Weiss never knew that noise could be so much fun.
Yelling, arguing, verbal abuse... these were all negative things. They were things which she had experienced growing up from time to time. All courtesy of her father. She had no idea that these things could also be so endearing. That they could be positive. Somehow Ruby and Yang were making it so.
The heiress sat behind the two sisters as they were engaged in a life or death struggle of stamina and skill. At least that's how Ruby had explained it to her. This was hardly a battle against the creatures of Grimm. It wasn't a duel against a rogue huntsman. It wasn't even a spar in Professor Goodwitch's class. No, these were pixelated representations of people on the TV screen. Somehow, someway, the two girls were making the digital avatars they controlled seem exciting. Like there were actual stakes in winning and losing.
"No!" Ruby screamed. "No, Yang! Stop it! Stop it! You cheater!"
Weiss didn't know if cheater was the right word. She didn't exactly understand the strategy and mechanics behind the video game, but it seemed like Yang had found and exploited a loophole. Her ninja character had wound up driving Ruby's own into the corner of the screen, where Yang then proceeded to leg sweep her opponent over and over again until his health bar reached zero. Maybe it was a dirty move, but all was fair in combat. Perhaps if Ruby would strategize better she would not be caught in such a trap time and time again.
Ruby growled as the game once again declared Yang the winner. Soaring Ninja wins!
"That's such a cheap move," Ruby complained.
"Yeah? Well maybe you should find a way to avoid it," her sister countered.
The redhead set her scroll down as she glared at her smug sibling. "Well maybe one of us is actually trying to have fun and do cool moves. Not just hitting the same two buttons over and over again!"
"My two buttons beat all of yours? So what you're saying is that I can literally beat you one-handed."
"Not what I meant!"
Though Weiss would never admit it, she felt that Ruby's rage was amusing. To see her get so worked up over a video game was just so... her. It was something that she and Winter had never gotten to experience. Something that they never would. So to see this, to be able to almost live vicariously through the two girls, was fun in itself.
"I bet even Weiss could beat you," Yang said as she glanced back at the girl in question.
Weiss felt a sudden chill run through her body. "Wait, what?"
"Yeah," the blonde continued. "You try so hard to pull off all those complex moves and combos, Ruby. But I bet even a total noob could beat you."
As Weiss predicted, and as Yang had totally intended, Ruby got defensive at the slight. "That's not true!"
Of that Weiss was absolutely certain. She had never played this game in her life. She had never touched a video game period. Such things were beneath her station back in Atlas.
Here in Vale though... here in Patch with Ruby and Yang, Weiss felt completely detached from all of that. She felt more free than she ever had in her life. Clad in her familiar light blue nightgown and with her white hair loose and hanging down, it was all so comfortable and liberating. She had no appearances to maintain. No masks to wear. No prim and proper attitude to convey.
She had never been to a sleepover before. People such as herself, members of the Atlesian elite, did not do such things. Sure, having coffee or lunch with her so-called "friends" back in Atlas were common occurrences. Such gatherings were expected from those such as herself. She was expected to go out and socialize with those who possessed power and influence. As her father said, it wasn't what you knew, it was who you knew.
Such events always had a purpose behind them, whether that purpose was on the surface or not. In a way they were practice for the business meetings and dealings she would undoubtedly have in the future. One thing they never did was have an event simply for fun. Fun for fun's sake was something which Weiss had only begun to experience upon first coming to Beacon.
And fun was exactly what Yang was having, as she continued to egg Ruby on. "Really? What do you say, Weiss-cream? Want to do what we've all wanted to do for the whole semester and shut Ruby up?"
At the beginning of the semester Weiss would have jumped at the opportunity. Now, however, Ruby's noisy behavior had just become a part of her everyday life. A part which she would not give up willingly.
"I don't know how to play," she confessed.
"Whaaaaa?" Ruby exclaimed. "But Primal Combat is a classic! It's like, as old as we are!"
Whatever truth there was to that statement did not change Weiss' response. She had still never played a video game in her life. Just as she had never owned a pet in her life. Coming to Patch and spending time with Ruby and Yang was showing her how much she did not have, despite having all the lien she could ever ask for.
Zwei was currently resting atop her lap, seemingly happy and content as Weiss had her arms wrapped around his body protectively. The dog did not seem to mind the attention and affection being heaped upon him, and Weiss took the opportunity to give it to him as often as possible. Perhaps he was used to this sort of thing growing up with the two girls.
Once there was a time the girl would have balked at the prospect of getting her nightgown covered in dog fur. Now though she would gladly pay the price so long as she got to hold onto the little critter for just a little bit longer. In her mind she had to make up for all of the lost time she had not been able to enjoy having a pet.
"I'm sure you'll beat me at it," Weiss continued. "Why bother?" What she did not say was that moving and playing the game would require banishing Zwei from his comfortable sleeping spot atop her lap.
"It's not about winning though. It's about having fun!"
Weiss scoffed. "Is that why you were just screaming at Yang when you lost again?"
Yang winced, sucking in a breath through clenched teeth. "Ouch. Sick burn from the ice queen herself," she said as she offered a raised palm to Weiss.
The heiress looked at the hand for a moment before raising her own, which Yang proceeded to slap with far more force than was necessary. Weiss winced at the contact, but otherwise did not comment.
"B-b-d-don't worry about that," Ruby stammered. "That's just all part of the fun! Screaming and telling your friends that you hate them is all part of the gaming experience. Tell her, Yang."
"Pretty much," the blonde confirmed. "You should see how some of these people act in multiplayer games on the CCT network. It's like a matter of life or death to them."
At that point was it really just about fun anymore? Was it just a game, or was it something taken far too seriously?
"Here, you don't even have to get up to play," Yang said as she handed the girl her scroll. "This is your controller. On the screen you have different button pads. The left controls movement and the buttons on the right are for your attack moves. It's super simple."
Weiss accepted the scroll and looked down at the screen. Indeed there were icons which represented buttons on it. On the left was something resembling a plus sign, while on the right were four circles of differing colors.
"Okay, now it's time to choose characters," Ruby said excitedly. "Me and Yang usually play as the Soaring Ninja because that's who our Uncle Qrow plays as. He's the one who taught us to play."
In Weiss' mind the image of another older blonde man appeared. She wondered if their uncle was anything like their father. If he was then meeting him would probably be another pleasant experience.
"I don't know who to choose," Weiss admitted.
There were a lot of options. Ruby had gone for the Soaring Ninja again for the reason she had just explained. However there were so many other choices. There was the Valiant Knight. The Arcane Wizard. The Stealthy Archer. Half a dozen other choices, but nothing which stood out to the girl immediately.
Why couldn't there be a fencer character? If the avatar was supposed to be an on-screen representation of herself it would have been nice to have something like that. In the end however she wound up choosing the Valiant Knight. He used a sword and shield, and the fact that she used a sword as well was as good a reason as any.
After making her selection Yang commented. "Going for the white knight, eh? Good choice."
"Valiant Knight," Weiss corrected. "But yes."
"Well yeah, but I just said white because that's the color scheme you chose for him."
"Oh. I didn't know I had a choice."
"Yup," Ruby said happily. "Like my ninja is red and black, but Yang uses a yellow and black version of him. The game's cool like that, so if two people use the same guy you can tell who controls which one."
Weiss hummed, but otherwise did not comment. White was a fitting enough color for her. Even if she had known she had an option she would have gone with it.
"Okay, so," Ruby began excitedly. "The Valiant Knight has some cool special moves he can do. Forward forward hard punch is the combo you use to make him to the running shield bash attack. Oh, back back light punch is the special sword throw he can do. It's the only ranged attack he has. And after the match if you win you have the option to do his finisher, called a Total Annihilation attack. That combo is forward down hard punch up forward."
Weiss blinked as Ruby was explaining the more intricate details of the game. What Ruby failed to realize was that while she was saying words, and while Weiss was hearing them, she had absolutely no idea what they meant. What was forward? What was hard punch? Did Ruby want Weiss to punch her in the head or something? She was sure that such a thing could be arranged if she really wanted to...
"Uh, Ruby?" Yang said.
The younger girl ceased with her explanation and looked over to her sister. "Huh?"
"You lost her."
True enough Weiss was simply staring at the screen where the two characters stood in their respective corners. Her mind had checked out of this conversation almost as soon as Ruby had gone off on her tirade about special moves.
"Oh, heh," the redhead laughed sheepishly. "Um... yeah let's just play."
Weiss nodded, and the match begun.
Sure enough it was as disastrous as Weiss could have predicted. Half the time her character was not even facing the proper direction as Ruby rained down attacks and colorful projectiles upon her. It took only seconds for the game to end, with Weiss not landing a single blow upon her opponent.
The game telling her as much was just rubbing salt into the wound. Soaring Ninja wins! Total Annihilation!
Weiss set Yang's scroll-turned-controller aside, content that she had played a video game for the first time in her life. Her hands returned to Zwei, whose fur she began to stroke softly.
"So... that was fun, right?" Ruby asked meekly.
The heiress shrugged lightly as she looked down at Zwei. "I think I'll leave the video gaming to you and Yang."
"Heh, okay. Maybe another time?" the girl asked hopefully.
Truthfully Weiss wasn't that interested in the game. Or any game. Now that she knew what she had 'missed' her whole life she knew that it hadn't been much of a loss at all. She chose to answer diplomatically rather than rain on Ruby's parade. "Perhaps."
The answer seemed to sate Ruby's curiosity, who nodded in acceptance. "What do you think Blake's up to right now?"
If Weiss had to guess, it would be that she was reading alone. For that girl spending two weeks by herself with zero distractions was probably a dream come true.
"Maybe she's spending time with that faunus boy she met at the docks," Yang suggested with a wag of her eyebrows.
Were the two that close? Admittedly Weiss had little interest in whoever that boy was or what kind of relationship he had with Blake. It was especially true as Weiss thought back to how she had been afraid of him at first glance. The strange faunus boy who was running from the police had been coming straight for her. Or at least it was what she had thought at the time. With her past experiences it had not been a large leap to take.
"You wanna call her and find out?" Ruby asked.
"I thought you'd never ask."
Ruby hopped up from where she was sitting before grabbing her scroll from where it rested on her bed. It didn't take long for the girl to begin giggling for some reason as her fingers danced around on the screen. She truly was a strange person at times.
Then to Weiss' surprise, her partner moved to stand in front of her. "Pssst. Zwei," Ruby whispered loudly.
The corgi's ears perked up and he raised his head, much to Weiss' annoyance. It was compounded by the fact that Ruby was now aiming her scroll right at her. In her current state of dress, or rather lack of it, the last thing she wanted was for any pictures or videos to be taken of her.
"Ruby, what are you-"
"Shh," the redhead cut her off. "Don't worry, I'm only getting Zwei in the shot."
Weiss frowned, but otherwise did not comment. She trusted the girl to be telling the truth. In the end it was only Blake who would be on the call even if Ruby did accidentally miss her target. And as roommates seeing her in her nightgown would be nothing that the other girl hadn't seen before.
Unless she truly was with that blonde-haired boy...
However before Weiss could act on the sudden thought she saw a face appear on the scroll. "Hello?" At this angle she could clearly see the dark-haired girl on the other end, but apparently all Blake could see was Zwei. If Blake's reaction was anything to go by it was obvious that Ruby's camera skills were on point. The faunus' face soured, her eyes narrowing and a scowl crossing her lips. "Goodbye."
The screen went blank again as the call ended almost as quickly as it had began. A moment later both Ruby and Yang were laughing.
"Wow, she wasn't kidding about hating dogs," Yang managed between her laughs.
Even Weiss couldn't keep a smirk from gracing her lips. She looked down at the dog who was staring obliviously over to where the two sisters were making so much noise. It didn't matter that he had no idea what was going on or why he was being showered with attention by all of them. He was just so adorable. Even if Blake was a cat faunus, how could she hate a face like that?
"Either way, I'd call that a win," the blonde continued.
"Didn't you call to find out if she was with that... boy?" Weiss couldn't remember his name, and did not find it necessary to refer to him as anything derogatory anymore.
"Eh, knowing her she's probably giving him the cold shoulder if they're even still talking. Blake wouldn't let a boy get between her and her reading time." Yang paused, her head slowly turning to regard the heiress with devious eyes. "Besides, we have someone else we can grill about that right here."
Weiss' brow furrowed in confusion as she returned the elder sister's gaze. "Excuse me? Why would I know anything about their hypothetical relationship?"
"Oh I don't mean theirs. I mean your own."
Her confusion only deepened with the explanation. "If you're suggesting that I am in any way involved with that faunus boy-"
"Wrong boy," Yang cut her off. "But right hair color."
It took a moment, but it clicked. "Oh don't even start with that, Yang."
Yang turned her attention to Ruby now. "Come on, Ruby. Let's give Jaune a call now."
A jolt of panic surged through the heiress' body as she went to move to her feet. In her haste she forgot that Zwei was still on her lap, and she immediately returned to her seat on the bed. However the sudden movement prompted the dog to stir, and he hopped down from his resting place onto the floor. Weiss was heartbroken by the sudden loss.
The loss did present opportunity, however, and Weiss now moved to stand and stare down Ruby. "Ruby, don't you dare call him."
Their leader didn't even look up as her fingers continued to work the scroll. "Why not? We're all friends here."
"I refuse to let him or any other boy see me in this state!"
"But didn't he and every other guy see you in your nightgown the night before initiation?"
"Yeah," Yang added. "What's changed since then?"
She was about to respond, but realized she had no answer. Nothing had changed. At least nothing that she was aware of. Maybe it had simply been that the first night at Beacon had been a huge communal affair where everyone was dressed down for the evening. Everyone there was an equal, and no one gave a second thought to being seen in such a state. However for some reason the thought of Jaune or any other boy seeing her like this made her apprehensive. This was a much smaller and more intimate setting. It simply would not be proper.
"Nothing!" Weiss insisted as she marched over to Ruby and began to grab for the scroll in her hands. "Ruby give me that scroll this instant!"
The struggle between the two tiny teenagers must have been the least impressive thing in the world if Yang's laughter was anything to go by. Neither girl could gain the upper hand, but at the very least a stalemate meant that Ruby could not complete her call. If that meant that Jaune would not be called then Weiss would call that a victory.
Eventually the battle did indeed end in a draw when Ruby declared that she would not call the boy. Weiss had no idea why she would even want to. It wasn't as if he could be pranked in a manner similar to how Blake was. What had been the girl's original plan anyway?
It didn't matter now. The issue was resolved and would never have to be discussed again.
"You don't have to be so shy, Weiss," Yang told her. "I mean, with how much time you and Jaune have spent together this semester you must be pretty comfortable around him, right?"
Weiss frowned. For some odd reasons she did feel unusually comfortable around Jaune. As much as Yang was correct though, she would not budge an inch. "Regardless of comfort there are simply some boundaries that teenage boys and girls must abide by."
She thought the answer would have sufficed, but Yang pressed on. "Still, you've spent a lot of time with him. You ever see him naked?"
The boldness of Yang's question caught her off-guard. Were these the kinds of things that girls discussed at their sleepovers? "What?" she nearly shrieked. "Of course not!"
A moment later her mind annoyingly recalled a moment where she had been close. Following a training exercise in the Emerald Forest and a subsequent trip to a clothes store in Vale, Weiss had purchased Jaune new clothes. His old ones had been ruined because of her, and she felt as if she owed him. He had stripped out of his hospital gown behind a curtain in order to put them on. A very thin curtain. She had insisted that he do so. She had been mere feet away from his nude body.
She was stirred from her memory by the sound of Yang's voice. "Oh my gods you did!" the blonde girl yelled. "You totally did!"
Only then did Weiss feel the slight burning sensation on her face that came with the memory. Yang must have seen a blush on her pale cheeks and interpreted it the completely wrong way. It was times like these that Weiss hated her extremely fair complexion.
"I-it's not like that!" she insisted. She hated the fact that her voice chose to quiver at that exact moment.
"So how big is he?" the annoying blonde continued to press. "Come on. Just between us girls."
"It's really not like that!" the heiress said more forcefully this time. "Get your mind out of the gutter and stop talking about such lewd things."
"Oh yeah? Then what is it like?"
"I didn't see anything."
"But he did get naked for you?"
"Only because I told him to!"
It took less than a second for Weiss to realize her mistake, closing her eyes as she did. At that moment Weiss wished for the first time that she had a different Semblance. She wished that she could turn back time. It didn't have to be years, weeks, or even hours. It only had to be seconds. Just ten seconds and the damage of this conversation could be erased forever.
The silence in the room was deafening, and when her eyes opened once more both sisters stared at her with dumbfounded expressions. It didn't take long for their initial reactions to pass and for both girls to respond.
"I knew it!" Yang yelled again. "I told him that someone as proper as you had to be some kind of freaky pervert!"
Ruby's silver eyes were wide, her expression unreadable. "Weiss, I had no idea you were-"
"No!" Weiss said, this time cutting her off. "No. No. No. We are not doing this. We are not going there. No. Just no. You two will not twist a completely innocent and logical situation into... into... this!"
Ruby bit down on her lip. It was clear that she wanted to say more, but even her energetic and outgoing personality was being cruelly suppressed by the sudden outburst from the heiress.
Yang on the other hand had no such reservations and continued. "So explain to us the completely innocent situation where you ordered your student to get naked for you."
Weiss' face burned fiercely now. It was more than just embarrassment. It was rage. Pure, white-hot rage. "Did you really have to phrase it like that?"
The student-teacher connotation made Yang's teasing so much worse. The girl knew it too.
"What?" Yang asked innocently. "He was your student at the time, wasn't he? I remember how much pride you took in him learning his lessons. You acted like such a hotshot about it."
The girl could say nothing to counter those points. Jaune had been her student. She had been proud of him. Especially after she saw him bring down an Ursa Alpha singlehandedly on the field trip to Forever Fall. It seemed like that had been ages ago. Before all of the drama between the two of them had flared up. She had forgotten the immense pride she felt in him becoming a stronger warrior. All because of her guidance.
"There's still a perfectly logical explanation as to why he... he..."
"Got naked for you," Ruby finished for her annoyingly.
A glare at the girl caused her to seal her mouth shut. A shame it did not remove the stupid grin from her face.
"So why don't you tell us then?" Yang asked. "If it's so innocent and all."
She would gladly do so the moment she was able to compose herself. It wasn't as if they didn't know the entire story already. Ruby had been with her on the shopping trip too. A trip where Ruby had been annoyingly teasing her by calling Jaune her boyfriend.
Did these two girls exist for no other reason than to be a personal annoyance to her? Sometimes that was the way it seemed.
After a couple minutes of recounting the story and explaining exactly why Jaune had undressed in the same room as her, Weiss felt as if that would be the end of it. As she had said, there was a perfectly innocent and logical explanation. Now that they had it there was no way they could continue with their childish games, right?
Wrong.
"Wow, so he totally did that for you willingly then," Yang mused, completely missing the point of the story. Weiss was sure it was intentional as well. "That's bold, Jaune. Even I gotta admit I'm impressed."
Weiss folded her arms across her chest in annoyance. "Did you not listen to a single word I just said?"
"I mean I know I once told him that you were into him, but wow. That's really bold."
Her eyes widened in shock and horror, recalling the small bit of blackmail that Yang had threatened her with the other day. "You told him what!"
Weiss couldn't believe it. Yang had made her go talk to Jaune after their last exams under the threat of that exact kind of slander. However the blonde had the audacity to do so even when she had already spread such a heinous lie?
"Sure did," the blonde girl said unapologetically. "It was a few weeks ago, back before all that drama. If only none of that had happened..." she trailed off whimsically.
The heiress' face continued to burn with a mixture of anger and humiliation. For a brief moment she wondered if she would have been better off going back to Atlas. She quickly snuffed out such a traitorous thought. No, even these childish antics by Ruby and Yang were better than being around her family.
"Wanna know what he said about you?" Yang continued.
This had to be some sort of trap. However her natural curiosity was getting the better of her. One did not grow up a Schnee without developing a craving for knowledge. She had a desire to know every piece of information she could so that she could better herself and her family's position. It vexed her that petty schoolgirl gossip as included as well.
Knowing that she was playing into Yang's hands, she bit the bullet and spoke. "What?"
"He said..." she started off, but deliberately stopped at that exact moment. "Oh you wouldn't be interested."
And just like that the girl had sprung her trap. She was going to prolong this as much as possible. This was an entirely different kind of torture than she had ever heard of. She couldn't pursue her desired information without seeming desperate. However Yang would not give it up without her doing so. It was a slow and ponderous game in which Yang held all the cards.
"And trust me, this is some juicy info," the blonde continued. "I've been the target of boy's attention for years now, so I know all the signs."
"Brag about it more," Ruby muttered under her breath.
Yang pulled her sister into something which resembled part hug, part headlock. "Aw, don't be sad, Ruby. You'll be all grown up soon and will be fighting off guys left and right. And when you do I'll be right there to fight them alongside you."
The young redhead squirmed and clawed like an angry feline as she broke free from her sister's embrace. "That's not what I meant! I'm not jealous!" The girl adjusted her tank top, smoothing out the wrinkles caused by her sister's aggressive actions. "Besides, right now I'm focusing on my career."
Yang snorted. "Said every unmarried middle-aged woman ever."
"I'm fifteen!"
"For now."
Ruby's eyes narrowed. "What are you implying!"
"Nothing at all," Yang said as she blinked innocently. "Just..."
"Can we focus here?" Weiss said, interrupting the side conversation. "What did Jaune say?"
Yang turned her predatory gaze back to her original target. "Hmm?" she hummed questioningly. "I thought it wouldn't matter since you don't like him."
"It doesn't and I don't. However proper etiquette dictates that you not broach a topic of conversation without addressing it."
"In other words don't leave the girl hanging," Ruby chimed in.
"Shut up!" Weiss snapped. "No more sidetracks."
"Wow. Someone's eager," Yang added unhelpfully.
Weiss was seething. She'd seen political games and schemes back in Atlas which were less painful than this. The next time she was forced to return home she very well might consider bringing these two along with her. They would be able to drive the social elite mad with their own brand of devious mind games.
Weiss heard a soft buzzing sound off to her side. Glancing over briefly she realized it was her scroll. She ignored it and returned to the conversation at hand.
"I am not eager," she said defensively. "As I said, it's simply rude to start a conversation and then not finish it."
"If you say so." Weiss knew that tone. Yang didn't believe her. However it didn't matter as long as it got things moving once again. "Jaune said..." she started with that annoying and deliberate trailing again. "He said that he thought you were amazing and beautiful."
In an instant the anger and frustration which had been burning in Weiss' face and chest was gone. A lance of coldness shot through her body, and she couldn't help but shiver briefly at the sensation.
Weiss wasn't about to be fooled again. Yang had done nothing but torment her on this evening. "S-shut up, Yang," she said softly. "He did not."
Even if he had it still didn't matter. She had heard lines like that before. It wasn't the first time she had received such a compliment. All of her life Weiss had been praised and heaped with attention from boys due to the perks that came with her family name. It had always just been for show.
However for some reason she actually believed it when Jaune said it. If he had said it. If she were being honest with herself it wouldn't be the first time he had uttered those kinds of words.
Weiss recalled how he had acted when they first met. He had actually called her beautiful once before. It had been the first day attending Beacon Academy. At the time she had written it off as yet another boy who was interested in her due to her family name. Another groveling fool who wanted to get on her good side. The only problem was that he had no idea who she was back then.
He had been completely ignorant of her identity. He had no idea of the weight that the Schnee name carried. He was unfamiliar with the Schnee Dust Company. His weapon did not even use dust.
The most beautiful girl in all of Remnant.
That was what he had called her the very first time they spoke. There could be no ulterior motive which she was so used to experiencing. No, if Jaune had called her beautiful back then, it had been because he thought so. Not because he had anything to gain by saying it.
"Weiss?"
The pale girl was snapped from her thoughts by the mention of her name. "What?"
"You kinda zoned out there for a while," Yang said. "You alright?"
Weiss straightened herself up, fixing her posture and regaining her composure as she did so. "Of course I am."
"Your scroll was buzzing again," Ruby pointed out.
She had apparently been so distracted that she hadn't even heard it this time. There was only one person it might be, so it was probably best to leave it alone. "Ignore it," she said simply.
"Alright," Yang shrugged. "And by the way, yes he did."
It took a moment for Weiss to recall what she herself had said, and what Yang was responding to. She shook her head lightly, casting away all of the thoughts which had resulted from it. "So what? Even if he did, complimenting another's appearance is hardly abnormal behavior. For example, your hair looks very nice tonight, Yang."
The blonde laughed, running a couple of fingers through her long thick locks. "Well duh," she said. "It always does."
"See? That means nothing."
Weiss was satisfied that she had proven her point, but Yang did not seem to agree. "You know a guy won't stick around and put up with the kind of abuse you dish out if he doesn't feel something, right?"
"That's not true," Weiss said defensively.
"What part? The abuse or feeling something?"
"Both."
"Oh come on. We all know how you used to be. We don't call you the Ice Queen for nothing."
"A name which I really wish you'd stop calling me..." she muttered.
"And what better way to lose the nickname than to warm up to your favorite student?"
"We're just friends," Weiss insisted.
Yang smirked. "Friends, huh? You know who goes out clothes shopping for guy friends? Their girlfriends."
Before she could respond to the latest slanderous lie, Weiss heard a buzzing sound once more. If what Ruby had said was true, this would be the third time in a matter of minutes. She looked over to where her scroll lay, and this time moved to pick it up.
Sure enough, the word "Father" appeared on the lit screen.
Weiss sighed. If she didn't answer now he would probably keep calling until she did. It was also a convenient excuse to exit the current conversation.
"Excuse me," she said politely. "I have to answer this call."
Her tone must have betrayed how she was feeling inside, because Ruby looked at her worryingly as she spoke. "Are you alright?"
She nodded. "I'm fine," she lied. "I'll take this call outside."
"Aw you don't have to do all that, we don't mind," Yang said.
"No. I think it would be best if I did."
Weiss didn't wait for a reply this time. She was thankful that this cabin was secluded out in the woods, as she had no time to properly dress herself before stepping outside. It would be fine though. The last thing she wanted was to be around others while having a conversation with her father.
Ruby couldn't help but look on with worry as she watched Weiss exit the room. The moment she had looked down at her ringing scroll her face had changed. Emotion had evaporated from her features, replaced with a cold indifference which Ruby had not seen since early on in the semester. It was like she had gone and reverted back to the old Weiss. The one who wanted nothing to do with anybody. The one who preferred to be alone.
Glancing over to her sister to see if she noticed, Ruby saw that Yang did not seem to share her concerns. At least not outwardly. However the blonde was as perceptive as anyone when it came to reading people. Maybe she was simply imagining things.
"Yang," the redhead began. "Did she seem alright to you?"
"Nope," Yang said before switching to a slightly more humorous tone. "I guess that means we know who isn't calling her."
Ruby frowned. At least now she knew that she wasn't alone in noticing her friend's distress. She was a good friend. A good teammate. She would go to the ends of the world for Weiss' happiness.
"I'm being serious here. Do you think she's okay?"
Yang sighed. As always when Ruby decided that the situation called for a serious discussion, Yang was not far behind. "I'm not sure," she said honestly. "Any idea who was calling her?"
She shook her head. "Nope. But she tried to ignore it like two times before answering."
"But it has to be someone in Vale, right?"
The blonde shrugged. "Maybe. I know there are ways to use the CCT towers to route calls to scrolls or terminals on other continents. It just costs a lot of lien for those kinds of long distance calls."
That idea only broadened the mystery for Ruby. She couldn't think of anyone who Weiss may have hated getting a call from. Truth be told she still didn't know too much about her partner's personal life. She knew about Winter and the undying love which Weiss had for her. So that certainly eliminated the older woman from the conversation. Ruby didn't know what Weiss' relationship with her younger brother was like. She didn't know much about the girl's parents, other than her father being the chairman of the Schnee Dust Company.
Ruby wondered if that had anything to do with it. Maybe she was not the only one who felt the pain of losing a parent.
"What should we do?"
Her sister sighed again. Looking around the room it almost appeared as if she was looking for an answer herself. "If there's one thing I've learned about Weiss over the past semester, it's not to pester her when things are serious. Yeah it's fun to mess with her when she's being her usual self, but in times like this I think all we can really do is be there for her until she decides to open up."
The thought of Weiss opening up would have been laughable if not for the sullen situation in which they sat. The girl did so only on the rarest of occasions. Ruby wondered if things were that bad right now, or if they really were just overreacting.
The sound of snapping fingers earned Ruby's attention, and Yang was looking off at something with a smile on her face. Or rather, at someone.
"Zwei," Yang called softly. The tiny corgi trotted over before sitting down in front of her. "You wanna go see Weiss?"
Ruby looked at her questioningly. "Yang?"
"Weiss absolutely adores Zwei," the girl said as she ruffled the fur on the dog's head. "And who can blame her? He's the cutest dog in the world."
Ruby could tell that he was actively pushing his head against Yang's hand, letting her know that he was enjoying the attention and wanted more. She had really missed the little guy while being away at Beacon. It was nice to be back home for a couple of weeks to see not only her father, but their lovable dog as well.
"If she's feeling bad about something I know for a fact that Zwei will make her feel better. At least short term." Yang stopped petting him, leaving the dog staring at her and silently begging for more. "Go find Weiss, Zwei," she said softly. "She'll pet you."
He had always been an unusually intelligent dog. He understood more than just basic words and commands. So it was no surprise to Ruby that as soon as he had been told to go see the white-haired girl, Zwei left the room in order to find his target.
The redhead smiled, knowing that Yang was correct in her assessment. Zwei seemed to really like Weiss as well. It said a lot about her as a person, or really anyone who loved animals. People could be kind to one another for any number of reasons, most of the time when they had something to gain. However those who were kind to animals could gain nothing in return but the unconditional love they had to offer. Beneath the normally cold and abrasive surface of her partner was a kind-hearted and gentle girl. She needed only the right conditions for that side of her to blossom.
A thought suddenly struck Ruby as she remembered what her sister had said. "Wait, you said short term. What's the long term?"
"I was serious before when I wanted to call Jaune," the blonde smirked. "And now that Weiss is away..."
Ruby's smile faded as she realized what her sister wanted to do. "Yeah, but once Weiss comes back she'll either walk out of the room or get us to hang up on him."
"Oh, I'm not talking about having her talk to him on the scroll. I'm talking about getting him to come here in person."
Red flags began to rise in Ruby's mind. "Yang, dad would kill us if he knew we were inviting a boy over while he's gone."
It hadn't been planned, but their father was being forced to take a short but abrupt trip to Signal Academy for a couple of days. He had said something about a teacher's conference or retreat to plan for the upcoming semester. With him out of the house for the near future it left the three girls alone. Three girls plus one boy if Yang had it her way.
"We're not inviting a boy," Yang argued. "We're inviting Jaune."
"Is there a difference?"
"A very big one."
Ruby wanted to giggle at the implication, but she suppressed the urge in order to defend the boy. "I'm pretty sure Jaune would be insulted if he heard you talk about him like that."
Yang waved off the comment and continued. "Besides, we're not doing anything weird or bad. He's our friend. He's Weiss' friend... and more."
Those last words made Ruby's heart flutter. Normally she was not into that sort of lovey-dovey stuff. She was too busy with her one and only love named Crescent Rose. However when Yang had shared the idea of finally making Jaune and Weiss realize their feelings for one another, she could not help but be excited.
Still, there was apprehension that came with actually going through with the plan. "I don't know..." she said uneasily.
"Come on, Ruby. Don't you want to be around when true love blossoms? Don't you want to be able to say you helped make it happen?"
"If it even is that sort of thing," Ruby argued. "You heard what Weiss said. They're just friends."
"And she's majorly in denial," Yang countered. "Didn't you see how she blushed when we talked about that clothes thing? Or how flustered she got when I told her what he said about her? She's just stupid. Both of them are stupid."
"And I'm pretty sure she would be insulted if she heard you talk about her like that."
"Well she is. At least when it comes to this sort of thing. They can't see what's right in front of them. That's why they need a little push in the right direction."
"And you think inviting Jaune over will do it?"
Yang flashed a predatory smile. "I know that'll do it. Remember those romantic comedy movies we used to watch as kids? All we have to do is get them alone together and bam! Instant fireworks."
The idea was growing on Ruby by the second. Not that she had ever truly been against it. There was just the nervousness that came with actually seeing the plan through. If they called Jaune and got him to come to Patch there would be no turning back. So much could go right, but so much could go wrong as well.
"And you're sure Jaune feels the same way?" Ruby asked.
"Yup," the blonde confirmed. "I think his words were something along the lines of, 'it would be great if someone like her were into me'. From that point on I knew it was my mission, no, my destiny, to make those two a thing."
Ruby rolled her eyes. "You know for someone who's supposedly always getting guys attention you're really focused on someone else's love life."
"Oh shush you," Yang said with an added swat of her sister's arm. "You know you want this too. Don't you want to see your two best friends happy and together?"
She did. That small part inside of her which wasn't consumed with weapons and dust and slaying Grimm was totally into this idea. She really hoped that it would all go according to plan.
Yang took her silence as an obvious yes to her rhetorical question and continued. "And that's why we need to cool Weiss' fiery temper with a fresh summer fling."
"A fling?" Ruby asked. "But we want this to last. Not just be a fling."
"It's just an expression. Of course we want it to last. And it will."
"Still, I think what we need to do is melt her icy heart with a warm summer romance. That's the winning strategy here."
"Cool, melt, whatever," Yang said dismissively. "The point is Jaune can do both of those things. You've seen how she acts around him. You've heard how she talks about him. If anyone can make her happy, it's him."
She hoped so. All she wanted was to see the people she cared about happy. If she could kill two Nevermores with one high-caliber sniper rifle, then that made it all the better.
"So," Yang said as she grabbed her scroll. "Shall we?"
Ruby bit down on her lip and nodded.
With the press of a button she was free once more. At least for now.
The conversation had gone about as well as Weiss had expected it to. Her father had not called simply to say hello. Or to ask how she was doing. Or if she was enjoying her time at Beacon. No, he had called with an agenda. There was always an agenda. Always some sort of ulterior motive. That was simply the Atlesian way of doing things.
Why wasn't she coming home over her break? She already ran off once, didn't she at least have the courtesy to visit her family when she had free time? How dare she want to spend that time with her friends rather than go back to him?
Weiss wasn't surprised that her father had tried to make her feel bad about her decision. That he had tried to guilt her into coming home, presumably so he could make his case all over again for why she should study at Atlas Academy over Beacon. The idea was sickening. To not only have to live under the domineering influence of that man, but to be torn away from her friends as well. To have to once again play the part of the perfect and polite daughter, to be a representative of the family. To be courted by all of those fakes and phonies who wanted to use her for her name...
Only he could have made her feel bad about herself at a time like this. When she was supposed to be, and admittedly, succeeding in having fun with her friends. He had to call and ruin it all. Even at this distance, even with the conventional limits of the CCT system, he still found ways of reaching out to her. After all, what was a little bit of lien compared to power, influence and control?
Stinging tears welled up in her eyes at the memories of his words. Weiss was once again happy that she had insisted on taking this call outside rather than in that room. She would not have wanted to let her friends hear that rather one-sided conversation. Knowing Ruby, the girl would have leapt to her defense in a heartbeat. While the thought was heart-warming, it would have only complicated matters with her father.
As she sat upon the top step of the home's back porch, she felt something brush beside her arm. Weiss jumped in surprise, but was quickly relieved to see a familiar face rather than some kind of stray animal. "Zwei?" she asked softly. "How'd you get out here?"
Craning her neck, she looked back to the door at the rear of the house. Sure enough it was still closed, but upon further inspection noticed a tiny flap near the bottom of it. The girl smiled now that she had her answer.
"So you do this often, I take it?" she asked. Rather than a verbal response, Zwei pushed up on her lap so that his front paws pressed against her chest and began licking her face. Weiss laughed, squeezing her eyes shut as her face was assaulted by the tiny corgi's rough tongue. "Your breath stinks," she said between giggles. "But I suppose that's not your fault."
The dog returned to standing on all four of his feet, his short and stubby tail wagging at a speed Weiss could only describe as furious. He stared at her, not making any noise nor any movements beyond the wild movements of his tail. "You're a good boy, aren't you?" she asked him. "I still don't know why you came to see me though. I don't have any food or treats for you."
Zwei gave no reaction. Nor an indicator that he had understood a single word she said. Not even "food".
"If you want some people food I'm sure Ruby or Yang will give you some." She smiled at the thought of them feeding the little guy under the table. "They're troublemakers like that. But I'm sure you already knew."
His tail continued to wag, but now Zwei's mouth fell open and his tongue hung out as he began to pant a little bit. His expression almost resembled a smiling face. It made Weiss smile in turn.
"So... if you're still by me does that mean you like me even without food?"
Still no response. She hadn't expected one in the first place. The current conversation was even more one-sided than the one she had had earlier with her father.
Perhaps it was Zwei's way of responding when he rolled over on his back in front of her, exposing the particularly soft, white fur of his belly. His front paws were curled up before him as he stared at the girl expectantly.
Recognizing the action for what it was, Weiss reached out and began to lightly rub the corgi's stomach. "This means you trust me, doesn't it? Why? You don't even know me. For all you know I could be a terrible person."
As usual the dog didn't react to her words as he basked in the attention being heaped upon him. She knew that an animal exposing itself like that was a sign of submissiveness and trust. It warmed her heart to know that Zwei felt that way after only a couple of days.
"Or maybe you know something that I don't? Can you sense something I can't? I don't know. I've never had a dog before. I've never had any pets. I guess you like me though. I won't complain. I like you too."
Weiss sighed, shaking her head softly in amusement. "Oh who am I kidding. You can't understand a word I'm saying. Do you even have a thought inside that cute little head of yours?" She smiled genuinely. "Honestly it doesn't matter if you do or don't. I'd like you either way. Perhaps I just have an affinity for simple creatures."
Those last words prompted a memory to invade her mind. A memory of telling Winter how her student was little more to her than a pet dog. One who she fed treats to in the form of beef jerky. Now that she had an actual dog to compare him to, they were in fact not at all alike.
Amazing and beautiful.
Had Jaune really said such a thing? Why did she long to hear those words from his mouth instead of Yang's? To know that he had in fact said them rather than hear them from Yang? Had he said those words before or after Yang told him that total lie about her liking him? Why did she care about validation from someone like him?
Probably because she knew that he would mean it if he said it. If he saw positive qualities in her it was because he actually did. The thought of such a genuine compliment made her feel warm inside. To know that it wasn't empty. To know that it wasn't for his own gain. It made her feel warm in the same way she experienced the time he had placed his hand upon her own...
She shook her head at the memory. Stupid Yang. Now she was invading her thoughts just like Winter. Was it some sort of older sisterly duty to torment others?
"Still..." she began uneasily as she stared into the loving eyes of the small dog. "Tell me something, Zwei. What would you do if there was a female dog you knew, and Ruby and Yang teased you about her? Would you bark? Would you bite them? Play dead? Or would you just stare blankly and say nothing like you are right now?"
Sure enough Zwei did and said nothing. He simply continued to stare at her. The very sight of him doing so was threatening to overwhelm Weiss' somber mood and send her into another fit of giggling. He didn't even need to tickle her face with his tongue in order to do so.
Receiving no answer as she had predicted, she continued. "And what would you do if that dog just... got you? What if that dog made you open up in ways you never had before? Ways that made you feel afraid because you didn't know what to think about it? Ways that made you feel vulnerable?" She paused as she shook her head lightly before going on. "I know I'm asking you a lot of questions, but they're important to me right now. Would you push that dog away? Or would you let her in? Would you take that risk?"
Weiss' modus operandi was to do the exact opposite. She did not let people in. She did not allow herself to be vulnerable. Life was safer when she was alone. Letting people in just resulted in pain. Whether it was her own pain from being used, or other's pain from being caught in the crossfire of the world that she came from. It had taken Ruby, Yang, Jaune, and all of the rest of them months of effort and all the tenacity of a besieging army to batter down the walls she had built up around herself. The fact that they had done so spoke volumes of their strength and resolve. What did it say about herself?
"They talk about things like romance. As if I'd even know what that looked like." She paused, brushing another bitter tear from her eye as she looked to the dog before her. "Any boy who's ever courted me has only done so out of self-interest. To reap the benefits that came with the Schnee name. And my parents..." she trailed off, thinking back to her childhood. "Well, I can't exactly look to them for an example of a healthy relationship. Their faces belong in a psychology textbook in the section for unhealthy marriages and the effects they have on children."
If Weiss was being honest she would describe the relationship between her mother and father as being as cold as Atlas in winter. There was no love there. If there ever was any it had evaporated long ago. These days they slept in separate bedrooms, under the pretense of her father staying up late working and not wanting to disturb her mother when he finally did go to bed. During the day they rarely interacted outside of meals, with her father in his study and her mother spending much of her free time "gardening". She knew better. Gardens needed water to survive, not expensive alcohol.
"So what would you do, Zwei?" she asked again. "What should I do? How would I even know what to look for or how to feel?"
She didn't know if it was a random occurrence or if the tiny dog simply noticed the trails of tears gently falling down her cheeks, but Zwei once again pushed up against her and licked her face. Weiss' reaction was to laugh once more. "Oh is that how I'd know? A kiss just like in the fairy tales?"
If only things were that simple. In all the stories involving the dashing prince and the beautiful princess, their tale ended with a kiss as an expression of their pure and true love. Unfortunately the world was not quite so black and white. A kiss was just a kiss. It could mean nothing. Then again it could mean everything. Again, she didn't know. She had never been kissed before in any sort of romantic sense.
Weiss grabbed hold of Zwei and held him close to her chest. "You're a great listener, Zwei. Unlike those two." She smiled again thinking of the two sisters inside the house. "I mean, don't get me wrong. I've grown fond of them. They're my teammates. They're my friends. But... sometimes it's easier to have someone who will just listen. Even if they don't understand a word I'm saying." She chuckled softly, more at herself than anything else. "Why is it easier to talk to you about these things than it is them? What does that say about me? Probably nothing good."
As expected, and as she wanted, Zwei did and said nothing. He truly was the perfect one to talk to about these sorts of things. The thought of opening up to Ruby and Yang about these sorts of things was scary. Not because she was afraid they would mock her. Or even because she hated their affectionate teasing from before. She didn't really know why she hated being vulnerable in front of even those she trusted unconditionally. Perhaps it was just some learned trait which had become ingrained in her psyche after growing up in Atlas and the Schnee household. Being stabbed in the back by a trusted confidant was not exactly uncommon in that sort of high society environment.
The realization of what she was doing and what it might look to others struck her, and she shook her head lightly. "Look at me. I'm talking to a dog." Zwei looked up to her before nosing his muzzle underneath one of her arms. "Great. Now I'm talking to myself. What have these people done to me?"
Not that she would change what they had done for anything in the world. Coming to Beacon had been the greatest decision she'd ever made in her life. She had gotten to experience so many thing she would have been denied had she stayed in Atlas. It went beyond simple things like video games or even a pet dog. She doubted she could have found genuine friendship in a place like Atlas Academy. In a highly regulated and structured environment like that, there would be no Ruby Roses or Yang Xiao Longs. Everyone there would be on their best behavior. Everyone would either look upon her name with fear and awe, or try and get close to her for their own advantage. It reminded Weiss of how she had once tried to do the same with Pyrrha Nikos, simply because of her fame and combat prowess. The memory was a shameful one. It wasn't the only one either.
Her own pride had caused her to use Jaune as a pawn as well. She had hurt him for her own benefit. Even if she hadn't intended to cause him harm when it had all started, she had. It made her own heart ache and stomach twist. She had been so different back then. She had been so much like her father. But with the help of all her friends, hopefully, she was better than that now.
"I suppose I should be getting back inside, shouldn't I? We wouldn't want those two getting worried and come out to find me talking to a dog."
Letting go of Zwei, Weiss stood up and walked back over to the home's backdoor. She had asked a lot of questions this night. All of them to a dog who could offer no answers. However she knew one person who could.
With no CCT tower nearby she would have to do things the old fashioned way. Come the next morning she would need a convenient excuse to go into town in order to have her letter sent.
Author's Note: No Jaune this chapter, but a fair amount of discussing him. Hopefully that'll be enough until the next chapter.
Writing the last scene with Weiss and Zwei was both fun and a challenge. A conversation where only one person can talk is interesting, and unlike someone like Neo, Zwei can't do much to contribute to it. But I feel like if Weiss could open up to anyone not named Winter, it would be Zwei.
Questions, comments or concerns? Let me know.
In any case I hope you liked the chapter. Thanks for reading.