Weiss Schnee relaxed against the gazebo bench. Legs crossed, breathing steady just as she'd been taught, portraying the perfect picture of elegance despite the non-stop stress she'd been under lately. She sipped her tea and studied the girl bounding up the steps across from her.
"Sorry I was late! Got caught up doing writerly things." The girl's red ponytail bounced as she struggled with various folders full of notes and documents. Minor annoyance aside, Weiss couldn't help but smile at the faux incompetence; this was Nora Valkyrie after all, three-time award-winning biographer, mother of two, and somehow still a complete and total mess. Every bit the girl Weiss knew from high school.
"It's fine," Weiss shrugged, "if anything, it gave me time to gather my thoughts." Nora paused, pushing her square glasses up her face.
"Good! If you don't mind me asking before we start, why me?" She cocked her head, "actually, better question, why now? With the wedding coming up in a few months so you must be absolutely swamped with things to do."
"Too true. Can I be candid?" Weiss asked.
"Yup, kinda key to the process!" Nora grinned. Weiss set her teacup down with a gentle clink.
"Well, I read your previous body of work, of course."
"Go on."
"All insightful, brilliantly written-"
"Flattery will get you everywhere."
"-In fact, I'm not sure I've ever known a writer whose diction so quickly outpaced her spoken vocabulary."
"Th-thanks?"
"And then I read, 'How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Snowflake.'" The smile immediately was wiped off Nora's face.
"Oh." The single word was spoken with so much dread Weiss couldn't help but smirk.
"Did you think I wouldn't read it? My own, lovely bride-to-be's tell-all biography?" She asked. Nora shifted uncomfortably, though shifting uncomfortably for her was more like wobbling back and forth for anyone else.
"Well, I mean you are the CEO of a billion lien company," Nora stammered. Weiss let the silence hang, a tactic that had served her well in countless boardroom meetings and negotiations. "Was it really that insulting?" Nora continued, voice rising in pitch and tempo, "Because I can see how you might think it was insulting, but I really was trying to tell the story from the subject's perspective and I think I accomplished that even if perhaps in the process I ended up writing a somewhat one-sided narrative that didn't always paint you in the most favorable light but that's kind of in the nature of-" she paused as Weiss raised up a hand.
"I think you did an excellent job. That is the only reason why you're here. That I know you, and that you happened to write for my fiancée is nothing more than a happy coincidence. You do good work, Nora. You have real insight."
"It means the world to me that you think so, Weiss." Nora took her hand, girlish smile slowly returning. "I've been brainstorming ever since I got your message. There's so much here to explore, so much people are curious about that is currently little more than rumors and hearsay."
Weiss tapped her heel against the table leg. "A not insubstantial portion of Snowflake pants me as the frozen, scorned deity hurling icicles from the sky – which admittedly, from her perspective I probably was – I think I would just like to tell my side of the events at Beacon and afterwards."
"We'll be covering the whole post 17 meltdown I assume."
"Uhuh."
"Your 'Awakening,' period?"
"Naturally."
"Oh wowie, and we have to cover what happened at the dance that year. Everyone was talking about that for months."
"… I suppose."
"Also the murder."
"Alleged murder, but sure."
"And not to mention the innovation that tripled the worth of your company, the hostile takeover, the realization of who you were truly in love with, the proposal, also that little part where you died-" Nora's head popped up from the notes she scribbled furiously in. "Huh. There is a lot to cover. What kind of theme are we going for here, Weiss? Redemption? Conspiracy? Scandalous tell-all?"
"All of the above. But more than anything, I want this to be the story of how a silly, spoiled, selfish 17-year-old became the person I am today. I want this to be the story of how Weiss Schnee grew up." The filtered rays of sunlight coming through the vegetative roof of the gazebo lended her eyes a playful twinkle. The girl across from her pulled out three separate notepads
"So where do we start?"
"I'm so pleased you invited your friends over during the break my dear, they were delightful." Isabella Schnee said as the in-house manicurist tended her nails.
"Well thank you, mother, for allowing it." Weiss said cordially, continuing to straighten her hair. Her politeness hid a growing suspicion toward her mother's ulterior motives for broaching the subject.
"Perhaps a touch unrefined, a bit rough around the edges, but delightful nonetheless. Diamonds in the rough as it were."
"More like pearls before swine…" Weiss mumbled.
"Hmm?"
"Oh nothing."
"Honestly dear, they were lovely."
"Happy to hear that mother, really."
"All of them."
"Good."
"So which one are you sleeping with?"
Weiss immediately dropped the curler, yelping as heated metal kissed her neck. The manicurist ceased momentarily, looking between them with unmitigated surprise.
"Dammit mother."
"Go ahead," Isabella growled at the servant, "Or continue ogling your tip away." The rabbit faunus averted her eyes and dove back into the work with added zest.
"What makes you think I'm sleeping with any of them?" Weiss demanded, nursing the newly forming red welt on her skin.
"Intuition. You've never shown an interest in any of the suitors your father and I have selected for you –"
"They're all buffoons!"
"Hardly."
"So just because I don't take an interest in the trust-fund boy band brigade, I'm automatically a lesbian?"
"Oh, a wealthy husband, what a horrible concept," Isabella rolled her eyes, "really darling, it became obvious enough when you were in middle school; we had to selectively hire maids with small cup sizes because you would order the C's and D's to read you bedtime stories and would never let them leave."
"I liked the stories!"
"Which is why your interest waned after we 'downsized?'" Isabel perked a stoic eyebrow, "so many loyal maids, put out to pasture. They could have had a massive class-action lawsuit had they only figured out the common denominator."
"Mother!" Weiss stared, slack-jawed and horrified.
"Only joking. Well, mostly joking."
"Wow."
"You're a teenager, you have hormones, and you're clearly not interested in men. Surely you've been with someone since you started at Beacon."
"No mother," Weiss sighed, "even if I was interested, even if I was a lesbian, I am aware of what happens if someone of my standing is caught in a scandal."
"Sweetheart, that's what the wealthy have paperwork for!"
"Pardon?" Weiss had no way of processing what she was hearing.
"You ply them with wine and presents, and then make them sign paperwork that will bankrupt them if they dare speak about your intimate goings-on with anyone. I was a three on the Kinsey scale dear, I know what I'm talking about."
"Okay: First of all, ew. Second of all, eww. Thirdly, like anyone would ever actually agree to that!"
"They're called Consort Accords, and they're much more common than you think. Every Schnee has had a consort by the time they're 17. Multiple even. I did, your father did, and your sister did. Sexuality is an important element of an aristocratic debutante's repertoire."
"Mother. Dusts take me, I promise you there is no one. No one that I'm in love with. Not even a little bit. Nobody." Weiss had long given up straightening her hair and stood in front of her mother, arms crossed.
"Who said anything about being in love? Having a consort is about exploring the carnal plane with someone you have a degree of attraction toward. It doesn't always have to be romantic or complicated. And as a Schnee, it is your duty to be skilled in all aspects of the realm of physicality. Combat and otherwise."
"So the shorthand for this entire conversation is that you want me to bang my friends?"
"Crass." Isabel clucked her tongue disapprovingly.
"This entire conversation is crass!"
"This entire conversation is necessary. And it's not just me dear." Her mother said softly. Weiss froze. "Your father also feels the same way. He may not approve of the gender flexibility the way that I do, but he does find it strange that you haven't so much as mentioned a single paramour. Virgins make terrible CEOs."
Weiss look down and mumbled something unintelligible.
"Enunciate darling, speak from your diaphragm."
"If. You. Bring. The. Paperwork. To. Me. I. Will. Consider. It." Weiss practically spat every syllable.
"Reginald!" Her mother snapped her fingers twice, beckoning the suited butler near the doorway.
Weiss paced back and forth across the dorm room. In truth, her mother had won the second she mentioned her father. He would revoke her status as heiress to the company in a second if he doubted her ability or commitment. To take the company in her own hands in her lifetime was the goal, and she'd be damned if she let some uncomfortable, contrived drama threaten her plans for the future. The solution had come to her in a flash of horrible genius. She had just heard Ruby talking about how much she liked to try new things, how open-minded she was. Granted, the subject at hand was varying flavors of cookies, but the concept carried over, right? Weiss's fingers tapped up and down the binder nervously. She kept looking out the window, expecting rose petals and a wry grin to come bounding across the campus at any moment. Much to her chagrin, Weiss felt butterflies rising up in the pit of her stomach. She couldn't imagine why; it made little to no sense. This was Ruby she was talking about: adorable, simpleminded, sweet Ruby who practically worshipped the ground she walked on. Asking was basically courtesy at this point, right?
Did Weiss actually like Ruby, though? The answer had initially been no, but as she mulled it over again and again in her mind, that answer began to change. Ruby's cheerful demeanor could be annoying at times but was, more often than not, endearing, though Weiss was loath to admit it. The way Ruby constantly popped up and stuck her nose and everyone else's business out of nothing more than concern was oddly sweet. She had undeniable talent as a warrior. And on a baser level, being roommates, the occasional glimpses of her lithe, athletic body had not been entirely unpleasant… Okay, that was a massive understatement. The one-time Ruby had come back from a shower with nothing more than boy shorts and a tank top on, clearly bra-less, it had rendered Weiss unable to sleep for days. The more she mulled it over the more it grew on her.
BLAM. Weiss shrieked. Ruby came careening through the dorm room door with all the enthusiasm of an over-caffeinated SWAT team. Her hair was disheveled and a small stream of flower petals followed in her wake.
"Heeeeeey Weiss! Sorry I'm late, got caught up, uh, studying with Velvet."
"Calm down you dolt! You almost gave me a heart attack!"
"Sorry, sorry," Ruby walked over with a pep in her step and laid on Weiss's bed, striking an inadvertently suggestive pose. The slight sheen covering her skin from the workout just made it worse. Weiss somehow managed to choke on her own tongue. "So what's up? What did you want to talk to me about?" Ruby asked. Weiss hesitated, a pause that Ruby immediately picked up on. "You know you can talk to me about anything, right?"
Weiss took a deep breath. She was braver than this, she just needed to take the plunge. Bracing herself, Weiss handed Ruby the contract. "My parents are encouraging me to take a consort. Encourage is too weak a word actually, they're basically blackmailing me. Do what they want or lose the company. But what they want is simple enough. And I was wondering if you would be willing."
"Uh, Weiss." Ruby said, leafing through the document.
"It wouldn't have to be a long-term thing, and it wouldn't have to be romantic or complicated," Weiss stammered, mirroring what her mother had told her.
"Weiss, wait,"
"You know what, forget I asked. I should have known you wouldn't get it, you've probably never been with anyone either," for some reason, Weiss' eyes were burning.
"Hey, stop." And then Ruby was in her lap, arms wrapped around the back of her neck, silver eyes gazing deep into hers. Soft lips grazed her cheek. The fact that Weiss could feel her pulse in her face told her how red she must've been, porcelain to tomato in 10 seconds flat. "I'm flattered, really." Weiss was totally taken aback. Foreign sensations of heat and discomfort bounced everywhere from her toes to her forehead.
"Wha-what–what's" She hated the fact that her own voice approximated that of a clucking chicken. Ruby put a finger over her lips, the sensation was electric and instant. She could feel Ruby's warmth across her legs, stockings and thin skirts between them concealing nothing and everything at the same time.
"I like you, Weiss." Weiss could see shooting stars, hear a chorus of angels serenading triumphantly from the heavens, and envision a giant musical number involving the entire school.
"Ruby," Weiss breathed heavily, "I-"
"But not like that." RIIIIIIIIIIIP. Somewhere in the skies above, a record skipped and the angels' soundtrack grinded to a halt; they screamed in anguish as the shooting stars impacted, perforating the clouds and setting them all aflame, in turn raining fiery death onto the musical number below. Weiss' jaw dropped. "it's pressure from your parents, and while I can't really say that I 'get' it, I would be happy to pretend like I'm your 'consort,' when they're around." Ruby flipped to the end of the folder and pulled a silver pin from her satchel, signing enthusiastically, "But we can't really be together, because I'm with someone else, okay?" Ruby smiled at her apologetically and handed her the folder. As soon as Weiss took it, ruby zipped away as quickly as she had appeared. The lingering warmth in her wake dissipated into something approaching an arctic blizzard. Weiss stared at the wall, wondering how much effort it would take to just merge into it.
I'm with someone else.
"Ruby Rose just rejected me. Me."
"So," the feminine voice startled Weiss. Yang Xiao Long leaned against the doorway, face drenched in sympathy. "Normally I'd pretend like I totally wasn't eavesdropping but that… that was brutal."
"Yes," Weiss said, still too shocked to bother projecting the mildest outrage, "it was."
"Want to go grab something to eat? Talk about it?"
"More like something to drink."
"You know most bars around here card, right?" Yang cocked her head.
"Then I'll buy the damn bar."
"Which one?"
"All of them."
"So that was the night you ended up buying Hunter's Vigil." Nora nodded, a thoughtful expression on her face as pieces begin to click into place. Weiss rubbed the bridge her nose tiredly. This was already far more unpleasant and draining than she'd expected.
"In hindsight, not exactly my finest moment."
"A defining one, though. Without Hunter's Vigil you might have never met Cinder later that year, which led to… well, the coup. That whole thing"
"Lets... not get ahead of ourselves." Weiss re-crossed her legs uncomfortably. "The night I bought Hunter's Vigil was also the first night I drank anything stronger than wine. And I wasn't exactly pacing myself. I assume you probably heard what happened the morning after."
"No." Nora's eyebrows shot up.
"Well, in retrospect, I suppose that was the peak of my long, downward spiral. That was the morning I woke up next to her."
AN: Hello! Welcome to Frozen Faunus' wild ride! This is the first story I have worked on in over a year, as well as being my first story in the RWBY universe. It has been a while, so my writing may come off as a bit rusty, but it will get better over time. The basic premise was to take your garden variety White Rose and flip the power dynamic. I have listed Weiss/Ruby as the main pairing since the story revolves around their relationship, but I intend to be rather vague about who they actually end up with before we get there, as I feel it makes for a better story. This is primarily an exercise in exploring Weiss and her comical coming-of-age story, and I want to give her plenty of room to shine… and crash and burn, of course, when the situation calls for it. I hope you enjoyed the first chapter. Comments/Reviews mean the world to me, whether they are of the constructive criticism variety or simply kind words.
