Blake awoke. The door opened. Blake wasn't sure which one of those happened first.
And Winter was there. (Blake was, briefly, impressed by the human's sneakyness.)
Blake blinked.
Winter put a finger to her lips.
"Hey there, you little blasphemous freak of nature," whispered sister Schnee. She smiled a smile that Blake would have thought was sincere if she hadn't seen what Winter was like these past few days. "I have something for you." Winter pulled out a bag of Tuna Snackies (tm) {If they taste kind of fishy, that means they're working!}
Blake blinked, but like, in an optimistic way. Well, maybe Winter was actually sincere, here.
Blake reached out to grab the bag-
Winter pulled the bag away and her smile intensified. "Not here, we'll wake Weiss," she said.
Blake blinked. But she saw where Winter was coming from.
Blake managed to extract herself from Weiss's arms, with Weiss only grunting a little. Blake figured Weiss would be fine, without her, for a while.
It was early enough that no maids would be around in the hallway even if any of them hadn't used their vacation days. The solitude was comforting.
Blake reached out for the bag, and Winter didn't pull it away. Blake stuffed a handful of snackies into her mouth and chewed, ravenously.
"Look at how much Weiss cares about you," Winter said. She rubbed Blake's head, and Blake figured she could allow it, just this once, in exchange for the snackies.
"But does she really? Do you think she actually cares about what you want? Or does she just like the idea of caring about someone else, without actually taking their feelings into account?"
Blake chewed on her mouthful of snackies.
"Does she just care about herself, and she assumes you feel the same?"
Blake stuffed more snackies into her mouth "weiss loves me," she said with her mouth full.
"Or does she only love how you make her feel?'
Blake paused eating. Then she stuffed her mouth again.
"Do you like how she makes you feel?"
Blake paused eating again. She didn't resume until after Winter finished her little speech.
"I bet you could use a bit of a break," Winter said, "Even if its just to reaffirm that you do, in fact, like that Weiss is all over you, all the time."
Blake looked at the floor.
"So we're going to play a little hide and seek. If Weiss finds you, then it's over, but you can't help her find you. It'll be a game!"
Blake blinked.
Winter pulled out another bag. "All you have to do is stay still and eat some nice fish-flavored tapioca crackers. And you can have as many of those as you want." Winter smiled again.
Blake nodded and smiled, slightly, but she felt conflicted about it.
- A POSSIBLE FUTURE -
Fresh from saving Jaune from gendered double standards and Pyrrha from getting a record, and putting Jaune's confession out of her mind, Weiss tries to seek out her oldest friend, to apologize for- for everything.
Blake avoids Weiss for the rest of the day. But Weiss waits in their dorm room, and when the door opens and it's Blake, Weiss stands up, immediately. Blake pauses for just a moment.
"H-hey, Blake," Weiss begins.
Blake turns to Weiss. Her face is unreadable. "I'm just getting my coat and hat."
"I- You probably heard what I was talking to Pyrrha about, earlier," Weiss says.
Blake stops, her face to the wall and her hand on the coat-rack. "Yes."
"And- I realize that I've, I've just pulled you out of whatever life you had, and that you never felt like I took your wishes into consideration, and- and I'm sorry."
Blake doesn't move.
Weiss continues. "And, if you'll have me back, I promise I'll be better, Blake. I promise."
"Is that all?" Blake says. Her voice is cold.
Weiss blinks. "I- no? Maybe?" Weiss can't keep a little bit of anger out of her voice, next. "What do you want me to say, Blake? What do I have to say to you to make this right?"
"You treated me like I was your pet, Weiss. Do you know how degrading that was?"
"YOU NEVER COMPLAINED!"
"THERE YOU GO AGAIN! ONLY THINKING OF YOURSELF!"
Blake breathing steadies. Weiss clutches her mouth. "And-" Weiss begins, "You were so much more to me than that. You know that, right, Blake?"
Blake grins, grimly. "You can't just erase all those years with a speech, Weiss.
Weiss turns away. She chokes back a sob.
Blake resumes what she was doing. "I really feel like it'd be best if we spent some time apart. If- if you met someone else, maybe. I really don't think I can be around you anymore."
Weiss manages to breath.
Blake starts getting dressed, in her outerwear.
"So, um," Weiss says, desperate to try to keep the conversation from ending, to maybe have another chance, "Where are you going?"
Blake pauses for a moment. "Ruby's taking me to this bookstore in town. We might have dinner afterwards."
Weiss ignores the pang in her chest. "So- so you do like Ruby-"
"I DON'T KNOW, WEISS." Blake sighs in exasperation. "But she listens to me, and she respects me, and she's fun and interesting and really nice and I don't know why you have some sort of problem with her." Blake gestures to herself. "I'm trying to move on. I really think you should, too."
Weiss doesn't know what to say. She says nothing.
Blake pauses for a moment, halfway out the door. "Have a good evening, Weiss," she says.
The door closes.
Weiss sits down on her bed. She does nothing.
- FLUFF INTERMISSION -
Weiss pushed Blake into the dressing room, and she turned to the maids. "So; Blake here wants to play in the snow, but it's just too cold for the poor kitty! Oh noes!"
Weiss hugged Blake and rubbed her cheek against Blake's ears. Her cheek was literally freezing, so Blake recoiled, with a chattering yowl. Weiss turned to Blake. "But don't' worry, Blakey; we have the technology!" Weiss snapped her fingers.
The maids appeared, presenting different clothes.
"First, is a layer of breathable, thermal underwears," Weiss said. She tried to pull Blake's pajamas's off of her.
Blake resisted, hissing at Weiss. She was already cold- not as cold as she was when Weiss tried to drag her into the snow, but still colder than she had any desire to be. And if she took off her pajamas, she'd be even colder.
"Kitty nooo~" Weiss said as she lost the skirmish. "Blakey, I promise you'll be warm, but first we need to dress you right. Okay?"
Blake calmed down and nodded. She let Weiss replace her pajamas with a selection of some sort of stretchy long-sleeved shirt and long pants, offered by the maids.
Weiss put Blake on the bed so that she could put some socks on her, made of the same material as the shirt and pants, rolled up to Blake's calf, overlapping the pants.
"Okay, now for a layer of wool. Wool doesn't get colder when it gets wet, so you'll be good even if the snow soaks through the outer layer.
Weiss snapped her fingers, and the maids appeared with some wool sweaters and wool pants. Blake didn't object when Weiss picked a sweater with a cat on it, because it was 'just like you, Blakey'.
After Weiss finished adjusting Blake's clothes, the maids showed up again.
"And now, we put a layer of ceramic insulation," Weiss said. Snapped her fingers, and the maids appeared with rolls of white cotton- like stuff. Blake had remembered those, from when the west wing of the mansion was being repaired. They were really itchy, and not tasty at all.
Weiss wrapped parts of Blake's limbs and torso in the insulation.
The stocky maid stepped forward. "Now would be the time to put in the medium-temperature heating rods, if you'd like."
"Does that sound nice, Blakey?" Weiss asked. Blake smiled slightly and nodded; she liked sleeping in parts of the mansion with exposed heating rods.
Blake stretched as Weiss looked over some schematics. Apparently, she stretched too much, because the overlapping layers between the bottom of her shirts and her waistbands got pulled apart, and Blake's stomach felt a stab of chill. Blake mrawed.
Weiss immediately ran over. "What's wrong, Blakey?"
Blake pouted and pointed at her stomach. Weiss pouted in sympathy and redid Blake's layers.
"Okay, so how do we make sure that doesn't happen again?" Weiss asked, in general.
The young maid appeared, holding a thick, hollow silver cylinder. "Duct tape. 't cures wat aile's ya."
"Okay," Weiss said. She wrapped parts of Blake's stomach in strips off the silver cylinder. She used more of the strips to attach seven metal rods to Blake's arms, legs, and torso. Each of the rods had some sort of string coming out of one end, which Weiss bunched up to a lead to the small of Blake's back.
"Now Blake is slightly more of a fire hazard than normal," said the gaunt maid.
Blake knew, cognitively, that being on fire probably wouldn't be fun, but a part of her wondered if it would be preferable to touching the snow again.
"The battery pack says it's supposed to last for sixteen hours, so we put a spare one in the backpack, just in case," said the tall maid.
Weiss nodded.
Then she stood up. "Okay, now we do another layer of wool, to keep the rods in place."
The maids procured some slightly larger sweaters and pants. Weiss sometimes liked to dress Blake in clothes that were too big for her, because apparently it looked cute. it took some effort to pull that layer onto Blake.
"Okay, and now for the waterproof layer." Weiss took some snow pants and a puffy jacket from the maids and wrapped them onto Blake.
"Okay, and now for your face, Blakey!"
Weiss realized the ski mask she was going to use for the first layer didn't have holes for Blake's ears, so the gaunt maid cut some impromptu holes in them. It took a couple tries to get them in the right spot.
"Okay, so after the ski mask, we do a hat with ear flaps!" Then Weiss frowned, because the ear flaps were for humans. She turned to the gaunt maid. "Should we cut holes in these too?"
"I don't think Blake would like it if her ears were exposed. Aren't they more sensitive than most of her body?"
"Well," The tall maid smirked, "More sensitive than everything except her- oof!"
The stocky maid recovered from jump-kicking the tall maid in the stomach, and turned to Weiss. "We have this sort of thermal wrap? It's not sticky, so it might fall off, but it won't get caught in Blake's fluff."
They decided to go with that, and after that, a pair of snow goggles, which made the whole room dark, and after that, a couple thematic hats, and Blake's head was declared snow-proof.
They put two layers of gloves onto Blake's hands before Weiss suddenly got excited. "And mittens! We need mittens, because they're for kittens! Just like you, Blakey!" Weiss jumped on her heels.
So Blake ended up in clothes without separate fingers. Hopefully she wouldn't need to scratch anything or play the piano or something.
And after that, they strapped the battery packs to Blake's back and hooked up the heating rods. Blake suddenly felt comfortably warm. She purred.
"Yay!" Weiss said.
The gaunt maid looked over Blake. "She looks like a big marshmallow."
"A right brilliant fluffy marshmerrow, she does."
Weiss clutched her mouth. "Oh my Dust, you're so right! Blake, maybe you're secretly part marshmallow!"
"it's cows that are part marshmallow, actually." Blake said, through her layers. "specifically, their hooves."
The gaunt maid laughed at that.
Blake waddled out to the back door, where the snow had accumulated almost fifteen centimeters high.
It was still sort of cold, but it was bearable. Blake steeped into the frozen water. It crunched under her foot.
Weiss, of course, was still in her sleeveless, knee-length nightdress. She jumped into the snow and rolled around in it, laughing all the while.
Weiss stood up, portions of snow stuck to her hair and clothes, and she walked towards Blake, smiling. Blake instinctively recoiled from the snow.
But the ensuing hug didn't make Blake any colder. Not any warmer either, but Blake appreciated it nonetheless. She patted Weiss's head with her mitten-ed hands.
"I'll tell you a secret, Blakey," Weiss said, "Just because Schnees don't get bothered by the cold, doesn't mean we're warm. What warms a persons' heart is thinking about the people you love, and knowing that they love you back."
The stocky maid wiped away a tear. "I couldn't have said it better myself, my lady."
Weiss smiled back. "Yeah! Did you know my mom disagrees with you, on that?"
The maid shrugged. "Figures."
Weiss turned to Blake and looked her in the eyes. "So that's my secret Blake; I love you. Mwah! Even through all the layers and layers and layers of wool, cotton, polystyrene and asbestos, you warm my heart, Blakey."
Blake was glad that her face was covered in layers, so that Weiss couldn't see her blush.
- A POSSIBLE FUTURE -
Weiss sits alone in her dorm, in the dark.
And the door opens and the light turns on. It's Yang.
"Hey, Weissicle," Yang says, "Are- are you okay?"
Weiss breaths. "Do you do hugs, Yang?"
Yang holds her arms out and tilts her head to the side and smiles. "I do the best hugs."
And Weiss rubs some of the redness out of her eyes as she stands up and walks into Yang's chest, and the taller girl's arms wrap around her back.
Bar one exception, Yang is right, at least as far as Weiss is concerned. Weiss cries into Yang's shoulder, silently, for a little while. Yang silently comforts her.
"Is it- is it all pointless then?" Weiss says, eventually.
"You mean, is everything pointless?" Yang says, "Ruby has some opinions about that, if you really want to talk about it."
Weiss says nothing. Yang coughs.
"Okay, bad joke, my bad," Yang says. "You're talking about you and Blake, right?"
Weiss sniffles. "If our entire relationship was based on something she didn't even want in the first place- Or if I treated her so badly without realizing it that she can never forgive me-" Weiss swallows. "Then- then of course she'd hate me."
"I- I mean," Yang says. Weiss feels the bond's head nod from side to side, "People can change, right? So maybe you shouldn't give up?"
"Maybe I should, " Weiss finally admits, "Maybe I should just find someone else, who I haven't already messed things up with. Someone who I can just have a fresh start with."
"Well," Yang says. She gently takes Weiss's hand in hers, and clasps it, in entwined fingers. Weiss looks up.
Yang smiles. "Maybe you don't have to look too far for that."
Weiss blinks.
Yang tries to bring Weiss's hand to her chest, against Yang's breast-
It's the suddenness that takes Weiss aback. Weiss steps out of the hug, pulling her hand free. "Yang - what are you doing?" Weiss says.
"You don't want to touch my breasts?" Yang asks. She frowns. "Isn't- isn't that what people want?"
Weiss blinks. "Yang-"
Yang steps back, to sit on the closest bed, and she turns away. She breaths, heavily, once, and her voice almost cracks. "Am I just not good enough for anyone? Am I not attractive?"
"Yang-"
"I just- isn't- I thought this is what people wanted -"
Yang brings her fist to her mouth. Her eyes water and her chest heaves with a suppressed sob.
Weiss sits down on the bed, next to Yang, and she pulls Yang's head into her chest. It's a little awkward, due to the height difference, but Yang seems to like it.
Weiss pats her teammate's head. Yang's hair isn't as fluffy as Weiss remembers Blake being, but Yang takes very good care of her hair, and it's rather nice. Weiss runs her hand along Yang's head.
Yang nuzzles Weiss's neck and wraps her arms around Weiss's waist. It's been a while since Weiss has done this with someone. A part of Weiss is acutely aware of the, erm, softer parts of Yang, but Weiss puts those thoughts away, for now. And it's not like she dislikes just holding Yang, like this.
Yang's breathing steadies, after a while.
"Heh," Yang says into Weiss's collarbone, "You're good at hugs too."
Weiss stifles her smile. "Am I?"
"Yeah." Yang rubs her head against Weiss's shoulders.
"Well, I'm happy to help." Weiss suppresses a chuckle. "I feel like I haven't been able to do that a lot, recently."
"Well, you helped me. Thank you," Yang says. She continues to mewl around in Weiss's arms.
"And- did- did you actually want to hook up?" Weiss ventures. She worries about Yang's answer.
Yang pauses. "Honestly," she says, "I've never wanted to hook up with anyone. I like cuddling. But people are weird about being intimate if you're not sharing a piece of what quickens the rot, and I figure, hey, maybe its a small price to pay? I mean, going out to dinner isn't bad, and I could just put up with the smooching and the touching, but at least we'd get to snuggle."
"So that what you want? Just snuggling?"
Yang pauses. "I- I mean, It's not like I only want that. I like hanging out. I like just talking. But if someone wants to snuggle, they usually also want it to go further, you know? They want to do some ... some other stuff, and they say snuggling and not going further is weird."
Weiss nods. "Okay." After a moment, she continues. "I think I understand. Blake and I used to snuggle all the time. It used to not be weird, but at some point it was."
"See?" Yang says. "Why is it weird?"
"Well," Weiss says, "I don't know. Maybe since, like, a lot of sex is snuggling while naked, a lot of people see it as a prelude to it?"
Yang leans back. "Oh. I- I didn't mean to imply that we- you know-"
"No, I figured." Weiss says. She hold her arms out again. "It's okay. I'm not going to do anything you don't want."
Yang smiles and laughs, slightly, in relief, and they hold each other for a while.
"Are you going to be okay?" Yang says, eventually.
Weiss smirks forlornly. "I could ask you that same question."
Yang smiles, genuinely. "Nah, I've been fine for ages. My issues aren't new. Just, recurring, sometimes." She wipes her eyes. " But- I'd love to have someone to snuggle with, without having to worry about it becoming something else."
Weiss smiles. "Yeah. I can do that for you. I don't dislike, ah, snuggling."
So they do, then, and in the future.
- PRESENT DAY -
Weiss continued to cry Blake's name, over and over and over and over-
Blake sighed. She figured now would be a good time to go cheer Weiss up with her mere presence. Weiss had suffered enough. Also, Blake ran out of tuna snackies.
Blake ninja-ed out of her hidey hole and walked up to Weiss.
"Blaaaaaake~ come baaaackk~"
Weiss was in the middle of the room, slumped over with her face turned upwards, contorted by her wailing. Her eye was closed and her mouth was opened and her cheeks were red and puffy and wet and it was all just really gross. The garbage may have had something to do with it.
So Blake sat down across from Weiss and waited for Weiss to open her eye and see Blake and be cheered up.
And Weiss kept crying. At one point, she paused to inhale long and deep and Blake leaned forward expectantly-
But Weiss never opened her eye, and she started wailing again. "Blaaaaaaaakkke~"
Blake blinked.
Blake sighed. Maybe she should say something?
Blake left to use the bathroom, since Weiss wasn't looking.
And when she came back, and Weiss was still crying, Blake flopped on the floor in front of Weiss, and she waited for Weiss to stop being so obsessed with her own sadness and notice her.
At some point, Blake fell asleep.
- A POSSIBLE FUTURE -
Over the next few weeks, whenever Weiss or Yang feel a little sad or lonely, they snuggle. It's nice- doing homework while sitting on the same couch in the library, lying together in their dorm catching up on TV shows, resting together. Sharing their insecurities and hopes and lazy moments, of weathering together the more difficult parts of life, of Weiss nursing the Blake-shaped wound in her heart.
Schoolwork's going slow, so Weiss decides to make today a snuggle day.
Yang's in their dorm, lying on her bed. Weiss climbs up to her. She nestles into Yang's grip, her head resting against Yang's breasts and under her chin.
"Oh. Um, Ruby and I were going to do some video games," Yang says, "You're welcome to join us, but I know you don't like her."
Weiss scrunches her mouth to the side. "It's fine. I'll- I'll find something else to do."
Yang smiles. "You have other friends too, right?"
Weiss scrunches her mouth even more to the side. "I- guess."
"Or maybe," Yang says, "you'd like to find someone to date?"
Weiss freezes. She's acutely aware of her head and hips, and trying very hard to ensure they don't wiggle. "Was- was I being weird?" she asks.
Yang makes a smile. "Not- not really," Yang says. She clears her throat and puts on a more natural smile. "I mean, it's fine, really. It's just, maybe you should find someone to date? I mean, you don't need to, but like, you shouldn't have to pretend you don't want that, if you do, you know?"
"Um," Weiss says. "I - I think I do, but- I'd been obsessed with Blake. And I do like snuggling with you. I don't want you to think I'd rather be with someone else."
"Hey, it's not like, liking people is a zero-sum thing. You can be intimate with different people without compromising your feelings for any one of them, especially if you're with different people for different reasons."
Weiss scrunches her mouth. "I think I see what you're saying. I'll think about it."
Yang smiles, reassuringly. "Sorry for harping on this so much, it's just- I don't want you to feel like you're giving up dating, for me."
Weiss breaths, and decides to acknowledge the trembling in her, let's say heart, for once. "I mean- I do. I do want to- to date, and to be- be intimate with- someone- but-"
Weiss bites her lip. "I - I'd feel like I was betraying Blake. "
"Did you promise Blake anything? I mean, even if so, you can keep multiple people in your heart."
"Well, Blake wants me to stop keeping her in my heart," Weiss says, "And I do kind of want to move on? Maybe? I did just tell Jaune I wasn't ready to date."
"If he's not your type, then he's not your type. And if you're not actually ready, then that's fine."
Yang sits up. "But I was getting at is, if you want to find, like, a girlfriend or something, for what I can't give you, then I'd like to help you." She smiles. "Consider it repayment for the snuggles, if you want."
So Weiss thinks about it. Eventually, she agrees.
- PRESENT DAY -
When Blake woke up, Weiss was still crying.
Blake sighed. She stood up and brushed off her thighs.
Even though Weiss smelled worse than usual and was covered in garbage, Blake walked up and hugged the human girl, around the neck and shoulders. Weiss's eye shot open and she gasped, elation tempering her grief. After a moment, she hugged Blake back, resting her head in the crook of Blake's neck.
"Blake!" Weiss gasped, "Blake you came back!" Weiss managed to say. She let out one more long wail as she rubbed her wet, gross face all around Blake's neck.
And Weiss squeezed Blake. Blake thought she had been squeezed before, but now Weiss was actually squeezing her, more tightly than Blake thought she would be able to. Blake was worried her ribs might break. She let out an 'urk.'
And by now, what members of the staff were around today had come out of hiding.
"Wait," said the new security officer, to Weiss. "Blake's a person?"
"She's a kitty! The cutest, fluffiest kitty ever!" Weiss said, and then more softly, with her nose rubbing Blake's cheek, "She's my kitty."
"I thought she was, like, a stuffed animal or something."
Blake had since shifted into a position that allowed her to breath. She patted her stomach. "well, today I'm stuffed."
Weiss held Blake out at arms length and pouted. "Blake, did you get into our food, and that's why I didn't see you all day?"
Blake blinked. She didn't confirm or deny that.
Weiss smiled softly, again, and she pulled Blake back in and resumed nuzzling Blake's neck. "It's okay: I know mean old Winter took you away from me. That's the only reason you'd ever leave my side."
Blake blinked. She didn't confirm or deny that.
"So I promise, Blakey, I'm never going to let you go again."
Blake blinked.
"I mean it Blakey; I'll never, ever let you go, ever again." Weiss said. She When the world succumbs to darkness and the last stars breath out gasps of dying light, as all the monuments of humanity crumble into mere vestiges and the vestiges fade into dust and the memories of memories die with tremulous whimpers on the lips of the last lonely scions of a world long dead; after our pallid sun implodes into a husk and the husk's heartbeat cools into absolute stillness; after all the stars in the sky wink out, one by one until only a blank black sky greets the charnal cinders of the dust of the withered skeletons of any who could even lament, with mournful breath, it's inevitability, after even Dust returns to ash and all the lights in the sky blink out- after all that, there'll still be me, and you, and I'll still be holding on to you, Blake. Forever."
Blake blinked.
"cool."
Weiss giggled and jumbled Blake's head. Blake sat there, for a while, in Weiss's arms.
And eventually, Blake got bored. She tried to stand up-
And Weiss got up with her, still hugging her around the waist. Weiss had to adjust her position a little, though.
"wait," Blake coughed, "you didn't- you didn't mean that literally, did you?"
"Yes I did!" Weiss smiled. She nuzzled Blake's side. "I love you, Blakey. Mwah! And I'll never let you go. Never ever! Never ever ever ever ever..."
Blake was suddenly very happy that she used the restroom beforehand. On the upside, maybe Weiss wouldn't be able to give her a bath like this, even though, because of the garbage, Blake might need one (not that she'd ever admit that.)
And Weiss was still hugging Blake when the adult Schnees returned. Weiss managed to clean the garbage off of herself, while still holding Blake the whole time.
Blake and Weiss and Winter ended up in the same room as Winter and the parents.
"So," began mum Schnee. She smiled, hopefully, "Did you three have a good time, today?"
"Oh, it was great," deadpanned Winter. "Almost as bad as talking with Donna's parents last month after having failed our winter combat exercise."
"Winter was mean to Blake," Weiss pouted. She rubbed her cheek on Blake's head.
Mum Schnee frowned. "Winter, you know I wanted you to learn from Weiss, while we were away."
"Yeah yeah, Weiss is the perfect one," Winter mumbled. but she refreshed her smile and said, more loudly. "Of course. I shall try to learn from the perfect little heiress, going forward."
"Winter," mum Schnee continued, "Weiss has become very diligent and emotionally stable these past few months, and I really think that you could learn something from her..."
Both sisters were mostly silent through the rest of the lecture.
And later, when Winter was away, Mum Schnee kneeled down in front of her youngest daughter and tried to make eye contact. Weiss pouted at the ground.
"I took your proposal into consideration," the adult said, "And if you would like to go camping until Winter has to- gets to return to training, I think we can put out some missives among the maids. There is a good possibility that someone would be interested in accompanying you on a camping trip, while we deal - while we enjoy Winters company."
"Oh." Weiss stated. "Um. Maybe some other time. I think I should stay here, so I can show Blake that I can protect her." Weiss pulled Blake's head up a little and continued her hug.
Pa Schnee's mouth flattened, slightly. "Oh? I thought Blake was supposed to be protecting you."
Blake blinked. That was right; she was supposed to be the badass ninja bodyguard here. But wasn't that a secret? She shot the taller Schnee a look.
"What?" Weiss said. "But Blake's too fluffy for that!"
Blake worried that her cover might be blown. Mum Schnee turned to glare at her husband. Pa Schnee refreshed his smile and rubbed his head. "Perhaps I mispoke. I was referring to the fact that Blake is taller than you, and thus would be more likely to scare away things like bears and panthers and sisters."
Weiss pouted. "That's just because of her shoes! Blake's definitely super small and cute."
"Weiss, sweetie," mum Schnee said, "Blake doesn't wear shoes. You're just short. But that's okay; we still love you."
Weiss pouted. "No I'm nooooot~"
As Weiss's parents continued to tease her, Blake looked inward. She had caused Weiss a lot of pain today, all because of some stupid grudge. She felt shame.
And after Weiss prepared the both of them for bed, Blake resolved to protect Weiss for the rest of Winters stay, even if it meant that she had to be apart from her.
So in the middle of the night, when Weiss was asleep, Blake managed to extract herself from Weiss's arms, with Weiss only grunting a little. Blake figured Weiss would be fine, without her, for a while.
- A POSSIBLE OMAKE -
Weiss waits in the lunch room. Its late, but there are still a few people here. One of them is Yang. Weiss sits across from Yang and gathers her nerves.
"And if you need to be bailed out at all, just wave." Yang says.
Weiss breaths. "Okay."
Yang gives her a thumbs up. "You can do this."
And Weiss steps into the cafeteria approaches the cute upperclasswoman she's seen around school. Yang had agreed with Weiss in her choice.
Weiss takes one more breath. She can just have a conversation, maybe flirt a little, see where it went, and then start moving on from Blake. Straightforward. She just needs to gather the courage for that first step, and then she'd see how many more steps she wants to take.
"H-hey," Weiss says, once she's close enough to the table where the cute girl is sitting. She claps her hands in front of her and rocks on her feet, slightly.
"Sweet Frith, if you've got the nerve to approach, then sit down at least."
"O-okay," Weiss stutters. She sits down, across from the upperclasswoman, and tries to remember what she was going to say.
"I can't digest meat," Velvet says to the square of extremely rare steak on her fork. "But the consumption of flesh is symbolic. And humans eat indigestible materials all the time, you know."
Velvet sticks the fork of steak into her mouth and chews, slowly.
Weiss coughs. "You mean, like, on aeroliners?"
Velvet chews her mouthful more. She stares into the distance, and then to Weiss. "Funny," she enunciates.
Weiss coughs again. "S-so-"
Weiss flinches as Velvet impales another piece of steak onto her fork, suddenly. Velvet lifts it up and examines it. "So," she states, "You have someone you want to forget about, and you thought maybe flirting with a cute, lonely Faunus girl might sooth the ache."
And that's what Weiss is used to; everyone seeing right through her. It's a little refreshing. "Is it that obvious?"
"Pfeffaroo's mentioned something about it." Velvet looks up and waves the air, slightly. "Not explicitly, but she's bad at keeping secrets. Or perhaps I'm good at uncovering them." She eats her cube of meat.
Weiss chuckles, awkwardly, at the wall. It made sense Blake and Velvet had talked, considering they were both Faunus, but Weiss had not wanted to assume anything, before hand.
"I mean, I just wanted to talk, maybe?" Weiss says.
"You don't want to nibble my ears?" Velvet leans forward and wiggles the lapine aural organs atop her head. Weiss blushes. "You are that Schnee's daughter, aren't you?"
Weiss scrunches her mouth. "Y-you can't believe everything the tabloids say-"
"So you have a weird racial fetish, you're the scion of the worst offense to Faunus equality in the last two centuries, and you're a freshman. So that's three strikes against you," Velvet says to another slice of meat on her fork. She devours it, pointedly.
Weiss forces a smile. "I understand. I'll leave now-"
"So impatient. Very well." Before Weiss can finish getting up, Velvet scoops her steak into a lunch box and stands up, stretching her back. Weiss blinks.
"Well," Velvet hefts her bag and her camera over her shoulder and beckons to Weiss with the hand that isn't carrying her lunch box. "Are you coming or not? My place is free, though I suppose if you have a preference, you should voice it now."
"W-what?" Weiss follows anyway, though. "But- we only just met, and we haven't talked-"
"Oh, sweet Frith; I'm not asking you to marry me or anything. You're here for one reason, aren't you?" Velvet states, "And you're a sub, right? I wasn't misreading that?"
It's the suddenness that takes Weiss aback. "I- I've been described as a switch," Weiss stutters.
"That's fine, then." Velvet's expression softens. "Of course, if you've changed your mind- or if you do at any point- then just say so. No problem. I won't do anything you're not comfortable with."
"I-" Weiss takes a breath. "I mean- lead the way?"
Velvet smiles. "Safeword's 'photoplasty'."
And Weiss gives Yang a nod and follows Velvet to her dorm.
- OOO -
And I'm proud to bring you "Scene's from the alternate universe where RWBY is a queer+ Shoujo starring under-socialized nerd Weiss and her harem composed of childhood friend Blake, asexual homoromantic roommate Yang, Girl Prince Pyrrha, otokonoko Jaune, polyamorous couple RenNora, and domme sempai Velvet." Lay me in that trashheap now. (-_-') But, yeah, I can see how that might be worse off as a condensed interlude in a satire fic, rather than its own thing. Hmm. Too late to turn back now, though.
More seriously, though: I guarantee no expertise in the experiences of asexual people. Apologies to any ace readers who don't see their experiences properly portrayed here. I welcome any corrections.