Chapter 10: Acceptance
The practice room was oddly silent. Weiss was sitting primly on the floor, with her legs tucked neatly beneath her and her hands folded in her lap. Her eyes were soft and unfocused as she stared at nothing in particular. Her cheeks were stained from all the tears she'd shed, but her expression was placid and calm.
Yang was sitting nearby. She was resting her head in her hand and looking at Weiss with a smile that was equal parts consternation and relief. She hadn't said a word since Weiss had commanded her to hug her. She'd just been content to let Weiss's emotions play themselves out. Weiss had often wondered in the past what it would take to buy ten minutes of silence from Yang. She never would've guessed the price would be so steep.
Yang scooted over until she was sitting side by side with Weiss. "Well!" she finally said. "That was intense!"
Weiss didn't say anything. She was so emotionally exhausted right now that all she could feel was numbness. The slight lowering of her eyes was the only indication that she'd heard Yang at all.
"Are you doing okay now?" Yang asked. She put her arm over Weiss's shoulders.
The sensation of Yang's arm around her was enough to start drawing Weiss out of her emotional stupor. Out of sheer habit, she resisted feeling comforted, but it was far too late to pretend that she wasn't. She didn't even want to pretend anymore.
Weiss leaned into Yang and rested her head on Yang's shoulder. She sighed softly when Yang pulled her in even closer.
Weiss said, "I'm gay."
"Yup!" Yang said cheerfully. "You're really gay!"
Weiss grimaced. Unfortunately, it seemed that Yang hadn't developed any tact since yesterday. Weiss said, "I don't find this very funny. I'm…I'm a deviant."
"Okay, no," Yang said. "You need to cut that out."
Weiss sensed that Yang was about to give her another lecture. She tried to pull away, but Yang held her tight.
"Look me in the eye," Yang said.
Slowly, reluctantly, Weiss lifted her head to meet Yang's gaze. Yang's eyes were as intense as Weiss had ever seen them without turning red. They'd never looked more beautiful.
"You are not a deviant," Yang said. "There is nothing wrong with being gay."
"It's unnatural," Weiss said.
"No it's not!" Yang said. "Who even told you that?"
"It's…you don't understand," Weiss said.
"You're right. I don't," Yang said. "What do you think is so wrong about it?"
Weiss couldn't hold Yang's gaze any longer. She pulled away, and this time Yang let her go. She stood and took a few steps to distance herself from Yang. After a moment's silence, she asked, "Does your father know, Yang? About the way you are?"
"Yup," Yang said. She stood up as well. "He was a little confused at first. I think I had to explain what pan meant about five times, but he's cool with it."
Weiss crossed her arms around herself. "Mine wouldn't be," she said.
"I'm sure he'd come around sooner or later," Yang said. "I mean, you're his daughter."
"No!" Weiss said, spinning around. "I'm not just his daughter! I'm his heir! His legacy! I'm not allowed to be imperfect in any way!"
"Well what would he expect from you? It's not like you can change what you feel," Yang said.
"Don't you think I know that?!" Weiss snapped. She let out a frustrated breath and looked down. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't be yelling at you."
Yang closed the distance and put her finger on Weiss's chin. She tilted Weiss's head up until their eyes met. Yang gave Weiss a beaming smile and said, "Weiss, you are perfect. Don't let anyone ever tell you that you're not."
Weiss felt like laughing bitterly. Her whole life had been an exercise in living up to impossible standards. She'd constantly been berated for not being good enough. How ironic that now, when she was at her lowest, someone would tell her she was perfect.
"Thank you, Yang," Weiss said softly.
"I mean that," Yang said.
"I know," Weiss said.
Silence settled over the room again, until Weiss asked, "Yang? Would you still have tried to…seduce me if you'd known it would go like this?"
"I knew it was going to be a challenge, but if I'd known all this was going to happen…" Yang said. "I guess I might have gone about it a little differently."
"But you still would have wanted to go to the dance with me?" Weiss asked, amazed.
"Yeah! Of course!" Yang said.
"But why? Why me?" Weiss asked. "Why bother with a woman if you're still attracted to men?"
"It's not about you being a man or a woman. That kind of thing doesn't matter to me," Yang said. "It's about you. I like you."
"Why?" Weiss asked.
"Because you're hot," Yang said.
Weiss scowled at Yang. She wasn't sure if Yang was joking with her or not, but she'd been hoping for a more substantial answer than that.
Yang chuckled. "You're cute when you get all huffy."
"I'm being serious here!" Weiss said.
"Me too," Yang said. She playfully leaned in close to Weiss. "But do you want to know why you're hot?"
Despite herself, Weiss felt a blush color her cheeks. "Do tell," she said sardonically.
To Weiss's surprise, Yang looked serious all of a sudden. Yang said, "Because you're confident. You've always got a plan. You know what you want. Because you fight like the world will end if you don't win and you still manage to look like you're dancing. Because you're fun to be around when you drop the pretense. Because you're a good person. You walked into this school on that first day thinking you knew everything, but you were still willing to admit that you were wrong about Blake, no matter how much it hurt your pride."
Weiss's mouth hung open. She'd been expecting some list of her physical attributes, not what she'd gotten. A profound emotion well up in her. If she wasn't careful, she'd start crying again.
Yang asked, "Want me to go on?"
"No, that's…no," Weiss said. "Do you really mean all that?"
"Every word," Yang said.
"I would never have imagined," Weiss said.
Yang smiled. "Alright. Your turn!"
"What do you mean?" Weiss asked.
"Well it's kind of obvious that you like me," Yang said. "I just wanted to know why. Fair's fair and all."
"I suppose it is," Weiss said. She took a moment to collect her thoughts. She knew the answer to Yang's question. She'd known for some time, even though she hadn't admitted it to herself. She just didn't know if she could make Yang truly understand.
Weiss asked Yang, "What am I to you?"
Yang scratched her head. "Didn't we just go over that?"
"I'm Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company. A symbol. A prize. A gateway to fabulous power and wealth," Weiss said. "And you don't care about any of that! You've never even thought about it, have you."
"Not really," Yang said. "So?"
Weiss gave a resigned laugh. She was right. Yang didn't understand. Weiss wasn't sure she wanted her to. She said, "Do you know how many people have ever sincerely told me that I'm perfect?"
"I'm sure lots of people have," Yang said.
"No one except you," Weiss said.
"What?" Yang asked, looking upset. "But…what about your mom and dad?"
"No one," Weiss repeated. "Just like no one's ever offered me such unconditional friendship and support. It's been…you've been wonderful."
"Awww. Come here," Yang said. She held out her arms for Weiss, offering a hug.
Weiss stepped forward and let Yang's arms wrap around her. Yang was so warm and soft, yet Weiss could feel Yang's strength lingering just below the surface, waiting to be unleashed. It was a heady contrast, more potent than any wine or tonic. Weiss sighed with complete contentment. It was hard to believe, but there was something there in Yang's arms that all the riches in the world couldn't buy.
Yang eventually let Weiss go. They both stood there, smiling at each other in silence. Weiss's eyes began to roam over Yang's body. Now that she could look without shame, she found herself entranced like never before.
"You're so beautiful," Weiss whispered.
Yang grinned and gave Weiss a thumbs-up. "You know it!"
Weiss's eyes snapped back up to Yang's, and she blushed a deep red. She hadn't actually meant to say that out loud. Yang certainly wasn't shy about her looks. In fact, Weiss would go so far as to call her arrogant. It was baffling how such arrogance could be attractive.
"Welp," Yang said, stretching her arms up over her head. "We should probably get out of here."
"I agree," Weiss said. She had no idea how long Ren and Nora had reserved the room for. It was fortunate that no one else had come to claim it.
Yang walked over to where Myrtenaster had come to a rest and picked it up off the floor. She handed it to Weiss. "Don't forget this."
"Thank you," Weiss said. She took her sword and clipped it back onto her waist.
Yang started walking for the door, but then she stopped. She turned to Weiss and said, "Hey Weiss! You want to go on a date sometime?"
"I…!" Weiss stammered, caught off guard. How could Yang ask her something like that just out of the blue? It was so informal and unromantic. However, Weiss found herself saying, "I do. But…."
"But?" Yang asked.
"This has all been so sudden. I'm not sure if I'm ready for something like that," Weiss said. "Maybe we could just go somewhere and do something as friends instead."
"What do you think a date is, silly?" Yang asked. "Besides, we've already sort of been on one."
"We have?" Weiss asked.
"Remember when I made you dinner? I thought of that as a kind-of date," Yang said.
"It…could be interpreted that way," Weiss said.
"I could tell how badly you wanted to kiss me," Yang said.
"What?! I wanted nothing of the sort!" Weiss said.
"If you say so." Yang shrugged. "But you were sure staring at my lips a lot."
Weiss had almost forgotten about that. She hadn't understood at the time, but in hindsight, Yang was probably right.
Weiss asked, "You noticed?"
Yang gave Weiss a wink. She said, "And don't forget a little while ago when you actually were kissing me."
"You've made your point!" Weiss said. Her cheeks were burning bright red again. She cleared her throat, stood up straight, and said, "Yes, Yang Xiao Long. I would like to go on a date with you."
"Yes!" Yang said, pumping her fist. She gave an exaggerated imitation of a formal bow. "Miss Weiss is only too kind to accept."
Yang unexpectedly took Weiss's hand and planted a kiss on it. Weiss felt her cheeks redden yet again. She really needed to get a handle on her blushing, but it was hard to concentrate when her stomach felt like it was filled with butterflies.
The walk back across campus was more difficult than Weiss had anticipated. She wasn't just walking; she was walking with Yang. She had to fight off the urge to take Yang's hand.
Yang, for her part, seemed to be having no problem acting like everything was normal. The only hint she was giving away that something momentous had happened was that her ever-present grin was slightly wider than usual. Weiss was jealous.
After a brief stop at the locker room to drop off their weapons, Weiss and Yang made it back to Team RWBY's dorm. Weiss was more than ready for some peace and quiet, but when she and Yang stepped into the room, they were greeted with a, "There you are!"
Ruby was standing in the middle of the room. She had one hand on her hip and the other pointing at Weiss. Blake was there too in her usual spot on her bed, peeking out from behind a book. Weiss didn't know why she was surprised to see the two of them. This was their room too after all.
Ruby asked, "Are you okay, Weiss? I was worried about you. You don't usually sleep in so late."
"I'm fine," Weiss said. "Last night was just…exhausting."
"Oh yeah, the dance!" Ruby said. "Neptune said you left early looking really upset."
Weiss realized that she would have to apologize to Neptune at some point; even if she couldn't explain to him what had happened. She said, "It was just a misunderstanding. Everything is fine now."
Yang chimed in, "I'll say it is."
Weiss shot Yang a look. Suddenly, she realized that Yang had no idea that everything that had happened today needed to be an absolute secret. Why hadn't she thought to warn Yang?
Weiss nearly panicked when Blake asked, "What have you two been up to?"
"Oh ho, ho," Yang said. "We've been—"
Weiss elbowed Yang hard, knocking the air out of her lungs. She hastily said, "Training! We've been training for the Vytal Festival!"
"Yeah," Yang wheezed. "Training."
Blake looked suspiciously at Weiss and Yang for a moment. Then she turned back to her book and mumbled, "Finally."
"Finally?" Weiss asked. "What do you mean finally?"
Blake didn't look up. She just said, "I mean that you two have finally started 'training'."
Weiss could practically hear the quotation marks around the word training. She didn't like what that implied, but it was too dangerous to question Blake further. She said, "If everyone is satisfied, I am unacceptably far behind schedule on my homework for this weekend."
Ruby said, "Just as long as you're feeling alright."
"I am. Thank you," Weiss said.
Weiss walked over to the writing desk and sat down. Her neglected textbooks were still sitting there, waiting for her. It was bizarre settling down into her routine again after this week had turned her world so completely on its head, but she could use some normalcy right about now.
Weiss's scroll buzzed in her pocket. She absently pulled it out, opened it up, and glanced at the screen.
Yang Xiao Long:
Nxt weekend u+me *heart*
Weiss casually closed her scroll and slipped it back into her pocket like nothing unusual had happened, but a dopey smile had pasted itself on her face. She resigned herself to the fact that it was going to be difficult to concentrate this week.
That night when Weiss went to bed, she fell asleep immediately. Never before in her life had she slept so blissfully.
Author's Note: So can I finally stop using the word deviant, Weiss? I felt dirty every time I had to write it.
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