A/N: For a Tumblr request, from .com

Request: Weiss Schnee/Blake Belladonna (Monochrome), sequel to "Promises". (Request by Anon).

Fear Of What's Inside

Summary: Blake wants to… But Weiss is unaccountably nervous.

"But I'd really like–"

"Absolutely not!"

"Please?"

Weiss glared at Blake, arms crossed and face flushed, but Blake knew that silence.

That was the pause before Weiss gave in—the token hesitation before she went along with whatever she had been resisting out of truculency alone. She had seen it when Ruby pouted her way out of a long study session to tune up Crescent Rose, and when Yang had stampeded over Weiss' objections in order to hit the town alone tonight. Weiss was so used to being defensive that she basically disagreed with every suggestion made to her on principle, and would only actually consider it if pressed.

Now the two of them were alone, and she had put her girlfriend on the spot with a request that she hadn't thought was unreasonable. Saying 'please' was the final straw, and now Blake could see her wavering. It made her feel suddenly and unaccountably guilty.

"Why not?" Blake said softly, before Weiss could make up her mind.

Weiss' mouth set in a hard line—she would deny it, but it was unmistakably a pout. She wasn't as effective with it as Ruby, but her beautiful alabaster skin lent her a radiant beauty that still took Blake's breath away. Weiss didn't have to pout to make Blake want to spoil her. Even if she's spoiled enough already, Blake thought, fondly.

She moved across the room, reaching for Weiss' hand, making sure the heiress saw her coming. "Why do you always get so…hesitant?" Their fingers intertwined. She squeezed gently, and Weiss returned the pressure.

"We've been teammates for over a year," Blake continued. "And we've been together for months. And this will be the first time…"

Weiss, cheeks now flaming red, cut across her in a hiss. "Do you even realize what Yang would think if she heard you say that?"

Mentally reviewing her phrasing, Blake suddenly burst out laughing. Yang would think it sounded like I was propositioning her. Weiss began trying to free her hand, but Blake wouldn't have it. She pulled instead, and Weiss overbalanced, falling against her. Blake brought her other hand to Weiss' waist. "And what would be the problem with that?" she asked smokily.

Weiss, startled at their abrupt closeness, gaped like a fish before blushing redder than before. She tried to pull away, but Blake tilted her chin up into a searing kiss. After a moment's halfhearted struggle, Blake's snow angel melted against her. When their lips finally broke apart, she allowed Weiss to step back. Blake herself sat on the edge of Weiss' bed, so that only their hands were touching once more.

"Why don't you like to sing for us?" Blake asked again, staring at the tilted canopy made by Ruby's bed. "We've all heard that recording Jaune had. Even Pyrrha had to admit you were amazing."

Weiss had sung as the soprano goddess of love and beauty in the famous opera The River's Gold. Blake, not raised to opera as Weiss had been, but intimately familiar with the original myths that had spawned the story, was left breathless by the brightness and clarity of her voice, the way it seemed to trill effortlessly higher and still higher, a quality Weiss had later told her was called spinto. Blake wasn't sure of the translation and didn't care; all she knew was that her girlfriend had an amazing singing voice, and couldn't help wondering why she had never heard it.

Weiss was grumbling imprecations about Jaune and his recordings, facing half-away and pointedly not answering Blake's question.

"Weiss…" Blake began, then… "You know you don't actually have to."

Weiss shut her eyes, free hand drifting up to the scar that crossed her left eyelid and curved down her cheek. Blake didn't know what had caused the scar; had never asked or been told. It was clearly something very personal, considering how Weiss had snapped at people who were bold enough to ask…and the more so considering that she was rich enough to afford any amount of cosmetic surgery if she had wanted it removed. Of course, Blake didn't like talking about her own scars, if she could help it, and Weiss had likewise never pressed.

She squeezed Weiss' hand again, grateful simply to have found someone she could love, no matter how many times Ruby called them "star-crossed". The two of them had discussed their feelings in-depth, during one of the few quiet moments they could find, living with the noisy sisters. Neither of them was ready to share all their secrets, but they had agreed that both of them needed to be more open with their internal fears and worries.

Weiss' grip on her hand tightened abruptly, as though she was afraid of suddenly being yanked apart. "I promised myself not to," Weiss whispered finally, her back suddenly ramrod-straight.

"Why?" Blake asked, wanting nothing more than to touch Weiss' face, to run her fingers through the other girl's long, beautiful hair. She wouldn't, though, while Weiss' eyes were closed.

"Not until the song I composed wasn't true anymore." Weiss' words were so soft, Blake wasn't sure she had been meant to hear, but humans always underestimated Faunus' ears. Or, perhaps Weiss was truly speaking for her ears only.

"You composed a song yourself?" Blake asked. She still spoke quietly. Loud voices felt like they might shatter the extremely personal atmosphere.

Eyes still closed, Weiss drew a deep breath and began to softly sing senza compagni. Blake froze, listening to every word, as Weiss poured her heart into a song that poured it right back out. Every note was pitch-perfect, and every word pierced her heart. The song wasn't very long, and ended on a line that was lyrically perfect, and utterly heartbreaking.

"It's not true anymore," Blake whispered fiercely, suddenly on her feet and desperately holding back tears. "You have us. You have me. We love you." Her voice cracked. "I love you."

Weiss opened her eyes at last, and she pulled Blake into a hug. The heiress' slender fingers threaded their way through Blake's thick black mane of hair, ghosting lightly over her Faunus ears. Blake buried her face in Weiss' neck, giving up trying to express everything she felt in favor of just holding her girlfriend as tightly as she could.

"I know," Weiss whispered back. "I love you, too."

A/N: If it's not clear, Weiss is singing "Mirror, Mirror", her theme song from the White Trailer. (I don't like reproducing lyrics within the story; the gist is that Weiss asks the magic mirror "Who's the loneliest of all?", all along knowing that it's herself.) The whole point is that the song clearly refers to how she was before arriving at Beacon. Everything is different—she is different—now that she has Ruby, and Yang, and especially Blake.

I spend way too much time researching classical music and opera when I'm trying to write Weiss. Too often, I have to stop and find a way to phrase something in a way that makes sense for the world of RWBY. For instance, senza compagni (Italian for 'without company') would in the real world probably just be termed a capella, but we see no evidence that there are chapels about wherein unaccompanied singing might be considered a norm. Similarly, can you spot the not-very-clever opera reference?

Hopefully this is nice and fluffy for fans of that, and a demonstration that I am capable of writing these two further down the line than their necessary apology.