Weiss took in a shuddering breath and let it out. She reread the letter in her hand another three times, set it down for a bit, then picked it up and read it another two times.
Her father had just arranged for her to marry a duke in Atlas.
Tossing the letter aside again and flopping down on the couch, Weiss groaned into one of the super fluffy throw pillows Ruby insisted on getting. After she and her friends defeated Salem and began rebuilding the CCT at Beacon, her father had decided that having her as heiress again would do good for the company's PR. She had immediately accepted, of course, better to have the company fall into her hands and not Whitely's, but she hadn't expected her father to pull a stunt like this so soon.
"Yo, Weiss! We're back from the store and we bought some takeout!" Yang burst into the room, arms full of groceries from the shopping trip the rest of her team had gone on earlier. Ruby and Blake followed behind her, Blake's arms carrying the rest of said groceries while Ruby held all of the takeout. Weiss forced a smile on her face, getting up to help Blake take the bags into the kitchen. Of course, the whole time that Weiss was helping Blake, she didn't realize that the perceptive cat faunus had seen straight through her facade.
It wasn't until they were all sitting down in the living room, stomachs full of takeout, Blake reading a novel on the lazy boy while Ruby and Yang bickered over what movie to watch, that the quietest of her teammates decided to bring it up.
"So, gonna tell us what's wrong, Weiss?" Weiss's head snapped towards Blake, who was now looking at her, the book she had been reading set aside for the time being. Ruby and Yang stopped their argument immediately, sharing a look of concern between them before they got up to join their teammates on the couch.
Weiss opened her mouth to respond, an excuse on the tip of her tongue, but quickly closed it. She had learned long ago that lying to her friends would only lead to regret. After seeing what lying had done to Ozpin and countless others, she decided it wasn't worth the trouble. They had all had their fair share of near-death encounters, too many for her liking, so she tried to stay as honest to them as possible, knowing that the others probably felt the same.
"How did you know?" Weiss whispered, looking down at her hands as she clasped them together. She felt the couch shift beside her as Blake wrapped her arm around Weiss's shoulders and pulled her into a hug.
"When you've been friends for as long as we have, you pick up a few things," Blake gave Weiss a small smile, giving the girl's shoulder's another squeeze before letting go.
Taking in a shuddering breath and letting it out slowly, Weiss grabbed the letter that she had tossed aside and read it to her team. When she finished, she looked up to see an array of emotions on her teammates' faces. Ruby looked horrified, Yang looked pissed, and Blake was impossible to read, as usual. Chuckling nervously, Weiss folded the letter back up and put onto the coffee table.
"I believe it's safe to say that none of you agree with my father's decision either?"
"Weiss, you don't even need to ask," Yang deadpanned, irises flashing red. "Just say the word, I'll be more than happy to have a chat with him."
"Yang, don't be ridiculous," Blake commented. "We gotta be quiet about this. I'll chat with some old white fang friends and-"
"No, no, and no," Ruby joined in. "There has to be a better way around this than beating him up or killing him. I'd rather not have to pull my teammates out of jail, again ."
Weiss smiled as she listened to her teammates bicker over how to help her . If only she could go back to her first year at Beacon and tell her younger self how incredible her teammates were going to be. Well, not that her younger self would believe it if she was being honest. But hey, at least she could try?
"Well, he can't marry her off if she's already married, right?" The three girls stopped and stared at Yang, blinking in surprise. It was actually . . . not an insane idea. From Yang of all people.
"Are there rocket launches involved?" Ruby asked, voicing a main concern of the team's.
"Wha- no! Of course not, I'm being serious!"
Ruby shrugged noncommittally, accepting the answer. "Okay listen, that might work, except for one thing,"
"And what would that be, dear little sister of mine?"
Weiss interrupted the two sisters, choosing to voice her opinion now before Ruby beat her to it. "I don't want to get married at all, Yang. That's kinda what the issue is right now."
"At least hear me out, okay?" Yang gulped under Weiss's 'You better talk fast' look and continued. "As long as you're legally married, your dad can't do shit about it. If he even tries to say anything besides 'Congratulations' we just slam the official paperwork on his desk as proof and BAM! Problem solved!"
Rubbing her temples, Weiss mulled over Yang's idea. On one hand, it was actually a decent plan that might actually get her father off her back. But besides that, the plan still involved several complicated steps. They had to still have a wedding, so that meant actually planning a wedding. They had to get the official paperwork, which admittedly was the easy part. And most importantly . . .
"Who would I marry?" As soon as the words left her mouth, Weiss immediately regretted it as Yang's face lit up like she was a child on Christmas day.
"Oh, oh, oh! I have waited so long for this day, you don't even know!" Yang was practically squealing at this point, already on her feet and pacing around the room excitedly. "Time to play matchmaker for Weiss Schnee!"
"Please don't-"
"Yang, what about Sun?" Ruby cut Weiss off, joining her sister in pacing around the room.
"Tempting, but Sun is dating Neptune, remember? Though I think we should have it be a faunus," Yang paused and tapped a finger on her chin. "Ilia, maybe?"
"Hey don't I get a say in this-" Weiss tried interjecting again, immediately getting drowned out by her two teammates as they entered a full on debate.
"What about me?" Blake's suggestion caused a sudden halt in the sisters' pacing and all three girls turned to stare at her in shock. Blake shifted uncomfortably under their stares but continued. "Think about it. Weiss is one of my best friends, we spend a lot of time together already, it wouldn't be that different. And not only that, but I'm a faunus so there's a bonus for getting under Jackass's skin, right?"
"Are you sure about this, Blake?" Weiss's eyebrows furrowed with concern. "I know Yang and Ruby were just throwing ideas around, but my father will actually be pissed. He might even try something."
"Weiss, I'll be fine," Blake reached over and patted Weiss's hand. "I'm volunteering myself. It's not like we'll be actually married and I'm more than happy to help a friend out." Blake gave Weiss a reassuring smile as the heiress looked deep into the faunus's eyes, trying to find some sign of regret. When she found nothing, she sighed and returned the smile.
"So, now that you two are officially going to be a couple, when should we plan the wedding?" Yang's grin widened as the two quickly looked away from each other, red dusting both of their faces.
"I think just getting a marriage license would be fine," Ruby suggested, completely ignoring what had just happened. "That way it would make it more realistic like you guys didn't want your relationship to go public."
"Ruby is right," Weiss cleared her throat, trying to make that blasted blush go away. "There haven't even been any rumors about us, so we should try to keep it on the down low as much as possible." Blake nodded in agreement.
"Okay, so first thing tomorrow we'll go down to the church and get you two a license!" Yang gave the two a wink as she slid off the couch. "For now, let's all go to sleep. It's been a longer night than any of us anticipated."
"I need to write out a response to my father, but I'll retire soon," Weiss stood and smoothed out her dress, walking over to the desk on the side of the room. But before she sat down again, she paused and turned to her team. "Thank you guys, by the way. I really appreciate this. Especially you, Blake, I know this can't be easy."
"It's fine, Weiss," Blake walked over and gave the girl a hug. "We're more than happy to help a friend out."
"Awww, GROUP HUG!" Weiss let out a very undignified squeak as the two sisters almost knocked her and Blake down as they tackled them in a hug. But regardless, she let out a laugh as she tried to pat Yang's back, her arm trapped in the embrace. She was lucky to have such amazing friends.