Two girls were running in the streets of Vale, trying to escape to rain and get to the airfield. Occasionally, a white light flickered under Weiss' feet, helping her keep up with Blake. She could use them more and get out of the rain faster, but she didn't want to leave her friend behind.
They finally reached the airship, breathing heavily and their clothes completely soaked. Looking around, they saw that they weren't the only students. A dozen people were in the airship, dressed in Beacon's uniform or in their own clothes, with one point in common, they all had been caught in the rain. Even those that had umbrellas with them were not spared because of the wind. One of them talked to them as the doors closed behind them. "You're lucky, this is one of the last airship to Beacon, the rain and wind are getting worse and they soon won't be able to fly." Blake nodded a thanks before making Weiss sit at one of the extremities of the airship then sitting herself between her friend and the other people in the ship, hiding her.
"What are you doing?" Weiss was a little irritated by Blake's actions, as she did not understand what was going on.
Blake threw a little smile her way, trying to get her to lighten up. "Well, a knight should protect the dignity of her princess, don't you think?" She threw a quick glance at Weiss' chest, who's face took a pretty shade of red when she realized that her bra was showing through her shirt.
Weiss zipped up her hoodie, mumbling a 'thank you'. She had hoped she wouldn't have to do it as she was feeling even colder now with the fabric pressed against her skin, but at least she wasn't showing her underwear to every person on board. Suddenly, Weiss felt very tired, due to the run through Vale and her lack of sleep. "Blake, can I… Can I sleep on your shoulder? I'm feeling tired."
Blake looked at her friend. Of course she had no problem, she let her do it earlier, but seeing Weiss having difficulties keeping her eyes open, she refrained from commenting and smiled. "Get some rest, I'll wake you up when we arrive."
Weiss put her head on Blake's shoulder, closed her eyes, and fell asleep almost immediately. For her, the wait for the last students until the pilot had to go and the flight to Beacon all passed in an instant. She opened her eyes when Blake called her as they were about to land. "Weiss, we're here."
Weiss was starting to get used to Blake's voice waking her up. Her sleep being interrupted had never felt so pleasant. She opened her eyes and the two girls stood up, getting reading to disembark. The heiress was rubbing her arms, trying to stop herself from shaking. She felt Blake's hands joining hers, trying to help her warm-up.
"Can't have the ice queen catch a cold," said Blake jokingly.
Weiss frowned at the nickname. "Don't…" Trying to get angry, she realized how tired she was. But she didn't want Blake to call her an ice queen. "Don't call me that!" Fighting the fatigue, her voice came out louder than she planned.
Blake was surprised by the outburst. "W—What?" She didn't want to upset Weiss, but she was not about to let her talk to her like that. She was about to answer back when she felt a cold hand grab hers.
"Let's go."
Weiss looked like she felt bad for having lost her temper, so Blake decided to let her take the lead. They leaved the airship and ran all the way to the buildings, as the rain and wind had grown even stronger since they left Vale.
When they finally arrived to their room, they were even more soaked than before, even if they could have sworn it wasn't possible.
Blake was shaking now that the water had had the time to seep into her clothes. "We'd better take a hot shower quickly before we catch a cold."
"You can go first. The… ice queen can wait."
Blake felt bad hearing the bitterness in Weiss' voice. "Weiss, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that, but I think we should take our showers before talking about."
Weiss sighed. "You're right. Go take your shower, I'll go after you."
Blake could see that Weiss was trying to suppress her shaking, hoping the Faunus wouldn't see how cold she felt. Blake had an idea, and she hoped it wouldn't scare Weiss away. "You know… maybe we could go together. We're completely soaked, and the sooner we warm-up the better."
Weiss did like the idea of taking her shower with Blake a lot, but she wasn't sure if she was comfortable being seen naked. Even in the locker room, she always did her best to stay in only her underwear as little as possible. She was debating with herself when she was interrupted by a flash of light and a loud noise. The rain had turned into a thunder storm, and it was very close.
"I'm glad we managed to get inside before it really started. Blake?" Weiss looked at her teammate that had become completely stiff after hearing thunder, the grip in the heiress hand getting tighter. "Blake, are you alright? Blake?" Weiss was getting worried seeing Blake's reaction. Her eyes were wide open, she was shaking, and she could see that her ears were trying to… do something but were held by the bow.
Blake's free hand grabbed Weiss arm, not letting her move too far. "Please, don't leave."
Hearing in her voice that she was on the verge of tears, Weiss made her decision. "Come on, let's go take that shower." She guided Blake to the bathroom after making sure the door of the dorm was closed, and started to remove her wet clothes.
Once her shirt, hoodie and skirt were on the floor, Weiss started to feel a little better. She was still cold, but at least there was no wet fabric against her skin. Her hair was still in a ponytail, as she was in no hurry to have it cling everywhere until she dried it. She saw that Blake had not moved and she was starting to get embarrassed to be the only one to undress. "You know that you're supposed to take off your clothes to shower, right?"
Blake shook her head, trying to gather her thoughts. "Right sorry." She managed to put the thought of the storm raging outside in the back of her mind, knowing that it would come back in full force the next time she would hear thunder. She started undressing herself, removing her vest and under shirt, letting them fall on the floor next to Weiss' clothes. They were quickly joined by her shorts and stockings while the Heiress was removing her underwear. Blake was about to remove hers when she made the mistake—not that she would consider it one—to look at Weiss.
She stopped moving, admiring the flawless white skin, the slender legs, toned by years of training, the perfectly shaped butt, usually hidden behind skirts and dresses. Her gaze continued going up, leading her to the heiress' chest. She was not as well-endowed as Yang, but Blake realized she liked smaller chests, especially since it wasn't as noticeable with Weiss' smaller build. Especially when she wasn't wearing her combat outfit, which made her chest look smaller. At least it showed her legs. Her beautiful, beautiful legs…
Weiss removed her tiara, letting her white hair cascade around her, captivating Blake even more. She noticed that the Faunus had stopped moving, looking at her. "Like what you see?" She hid her embarrassment behind flirting. If they were to take a shower together, she would be seen naked. Better get used to it.
"You… you're beautiful."
Weiss smiled at the compliment. "Thank you, you're—"
She was interrupted by the thunder and Blake's scream that followed it. Seeing the fear in the amber eyes and the shaking of Blake's body, Weiss' concern was growing. "Blake, are you okay?"
"I'm f—fine."
Weiss saw through the lie easily and grabbed her friend's hand. "You're not. Are you scared of thunder?"
Blake hung her head. "It's stupid, isn't it? A huntress scared of lightning."
Weiss frowned and hugged Blake. "No it's not. You know what? Let's take that shower and we'll talk more about it later." Weiss let go of Blake and blushed when she remembered their respective state of undress. "I'm starting the shower. Hurry up and join me." She went into the shower and started it, hoping to blame the redness of her cheeks on the hot water. She heard Blake remove her underwear and the full realization of what was about to happen hit her. She was about to take a shower with the girl she liked. The incredibly beautiful, naked girl she was in love with. It was also the first time someone other than her sister saw her naked, and even that had been years ago. She knew that no one would have called her ugly but, being in the same team as Yang, she had been a little anxious to see Blake's reaction. Weiss also couldn't stop squealing interiorly remembering the girl she loved saying she was beautiful. She was starting to feel warm, and not only because of the hot water.
She then remembered why they were together in the first place. Blake seemed afraid of thunder given her reaction and she had decided to go with her to make sure she didn't hurt herself if lightning decided to strike during her shower. The image of Blake, eyes wide open and shaking in fear helped her focus on her goal.
Weiss was quickly joined by Blake, still shaking from the thunder. They showered quickly, Weiss stopping Blake from slipping in the shower each time lightning stroke nearby as she tensed up.
They exited the shower, clean and warm, even if not as relaxed as Weiss had hoped, and decided to dress up for the night, not intending to leave the room. Blake decided to not put her bow back on. For once, she wouldn't have to dry her ears quickly to hide them before going back to the room.
Weiss sat on the floor, her back against her bed, and invited Blake to sit next to her. Blake accepted the invitation and sat down close to Weiss. So close the heiress could feel the shaking.
"You want to talk about it?"
Blake took a deep breath. "When I was younger, we didn't live in the best conditions. It was usually an abandoned building, and we were lucky if it didn't have too much holes. We didn't stay in the same place for long, so even when we finally found some place that wasn't too bad, we could be in a place barely better than a cardboard box the next day. Wind was bad, rain was worse, thunderstorm… we've had a few buildings fall down on our heads during thunderstorms. Being woken up during the night, completely soaked, one of my friend crushed by a part of the house and having to relocate immediately is… awful, some of the worse memories I have of the White Fang. That's why I—I'm afraid of thunder." Tears were starting to form at the corner of her eyes and she had difficulties finishing her sentences. "I know… I know it's stupid b—but being caught in the rain and everything… I just… I don't…" Blake was unable to finish, her face red with shame. "I'm so ridiculous."
"You're not." Weiss took Blake's hand in hers, slowly caressing it with her thumb. After a moment of silence, she continued "I'm… afraid to be left alone. By Yang, by Ruby. By you. What will happen to team RWBY when we graduate? Will we stay together? Or will everyone go their separate way? I don't want that!" Weiss' voice was louder than she intended, letting her emotions control her for a moment. She looked at Blake, a sad little smile on her face. "We're all scared of something, it doesn't always make sense."
Blake took Weiss in her arm, holding slightly tighter when lightning struck nearby. "Then we'll have to get over those stupid fears together."
The two girls stayed like that a few moments, before the atmosphere was broken by the sound of a stomach rumbling, causing them to separate.
Blake giggled. "I guess even you get hungry, prin…" She stopped herself, remembering Weiss' reaction from earlier.
"You—You can keep calling me princess, you know." Weiss liked it when Blake used that nickname. "It's just 'Ice queen' I don't like. It makes it sounds like I have no feelings, like I'm a heartless woman who don't care about anyone."
Blake looked down, apologetic. "I'm sorry, it was just a joke, I didn't mean to hurt you."
"I know that, I just… Please don't use it."
Blake nodded, a small smile on her lips.
This time, it was Blake's stomach that decided to remind the girls that it was time to eat.
"Glad to hear I'm not the only one whose hungry." Weiss looked at the two of them, dressed in a nightgown and a yukata respectively. "I don't know about you, but I'm not going out like that."
Blake looked at Weiss' legs. Her long, white legs. "I'm sure anyone would appreciate the view." She blushed and brought her eyes back the Weiss' face. "I mean, yes, I don't really want to do it either. Maybe we could have someone bring it here?"
Weiss scoffed at the idea. "I could ask my father to send a servant, but I'm pretty hungry and waiting for him to come from Atlas…"
Blake grinned at her. "But where the Schnee family has servants, I have friends." Weiss winced and Blake eyes went wide, realizing what she just said. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry Weiss, I didn't mean it like that, I—"
"It's okay, I know you didn't mean it." Weiss managed to hide how much those had hurt. It wasn't on purpose, but Blake's word had stung a lot.
Blake wasn't fooled. "Still, I shouldn't have said that."
"You know what? I'll forgive you if you kiss me." Weiss pointed at her left cheek, showing Blake where to kiss. Either she gets flustered, or she kisses me. Win-win situation.When she saw Blake come closer, Weiss closed her eyes to avoid being the one blushing. She was surprised when she felt Blake's lips to the right of where she was pointing, just on her scar. "Wha—?" She stopped talking when she saw Blake's smile. It was a very soft, very gentle smile that made Weiss' heart beat faster. "S—So, what was your idea so we could eat?" Weiss avoided looking at Blake, trying to calm herself.
"I was thinking of calling Sienna, she works at the cafeteria. Maybe she could help us." Seeing Weiss' confused expression, she added, "Ocelot Faunus? In charge of the food?"
Weiss nodded, remembering having seen her on occasion.
Blake took the scroll she left in one of her pockets when they went to shower and called Sienna.
"Hi Sienna, this is Blake… Just a little rain, it's fine…yes, I wondered if—" Blake was interrupted by the thunder, a lot louder than it had been before. She screamed and dropped the scroll. Blake sat back on the floor and hugged her knees, shaking.
Weiss picked up the scroll and sat down next to Blake, putting an arm around her shoulders. Since Blake's face was still hidden, she decided to answer the phone.
"Hello, this is Weiss, Blake's friend."
"Is Blake all right?" Panic could be heard over the phone.
"She's fine, it was just a little scare. She wanted to know if it would be possible for you to bring Blake and I some food." Weiss paused, thinking about the situation. "I realize how awkward it is to ask for something like this when we never talked, but I think it would be better if Blake didn't leave the room for now."
There was a pause while the person on the line thought about what Weiss asked. "Do you like fish?"
"I… yes?" Weiss didn't understand what this had to do with her question, but decided that answering was the best course of action.
"I'll bring something for you two. Tell Blake she'll have to give me the recipe for her tuna sandwich in exchange." She hung up and Weiss put the scroll next to her.
She started caressing the back of the still shaking Faunus, trying to get her to calm a little. "She's going to bring us food, she said you'll have to give her a recipe for that."
Blake nodded. "Did she say what she would bring?" Her voice was muffled, but still understandable.
"I'm not sure, but she did ask me if I liked fish." Weiss knew it wasn't really nice to tease her right now, but maybe it could take her mind of the storm.
Blake suddenly lifted her head, looking right at Weiss. "You said yes, right?"
"Well, it's not really my favorite, so..."
"Did. You. Say. Yes?"
The piercing amber glare almost made Weiss shiver. "I did."
The prospect of having her favorite food did wonders for Blake's mood and she almost completely stopped shaking.
Weiss stood up and went to take a brush in the bathroom. She noticed that Blake's hair needed brushing when she stroked her back, and they needed to do something while waiting for their food. She came back in the room, sat on her bed and patted the space in front of her, inviting Blake to sit there. "Come here, your hair need brushing."
Blake ran her hand through her hair and winced when it got caught. She sat next to Weiss, letting her do it. "Please be careful with my ears." Her cat ears flicked, illustrating her words.
Weiss movements slowed down when the brush got near the furry appendages, being careful not to hurt her. After a moment of silence, Weiss spoke. "I always wanted to brush someone's hair."
"You never did it with your sister?"
"Winter is… not really the type of person to do that." Weiss stopped brushing and looked at the result of her work. "You have very pretty hair."
Blake ran her hand through her hair again, appreciating how well it flowed. "It's your turn now, give me the brush."
Weiss handed the brush and turned, letting Blake take care of her hair. Blake was about to start when the sound of thunder filled the room and Weiss felt the brush hit her on the head. "Ow." She rubbed her head and looked at Blake. "Maybe we should do it another time?"
Blake was shaking, but her face showed determination. "No, I can do it. It won't—it won't happen again."
Weiss was a little anxious, but she quickly lost herself in the rhythm of the brush. She felt Blake tense up each time lightning stroke, but she managed to avoid hitting her. A knock on the door brought Weiss back to reality, reminding her how hungry she was.
Blake went to open the door while Weiss prepared Ruby's desk to serve as a table once more. The Faunus exchanged a few words before Blake took the tray a gave a piece of paper to the old woman.
Blake put the tray on the desk and the two girls sat down to eat. It was a simple fish dish, burbot, with a lemon and butter sauce and potatoes on the side. A simple dish, not the most balanced, but filling and tasty, exactly what they needed after a run a full speed through Vale.
They started eating in silence, being too hungry to stop to talk. Weiss quickly felt better and was curious about the deal that had been made to get them the food. "What was this recipe you gave her?"
"While we didn't lack food in the White Fang, it wasn't varied at all. I tried different thing to make eating the same thing over and over easier and found a very good recipe of tuna sandwich. One day, she saw me make one and has wanted to know how I made it ever since."
"So you gave up the well-guarded secret of the Belladonna sandwich for us?"
Blake blushed. Hearing it said like that made it sound so stupid. "It's not like I really wanted it to stay a secret, but there are so few things I can be proud of during my time in the White Fang I… it sounds stupid, but I didn't want to lose that."
Weiss took a deep breath. She wanted to support Blake, but anything related to the White Fang brought up bad memories. "I would love to say that fighting for your rights and against oppression is something you could be proud of, but…" Weiss stopped, trying to gauge Blake's reaction.
Blake nodded, telling her to continue. She was interested to hear Weiss' opinion on the White fang in a maybe more thought-out way than last time.
"I told you how my father came home angry after White Fang's attacks, but that wasn't all. There used to be rallies in front of our house every week when I was little, led by the White Fang. It was the old symbol, but for a little girl, it didn't matter. I had nightmares almost every night in which they managed to enter our house and kidnap us or beat us up or kill us or burn the house with us inside or… well, I didn't sleep well. Growing up, I had to hear them scream at me how ugly my hair was, how I was too small, not sexy enough…" Weiss sighed. "It hurt a lot at the time, but I'm better now."
"For what it's worth, I think you're beautiful and I know Velvet agrees with me."
"Of course I am." Blake rolled her eyes but her smile didn't disappear. She was starting to know the heiress. "But thank you." You have no idea how much it's worth coming from you. "Anyway, the rallies ended the day a servant got beaten up by the crowd for the horrible, horrible crime of working for us. My father got incredibly angry at the idea it could have been me or my sister and managed to get them to stop rallying in front of our home."
"They consider that working for the Schnee family mean supporting them and their treatment of the Faunus."
"We also offer relatively high-paying jobs that are usually safe, save for the occasional beat up by a crowd." Weiss tried to calm down. Blake had nothing to do with it. "I'm sorry, it's just that those guys come at our house, clean, cook, do their job and go home to their family. They have nothing to do with the mines, nothing to do with the Faunus and no influence on the SDC decisions. The White Fang brings innocent into their conflict, all in the name of justice, that's why I can't stand them."
"And that's why I left."
Weiss looked at Blake's face, unable to read her emotions. "I know, I didn't mean to blame you, I just wanted to tell you what the White Fang was to me."
"I don't think this is something we'll ever completely agree on. But it was interesting to hear about the other side. And I always thought the people insulting your hair were stupid."
Weiss couldn't stop herself from laughing a little. "Dolt." She caressed her hair, appreciating the how smooth it was after having been brushed by Blake. They resumed their eating, having stopped during Weiss story. They wanted to eat quickly while the storm had calmed down a little to avoid accidents.
They put their empty plates on the tray, deciding to wait until the next day to bring it back. Weiss considered eating one of the apple that had been brought with the meal, but decided to keep it for breakfast when she heard the storm pick up outside. She wanted to try and get Black mind of it before things got too bad.
Meanwhile, Blake went to get the things they bought out of the bags. They had left them near the door when they came back, not wanting to risk damaging them. She first took out her new perfume and nail polish and went to put it in her part of the bathroom, smiling the entire time.
Next, she took her new books and put them on the shelf near her bed. Her teammates had allowed her to get almost all the bookshelves in the dorm for herself, Ruby and Yang usually reading on their scrolls and Weiss having left most of her books in her suitcases. She said she was organized, so it didn't matter if her books were not on bookshelves. Speculation had run rampant with her teammates, Ruby suggesting that she had secret SDC documents and Yang suggesting she had smut. Blake hadn't participated too much, not wanting to attract too much attention to her own readings.
The last item in the bags was Weiss' fashion book. Blake hadn't realized how heavy it was until she took it. "Here." She handed it to Weiss as she came toward the beds.
"Thanks." Weiss took the book but didn't go anywhere. There was something she wanted to ask Blake. "So… Are you still interested in looking at the book together? Or would you rather read yours?"
While she wanted to start reading her books, Blake had to admit that she found the idea of spending more time with Weiss very appealing, and not only because she helped her handle the thunder a little better. "Sure."
Weiss lay on her bed, trying to leave as much space for Blake as she could.
Blake frowned. "I know I ate a lot, but I'm not that big." She didn't want Weiss to make herself uncomfortable for her sake. "And maybe you should be on the left, that way you'll have your left hand free and I'll have my right."
Weiss pouted a little since it was an idea she should have had herself, but she moved on the other side of the bed. Blake lay next to her and helped her stabilize the book.
The next hour was spent reading the book, marveling at the pictures inside and taking notes on what outfits could be worn during a photoshoot. Each time lightning struck outside, Weiss took Blake's hand in hers, not letting go until the shaking almost stopped. Thanks to her, Blake had found the storm not as bad as the others and quickly felt herself falling asleep. When keeping her eyes open became too difficult, Blake turned her head and whispered into Weiss' ear. "Let's sleep." She was too tired to articulate properly, but Weiss understood and managed to put the book on the shelf next to the bed by herself.
When she turned back, Blake was already asleep. "Good night, Blake."
The next morning, Weiss woke up with someone in her bed for the second time of the week. She was starting to enjoy it, but finding how to make it happen more often would have to wait, as Blake was also waking up. "Good morning."
It took a few seconds for Blake to answer during which she was fighting to wake up. "Morning." A few more seconds and Blake finally remembered why she shared a bed with the heiress. She blushed when she remembered the state she was in during the storm. "Do—Do you think we could keep this between us? The thunder, the shower… sleeping together." She didn't want people to know how scared of thunder she was and was hoping to be able to get over it before the rest of her team found out.
Weiss felt a twinge of sadness, but she understood why Blake didn't want people to know. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone, especially Yang. I wouldn't want to hurt your chances with her." Weiss managed to keep her tone from showing her emotions, but her words betrayed her bitterness about the idea that Blake loved Yang.
Blake was confused, thinking that Weiss was not completely awake. "What are you talking about?"
Weiss didn't want to talk more about the subject, but it was her chance to confirm it and, if she was correct, start getting over it. "You said you realized you liked girls because of the girls at Beacon, one on our team in particular, and you like blond hair. Not hard to figure it out."
Blake sighed. Weiss was completely mistaken and it would be better to correct her before it caused problems. "It wasn't Yang, and I like light-colored hair, like blond or white."
Weiss didn't expect this answer and it took her a few moments to answer. "It was Ruby? But she's not—"
Blake interrupted her. "It wasn't Ruby either." Blake looked at the confused blue eyes in front of her, a gentle smile on her lips. "For a girl so smart, you can be an idiot sometimes. It was you."
Weiss was unable to speak following the revelation, and she was interrupted by a scroll's ringing when she finally got her composure back.
Blake went over Weiss to answer the scroll the heiress left on the shelf between their beds after having called Sienna. "Hello… Yes, it's me…" Blake's eyes went wide when she heard why she was called. "No, please, I—I'll bring it right now…yes." Blake dropped her scroll, gave her hair a quick brush and put on her clothes so quickly that Weiss only managed to ask her what was going on when she had a hand on the door and a book in the other, ready to go out. "I have to bring this book back to the library right now or I'll have to pay a late fee." And with those words she was gone.
Weiss got out of bed and put on her usual clothes while thinking about what Blake had said before getting called. 'It was you'. Three simple words, but since she heard them, Weiss could think only of one thing. She had to tell Blake how she felt about her.
We're getting close to some big events it would seem. ;)
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Have a nice day and until next time.
