Author's Notes

I'm gonna go die in the corner. Please do not resuscitate until next Friday.

Happy rats, and don't do crime!

Chapter 23 – At the Center

In which Weiss Schnee realizes the common denominator in all of her team's problems and take action to counteract it.

The morning after their heart-to-heart meeting, Yang privately approached Weiss when Blake was taking inordinate amounts of time in the bathroom and asked her to fake their reconciliation.

"I'm not saying we're through. I can tell you aren't satisfied, and I'm not really either. I still think that what you did to Ruby was messed up to the point that I should've gone further and that you're getting off easy. But…" Yang scratched at her head. "…you were also right in that rant. I was sheltering her too much. I see that now. So, I can guaran-damn-tee ya that there's not a chance I'll ever snap when you say a cross word at her. If she does that herself, I'll cheer her on, but I won't lend her a helping hand unless she's losing and ask for it."

Yang was entirely correct that Weiss wasn't satisfied with that, but it was progress in the right direction. This wasn't Yang promising for fear of consequences; she seemed to truly believe that what she'd done was wrong.

"But why –"

"Why am I asking you to say we're cool instead of just talking it out the rest of the way?" Yang finished for her. "Why not just pick up where we left off last night?"

"We're making progress. To stop now seems like folly."

"I'm not saying we should stop. Honestly, it would be a mistake if we did." Yang looked over her shoulder, as though fearful someone would barge in one them – likely Blake or Ruby. "Here's what I'm asking: we know we're going to fix this. One way or another, we'll bash our heads together until something works itself out. But Ruby needs this fixed now. So, we say we're good, we both avoid any conflicts until we really are, and no one's any the wiser. We just focus on the agreement we do have and leave out the rest."

So, Yang was basically saying they claim the crossed the finish line, tell that to Ruby early, and then race the rest of the way. She wanted to lie to her sister.

Is this okay? If we can't come to a resolution, then we'll be caught with our combat skirts down, so to speak. Furthermore, dishonesty is exceedingly dangerous, and it's a poor habit to get into. Ruby doesn't deserve to be lied to.

But then again, Ruby is thinking of quitting Beacon. Her sister is right in that she needs us to fix our issues immediately, not at our leisure. Who knows if it'll take me days, weeks, or perhaps months to get through to Yang? She's proven herself obstinate, and if we're arguing visibly in public spaces, it'll only be worse for Ruby. And if she actually does withdraw as a huntress, it will have real, unmistakable consequences on the team.

Ruby said that if we can get over our issues, she'll try doubly hard to resolve hers. I'm no stranger to lying as per Father's instructions, or the world would be calling me the most famous seagull Faunus, not swan. This is at least for a good cause…

"Okay," Weiss said. She put forth her hand. "We may shake on it."

Yang grabbed her wrist and shook.

"I gotta say, this is definitely boosting you up in my books, Schnee. I'm glad we can put aside our differences for Ruby."

"For Ruby," Weiss said. Then, she amended to, "For Team RWBY."

It was the next day, two days after Weiss and Yang spoke, when Ruby finally returned from whatever hidey-hole she'd disappeared off to and returned to the dorm room. Weiss might've suspected she bunked with a neighboring team if not for the fact that Ruby had no friends.

Dear Gods, that was a horrible way to phrase it…even if it's essentially true. She might've been with the Junipers, but I peeked in their dorm room when the door opened and couldn't see her.

Ruby had seemed to instinctively know that Weiss and Yang resolving their issues would take some time, and she'd made herself scarce in that period. Classes had been the only time when Weiss had even caught glimpses of her.

Team WBY had been working individually on their studies when the door had opened, and it trudged their wayward fourth member.

"H-Hey, gals." Ruby awkwardly lifted a hand up and gestured a flimsy wave their way. "M'back."

"Sis!" Yang nearly shouted, bolting out of her seat to hug her. Weiss realized belatedly that her last memory of Ruby was her admitting how thoroughly she had been affected by her social and academic issues at Beacon and threatening to quit the academy altogether.

I had a moment where I got a chance to reassure her after, but not Yang.

When their embrace broke, Weiss cleared her throat, garnering the attention of both humans.

"Ruby. You'll be pleased to know that Yang and I have reached a cordial agreement."

"Did you now?" muttered Blake, just loud enough to be heard.

"You…really?" Ruby's brow bunched up in confusion. "That fast?"

"We aren't best friends or something, but I understand that what I did was wrong." Yang hung her head in shame. "I…I've been wrong for a long, long time, I think."

Ruby turned to look at Yang, and Weiss took that moment to quickly shoot a look towards Blake. She gave her girlfriend an imperceptibly shake of the head, hoping that she could dissuade the naturally skeptical Faunus from poking the obvious holes apart in their story.

Please don't. If Ruby finds out we're lying, it'll be over, Blake. I'll explain it to you later, I swear.

But Weiss couldn't portray all of that information in a glance, and Blake just continued to watched Yang with eyes narrowed ever so slightly.

"…told them, and Weiss kind of pointed out how…well, honestly, just saying it aloud was enough to get me to realize how my actions were backfiring. But she was the one to absolutely convince me."

Yang continued feeding the details of their agreed upon 'make-up' to Ruby, and with every word, Weiss grew more and more confident that this was the right choice. Ruby could tell that her sister was telling the truth, and Yang genuinely was here – she was just omitting their one remaining difference of opinion until they could privately fix that. With every word, the youngest member of the Beacon student body perked up more and more, pleased with this development.

"So, we're good now. No more little talks. And, uh, Weiss…" Yang looked her way. "…I'm sorry. For what I did to you. I'm actually sorry, this time."

"Thank you, Yang."

"So," Blake said. "Yang. You agree that what Weiss said to Ruby about coming to Beacon was –"

"Blake." Weiss didn't so much speak her friend's name as she did command it.

"What's the problem, Schnee?" Blake asked calmly. "If Yang truly is good with it all, then she'll agree with –"

"Blake, I think it's best if we speak outside."

"Weiss, I'm only saying that –"

"Belladonna. Outside. Now."

Blake's face went from a neutral look of slight curiosity to a flat-out frown. It hurt Weiss to have to see Blake angry, and it hurt even more to know that it was because of Weiss herself having to break out her leader voice. It was a line she'd never had to cross before; honestly, she rarely ever disagreed with Blake enough to have disputes, let alone ones this contentious.

But I need to stop her. Before she pokes enough holes in Yang's story or provokes her into admitting the truth, and before she brings up Ruby's insecurities about Beacon.

As far as Blake knew, this entire conflict was just a continuation of their existing one. She had no knowledge that Ruby was threatening to quit Beacon, and if she accidentally went too far and started mentioning the original inflammatory statements by Weiss about whether or not Ruby belonged at Beacon, the effects could be disastrous.

"W…What's wrong?" Ruby asked, oblivious for now, but potentially not for long.

"Um," Yang breathed. "I, uh, I think…"

Weiss took over for her and answered. "I need to have a talk with Blake about certain topics that we will try to be avoiding, Ruby. Topics that may...upset you." Weiss intentionally left it ambiguous as to whether that meant Ruby's failed confession to Torchwick, her academics, or her social circle.

"Oh. That. Y-Yeah."

Weiss waited no longer, hoping that Ruby would come to the semi-correct conclusion that Weiss was simply trying to avoid Ruby having to relive the moment of her partner expressing doubt in her ability. Blake was ushered out the door, and Weiss closed it behind them.

"Weiss –" Blake began angrily.

"Not here. The walls are thin." Anything said directly outside their own dormitory could potentially be heard within, as evidenced by way Weiss and Blake themselves had learned Ruby and Yang her only half-sisters. "It's a nice day. Let's go outside."

The pair walked downstairs in silence, and with every step, Weiss could recognize the signs of anger inside Blake intensifying. When they finally escaped their dormitory building and breathed in fresh air, the cat Faunus was probably on the brink of an explosion.

"Blake, you have to understand that –"

"No! No, Weiss, I don't have to understand why you're doing this! I don't want to understand! You're just rolling over and letting her have her way again, aren't you?"

As much as Weiss wanted to avoid admitting so, she knew lying to Blake would be folly here. This wasn't Ruby, who was a potentially suicidal young child on the brink of despair; this was Blake, who could see through any deception a mile away.

"I happen to agree with her proposal to focus on what we –"

"Weiss, what the fuck? You were so worried about her getting special treatment before class began, and now you're giving it to her. And you're sending me outside so you can let her keep lying!"

In hindsight, there were probably a lot of counterarguments Weiss could have posed to Blake's claims – that it wasn't a lie, that they truly had come to some agreement, that she didn't agree with Yang and was just doing this for Ruby's sake – but in that moment of being angrily derided by her own best friend and girlfriend, all logic failed Weiss. Her brain couldn't come up with a single thing to say in response, and she just ended up standing there and staring at Blake dumbly.

"This is bullshit. I've had it with her. I'm going back up there and telling her what I really think."

Blake reached a hand for the door, but Weiss rushed forward and placed herself in between the girl and the doorknob.

"Blake, wait. Ruby is –"

"Ruby has said time and time again that she doesn't agree with Yang. You keep fearing that she's going to side with her sister, but she's verbally told you that she thinks you're right here."

"No, that's not what I was going to say! Ruby is having a really hard time right now, and I'm just trying to –"

"Does it matter?" Blake angrily said. "Ruby is having trouble, so the entire world rushes to accommodate her. Yang is Ruby's sister, so she gets a free pass without truly repenting or apologizing. Weiss, since when did you just start knuckling under and letting humans do whatever they wanted with you?"

"I-It's not so easy," Weiss tried to explain. "I'm trying to keep the team together!"

"Fuck the team!" Blake shouted. "Just because Ozpin decided we look into their eyes doesn't mean we actually need to be best buddies with those two. It's just four letters, and we can easily replace the Y with a different one. I'm sure there's a waitlist for Beacon a mile long, as the premiere hunter academy in the world."

"Blake, I know you don't like Yang, but I'm not asking you to believe her or anything. I haven't given up on convincing her she's wrong; I'm just letting her report the success we have had to Ruby, and maybe embellish it a little, because –"

Blake tried to interject, but Weiss spoke right over her.

" – BECAUSE Ruby is talking about quitting Beacon, and at one point, she mentioned…"

Weiss paused before she could repeat what Ruby had told her in confidence. Informing Ozpin as a responsible adult was one thing, but telling her own girlfriend was another.

But I need to, or she'll never understand, and things will get worse. Blake won't take my no for an answer, and she'll press the issue until something breaks. I don't want to, and maybe I don't have a right to, but I think I'm going to need to compromise something here. Better someone's privacy than their sanity.

"…at one point, Ruby mentioned being…rather, she said she wasn't suicidal, but the fact that she mentioned that at all is enough to be worried."

That was enough to finally get Blake to stop trying to slip past Weiss. The black-haired huntress was silent to digest it all for a terse minute, during which Weiss tried to get her racing heartrate under control.

"Ruby's…talking about…?"

"She mentioned quitting if Yang and I can't come to some sort of agreement," Weiss explained, praying to the Gods for forgiveness at giving this knowledge away. "I comforted her as best I could, and she said she was okay and that she wasn't going to commit suicide. I believe her, but it's troubling nonetheless."

For some reason, Blake had a shocked look on her face, but it showed up at the first part, about Ruby quitting, not at the mention of her apparently nonexistent suicidal tendencies.

"Blake?"

"She's…oh my gods, Weiss, she's threatening you."

That wasn't the conclusion Weiss had been expecting Blake to come to. "W-What?"

"She said she's going to quit if you don't fix this. That's a threat."

"N-No, she said she'd quit if Yang doesn't fix herself."

"And yet the responsibility of actually seeing such changes realized falls to you – just like always with those two." Blake shook her head and snorted. "This is manipulative behavior, Weiss. Saying she's going to kill herself or leave you if you can't get Yang to change."

"She didn't say she was going to –"

Blake put her palm over her eyes and sighed out a deep breath. "No, of course not, she just happened to accidentally drop a casual mention of suicide and greaten the responsibilities on your shoulders."

Weiss could only stutter. "It…It wasn't like that."

The look in Blake's eyes made her feel like she was a child for not seeing something blatantly obvious right in front of her nose.

"Okay, Weiss. If that's what you think, I won't interfere with this."

"I…Blake, it's not what…y-you're incorrect about –"

But it was too late. Blake was already walking away from her.

The rest of the day flew by Weiss. She went through her regular motions: doing her homework, completing the assigned readings, going to dinner, getting ready for bed. This time, it was Blake who as absent in place of Ruby, which somehow made Yang Xiao-Long the only constant in her life.

It was something of a breaking point. Blake had been Weiss' sole source of pure comfort and safety, the only person who she had truly been able to count on for support and stability. Yang was an enemy at worst and an ally of convenience at best, and Ruby was on the verge of a breakdown, but not Blake. Not Blake, the only member of Team RWBY who wasn't utterly inharmonious and in need of Weiss' leadership to overcome some terrible problem.

And now that blanket of security was gone. Everyone was in shambles, and it was all somehow looping back around to Weiss.

I wish I'd never brought up Ruby's age. If I could have just kept my mouth shut, we'd have been a fully functional team.

There was an hour before her scheduled nightly rest, but her head was too chaotic and her thoughts too discordant to get anymore work done, so Weiss chose to retire early. As she lay in bed, Professor Torchwick's question from before keep echoing around inside of her head. If Weiss could foist the duties that came with the title of leader onto someone else, would she want to? She'd always felt a position of power had been her destiny, but now that she was actually placed in one, everything was horrible.

Maybe I'm truly not cut out for leadership. But perhaps I truly can learn something from the way Team RWBY falls apart like Ozpin wants and hopefully do the opposite if I ever take over the SDC…assuming Father isn't so unimpressed with my performance as an academy dropout that he doesn't award sole ownership of the family company to Whitley just to spite me. That little sycophant would certainly take it if asked. Nah, that would never happen; Father barely even remembers Whitley's name. He can't give it to Winter, as that would be the same as admitting to defeat. You know, I wonder what would happen if all three of his children disappoint him so utterly that he has no heiress or heir? If anything, he'd probably just run the company until the day he died and let succession be decided by those whoever survived past him.

Her hand instinctively sought out her scroll of its own accord, unlocked the screen, and dialed Blake's number. Weiss wasn't alone in the room, but no one had been in a mood to talk to one another ever since Weiss had left with Blake and come back alone.

The scroll rang, and Weiss pressed it tightly to her ear. Every ring was like a little part of Weiss' heart breaking.

Did…w-was what happened today a breakup? Are we exes? Blake and I?

In the end, the other line never picked up, and Weiss' question was presumably answered. She set down the scroll on her nightstand and didn't cry at all as she did.

The device beeped a good thirty seconds later, and Weiss sucked in a breath as she picked it back up.

One new message from Blake Belladonna.

Here it came, then.

Weiss unlocked the scroll and read what her soon to be former partner had written for her.

Blake: Weiss? Did you call?

Oh. Apparently not, then.

Weiss shut off the screen and let it fall right out of her hands onto her mattress, just to the right of her stomach. She wasn't yet a bachelorette, and Weiss held onto the hope that that wasn't going to change.

Her scroll beeped again after a minute or so, but Weiss didn't check it this time. Nor did she check it when it beeped again after ten seconds, or at the next one, at which point she'd stopped keeping track of how long it was in between notifications of new messages.

Weiss fell asleep shortly thereafter.

Blake was back when Weiss awoke.

The cat Faunus lay on her side, facing away from the inside of the room and directly towards the wall. Rather, she would have been, if she weren't still asleep as well.

Weiss' scroll said it was 4am, and the darkness outside the window served to confirm that. Her scroll also said ten missed messages, but she didn't have time to read them. In the night, the solution to all of her problems had come to her as though delivered by a dream. In reality, it had probably been her own thoughts on Professor Torchwick bouncing around in her head as she slept, but she preferred the idea that it had been a prophetic vision.

I need to go. This might be a long shot, but if it succeeds, all of the problems in my life will be succinctly resolved. The sooner I can find a professor, the better.

Weiss threw on some outside-appropriate clothes and her favorite bolero jacket, the one with just the right stretching to perfectly fit her wings, then raced out the door.

Twenty minutes later, she returned back to her dorm room. The only teacher who'd been up at this early hour had been Professor Port, who'd been getting in an extra early breakfast. Weiss also knew from experience that he typically dined with students at a more normal time in the morning, and she half-expected the truth to be that the rotund professor merely snuck in a second meal, but she couldn't care to criticize his dining habits. If he passed on her message, she would gladly spend her entire credit card allowance on buying him sausages and scrambled eggs, if he so desired.

When she got back, Blake was awake and pacing. Ruby and Yang slumbered on, somehow unaware of the catgirl making an awfully loud racket with her socked feet as she moved back and forth rhythmically.

Blake's eyes jumped up to Weiss' when the door opened, and she opened her mouth to speak, but froze. There was concern etched across her face.

Gesturing to the door, then holding a finger up to her lips, Blake exited the room again and led Weiss outside to the very same spot they'd had their argument before. There roles utterly reversed this time around, Weiss found herself dreading a rehashing of yesterday's problems.

But then Blake spoke, and her voice was breaking apart.

"I'm sorry, Weiss. I'm sorry. M-May I?"

Weiss nodded and found herself gripped in a bearhug that threatened to fracture her wings with how much force it applied. Blake continued to murmur apologies over and over again.

"I'm so sorry."

"Blake? Is everything okay?"

"No. I'm a piece of shit girlfriend."

"Y-You aren't…what?"

Blake let go of Weiss, giving the bird Faunus another good look at her. Even in the darkness, they were close enough for Weiss to see that Blake's eyes were red, though she couldn't tell if it was from a lack of sleep or excessive crying, or perhaps both. On top of that, lines of stress were spread out along her otherwise flawless skin. All-in-all, Blake looked ruinous.

"Blake, are you alright?"

"I just…you didn't call back, and I got pissed and started deleting all the photos I'd taken of us together on my scroll, but then I got to the one we took on our first day in Vale, and I remembered how I'd said I wanted you to be a leader because I wasn't ready, and I realized that I had utterly let you down when I promised to support you, and then I remembered how much you care about me and how you planned a perfect date and how you made sure I was feeling supported with the whole Yang thing and I'd done the exact opposite for you, and I didn't even make sense because I was mad at them for mistreating you and being mean to you, and –"

Weiss, desperately hoping that the hug from before implied Blake was okay with contact, leaned forward and shut up her girlfriend with a kiss.

It was rather unpleasant, mainly because Blake sort of leaned away from it when Weiss did, and then Weiss back off but Blake seemed to realize what was happening and pushed her head forward, and then both girls shoved a little bit too close, and Weiss stepped on Blake's feet, but otherwise, it was perfect.

"A-Are you mad?" Blake asked when their horrible and amazing kiss ended. "At me?"

"No," Weiss said. "I'm just glad we aren't broken up."

"B-Broken up?" Blake echoed, a twinge of terror in her voice.

"N-No, I thought you might've…I was worried that you…I still want to be together." Weiss decided on a clear statement of her feelings, just to dispel all confusion. "Do you concur?"

"I do," Blake concurred romantically. Only Blake could make concurrence romantic. "I do, and I'm going to be better. From now on, you can count on me having your back, no matter what. Blank check, written out to one Weiss Schnee, for the sum of Blake Belladonna's unconditional love and support."

Weiss declined to point out that it wasn't a blank check if it was addressed to her and had a listed sum. "It's alright, anyways, Blake. I think I've taken care of it all."

Blake rubbed her eyes. "That was where you were when I woke up?"

Weiss nodded. "It was."

The two kissed again, this time far more competently, and then Weiss took Blake by the hand and led them back to their dorm room.

"I think we should go back to sleep. I'm exhausted from this all, and waking up early does my complexion no favors."

Blake cringed. "I'm sorry, Weiss. I know it's been hard, but I –"

"Hupupup." Weiss shushed Blake with a finger to the lips. "As I said, I think it's all in the rear view mirror now."

"So, what's this miracle solution of yours, Weiss?" Blake inquired, a faint smile cracking its way along her lips. "You sound so chipper…who did you poison?"

They were just outside their room, so Weiss lowered her voice to avoid waking up any of the other students in their hallway. "It was simple. It was actually Professor Torchwick who gave me the idea."

Blake smiled. "That jackass? What did he…"

The smile faded, though Weiss wasn't sure why.

"Weiss, you didn't."

Weiss' brow furrowed. "Didn't what?"

"He asked us all the same questions, Weiss, and there's only one that could apply here, unless it's about your favorite color."

"Professor Port is no doubt relaying my request to be relieved of the position of leader to Ozpin as we speak," Weiss said. "This is for the best, Blake…assuming he actually confirms it and doesn't try to make this all a learning opportunity."

Blake blocked the door before Weiss could reach for the doorknob, in a somewhat inverted recreation of their positions from earlier today. "Weiss, this is wrong."

"No, Blake, it's perfect," Weiss whispered, smiling. "I'm not cut out for leadership. But that doesn't mean we all need to fail. Ruby thought that she was the one at the center of all of the team's problems, but she was mistaken. It's me, Blake, it's all me!" Weiss pressed an open palm to her breast. "It's always been me. I was the one who gave Ruby her confidence issues. I was the one who provoked Yang. I was the one who let you down. It's all me."

Both of Blake's hands shot up to her mouth to cover it. "Weiss. Oh, Weiss."

"Don't worry – I've asked Port to relay to Ozpin that the new leader be selected from outside of the team. I don't think anyone within needs this burden, and we're all too close to the situation. That was my problem. I was too close to the problems I needed to solve, but whoever Ozpin chooses will be better." Weiss let out a sigh of relief. "Everything's going to be okay from now on."

This was certainly for the best for everyone. Blake was getting quite emotional about this, even tearing up. Her voice cracked when she spoke.

"Weiss, if you –"

Weiss shook her head. "I'm excited too, Blake, but we need to get our sleep."

Blake's volume raised slightly. "We–"

Weiss held up a finger to her lips. "Shhh. It's early morning. We don't want to wake up the others."

"B-But…"

Blake never finished as Weiss slipped back into their dorm room and went back to bed.

Next Chapter: Team RUBY

In which Ruby Rose, Blake Belladonna, and Yang Xiao-Long must work together to help their leader find herself once again.

Author's Notes

Okay, okay, so basically...

blake u WHORE

You now understand why I chose to go die in the corner. I've evading you people before you execute me for my rat crimes. My old anti-wholesome-lesbian-relationship countermeasures activated against my will, and I'm in hiding.

Anyways, as you may have guessed, we're approaching the climax of this 'arc.' This chapter is probably the lowest point for Weiss' self-esteem and definitely the lowest point for Blake's character (though she does turn it around quite fast when she cools off and remembers what matters to her). But hey, in terms of good news, that does mean we can only go up from here, right?

(The answer is yes. We will be going up from here. We've reached the eyes of the storm with this chapter, so now we're on our way out)

Yeah, posting one chapter a week really does make me realize how long the angst has lasted. When you're writing one after the other, it doesn't feel that long (~7 chapters) but it can drag on when those chapters have mandatory spacing due to updates. But at least there's Roman and shit, with his plot-mystery, to get us through the dark times.

Happy rats, and don't do crime!