Warming Her Heart
Warmth. It was an amazing feeling, the first thing Weiss felt when she slowly began to regain consciousness. The warmth flowed around and through her whole body, enveloping it with a great sense of comfort the young ex-heiress had never felt before.
When she had blacked out, she was impaled, or something similar had at least occurred. Despite it happening so recently, she could hardly remember what had transpired. She was fighting Vernal. That she knew for certain, Jaune had lashed out a Cinder and then she was impaled… or stabbed. Regardless, she had felt the searing burn in her abdomen the moment it pierced her skin, whatever object it was. That burning was all she felt as her legs failed her and she collapsed.
Surprisingly enough, as horrible as the burn felt and as much as it was stained to her memory, she could barely remember what it felt like.
All she could feel now was the amazing, comforting warmth. She could feel herself becoming refreshed, like she had just awoken from a restful sleep or left a warm shower. Warm. She didn't know what this warmth was, but she knew she loved it. She knew she would treasure this feeling for rest of her life.
It didn't matter what happened. Nothing mattered anymore. All that mattered was this incredible feeling that coursed through her body, touching even her soul. Weiss Schnee could just feel that everything was alright.
Then she started to hear them.
"What happened? What's going on?!"
At first the voices were all mixed together and lost in the sound of the chaos that was surely around her. But slowly they began to become clearer.
"I think she's going to be okay! She seems to be stabilizing."
The soft spoken voice that Weiss was sure belonged to Ren was right. She would be alright. For the first time since the fall of Beacon, maybe even for the first time in her life, she could feel everything was going to be just fine. It was all thanks to this warmth.
"Whatever you're doing, don't stop!"
"I won't."
The next voice was clearly Ruby. Her partner's voice was one she could recognize anywhere after having been around the young scythe wielder far more often than the her of old would've liked.
The second voice however, completely surprised her. Weiss was certain it was the voice of Jaune.
"Good. Oscar needs help."
Was Jaune healing her?
Was Jaune Arc, the least capable of her group of friends and the dolt who had been harassing her since initiation, the source of this wonderful warmth she felt?
"I'm on it."
"Jaune and Weiss still need cover!"
Well, that had answered that question. Jaune definitely, without a doubt had to be the one responsible for this feeling. The one responsible for pulling her away of the cold abyss of death.
The same Jaune Arc she had been so cruel to in the past.
While Weiss struggled to process this new information, the sounds of the battle around her were becoming clearer.
"No one's gonna touch 'em"
"Okay, make it happen, RNJR!"
The warmth suddenly surged, becoming more intense. Suddenly, Weiss felt… well she could exactly put it into words, but she felt more…. Alive.
Once again, she could feel the world around her. She could feel the cold floor of Haven Academy underneath her back. The feeling of the air entering and leaving her lungs. She felt the soreness in her muscle and joints from fighting. She could feel… the pain of the wound her abdomen. But she could also feel the firm yet gentle touch of hands covering it.
What was going? The battle still had to be in progress did it not?
Again, questions filled Weiss' head and she felt confusion taking over her. The now returned perception of the physical world around her didn't help.
Had she really been dying? Is Jaune really healing her? Was she still in Haven Academy?
Despite having heard the voices of what she had been convinced were her friends just moments ago, the ex-heiress was now unsure.
She could have just been knocked out. Her mind was surely playing tricks on her. She was impaled or stabbed during the battle and lost too much blood causing these auditory hallucinations. Right? By all logic what she had heard and her theory of the current situation she was in couldn't be correct. Could it?
Perhaps she was imaging this all. Locked in some cruel nightmare. She would surely wake up back at Schnee Manor shortly
Feeling overwhelmed by everything, Weiss did the only she could. She focused on what gave her the most comfort she had ever felt, the warmth. While allowing her mind to relax into the warmth, she began to hear the voices again.
"-coming to. I just wish this would go faster."
"How about you don't complain and just be thankful you unlocked your Semblance when you did."
"My Semblance?"
"How else do you think you're healing her, dummy?"
Her focus on the warmth and the conversation around her began to fade. Weiss could no longer feel any pain in her abdomen. Her body no longer felt like she had just been in combat. Then suddenly she felt a burst of cold around her. It was only temporary but after she felt it, the warmth she now held so dear didn't quite feel as strong as it had before. But it was still there and still felt wonderful. So, she continued to focus on it.
"No. I don't think I'm healing her. Our Aura heals our bodies. It feels... it feels more like I'm using my Aura to amplify hers!"
It hit her right then and there. Her Aura had recharged.
"Wait, aren't you worried about running out?"
"Pyrrha once told me I've got a lot of it. I still believe her."
Suddenly, Weiss felt a jolt of energy. It was gone as quickly as it came, but she felt in control again.
Slowly, she blinked few times and opened her eyes, being greeted by the ceiling of Haven Academy. By instinct, Weiss tried to sit up, but she instantly felt disorientated.
Settling for resting on her elbows and slightly raising her head, Weiss noticed she was covered in both the white energy of her Aura and the yellow energy of Jaune's. The young knight knelt over her, holding his hands slightly away from her stomach as they glowed.
Nora protectively stood nearby, wielding Magnhild.
"Jaune?"
As soon as the words left her mouth, Jaune turned to face her. His face lit up with the most genuine display of both relief and happiness that Weiss had ever seen. The knight looked like he was about to say something, but was never given the chance as a painful scream echoed out.
"Argh!"
"REN!"
Jaune's head quickly turned to face Nora.
"Go! I've got her!" He urged.
Turning back to face them, Nora nodded before charging forwards towards where Ren's scream had come from.
"Jaune... what's happening?" Weiss spoke again, still disoriented.
"You took a heavy hit; you need to stay with me while the others fight." He replied with a hint of remorse.
That wasn't the response she was looking for. He had mainly re-iterated information she already knew. The answers she wanted still evaded her.
"That's…" Weiss began, pausing to sigh. "…Annoying"
The ex-heiress replied in the only way that came to mind. She truly meant it. This situation was annoying and clearly Jaune wasn't ready to entirely explain what was going on yet.
"Heh, good to have you back, Weiss." He said, letting out brilliant smile.
Letting out another sigh, Weiss closed her eyes again, letting the warmth take over again.
The battle continued on. Nora versus Hazel. Ruby and Yang versus Emerald and Mercury. In the moment, Weiss had never felt so helpless. Thankfully, the warm embrace of Jaune's Semblance was there to comfort her.
She wasn't sure how long had passed since she regained consciousness. But it didn't matter. She almost felt as good as new. Jaune's new found ability was magical. Not only in its healing abilities, but the confidence and comfort it provided to her.
Suddenly, the sound of Mistral airships echoed throughout the halls of Haven Academy. It didn't take long for searchlights to shine through the windows.
Slowing leaning closer to Jaune, Weiss was surprised by how easily she was able to do so.
For a moment she was taken aback by the intense concentration in Jaune's blue eyes as he focused on using his Aura to amplify hers. With a small mental shake of the head, she voiced her thoughts, continuing to scan the windows.
"What's happening?"
After taking a quick look around, Jaune replied.
"I'm not sure. How are you feeling?"
His eyes showed so much concern for her that Weiss' heart fluttered just a tiny bit.
"Better" Weiss said, sitting up for the first time since she came to.
To test her strength, she reached out with one hand and activated a small summon glyph.
"Much better. Keep it up."
Carefully studying her surroundings, the white-haired girl's eyes quickly fell towards the huge hole in the front of the academy. Hazel lay on the ground from Nora's large strike. Despite her small stature, she and nearly everyone from Beacon know how much power Nora could pack into one hit.
There also was a crowd of people outside in the courtyard, further past Hazel. Although Weiss couldn't make who they were and what they were doing.
While Nora stood guard, waiting to see if Hazel would get back up; Ruby and Yang were still locked in combat with Emerald and Mercury. Both Ren and Oscar looked to be nearly out of it and Qrow's breathing was labored too. In fact, upon a closer inspection, Weiss noticed Nora appeared to be quite tired.
At first, she thought Nora was crazy for keeping her eyes on Hazel like she was. But Weiss soon understood why when the monster of a man stood up.
Without a second though and with an energy she didn't know she had; the ex-heiress grabbed Myrtenaster and was on her feet. The warmth and her Aura's connection with Jaune's ended. She instantly missed it, but she had to get back in the fight and help her friends. Before she could make her way towards to center of the room, she felt Jaune's hand grab her wrist.
Taken aback by the force he grabbed her with, Weiss turned back to face him. He hadn't been rough, but still held her with a firm grip that sent shivers down her spine. The feeling of him holding wrist was eerily familiar to the warmth he had projected on to her through his semblance.
"Weiss… I…" Jaune said, struggling to find his words.
"I'm fine Jaune, thanks to you" Weiss, replied.
"But, uh… Are you okay enough to get back into the fight?" he asked.
The boy's eyes trailed down from her own towards her mid-section. Following his gaze, Weiss noticed the hole in her dress, stained with blood around the puncture. Carefully, she inserted two fingers into the hole, feeling the smooth skin of her stomach.
"I'm okay Jaune," she said, giving the boy a reassuring smile. "In fact, I feel better than I have in a long time."
"Okay," Jaune slowly nodded.
"Don't overexert yourself"
After seeing her nod her head, Jaune slowly let go of Weiss' arm. She quickly made her way to the center of the room. Stabbing her rapier into the ground, a summoning glyph appeared behind Weiss as she kneeled.
A Queen Lancer soon materialized from the glyph as Weiss returned to her feet. With a smirk and quick point of Myrtenaster, the lancer shot its stinger out impaling Hazel and pulling him back into the academy.
As Hazel got back up, his eyes quickly fell on her and the Queen Lancer. With a small smirk, Weiss struck a pose, holding out Myrtenaster to her side.
She was feeling way better than okay.
Jaune Arc had just gone through a roller coaster of emotions.
The anger he felt when battling Cinder.
The horror when Cinder had mortally wounded Weiss.
The despair as he watched the life slip away from her.
And just when he though he was going to watch Weiss Schnee die, the unthinkable happened. He unlocked his semblance and was able to save her.
He felt hope when she began to stabilize.
He felt relief when she came to.
He felt joy when she was strong enough to get up on her own.
But then he felt worry. The bloody hole in her once pristine white dress a reminder of how close she came to death. Was Weiss really ready to get back in the fight? He was exhausted and all he did was fight Cinder, how could she possible feel good enough to fight after staring down death?
She was quick to squash his most of his fears and return to the fight, summoning a Queen Lancer to assist. However, Jaune remained worried.
What followed next was whirlwind of events. The group caught sight of Blake before Yang then dashed into the Vault in pursuit of Cinder and her mother.
But what stuck out the most to Jaune, was when Weiss acted quickly pulling up an ice wall to stop Yang's pursuers. She looked and moved so much like she always had, if didn't know she was on death's doorstep just moments earlier, he wouldn't have guessed anything happened.
With a nod towards her, he grabbed Crocea Mors and made his way back towards his team.
As much as he still held some worry, he knew Weiss was going to be fine.
Thanks for checking this fic out! I've been a huge fan of RWBY and specifically the characters of Weiss and Jaune for a long time. After reading some really good WhiteKnight fics, I though I'd try my hand at it.
This is Warming Her Heart which will focus on the evolving relationship of Weiss and Jaune post the Battle of Haven. It'll mainly fill in moments between episodes and whatnot but will occasionally further develop parts of episodes like this chapter did.
Anyways, this is first attempt at serious writing since I wrote a few fics way back when I was in highschool about adventures I'd go on if I was a Pokemon Trainer (most of them have been deleted). So please let me know what you think and if you noticed any errors.
