Author's Note: This is set in volume seven, starting during episode six (A Night Off). It will follow cannon as it is now... but obviously I cannot predict what cannon will be next volume, so it probably won't be once volume eight comes out :)

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The white-haired beauty briskly followed the two boys down the sidewalk as they chatted excitedly about the movie they would be seeing. What was the title again? she tried to remember, tried to distract herself from her thoughts...

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Why did she feel so off tonight? She felt empty and moody and cold. But why? She was no stranger to the cold, far from it. She was raised in it. It was like she told Ruby, "The cold of Solitas can kill you in a matter of hours." So why did she feel so cold?

But no, it wasn't just today, was it? The more she thought on it, against her will, the more she realized it had been since they arrived at Atlas… She was distant, she was… different.

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And why did her back and jaw fill sore? She had done nothing in training that would be the cause. In fact, besting her sister in a match of glyph work had been the high point of her day, she hadn't even taken a hit herself.

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"WHAT IS THAT AWFUL CLICKING?!" she burst out before she had even registered that the sound had been bothering her.

Jaune and Oscar paused what they were saying and looked back at her, startled. The tall paladin looked down at her feet, eyebrows furrowed, as if to make sure his statement were true, "It's… your footsteps?" He paused, thinking, "You always used to walk like that… back at Beacon…" the second part of his statement was faintly slower and quieter than the first. And she saw, just for an instant, deep sadness in the blonde's eyes before he turned back to Oscar to continued where he had left off, leaving Weiss completely to her thoughts. After a moment, she began walking again.

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He was right.

She was moving like the girl in the mirror the one she had left behind… Left at Beacon? No, she had left that girl in the Schnee manor, when Klein—the only light left in that god forsaken prison—had helped her escape.

She glanced in a shop window and confirmed it. That younger Weiss was looking back at her. The stiff back and tight jaw and those cold, never satisfied eyes. But why? Why was she here now?

Weiss took a deep breath and relaxed herself, her spine, her jaw, unclenching the fists she didn't know she had been making.

The movie was objectively dreadful.

Jaune and Oscar had given in to cracking jokes about it to each other and Weiss determined she needed some air.

Finding herself in the lobby bathroom, she went to the mirror to check her make-up, and realized that at some point, she had been crying. "What the hell?!" she demanded of the girl in the mirror as she pulled the necessary items out of her bag to repair the damage. Surely that awful movie hadn't literally bored her to tears.

"You know why," her eyes shot back up to the mirror.

The words had come from her own lips, but it felt like it was that girl from the past speaking. They even had that indigent tone from back at her days at Beacon. Those days before she realized that her life at the doomed school had been richer than anything Atlas could ever have provided her.

"But she has other people who treat her like the princess she is. That could never be me…" she stated firmly in the mirror, the last part of her statement trailing off, full of self-doubt. "Just finding a beautiful rose does not give me the right to pluck it," she whispered under her breath, her firm resolve back.

But she couldn't shake the memories of the evening.

"Penny will be there!"

"Team FUNKI invited us out dancing."

"Rin and I are going to the rally with Ruby and Penny."

"I'm so excited to hang out with Penny!"

Blake and Yang had each other, as always. And she had, well she thought she had Ruby, but then there she went, off with Penny… She knew she should be happy that Penny was back and alive and well, or the equivalent of that for a robot at least. And she should be happy for her partner getting her best friend back. After all, Penny had the best claim to that title. Sure, Ruby called Weiss her "BFF" but that was Ruby, she loved everyone. And she teased and flirted almost as badly has her older sister. And how could she call herself the younger girl's best friend the way she blew her off constantly.

But she had to. If she accepted the closeness Ruby pressed for, she wouldn't be able to hide how she really felt. From Ruby or herself.

No, she saw her partner as so much more than a friend. And that could never be, just a foolish daydream.

She should just be happy to be with her team again, fighting by their sides. Even if it would never be enough. Besides, Penny made her so happy. All Weiss ever did was tease her… Her heart sank, as if always did, at the thought of how much better almost anyone else would be for her.

That still didn't stop the jealousy. Why did she have to share HER partner with all these other people all the sudden—HER Ruby?!

… HER Ruby? Where did that come from? Ruby was not hers. She never had been. Had she? Just because she used to spend almost all her time with her, and now Ruby's time was split among so many others all the sudden… Oscar… Penny… That didn't mean she could be jealous.

Jealousy. The ugly emotion she was furious at herself for feeling. It was…. so unbecoming! Besides, how could she be jealous of that foolish child? That… that absolute dolt?

If only she could fill this rose-shaped emptiness in her heart. If only she could shove something in the hole and fill it enough that it didn't hurt so much and that she could simply keep her promise of being the best partner ever. No strings attached.

Walking back to the theater she found Jaune leaning against the wall outside the door.

"You didn't come out to look for me, did you?" she asked, knowing Jaune's tendency to check up on everyone… since Beacon…

"Yeah… and to use the bathroom," he added unnecessarily.

"You didn't have to," she scolded, "I just… I just needed some air"

"Yeah, I get that. Me too I guess" he said rubbing the back of his neck. "I um, saw you crying when you left," he said, glancing up at her.

She was instantly embarrassed; she forgot how observant Jaune could be.

"It was nothing, that movie brought me to tears!" She smiled widely, giving a fake chuckle. Such a stupid lie, but what else could she do? Tell the boy she was hopelessly in love with a girl with as much romantic awareness as a rock?

"You know, it's never good to hide how you feel. You should speak up. While there is time." The last statement struck like knives through the silence. Truly sad, hopeless eyes met hers. "You never know when your last chance will be."

"I know…" she replied, "But in this case it's a non-starter."

"Are you sure?" His question shook her in ways she could not have expected. He was so sure that Pyrrah couldn't have possibly have had feelings for him that he had missed how hopelessly in love she was with him from the very beginning. Weiss's gaze fell thoughtfully to the ground… Then after a second, her head sprang back up suddenly, looking into his eyes, "I'm... I'm too afraid to find out!" She surprised herself blurting out the truth like that and she felt fresh tears forming.

She looked up at the sad blue eyes, hoping for anything, any advice at all. But she was just met with lonely blue eyes. And she hated herself for trying to lean on someone who was still hurting so much in a way she could not claim to understand.

At least Ruby was alive for fuck's sake. That red-haired champion was never coming back. But she couldn't help herself. Tears ran down her cheeks. And Jaune said nothing, just watching at her come apart in a movie theater like the spoiled brat she had tried so hard to leave behind.

But then she had an idea, a Hail Mary pass really. What if she could fill up the hole in her heart and help this broken boy at the same time…?

What Weiss did next was cruel and unfair and she knew it. And that's why she couldn't blame him in the slightest for his response.

She reached up and pulled Jaune down, pressing her lips to his, and driving her aura into his, searching desperately for a spark that she knew wouldn't be there. But if it was, it could be used to ease the pain that they both felt. Cover up the void, if not fill it.

Weiss expected him to push her away and be angry at her for being two years to late returning his advances.

But what he did was much worse. He kissed her back. They were both aware of how to share auras at this point, having learned from Glynda how to use the technique to strengthen the bond between partners and share emotions or info about each other that could benefit them during battle. As with all things, it took Jaune a bit more practice, but once he got it, he excelled at it. Especially given his proficiency with auras.

Usually only partners shared auras, but anyone could do it. In this moment, Jaune opened up his aura for her. He wanted her see that not only would she find no spark, but nothing at all. Except a thirst for revenge so deep she could not see the bottom. That part he didn't mean for her to see. But there was no way for him to hide it-it was almost all of his being at this point.

She was the one who pushed away, out of breath and unable to shake the fear of falling to her death.

Weiss backed away, tears flowing freely and covering her mouth with her hand.

"I'm sorry Jaune! I'm so sorry!"

She felt his huge hand on her shoulder. "You have to tell her Weiss."

"What?"

"All those roses…." His gaze fell, thoughtful, then he looked back up at her with such a genuine expression, "The thorns will tear you apart."

"Come on guys! It wasn't that bad!" Oscar laughed at Jaune and Weiss's somber, sad expressions as he came out of the theater.

He stopped next to them, "You both look like Nora when the pancakes run out."

Then they all heard the sirens start up.

"Looks like you should find that rose right now."

Thanks for reading! I'd like to continue it and make it into a White Rose slow burn, so let me know if you liked it!