Here's chapter 23 everyone.


The next day rolled along, and Weiss was looking around her dorm. "Ruby, is there anything that you, or Yang brought that I could bring for Velvet? Maybe some extra pillows or something."

Ruby jumped up on her bed, throwing Weiss her corgi pillow. "Do you think that's good enough?"

Weiss looked at the pillow for a few seconds, thinking about how cute the pillow looked. "Um…Yes…This could work."

"Why do you need an extra pillow?" Ruby asked.

"I just wanted to see if there was a softer pillow for her. Putting less strain on her head will be what I need to focus on the most. That, and her leg of course." Weiss held the pillow in her arms, and looked over to see Ruby with a smile on her face. "Um, why are you smiling at me?"

"It's just nice to see you so worried about Velvet. It just shows how far you've both come…I still wish…no, never mind." Ruby said.

Weiss sighed, and put the pillow down on her bed. "I'm not one for talking about things…that's obvious, but you hesitated, so if you want to explain why, that would be appreciated."

"We did talk about this already, Weiss." Ruby said.

"Oh. I understand…We'll get to that, Ruby." Weiss took the pillow, and walked to the door. "I still have to think about a few things."

Ruby nodded and followed Weiss out the door. "I know, Weiss. You have more things to worry about than-."

"Stop right there. You can't compare my worries like that. I'm allowed to be worried for multiple people, so if there's something we can do here-." Weiss was cut off.

Ruby shook her head. "I didn't mean to make it sound that way, Weiss."

Weiss sighed. "Look, I've done one thing before…you know, about how I want to be the best teammate I can be."

"Yeah, you even brought me that coffee. How come you're bringing it up?" Ruby asked.

"I thought it was quite obvious, but if you can't see it, then just listen." Weiss took a breath. "I can…try to socialize with you."

Ruby didn't expect that and said. "Really? But…I thought you wanted to take some time with that."

"I didn't mean to tell you my life story, Ruby. Do me a favor…explain what you even do with friends. You tell me how you want to speak with me, but I don't even know how you interact with the others." Weiss requested.

"Interact? Weiss, I wouldn't use that word to be honest." Ruby giggled.

Weiss sighed. "And there goes my attempt at trying to socialize. I'll see you later, Ruby." Weiss attempted to walk off, but she was suddenly surprised when Ruby ended up in front of her. "R-Ruby? Did you use your semblance again?"

Ruby nodded, but she was looking a little down. "Weiss, I didn't mean to joke around like that. I was just trying to show you how I am around people. You know, having some fun."

Weiss raised an eyebrow. "What is so fun about that?"

"Um, well…it's just a little thing friends do. Make jokes and laugh about it." Ruby stated.

"I don't really…Never mind, I guess it's just something else I need to think about more." Weiss said.

Ruby shook her head. "Weiss, it's not like a school assignment. You need to be able to feel the joy of being around people. It's how you and Velvet became friends."

Weiss suddenly smiled at the mention of the rabbit Faunus. "Yes…I do remember that feeling…Um..." Weiss blushed and looked around the hall. "R-Ruby…I want to talk to you about something."

"You do?" Ruby asked, happy that Weiss wanted to talk.

"We need to go see Velvet first, but I think I'm…well…I need to talk to someone, but please don't think about this if I can't talk about it later." Weiss requested.

Ruby was confused by that. "Huh?"

"I need to know if I really should talk to you about this. Can you just promise to not bring it up if I can't?" Weiss asked.

Ruby nodded. "I promise I won't. Is it something that's going to bother you?"

"Lying would be pointless, so yes, it will bother me, but I'll figure something out." Weiss looked down the hall, sighing at the thought of telling her partner about Velvet.

"Hey, come on, Weiss. We don't need to worry about it right now. Let's go find out if you really-." Ruby was stopped.

"No…No…I'm so stupid. All I did was tell you how upset I'm most likely going to be…yet I'm trying to get you to not think anything of it…I'm just being an idiot." Weiss frowned. Ruby grabbed the corgi pillow, causing Weiss to gasp. "H-Hey! What are you doing?!" Ruby used her semblance and ran off, prompting Weiss to give chase. "Ruby Rose! Get back here with that pillow!"

Ruby made sure not to go too fast, since she didn't want Weiss to lose her. "You gotta be a little faster, Weiss!"

"Stop acting like a child!" The heiress yelled, and then used a glyph to speed her movement up.

Ruby made sure to look back every few seconds, just to have Weiss in sight. "I told you! One of us needs to be on the team!" Ruby ran outside, and hid in a bush.

When Weiss got outside, she groaned and stomped her foot against the ground. "Where are you?!" Ruby got out of the bush and used her semblance again to get in front of Weiss, causing her to jump back a bit. "R-Ruby! Why did you make me chase you outside?!"

"You kept saying negative things about yourself. I just wanted you to stop…so I ran with something you want for Velvet." Ruby handed the corgi pillow back to Weiss.

The heiress took the pillow. "That was a dumb idea, Ruby. And why do you even think I need a wakeup call for something like that? I know when I'm being-."

Ruby grabbed Weiss' arm. "If you say you're stupid again, I'll use my semblance while holding your arm."

Weiss was taken aback by that. "E-Excuse me! You are not allowed to threaten your teammates, Ruby!"

Ruby smirked. "Then am I allowed to tell my teammate that she isn't allowed to say anything negative about herself? I can order you to respect that rule."

"W-What?! That isn't how that works, Ruby!" Weiss turned and walked into the school.

Ruby ran up to her. "Wait, I wasn't trying to make you mad. You just kept saying you're stupid, when you're not."

"I just…Ugh, Ruby, this isn't really the time to speak about this. I need to get to Velvet." Weiss reminded.

"Then let's go to her, but I was being serious back there. I don't want to hear you calling yourself stupid, Weiss. Imagine if Velvet heard you say that. She would say the same thing I'm saying." Ruby stated.

Weiss froze on the spot. "I-I…Don't bring her up like that, Ruby. I've got enough to think about…"

Ruby frowned. "Oh…I didn't know that she was-."

"Enough…Let's just go." Weiss said as she began to walk again.

Ruby slowly walked with her, clearly upset at making Weiss angry. "Are you mad at me now?"

"I'm not mad at you…Just please don't bring Velvet up that way." Weiss frowned. "I already messed up a few things already…I don't want to think about something that could upset her."

Ruby was taken aback a bit by that. She knew her partner was really good friends with Velvet, but to sound like that…It made Ruby think about it more.

She's so focused on Velvet. Maybe she still blames herself…No. I'd probably be just as worried if any of my friends were in the same situation.


"Coco, it's okay. Weiss is coming over soon anyways." Velvet assured.

"Sorry, Vel, but just because your best friend is coming to help, I'm still gonna do what I can to make things a little easier for you." Coco said while fluffing Velvet's pillow.

"I appreciate, but I'm being honest when I say you don't need to worry about it. Weiss is probably going to do the same, and I'm sure she'll be as stubborn as you with it." Velvet smiled.

Coco chuckled. "Stubborn, am I? Well if I'm stubborn to help a friend, then I accept it."

"Could you at least promise not to do anything crazy? I don't need much here, so stuff like getting new bed, or trying to get a banquet over here is not what you need to be doing." Velvet said.

Coco smirked. "Ha, I'd say that Weiss would probably do that, more than I would."

"I'll make sure to not let her do that." Velvet looked over at the empty beds. "Where did Fox and Yatsu go by the way?"

"Yatsu went over to…how do I put it? Deal with his anger, so Fox went over to make sure he keeps his cool…sort of." Coco explained.

Velvet's ears drooped. "He's angry…"

Coco sighed. "Don't worry, Vel. Remember how much we talked with him. Some things may be a bit…difficult, but if he stays true to his word, then it shouldn't be much of an issue."

Velvet nodded. "Coco…when Weiss shows up, do you think you could wait outside for a few minutes? I want to talk to her about something, and then you can come back."

"Sure, Vel. I've got no problem with that, though are you sure you want me to come back? I don't mind letting you and princess stay alone." Coco said.

Velvet's ears perked up. "Princess? I didn't know you called Weiss that."

Coco sat across from Velvet. "Yang kept calling her that, so I just picked up on it. It kinda fits with her being an heiress."

Velvet blushed at the thought of Weiss being an actual princess in fairy tale stories. "O-Oh…Well, putting that way, I guess so, but…I don't think she'll like being called that all the time."

"You like taking her feelings into account…Okay. I won't call her that too much." Coco assured.

"Thank you, Coco. Oh, I forgot to say. You don't have to leave for long when Weiss and I talk…It's actually something we both need to speak about…and maybe after, we can talk with you." Velvet said.

"Hmm? Talk with me about what?" Coco inquired.

"Just…something." Velvet answered.

"Ah, I get it. You can't talk about it…Alright. I'll wait on princess to talk with you about whatever it is." Coco said.

"I thought you said you wouldn't call her that so much." Velvet crossed her arms.

Coco shrugged. "She's not here yet, so it isn't like she could hear me." Coco and Velvet heard a knock. "Well, never mind. I guess she is here." Coco got up and opened the door, revealing Weiss and Ruby. "Welcome back, you two."

Weiss nodded. "Did she sleep well?"

"Why don't you ask her?" Coco said as she stepped aside to let them both in.

Weiss walked in and looked to the rabbit Faunus. She smiled and walked over. "Did you sleep well?"

Velvet smiled back and nodded. "Is that a corgi pillow?"

Weiss looked over at her pillow. "Oh, yes, I brought this over to see if it's comfier than the pillow you're resting your head on. Do you want me to switch that out now?"

Coco snickered and muttered to herself. "So it begins."

Ruby heard that and shimmied over to whisper. "What do you mean?"

"It's Weiss being all helpful in her own way. Vel warned me that she may go overboard." Coco whispered back.

"Weiss is just offering her a pillow. How is that going overboard?" Ruby asked in their continued hushed tone.

"Like I said, it's just the beginning. She'll offer something crazy soon enough." Coco walked over to Velvet. "Vel, you want me to head out for a bit?"

Velvet turned her attention to Coco. "Oh, yeah, I'll let you know when we're done." She noticed Ruby and said. "Ruby…Um…Do you think you could wait outside? I hope that doesn't sound rude."

"Oh, sure. It doesn't sound rude. I do…uh…well I might have to borrow Weiss when you're done talking…if that's okay that is." Ruby requested.

"We'll talk after, Ruby. I'll come get you and Coco after." Weiss said, though Velvet was wondering if Weiss actually knew what she wanted to talk about already.

Ruby and Coco nodded. They both left the room and Velvet looked at the corgi pillow again. "It's really cute. Is it yours?"

Weiss shook her head. "This is Ruby's pillow. I just wanted to borrow it for you to rest your head on…though…maybe I should've looked harder for something better."

Velvet smiled. "No, I like it a lot. If it isn't as soft as this pillow, it's okay. I would still like to use it."

"But…what if isn't-?" Weiss felt Velvet hold her arm.

"Stop, Weiss. I like the pillow…but you know we should talk a little about…you know." Velvet reminded.

Weiss sighed. "That's…just it. I don't know what to talk about…I was speaking with Ruby on the way here about how I wanted to talk to you about…some things, but now I have no idea on where to begin. I mean…I even have this feeling to tell Ruby about what happened, since she's been a little down recently about us."

"Ruby's felt a little upset about us? Why? Everything is…good with us, so what could be wrong?" Velvet asked.

"It's not that. Ruby just felt that she couldn't get me to speak to her, like how I spoke with you." Weiss sighed. "For the time I've known the dolt, I didn't think she'd think that she wasn't a good partner. She…even asked me if I would rather have you as a partner instead of her."

Velvet remembered how she and Weiss had that conversation. "I…I'm sorry. I didn't think that be brought up."

"It's not a problem anymore. We talked, so I know Ruby will be okay, but like I said, I feel like letting Ruby know about what happened in the hospital." Weiss said.

"I would be lying if I said I wasn't thinking about telling Coco or Yang." Velvet admitted.

"Wait…No we can't tell all three of them about this. There would be too many people involved." Weiss stated.

"I don't think so…They wouldn't say anything to anyone else about this. I'm sure of it." Velvet said.

Weiss shook her head and sat on the opposite bed. "Haven't you thought about the kind of pressure that could put on us? I don't want, nor need that."

Velvet frowned. "Oh."

Weiss took note of her the rabbit Faunus sounded. "Velvet…I still have thing to think about. I can't imagine how bad things could get…" Velvet tried moving a little, since she honestly felt like going to the heiress, but only managed to wince in pain from the movement. "H-Hey!" Weiss got up and re-positioned the pillows to accommodate Velvet's movements. "W-Why did you do that?"

"You were saying…how bad is could get. I just wanted to hug you…to show you the good in it." Velvet blushed.

Weiss blushed as well. "Y-You just can't understand how I view it…" Weiss felt terrible when she said that, so she turned away from the rabbit Faunus. "I've…seen how things should be for me. How it should've been from the beginning, but I was blind. Now…Now I can see that what we've gone through…It just feels like we're jumping into…whatever this is, so quickly."

"Y-You really think so?" Velvet's ears drooped. "Wouldn't it make us happy though? I mean…that's what people do. They…try to be as happy as they can be."

Weiss shook her head. "I'm not the best example of that…I'm far from a girl who wants to be happy."

"Stop it!" Velvet demanded, and then took Weiss' arm. "You can't just say that what we've done in this time didn't make you happy."

Weiss looked at how serious Velvet looked, which caused her to feel a bit shamed. "Y-Yes, we have had that, but…it's just a start. What we did…I felt like we moved too fast."

"I don't see it that way though. We care about each other, so…" Velvet stopped herself, thinking about the heiress. "No…Oh my goodness…I'm causing this, aren't I?"

"W-What?" Weiss felt confused.

"I'm pushing this on you." Velvet looked down.

"I…" Weiss couldn't think of anything to say.

Velvet looked back at the heiress. "See. It's true. Weiss, I'm so sorry. I wasn't thinking."

"Y-You aren't at fault here, Velvet." Weiss stated.

Velvet clenched her fist. "Don't play it off like it isn't my fault, Weiss."

Weiss was taken aback by that. "T-That's not what I'm doing. I had all of you telling me to not blame myself enough times, that I moved past what happened, and looked to what I could do to help make things better."

Velvet bit her lip. "The difference is that I can't make this better…You know that."

"That's nonsense. You've made my life a hundred times better than what it was!" Weiss exclaimed. "I was afraid of my father, cried for my mother, and felt shame for so long…that I felt like I even failed my sister. But you…You made me so much happier than I ever could be back home. Saying that you can't make a difference is a lie!"

Velvet was shocked by that. "W-Weiss…"

Weiss took a few breaths, and heard a knock. "Guys? I-Is everything okay in there?" Ruby asked worriedly.

The heiress looked to Velvet. "I'm sorry…I didn't mean to yell at you…I'm so sorry."

Velvet wanted to comfort the heiress immediately, but she had to make sure something was taken care of first. "We're okay, Ruby! I promise it you won't have to wait much longer!" She called out.

"O-Okay!" Ruby honestly wanted to walk in, but she knew that the two wanted their privacy.

Weiss sniffled. "Ruby…She got upset when I called myself an idiot…I think I get why she felt that way. Hearing you say that you couldn't make a difference…" Weiss shook her head. "It just…hurt a little." Weiss sighed. "Damn it…I do want us to be happy, but…how could you be happy with this, when I'm so negative all the time?"

"Weiss, having these different emotions…It makes us all who we are. Human and Faunus…We can't forget that, but…if you really want to know why I care about you, and how I'd be happy…Just look at when we went to the arcade. Did you even think about playing with someone else? I didn't. And it's because I felt joyful while being around you…I still do." Velvet explained.

"I'd be lying if I said I haven't felt that same joy around you, but…so many factors can be involved. Risking all of them…I don't know if I could handle it." Weiss admitted.

"Then…We don't have to." Velvet felt her heart hurting a bit, since she said. "M-Maybe we can pretend it never happened."

Weiss' eyes widened at that. "No…No that is not what I want."

The heiress had so many thoughts running through her mind, but even when the negative ones entered her head, she always reached one thought. Velvet.

I do want what you want, Velvet…I just don't know how to…Ugh! No! I'm done!

Velvet was going to say something else, but she was surprised when Weiss leaned in to kiss her. The rabbit Faunus had no idea why Weiss was kissing her, but she slowly eased into it. Velvet closed her eyes and felt Weiss' hand reach the back of her head, just like in the hospital.

Weiss continued kissing Velvet for a few moments, and then pulled away to take a few breaths.

Velvet took a few breaths of her own. "I-I thought-."

"I'm done making excuses for myself…" Weiss simply stated. "The only person…who I would ever worry about…is my own father. His own flesh and blood is afraid of how he would react, but you know what? I'm just done."

"N-No…This is because of me saying how much we should have this…I don't want to rush you-." Velvet was cut off when Weiss placed a kiss on her lips again.

The heiress pulled away and leaned in to whisper. "I swear…This is what I want…but I'll only continue it…if it's truly what you want. To go through the hardships of being with a Schnee…Someone who…wasn't fond of Faunus for most of her life…That's who you'll be with, if you truly want to. I won't blame you if you wouldn't."

Velvet responded by pulling Weiss in for another kiss. After a few seconds, she pulled away and smiled. "What does that tell you?"

Weiss smiled back. "I…Do have one request from all this. Let's wait to tell them. I know how much you'd want to, but I'd feel a lot more comfortable without them knowing."

Velvet nodded. "I swear I won't tell anyone."

"Thank you…Now then, how about I go get you some breakfast? You must be starving." Weiss said.

Velvet's stomach grumbled, causing her to blush. "Y-Yeah."

Weiss giggled and kissed Velvet's cheek. "Don't worry. I'll get you something right away."


Whether you think it may be too fast for them to do that, I just want you to know that I see Weiss truly not giving a shit what her dad would think at this point. Velvet made sure to help her with that, and she's still gonna help even more.

To JJ- Yeah, Weiss will definitely grow a lot more in this story. I just need to work on a good pacing for it, as well as getting her to tell the others about what just happened here. Date ideas come and go, so I'm sure I'll be fine with that when the time does come.

I hoped you all enjoyed chapter 23. Remember, reviews are welcomed, but not required. See you all in chapter 24.