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Volume 2, Chapter 6, 'Burning the Candle'


Late-morning sunshine cascaded through the decorated curtains and gleamed across the black ribbon in Weiss's hair as she inventoried the remaining tables, ensuring that each had a vase of twenty white roses and could still hold room for punch glasses.

The work was good mental training and, more importantly, a distraction.

Weiss looked over at her leader, who was laying sprawled over one of the small tables, head down and clearly still upset over Blake's departure yesterday.

Though Weiss herself had comforted the Faunus rather effectively before, it had been for a subject she hadn't been (directly) involved in. Now, whenever she thought of Blake…

It was becoming abundantly clear to the heiress to reviewing one's sexuality was a long and difficult process that she hoped she would never have to do again.

Weiss supposed that, if one good thing came out of this situation, it was that she didn't have to watch the other girl, in her yukata, sleep in her bed last night that she herself had been rolling around in.

The heiress screwed her eyes shut as a renewed blush established itself over the bridge of her nose. Setting down her clipboard, she walked over and ruffled Ruby's black-and-red hair in an attempt to both convey sympathy and relieve herself of the tension caused by whatever was establishing her new pink complexion at that particular moment.

The ground trembled as Yang set down a huge speaker near her teammates. The blonde brawler spared a look of sorrow to the Ice Queen, who was still trying to compose herself. She paced over to the pair and put a reassuring hand on each of their shoulders. "Guys, I know you're upset about Blake, but trust me. I've got a plan that'll ensure she's here tonight."

Weiss bit back a retort concerning the last plan the blonde had arranged for Blake. I guess that's still more than what I've got. Shaking her head, she heard the sound of the main hall's doors opening and turned to see Sun and Neptune approaching.

"Man, this looks WAY cooler than the orientation party back in Mistral." The blue-haired boy twisted his head around, taking in the grand scale of decorations that Weiss and Yang had managed to agree on.

Yang twirled Weiss around so that the two could meet the boys. The heiress felt anxious as Neptune gave her a wink but was distracted by her teammate ruffling her hair, just as she herself had done to Ruby. "Yep," the brawler commented, "Princess and I are gonna make sure this party's a blast! Everyone's gonna love it, even if they have to deal with Weiss's lame Atlesian tastes."

The girl in question tried to shove the larger girl off of her for the teasing remark, but failed due to their obvious weight/height differences that her strength simply couldn't compensate for. When her efforts only made Yang grip and squeeze her harder, she groaned and resigned herself to her fate before arching an eyebrow at Sun. "Speaking of lame tastes, should we be expecting you to not be going topless tonight?" She mocked. "Maybe a closed shirt and a tie instead?"

She kept her tone only slightly friendlier than usual due to her change in heart for the boy compared to their first meeting.

Then she remembered that Sun was part of Jaune's spiel from yesterday and her attitude instantly darkened.

Sun looked down at his chest. "What? What's wrong with this?" He gestured to his stomach, before having his head pushed down by his partner.

Neptune gave them an apologetic look, "Ignore him, for he knows not what he says. Say, Weiss," His eyes lit up when he set his sight on the white-haired girl, "You got a date to the dance? I was thinking, you know, you and me…"

Being on decidedly less favorable terms with Casanova than Rumor Boy, Weiss glowered. She had just gotten Jaune off her back (admittedly in one of the most awkward ways possible thanks to his and Sun's 'theory') yet now she had to deal with this clown. About to snap at him from a built-up bout of stress that had started yesterday, Weiss was suddenly pulled into a lung-crushing hug by Yang, who flashed an award-winning grin at Neptune. "Yes, Snow Angel's already got a date. Three, actually."

Neptune gave a confused look before his arm was batted away by his friend, who he'd been holding down the whole time. Sun winced and rubbed the spot on his head where he'd been manhandled.

Weiss herself finally managed to break out of her own teammate's death hold by smacking the blonde in the face with her ponytail, which also threatened to impale Yang on her metal hair-tie. She spat out several insults that were completely ignored by the larger girl.

After the heiress finally settled down, Sun turned back to the girls, making a silent gesture of apology to Weiss for Neptune (which she met with a grimace for Jaune-related reasons). Then he cleared his throat, suddenly sounding awkward. "So, uh… Does that mean Blake's no longer being all, like… Blake-y?" He reinforced his words with a small gesture of the hand.

At this, Ruby's head rose up from her table, her expression still looking crushed. "No. Unfortunately."

Weiss lightly kicked at the floor, even as another blush rose to her cheeks. And even after we went through all of this work for her…

She was jolted from her thoughts when Yang smacked her square in the back, giving Sun a knowing smile. "Oh, don't you worry, Sunny Boy. She'll be at the dance AND she'll be enjoying it. I swear on Crescent Rose."

At the mention of her weapon, Ruby looked up and shot a glare at Yang, but her older sister had already started for the hallway, determination built back into her face despite her last failure. Before she reached the door knob, however, someone caught her shoulder and the blonde girl whirled around to look down at her shorter white-haired teammate.

Weiss steeled herself. She knew she probably shouldn't be telling Yang about Blake's secrets without the girl's own approval, but she also knew that she wouldn't be in the right state of mind to talk to the brunette herself after… the stuff from yesterday.

Gulping, she grabbed onto Yang's shoulders and pulled her down so she could whisper in her ear without having to stand on her toes. "There's something I need to tell you."


Ren emerged from his steaming bathroom, wrapped in a towel and prepared for the likely exhausting dance he was about to go to with Nora (though it would probably be closer to chaperoning, all things considered). Before he could grab a prepared set of clothes, however, he saw his leader coming over to him, grabbing onto his wrist.

"There's something I need to ask you."

Before he could reply (or at least ask for a chance to grab his clothes) he was already being pulled down to Jaune's bed, sitting awkwardly and still dripping from the shower.

Jaune took a deep breath. "Ren, I'm just gonna come out and say it. You… are my BEST friend. You're like the brother I never had! So, please let me ask you… would you like to go to the dance with me?"

Ren blinked, his eyes shifting to his clothes still hanging on the door a couple of feet away. "I'm… sorry, Jaune, I'm already going with Nora. I feel bad for turning you down, though."

He probably would've smirked at this odd conversation if he wasn't also naked.

Jaune shook his head. "No, that's not what I… look. Is it alright if I tag along with you and Nora tonight? I mean, I know you guys have been really close for, like, your whole lives and stuff but going to the dance by yourself is just so embarrassing…"

Ren couldn't keep track of his leader's spewing train of thought, who seemed to go off on a tangent about finding a reasonable date and not knowing how to… girls? The black-haired boy didn't know how to respond so he quickly looked back to his fresh change of clothes and slowly reached towards them.

Just before his fingers touched fabric, he heard Jaune say the word 'together' twice in a row. Before he could form a coherent sentence from this sudden phrase that he had NOT been expecting from his leader, Nora cleared her throat from across the room before letting out a nervous and clearly embarrassed laugh.

"We're not actually 'together' together…"

"NORA, WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT THE HEADPHONES?!"

The redhead squeaked at Jaune's sudden outburst and obeyed her leader's command, returning her headphones to her ears. Ren could only shake his head at this. "Jaune, come on. What's this all about?"

The blonde boy began focusing on his feet before sighing. "Look," he began, "As the leader of this team, I believe it would be in all of our interests if we-"

"Jaune, please stop pulling Ren and Nora into this."

This sudden interruption caused Jaune's head to snap up. Pyrrha was standing in the doorway, giving him a disapproving glare. "I meant what I said before," she said, tucking a lock of red hair behind her ear and hoping she wasn't blushing too hard, "I really would enjoy spending the night with you. Even if it's just the two of us."

Her partner gave her a smile that fell apart as quickly as he'd conjured it. "Pyrrha, I appreciate the gesture, but I'm just not the kind of guy that you should be-"

"STOP IT."

Jaune froze as Pyrrha almost choked out the words.

She would have loved to take any compliment he gave her, more than anyone who'd never tried to get to know her as he did, but she just couldn't accept any praise that came at his detriment.

At this point, both were at a loss for words and neither Nora nor Ren could think of anything else to say that would calm the tension in the air. Pyrrha wanted to say something but simply didn't know how to say it without telling Jaune outright, which was certainly beyond her ability. After a few seconds, she simply shook her head and left, closing the door and leaving Jaune to stare down at the floor again, cradling his head.


Yang pulled her partner into a hug, squeezing shut red eyes in spite of the steam coming off her hair.

"I'm not asking you to stop." The blonde whispered, voice shaky as she managed to calm herself down. "Just please… get some rest. Not just for you, but for the people you care about. Just because we've both suffered in the past doesn't mean we have to do it alone now. We're not doing this because we pity you, we're doing this because we care about you."

Blake didn't have a response. She'd been planning through how to fight back when Yang had pushed her over, so she was caught completely off-guard by the embrace. Standing still for a couple of seconds, she eventually returned the hug, a silent affirmation of Yang's request.

As they pulled back, the brawler scratched the back of her head. "Honestly, I don't think I'd have been able to explain it like that if it wasn't for Weiss." She admitted. In fact, she didn't actually think she'd have been able to guarantee solving Blake's problem if the heiress hadn't fully explained the situation to her. "I was already on my way with some bits that I'd tried to work out myself, but she helped me fill in the blanks. And like she said, you should come to your team whenever something like this happens. Communication is as important for friendships as it is in battle. Even if it's awkward, I know the rest of us would rather deal with that than having you bottle up your emotions."

Blake's feline ears perked up. Just a few days ago, she'd been ashamed of crying in front of Weiss and having the smaller girl comfort her, but Yang's explanation brought the memory to a new light. She felt her mouth melt into a grateful smile and managed to wipe away unshed tears.

Satisfied that her teammate would follow through with her request, Yang ruffled the bow on top of her head (despite Blake's weak attempt to smack away her hands) before walking off towards the door, turning back about halfway through the classroom. "And if you feel like coming to the dance later tonight, your team will still be there, waiting. I'd say you owe me and Ruby a dance or two for your shenanigans."

Blake smiled and shook her head, not at the comment but at herself for being able to act so stupidly towards her team over… well, she'd have to worry about that another time. "I'll… I'll see to that." She responded.

The blonde smirked. "And don't forget about Weiss. She deserves something extra special after all you two have been through."

Blake arched a brow. She didn't really understand what Yang was getting at, but, then again, a dance with Weiss didn't sound that bad.

In fact, she turned the idea over of a dance with the heiress in her head a few times, closing her eyes and humming quietly. They opened again as her partner continued.

"Maybe you could treat her to a dance during one of the more… intimate songs?"

Blake blinked several times before registering the comment, her cheeks suddenly going red at the suggestive statement. She caught herself moving her hands to the white ribbon in her hair and instead shot them down to her sides, balling them up in fists. "What?! Yang, what on Remnant are you talking about?"

The sly grin on Yang's face grew several sizes as she went into full-on teasing mode. "Oh, please. You think I haven't noticed the two of you guys sneaking glances at each other's 'promise ribbons'? Yeah, sure. Would you like me to find you two a jewelry store that sells matching black and white gemstones for your wedding rings?"

In spite of her drowsiness and complete internal mortification, Blake wasn't letting this slide. "What? That's not… she's… you can't be serious!" She gritted her teeth as she felt her human ears burning, her feline pair twitching under her bow.

At this point, she was more furious with herself than her friends had been before for her lack of sleep, simply because it left her vulnerable to Yang's responses without the ability to create a reasonable and well-thought out rebuttal.

Yang burst out laughing, wiping away a tear. She was happy to see her partner getting mad at her over something less serious than her health. "You know, the way you're getting so defensive, I'd say you actually did fall for her!"

Whatever response Blake had been planning to shoot back never came. Any part of her face that wasn't bright crimson before DEFINITELY was now. Words failed to escape her throat, leaving her gapping at Yang.

The blonde brawler didn't miss this. Though, rather than continuing the onslaught of romance-based tormenting (as much as she'd normally love to), she recognized Blake's weariness and instead offered a warm smile.

"You know, Rubbles and I were talking about your ribbons for a while. I thought we could all go out some time and… I don't know, get matching ones for the rest of the team? I mean, I know the bond you and Snow Angel have is special, but since we're all teammates… what do you think?"

Once again, Blake didn't know how to respond to this, especially after the previous string of digs her partner had made at her. However, one look at Yang's face was all she need to tell she wasn't joking this time. Relaxing her strained muscles from her attempts to push down her humiliated expression, she managed a nod and returned the smile.

Though the previous reminder of sleep had pulled on her tired mind, Blake couldn't help but start feeling better already, as though she'd just been pulled out of a nightmare.

She was about to thank Yang when she realized the blonde girl was already gone.

Blake sighed and closed her eyes. She made a mental note to thank the blonde girl (and the rest of her team, likely after several apologizes) for caring about her.

Caring about me… The thought made the brunette's chest feel warm. She let out a soft purr as she knew no one would be listening. Managing to crack open her eyes, she started her trek back to her dorm and the warm bed it likely contained.


Walking to the dance as twilight fell, Sun fumbled with his tie in the courtyard, grumbling to himself. "Stupid, dumb neck trap."

"I guess you do look better with a tie, huh?"

The blonde went silent and turned around. Blake stood behind him, sporting a beautiful purple dress with translucent shoulders. She walked up to Sun and set out his tie, tightening it so that it set back onto his shirt without moving. She smiled. "Glad to see you actually decided to wear a closed shirt to the dance."

The other Faunus wasn't able to respond for a few seconds. "Yeah, uh, well, Weiss kind of forced it on me. Heh. You know how she is with formal wear and these kinds of events."

Blake blinked. This was the second time today that someone had mentioned Weiss helping them for her sake. It wasn't like Weiss was as terrible as she had been at the beginning of last semester, but it almost felt like the heiress was trying to almost maneuver circumstances to benefit her. She shook her head. No, it's probably just Weiss being Weiss.

Not that she wouldn't have appreciated it anyway.

Blake looked back up at Sun, her ears crumbling her bow as her expression fell and her eyes looked away. "I… I owe you an apology for the other day. I was out of it and I said and thought some pretty nasty stuff. I know that you guys have just been trying to help, so… uh, thanks for caring about me."

She received a light punch on her shoulder. "Hey, no need for apologies. If anything, I should be apologizing to you for all that flirting I was doing; you clearly didn't appreciate it." Sun crossed his arms, rubbing his skin as an early fall breeze started up. "Sorry for not noticing earlier."

This prompted a raising of an eyebrow from Blake. Had he really not caught on earlier? Sighing, she decided to be level with her friend.

"It's fine, Sun. I… just haven't had good experiences with relationships in the past. It's kind of been part of the issues I had with my team the last few days. I like you as much as my teammates and I appreciate everything you've done for me over the past month. But I'd rather treasure the bonds I have with my friends as they are right now." She brought up a hand and tucked her ribbon-bound locks behind her ear. "It's just not the right time for me to get back into dating. Not until I can find someone that I can both trust and truly fall for."

This time, it was Sun's turn to be confused. After the talk he'd had with Jaune (and their discussion after the other blonde boy's failure to ask Weiss out) he'd been sure that Weiss and Blake had started some form of relationship, or even had a crush on each other. Well, that wasn't his business and it wasn't really in his field of expertise anyway. Instead, he offered an arm. "Well then, might I platonically escort you to the dance, milady?"

Blake gladly took it. She snickered at his awkward wording and stuck out a finger from her other hand to his cheek. "Just so you know, my team will be getting my first few dances, so you'll have to wait your turn if you want a dance."

Sun gave a toothy grin and batted away the digit. "Guess I'll have to teach Neptune how to dance in the meantime. Trust me, that guy looks like a Beowulf being swarmed by bees whenever he listens to music."


As soon as they arrived at the main hall, they were greeted by the rest of Team RWBY. Ruby herself had on a lovely red dress with similar translucent shoulders to Blake's own that Weiss's white gown also had. Yang had a white dress that almost matched Weiss's, though it had full cloth shoulders unlike her other three teammates.

The blonde girl immediately took Blake's hand as soon as she let go of her companion's arm, pulling her off into an open space between the other waltzing students. Sun, Ruby and Weiss decided to stand off to the side of the dance, the Faunus waiting for his partner in order to drag him off to the dance floor to actually teach him some moves.

The trio looked out to the dance when they hear a truly adorable laugh from their friend, the first time they'd heard such a noise in… well, probably since they'd met the girl. Ruby and Sun smiled to each other, glad for everything to be back to normal.

Weiss spared a smirk at Sun. "Guess I was right. It's not a tux, but you do look spiffy in an actual shirt."

The boy returned the look with a frown, his tail drooping. "Yeah, well, if it wasn't so uncomfortable, I might actually want to wear it more often." He grappled his tie again, leaving it slightly uneven. "Seriously, how do people enjoy wearing formal clothes?"

"Speaking of which," Ruby brought in, scowling at her feet, "Weiss, we need to have a serious talk about heels. Like, how do you FIGHT in these things?"

The heiress simply rolled her eyes at her leader. "Years of practice, Ruby." She was interrupted when Sun spotted his partner and ran off, leaving the partners by themselves.

"Looks like Blake's really enjoying herself." Ruby said. Weiss turned her head towards the dance floor. Yang was in the middle of twirling Blake in an overly-exaggerated manner, which caused the brunette to let out another laugh.

Suddenly, Weiss started feeling very self-conscious. She brought a hand up to grab the end of her ponytail, absentmindedly fiddling with the end of the black ribbon in it. She let out a small sigh. "I'm gonna go take a seat. If you want, there's more grape juice by the windows. The punch bowl is on another table closer to the door."

Ruby let out a sputter but the heiress had already left. Thus, she stumbled off, grumbling something about stilts under her breath.


DAMMIT JAUNE! You better redeem yourself next chapter!

Gotta say, I REALLY didn't want to change the JNPR dorm room scene but I had to in order to fit the new narrative I'm creating. Would have otherwise left it alone, as I thought the scene was fine in the show, but it wouldn't have worked for a story that involved Jaune already being rejected by Weiss.

Yes, Blake has human ears in addition to Faunus ears. Some of you may think that's stupid but unless she's Van Gogh, a person that doesn't have human ears on their human head would just look… weird, cat-girl traits notwithstanding. I'm not here to explain the anatomy of the skulls of Faunus with animal ears as their trait, though; I'm here to write a fanfic! Plus, Blake clearly has human ears in the show.

Sorry if you'd prefer more Bumblebee but, again, Monochrome fanfic and such. I'll try to make the intra-team bonds as adorable as possible anyway and I'd say this chapter was good practice.

Also note that Yang's talk with Blake occurred much earlier here (around noon) than it did in the show (near sunset). Not too important but it reinforces the fact that Blake DID get some rest after talking with Yang and before talking with Sun.