"This is unbelievable." Weiss says in frustration as she shoves her phone back into the outside pocket of her bag.
"What's wrong?" Blake says as she reaches out to grab onto Weiss' free hand as they continue the walk from the library. And she hears Weiss huff a little bit before answering.
"Whitley has decided that he no longer wishes to take any part of the family business. He has a.. friend… he's met named Oscar that has him smitten with agricultural sciences. Farming. My brother is placing the entire burden of running our family business on me, for farming."
"Seems unfair. And your parents, especially your father, they support his choice to change this all at the last minute?"
"Apparently so." The disappointment drips from Weiss' voice as she speaks.
"It's not like you're going to have to start running the company once you graduate. I'm sure your dad will want to maintain control as long as he possibly can. No offense, but he seems like the type."
"You aren't wrong." A heavy sigh falls and the tension releases from her shoulders. "When Winter decided to make the military a career I always thought 'oh well at least I'll have Whitley to help me.' Turns out that isn't the case."
Blake pulls open the car door so Weiss can slide into her seat and takes her bag and places it on the back seat before walking around to sit in the driver's seat.
"I agree. It's unfair for them to place such an immense weight on your shoulders. Especially if it's not even something you want. Which I can't speak for you, so I'm not certain. But it is a lot, and I understand. Or I think I do. Family pressure can be… a lot."
As she takes in what Blake says, she realizes that as much as she's talked about her family, never once had she asked Blake anything about her own family. Sure, she knew the few tiny details Blake had shared in normal conversation, but it was no where near the amount Weiss had shared.
"Did your parents pressure you into becoming a doctor?" She feels Blake's hand tense in her own, though it is almost unnoticeable, at the mention of her family. "Sorry. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."
"No. No, it's okay. They didn't pressure me. Quite the opposite, actually. They didn't want me to become a doctor. Or really understand why I'd want to study sciences at all. It was part of the reason I chose to come to Vale for school. To get some space from the family reputation and its expectations."
"Do they not support you at all?" Weiss holds a little more tightly onto Blake's free hand while she drives.
"Oh no, they do. If only due to the fact that it would look poorly upon the chieftain of Menagerie if he spoke unkindly of his only daughter's educational pursuits."
"I had no idea. I feel foolish and selfish. Never even asking you about your family."
Blake hands her the bag of books as she playfully rolls her eyes, a small smile tugging at the corner of her mouth.
"You are neither of those things. And I'm sorry that I didn't talk to you about my family sooner, I wasn't trying to hide anything from you. I just prefer to focus on the good things in my life. Like you."
This time, it's Weiss that gets to roll her eyes as she pushes the door open and leads them both inside the apartment and towards the living room.
"Flatterer." She leans over and steals a quick kiss, surprising Blake.
"It is what it is. And you may call me whatever you like, as long as I get to keep kissing you."
Weiss giggles as Blake reaches out and pulls Weiss closer to her. And Weiss holds Blake's face in her hands and brings their foreheads together softly.
"You are such a dolt. Just kiss me already."
When Blake leans forward to kiss her, Weiss meets her but pulls them backwards until the backs of her knees hit the couch. She deepens the kiss as she pulls them both down to lay, with Blake trying to adjust so that she doesn't press all of her weight against Weiss.
She slides her tongue over Blake's bottom lip and smirks as Blake lets go of a tiny moan before opening her mouth. As their kissing intensifies, Weiss allows her hands to wander, from cupping Blake's cheeks to gripping tightly at the collar of her shirt. Their legs begin to tangle together as Blake presses her hips down against Weiss.'
It elicits a gasp from the woman beneath her, which Blake takes advantage of by gently biting down on Weiss' bottom lip and pulling. It all feels like electricity and fire in her veins as they continue kissing and she feels Blake's hand ghost over her chest and move down to the hem of her shirt. When Blake begins to trail her kisses across Weiss' cheek to just below her ear, and eventually down the side of her neck, she can feel how rapidly Weiss' pulse is beating. But she doesn't stop peppering her skin with kisses. Finally, Blake finds the courage to slide her fingertips beneath the hem of Weiss' shirt, feeling how soft and smooth the skin near her hip is. Blake feels Weiss gripping tightly at her sides of her shirt as she moves to kiss along her jawline. Deciding to take a chance, she slides her hand up beneath the shirt just a little further, ever so slightly.
"Blake, I-" the feeling she gets when Blake slides her hand up a little further almost betrays her, but Weiss knows what she has to say, because it's the truth. "Blake I can't. We, we have to stop. I'm not ready."
Hearing the words, Blake immediately halts her efforts. She withdraws the hand that had slid its way under Weiss' shirt and looks up into bright blue eyes.
"O-Okay. That's fine. It's okay." She pushes herself back up into a sitting position to relieve the weight on Weiss, in more ways than one.
Weiss instantly sits up with Blake and clutches onto the front of her t-shirt.
"It's not that I don't want to. Because I do. I'm just not ready. And I'm sorry. I know that we have been together long enough to be-"
"Hey." Blake's voice is soft and quiet as she holds Weiss' face in her hands before pulling her into a hug. "There is no rush. You're ready when you're ready. And I can wait."
"Are you sure?" When she looks up at Blake, the expression she sees is as soft as the golden flecks in her eyes.
"For you, I would wait as long as you needed. I don't want you to rush into something you aren't ready for simply because I'm ready." She intertwines their fingers and presses a kiss to the back of Weiss' hand.
Weiss buries her face in Blake's neck as she feels Blake lazily dragging her fingernails up and down her back.
—
Later that night, Weiss finds herself lying in bed alone, feeling ashamed. Wasn't it her that was disappointed about not getting a kiss on their first date? Or not holding Blake's hand? Granted, this wasn't exactly that simple. But here she was, unable to allow herself to participate in an act of physical intimacy with her girlfriend. Someone she cared deeply for.
So why was she hesitant? Blake was so kind, understanding and devoted. Maybe that was why. It was a concrete attachment. Blake was solid. And what did Weiss have to offer in return? A study buddy? Someone to fill the time when Blake wasn't studying or working? She felt inadequate. Weiss could feel the tears welling up in her eyes as she pulled the blankets up around her in bed. Just as she was about to close her eyes, she hears the notification sound from her phone.
- I know it's late, but something just made me feel like I needed to text you. I meant what I said earlier. It's okay if we wait.
~ I feel terrible. You deserve better.
After a few minutes without a response, Weiss thinks that Blake's decided that Weiss was right. She did deserve better.
Suddenly, there's a knock at the door. Weiss flings the blankets off of herself and cautiously makes her way to see who it is. But a voice comes from the other side of the door before she can truly worry.
"Weiss, it's me. Please open the door."
Quickly turning the lock, she pulls the door open to see Blake standing there in her pajamas, holding her pillow.
"What are you do-"
Before she can finish her sentence, Blake grabs her hand and steps into the apartment. She closes and locks the door and leads them back towards Weiss' room.
"Come on. Let's go to sleep."
"You're going to sleep here?"
"I can sleep on the floor or the couch, if you prefer?"
"No!" Weiss gestures for Blake to get into the bed beside her. "You will do no such thing. Here is more than fine."
Once they lay down and settle in beneath the blanket, Blake reaches over and pulls Weiss into her side, letting her head rest on her shoulder.
"I want you, and only you. But not just in that one way. Sure whenever we are both ready. But I also want to be with you in all the ways that aren't that. Like this." Blake feels Weiss' grip around her waist tighten and she presses a soft kiss into her hair. "You never have to worry about what I deserve, because you are so much more."
"Thank you." Weiss mumbles into the t-shirt covering Blake's shoulder.
"Feel better?"
"Yes. Only because you're here with me."
"See? You ended up sleeping with me anyways." For the first time in hours, Weiss smiles.
"You're an idiot."
"Right now, I'm okay with that." Weiss leans up and kisses her on the cheek.
"Goodnight, Blake."
"Night, Weiss. Sweet dreams."