Chapter 29 - Confirmation Through Canvas

Weiss was smiling as she danced around her room to the music playing lightly from her scroll. Sitting on her bed with a book, her head bouncing along with the music was Blake. The two were in pretty great moods. For Blake, she had a date with her girlfriend coming up in a few days. For Weiss, she was painting. That, and her scroll continuously buzzed with new messages from Ruby. After every brush stroke, she danced her way back to her scroll to smile at whatever childish or humorous thing came from that girl's head and return a quick reply.

Both of them were happy for a secondary reason as well. The Schnee parents were away from the estate. They had decided to take a business trip together that would last at least a week. To where, they hadn't bothered to tell their daughter and Weiss was not bothered enough to care. All that mattered was that they were gone.

And them being gone meant two very incredible things.

The first and foremost in her mind, was that she had the freedom to paint, or sing or talk to Blake without hiding it. The second, though just as relevant, was that she would have the opportunity to invite her new, but surprisingly close friend to her home.

Weiss broke out into another smile as she replied to her message from Ruby.

"What are you texting your girlfriend about?" Blake asked, peering over her book.

"We're just talking about my painting. She really wants to see it." Weiss replied, tapping away at her scroll with the same happy smile. Once she clicked send, she glared at her best friend. "And she's not my girlfriend. We are purely friends."

"Are you going to show it to her?"

"No," Weiss shook her head. "At least… not until I'm sure it's complete. I don't want her to see something so unfinished."

Blake rolled her eyes. "It took me months before you warmed up to me enough to let me know that you even painted, let alone see you in action. And you've known Ruby for how long? A few weeks? Maybe a month or two?"

"It was longer than that," Weiss shot back. "She did spill red paint on my dress a couple months ago."

"I still can't believe you're friends with her. I'm happy that you are, truly. But it's a little funny to remember all the complaining you did that day. And here she is now. Winning the icy heiress's heart."

"She's doing no such thing!" Weiss's scroll buzzed once more. Her eyes went wide. "Blake! What do I do? What do I say?"

She shoved the scroll into Blake's face.

… Nevermind. Am I not your best friend too?

Weiss made sure Blake read a little bit above Ruby's final message, so she had some of the context to their conversation. Weiss could feel Blake's silent judgement and almost yanked her scroll back from her best friend.

Finally, Blake's eyes flicked up to Weiss's.

"And what's the issue here?"

"What do I say?"

Blake hummed, "it's not like it's a complicated topic. She wants to know if you're her best friend and you don't feel that way.

"Or do you?" Blake smirked.

Weiss blushed. Choosing instead to ignore it, as well as the rhythmic beating in her chest, she flicked her hair and walked back to her painting. "Ruby is not my best friend. Not like you are."

"But you're still friends right?"

"Of course."

"Good friends?"

"It seems so."

"Close friends?"

"… yes?"

"Do you feel closer to her than to me?" Blake finally asked.

"No!" Weiss barked out. "Of course not. But with Ruby, it feels… different."

"Then tell her that." Blake replied, holding out Weiss's scroll to her.

With a calming breath, Weiss did just that. She sent a quick response to Ruby. No Ruby. You're different.

As soon as she clicked send, a new wave of panic filled her. "This makes it sound like I have a crush on her or something!"

Blake couldn't help but to break out into laughter. "Don't you?"

Weiss frowned and glared at her servant and friend, "I have no idea what gave you that idea."

Her scroll buzzed once more, but for the first time that day, it was left unanswered as the two girls continued their staring contest, waiting for the loser to speak first. Without breaking eye contact, Blake nodded towards the painting.

When Weiss only took on a confused expression, she nodded once more.

"My painting?" Weiss finally acquiesced.

"Notice anything strange about it?"

The two looked at Weiss's painting. The one that she had spent many months working on, a few brush strokes at a time.

"I don't see anything…"

"It looks quite feminine, doesn't it?"

"So?" Weiss crossed her arms, "you aren't the only person who can like women."

Blake rolled her eyes again at that. Weiss believed that her friend seemed to be doing that a lot, lately.

"Notice anything about her? Anything that might be reminiscent of someone you know?"

Weiss could only stare at her painting. "It's made up of people from my dreams. It's supposed to represent my perfect person."

"What colour hair does your quote unquote 'perfect person' have?"

"Dark red. Maybe black. I was going for someone with hair so dark red that it looked black outside of the light."

"And her eyes?"

Weiss looked closer.

"Silver-" Weiss rushed on, keeping Blake from interrupting her, "-but many people have silver eyes."

"Any that you know? Anyone comes to mind when you think dark red hair, silver eyes and female?"

Blake watched as Weiss slowly connected the dots in her head. From a furrowed brow, to surprised eyes and finally a heavy blush on her cheeks.

"R-Ruby Xiao Long."

"Mhmm," Blake hummed with a nod.

"My painting looks like Ruby."

"It does."

"Ruby Xiao Long is the girl of my dreams." Weiss could only gaze at her painting, picking up on more and more details in it that she had somehow missed. The gentle slope of her cheekbones and the light smile. Those happy eyes which Ruby always made right before she was about to laugh. The paleness of her face and fullness of her lips. That striking silver which Weiss had been captivated by the first time the two truly met and spoke to one another, back at her competition.

How could she not have realized sooner? It was, quite literally, staring her in the face.

"I'm in love with Ruby."

Blake laughed with one last pleasant eye roll, "so what are you going to do about it?"

"I'm going to tell- no… I can't." Weiss sighed, hanging her head in defeat.

"But-but why? She's perfect for you. In that 'opposites attract' sort of way."

"Why else? My parents." Weiss smiled sadly. "If I chose to date anyone but the contest winner, then they would pressure me into dating Cardin. The whole reason for that bloody competition was to be in a relationship with the winner so that I couldn't be in one with Cardin. As much as I might lo-like her…"

"You need to choose your own future over any possible relationship," Blake finished.

Weiss could only nod, leaning into Blake's side and allowing her taller best friend to wrap her in a tight hug. It was comforting to know that she had someone there for her. That was willing to hug her in a motherly sort of way that her own mother never had. In a way that, try as she might, her own elder sister could not do. As much as she hated to admit it, she was the black sheep of their little family. And as rich as they were, there was no real love or comfort among them.

Not in the way she felt with her arms wrapped around her best friend in the world. Or when talking with that childish girl who had somehow silently and steadfastly wormed her way into her heart. To her parents, Blake Belladonna was just a servant. A faunus useful for Weiss to practice commands on. To get the heiress used to speaking over and holding herself above the race. Ruby Xiao Long would always be just some poor commoner girl who had no right to breath the same air as her, let alone be her friend and crush.

"I wish it was Ruby that won my stupid contest and not that Rose. I hate him, whoever he is," Weiss mumbled into Blake's sleeve.

"I'm sure he's a great guy," Blake murmured into her ear.

"If he was, then he wouldn't be so damn hard to find, let alone remember. Why couldn't he have some unique eye colour or hair colour. Or something! Like-"

"Ruby."

"Or Yang," Weiss replied with a small smile.

Blake chuckled, cradling Weiss a little closer, "those girls do have some unique eyes."

"Silver and lilac. You don't see much of that anywhere."

"Must be what makes those two so special."

Weiss finally returned Blake's hug, resting her chin on the ravenette's shoulder.

"Must be."

It's a shorter one, but still 21 words above my minimum word count!

iamking - thank you!

chinaluv - callback to the movie!

Dragonqueen1993 - Could be. Or it could just be fluff! Who knows?

Read and stayed - Nah. that's the original one. Too small to make without professional equipment. Or some other plot-hole fixing answer. ;P