Hey everyone! This is a silly idea written for fun, nothing too serious! I just really wanted to write Bumblebee through Weiss' POV with some background White Rose.
I made some changes to get this story to work better, such as Team SSSN going to school at Beacon. Please just roll with it!
"Weiss. Weiss - helloooo, Remnant to Weiss!"
A gentle tap on Weiss' forehead brought her back to the cafeteria table, where silver eyes stared into her own.
"What?" The response was snappy, which was uncalled for given that she was the one caught not paying attention. "What do you need, Ruby?" she rephrased in a more tolerant tone.
"And people call me the spacey one!" Ruby teased, not at all perturbed by Weiss' first response. "Can we have a team practice today? I wanna try out some new moves!"
"Sure, sure, anything you want," Weiss replied while her attention drifted away. "You're the leader, after all…"
Satisfied with that answer, Ruby hummed happily and resumed eating dinner. Meanwhile, Weiss returned her attention to the source of her 'spaciness.'
Was she actually spacey? No. She was observant. It was one of the traits she was proudest of, actually. In the midst of battle, she could pick out a species of tree that was out of place for that terrain. During class, she could determine which students failed to adequately study for the exam (one or two of them usually on her own team…).
But Ruby was right - when Weiss was busy observing a particular anomaly, she could be a little 'spacey.' The side effect of such highly-focused scrutiny was that she paid little attention to less important matters. To her, it was an acceptable tradeoff. Especially when a meaningful interaction was happening across the crowded cafeteria right at this moment, and she was keen to observe it in full.
It might not seem like a particularly important situation. Blake and Yang were merely picking up their food from the lunchline, after all, but they had Weiss' (nearly) undivided attention.
While the line crawled past the displays of food, Yang chatted nonstop (what else was new) while Blake nodded and smiled or laughed when appropriate. To anyone else, the interaction probably looked like two friends having a good day while picking up plates of mediocre spaghetti and garlic bread.
It was convincing. Weiss would admit that even she failed to notice the subtle differences for the first few months they'd been a team. Now that she knew her teammates better, however, the changes were jarring. Now she couldn't not see what was going on between the two of them.
Less observant people would never catch on, but Weiss saw it clear as day. It was obvious in the way Blake laughed or smiled easier with Yang than with anyone else. Or how Yang leaned into Blake's shoulder in a friendly yet endearing way. Or how Blake always looked like she was on the verge of a smile when Yang was around, even though she was notoriously reserved and unemotional. Or how Yang broke into a huge smile whenever Blake so much as looked at her.
It was only entirely obvious. They liked each other - like liked.
As soon as the pair exited the lunchline and headed towards the table, Weiss averted her eyes so they wouldn't spot her staring.
" - called the Flying Wingman!" Ruby babbled on, oblivious to Weiss' diverted attention. "I was thinking one of us could throw the other, but we need to stop pretty dang quick when we reach the Grimm..."
"Hey guys!" Yang greeted them while setting her tray on the table.
"Yang! I have new team ideas!" Ruby said before launching into her list from the beginning - which was fortunate since Weiss hadn't paid attention the first time through.
But mealtimes normally went like this. Ruby and Yang dominated the conversation, by far. Weiss battled to add her two cents. And Blake offered a few well-placed, well-timed words when appropriate.
"- then you and Blake circle around," Ruby explained, drawing a looping circle through the air with her fork. "And meet up with us at the front -" The fork joined a knife, which Weiss supposed represented herself and Ruby. "And then we crush it!"
The fork and knife jabbed into Ruby's piece of garlic bread before she lifted it up and bit off the corner with a smile.
"So we're trying that out pronto, right?" Yang asked with a big grin. As usual, she was gung-ho to try anything and everything Ruby suggested, even if (or especially if) the ideas sounded extremely ill-advised.
"Team practice tonight," Ruby announced, her proclamation setting their evening activity in stone. "We can probably score a room after dinner."
"Hopefully after we've had time to digest," Blake murmured before smiling at Yang - almost as if she knew Yang would pick up the conversation from there.
"Agreed - dinner, digest, then destroy some simulated Grimm!" Clenching one fist, Yang grinned when Blake laughed at the enthusiastic response.
But Yang grinned whenever Blake laughed, period.
"I hope we can also practice some of our current moves," Weiss added, determined to keep their practices somewhat on topic. "As nice as it is to constantly add new strategies to our repertoire, it's also important to perfect the ones we already have -"
"Yeah, yeah, Miss Perfection here to ruin the fun," Yang griped, shooting Weiss a smirk that she returned with a scoff.
"Wanting to have a few perfect fallbacks is 'ruining the fun?'" When Yang nodded, Weiss rolled her eyes and ignored the response. Yet another instance of Yang being difficult just because.
"But Weiss is right!"
Finding Ruby nodding emphatically, Weiss couldn't help but smile.
"We'll work on a couple new things," Ruby added. "But the rest of the time we'll work on stuff we already have."
It was a compromise, of sorts, but Ruby agreed with Weiss - and that's what was most important. Since Ruby was their team leader, Yang couldn't complain. Well, she could (and often would) complain, but in the end she always bent to Ruby's wishes. As it should be.
"I'm on board with that," was all Yang said. "As long as we get to try a new thing or two."
"We will! But which ones do you want to try?"
"What're the options?"
When Ruby and Yang launched into a complicated decision-making process to figure out which of Ruby's newest creations made the cut this evening, Weiss subtly moved her attention to Blake. She had to be careful though - if she was too overt about it, Blake would notice and question Weiss' motives. But if she casually snuck a glance every so often, no suspicions were raised.
Blake listened to the conversation intently, but her gaze drifted in Yang's direction every few seconds as if making sure Yang was still sitting beside her. And whenever Yang spoke, Blake turned fully towards her partner and listened with such rapt attention that a bomb could probably go off next door and she wouldn't hear.
Again, it was so obvious. For more observant-minded people, of course.
Unfortunately, their relationship had been stuck like this for quite some time now. Weiss kept expecting something...anything...to happen, but nothing did. It was actually quite aggravating to witness because it was obvious they liked each other. It was obvious they got along great together. It was obvious that they were attracted to each other. And yet...nothing.
Maybe they would get together eventually, but...Weiss wasn't exactly known for her otherworldly levels of patience. It wasn't meddling if it was well-intentioned, right?
"Totally on board with that," Yang commented while leaning back and drawing Weiss out of her thoughts.
When Yang casually dropped one arm on the back of Blake's chair, Weiss suppressed a smile while Blake tried not to look too happy about the nonchalant gesture. From the way Yang chuckled and ran her other hand through her hair - a habit that was either bored or nervous depending on the circumstances - Weiss wondered if the action was really as nonchalant as it appeared. Maybe it was actually a calculated move on Yang's part - a sly attempt to be that much closer to Blake.
"What do you think, Weiss?" Ruby asked, drawing Weiss' gaze once more.
Though she didn't know what Ruby and Yang ultimately decided, she trusted Ruby's decision-making - something she never thought she would be able to say when they first became partners.
"Whatever you think is best," she replied with a smile.
"Then that's what we'll do!"
"Awesome." Yang leaned closer to Blake and smiled, which made it impossible to tell if she was nervous about her arm's proximity to Blake's shoulders. "I'm so looking forward to winter break," she added instead. "No classes, no homework, no practice...just five days of hanging around being lazy."
The words tore Weiss' attention away from what she swore was a blush on Blake's cheeks.
"That's...so incorrect," she said, startled by Yang's lack of understanding about their impending break from classes. "You realize we have a paper due right after break, right? Plus, we'll be competing in The Winter Challenge."
For all the grief Yang gave Weiss about 'knowing what was going on,' at least she wasn't the one who looked like a deer in headlights right now.
"Uh, the what now?"
With a loud sigh, Weiss gave Yang an annoyed look while passing Ruby the cookie from her tray.
"We won't have classes, but there's still a lot to do. You should probably look further in your calendar than today." She opted for a light insult rather than explaining something Yang should already know. They received a handout last week that went over the details, after all. Of course, her teammates probably hadn't read it...
"Uh...Weiss?"
Turning away from Yang, Weiss discovered that Ruby was just as confused as her sister.
"What's The Winter Challenge?"
Sighing again, Weiss knew that she would explain to Ruby even though she refused to be as lenient with Yang. But Ruby was her partner, and she was responsible for making sure their somewhat-bumbling leader stayed on top of things. Otherwise, they would never finish their team projects on time.
"The Winter Challenge is a series of small events that teams compete in over break," she explained to Ruby (if someone else at the table happened to overhear, that was unfortunate but acceptable). "There are team-building activities, but also a fighting tournament at the end. Teams earn points based on how well they do, and the team with the most points at the end of break wins."
The specific challenges varied from year-to-year, with some being rather goofy while others were more serious. The only thing that never changed was that it all took place over winter break and was for first-year teams only.
"Is it mandatory?" Ruby asked.
"Well, no, but it is if you want to win."
At Weiss' response, Ruby and Yang shared one of those looks that said the two were considering not participating in favor of relaxing and accepting the embarrassing loss. It was a look that made Weiss sigh again.
Everything was carrot with these two - they wouldn't get out of bed if they weren't offered a reward.
"The winning team gets unscheduled access to the upper level sparing rooms for the rest of the year."
As suspected, Ruby and Yang's eyes widened, and their jaws dropped.
"Are you serious?" Yang asked. "That's awesome!"
"We have to win that!" Ruby added before reaching across the table to give her sister a high-five.
Shaking her head at the response, Weiss tried to share a look of commiseration with Blake...but Blake was too busy looking disappointed that Yang had moved her arm in order to slap Ruby's hand.
Well, if Blake had been paying attention, she and Weiss could've shared their woes of having such a...dynamic duo...of sisters for partners. Fortunately, Yang and Ruby were easy to deal with once you figured out how to bribe them. Offer something shiny, 'awesome,' valuable, or (in Ruby's case) sweet, and they practically tripped over themselves trying to earn it.
In this instance, however, the reward justified their enthusiastic pursuit. The upper-level combat rooms were way better than what the underclassmen were given access to. Top of the line technology allowed almost infinite combat scenarios. They could spawn Atlesians - thousands of them if need be. And unscheduled access...they could walk in whenever they wanted.
The teams in the lower years were excited about it. Even Blake, who rarely got excited for anything other than a new book (and Yang), looked interested in such a good reward. As for Weiss...well, she had one of the rooms growing up, so she knew how advantageous it was for training. That technology could take their team to the next level, and hopefully to the top of their class - or the school.
"Weiss." A gentle nudge accompanied Ruby's whisper. "Are you gonna finish that?"
Glancing at her partially-finished tray of food, Weiss shook her head and shoved it Ruby's way. When Ruby let out a delighted squeal, Weiss smiled and watched Ruby inhale the rest of her dinner.
"I don't know who taught her to eat that fast," Yang said from across the table, drawing an amused smirk from her partner.
"You can't even guess?" Blake asked while nodding at Yang's empty tray.
"Ok, clearly I had to eat fast for survival," Yang complained, gesturing towards Ruby. "I grew up with that. If you didn't eat fast, you didn't eat!"
Giggling at the response, Ruby finished Weiss' food then wiped her mouth with a napkin.
"When I got fast enough, I'd steal food off their plates without them noticing!"
Yang pointed at Ruby while raising her brow at Blake, who laughed and shook her head in disbelief.
"Are you sure they didn't notice?" Weiss asked, earning a sincere nod from Ruby at the same time Yang shook her head.
"You kinda notice when half your sandwich suddenly disappears," Yang added. "Watch." Reaching over, she snatched half of the garlic bread from Blake's tray and smiled. "There. Notice anything missing?"
"Yes. It appears you're missing a few screws." When Blake tried to snatch her bread back, Yang held it just out of reach.
"You've gotta pay the toll."
"And what is this 'toll?'"
When Yang turned to the side and tapped a finger to her cheek, Weiss actually held her breath in anticipation. Would Blake take the bait? Would she actually kiss Yang on the cheek?
"How about I let you sleep tonight?" Blake countered, her dry tone not giving away any butterflies if she had them.
"Ghost Blake is so much fun though!"
"She won't be fun tonight…"
Conversations like these were how Weiss uncovered their feelings for each other. How many times could she watch them casually flirt with one another before it became obvious they flirted for a reason - because they wanted to flirt. She expected that behavior from Yang, but Blake's participation was a dead giveaway that something else was going on.
While the two engaged in yet another round of light-hearted banter, Weiss' gaze drifted around the cafeteria in search of anything else she needed to know. Team CRDL was making airplanes out of napkins and tossing them around the room, and most of Team SSSN sat nearby, raptly watching something unfold on the other side of the cafeteria.
Curious as to what they were watching, Weiss looked in that direction and saw Neptune talking to Velvet. Even from this distance, his posture and smile gave away that he was attempting to charm the girl into a date. The interaction only lasted a second, however, before Yatsuhashi came to his teammate's aid and gave Neptune a stern shake of his head.
Accepting the subtle instruction with a laugh, Neptune waved goodbye and headed back to his team. While they gave him a hero's welcome for risking his neck to flirt with Velvet, Weiss shook her head.
"He'll get himself punched in the face one day…" she mused. Not that Neptune seemed to understand the fine line he approached with many of the students at Beacon. At a school of huntsmen, every person he unsuccessfully hit on was capable of leveling him without much effort. So far, he'd escaped with his ego unscatched. It was only a matter of time though…
Sensing a lull fall over her team, Weiss glanced around the table and found that almost everyone had finished. The last one eating, as usual, was Blake - but she looked uninterested in her food by this point.
"Should we head back now?" Weiss asked. Once they had Blake's approval, they got to their feet - some of them faster than others (Ruby's chair actually fell over in her haste).
"Team RWBY out!" was directed to no one in general, to which Weiss rolled her eyes as they set out for their dorm room together. Sometimes, she still thought it was strange to have a team - to have friends that she could walk to and from the cafeteria with. If her childhood had taught her anything, it was that she walked alone.
Only she didn't. Not anymore, at least. Ruby immediately fell into step by her side while Blake and Yang trailed behind them.
Ruby walked in front for a variety of reasons - the most important being that she was as jittery as a shaken can of soda. She was also the team leader. And there was the small fact that Yang walked in a slow amble that drove Weiss insane.
Seriously, she had no idea how Blake matched Yang's pace so effortlessly. If there was one specific reason she could point out to prove that they were meant to be together, it was that. Their paces matched - that was as good as determined by fate itself.
Although she didn't know what that said about her and Ruby...because she had to speed walk to match Ruby's pace. They arrived everywhere in a timely manner though, which was an acceptable tradeoff. The fast pace meant they reached their room before their teammates, but that was nothing new. It also wasn't new that Ruby raced forward to open the door and smiled when Weiss walked in first.
The gesture was unnecessary but appreciated, and Weiss made sure to smile in return before heading straight to her desk to find the handout for The Winter Challenge. Because she was more organized than Yang and Ruby combined, she knew exactly where she'd put it.
Pulling out the single page while Ruby dove onto Weiss' bed and Yang collapsed onto Blake's, Weiss walked over and sat next to her partner while re-reading the instructions.
"Did you throw this away?" she asked, holding the page out for Ruby to see.
"Uh...I mean...I throw away anything you don't tell me to keep..." Ruby admitted before reading through the sheet. Midway through the page, her eyes widened. "A race around the school?" Jumping off the bed, she ran over to show Yang the paper. "Do you see that?"
Narrowing her eyes to read the small print, Yang briefly paused and turned to the side when Blake moved closer to read over her shoulder. Grinning at their proximity, she continued reading.
"Wow. Tuesday is literally a race around Beacon. Are semblances allowed?"
"Why don't you read the rules and find out," Weiss replied, earning herself a face for the sarcasm.
"Yes, semblances are allowed," Blake answered instead. "If there aren't specific rules, assume that anything goes."
"Wait, how do you know this?" Yang asked, leaning back and looking at Blake. "You've been holding out on me, Belladonna?"
Shrugging at Yang's surprise, Blake dragged a book off of the nightstand and scooted back to the wall to start reading. "I thought you knew," was all she said before her attention moved to the pages in her hands.
"This is totally the face of someone in the know," Yang joked before nudging Ruby in the side and reading through the rest of the list. "Ok, we've got this thing in the bag! Ruby's gonna lap people in the race, we've got the team fights on lock, and a scavenger hunt? Please - Blake's on our team! They should just hand over our prize right now."
While her teammates discussed the challenge, Weiss smiled to herself. A full week away from classes, filled with free time and team-bonding activities, sounded like the perfect opportunity to gently nudge one half of the team into some situations that might help them uncover their feelings.
As long as they still won, she was happy.
"You think JNPR's in on this?" Yang asked, lowering the page and looking at Ruby - or at least, looking where Ruby had just been. Left in her place was a cloud of petals floating to the floor while the door flew open and rapid knocking hit the door across the hall.
"Jaune!" Ruby yelled. "Open up! We have a question!"
After several seconds of waiting, Team JNPR's door opened, but it was Nora standing there to greet Ruby.
"Oh great," Weiss muttered before sharing a look with Yang at what was about to come.
"What's up, Ruby?" Nora said while jabbing Ruby's shoulder. From the way Ruby stepped back and rubbed that spot, the friendly greeting hurt a bit.
"Oh, hey Nora! Where's Jaune?"
"Out training with Pyrrha, as usual." Nora shook her head and pouted. "Don't know why I'm never allowed to go with them."
Weiss heard a muffled voice and saw Nora look into the room, probably listening to Ren's explanation for exactly why she wasn't allowed to go.
"That only happened once," she whined to her partner before forgetting the conversation and looking at the paper in Ruby's hands, which had been snatched from Yang on her flight out the door. "Whatcha got there?"
"Oh, it's the -"
"Ruby!" Weiss called out, leaping up from her bed and walking quickly into the hall. "We're supposed to have a practice tonight, remember? Trying out some new combat moves?"
Apparently the 'deer in headlights' look ran in the family, because that was the same expression looking back at her right now.
"Uh, yeah, but first I thought -"
Before Ruby finished the sentence, Nora snatched the paper from her hands and hopped several steps away.
"Nora!" Weiss said, but it was already too late. Nora's eyes widened while she read the details of a challenge she probably hadn't known existed until now - and that was by design. When dealing with anything slightly competitive - be it friendly or otherwise - the information was supposed to be disseminated in a strict order. The details should go to Jaune, Pyrrha, or Ren first (in any particular order). Nothing should be given to Nora first, because then she decided what she wanted to do with it and...well...it wasn't always pretty.
"Holy - Grimm! Ren!" Waving the paper in the air, Nora stuck her head back into the room. "Did you know about this? We have to win!"
Putting her face in one hand, Weiss sighed and shook her head at Ruby, who was, of course, blissfully unaware of the monster she just created.
"Where are Jaune and Pyrrha?" Nora asked. "We have to start preparing right now!" Without waiting for a response, she tore down the hall. Several seconds later, Ren walked to the door and dipped his head to Weiss and Ruby.
"Sorry, Ren," Weiss apologized, but he shook his head and gave her a small smile.
"She would have found out eventually, I'm sure." With those words, he nodded again before following his partner at a brisk pace.
"I guess they're in!" Happy with the end result, Ruby trotted back into their room with a smile. Weiss followed Ruby inside before closing the door and shaking her head at how that interaction went sideways - and how Nora just stole her copy of the instructions.
"So...you told Nora..." Yang's grin said much more than her words, especially when she looked at Weiss with amused lilac eyes.
"Yup! She sounded really excited about it."
"'Excited' is one word for it," Blake mumbled while turning a page.
"Uh, Ruby?" Weiss asked, drawing Ruby's confused attention. When she made a gesture with one hand, Ruby looked at her own hand before waving.
"Uh, hi Weiss!"
Yang laughed at the response while Weiss sighed and forced a patient smile.
"Hi Ruby. Did you happen to bring back my handout?"
Seeing as how Ruby's hands were empty, Weiss already knew the answer to that. Ruby's eyes widened though, and she flew into the hall without saying a word. She was back only a few seconds later, however, with still-empty hands.
"Uh...so…" she began to say, looking so sheepish and sad that Weiss immediately smiled so that she would cheer up.
"It's fine," she assured her partner before turning to Blake. "Blake, do you still have your handout?"
"Sure. It's in my purple notebook."
Taking that response as permission to retrieve the paper herself, Weiss went over to Blake's desk and grabbed a purple notebook from beneath a stack of books. After flipping open the front cover, she found exactly what she was looking for - a single piece of paper stuck between the pages.
And she found something she hadn't been looking for - several doodles in the margins that looked remarkably like a certain blonde-haired brawler with a penchant for fire.
She wanted to laugh at the adorable discovery - or tease Blake about the lack of little hearts drawn over doodle-Yang's head - or, at the very least, analyze the drawings in greater detail - but she didn't want to raise Blake's suspicions. She'd obviously forgotten that the pictures were left right where Weiss would see them, and she would be mortally embarrassed if Weiss pointed it out.
Why would she be embarrassed about leaking infatuation all over her coursework? That's what every student at Beacon seemed to do instead of paying attention in class. Except Weiss, of course. But they couldn't all be her.
Being mindful of Blake's feelings, however, Weiss gave the notebook a cursory once-over (she particularly liked the drawing of Yang wearing Blake's combat outfit - that was a nice touch) before closing it and setting it back on the desk.
"Thank you," she replied, waving the paper so Blake knew she'd found it.
"Of course."
Blake smiled - oblivious to the visible pieces of affection she was scattering around - before her gaze moved away when Yang leaned closer to her. From the amount of shampoo Yang used on her excessive amounts of luxurious hair, Blake was probably getting a big whiff of citrus right now. But she probably loved the smell.
To each their own. Personally, Weiss was partial to the subtle scent of roses that Ruby carried with her everywhere. It was light and refreshing, which was also the perfect way to describe Ruby.
"Real quick," Weiss said, capturing her teammates' attentions and motioning to the paper in her hands. "We should come up with a strategy."
When Yang slumped into Blake's side and Blake blushed at her partner's presence, Weiss knew this was the perfect thread of conversation to follow. Maybe if she talked about the challenge enough, the two of them would meld into one.
"It's five separate events," she explained, trying not to smile when Yang dropped her head onto Blake's shoulder. "One per day on Monday through Friday. Points are awarded based on team placement in each challenge, and the final winner is the team that did best in all five."
Hearing a loud sigh, Weiss looked away from the schedule and found that Yang had straightened up - which probably meant the explanation went too far.
"Do you have something to add?" she asked, and Yang rolled her eyes.
"I'm on board for winning, but I think you're taking it too seriously."
Weiss pursed her lips at the response, although she should have expected it. Sometimes talking to Yang was like eating slices of lemons - it looked like it might be good, but when you bit into it, you realized it wasn't good at all.
"You can't win without preparation."
"Sure," Yang replied with a dismissive wave. "But consider our competition. There's CRDL - who are too lazy to get up early. SSSN - who won't take this seriously at all. And JNPR, who might be kinda difficult, but we've beaten them plenty of times before. Why go all out when we've already got this in the bag?"
While Yang, Blake, and Ruby waited for a response, Weiss pursed her lips and tried to find a logical answer.
The points Yang made were valid. Based on the activities, JNPR would be their main competition. While Weiss was confident they could beat JNPR in combat six or seven times out of ten, she had less confidence when it came to more esoteric activities like scavenger hunts.
"Because we should always try our best at everything we do!" Ruby cut in, coming to Weiss' aid and making Yang groan in the process.
"Again with the Mom-ism?" she bemoaned, but everyone knew she just lost that argument handily. Disagreeing with Ruby's Mom-based logic was willingly going against the ideals they all believed in - working hard, being good people, and striving to create a better world for everyone. Admitting that she wanted to be lazy was just that - admitting that she wanted to be lazy.
Thankfully, 'lazy' wasn't a word that applied to any of them. While a few students at Beacon could easily be labeled 'slackers,' that wasn't the case with their team. Each of them possessed the drive and determination to become the best huntresses possible. Even though some of them took coursework less seriously than others, they made up for it by taking training and workouts extra seriously.
In a nutshell, Yang wasn't lazy. Even though she might have had different plans for winter break than competing in a series of team challenges, she couldn't stand idly by if they were going to compete without her.
"Fine." Leaning forward, Yang clasped her hands in front of her. "What do you need us to do, Miss Strategy?"
Taking the nickname as a compliment, Weiss skimmed the schedule. Now that they were in agreement, she knew her teammates would help her - their team - win. Maybe some of them weren't as serious about it as she was, but at least they were somewhat-willing participants. And with Yang (and therefore Blake) on board, she could work on her other objective for winter break.
Unfortunately, nothing about a week's worth of team-bonding activities screamed 'this will push two stubborn fools closer together' or 'this will provide ample opportunities for flirting.' Of course, half of the Blake and Yang combo was Yang, who'd proven herself capable of flirting in any and every type of situation. Weiss just needed to get them time together, and Yang would do the rest on her own.
At least, theoretically Yang would do the rest on her own. Considering how much flirting had already happened with nothing coming out of it, Weiss didn't have much faith left in Yang's abilities. The girl could probably convince a tree branch to go to a dance with her, but couldn't ask a hopelessly-smitten kitten on a date.
Weiss didn't understand how Blake was immune to Yang's charms, but as long as she put up with the excessive-yet-unproductive flirting, a final nudge could be provided later on (courtesy of a certain someone). What was most important right now was getting them both thinking about being together - not in a friendly way, but in a much more than friendly way.
"They won't announce the time of the events until right before," Weiss said, pointing out the fine print at the bottom of the page. "So we need to be ready to go at a moment's notice."
While her teammates nodded at the instruction, she decided to take it a step further - for clarity's sake.
"Which means we should probably stick together the entire break," she added while giving Yang and Blake a pointed look. "That way we don't have to track down someone."
"You want all of us to stick together...for the entire break?" Blake did nothing to mask the disbelief in her tone, which was so typical of her. She hid all of the good emotions but let the disbelieving, doubtful, or dry comments through.
"No, that's too difficult," Weiss replied with a shake of her head. "I'm thinking we partner up - Ruby and I will stick close, and you and Yang stay close too."
"Oh." Visibly relieved by the suggestion, Blake sat back. "That sounds like a good idea."
What Blake meant to say was that she loved the idea of spending more time with Yang without those other two troublesome teammates around, but she didn't have to say it out loud. The more perceptive amongst them caught the hidden meaning behind the response.
With Blake on board, Yang was on board - the two of them obliviously agreeing to handcuff themselves together for an entire week. Because nothing spelled 'romance' faster than a week of concentrated exposure and uninterrupted quality time.
"Perfect." After glancing at Ruby and receiving a nod - a simple agreement to their plan - Weiss carried on. "They kept some of the challenges a mystery," she explained, looking at the blank spaces on Monday and Wednesday. "But other than that, Ruby should be in charge of the race."
When Weiss looked at Ruby, who'd been reading the page over Weiss' shoulder, she straightened up smiled.
"You bet!"
Nodding at the response - which was one easy win - Weiss then nodded towards Blake.
"And Blake is in charge of the scavenger hunt."
Blake nodded and smiled - and that smile grew when Yang offered her a high-five (which she accepted).
"You're gonna crush that," Yang added before turning back to Weiss. "Guessing we're all in charge of the team tournament."
"Yes."
"Well that's easy - you made it sound like this would be super hard or something."
"Five timed and extremely competitive events against our classmates isn't difficult?" Weiss asked, to which Yang merely shrugged and looked at Blake.
"Not with Blake on our team…"
"It'll be fun!" Ruby said, adding her stamp of approval to their plans for the upcoming week. "We can relax and eat and work on homework and win a competition! Sounds like an awesome break to me."
Hopping to her feet, Ruby stood on the floor between their beds and did a full-spin with her semblance. Somehow, with those quick actions, she changed the mood of the room from planning and careful calculation to upbeat and energetic.
"But aren't we going to practice?" she carried on. "We're supposed to practice!"
While Ruby looked at the three of them, her hands extended as if that would get them moving faster, Weiss nodded and set the paper on her bed.
"Yes!" After an adorable fist pump, Ruby pointed out the door and said "Team RWBY practice!"
Weiss rolled her eyes but went to her drawers and pulled out her combat gear. On the other side of the room, Blake reluctantly closed her book and accepted Yang's hand to pull her off the bed.
"It'll be fun," Yang said, reassuring Blake that practice was worth leaving the story behind. From Blake's smile, the simple words worked - and Weiss could only imagine the unspoken response flitting through Blake's mind: 'Anything is fun with you.'
Something like that.
But, because Blake didn't say the words out loud, Yang never heard them and probably didn't realize how she worked wonders in convincing Blake to leave the room behind. How many times had Weiss and Ruby tried to coerce Blake to put her book down only for Yang to flounce through and have Blake ready to go in a heartbeat?
There were plenty of reasons why the two of them were meant to be together - too many for Weiss to list without being interrupted at least twice by Ruby.
When the four of them were ready to go, dressed and with weapons in hand, they headed towards the combat rooms across campus. While they crossed the path they knew by heart, Weiss' thoughts drifted to their impending break from school.
They would compete in The Winter Challenge, but she had a little challenge of her own - she would get Yang and Blake on the same page before break was over. They were basically there already, after all. They just needed a good nudge - and Weiss loved being the one to provide the nudging.
Feeling a tap on her shoulder, she glanced over and caught a smile from Ruby.
"Ready?"
While Ruby was referring to their impending practice, Weiss glanced over her shoulder and spotted Yang and Blake smiling at each other about something - looking like two love-struck fools who'd like nothing more than to get marooned on a desert island together.
"Definitely," she replied, watching Yang teasingly reach for Gambol Shroud while Blake dodged away without breaking stride. Eventually, Yang's hopeless persistence made Blake laugh - which made Yang laugh - which made Weiss smile as she turned back to Ruby.
It was only the beginning of break, but things were already moving in the right direction. They had a plan for The Winter Challenge, and if Weiss played her cards right, she could get Yang and Blake an entire week of concentrated time together. At that point, how could they possibly resist their feelings?
She doubted they could, which meant she was winning both challenges this winter. And she liked winning. It was, arguably, the thing she was best at.
"Let the games begin."