A Prison of Ice
VI.
A few months had passed by rather quickly.
His hand-to-hand combat skills had improved a lot during that time. He was even able to squeak out a couple more cheeky wins here and there against Mercury whenever they sparred. The silver-haired boy was still far better than he was, of course, but he'd like to think that he had managed to close the gap a little bit.
He'd like to think that Akihiko would have been proud.
"What the… seriously!?" Mercury complained before he tossed his controller over the couch. "Fuck this game."
Makoto never really cared too much about the game room his father had made for him, but Mercury seemed to be a fan of it, so that was where they spent most of their free time. It had taken a while for the silver-haired boy to finally feel comfortable enough around him to relax a bit, but he'd like to think they were friends now; of sorts. Although if he were being honest, he wasn't sure if Mercury even knew the meaning of the word.
Mercury didn't seem to know about a lot of things that should have been common knowledge at their age.
Evidently, Marcus wasn't a very good parent.
Makoto had asked him about his mother once, but the only response that he had received was that she was dead. Mercury never mentioned anything else about his mother, and it was obviously a touchy subject, so he never brought it up again either.
"Giving up already?" Makoto asked as he looked up from the book in his hands.
"Eh, that game was trash anyway," Mercury replied with a shrug as he switched the screen back to a television channel instead. "You just gonna keep reading the rest of the day again?"
"I enjoy it." Makoto simply replied. "You should give it a try. I could recommend some books."
Mercury just snorted in response.
"Yeah, about that. I hate to break it to you boss man, but I can't read."
Makoto paused at that. "You… can't read?"
"Yeah. So what?" Mercury nonchalantly replied. "It's not like I need to know how to read."
"Mercury. Reading is an essential life skill. How are you going to get anything done if you can't read?"
"How's reading essential?" Mercury countered in defiance. "It's not like that's going to make me a better fighter. Been doing just fine so far anyway."
"… Marcus never taught you?"
Mercury just let out a bitter laugh at that.
"The only thing my old man ever 'taught' me was how to fight."
Somehow, someway, Marcus Black just kept finding ways to lower his opinion of him as a parent more and more. Makoto closed his book and stood up before making his way over towards the couch Mercury was sitting on. He took a seat next to the silver-haired boy and pulled out his scroll.
"I'll teach you how to read."
Mercury gave him an incredulous look. "For what? I told you that I've been doing just fine."
"That's probably why you're terrible at video games." Makoto dryly replied. "You can't read the tutorials."
"Play me right now then!" Mercury sharply retorted. "I'll kick your ass!"
"Alright." Makoto shrugged. "It's your funeral."
Mercury popped in a fighting game that he had taken a liking to recently and booted up the console. Makoto had only played that game a few times before, but he at least knew some basic combos while Mercury just button mashed from what he had seen. The end result was him winning every single round that they played and a fuming Mercury that tossed his controller after his fifth loss.
"... I'd beat you in a real fight," Mercury grumbled.
"You'd beat me in the game if you knew how to read." Makoto deadpanned. "Why are you so against learning anyway?"
The silver-haired boy just fumed in silence.
"... Tch, fine whatever." Mercury eventually replied. "You're the boss here anyway."
Makoto was about to respond to that before Jacob suddenly stepped into the room with a letter in his hands.
"Excuse me, but there's a message for you, young master." The family butler dutifully stated. "From Miss Schnee."
Makoto raised an eyebrow at that as he accepted the latter. "Thank you, Jacob."
Jacob simply bowed his head before leaving the room.
Makoto was curious why Weiss would send him a handwritten letter rather than simply send him a text message, but once he read the contents of the said letter, he wasn't all that surprised anymore. It was an invitation to her next recital in Atlas. Weiss always did enjoy being rather formal with things like invitations and such when it came to events. It was probably where Jacques planned on officially naming her the new heir as well, now that Winter was gone.
"So, what's the girlfriend want now?"
Makoto didn't bother correcting Mercury about his relationship with Weiss anymore since he wasn't going to listen anyway. The silver-haired boy seemed to enjoy being mischievous like that.
"She invited me to her next recital."
"You going to Atlas then?"
"I would like to," Makoto replied as he folded the letter back up. "I'll need to ask father about it first, but I'm sure he won't refuse me. Maintaining ties with the Schnee family has always been a priority for him."
Mercury just groaned in response. "Ugh, guess we're going to Atlas then."
Makoto raised an eyebrow at that. "We?"
"Your pops is probably going too, right? That means my old man's going to go as well, which means I have to go too."
He supposed that made sense. Marcus had been tailing father around like a shadow since his arrival. Even though the upper echelon of Atlas was probably one of the least likely places for something to happen, father had reasons to take precautions.
"I see." Makoto nodded in reply. "Not a fan of Atlas then?"
"It's too damn cold."
He couldn't disagree with him on that. It really was too cold in Atlas. If it weren't for Weiss he doubted that he would ever willingly set foot in that kingdom.
"Welcome back, mister Yuki." Klein happily greeted. "Miss Schnee has been so excited for your arrival, she's been talking about you all week!"
"Klein!" Weiss squeaked out as a light blush threatened to overcome her face. "That's none of his business!"
Weiss loved Klein, she really did, but did he have to embarrass her like that? And in front of Makoto too?!
Makoto, to his credit, just smiled in response like he usually did.
"It's good to see you again, Weiss."
Weiss couldn't help but smile back.
She really did miss seeing him in person, disheveled blue hair and all.
They hadn't seen each other in person for a while now. The Yuki family didn't attend many events anymore since the news broke on the assassination attempt after all. She almost thought that Makoto wouldn't have come, but then again, he'd always been there for her when she needed him.
"Same to you." She eventually replied before her eyes curiously glanced over towards the silver-haired boy to his right. "… I suppose that you must be Mercury then?"
The boy just gruffly nodded in response.
It didn't seem like he was much of a talker, but then again, Makoto had been like that in the beginning as well.
She could still remember when they had first met, it was like pulling teeth trying to get Makoto to actually hold a conversation with her. He hadn't been like the others, he didn't seem to be interested in her last name at all. Instead of the artificial niceties that everyone else seemed to approach her with, he had outright ignored her the first time they had met. It was almost embarrassing to think about how angry she had gotten at the time because of how off-guard it had caught her.
If she hadn't been so determined to not be ignored, he would have probably just kept reading his books the whole time!
It was honestly a rather humorous memory, now that she had the chance to look back on it. All of the times that she had spent with Makoto had been quite memorable like that. The fact that he was always just himself, how genuine he seemed to be compared to everyone else and their masks; it was like a breath of fresh air.
"Well, don't mind me, children," Klein said with a laugh. "I'll be leaving you all to your own devices." The butler finished before he walked off down the hallway.
"I'm gonna head to my room, Makoto," Mercury said as well. "Wouldn't want to get in the way with you and your girlfriend."
Weiss blanked out for a second.
Then she felt a warm blush threaten to take over her entire face.
"W-what?! M-Makoto and I aren't like that!"
N-not that she was against the idea!
She liked Makoto. She liked him a lot, but did he feel the same way…? Oh Brothers, she could feel the blush on her face getting worse.
Makoto just rolled his eyes as Mercury walked off with a laugh.
"Ignore him, Weiss." Makoto dryly replied. "He likes to joke a lot."
"R-right, of course." She quickly recovered. "A real comedian, that one."
"You'll get used to it once you get to know him. So, was there any particular reason you wanted me to attend your concert?"
"What?" Weiss frowned. "I can't invite you just because I want to see a friend?"
"Well… You never invited me to one before. What's so special about this one?"
He was as perceptive as ever.
"… Alright, fine. You're right." She eventually sighed. "It's just… this is my first concert without Winter being here. I thought that it would be nice to be able to see a friendly face in the crowd."
It was always nice talking with Makoto. For one reason or another, she didn't feel like she had to hide behind the mask of the Schnee heiress when she was with him. She didn't have to worry about being the 'perfect' daughter to the 'perfect' family like her father wanted her to portray. She could just be herself, just like how he was always himself.
"Nervous?"
"I was." She admitted before her lips began to quirk up into a genuine smile. "Not as much now though."
Makoto just gave her a comforting smile in response.
She really was happy to see him again. Everything was a lot less… cold in Atlas when he was around.
Father had taken the opportunity to speak with Jacques about business as soon as they had arrived at the Schnee manor. That much wasn't a surprise, it was one of the main reasons why he had allowed the trip in the first place. They hadn't gone to many events since the assassination attempt and with good reason. A chance at a new business opportunity was enough for father to take the risk though.
Makoto doubted that father was in much danger in Atlas though, especially with Marcus tailing him around like a shadow.
Ironically enough, Mercury was doing the same for him, albeit with entirely different reasons in mind. His reasons were more out of boredom than anything, Mercury wasn't familiar with anything here, so he stuck around with what was familiar for him. The silver-haired boy stuck out like a fish out of water, and he didn't blame him.
He had always thought that all of the proper etiquette required for these events was far too much.
Weiss was busy preparing for her concert, so he didn't have many chances to see her. He doubted that they would have much time to catch up until after her performance. So that mainly left him and Mercury in the Schnee mansion trying to find ways to kill time until the concert. It was mostly spent with them playing the various board games that Weiss had. She had taken an interest in them ever since he had given her that chess set as a gift.
When the hour of the performance finally arrived, they didn't have to go very far. The Schnee mansion was large enough that they had their own auditorium for Weiss's performances. People from other influential families all over Atlas showed up and he couldn't help but think about how he and Mercury stood out among the crowd.
They were appropriately dressed for the occasion, of course, father would have never allowed anything less.
There was a different air about the people that attended these events though. It was something that he and Mercury distinctly lacked, even though they might have looked the part. He didn't particularly care for it though, and he doubted that Mercury did either.
They were both standing near the back alongside the table of refreshments when the performance finally started.
The star of the show looked as if she had stepped straight out of a painting. If there were ever a color to describe her, it would definitely be white like freshly fallen snow. Weiss looked all too much like a princess of ice with her white dress, white hair, pale white skin, and light blue eyes.
She was beautiful, in a cold, almost frigid sense.
It suddenly reminded him all too much of another heiress he used to know. They didn't really look alike, but there was almost an aura to her on that stage that reminded him so much of Mitsuru. The illusion was broken once he heard her voice though, and it was without a doubt Weiss Schnee standing alone on that stage.
Makoto had heard Weiss sing before, but there was something different compared to a live performance.
There was a different energy to it that seemed to make it all the more special.
Author's Notes- Alright, back to the fluff, lol.
