I uploaded a lot of these in quick succession, but thats only because I had 3 already finished and was working on the fourth when I decided to upload them. These updates probably will not be coming this rapidly in the future, but I do expect one every few days (unless something comes up, which unfortunetly is rather common in my line of work.)
Disclaimer - I love these adorkable characters, but unfortunetly, they are not mine.
Yang stretched as she walked down the hallway, a massive yawn slipping from her mouth as she placed her hands behind her head. "Well, I don't know about you three, but I'm gonna go stretch a bit and take a run. Wake up a little bit, ya know?" For the first time since the end of class yesterday, Yang's brilliant never-get-me-down smile seemed genuine, and it stirred a feeling deep in Blake's chest that made her look away for a moment.
"I'm just going to go to the library and read for a while." Yang snorted at Blake, before tossing her arm over Blake's shoulder and pulling her close, making Blake's eyes widen and her cheeks to flush at the sudden increase in heat. She had to clamp down on her instinct to snuggle into the warmth that Yang always seemed to exhume.
"Aww c'mon kitty cat, you know you wanna take a run with me!" Yang directed her smile straight at Blake, her lilac eyes boring into Blake's. Blake had no idea how Yang could do that, how she could go from being terrified, hurt, and nearly broken, to this cheerful chaos. But she also knew just what a Yang 'run' entailed, and had no desire to go through that torture.
Blake just shrugged Yang's arm off, stuttering slightly. "N-no, no thank you Yang. I'm at a really good point in my book, I just want to read today." Blake dashed off, waving behind her as Yang's smile slightly faded, before she turned her gaze on her other two teammates, who were right behind…wait, where did they go?
Ruby had Weiss's hand gripped tightly as she yanked Weiss behind her, trying to keep hidden from Yang. No one wanted to go through her version of a 'run'. Weiss was stumbling behind Ruby, trying to ignore the tingling feeling creeping up her arm from Ruby's hand in hers. And failing. Her pulse was racing and Weiss was fairly certain she wasn't out of breath because of the running they were doing. Finally, after what felt like an eternity (but was closer to only a minute) Ruby stopped in place. Weiss wasn't prepared for such an abrupt end to their little escape, and couldn't stop her momentum.
Time seemed to slow for a moment as Ruby turned to face Weiss, her grin slipping into comic surprise as Weiss's forward motion sent her careening into Ruby, sending them both crashing to the floor in a painful huddle of limbs. Weiss shook the cobwebs from her head before opening her eyes, and immediately feeling her face turn bright red. Ruby coughed for a moment, before opening her eyes.
Weiss was straddling the younger girl, their faces only inches apart, Weiss's hands planted on either side of Ruby's head to hold herself up. The redness on Weiss's face was reflected in Ruby's, her arms splayed out slightly as she felt her breath catch. This close to Weiss, the only thought running through her head was 'perfect'. Weiss's snow white skin was flushed, a cute scattering of red on her cheeks. But her eyes, her eyes were what had Ruby's thoughts fascinated. Those ice blue orbs were staring into her own, and it felt like straight inside her soul.
Weiss couldn't find it in herself to move. She'd never been this close to Ruby before, never realized exactly how fit Ruby really was. She could see the subtle lean muscles moving beneath Ruby's skin, and when her eyes trailed slightly downwards, could see that while she wasn't her sister, puberty had been kind to the younger girl. Her chest rose and fell softly, keeping Weiss's eyes pinned to them for a moment before they trailed lower. Weiss felt a clenching inside her as her legs noted the subtle firmness of Ruby's stomach as she straddled Ruby. A sudden shortness of breath hit her before snapping her shocked eyes back to Ruby's, realizing she had just been checking her partner out.
Something about the way Weiss had slowly ran her eyes down her body sent Ruby's head into a spin. She gulped when she noticed the way Weiss had paused as the heiress had stared at the redhead's chest, before meeting Weiss's eyes once more when her head snapped up to stare back at her. The air was oppressive between them, a heaviness on it that had them both frozen until a taunting voice shattered the stillness.
"Oh, should I leave you two alone?" Yang's voice rang out, amused. Her amusement deepened further at how quickly the two of them shot upright, Ruby moving so fast a few rose petals blew out into the air. Weiss was still in such shock she couldn't find the breath to reply to Yang, but Ruby's childish whine brought her back to earth.
"Yaaaaang!" came the cry from Ruby, her face still red and twisted in a childish pout. "It was an accident!" she proclaimed loudly, as Yang kept guffawing to herself. Weiss quickly brushed at her skirt and held her head high before marching proudly down the hallway away from the two sisters, who had begun tussling. Her stance fell as soon as she was out of eyesight though, unable to hold onto the illusion. The hallway she had wandered into was fully deserted, seldom used even during the week, much less the weekend.
Wrapping her arms around her midsection, Weiss leaned against the wall to catch her breath for a moment. Sliding down it, she found herself sitting on the floor, staring down at her crossed arms and unable to comprehend what had just occurred. Her skin was still tingling from being pressed so close to Ruby. A feeling she was not familiar with was settled in the pit of her stomach, making her feel queasy. Weiss didn't know what to think anymore. A thought flitted across her mind. Well, he did say he'd always be available…
Weiss found herself staring at the door marked 'Councilor' for five minutes straight. She couldn't convince herself to knock on the door. She had just turned to leave when a voice called out.
"You coming in Weiss? Or do you plan on freezing the entire hallway first?" Startled, Weiss looked down to see that her aura had caused ice to creep out from her, icing over the bottom edge of the door and continuing into the room. She swallowed, before opening the door to find Azure sitting at his desk, casually leafing through a magazine. He glanced up when she entered and smiled softly.
"Well, I hope that doesn't stain the carpet," he mused. Seeing the look of embarrassment on her face he immediately waved it off. "Don't worry about it. I was just kidding. I'm sure it'll be fine. Anyways, what's up?" Weiss blinked. When she had come to the office, she hadn't expected him to greet her in such a laid back fashion. Weiss sat in the chair, her posture ramrod straight, with her hands folded calmly in her lap. Azure tossed a small ball at the wall to his right, causing it to bounce off the wall, into the door, and then into a basket next to the door. The force of the throw caused the well-oiled door to shut. Weiss raised an eyebrow at him, which he replied with a shrug. "What can I say, I'm a bit lazy at times. Want something to drink?" At her silent negation, he shrugged and stood up. "I'm going to grab a drink from the fridge in my room. I'll be right back." Weiss appreciated the gesture, understanding he was giving her time to put her thoughts in order.
Sitting in the office, she let her eyes wander over the shelves. She hadn't paid attention to the décor when she had entered previously. Her eyes noted the warm wood paneling on the walls, the quiet nature scenes hanging from the walls. A cluttered bookshelf lay behind the desk, only about half full of books. The rest of the space was taken up by rolled up papers, a model of a Beowolf, what resembled one of Ruby's half-finished weapon projects, and what appeared to be a large round rock. A few small haphazard stacks of papers were scattered on the desk, along with a Scroll. Her musings were interrupted by Azure coming out of the door in the back, a bottle of fruit juice in hand. He took a relaxed seat at his desk and cocked his head at Weiss. She took a deep breath, then let it out once she realized she had no idea what to say. Azure leaned forward on his desk.
"Miss Schnee, if it makes you feel better to sit here in silence, I'd be happy to oblige. However, I get the impression that you have a lot on your mind, and I think it may be in your best interest to just let it out. Anything said stays between us, no matter what. Hell, even if you tell me you are a member of some secret apocalyptic cult dedicated to worship of a large skillet, I'd keep it between us. I'd think you were a nutcase, but I'd keep it between us." Azure's humor had the intended effect on Weiss, letting her relax slightly.
"Mr. Silva…are you acquainted with my father?"
Azure's gaze turned calculating for a moment, before he responded with deliberate casualness. "I know who he is. But I have never met him personally."
Weiss's expression hardened slightly, but she couldn't hold it in anymore. She just blurted out what she was thinking. "Don't spare my feelings Mr. Silva. We both know he's been horrible to lots of people and done some very questionable things. The face he shows to the public is this charming businessman, a strong capitalist, someone who donates to 'worthy' campaigns…but we know what he does to keep the business strong. I know how he treats the Faunus who work for him. I know what he's like, and I never want to be like him, but sometimes I feel like it's the only way to be me. I spent my childhood in a cold, rigid environment. I never had friends. I never really knew my parents, they spent so much time away, and when they were there, they weren't really. I was just a tool to my father! I was taught by tutors, and had everything handed to me, but I…I don't know how to do so many things. I learned how to cook, sing, fence, handle business matters, but I don't know how to…how to…I don't know how to FEEL!" Weiss fell back in her chair, the effort of saying that draining her.
Azure interlocked his fingers before his face, leaning forward as he did. "Well, first thing I'm going to say is don't call me Mr. Silva, please. Azure. I'm not even a decade older than you." He shot her a quick grin before his expression fell back to a solemn one. "Secondly…if I may ask, what is it you heard during the fight?"
Weiss's eyes went wide as she froze in place briefly. She shuddered for a second, her eyes dropping, before she starts whispering. "They kept going over my childhood. The voices weren't even insulting me, they just kept reminding me how alone I was. And singing, singing that stupid song to me. They kept telling me how I'd always be alone, and how I was going to become a pawn in my father's games. How I'd get married off to secure some stupid business alliance. Kept saying I would lose Ru-my team. How I'd lose my friends, they weren't real friends, they were just pretending or using me or pitying me. I'd be alone again. I'd be cold and alone. Telling me it was only a matter of time before Blake tried to stab me in my sleep, that the White Fang would find me. That fight on the train…that White Fang soldier with the chainsaw, when he spoke about killing me. There was so much hate in his voice, so much rage. It was like my very existence offended him. I'm just…I finally have friends. I finally have people who actually like me, even with how mean I am. And I'm so worried I'll drive them away." Azure silently handed Weiss a tissue, cluing her into the fact that she had tears gathering at the corners of her eyes.
"Weiss, I'm not sure if you realized this, but I have your file right here." Azure patted his Scroll sitting next to his hand, bringing Weiss's attention to it. "This file contain your transcripts, teacher commentary, observations on your public interactions with your team, and videos of your sparring matches and whatever other fights the academy was able to document, such as your initial battles in the Emerald Forest. Would you like to know what these files tell me about you?" Weiss nodded hesitantly.
"Your grades and test scores show an individual with high intelligence. Videos of your sparring matches demonstrate someone driven, with a determination to defeat anything in their path. Multiple teachers comment on how hard you study, how eager a student you are. Oobleck's observations of you during the events preceding the breach incident are even more telling. He gave you a glowing recommendation, but cautioned that he felt you needed less caffeine as you seemed a bit high-strung." Weiss's expression twisted as though she was trying not to snicker. Azure let out a half laugh. "Yes, I am very much aware that is the pot calling the kettle black. And if you were ever curious, he was that bad when I was in school as well. But none of these reports hint at anything you just told me." Azure sat back in his chair and looked up at the ceiling for a moment. "Weiss, you said you don't know how to feel. Since it's fairly obvious you have a lot of feelings locked up, I'm going to assume you mean you don't know how to express how you feel." Weiss nodded again.
"Well, the first step is deciding what it is you're feeling in the first place. You fear being alone, but that's to be expected. Hell, fear was the point of yesterday's lesson. You fear that your personality is going to drive away the only friends you've ever had, but Weiss, that's clearly not going to happen. If it was, they'd have left a while ago. Think about it. Yang would have tossed you out a window already if she couldn't put up with you…she's not exactly subtle about her anger, nor does she hide it well." Weiss giggled, unable to argue that point. Azure glanced over at Weiss, his tone shifting to a softer one. "It's not just loneliness, is it? What else is bothering you? Is it your unresolved feelings for Ruby?" Weiss's laugh was immediately choked off as she began coughing in sheer surprise, her face blazing red so fast she felt dizzy from the blood rush.
"Wha…what? Wait, what are you…I mean, uh, what?" Weiss stuttered out, unable to wrap her brain around what Azure had just said.
Azure's laugh rang out loudly in the small office. "Clearly too soon. I'm sorry, forget I said that." Getting his chuckles under control, he wiped at his eyes for a moment before taking a couple deep breaths. "How about you tell me if you feel any better, having got that off your chest?"
Weiss's brain managed to reboot itself, and she sat up straight again before nodding. "I…yeah. Yeah, it actually did, a bit."
Azure gave a little nod. "I will always listen to you Weiss. But, remember, I'm not the only one. Friends listen to friends. And you have a lot of good friends here, people who do care about you. They'll listen to you Weiss…and sometimes, your team is the best medicine out there, when it comes to feelings. That I say from experience." Weiss pondered his words for a moment, before standing up and walking towards the door. Her back to him, she paused before the door.
"Azure?" He glanced up at her back. "Thank you," her voice so quiet he had to strain to hear it. Opening the door, Weiss leapt backwards in shock to see a hand coming towards her head. Said hand was attached to the arm of one Ruby Rose, clearly just in the process of knocking. Ruby's face immediately went blazing red as she froze, looking anywhere but at Weiss. Weiss gaped for a brief moment, before shaking her head and sliding past Ruby, keeping her eyes on the ground so no one could see the flush that had just made its way onto her cheeks. Azure's cheerful voice rang out, snapping Ruby out of her frozen state.
"Ah, Miss Rose. Interesting coincidence there, wouldn't you say? Please, come in."