No A/N, just story!
Curled up in one of the comfortable library chairs, Blake flipped the page of one of her all-time favorite mystery novels. She had been incredibly surprised to find that Weiss even had a copy in the library. Some of the scenes were quite…steamy. But the familiar text provided a sense of comfort in her otherwise tumultuous brain.
She had been holed up in the room for the entire day, losing herself in her reading. She was doing her absolute best to avoid seeing Yang after what had happened last night. She realized that she would not be able to evade her partner forever, but she at least needed some time to figure out her thoughts before then. Or at least, to come to terms with what Yang had said.
Her heart clenched as the memory of the kiss came rushing back to her. How devastated Yang had looked as she rushed out of the room. How Blake could do nothing but stand there in shock, rooted to the floor with cement blocks in place of feet.
Refocusing her eyes on the page, she reread the same sentence for the third time, this time trying to actually process the words. Reading had always been a way for Blake to avoid dealing with her reality: losing her parents, working in the White Fang, constantly questioning her moral grounds…but today, her book seemed to be doing nothing more than give her fingers something to idly flip through.
Feeling her stomach grumble, she realized that she had also skipped both breakfast and lunch. Sighing, she decided that eventually she would have to leave her sanctuary in order to find food. Maybe after a couple more minutes though…she thought as she settled back into the chair.
A few moments later, a light knock on the door caused her to nearly jump out of her seat. After only a second, Ruby poked her head through the doorway, quickly locating Blake before entering with a shy smile.
"Sorry to interrupt," Ruby said sincerely as she crept closer to where Blake was sitting.
Making a mental note of what page she was on, Blake closed the book and set it down on the arm of the chair as she gave Ruby her full attention.
"No need to apologize; I just wasn't expecting anyone to come down here. Where you looking for me?"
Ruby nodded enthusiastically at her question.
"Weiss and I are going to head over early to make sure everything is set up properly. Well…Weiss is going to make sure everything is right while I stay out of the way…" Ruby grinned in embarrassment as she lightly ruffled her hair with her hand. "Did you want to come with us? Or Weiss can have a car come pick you up later."
"When are you leaving?" Blake asked curiously. "I'd love to help, if I can."
And avoid having to ride to the gala with Yang if at all possible, she thought to herself.
"Ruby!"
Ruby grimaced as she heard Weiss call for her from another part of the house.
"I guess I'm already late…" she chuckled nervously as she began backing out of the room. "She'll message and let you know when the car will be out front. Sorry!"
Blake couldn't help but laugh as Ruby shouted "Coming!" before disappearing from the room in a blur of red. At least she would have a little more time to try to read before she had to get dressed. And maybe she could sneak something to eat without getting caught in the kitchen…
Shortly before the car was supposed to arrive, Blake finally made her way up to her room to get ready to leave. As she stood in front of her door, she held her hand hesitantly above the door handle for several seconds as a part of her wished to find Yang waiting in there for her again.
Opening the door, a surge of disappointment and sorrow passed over her as she took in her empty room. She stared at the spot on her bed where Yang had been sitting yesterday, touching her hand lightly to her lips as she remembered the feeling of Yang's mouth on her own. Shaking her head, she turned away from that moment, wishing to shut it from her thoughts for now. She headed over to the closet to pull out the dress Yang had picked out for her.
Once changed, she stood in front of the mirror taking in the reflection staring back at her.
The outfit was a little more revealing than she was used to, but she had to admit that it made her feel quite sophisticated and glamorous. Even the feel of the material was extravagant. Combined with her shiny black heels, she thought that she would at least be able to fit in with the rest of Vale's super elite.
Once she was satisfied with her appearance, she headed downstairs to wait in the foyer for their ride to arrive.
It was then that she heard Yang's door open upstairs. This was the moment she had been dreading all day: having to face her partner after the kiss they had shared last night. But it had to happen sooner or later, so she might as get it over with now so that they could both move on to being friends.
Turning towards the second story, Blake's jaw dropped as Yang walked carefully across the hallway to the staircase in her own pair of black heels.
The blonde was wearing a sheening, gold, plunging halter top gown. The slit in the front left of the floor length skirt slid all the way to her upper thigh, offering a spectacular view of the girl's toned legs. The draped front of the dress hung all the way down to her sternum, leaving very little to the imagination regarding her...assets, as the store clerk would have said.
She looked absolutely ravishing.
Blake could do nothing but stare as her partner gracefully descended the stairs towards her, blushing furiously as she took in more and more of Yang's bare skin. Compared to this, Blake's dress might as well have been a monk's robe.
Reaching the foyer, Yang walked up to Blake with a small smile.
"Ready to go?" Yang asked, hardly a spark of life behind her words.
She flinched at the tone. The Yang she knew would have been practically bouncing off the walls in excitement right now.
But Blake forced a smile onto her face as she nodded in response. Satisfied, Yang walked by her without another word, opening the front door to head towards the waiting car outside.
Blake felt her cheeks burn as she followed Yang to the vehicle.
The back of Yang's dress was…nearly nonexistent.
An uncomfortably silent half an hour later, they pulled up to one of the myriad of Schnee estates. This one was massive, at least five times the size of the current home they were living in, and located on the outskirts of Vale. The front of the mansion was covered in huge windows emitting a warming orange glow from the lights inside. The large half circle driveway was filled with expensive black town cars dropping off their wealthy passengers. Blake stared in amazement as their own car waited in line to pull up to the glistening, marble front walkway.
Never in her entire life had she seen a display of such opulence.
"This is hardly a home," Yang commented, pulling Blake from her thoughts. "The Schnees have never lived here; they built it solely to host their company and family events."
"Must be nice…having a house just for your parties…" Blake responded placidly, feeling a sliver of resentment growing in her chest as she thought about how many people could be pulled out of poverty just by selling the massive, mahogany front door. She couldn't feel too bitter towards Weiss though, since Blake had personally seen some of the sacrifices the heiress had had to make on account of her family's status. All of that power and wealth certainly came with its own massive price tag, that was for sure. And there was little doubt in her mind that Weiss worked harder than anyone to feel as if she deserved everything she stood to inherit.
Finally reaching the front of the walkway, several immaculately clad butlers quickly stepped up to the door of the car. One pulled open the door while another offered his hand to help the two girls gracefully out of the vehicle and onto the marble path. Once outside, Blake straightened out her dress, feeling slightly self-conscious standing next to Yang. Her partner was already beginning to draw attention from the other party guests, and the butler was still holding on to her hand as he gawked at her.
"Uh…thank you, sir," Yang said awkwardly as she pulled her hand from his grasp, giving him a crooked smile to drew a blush onto his cheeks as he finally turned away.
"Let's go find Weiss…" Blake said as she began heading towards the open front doors, feeling smaller and smaller the closer she got to the massive structure.
Walking inside, they found themselves standing in an enormous ballroom that was quickly filling up with lavishly dressed party goers. The freshly polished wooden dance floor gleamed under the light of at least two dozen crystal chandeliers hanging above. An enormous double staircase was situated in the middle of the opposite side of the room, allowing access to the second story balcony that wrapped all the way around the ballroom below. A raised platform located in the center of the two staircases was occupied by a quartet of musicians who were currently playing some tune that Blake recognized, but couldn't remember the name of. The platform appeared to be floating several feet above the ground; Blake couldn't help wondering how the musicians had gotten up there, until she noticed an expertly concealed door placed behind them.
It would have been impossible for them to miss Weiss, as she was standing right by the front door graciously greeting all of her guests as they entered. The heiress was wearing an exquisite silver gown with a V neckline and thin halter straps connecting at the base of her neck. The skirt of the dress clung to her form, nicely accenting all of the right places, before flaring out towards the bottom. The bottom half of the skirt really caught Blake's attention. Blood red crystals were sparsely placed towards the middle of the skirt, becoming greater in number and density as they fell to form a nearly solid layer encircling her feet. The overall effect looked eerily familiar to Blake. Like red snowflakes falling on a winter day. Or…Blake grinned as she finally made the connection.
Rose petals.
Ruby Rose wasn't the only one wearing her partner's mark tonight.
Pared with some silver heels and dangling diamond earrings, the heiress exuded affluence and sophistication.
Standing beside Weiss was her equally well-dressed girlfriend, nodding nervously as she shook hands with all of the guests after Weiss introduced her.
Blake followed as Yang sauntered up to the two to say hello. As soon as Ruby caught sight of them, she broke in to a huge smile and rushed over to give them both a big hug.
"So glad you're here!" she said excitedly before something across the room caught her eye. "Hold on, be right back!"
Yang chuckled as Ruby dashed away.
"You serving cookies at this shindig?" she teased as she poked a finger towards Weiss' ribs.
Weiss backed away quickly while trying to remain her poise.
"It's great to see you both here," the heiress replied politely, ignoring Yang's joke as she carefully took in both of their appearances.
"Although…I think we're seeing a bit too much of you, Yang," she added through slightly pursed lips, causing Yang to burst into laughter as she wrapped the irritated host in a big hug.
"It's great to see you too, Weiss. You look great!"
"You really do," Blake added honestly, causing the heiress to blush nearly imperceptibly.
"You look great too, Blake," Weiss replied softly. "And Yang," she began as annoyance crept back into her voice, "you're almost dressed appropriately this time."
Yang laughed again at Weiss' indigence before she was interrupted by an impeccably dressed young man walking up to her.
"Excuse me, Miss, could I offer to get you a drink?" the gentleman asked, confidence oozing from every fiber of his body.
Blake noticed Yang glance quickly her way before she happily agreed and walked off with the boy, leaving Blake standing behind with Weiss. Her eyes followed her partner longingly, a feeling of loathing rising towards the boy who had just stolen Yang's attention.
"And you're just going to let her go?" Weiss suddenly asked.
Blake looked at her, startled by the question.
"We're just friends, she's allowed to have…suitors…" Blake replied, picking her words carefully.
"Is that what you want?" Weiss asked sternly, placing her hands on her hips as she stared intently at Blake. Her eyes were furrowed as she frowned in displeasure.
Blake looked at the ground in an attempt to avoid the icy blue eyes that were drilling into her deepest hopes and desires.
"I…it doesn't matter what I want anymore. This is what she wants."
Hearing the girl sigh in exasperation, Blake looked up in confusion.
"Blake Belladonna, you are an even bigger idiot than I gave you credit for. Do you really believe that she just 'wants to be friends'? After all this time? After all she's done trying to get you back?" Weiss scoffed at how naïve Blake was to have believed such an obvious lie.
"If you love someone, you don't just let them walk away. No matter how hard they push you away, you just keep trying."
With those words of advice, Weiss turned to walk away from Blake, but stopped as another thought popped into her head. Turning back, she added, "But you'd better be sure before you do anything."
Blake stared after the girl. Had she really just received relationship advice from the ice princess herself? Good advice, at that?
She watched closely as Ruby zipped up to Weiss' side holding two champagne flutes in her hands, somehow managing not to spill any of the sparkling fluid. Weiss immediately began scolding the girl, gesturing towards the rose petals still floating towards the ground. Looking downcast, Ruby quickly sat the drinks down on a nearby table and carefully knelt down to begin picking up the petals. Completely shocked, Blake saw Weiss kneel down in front of Ruby a second later, grabbing Ruby's hands and gently pulling her girlfriend back to her feet. Smiling apologetically, Weiss picked up the glasses from the table and smoothly pressed one into Ruby's hand before tapping her own lightly against its edge.
Ruby instantly lit up in a smile as she brought the glass to her lips, giggling happily as Weiss did the same. The heiress motioned to a nearby waiter, who immediately dropped whatever he had been doing and ran over to scoop the petals off of the ground.
Suddenly, Blake realized that Weiss' advice was not from the experience of pursuing someone, but as the pursued. She could remember how often Weiss had put Ruby down or snapped at her, when Ruby had just wanted to be her friend. Their first night at Beacon still stuck out in her mind, as Weiss had completely dismissed the younger girl, who had only been trying to be friendly. At certain points in the first few weeks, the heiress had been almost cruel to her bubbly partner.
But, Ruby always tried again. She kept trying to get closer to the girl. She never let Weiss' words sink further than skin deep, brushing them off seconds later as if they were grains of sand.
And look what the two of them had now. Look at how much Weiss had changed. The ice princess radiated happiness whenever she snuck a quick peek towards her partner.
Newly determined, Blake set off in search of her own partner, knowing that she would most likely find her near the bar. Sure enough, she spotted the girl seconds later, now surrounded by several young men all clamoring for her attention. The blonde was laughing happily at someone's joke as she playfully pushed his shoulder away with one hand, a glass held carefully in the other.
Blake heard a small hiss of air escape her lips at the sight as she stalked up to the crowd, agitation blossoming within her. Brushing past several of them, she didn't stop until she stood directly in front of Yang.
Giving her a wide (only slightly alcohol induced) smile, Yang greeted her with a cheerful, "Why hello, partner!"
Blake attempted what she hoped was a flirtatious smile as she reached out and grabbed Yang's free hand with her own. Her nerves jumped into overdrive the second she felt Yang's warm palm pressing against her own, but she was determined to move forward. It was either this, or watch Yang get hit on by strange men all evening.
"Dance with me," she ordered the girl, feeling somewhat pleased at the shocked expression appearing on Yang's face. The shock quickly turned into doubt and uncertainty, but Blake was not going to let the girl say no. She began pulling gently backwards, drawing Yang to her feet. Once up, Yang finally smiled at her, though Blake saw that doubt still lingered in those lilac eyes.
As she pulled Yang out towards the dance floor, she couldn't help a small smirk forming on her face at the looks of dismay the young men were giving her at having snatched their prize right out from under their noses.
"Blake Belladonna, are you gloating?"
Blake blinked as she turned back to Yang, feeling her face grow crimson at having been caught enjoying her small "victory."
"I-I don't know what you're talking about," she replied, feigning indignance as they reached the center of the dance floor.
Yang gave her a knowing look as she held up her hand for Blake to take.
"Well, I'm sorry to pull you away," Blake said apologetically, placing one hand on Yang's shoulder while her other rested in Yang's outstretched palm. "It just looked…a little stifling."
Yang chuckled lightly, but Blake couldn't help noticing that her partner seemed a little unsure of herself, for once. Avoiding eye contact, Yang was delicately resting her free arm on Blake's hip, so lightly that Blake could hardly even feel it was there. She was moving almost mechanically, making Blake look like the better dancer, which she knew for a fact wasn't true.
"It's nothing I haven't handled before…" Yang replied softly, as they fell into an awkward silence once more.
They continued moving slowly to the rhythm of the music, with Blake taking the lead. Yang was moving a little more fluidly as she settled in to the situation, but silence still enveloped them. Blake needed to think of something to talk about, but what?
She then realized that she had never complimented Yang on her dress. Well, gawking at her when she had come downstairs really didn't count as a true compliment. She had to use words. And Blake most desperately needed to break this quiet between them; it was becoming more and more painful with each passing second. Any words would help, at this point.
Her face heated up as she struggled to say the words out loud, finding them to be exceptionally difficult to force from her mouth.
"Yang…you, you look amazing, by the way…" she was finally able to stutter out before she looked away, feeling a furious blush rising on her cheeks.
How does Yang do this? she thought to herself as she stared intently at the windows on the other side of the room, realizing that silence had probably been better than the situation she was now in.
A light chuckle drew Blake's eyes back to her partner. She froze, stunned by how gorgeous Yang looked with a true smile on her face, her wavy blonde hair cascading over her shoulders.
"You know," Yang began thoughtfully, "I spent over an hour getting ready tonight, and I'm still not even close to being the most beautiful one here."
Like that, Blake thought as she turned away, overcome by modesty. How does she do that so effortlessly? Blake was sure that her face was as red as the crystals on Weiss' dress by now, all from a single sentence Yang said so flippantly.
The blonde had always had a way, with just a smile or a few simple words, to capture the hearts around her. It was a quality that Blake did not understand, but clearly she was not immune to its effects.
Yang suddenly seemed to grow self-conscious, allowing her smile to fade as she glanced away. Feeling the silence settle over them once again, Blake again began searching for anything to lighten the mood.
She just wasn't good at this. The playful banter, the flirting, the offhand compliments. She had always been so guarded and deliberate, especially with matters of the heart. There was something especially terrifying about putting herself out there in that way. While she should have felt more comfortable with Yang, since the brawler flirted with anything that had a pulse…their conversation last night had destroyed that confidence completely.
Thankfully, another topic of conversation presented itself to her at that moment.
"Is that Professor Ozpin and Glynda?" she asked in astonishment as her gaze fell upon their two mentors standing together across the room. This didn't really seem like the type of event the two would normally frequent; a theory Glynda was proving to be correct by the irritated expression frozen on her face as she glared scornfully at anyone near her.
Yang chuckled at the sight.
"Looks like Glynda just ate a lemon, doesn't it?" she said as the two of them sniggered together.
"Reminds me of the time she caught Team CRDL in the hallway in nothing but their speedos after we took all of their clothes and towels from the pool room," Blake recalled thoughtfully.
Yang burst out laughing at the memory.
"If I do recall…I had the idea, but you were the one who actually did it!"
Blake glared at her disdainfully, drawing another laugh from her partner.
"Only because someone wasn't able to sneak past the cameras so we wouldn't get caught in the boy's locker room."
"I'm sorry!" Yang cried out, not sounding apologetic in the least, "I know that you're still permanently scarred from holding Cardin's underwear." Yang dissolved into giggles once more, no doubt remembering the revulsion on Blake's face when she had realized the clothing she had grabbed.
"She made them go to class like that, remember?" Yang crowed happily. "I thought Weiss was going to have an aneurism!"
Blake couldn't help grinning at the memory. The heiress had been nearly steaming the entire class as she glared daggers into the boys.
Feeling the ice break, they continued dancing for quite some time, recalling some of their best pranks from Beacon. Blake could feel that Yang was trying to maintain an emotional distance from her, but it was beginning to lessen minute by minute as they recalled their past times together. For her part, she was fine with any conversation as long as she could stay this close to Yang, feeling her partner's warmth spreading through her hands, earning a smile every once in a while when Blake made a particularly corny joke.
The entire time, she kept Weiss' advice at the forefront of her mind: persevere, above all else.
They came to a stop as the lights in the room flickered on and off several times. A spotlight lit up the top landing of the grand double staircase towering over the dance floor, drawing everyone's attention there. Weiss stepped into the light, moving elegantly to the edge of the banister as every eye in the room locked on to her.
"Good evening, everyone," she greeted the guests kindly, causing a hush to fall upon the room as everyone paused their conversations to listen to the hostess.
"As many of you may know, I am Weiss Schnee, daughter of Christophe and Isabella Schnee." She paused for a few seconds as light applause greeted her introduction.
"I would like to thank each and every one of you for being here, as tonight marks an important step forward for all of Vytal…"
"As the announcement said, this year's fundraiser will help form a Human-Faunus Relationship Council. While not the first of its kind, this will be the first such endeavor to receive the full backing and support of the Schnee Dust Company, as well as the Schnee family…"
She paused as muffled words of surprise could be heard spreading throughout the room. She raised her hand slightly to quiet the crowd in order for her to continue, voice growing even stronger than before.
"From this day forward, Schnee Dust Company and my family will be committed to the betterment of Faunus livelihoods in all of Vale."
"Many of you know that our company has used Faunus labor in the past. While we cannot correct those mistakes, we can set a precedent for the future. As such, all of our Faunus employees are now being paid equally as their human counterparts; they are also being granted full benefits."
Voices in the room began to grow as more people began speaking as Weiss continued her speech, becoming more and more shocked with each statement. Weiss did not stop though, speaking louder each second in order to project her voice over the din, years of vocal training allowing her to still be heard clearly in every corner of the room.
"We are dedicating ourselves to loving our Faunus brethren, regardless if they be members of the White Fang, employees of our company, or members of our community. We will not rest until every Faunus child can walk down the streets of Vale feeling no shred of fear or intimidation. We will not cease our toil until every Faunus can raise their head high, knowing that they do not risk persecution for doing so."
"My parents and I feel that it is time for us…all of us…to end this discrimination once and for all. We humbly ask for your help in making this great endeavor a success. Thank you."
With those last words, Weiss backed slowly away from the balcony as the spotlight disappeared. Looking around, Blake could see everyone staring up at where the girl had just been standing, surprise still registering on their faces. After several seconds of muted astonishment, Blake heard one person begin clapping, followed quickly by another, and another. Soon, the entire room exploded in applause at Weiss' words, instantly bringing tears to Blake's eyes. She clapped loudly along with the rest of the audience, dumbstruck, not quite believing what she had just heard.
Yang leaned briefly against her shoulder to gain her attention as they continued clapping.
"She's quite something, isn't she?"
Blake could only nod in agreement as tears continued falling down her cheeks.
As the quartet began playing and people started dancing once more, Yang motioned for Blake to follow her towards one end of the staircase. They found Weiss still descending the steps, shaking hands with the crowd of people who had congregated there, Ruby trailing closely behind.
Not wanting to push through the masses, Blake and Yang picked out a good spot to wait at the bottom of the steps for Weiss to reach them. As soon as the heiress was close enough, Blake rushed up and gave the girl a huge hug. She knew that Weiss would stiffen at the contact, but she just couldn't help herself. She was so grateful for what Weiss had said and what it meant for Faunus everywhere.
"Thank you, Weiss," she said as she pulled back from the now slightly rigid girl, feeling more tears beginning to accumulate in her eyes. "Thank you…for everything."
Weiss gave her a slight nod of acknowledgement before a smirk snuck onto her face.
"I'm the one who should be thanking you two," she began as she gestured towards Blake and Yang. "Since you'll be the ones in charge of running this council once it's been formed."
At that moment, another guest captured Weiss' attention, drawing her quickly away from the two dumbstruck huntresses. They looked at each other in dismay at the girl's revelation.
"Uh…excuse me?" Yang asked incredulously as she turned to follow the heiress.
Mouth still agape, Blake looked at Ruby, who only giggled at her expression.
"Weiss decided this the day you came back," she said with a grin. "She had been looking for someone 'just like Blake' to help Yang, since it was Yang's idea to begin with. Who's more like you than…well, you!"
"But…I don't know the first thing about running something like that," she answered honestly. Not to doubt her partner, but she highly doubted that Yang would have much expertise in that area either.
"Oh don't worry," Ruby laughed at her concern. "Weiss might say that she won't help you, but she will. It would look bad for her if the council failed. But we have to figure out this whole Grimm situation before any of this…"
Blake nodded in agreement, feeling slightly less apprehensive now. Of course Weiss would help them…she just wondered what the consequences would be for enlisting the heiress' aid…
She glanced in the direction Weiss and her partner had headed in, catching a glimpse of blonde hair through the crowd. She finally smiled as she began thinking what this new twist meant.
After they found out who was behind the Grimm appearances and put a stop to them, Yang and her would continue to be partners. They would be working together for a long time to come.
Even if they were only friends, Blake could think of nothing that would make her happier.