Author's Notes

A quick note on the Ruby-Yang lore: This is one of the questions I'm being asked the most, so I'm clarifying it all here.

Ruby and Yang are still half-sisters.

Raven + Taiyang = Yang.

Taiyang - Raven [adios] = ( ╥ ﹏ ╥ )

Summer + Taiyang = Ruby.

Taiyang - Summer [RIP] = ( ˃̣̣̥⌓˂̣̣̥ )

Ozpin is still the mentor to Team Stark, even if he's not secretly sending them on world-saving missions. Raven ran away (presumably cuz she's just a normal dick here who doesn't want responsibility), and Summer died to a billion Grimm or tuberculosis (or maybe a billion Grimm with tuberculosis). Silver eyes...take it or leave it, your choice (I never formally specify if they do anything).

I went with Yang being more of a protective older sister to Ruby than canon, and Ruby being a bit more sheltered and immature, but that's more of just a loose interpretation of their characters than any long range butterfly effect or something.

Ruby stopped a couple of fellas who were mugging Mr. Shopkeep for the loose change in his pockets, and she saved his life, so Ozpin looked up her academic records, saw that she was smart, and decided to offer her a special scholarship. Was it because of his friendship with Qrow and Tai, or was it purely merit? Once again, it's up to you, and I will never explicitly state it one way or another.

Happy rats, and don't do crime!

Chapter 12 – This F***ing Pig

In which Weiss Schnee is pitted against Professor Peter Port's pet porcine pest.

"I did it for you!"

"Yes! Yes, I know you did, and that's the problem!"

When Ruby had declared she wished to speak with her sister, she'd opened up the door so that they could have their conversation outside of the dorm room, a decision of which Weiss approved. She and Blake had no business and no desire to be in the middle of their familial dispute.

Unfortunately, she held their conversation in the hallway right outside, meaning that there was no way to not hear each and every word. It was also most unfortunate that it wasn't as much a conversation as it was a screaming match.

"I'm amazed they both aren't hoarse by now," Blake idly commented, turning another page.

Weiss was trying to study, but it was borderline impossible. She knew how to filter out background chatter, but the subject of their discussion was something near and dear to her heart – herself. As such, it was essentially impossible for some subconscious curiosity to tug at her attention span and pull her back to the tempting-to-overhear words. Eavesdropping was something she was quite skilled at, after all.

"Ruby, she was so out of line! You're being too nice! See, this is why I need to –"

"NO! STOP IT! You didn't need to do that, and I wish you never had. Honestly, Yang, I wish I hadn't been put on the same team as you."

Weiss and Blake both winced at that.

"R-Ru–"

"And it's not because I hate your or something. I don't. I'm mad as heck about what you did to Weiss, but that's a symptom of a deeper issue. I've relied on you for a long, long time now, and it's always worked out because we've been together. But that meant I didn't have to ever grow up – whenever the real world came knocking, you were there to take care of it for me. You do the laundry, you buy toothpaste when I run out, you even got one of those little meal planners that reminds you to hit all four of the major food groups."

Five, Blake corrected with her eyes.

Exactly, and that's part of the problem, Weiss concurred mentally.

"This is my fault, not yours, Yang. It was easier, so I chose to not grow up. I know I say that I'm fifteen, but the truth is, I'm probably only about as fit to take care of myself as the average ten-year-old. I need to learn how to do things on my own. Weiss was right about that, even if she was kind of insensitive."

"Exac–"

"No, Yang. Not exactly right or something. If she'd been sensitive, I wouldn't have been pushed out of my comfort zone by her message. It was only because she chose to ignore me crying and running back to you that I got the kick in the pants I needed to wake up."

There was something vindicating about hearing those words from Ruby Rose. Even if they couldn't perfectly allay the self-doubts that lingered over her poorly-timed ultimatum to Ruby, it certainly helped.

I wonder if she meant for me to hear this…except that would imply a level of coordination, manipulative expertise, and forethought that I highly doubt she possesses. Weiss smiled and shook her head. There's no way.

"Sisters take care of one another, Rubes. That's just the way things are."

Weiss' lips flattened at that. Blake, who was keenly aware of Winter and what she'd been up to, marked the page in her novel, got up, and sat down next to Weiss. The book opened up again, and no words were shared, but the gesture was appreciated nonetheless.

"And besides, it's not like I'm going to be leaving you anytime soon. You don't need to worry about forgetting your toothpaste if I'm here to get some for you."

"So you're going to be my babysitter for the rest of my life? Oh, well then I guess I'll just quit Beacon like Weiss wants, because if you're going to be a huntress, there's no need for me to make it redundant. After all, it's not like I have a life I want to live – you can just live it for me."

Weiss made a mental note to do everything in her power to convince Ruby that that was not what she wanted, at least when this argument ended and an opportunity presented itself. Her only actual wish during that tirade was that it would scare Ruby straight, so to speak. It wouldn't do for her to spend the rest of these four years with her actually thinking I'd have been willing to accept her resignation from the team. She might be a pest, but…

Weiss involuntarily let out a soft groan. "Mmmm…"

If she were being completely honest with herself, that was how she felt when she'd calmed down. In that very moment, when she'd told Ruby to get it together or get off the team, she didn't truly know what she'd been wanting.

I know it was a mistake, and all I can do is choose to be better now. That means reassuring Ruby at every turn.

"You can't take my classes for me, Yang, and I wouldn't want you to. You just need to ease up a little bit. I'm not asking you to quit Beacon or something, just to give me the freedom to make my own mistakes. I'll buy my own food planner, write up my own sticky note in the bathroom to get more toothpaste…fight my own fights."

"Ruby, don't do this. Don't let Weiss push us apart."

"You pushed us apart."

Weiss couldn't see the girls, but she could practically hear the look that Ruby gave Yang. The silence that followed only confirmed the animosity present between them.

"I was protecting you. You didn't complain when you were crying in my arms after she yelled at you, did you?"

"Yang, do you know the one thing I was thinking when you two fought was? The only thing going through my mind?"

"Uh, was it 'thanks,' perchance?"

Ruby just ignored that. "When I saw you tear off her feathers and stuff them into her mouth…oh, gods that makes me feel sick just to say…all I could think was that this was what I became a huntress to stop. This was just…just evil."

"Alright, that's enough, sis. Whether or not you liked it, I'm not gonna just sit here and listen to this. It was a spar, and I followed the rules. Her aura held, and there wasn't even that much damage. I've taken worse injuries during spars with you, Dad, and Qrow, and I've busted plenty of bones by accident in Signal. No one complained there – Dust, some of those guys even came to me after the fact and asked me for dates."

"It's not what you did but why you chose to do it that way. You were stronger than her, and you wanted to hurt you because you knew you could. That's not what Mom taught us."

"Jeez…low blow, sis."

"Yeah, I guess I might be wrong there." Weiss heard Ruby suck in a breath. "Your mom probably would be pleased with you, even if mine would be ashamed."

"Oh, shit," Weiss said.

"Oh, shit," Blake echoed, snapping her book shut. Both of them had their full attentions on the conversation at the door now.

And then, it burst open, and in walked a very irate-looking Yang Xiao-Long. Ruby Rose, equally pissed off, trudged in shortly behind her. The two split in separate directions at the doorway, with Ruby walking to her bunk and Yang stepping into the doorframe of their bathroom and stopping. Both girls' fists were so tightly clamped that their skin was growing pale at the knuckles.

This wasn't the time for Weiss to have a talk with Ruby about wanting her at Beacon; that much was obvious. Weiss instead opted to simply close the door to their dorm room.

Apparently, that was also too much, as Yang turned around, bumped Weiss' shoulder with her own, and crawled to the top of her own bunk without a word.

Every adult in Weiss' life had cautioned her against impulsive action, so Weiss took a few seconds to plan what she was going to say before she said it. After about thirty of them, she folded her arms in front of her.

"Yang," Weiss said.

Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Blake's hand rest on her sword, just in case.

"Weiss? Something you want to say?"

"Get out."

Weiss opened up the door that she'd just closed.

"Get out."

Yang slid down off the edge of her top bunk, taking a few sheets with her as she did. It was clear she was on the verge of snapping and barely even aware of her surroundings. Nothing was probably registering to her aside from whichever teammate sparked her ire at the moment.

"Or what?" Yang asked.

"Or I'll call Goodwitch and ask to have you expelled."

Yang opened her mouth, and Weiss didn't hesitate to cut her off.

"That's what you want, isn't it? I, like the tyrant that I am, lording my authority over you and using it to unjustly bully you? After all, there's no other reason why you would willingly antagonize me. You wish to push me until I respond in anger once again and prove to you that you're right and it was only a matter of time before I gave up the façade of civility. So I figure I'll save us both some time, skip the part where I pretend to be reasonable, and jump straight to the threats. Get out of our dorm until you're over yourself, or I will see you removed from this school."

Yang took a step closer, and then another. Weiss had planned out her speech, but that was as far as she'd gone. Despite her best efforts to steel up her nerves, there was still some…okay, still mountains of lingering fear from their duel that she couldn't shake, and Weiss found herself falling back at the mere sight of her teammate approached. Yang smiled at the sight of it.

"Some leader," she scoffed. "A word of advice: don't keep picking fights you can't –"

"What makes you so sure you're right?" Blake asked suddenly, cutting in.

"Look, bud, this is between me and Weiss," Yang stated.

"You torment your own leader for fun in spite of the fact that literally everyone around you tells you you're wrong. Even Ruby doesn't even want this. How can you still think you're the hero in your own story when you're such an asshole?"

"Cuz unlike you, I'm not doing this to get everyone else to like me."

"You're in luck, then. No one does."

"Yang, just go," Ruby said, sounding exhausted. "Just go away already."

That made Yang deflate a little bit. Weiss could've sworn she'd seen flashes of red irises (which she suspected would be haunting her dreams for a little bit) back when Blake had been arguing for her, but the purple returned as soon as her attention turned to Ruby.

Yang opened her mouth to say something, but upon looking at her sister, she shut it. The door was open, and she closed it behind her as she left.

As soon as the offending blonde was out of the room, Blake was at Weiss' side. "Chicken wings, you need to make that call.

Oh, Weiss knew that. Yang had clearly learned nothing, and she seemed to be the type of person who refused to comprehend the severity of a threat until the punishment itself was actually executed.

But Weiss also saw Ruby freeze up at Blake's words.

Blake did, too. "Ruby, there's a good chance your sister will kill Weiss, or seriously injure her. This is getting out of hand."

Weiss took out her scroll.

She didn't open it – hell, she didn't even unlock it. But the power was in her hands, and she could practically feel it as she fidgeted with the device, turning it over and over again.

It was tempting, but it also felt like a temptation, the kind that good leaders and good huntresses eschewed.

A few days ago, I thought Ruby the biggest problem of my pair of problem children. If I'd lost my patience with her, I'd have forever regretted it. Doesn't Yang deserve the same chance?

The simple answer was no. No, she didn't. No, Goodwitch was right about her not being good huntress material.

Weiss wanted to make the call, and she knew it was the right choice. Sticking out her neck was all well and good, but it was Yang who was pulling it towards the chopping block.

I'm already forced to sleep face-down because my wings got so mangled, and the bones need time to set before any pressure is applied.

"Weiss," Blake begged. "Make the call."

"No," Ruby said. "You shouldn't make the call."

Blake turned to her teammate, anger in her eyes, but Ruby met it with a look of regret.

"I'll be the one making the calls. To my dad, and to my uncle. If they can't get through to Yang…if she's still…then I wouldn't…"

Weiss nodded, sparing Ruby from having to admit it aloud. A quick thank you slipped through Ruby's lips before her own scroll was in her hands.

Weiss heard the story once Yang had already left. Apparently, Ruby had explained the full story to her family as she'd promised to. The male relatives, unsure of how to proceed, had called Yang to get her side of the story a little later; they apparently trusted both children equally and weren't sure if Ruby were the one being the villain here.

Yang had spun the tail favorably towards herself. Thus, this family of theirs had decided that the best way to get to the bottom of this was to host a call with both girls on the line.

After that, they'd politely asked for Yang to briefly return to their home on Patch so they could share some words with her. Weiss had inquired what that euphemism meant, and Ruby confirmed that they were royally pissed.

"They told me that they'd only let her come back to Beacon if she could get her stuff together at home," Ruby said. "It'll only be about a week."

The second they entered Port's classroom, though, Ruby's lips were sealed tighter than Father's wallet. Weiss commended the girl's commitment to honoring her promise to put a greater effort into improving herself as a student, as a huntress, and as a person.

"I recommend taking notes on the key points of any lectures," Weiss had said, keen on fulfilling her end of their bargain as well. Ruby could put in the effort, but she would need the advice of her peers if it were to work. One didn't develop healthy habits without some aid. "If you try to write down every word, you'll get too caught up on transcribing the lecture to let it soak in. Focusing on the major aspects is the best way to ensure you remain focused while also learning as you go."

"Do you cram?" Blake asked Ruby.

"What?" Weiss blinked, looking at the two girls. "Cram? What's that?"

"I do," Ruby admitted, slightly bashful.

"I'd recommend stopping that. You might ace tests, but your retention will be shit, and the real goal is to learn the material, not pass classes with straight A's."

Straight A's…

Weiss would have to look up this 'cramming' method, if it was a potential way to improve her grades. Making a mental note, she also made a physical one in her notebook when she opened it up as Port began speaking.

The lesson proceeded in a fairly standard manner until the very end, when Professor Port slapped a hand onto the tarp atop a cage that had been shaking around every now and again.

"…and to top of this life-changing lecture that I have no doubt has opened your eyes to my splendor, I now invite a brave young volunteer to face the challenge of a lifetime. Which strapping lad or dashing lass shall rise to the occasion and prove themselves in the ring of fire?"

Based on the size of that cage, it can't be a Beowolf or anything bigger. Deathstalkers, Ursai, and Taijitu are all ruled out at that. Grimm don't cage well, meaning that it can't be an import – such a beast would've thrashed itself either to death or to freedom during the long transit across kingdom lines. A juvenile Nevermore could never cause that much a racket, and no reasonable man would store in in such a cage. If I had to guess, I'd say a Boarbatusk or a Creep.

I…I could actually handle that.

Perhaps it was crazy, to jump into a fight after having lost one so recently, but if she could triumph in class, it would redeem some of that failure in the eyes of her peers. A leader must be strong, after all.

Father is also watching. If he hears of me being demolished by my own teammate without some act of redemption…

On top of that, she just wanted to win, plain and simple. Weiss Schnee could play victim to her own fear no longer.

Her hand shot up, and she spoke with a steadiness of voice that failed to bely the way her nerves were on fire. "I volunteer, sir!"

"Then step forth, and fight…" Port pulled back the tarp. "…this fucking pig!"

"You got this, Weiss! Fight that fucking pig!"

Weiss kept her lips flat. "Thank you, Ruby, for that."

Ruby violently flailed her arm in what Weiss could only assume was a toddler's impression of a wave. "You're welcome!"

After retrieving her gear, Weiss had already begun stepping down the stairs that ran up and down the study hall. Port tweaked his mustache with a grin as she walked.

"Think you have what it takes to vanquish this fucking pig?" He raised an eyebrow. "I heard tell of an incident where your mettle was recently put the test."

"I do, sir," Weiss said, ignoring his second line altogether. If he truly had heard of it, he probably wouldn't have brought it up in the first place. "I have the upmost faith in myself. I shall defeat this Boarbatusk."

"This fucking pig."

"I shall defeat this pig," Weiss amended.

Port shook his head. "This fucking pig."

"I shall defeat th-this fucking pig."

A pi– a Boarbatusk…I've read about them. Incredibly dangerous ability to roll, coupled with razor sharp snouts bearing tusks that've been seen cutting through three inches of steel. But what are their weaknesses?

No sooner than Weiss reached the final step than Port's axe chopped the lock holding the beast within its cage in half. Her sword wasn't even raised.

Both Weiss and the encaged creature didn't seem to realize what was for a second, not until the from grate of bars toppled down onto the floor with a loud clang.

"A huntress must always be ready," Port said, sniffling. "Best of luck."

The Boarbatusk managed to react to the unexpectedly sudden start of their fight before Weiss did, charging forward on all fours with its tusks thrust forward. Fumbling with her sword, Weiss just barely managed to block its overhasty attack with a Glyph, but the slapdash nature of her defense made it crumble apart before the impact was fully absorbed, and Weiss was knocked backwards.

"Kick its butt, Weiss! Get up!"

"Not helping, Ruby!"

Seriously, if she was going to shout out advice, the worst possible thing to offer was encouragement. Her motivation certainly wasn't lacking, and the extra noise didn't benefit her. And if that was meant to be advice…

I know to get up. Anyone over the age of three would know to get up when they go down.

Calling a Boarbatusk a 'mindless killing machine' might've sounded like an overexaggeration due to their relatively small size – most people tended to reserve that appellation for true monsters like Giant Nevermore, Leviathans, or Sea Feilong, the likes of which could level an entire settlement on their own. However, in that one moment during which Weiss was down, she understood how any Grimm could be seen as such a fright.

While she had to regain her bearings and clamor up to her feet, it wasted no time. There was no thought, no reaction, no self-preservation, no fear behind those glowing red eyes. It wasn't a terrifying threat to civilization, but it was a machine that knew no weakness. This fucking pig of Port's was prepared to destroy itself to even land a single goring blow.

Myrtenaster clinked against those tusks as they went straight for her heart again, and Weiss felt her feet slide against the floor.

The little pest still didn't seem to know her mistake and continued making it. "Aim for the belly, Weiss! There's no –"

"Ruby, shut your trap! You're distracting her!"

Surprisingly, it was Blake who told Ruby off, not Weiss. Weiss mentally thanked her for fighting that battle on Weiss' behalf so she could focus on the more life-threatening one at hand.

"I was just –"

"No, you were just running your mouth while Weiss is trying to focus."

"B-But what if –"

The Grimm pushed Weiss further and further back, until the rear wall was coming into view. Before she could be cornered and crushed, Weiss intentionally fell back faster than the boar could react and launched herself over it…

…only to fall directly onto its armored back. Her wings ached, having flapped only once before giving out.

"Ruby, don't you even try to say anything!" Blake jeered. "Now is not the time!"

"I wasn't going to!" Ruby protested. "I was just sitting there, and I haven't said a peep!"

"You're saying a peep right now!"

"But that's because –"

"A little quiet, please!" Weiss screamed, holding onto the back of the Grimm for dear life as it bucked like how Weiss assumed a horse would (horsemanship was beneath a Schnee, according to her father). "I'm trying to focus!"

"S-Sorry!"

"Ruby! Just stop talking already!"

Weiss bit down on her teeth as the two of them continued to yammer on. I need to think of a) a way off of this fucking pig, and b) a way to murder it as hard as faunusly possible.

The answer to her first question seemed obvious – just let go – but without wings, she would be at a disadvantage in terms of mobility the second she switched to her legs, which were slower than the Boarbatusk.

Maybe I can control its movement somehow while I'm riding it. If I can push it towards a trap, then –

The pig kicked its legs harder than she'd been expecting, and her grip on her sword faltered as its armored haunches smacked the back of her palm.

"NO!" she screamed.

"Weiss!" cried a pair of voices in the audience.

Without her Dust, her weapon, or easy access to her semblance, Weiss had next to no offensive capabilities. Recovering that sword was now Priority #1.

The Grimm began to charge forward recklessly, thrashing about and knocking over pieces of furniture and anything that wasn't bolted down. Desperately, Weiss reached forward and grabbed onto its tusks in a desperate attempt to see if she could somehow drive it.

The action proved futile, as her weak upper body strength was barely enough to tilt its head, let alone drag it off course. The beast rammed itself directly into a wall with such force that Weiss slipped right off its back and slammed her head right into the drywall.

Oh, damn it, that hurts! But at least I didn't flip over and double up the damage on my wings.

Also on the bright side, she no longer needed to get Myrtenaster. Her hands had been wrapped around the tusks, and the Grimm's own wild need to destroy her had backfired when they snapped off in the wake of its crash. The beast's armored skull seemed to be sporting a wide crack as well.

Before it could shake itself fully awake and resume its rampage, Weiss stabbed it with its own fragments of bone, one from below in its defenseless chin and one from above in its weakened cranial ridge. The pieces didn't meet in the middle (she hadn't angled them right for that), but the top one did poke out of the pig's open mouth.

"SKKEEEEEEE!" squealed the Grimm, its dying cry filled with unresolved hatred for the woman who'd slain it.

Weiss held her makeshift dirks in place firmly, though, and within seconds, the battle was over.

"Yay!" Weiss' partner began to clap like a dullard. "You d–"

"Ruby, I swear to the gods!" Blake caught her hand and stopped the noise.

"But the fight's over! I'm not even distracting her or anything!"

She wasn't distracting her, but the noise and cheering coming from the peanut gallery was making her already ringing headache worse. The crash into the wall had been enough to split the Grimm's reinforced skull, and Weiss' aura could only protect so much.

It's okay, though. I won this one. I've proven my worth as a leader, and I think I've earned the right to let Arc or Winchester or whichever leader comes next to handle the next in-class skirmish.

"Excellent work, Miss Schnee."

Weiss had to cover her ears, for even Port's boisterous banter was enough to make her brain feel like a slushie. "T-Thank you, sir."

"Well, class. That's all the time we have today. Tune in next lesson for the epic tale of how I once triumphed over group of bandits with nothing but a half-eaten bag of ranch-flavored potato chips, two Philip's head screwdrivers, and the gun that I used to shoot them all. Why, legend says the police are still looking for the bodies, but this old codger doubts they'll dig in the right spot before the statute of limitations expires! Oh ho ho ho!"

Weiss was having trouble holding herself in during their lunch period. Her trying little partner was clearly aware that Mount Schnee was moments away from erupting, but it was only by Weiss' own restraint that she held back.

A leader must remain calm at all times.

Ruby's distractions had nearly cost her the fight. If Weiss had lost twice in a row, that would've had real, tangible consequences with her father.

It's not her fault. She's but a child, whereas I'm an adult. I'm expected to be the bigger person.

The way that little goblin of a girl had shouted at Weiss the most obvious of things – oh, Weiss, get off it's back, Weiss, go for the non-armored portion…it was as though Ruby was trying to send a message to the entire student body that Weiss was incompetent.

She's an idiot and knows no better. Can I truly blame the brainless for their condition of utter, annoying, ruinous brainlessness?

"Um…W-Weiss…"

Weiss fixed Ruby with a glare that shut her down instantly. The younger girl sucked in her cheeks and went back to her meal.

Good. At least she can learn. That's what it's all about, isn't it? Us learning? As long as she doesn't –

"N-No," said Ruby shakily.

Weiss didn't have to manufacture the sheer distaste in her tone. "What."

"N-No…I-I mean, NO! No, I'm a huntress, and I'm supposed to fight my own battles since Yang's not…I won't stand for this!"

Nostrils flaring, Weiss nearly lost it right then and there. It was only by her own magnanimity that she didn't strike Ruby atop the back of the head.

"Oh, come on!" Ruby said angrily, seeing Weiss' mood. "Look, I'll take blame for being a bit of a bother, but this so isn't fair here! I actually did shut up when I was told to! Blake talked more than me!"

Ruby pointed at Blake, who was just eating a tuna fish sandwich.

Weiss cleared her throat, annoyed at even having to defend her friend like this. "Blake's counsel is –"

"Now who's not being fair? I only spoke up, like, once or twice, and then Blake kept bothering me!"

That's simply untrue. Ruby distracted me at every critical juncture of the fight. Blake merely attempted to silence her.

Weiss mentally reviewed the conversation in her head, knowing that citing specific examples would be better for Ruby. After Ruby seemed to misremember Weiss' words about petting her wings on the first day, it seemed like the obvious way to get through to Ruby.

And as Weiss reran through the fight-slash-conversation in her head, she confirmed she was right. Every time, it was Ruby as the instigator; telling her to fight the pig, advising her to go for its underside…

"Ruby, don't you even try to say anything! Now is not the time!"

"I wasn't going to!"

Weiss paused.

"See?!" Ruby was now far too excited about this whole thing, but Weiss wasn't sure what she even wanted to say. "See? You remember – I tried to be good, but Blake was talking more than me by the end of it."

Blake cleared her throat awkwardly. "Yes, but I was attempting to –"

"You gave me full sentence lectures on how to shut up when I spoke for less than a sentence." Ruby triumphantly slapped a hand against the table, rattling their plates. "I'm not the only one who can be blamed here."

Try as she might, Weiss couldn't exactly argue with her logic. It had seemed so obvious at the time that Blake's help was appreciated, but looking back, she'd snapped at Ruby for breaking her concentration when Blake had actually been doing the same thing.

The two elder huntresses shared a look of unsureness, neither knowing what to do about this.

Folding her arms petulantly, Ruby puffed out her cheeks. "You go on and on about good leader stuff, Weiss, but you don't get to treat her better than me because she's your girlfriend. I know that I've made mistakes, but that doesn't mean I'm responsible for everything that goes slightly wrong."

Weiss didn't even hear the second sentence.

G-G-Girl…?!

Blake cleared her throat. "Ruby, you're not my girlfriend," she observed.

"Yeah, I…I know." Ruby shrugged her arms up. "Why even bring that up…?"

"I…I mean, you aren't Weiss' girlfriend," Blake amended.

"Quite so," Weiss agreed. Blake wasn't Ruby's girlfriend at all, and this little misunderstanding needed to be cleared up right away.

"You both okay?" Ruby took a bite of her salad – the one Weiss had insisted she get to stay healthy. "What, did you two just simultaneously choke on your food and have strokes at the same time or something? You're actin' all weird."

"What Blake means to say is that she and I are girlfriends." Weiss nodded. "That is all."

"Yeah." Ruby munched a bite of celery. "I know."

"I-I mean, Blake and I aren't girlfriends. That is all."

Ruby snorted as she mixed her vegetables together to even coat them in the balsamic dressing. "Yeah, right, and I've got a 12-inch dong."

"We aren't romantically involved, Ruby," Blake said.

Weiss…Weiss couldn't help the way that that factual statement engendered unpleasant feeling withing her chest. Swallowing suddenly became rather difficult, which sounded like it might make lunch difficult.

"You sure?" Ruby asked. "Cuz…like…" She pointed at the two of them. "There's that and all."

"W-What's that?" Weiss asked. She patted her throat, pretending to have choked on her mashed turnips. "Ahem. What is that, Ruby Rose?"

"That." Ruby pointed at Blake, then at Weiss. "You two. You're both that."

Blake looked over at Weiss, likely equally perplexed as to the mystic 'that' which apparently provided Ruby all the information she needed.

She's certainly a beautiful person, but Ruby's claims have no basis in fact.

"So, like…you aren't all up in each other's business?" Ruby asked casually.

Their eyes met for a second.

Ruby looked up from her lunch try, catching it just in time.

Weiss looked at Ruby, who looked at Blake, who looked at Ruby, who looked at Weiss, who looked at Blake. Blake looked back at Blake. Rather, back at Weiss, that was to say. That was who Blake was looking back at as Weiss looked directly at Blake.

"Wellllllll, it's been a delicious lunch, but I'm gonna get…gonna go…gonna…I'm gonna."

Ruby stumbled over her words, but Weiss was fairly certain neither she nor Blake could hear them. The two of them certainly couldn't see her, as they were both looking in the direction of the windows and ceiling respectively.

She got up and left, nearly tripping over her own shoes.

Blake followed shortly thereafter, leaving Weiss alone. Her wordless departure might've been seen as abandonment had Weiss not know it was a blessed release from whatever that had been just known.

Weiss let out a deep sigh and placed her face into her hands once she was alone.

Situation with Ruby: recently downgraded from moderately fucked to partially fucked.

Situation with Blake: significantly fucked.

Situation with Yang: thoroughly fucked.

This team. This Brothers-damned team.

Next Chapter: Running on Eggshells

In which Weiss Schnee must carefully navigate the intricacies of close friendship and teamly intrigue.

Author's Notes

I promised Weiss x Blake content, and Weiss x Blake content I shall distribute.

Worry not - Yang will return. I only wrote out the character because I hate her and she stinks.

In all seriousness, she won't be gone for long. Only the in-universe equivalent of about a week. This fic is about Team RWBY, and I mean all of Team RWBY, even if it's going to be Team RWB for a little bit. That will help Weiss get some of that prime quality one on one shipbait with Blake, and some wholesome interactions with ya girl Ruby.

For those of you who are worried, everyone (on Team RWBY at least) comes together and sings at the end. Yang won't turn evil and be the villain or something. When I call this a fluff fic, I mean that by the end, fluff will be floof.

Happy rats, and don't do crime!