Hey! I am PomDragpy, the author of this fiction. I really enjoy talking about my life so expect lots of author notes ^. ^ '
Seriously, this is my first fiction, so I apologize if the writing is not excellent, I promise to do my best to improve myself ! I also promise to try to bring it to completion, and to try not to let it whitout updates for several months, I know it's a little sad when that happens (I don't guarantee anything though).
I take this opportunity to ask you to point out any potential typos / spelling / grammar errors so I can correct them and have a pleasant reading fiction. English isn't my first linguage, so there will be errors (I hope it'll be "a few" and not "many"...). To translate, I put the text in Google translate and I reread it, changing what seems wrong to me, so obviously there will be errors... Otherwise, it is a fiction on RWBY, a universe that I like a lot. I don't know if many french people will read, since they are not very numerous in the fandom, but I will post the french version anyway (pour les éventuels français qui passent par là, la fiction en français est disponible sur mon compte, allez voir !).
I don't own RWBY, obviously.
For those who want some additional clarification, this is a Modern AU with Freezerburn (Weiss x Yang) in the chapters will run around 3,000-5,000 words (today it's 3,000). Otherwise, I don't really plan an update schedule, I know I wouldn't keep it anyway.
So… I'm sorry about the problem with the formatting, I really don't know what happened (thanks for telling me about it by the way). As I had written when I first posted it, I didn't have my computer for like two weeks, so I couldn't do anything about it before now… Sorry again (I swear I will pay more attention from now on).
I sincerely hope that you will like it, do not hesitate to share your theories, reactions, opinions (whether positive or negative, constructive if possible for the latter). I think I'm starting to piss you off by "talking" so much, so I'll leave it to you. Enjoy!
Weiss sighed. She definitely couldn't concentrate. She was in the library, sitting at a table, an open book and some sheets ready to be used for taking notes. The young woman even had a pen in her hand, ready to work. Around her, the few people present were all absorbed in their reading, allowing a silence conducive to studies and readings. Despite this, Weiss couldn't concentrate: her mind was assaulted by thoughts she couldn't put aside. Her life was not easy, at the moment: personal and professional problems mingled and linked together without giving the young woman any rest.
When she was younger, she was studying hard to be ready when it will be time for her to take over her family's company, the Schnee Tech Company abbreviated STC. STC had been, since several decades, one of the largest companies in the world. Specializing in electronics, it remained at the top of technology by offering ever more efficient products to its consumers. However, the company was also known for the more than disastrous working conditions of a large number of employees, in particular the Faunus - some even going as far as to call it slavery. Despite this, people continued to buy the products, and nothing changed. After discovering this sad truth thanks to Blake, a Faunus cat who became her best friend, Weiss had vowed to change that when her turn to lead the company will come. Therefore she had studied even harder, even going so far as to meet with former employees to ask their advice on what could be improved. Obviously, she was not well received everywhere, but some agreed to help her after she explained to them the reasons for her request.
Today, even with that hard work, Weiss wondered if she really was the right fit. At 28, she found herself at the head of the company, with a mountain of problems to which she had great difficulty finding solutions. Her father, who died a few weeks earlier during a White Fang attack, had not really planned a "retirement" so soon: the heiress had therefore suddenly found herself having to pay attention to the budget, direct the research, enter into partnerships, and try to improve the conditions of the workers. It was something studying how to run a business; it was another thing to really have to do it, especially with such a big company. In addition to that, there were the outside people - consumers, rivals, allies - who studied her every move. Weiss found herself with a lot of pressure on her shoulders, and wasn't sure she could resist it. Even Winter's arrival to help her could not reassure her: her older sister, a soldier, had promised to come as soon as she could to help her and had kept her word, arriving just a few days after their father's death.
On top of all this, Weiss was also worried about the White Fang: the organization, normally pacifist and fighting for equality between humans and Faunus, had ended up splitting into two branches. The first branch was commanded by Ghira Belladonna, Blake's father, and continued to give speeches and demonstrations in a peaceful manner. The second was a dissident and more violent branch, creating numerous attacks and attacking all humans without distinction, and even some Faunus considered "traitors". This terrorist branch, sometimes nicknamed the "Bloody White Fang", was commanded by Adam Taurus, a wanted criminal. The latter was responsible for the explosion that killed Jacques Schnee, Weiss's father, and the young woman knew that she was part of the 'prioritized targets'.
In short, Weiss Schnee's life was a real mess right now, and the negative aura created by her thoughts was not helping.
Frustrated, she closed the book more violently than necessary, attracting a glare from a library employee who was arranging books not far away. Weiss paid no attention: she covered her face with both hands, trying to calm the migraine she felt coming. Suddenly she froze, sensing a presence near her. Forcing herself to appear neutral and polite, she slowly raised her head in the person's direction. When she looked at them for the first time, she couldn't hide her perplexity.
In front of her stood a child, a little boy who could not have been more than 8 or 9 years old. His clothes were pretty normal, a blue sweatshirt that looked a bit too big with jeans and sneakers. He had tousled shoulder length hair that seemed to defy gravity, the tips pointing upwards instead of resting on his shoulders. His eyes, a curious indigo color, looked at her with an intensity that was almost frightening. However, what caught Weiss' eyes the most was what pierced the boy's hair: on his head, a pair of round ears the same color as his hair was clearly visible. Combined with the hair that looked almost like a mane, the ears left little doubt: it was a lion Faunus. Instinctively, Weiss couldn't help but stress: the issue with the White Fang had made her a little paranoid, and she couldn't help but wonder if they would dare to use a child to bring her a bomb and get rid of her. Deciding to remain cautious, she tried to diffuse her growing unease toward this ... spy ?
"Hello... ?" she asked hesitantly.
The child continued to look at her without saying anything. Just when Weiss was seriously considering getting up and leaving as quickly as possible, he finally answered.
"You don't seem to be doing well."
For a few seconds, Weiss thought she had misheard. Noticing absent-mindedly that he hadn't even answered her greeting, her mind stopped on each of the words and took a good ten seconds to really understand. Completely taken aback, Weiss heard herself answer:
"I ... It is ... Indeed."
She was currently stammering. Searching for her words. In front of a child for God's sake ! Weiss Schnee, who always remained fluid and impeccable in her words in front of some of the most influential people in the country, if not the planet, was completely frozen by a child in one sentence. "Be prepared for any situation and whoever who wants to talk to you," her father had told her when training her when she was younger... He must have overlooked the power of youth, apparently.
"Why ?"
The question caught her off guard once again. Did this kid know the meaning of the word "private life"? And where were his parents, anyway? Okay, it was fairly safe as it was a library, but that's not why parents should become irresponsible! Yet something in the young Faunus' gaze, the seriousness he displayed, prompted Weiss to answer him.
"A lot of problems."
Her answer, although true, was still rather vague and allowed her to spare details. Weiss almost wanted to say "including you" but refrained: a kid, even far too curious, did not deserve to be used as a verbal punching-ball for her problems. Instead, she put her hands back on her face as she leaned on the table, hoping he would took the hint and leave her alone. The child did not answer nor did he asked a new question. However, he didn't move either. Weiss still felt his presence, still in the same place, way too close to her for her liking. After a few seconds, she cracked, and, thanks to her great reserves of patience forced herself to take a calm voice, looking him straight in the eyes.
"What now ?" she asked rather harshly.
Ow. So much for the great reserves of patience and the calm voice. She instantly began to pray to heaven and all the gods from past, present and future that he did not start to cry because of her. She really didn't want to make a Faunus child cry, in a library of all places !
Still, he didn't seem afraid by the harsh tone: he didn't even flinch. The only thing that betrayed a sudden nervousness was the fact that his hand had gone to one of the cords of his sweatshirt and was playing with it. He finally replied, with a much more hesitant voice than the previous times:
"My mom always says a hug is the best medicine when nothing goes as we want. Do you ... want one?"
He had looked down at the ground as he asked the question. Weiss was once again completely taken aback, her face frozen in an expression halfway between astonishment and bewilderment. The nerve of this child had truly no limit. Seriously, what normal human being would find it normal to offer hugs to strangers ?! Once again, Weiss wondered what kind of parents did not taught their child that it was dangerous to approach strangers, and that he should not offer free hugs! And the worst part was that he was sincere, she could see it in his eyes. If he behaved like that with everyone, it was a real miracle that he had come so far in one piece ...
Fortunately, Weiss didn't have to think about an answer, as a third voice suddenly sounded:
"Zenith! What did I tell you about not talking to strangers?"
Turning to the voice, Weiss could observe the new arrival, supposedly the mother of the child. She was a beautiful woman: tall, easily a head taller than Weiss - even with her heels on - golden curls cascading freely down her back, lilac eyes looking worriedly at her son talking to an unknown person. Like her son, she was dressed simply, in an orange T-shirt, shoulders and arms covered by a long brown jacket -Weiss noticed that she didn't put on the sleeves-, black hiking pants and hiking boots. She must have been close to Weiss' age, if not the same. Arriving near her son - Zenith if she heard correctly - the woman knelt at his level, took her left arm out of her jacket and put her hand on the child's shoulder.
"I told you before, not all people are nice, and most don't want to be bothered!" she said sternly. "I know you never have bad intentions, but you know that some strangers aren't as kind as you." she continued, smiling this time.
Hearing this, Weiss was a little reassured: the mother was not completely irresponsible, she warned her son of the danger that strangers can represent. But, on the other hand, she left him alone in a library, unattended, so ... 'partially irresponsible' type of mother. The child, who looked sad during his mother's speech, ended up smiling weakly.
"Sorry, mom ..." Zenith replied before turning to Weiss, who was watching the scene without saying anything. "Excuse me for disturbing you."
Seeing that Weiss wasn't responding, and unable to determine whether Zenith was forgiven or not, the mother got up and turned to Weiss as well:
"I'm so sorry if he disturbed you, he ... is sometimes a little too curious for his own good. I can assure you he didn't mean any harm. And uh ... I didn't mean to imply that you have bad intentions, just that people aren't always kind to children, "she said embarrassedly.
"Do not worry, it's normal." Weiss replied. "He... didn't really bother me much to tell the truth, I wasn't really working." she added after a moment of hesitation.
At these words, the blonde seemed to relax, her face showing a relieved expression. She was about to speak again when her son suddenly seemed to remember something.
"Mom! How did it go by the way?" he asked excitedly.
Weiss saw the other woman wince for a moment, but it was so furtive that she almost thought she imagined it. Finally, the blonde put on a smile that seemed ... False. Like the smile of someone about to break bad news, a sad smile. She ruffled Zenith's hair between his ears.
"I didn't get it. My profile didn't match, even for something as simple as books..." she replied.
Zenith immediately lost his enthusiasm upon hearing this. For a short moment his face took on a disappointed look, before finally looking sad and questioning, his ears falling a little to the side. He looked at his mother with a concerned expression, as if he was seeing through her fake smile.
Seeing and hearing this let Weiss puzzled about the situation. Let it be clear, she had no intention of listening to their conversation, it was their fault for being too close! But after hearing Zenith's mother's statement, she couldn't help but be confused. It appeared that the mother did not have the qualifications to ... arrange books? And she had been refused because of that ... But why? Was this woman special or something? Weiss knew that was something that didn't concern her - ironically, she did the same thing as Zenith - but now she felt an unhealthy curiosity pushing her to seek for answers. However, she knew it was out of place, and so decided to drop the topic: she didn't have time to deal with that sort of thing anyway.
Clearing her mind, Weiss realized that mother and son had changed positions and were hugging each other. She noticed that when the little blond clung to his mother with both arms, the woman hugged him by only using her left arm. As she began to wonder why, the jacket slipped a bit, revealing the woman's arms. On her right side, a stump stopping a little above the elbow was visible.
Oh.
All the questions Weiss had previously were resolved at once. Obviously, if she had lost an arm, arranging books would turn into a much more complicated task ...Weiss didn't realize she was staring at the stump until Zenith saw her. With a fluid gesture, he put the jacket back on correctly, then stared at her, as if daring her to say anything. Her mother, at first puzzled, quickly made the connection and her face took on an ... embarrassed? Shameful? expression. The young CEO immediately blamed herself and clumsily tried to make up for it.
"I... I'm sorry, I shouldn't have... stared like that, that's not... not very polite," she managed to say.
"No, no problem, that's a normal reaction" replied the other woman, smiling weakly. A perfect silence followed her response, Weiss unsure of what to do to diffuse the growing unease. 'Be prepared for any situation' ... She mentally gave herself a dozen slaps. Finally, the blonde took on a more cheerful expression, and turning to her son:
"Zenith, come on, let's go! We've bothered the lady enough already." Turning to Weiss, she continued "Sorry again for the inconvenience, have a good day!"
"Yes, bye, uh ... lady in white!" Zenith chained.
Hearing this, her mother looked more ashamed than she had been before. However, Weiss noticed that she seemed to be pursing her lips, as if to hold back from laughing. She didn't have to worry though, as Weiss was not offended by the nickname, rather amused on the contrary, and could not suppress a smile.
"Weiss. My name." she added quickly, seeing the child's confusion. Extending her hand, she continued "Nice to meet you, Zenith, is it?" He nodded, his face instantly returning to a happy expression, and squeezed her hand. Seeing this, her mother looked relieved: finally, the two left, Zenith waving goodbye.
"Goodbye, Weiss! Don't forget to take care of yourself!" he cried happily.
Weiss chuckled softly at the words and quickly waved his hand in response. When they were out of sight, the CEO realized she was still smiling. If she had guessed that her trip to the library will end like this ... Looking at her watch, she hold back a curse. She was supposed to leave in five minutes! Putting her things away and rushing for the exit, she couldn't help but think back to that little lion Faunus and his mother ... there was something about these two that made Weiss want to take an interest in them, to know more about their life. During her drive, she could not help but think back to the encounter, and could not prevent dozens questions to make their way in her mind. The CEO suddenly saw that she had almost arrived home. She shook her head, determined to refocus on the issues she faced within the STC.
It was not until she parked her car that she noticed something: since her meeting with Zenith, she had not thought even once about the problems that awaited her. As she entered, she found Winter sitting at the living room table, her eyes riveted on her computer screen. However, she quickly turned away when she heard Weiss arrive.
"Weiss! How was your trip to the library? Did you find the information you wanted there?"
The young CEO couldn't really picture herself admitting to Winter that she hadn't achieved anything, especially since her sister seemed to have worked on the computer without stopping all afternoon ... But, on the other hand, Winter would understand and certainly even ask for details about the encounter. Plus, Winter was one of the few people Weiss could truly be herself with, who she could talk to about anything and everything without fear of judgment. In addition, the young woman knew that she wouldn't be effective at all until she told her sister about it, so ...
"Not really, but it was... interesting to say the least."
"Interesting ?" Winter repeated questioningly. "What do you mean ?"
Weiss took her time before answering, having a thousand ways to answer that question. Deciding to have a little fun - God knows she needed it - she smiled when she thought about what she was about to say. She took her most serious expression, looked her sister straight in the eye, and said:
"I learned that talking to a child is more difficult than negotiating with businessmen, that having only one arm is not practical for storing books, and that the best medicine when things aren't going well is a hug."
Seeing Winter's face, Weiss couldn't help it.
She burst out laughing.
Hey! It's me again (you missed me I bet). In the author's notes at the bottom, I will give details on some points of the chapter or some elements and characters (for those who are not interested, you can skip). For this chapter, I just want to clarify a few things:
- Weiss and Yang aren't the same people as their canon versions (they haven't experienced the same thing, are older -28 years old-, etc.) so if sentences or reactions seem OOT (out of character) it's normally intentional (I still try to respect the original character as much as possible, just warn if you see a big OOT so I can check that I really did it on purpose).
- Except Zenith, there will be no important character in the story that will be OC : they will all come from the series.
- I read a lot of Freezerburn Modern AU, and I noticed that the stories were sometimes redundant (Weiss struggling with her father, Yang struggling with her problems with Raven ...) so I tried to do something that I hadn't seen anywhere (it is up to you to judge later if it is successful).
- "Zenith" is a word that (in my opinion) sounds good when used as a name, it's a word which is the same in English and French except for the accent on the 'e', which is rarely used in both languages and which makes reference to the Sun (which is perfect for Yang's son). In addition, we also respect the rule of colors by referring to the Sun, so it's perfect.
As Zenith said so well, don't forget to take care of yourself and see you next time!
