Weiss teaching Marrow to dance...
Song: All About Us by He is We Ft. Owl City
He didn't like this. It was good on the Schnee family to have a formal dance open to the public since it seemed like it was needed... but gods, he had no clue how to dance. However, that wasn't going to stop someone from asking him. He froze when he felt Weiss' hand on his shoulder.
"Can I have this dance?" She asked with a smile.
He became flustered. Weiss? Asking him of all people? In a public dance?!
"You're asking me?" He asked, surprised.
"Yes." Weiss said.
Marrow scratched the back of his head. He thought about making an excuse but he just couldn't lie to her. Not after everything they went through back in Atlas. It was even a surprise that they managed to rebuild anything in Vacuo, much less have a space for a party like this.
"I um... don't know how." He admitted.
"I can teach you. It's not hard. It'll be worth it!" She said.
"I don't know..." He said, nervously.
She rolled her eyes. She was determined to spend more time with Marrow tonight and this time, she wasn't going to let a lack of knowledge ruin things. No, this time, she wanted to at least try to dance regardless if he knew how or not. She learned from the Beacon dance that she'd rather risk the embarrassment. Besides, she didn't care: she wanted to have fun and she wanted to dance with him regardless of how awkward it would be. She grabbed his hand and led him out onto the floor. She placed his hand on her waist while keeping the other in her hand and then she led, counting up to 3 repetitively, confusing him but every time she got to 3, they took a step so he got that and they were spinning. It was awkward for him, and some people laughed.
"Ignore them, focus on me. Don't worry too much, you'll get it." She said.
"I don't even know what I'm doing." He said, flustered and trying to keep up.
"You're fine! If everyone back at the Beacon dance can get the hang of it by the end of the night, I know you can. You're just making a box with your feet." She said.
He looked at her and she was genuine. She wanted to dance with him... and she was willing to do it regardless of how silly they looked. He knew in his heart he just couldn't quit in that moment. He became braver and shifted his focus to her more. He stumbled a little more, paid attention to both of their steps a little more, and then figured it out. Marrow was surprised. Huh... it was pretty easy. She smiled.
"See, you got it!" She said, excitedly.
He smiled back at her. Weiss grinned and thought about attempting to spin him around as a joke but then his height difference would make it too awkward. But Marrow seemed to have a similar idea. He wanted to both impress Weiss and show off to the snotty upper class whom all looked completely pissed off at the moment. He grinned, picked her up and spun with her in his arms, startling her. But they both laughed and he set her down after a couple more turns. But then someone tapped Weiss' shoulder.
"Weiss, care to dance? For old time's sake?" May asked.
Weiss nodded and took her hand. Marrow walked back to his old spot in a daze. Harriet approached, grinning at him and wanting to talk to him. Meanwhile, May seemed to prove that she still knew what she was doing as far as ballroom dancing went. Weiss had to admit, the golden dress suited her far better than that old suit and tie she had on last time they danced together. It brought out her eyes much better but more than anything, she seemed so much happier compared to how she was back then. At the time, their fathers encouraged them to dance together, hoping they would marry. Now, things were different. They were friends... and dancing together sure as hell pissed off the other rich class this time instead of pleasing them last time.
"Didn't think you'd actually ask him to dance. Seemed to piss off my family." May said, amused.
"I didn't do that to make a show of it. I wanted to dance with him." She said.
"I know... that's what makes it awesome." May said.
"Are we really dancing for old time's sake?" Weiss asked, amused.
"Yes!... and I wanted to piss off Henry." May said, glancing over at him.
Weiss glanced back and sure enough, Henry looked super jealous! She realized that dancing with both Marrow and May probably really REALLY put her family at an even more shaky standing with the SDC's old business partners... not that she or May cared. For once, this was a dance to have fun at, not to flex riches or make business deals but to have genuine fun. May spun Weiss around and parted but not before making a dramatic show of kissing Weiss' hand. Weiss laughed.
"You've become such a charmer since we last met." She said.
"Yeah, well you've become a lot nicer. I would not have even dreamed you would have danced with Marrow... or me... as I am now I mean." May said, sheepishly.
Weiss smiled at her fondly. They both really have come a long way, haven't they?
"I think I prefer the way you are now much more." Weiss said.
May smiled back, wiping a tear from her eye.
"Thanks... that means a lot. And you look better now, too... happier. It suits you." May said.
"Wow, May, if you asked me to dance back then as you are now, you might have stolen my heart." Weiss said.
The pair laughed.
"I think you look good with Marrow anyway. Now, if you excuse me, I've got more hearts to steal." May said with a wink and a polite curtsy.
Weiss curtsied back and May walked off to go find someone else to dance with. Weiss walked back over to Marrow whom was getting teased by Harriet but she stopped the moment she came. She nudged Marrow before deciding to change whatever topic they were talking about.
"Hey, Weiss, is that beautiful girl you were dancing with single?" Harriet asked.
"Yes but you might want to ask her to dance before she finds someone else. She plans on stealing hearts tonight." Weiss said.
"As a former law enforcement officer, I am obligated to stop her from committing theft." She said before walking off in the direction May went.
"She does realize that was May, right?" Weiss asked Marrow.
"Really? I didn't recognize her in that dress... Wow." Marrow said.
"She does know how to dress up well, huh?" Weiss said.
"Yeah. It's going to be interesting seeing if Harriet has a chance." Marrow said.
"She might. Who knows?" Weiss said, standing next to him.
"Did you two know each other? Even before... everything?" Marrow asked.
"Yeah. I knew her before she was called May. Our fathers tried setting us up." Weiss said.
"Wow, awkward." Marrow said.
"Very. I didn't understand why she was so weird about it at the time. But after seeing how she is now, everything makes sense. They were trying to make her fit a mold that she was never meant to fit in." Weiss said.
"Yeah... Kind of like you, huh?" He asked.
"Kind of but I decided to break the mold... and I think I broke it a bit more tonight." Weiss said.
"Heh... and here I thought that breaking it would be impossible." Marrow said, sounding a little sad.
Weiss looked at him. She remembered how much he conformed back in Atlas. In all honesty... the fact that he was willing to conform and obey was probably the real reason he became an Ace Operative. He could have been the best fighter in all of Atlas but they wouldn't have hired him unless he conformed.
"I can understand having to conform. I used to be forced to conform a lot. But nothing I did ever seemed to be good enough for father... and I started to realize that if conforming wasn't enough, then I was better off happy. So I chose to be happy... but I also didn't want to leave my family behind. So here we are." Weiss said.
"I'm pretty sure we changed a lot of minds tonight." He said.
"I didn't do any of this to fix systemic issues." Weiss said.
"Really?" He asked, perplexed.
"No... But I hope it helps." she said.
Marrow grabbed her hand.
"It did... I know it." He said.
She smiled and leaned against his arm. Marrow felt his breathing hitch, his face heat up, and his insides turn to mush. His tail wagged at high speeds and he didn't notice... nor care. He then noticed Harriet dancing with May across the room.
"Looks like the kingdom is safe from May's plan of stealing hearts." Marrow laughed.
"Or Harriet is in danger of being one of many." Weiss laughed.
"Something tells me Harriet wouldn't let her get away with that." Marrow said.
"We'll see." Weiss said.
"So... can I have this dance?" Marrow asked.
"Yes." Weiss said, following him back out to the dance floor.
I ship Weiss and Marrow so hard but I gotta admit, I kinda started liking Weiss and May for a second. I was inspired by both the ballroom scene from Boxtrolls and the scene from Final Fantasy 8. I wanted to draw this but I've yet to get good at using a tablet.