. "Weiss, look at me?" she said pleadingly, placing one hand on her friend's while the other removed the white bangs from her face.
Weiss eyes were red and puffy, but till that moment no sound had escaped her throat. She simply let herself fall in her friend's arms sobbing loudly.
"There, there… calm down Weiss, it's ok. Shh, don't cry…" said Ruby in a soothing voice. In this the sisters were no different: they had both learned to know their respective partners and also a way to calm them down and fix them when they were falling apart.
"Talk to me please? What's wrong?" she asked, a concerned expression on her face.
"I-it's that… this seems like a forced marriage… and I-I'm afraid Blake might think… I don't love her for r-real" she said, her sentences interrupted by sobs and sniffles. "I don't want to… be just "the rich heiress"… I-I love her and I'm tru-truly happy I fell in love… with her. I want to be with Blake for... the rest of my life" she finished in a whisper.
"Listen Weiss, I-" a knock on the door interrupted Ruby, then a head of red hair popped from the now open door.
"Weiss can I-" this time was the - unwanted - host who was silenced. By a heel thrown dangerously near her head. If she hadn't dodged it lowering her whole body, it would've crushed at least her nose.
"Ok not the right moment!" she hurriedly said, closing the door and running away.
"Why did you throw one of your heels at Phyrra!?" exclaimed a shocked Ruby.
"I didn't want her to see me like this" Weiss responded in a sheepish voice, the traces left from the tears still clear on her cheeks. Her pride had simply overwhelmed her frustration and worries.
"You know you are a lost cause when you're like this? And you have too many heels and too much of a good sight…" sighed Ruby, going towards the door to pick up Weiss' left heel.
Weiss noticed only in that moment how her friend was dressed: a crimson red dress, almost identical to her sister's. The difference was that Ruby had plain red fabric around her neckline and wore a rose behind her left hear, something that really fit her style. Also, instead of heels she was wearing red ballet flats.
"You're never gonna change, hun?" Ruby said, putting Weiss' heel in place. "But don't get me wrong, you're perfect like this. Like I was saying a minute ago, I don't think - no, I'm sure Blake doesn't dislikes nor hates you. She loves you, even if this marriage was forced upon her. Don't worry about her to misunderstand, she understood a long time ago. So it's ok."
Someone, hearing these words, may not think that Ruby was just twenty. She had matured since her years at Beacon and two years of being a Huntress had given her strength, not only the physical one.
Weiss nodded, than stared at Ruby.
"What is it?" asked the red and black haired girl with a perplexed look.
"You'll always be the same dork as you've always been" the older girl responded, smiling.
"But I'm your dork, right?" Ruby said with a wider smile than Weiss'.
"You dolt!" laughed the heiress, hugging her former partner.
They stayed like that for God knows how long, one in the other's warm embrace, the reassuring warmth of their bodies soothing both of them. Eventually Ruby broke the hug. "We have to fix up that make up, don't you think?" she said gesturing towards Weiss' face. The white haired girl glanced in the mirror to see her previously perfect make up ruined by her own tears.
"Come on" Ruby offered her a hand to get up, that Weiss gladly accepted.
"Ok, but I'm not going to have my makeup done by a teenager! That be clear!" she said haughtily.
"Hey! I'm twenty now, I'm not a teenager anymore!" replied an offended Ruby.
"Yes, yes whatever…" she replied disinterested, while picking up her makeup kit.
They continued to argue while Weiss fixed her makeup and Ruby sat on the sofa, till a knock on the door announced it was time for them to go.
Blake was waiting impatiently at the altar and saying she was nervous would be an euphemism. Her hands were dripping wet and her heart was beating like crazy, almost like it had to win a race. Finally, it was the day they had waited for most of their lives. It was a dream came true and she couldn't wait anymore.
To distract herself in the meantime, she looked around the room: it was filled with unknown faces for the most part, guests that she would've preferred not to have there, but unfortunately it didn't depend on her. She had never been a social person, and too many people together had always bothered her, but she had to put up with it if she wanted to stay by Weiss' side. Weiss Schnee, Heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, the girl whose name was always on the newspapers and whose house – manor - was daily besieged by journalists. She simply had to and, as the years passed, she almost grew accustomed to it.
However, among those strangers, there were a few people she was really glad to see, the ones she was most attached to, apart from the former Team RWBY: team SSSN, team CVFY and the members of JNPR. They all were there to support them in that special day. Only Phyrra was missing, due to her being one of Weiss' maids together with Ruby.
She looked at her own wrist and stared at her old bow, now tied there and partially hidden by her sleeve. How many memories it brought back: their initiation and the encounter with the hot headed Yang, their first day as a team, their first mission. Many memories, maybe too many, but that was her life and she would've never exchanged it with nothing else in the world.
While she was deep in thoughts, the doors opened and all the audience turned that way. Weiss was standing there, proud and beautiful. She was stunning in her white dress, her face covered by the veil and her hair loose on her back, literally a Snow Angel.
She started walking down the aisle, right arm linked with her father's, and the only thought that crossed Blake's mind was "I do."
"C'mon, apologize." said Ruby elbowing Weiss side.
"S-sorry Phyrra for throwing a heel at you…" she said in a whisper, lowering her gaze.
"No problem, really. You just scared me as hell!" replied the redhead laughing. "What was that for?"
"Look Phyrra, I'm really sorry. I was… kind of having a panic attack… I guess." Weiss looked mortified, her previous outburst could've injured her friend. "I didn't want you to see me like that."
"Still proud as always" sighed the redhead. "So, are you ready?"
"I'm afraid."
"Oh Weiss, c'mere" Ruby said pulling her into a hug. "It's all right, you can do it."
A male voice came from behind them, asking the same question as Phyrra. "Are you ready?"
It was Weiss father, the head to the Schnee Dust Company and the one who arranged their marriage. He was a tall and well built man, with white hair just like her daughter. Father and daughter were very similar to one another, but there was a difference: their eyes. His were the color of ice, not Weiss' sky blue.
Weiss let go of Ruby. "Now… I think I am, father." She noticed that she had something attached to the azure fabric on her side and looked down. There, there was her tiara. She turned to face Ruby.
"Then you…"
"Shh." The younger girl was smiling and holding a finger on her lips. She had searched for it and found it, just to make Weiss more comfortable in that maybe too formal situation. Weiss' eyes were almost starting to water when Phyrra covered her face with the veil. The door opened and she stepped inside, determined to make the most important decision in her whole life.
She walked down the aisle, her heart beating so loud she was afraid someone could've heard it. She always looked ahead of her and her eyes were locked on Blake's figure, who was standing on the altar in her dark smoking.
Please, God, tell me this isn't just a dream. Blake was so beautiful, so calm – actually she seemed calm, but she wasn't at all – she was just perfect. All Weiss had always dreamed about, Blake had it. She was a girl? Who cared, she was her "prince charming" and the love of her life, even her father approved.
At the beginning, when Weiss and Blake first met, she was unsure that tiny, black haired, cat girl could be her partner: she was shy, clumsy and a crybaby, so Weiss just thought she would have to put up with her for the sake of the company. Maybe. But time changes everything, even people. Weiss saw Blake change before her eyes: that tiny body had became a strong and beautiful one, agile and fast, but feminine enough; the blush that was omnipresent on that face had been replaced by a warm smile; that little crybaby had turned into a calm and beautiful woman. Weiss slowly fell in love with her, thanks to the little private moments they shared. Reading a book in the library, having breakfast together, walking in the gardens around the manor and then studying together, training together, sharing a room in a dorm, being on the same team.
Every time Weiss looked at Blake she would find her to be more beautiful than before, flawless even.
She suddenly felt her father unlink his arm from hers. She was on the altar right in front of her lover. They stared in each other eyes for a second, holding hands. Blake took the black ring and placed it on Weiss' finger and then the priest began the ceremony.
"Blake Belladonna, do you take this woman as your lawfully wedded wife, do you promise God, Weiss and all of us here that from this point forward your arms may be her shelter, and your heart may be her guide, do you promise to support her and to love and respect and honor her for the rest of your life?"
She turned to the priest without hesitation. "I do."
Weiss took Blake's white ring and did the same as the other girl.
"Weiss Schnee, do you take this woman as your lawfully wedded wife, do you promise God, Blake and all of us here that from this point forward your arms may be her shelter, and your heart may be her guide, do you promise to support her and to love and respect and honor her for the rest of your life?"
"I do." Her heart was going to burst. Just a few more words and she would be the happiest girl on the face of the planet.
"Now, please, Blake make your vow."
She took a deep breath, not sure if mere words would convey her feelings completely. "Weiss, I have always loved you, since the first time I was brought to your house to meet you. I have to admit, at the beginning I was scared, but then I found out who you really were, a kind, beautiful girl, with the biggest heart. And I was sure I wouldn't ever be enough for you. But from this day on I promise to live and laugh with you, to stand by your side, to be the best I can be. I promise to celebrate with you in good times and struggle with you in bad ones, to wipe your tears and comfort you when you think you can't hope anymore. I'll share with you everything that I have, even if it isn't much, because I love you and I care more for you than for my own life."
Tears started running down Weiss' cheeks and she couldn't stop them. There were no words to explain what was happening in her heart, to tell her beloved how much those words meant to her.
"And now it's your turn Weiss."
She took her time before talking. She had so much to say but not enough time. Still crying she began. "When I first saw you, I thought I would have to… stay with you only for my father choice. But then… you changed, more than I expected, becoming… the woman I love. You could be a beast and my opinion of you wouldn't change, you could have all the imperfections of the world and I'd still love you. From today I want to be the one closest to you, the one you can always rely on… I'll be by your side forever and always, I'll protect you as long as I live, even at the cost of my own life… I want to know every little bit of you and I'll be the best person I could ever be, because I want to stay by the side of the best person I've ever known."
While talking she cried tears of joy because that person choose to love her and stay with her, when she was really just a little, spoiled brat. She loved her for who she really was and not for the image the media had created of her. With Blake, Weiss could be her real self, once and for all.
"Therefore, with the power rested in me by the Kingdom of Vale, I pronounce you wife and wife. And now you can kiss."
Blake leaned forward to meet the shorter girl's lips and as they kissed, the crowd of guests cheered loudly and applauded. Ruby and Velvet were crying, Phyrra was smiling and her eyes were starting to water, while Yang wolf whistled. Some people were trying to take pictures despite Sun, who was always photo bombing, covering the scene.
"This is happening!" Nora screamed, jumping up.
"Yes, it really is" Ren said in his usual calm tone.