Chapter 4

The nature of romance didn't come easy for Weiss, though he tried his best to make everything as perfect as he could.

Finding the time for dating was far more difficult than it appeared. The school year was getting hectic. As a team, they didn't have much time for leisurely activities. Days of training and study grew longer, and the testing given to them by their teachers grew tougher. Even just trying to finagle a few hours for personal time was getting to be strenuous.

Even so, Weiss was a brilliant mind when left to his own puzzles for long enough.

Planned outings were difficult, so he had to get creative. At first, he'd managed to skirt by with picnic lunches and afternoon visits to the ice cream parlor. Even though Ruby seemed to like the routine, he didn't think it was enough. So, Friday became a double date night. Complete with a dinner out in Vale, and some sort of event afterward. It ticked the boxes, but Weiss wasn't content with that either.

For him, it wasn't enough. He knew he didn't need to buy his way into Ruby's heart, but, he wanted her to know that he cared.

Blake had warned him not to overdo it, so Weiss had started with a reasonably priced bouquet of flowers. The week after that, he went on a rampage ordering various kinds of sweet confections that he thought Ruby might enjoy. A few weeks after that, he managed to get his hand on a new book Ruby had been wanting. A rather thick tome regarding mechanical engineering.

How the girl could spend hours researching something so complicated, Weiss would never fathom. It made her happy though, and that was all that mattered. He found however, that his creativity had reasonable limits. He was starting to reach them. Like always, he enlisted the advice of Pyrrha Nikos.

"So, you need something 'coupley', well, let me see." Pyrrha said carefully, tapping his chin thoughtfully. "You could always just order takeout. Have it delivered to the dorm, and watch a few movies on your scroll together."

"I wouldn't call that a special thing to do, though." Weiss retorted.

"You've never done that since you've started dating, have you?" Pyrrha grinned, his green eyes glinting with mischief.

"No, but that's because I normally take her to the theater." Weiss said, somehow deciding he maybe shouldn't have been as proud of that as he first assumed. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No…no, nothing of that sort." Pyrrha's cat-ate-the-canary smile grew wider. "You just don't seem to know what you're missing. Find a cheesy rom-com to watch, order a pizza, and get into your pajamas. Trust me, you can't go wrong. We're always so hard at work with training, we forget to relax sometimes. At least, that's how it is for Jaune and I. It truly is nice to just cuddle under the covers."

Weiss cleared his throat. "Yes…well, I've been trying to avoid that, for obvious reasons."

"It's unavoidable Weiss, you've been with her for a little over a month now. I think you shouldn't have to worry about being so gentlemanly." Pyrrha said pointedly. "Besides, from what you've said, she doesn't seem to mind."

"Well I do mind." Weiss protested.

"You're attracted to her. There is nothing wrong with that." As he said this, he offered Weiss a sideways glance. "Though…and I do hope I'm not being presumptuous…have you ever considered that such feelings may be mutual?"

"Mut…mutual?" He coughed on the word. "Surely you must be joking." Weiss was so glad no one else was able to see his cheeks turn a stunning shade of scarlet. "I'd really rather it not imagine that, actually. To think that Ruby could consider the same sort of things that I inevitably do…"

"Is it so hard to believe?" Pyrrha asked.

"It's impossible." Weiss shook his head, trying to clear the images from his mind. "Furthermore, I'd rather that Ruby not conclude that I'm a total swine, either."

"Weiss, you're one of the most dignified people in our group of friends…have you ever heard Yang and Nora compare notes?"

"I was hoping that those two were an isolated case." Weiss admitted with a sigh.

"Women have equally dirty minds, and in some cases, I'd argue that they're worse. I've heard the sort of gossip that goes on." Pyrrha softened his smile then. Eased it into something more understanding. "You know, you're not going to sully Ruby if you let your mind wander. I'm sure she does the same about you."

"I doubt that, but either way, whenever I let Ruby get that close to me…I can't trust myself. I've come to learn that. I don't know if it's because that's just her way, or if she thinks she needs to act in that sort of way, but Ruby's…well…clingy." Realizing the nature of how that sounded, he backpedaled. "Not that that's a bad thing, mind you. It's merely that it's a strange occurrence that leaves me rather sleepless…and stressed."

"Well, you know Weiss…and mind you, I wouldn't presume the worst…but assuming that I might, for once, say something rather tactless…" Pyrrha trailed off, handing his cardkey to Weiss. "Our room does happen to have a spare bed. Jaune sleeps with me, in mine. If you find yourself in need of a little space, you're welcome to use it."

"You know…" Weiss said to himself thoughtfully. "I just might take you up on that."

Yang was only marginally dumbfounded. "So…you're switching rooms?"

"Only during the night, when it's time for bed. I'll cuddle with Ruby until she falls asleep so that she knows I'm not trying to upset her. Then, I'll go over to JNPR's room and spend the rest of the night there." Weiss explained, having packed a small toiletries bag to keep in the room across the hall. "It'll be better this way. We do almost everything together, and while I think that's great, I need my space too." Then, a little more quietly. "And so does she, this'll be the best of both worlds."

"Ruby's not gonna like you leaving her here like that." Yang said uneasily. "I mean, do what you need to do and all, but I think this'll fail pretty hard."

"Yang, I don't want to hurt her. I don't want to give her the wrong impression and lastly…" At this, he sighed, slumping down on his bed. "I want her to realize, I'm invested in this. In her, for the long haul…my birthday's coming up. I'll be eighteen years old, a grown man..."

"You goin' someplace with that?"

"We might be going to the same school, but there are rules in blue-blooded society about courtships."

"Rules?" Yang crinkled her nose. "What kind of rules are we talking about here?"

"You mean besides the questionability of an adult man lying in bed with a female minor?" Weiss rolled his eyes. "We're not even betrothed. It's improper to share a room with one's chosen lady."

"Oh, come on. It's not like you're a complete asshat…and besides, I'm in the room at night. As her big sister, I've got some credibility, don't I?" Yang said seriously. "Like I said before, what are you going to do, blush yourself to death?"

"Your word doesn't mean as much as you might think." Weiss explained. "Ruby should at least be given a ring and she should formally welcomed into my family…and even then, to share a bed raises many eyebrows. I'm a Schnee, I know I could flagrantly disregard the rules to some degree. If I did though, what does that do for Ruby's image?"

"Ookkaaayyy...so you've put some thought into this." Yang said slowly."Maybe, a little too much thought, actually. I get that you're trying to protect her, but you don't need to worry so much. Ruby's a big girl, she can take it...and I'll take care of the aftermath. Any punk who messes with my sister, messes with me."

"I'm under a lot of public scrutiny, and by extension, Ruby will be too." Weiss merely crossed his arms as he leaned back into the bed. "Furthermore, if a man can't be considerate to the women in his life, then what good is he?" The corner of a cardboard box was stabbing him in his back. He reached around, grabbing the cellophane wrapped box of prophylactics. "What in the bloody hell?!"

"Condoms." Yang said lamely. "Twenty pack, three assorted sizes."

"I see that." Weiss paled. "What are they doing under my pillow?"

"I needed to stick the box someplace that you'd find them, but so that they weren't just sitting out." Yang said with an offhanded shrug. "If ya need more, feel free to rummage through the drawer. Everything's new as of this year, so none of its expired yet. Just take what you need, I don't care."

"You don't seriously think I need these, do you?" Weiss replied, wondering just what sort of strange fantasies Yang had concocted in her head.

"Well, not yet anyway…" Yang grinned as she grabbed a large shoebox from the place on her bed. "Come here a sec...wanna show you something I came across..."

Weiss sighed, doing as he was told as he began his wisely thought out defense. "I don't want to say I'm a prude, but I certainly would give it at least a year before I even considered…" Buried under a blanket of dried rose petals, a stack of rather perverted media rested inside the box. "Umm…are those…what I think they are?"

"Ruby's stash of porn mags." Yang said. "Ruby's not exactly as innocent as you want to think. She's just shy and a little nervous, but she'll grow out of that eventually. Porn's way different from the real deal, and she knows all of this is just fantasy." Yang said gingerly closing the box back up. Ruby had quite the collection really.

"That's entirely too much erotica for one person to have." Weiss blushed, wishing he hadn't seen inside.

"Yeah, well about that...listen, she's my baby sister. It's my job to look out for her. I'm going to keep pretending that she's my sweet, innocent, little sibling. But I know that's just me ignoring the truth." In fact, it was a little disappointing to accept that, and Yang was feeling a little down. "Ruby's getting older, and even though I kind of hope you keep your promise about waiting at least a little while…it's not as easy as you think…"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean…" Yang grit her teeth. What did she mean? "One make out session gets carried away, and then next thing you know...sometimes it just happens." Yang sighed, it was hard admitting it, but there it was. That's how she'd lost her virginity after all. "Not that I want you all over Ruby. I don't. I really, really don't. It's just, I'm obviously not going to be there when that happens. So, just keep them, and if it gets to that point...use them."

Weiss let out another long, slow, exasperated breath. "That…that insinuation right there, is exactly why I can't be in this room. If you're thinking that way, how will others think?"

The first night he enacted his plan, Ruby was restless, tossing and turning against him unable to fell asleep. Knowing that when she finally did, Weiss would tuck her in and slip across the hall. Ruby fought her sleepiness tooth and nail. In response to this, Weiss insisted her to be still. Truthfully, he was loathe to leave her side, but what else was he to do?

"Ruby…" He sighed.

"What?"

"If you don't go to bed, you're going to be exhausted for class tomorrow…"

"No…you're just trying to give me a false sense of security…I know you'll sneak away."

He rolled his eyes at her petulance. "It's not exactly sneaking if you know I'm going to do it…"

"I'll stay up all night if I have to, and the night after that…I'll drink coffee."

"Ruby, that's just foolish, and besides, you hate coffee…"

"I'll do it if it means you'll stay…"

"What am I ever going to do with you?" He asked softly after hearing the apprehension in her voice. "We're not in a position in our lives where we should be sleeping together every night like this. You're young, our relationship is young, and in a few months I'm going to be a legalized adult." He guided her head to his chest. Hoping that maybe hearing his heart beating would lull her. Soothingly he ran his fingers through her hair, laying a kiss atop her brow. "This is for the best…trust me…"

He would wean her off of this by his eighteenth birthday, he promised himself he would.

He was going to become a man of immense power one day. He would be able to topple the mining industry and bring it under his command. From dust, to coal, and precious metals, all of it would be in his palm. He would be given the cold, ironfisted power of his father. Hundreds, if not thousands of lives would depend on him daily to keep business flowing smoothly. From warming homes, to powering machines, and arming weapons. Dust had many applications and uses, and Weiss was going to be given the reigns of such a precarious industry.

If he couldn't do this properly, what hope did he have of holding onto Ruby in the future?

Absolutely none.

He was sure that his father would always allow him a concubine or two without a word edgewise. That was just the kind of man his father was…but Weiss wasn't like his father. He just wanted Ruby…and he wanted her to be accepted into the household with due and proper respect when the time came…but she was too young to bombard her with such expectations. It was too soon to start to prepare her mind for the possibility of marriage.

The best thing he could offer was his loyalty, and his restraint. When she fell asleep, he slipped out of bed, and across the hall.

Team JNPR were still up and about, a team of night owls, all of them. Ren was busy with his nose in a book as Nora played with some game or anther on her scroll. Pyrrha was lazing about in relaxation, enjoying the fact that his lover was gently working his hair into one thick braid before bed. Icy eyes didn't miss the soft and sweet kiss shared between the two of them. Or the fact that Nora had made an offhanded remark to Ren about it.

"I'm surprised everyone's still awake…" Weiss noticed a he set his small bag by the empty bedside table.

"Ren's studying, and those two are too busy sucking face to go to bed." Nora observed with her usual audacity. "I'm just not sleepy."

"Are you going to let her get away with that?" Ren asked offhandedly.

"She's not wrong you know, she's got us red handed." Pyrrha only laughed softly as he dragged Jaune into his lap. The girl with the bad habit of covering her form with loose fitting, unflattering jeans, was now in full display. She wore one of Pyrrha's shirts. Her long legs exposed, even as she tucked them into herself. "There's nothing to be worried about, Jaune, it's just Weiss."

And therein was her problem as she dragged the blankets over her legs and buried herself into Pyrrha's embrace. "Please don't look…" She asked to Weiss.

"Her pajamas don't fit anymore." Nora supplied, ever so helpful, and Jaune sighed. "I told her she could wear some of mine, she said they didn't cover enough…so then Pyrrha offered up one of his shirts. Now Jaune gets all worried the moment someone looks at her legs…even though they're great, and go one for miles…right Ren?"

"Nora…" Ren admonished offhandedly. He didn't need to look up to see the blush on Jaune's cheeks, or teasing grin on Nora's. "I'm sorry, Weiss, it's hard to keep her in check in the dorm room."

"It's alright…I've merely replaced Yang's bluster for Nora's." And yet, even as he voiced this, settling into bed, he couldn't help but wonder which one was actually worse.