It is eight thirty right now and Weiss was still busy at the desk in team RWBY's dorm with some coursework; she already finished it but she just wants to make sure it is perfect. Ruby is lying on her bed with a weapons magazine on the mattress and her headphones on, bobbing her head to some music. Ruby's sister, Yang, is still in the bathroom and will probably be there an hour later.
Weiss' first weeks here at Beacon have not been what she imagined them to be. She would hesitate to call them disappointing but they were without a doubt humbling.
She had high hopes when coming here. She hoped she would find a suitable partner and at first, it seemed almost like destiny when she saw the Pyrrha Nikos on the day of initiation. She began talking to her and made a good case for being on the same team. But because of some inane rule the headmaster has implemented, it never happened.
And even worse, the partner she did end up with was the one who destroyed a part of her dust storage on her first day here at Beacon. Not only that but Ruby, the fifteen-year-old, was selected team leader. Ugh, how aggravating. Of course, she now understands why this decision was made and that she may have acted a bit rashly but that does not mean she is happy with it. Maybe Ruby has made some strides to be a better leader and working on herself, but still.
Her feelings on her team as a whole are mixed, to say the least. Yang, as oafish and crass as she seems, has a way with people. She often finds good ways to disarm tensions in their team, mainly by utilizing one of her moronic puns and making light of a difficult situation. That is something that, if Weiss is being honest with herself, she admires just a little bit, not that she would ever tell Yang that, her ego is already big enough.
Blake, on the other hand, is to state it simply antagonistic. At least towards her, towards her teammates, she is very much neutral. The only person who she seemed to have any positive accord with seems to be that runt Jaune. From the very first time they met, right after Ruby destroyed her dust, Blake began belittling her and spouting nonsense about her family's business. And up until this point, it did not get any better. Every conversation with her, as short as they are, is tense. In every look Blake sends her, she feels the condescension behind it.
The click of the door unlocking interrupts Weiss' musing and announces the arrival of Blake. Not wanting to start another argument with her this late in the day, Weiss only nods at her but Blake does not seem to notice it, deep in thought as she furrows her brows.
"Oh, hey Blake." Ruby also notices Blake's entrance and takes off her headphones, asking with a sunny smile, "How was your reading time?"
"It was good Ruby, thank you for asking."
"You're later than usual. Anything happened." Ruby asks, curious as always, making Weiss roll her eyes.
Blake lets out a short hum and gives Weiss a look before answering Ruby. "Well, Jaune was also in the library and we talked for a bit. I guess I just forgot about the time."
Pfft, that sounds more like a reason to leave early. That runt probably does not have any interesting to say.
"What!? He promised me to wait until I also have the new X-Ray and Vav comic, so we could read them together!" Ruby shouts out in worry.
"Don't worry Ruby, he wasn't reading any comics. So your plans with him aren't ruined."
"Phew, that's good," Ruby says relieved. "But what is really awesome is, that you and Jaune are becoming such good friends, not as good as me and Jaune of course."
"Well, he is–," Blake takes a moment to think about what to say, the conversation with Jaune still in her mind. "interesting to talk to."
"Ha!" Weiss could not hold back the bark of laughter, making Ruby look at her with an unsure expression. "Interesting? What could be interesting about that runt?"
"You could find out if you'd take the time to talk to him and not just insult him to his face," Blake replied.
"Talk to him? Why would I do that? He has been harassing me since the beginning of this semester."
Blake's expression sours. "Oh, no; a guy is giving me compliments and actually likes me and wants to spend time with me, what should I do? Gods, do you even hear yourself? Harassment, really?"
"Uh, guys?" Ruby tries to get a word in but is ignored.
"What else would I call it?" Weiss no longer sitting, stands in front of Blake, sneering at her. "I told that dog from the very beginning that I would not be associated with someone like him and has that stopped him? No!"
"Guys please stop." Ruby's interjections still remain ignored.
"Stop that!" Blake angrier than before steps closer to Weiss.
"Stop what?!"
"With all your racist bullshit! Calling him dog and runt. What the fuck is wrong with you?" Blake waits a moment for a response from Weiss, but the only answer she gets from her is a surprised look. "Wait, you don't need to tell me. I already know the answer; how stupid of me. As if a Schnee would ever give a faunus the time of their day. In the end, they are just animals to you. No wonder you don't want to even talk to him and get to know him."
Before Blake can continue her tirade against Weiss, Yang busts out of the bathroom, only dressed in a towel around her body and still-wet hair, and forces herself between the two who are getting louder and louder. "Okay, that is enough out of the both of you!"
"Yang, she–"
"No, I do not want to hear it," Yang interrupts Weiss before she can say anything. "I don't care who started this catfight. I am ending it."
With a harrumph Weiss turns away from Blake and Yang, and sees a teary-eyed Ruby, making her feel miserable. Without a word she goes into the bathroom, before Yang can, to get a bit of silence.
She did not mean the things she said to Jaune. He was just annoying, it had nothing to do with him being a faunus. She is not a racist, not like Cardin and his team are. She has a good reason for being like this, being a Schnee comes with responsibilities; every misstep she makes would cast a bad light on her family's business and would reduce her chances of actually inheriting the business. Father already changed his mind once with Winter, there is no guarantee he would not do so a second time. How she acted towards Jaune had nothing to do with a dislike of faunus.
She is nothing like her father.
Right?
Jaune's night was going fairly well. He is on his way back from the library to his team's dorm. The talk he had with Blake lifted a weight from his shoulders. Finally, he knows why Blake was looking at him in this way, it was a crush. Ha. Who would have thought Jaune Arc was such a hit with the ladies. Okay, maybe not that. But if he's being honest with himself, it felt good for someone to look at him in this way. A real ego boost if you will. Anyone who sees Jaune right now would know he is in an excellent mood as his tail is wagging happily from side to side and with such force that you could hear a whooshing sound.
He suddenly stops.
Maybe he shouldn't be this happy. Didn't he just do the same thing Weiss has been doing to him? Getting rejected is not fun, it makes you feel embarrassed, unwanted and lame. Gods, now he feels like an asshole. Poor Blake. She was brave enough to actually confess her feelings for him and he didn't even really consider accepting.
Still, everything he said to her was the truth, it just wouldn't feel right to accept her feelings if he wasn't a hundred percent ready to reciprocate, and isn't that a punch in the gut. How could he use that as a reason to reject someone but not give Weiss the same courtesy he expected he would get from Blake. Maybe he should give Weiss a bit more space even if it is hard for him.
With a sigh he begins walking again, his tail no longer wagging with such energy.
Maybe talking with his team would help. They didn't know each other for long but they were good people and he could trust them, and maybe someday with everything.
Arriving at his dorm, he unlocks the door with his scroll – it's like he is in a hotel – and steps inside. Pyrrha, Nora and Ren are all here already, Nora is playing something on her scroll, and Pyrrha and Ren are still reading something for their courses.
"Hey guys," Jaune greets his teammates with a smile and a small wave.
"Jaune." "Hiya, fearless leader!" "Hello, Jaune."
"Did you already finish the coursework in the library?" Pyrrha asks him.
"Uh, not really. I actually met with Blake and we talked for a bit." Jaune says making Ren raise one of his brows, Pyrrha just looks suspiciously at him.
Nora, on the other hand, sits up from her bed and smirks at him while wriggling her eyebrows. "Ooh, was it a romantic rendezvous?"
"What? No, of course not! Nothing like that." Jaune denies it with a red face.
"Hmm, are you sure? All alone in the library, where no one can see you two, the blonde knight and the dark, mysterious stranger. Ah, how romantic." Nora says while exaggeratedly fanning her face.
"I think that's enough Nora," Pyrrha stops Nora with a forced smile on her face. "So, Blake huh? You seem to have a bit of an interest in her lately, don't you?"
"Not you too Pyrrha. It has nothing to do with that. And we talked because of the thing I asked you to help me with in Oobleck's class," Jaune says, relaxing Pyrrha and a more natural smile appears on her face. Phew. He doesn't know why but Pyrrha seemed kind of scary there for a moment. "And she actually helped me with another problem I had, even if she probably didn't intend for that to happen."
"Oh, that is wonderful. But I hope you know that we are also here if you ever need us"
"Yeah, fearless leader! Don't forget about us!" Nora boisterously exclaims.
"We are a team now. We should be able to rely on each other even outside of combat situations," Ren adds.
He was really lucky to be in this team, they are really the best. "Thanks guys."
After a few minutes of silence, in which Jaune makes himself comfortable on his own bed with his scroll, the silence is broken by Pyrrha. "So what was the problem?"
"Um, it's kind of embarrassing"
"Well, now we have to know," Nora grins at him.
"It's about Weiss," he responds, making Nora groan loudly and Pyrrha's smile now has a wooden quality to it. "After talking to Blake, I just thought about how I acted towards her and my behavior was kind of out of line. I mean don't get me wrong I know Weiss could probably have been a bit nicer about it but I guess I was just feeling stubborn and thought to myself that if I was confident and consistent she would see that I was serious about this and I would get a chance with her. Ugh. I totally messed up, didn't I?"
"Yeah" "Yep" "Yes"
"A unanimous decision, huh? And I should probably give her some space and stop flirting."
"Yeah" "Yep" "Yes"
He just puts his face into his hands and lets out a groan.
"Well, I think that is a really great decision Jaune, it shows how mature you can be. And a wonderful person like you won't have a problem finding a girlfriend." Pyrrha says.
"Pfft," still reading his book, Ren lets out a snort.
"Do you have anything to say Ren?" Pyrrha asks with a wide smile. Great Pyrrha is being scary again.
"…"
"That's what I thought!"
He takes everything positive back he thinks about his team; they are weird.
The next morning, Team JNPR and RWBY gathered for breakfast in the cafeteria, like most days, but instead of the usual chatter, an awkward silence hung in the air. It especially seems to hang heavily over Ruby's team, with Weiss not making eye contact with anyone and Ruby lacking her usual cheer. Blake seems stoic as ever and Yang has a small frown on her face.
On his team the only one really affected was Jaune himself, the resolve from yesterday was still firmly in his mind but seeing Weiss like this, made him want to cheer her up. And seeing Blake again feels kinda awkward, how is he supposed to act in front of someone he rejected just yesterday?
"How are you today Jaune?" Blake says while shooting a sideways glance at Weiss, it seems like she does not have the same reservation as him about yesterday.
"Oh, I'm good Blake," he answers and after a moment he asks back. "And how are you?"
"Oh, you know. After our conversation yesterday–," Jaune winces. "I guess I am alright, all things considered."
"Th– That's great Blake. Really."
"Yeah. And you know, it really made me think, that you are a good guy Jaune."
Is she flirting with him?
"And it's a real shame that some people can't see that. You know they only look at the surface and don't even try to look beyond that. Especially racist assholes, who only see you as a faunus and discriminate because of that. People like Cardin and– others," Blake ends her little speech with another glance at Weiss who doesn't move a muscle.
Okay was this supposed to be flattering. He really doesn't want to talk about this, the mention of Cardin is enough to lower his mood already.
"Thank you, I guess. And yeah, people like Cardin will probably never understand me or even try to but I don't need them, I have you guys. Ha ha, yeah," Jaune says, an awkward laugh ending his answer.
"Awww, we love you too fearless leader," Nora exclaims in her usual exuberance, while Ren sends him a small smile nodding in agreement.
Pyrrha, with a red hue on her face, also gives him a gentle smile and rubs his back making his tail wag a bit faster.
"Of course, you have us Jaune. Don't you forget that," Ruby says, apparently gaining some of her usual cheer back.
"Oh, who would've thought Vomit Boy is such a smooth talker," Yang says while laughing.
It seems the awkward silence from the beginning of breakfast has been lifted and with that conversation seems to flow at their table. Nora narrates one of her stories again with Ren interjecting here and there, Ruby and Yang listening to her and joking around, Pyrrha still eating but now she has a small smile on her face, and Blake is looking at him with a contemplative expression, only Weiss doesn't seem to cheer up, it's the opposite really she looks even worse now. What's that about?
For the rest of their breakfast, the mood stayed the same and together they made their way to the first class of today: Professor Goodwitch's combat class.
The structure of the class is mostly the same. In the beginning, the Professor talks about the theme of the class, this semester is about grappling techniques in general, she then talks a bit about the theory and then they start pairing up to try for themselves while the Professor makes the rounds correcting students and giving advice. And the class ends with two or three matches in the ring, for which he has been chosen every time and he really does not look forward to his turn against Cardin.
The class today concentrates on takedowns and different ground transitions. Before he can pair up with one of his teammates, like he usually does, Blake taps him on the shoulder.
"Do you mind paring up with me today Jaune?"
"Uhhh."
"Oh, don't tell me you are gonna reject me for a second time now," she says in a low voice.
"Ah, sure," Jaune winces and sends her a small, forced smile.
They search for a place where they won't distract their classmates and begin with the exercises. Standing in front of her, Jaune clearly has the advantage when it comes to weight and reach but he has seen Blake fight often enough that he knows, she is deceptively strong and her movements are fast and fluid, and of course, aura is the ultimate equalizer when it comes to a fight.
Before can he even react Blake begins to move. She jabs at his face making him recoil lightly and rush to defend. And that was all it took for her to gain the advantage by then going for his left leg and bringing him down in a single-leg takedown. He falls heavily onto his back. Blake takes the opportunity to mount him, grabbing his arms and holding them above his head.
"Guess we now know who'd be on top," Blake says, looking straight into his eyes.
Jaune begins to blush and tries to throw Blake off of him. First by bucking his hips up which he stops after a short while when Blake smirks down at him. Then by trying to roll to his side. He actually succeeds with this method but Blake already seems to anticipate this as his next move and fluidly changes her position from atop of him to behind him. Her legs were now around his waist and crossed in front of him. Her arms were around his neck in a chokehold. And her face next to his.
"Oh, do you like this better Jaune?" her breath tickling his cheek.
Instead of answering he tries to wriggle out of it but he doesn't succeed so he taps out. Blake lets him go and helps him get back up sending him a smile.
"Ready?"
Gods. This is gonna be a long class.