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"Oh man, I can not wait to hit the sack."
Weiss yawned widely in agreement at Yangs statement. Team RWBY had been assigned to the night shift for the week, meaning they and two other teams were to patrol the outskirts of the desert city of Vacuo and protect the citizens should any of the creatures of Grimm appear in the darkness. That night had seen them dispatch a decent sized band of Sulfur Fish that had tried to approach from the north. It had been easy enough for them to deal with, even if it did attract a few Boarbatusk that had been lurking nearby. The Grimm had been little bother to them, keeping themselves awake had been the tricky part.
They filed into the school commissary and plonked down onto the wooden benches, wearily greeting anyone who passed. Food was acquired and they sat together, yawning and picking their meal, knowing that they should eat before they retire but feeling heavy with the weight of tiredness. Even the perennially bubbly Ruby Rose was acting rather subdued thanks to the extremely long night they had just endured.
If it had not been for one singular reason, Weiss probably would have suggested that they immediately retire to their room, but there was someone she wanted to see before that could happen. And as luck would have it, that person bounded in through the doors at that very moment.
Tall, with piercing blue eyes and messy blonde hair streaked with a hint of white, Jaune Arc smiled broadly as soon as their eyes met and she gladly returned it, all hints of fatigue quickly evaporating.
"Hey guys!" Jaune greeted his friends brightly as he entered the cafeteria. "How did it go last night?" He took his usual seat next to her while the rest of his team filled in the other vacant spots.
"We kicked those Grimms butts!" Ruby Rose said with a massive grin on her face, waving her spoon around like she was wielding Crescent Rose.
"Ruby, manners," Weiss scolded, earning her a stuck out tongue from her partner in return. The conversation flowed gently around them, so she took a moment to quietly address the man seated next to her. "Did you sleep well last night?" she asked her boyfriend as he began to tuck into his breakfast.
"Mmhmm," he mumbled, swallowing his food. "Ren and Nora went out so I had a quiet night by myself."
"Oh, I'm sorry," she said sadly. She had been mindful to not try and not leave him alone for extended periods of time, not after the years of solitude he had had to endure.
"It's fine," he said with a flash of a smile while shaking his head. "I went to practise on the piano some more. That song you gave me is a little tricky in some parts."
She smiled warmly with a blush creeping onto her cheeks. He had asked her to pick a song so that they could perform together. She had suggested a song that she remembered her mother playing when she was child, but finding the sheet music for it had been rather challenging. Once it had been found, he had made a point to try and practise as often as he could, but finding a time in between their roles as Huntsmen in order to actually perform the song had been tricky. Knowing that he had chosen to continue practising and not let the impetus slide made her heart soar, and she eagerly awaited the day they could share the stage, even if it was only going to be a private performance between the two of them.
"Well, I'm glad to hear that you had an enjoyable evening," She said. "Do you have plans for today?"
"Just need to wait and see what assignment we are given today, but I don't think we'll be heading outside the city walls," he answered. "Actually, Weiss when I was in the retail district yesterday I picked something up for you." Weiss looked briefly confused and Jaune just smiled at her sweetly. "Here, I remembered you said these were your favourite candy as a kid." He took the small blue and silver packaging out of the pouch on his side, threw it towards her and she easily caught them. Her eyes widened as she realised what she was holding.
"I haven't had these in years! Not since my grandfather passed." She greedily ripped open the package and fished out a small blue wrapper. Inside was a soft caramel sweet that melted like butter on her tongue and she smiled as she was taken back to those long Sunday afternoons where she and her sister would spend time with their grandfather. She remembered how they would thunder into his room after those glorious roast lunches and the fire in the corner that burned brightly every time they were there. She remembered all of the stories he would tell and the fairy tales that he would read to them, including the story of "The Girl Who Fell Through The World". After Whitley was born he would coo over his grandson while the girls would draw pictures over the coffee table. In the middle of the table sat an ornately carved crystal bowl that no matter when they came to his room was always full of these wonderful little sweets. The two of them would devour handfuls of them, having not normally been allowed that quantity of sugary treats, much to their fathers disgust. Their mother, however, would turn a blind eye and allow them to be children for a few hours a week. Winter was older and came less often after Whitley was born, more focused on her studies or maybe she was more aware that Grandfather's health had been failing.
"You ok there, Weiss?" Ruby asked with an amused chuckle.
Weiss sighed and offered the package to her teammates with a broad smile. "Grandfather would have these in his room whenever we would visit him. I hold a lot of very fond memories of those times."
"Oh, wow." Yang said as she popped one of the sweets into her mouth. "That's really good." The rest of the table all hummed in agreement as they tasted the small candy.
"Thank you, Jaune, that was incredibly kind of you," Weiss said to him. She gave a genuine smile and he too indulged in one of the sweets.
"Don't mention it." She pulled him close and placed a grateful sugary kiss on his lips before shifting closer to him on the wooden bench.
Yang snickered from her seat across the table. "Damn, Jaune, where was this game at Beacon?"
"Apparently all I needed to do was be honest and listen a little bit," he replied flatly. "As well as spending a few too many years repeatedly contemplating every mistake you'd ever made. Who'd have thought it, huh?"
The mood at the table shifted instantly. It became tense and nervous. Yang floundered as she tried to find the words to apologise. She sent a pleading look towards Blake, who simply raised her eyebrows helplessly in return.
"Jaune, I didn't…" she stuttered.
"Yang," he said with a low, measured voice, leaning across the table with his finger pointed towards her. "I have never met anyone as easy to wind up as Weiss."
A second passed and a smug smile crept across his face.
"You rat bast…"
"What is that supposed to mean?"
The table exploded into laughter as he met with the two women's ire. A dig in the ribs from Weiss and a napkin thrown in his direction from Yang in lieu of another food fight breaking out. Over the raised voices, they didn't notice a figure approaching their table.
"What exactly, might I ask, has got you all so rowdy so early in the morning?"
"Winter, how are you?" Weiss asked jovially.
"Well," she replied curtly. "I wanted to catch you before you retired, to your room. Mother was asking after you yesterday since you've been so busy," her gaze lingered on Jaune for a second "recently."
Weiss drew in a deep breath and forced herself to not roll her eyes at her sisters teasing. Her relationship with her Mother had improved over the last few months but there was still some work to do after being emotionally abandoned during her teenage years. The whole family had been working hard to repair the fractures and heal the damage caused by her fathers legacy. Balancing her time between her family, her team and her relationship had proven to be trickier to the former heiress than she had realised. "And I have promised to spend time with her once these overnight assignments have concluded."
"You know she worries about you," Winter said softly.
"I would expect nothing less," Weiss replied.
"Be that as it may…" Winter paused as she caught sight of what was scattered across the table. "Are those…?"
Weiss grinned and quickly threw one of the sweets at her sister. She saw the look of confusion sweep across her face, before it quickly changed into a look of sheer delight. She rustled open the wrapping and smiled as she too was swept up in the memories from her childhood once it entered her mouth. The tight shoulders relaxed and her eyes closed.
"Where on Remnant did find these?" she asked.
"I unfortunately can not take credit for finding these," Weiss answered.
"Then who?"
Jaune smiled and gave a small wave at Winter.
"Hmm," Winter said as the corner of her mouth turned up and her shoulders straightened, returning to the stiff and well drilled military stance. "You realise this could be seen as bribery."
"It's only bribery if I expect something in return," he countered with a smile.
"Hmm," she repeated. "Assignments are in fifteen minutes, Mr Arc. Make sure your team is on time."
"When have we ever been late?" He asked indignantly.
She raised a questioning eyebrow.
"Look, that was one time and there were pancakes, and I'm not getting in the way of Nora when there are pancakes for the first time in forever," he said, gesturing towards his teammate.
Nora smiled and raised her hands to shoulder height, palms facing the ceiling. "What's a girl to do?" She asked, forcing Winter to roll her eyes.
"Just don't be late," she warned as she quickly turned on her heels and left the commissary.
Ruby stretched out her arms and yawned. "I guess that means it's time for us to go to bed then, team."
"Only if Yang promises to sleep on her side," Weiss sniped.
"I'm not that loud!" Yang argued.
"Yang, you're my sister and I love you, but Weiss is right," Ruby said quickly.
"Blake, help me out," she whispered with a plea.
"Yang, I want to start this by saying I also love you, with every fibre of my being." Yang let out an exaggerated gasp. "I had to learn to sleep whenever and wherever I could. Moving vehicles, city rooftops, and I have never heard anything as loud as your snoring."
"Betrayed, and by the woman I love! How could you?" She exclaimed, but couldn't help the laughter that escaped her.
"I guess we should head to assignments. Don't want to keep Winter and Rumpole waiting," Jaune sighed. "Sleep well. Catch you guys later." And he rose from his seat to start walking out of the doors.
Weiss cleared her throat and leaned into the space where her boyfriend had been sitting. "I think you're forgetting something."
Jaune paused, his mind turning. "Oh, right," he exclaimed. He leaned down and placed a tender kiss upon her lips. Pulling back, they both wore similar giddy grins. And then he did something completely unexpected. He raised a finger and with a small, barely audible 'boop' touched the end of her nose. "Message me when you wake up." He requested, then disappeared out of the room with his team following behind leaving a stunned and scarlet cheeked Weiss Schnee in his wake.
'He booped me,' she thought. 'But, that means he…'
"Erm, Remnant to Weiss," Yang sang, waving her hand in front of her face.
"Huh," Weiss said dumbly.
She glanced around at the faces of her teammates as the barely tried to contain their amusement.
"Did Jaune just ..?" Blake laughed.
"Yep." Yang agreed
"So does that mean he just said I love…" Ruby questioned.
"Yep." Yang smirked.
The conversation whirled and her mind was desperately trying to keep up. She was aware of the dumbstruck look on her face, but was struggling with the reality of what had just happened.
"Weiss, are you okay?" Blake asked with a gentle laugh.
"I, erm, yes…" she stuttered in reply
Yang snorted out a laugh. "She is totally not okay."
"I'll have you know that I am, indeed, perfectly, actually…" she trailed off as her mind replayed the moment again.
"Did he just break her?" Ruby leaned over the table towards her sister.
"Quiet you," she answered crossly, hands landing on her hips in her attempts to be stern.
"C'mon. Much as I would love to continue teasing Weiss and making her question everything she currently knows, I am in desperate need of being horizontal in my bed," Yang suggested and with a muttered agreement they all rose and strolled back to their shared room.
Once inside, Weiss sat on the side of her bed, listening to the idle chatter of her teammates as they prepared themselves for sleep. But her mind kept coming back to that simple, unassuming moment in the dining hall. Did he mean it? Was she reading far too much into it or was that really the way that he decided that he wanted to declare his love for her. Her stomach swirled as her mind raced and her emotions threatened to overwhelm her.
"Weiss?"
She heard Rubys voice, drawing her back into the room and three pairs of worried and slightly amused eyes.
"I'm fine." she said reflexively as she stood and began to strip off her combat gear in order to change into her nightwear.
"Weiss, can I offer you an opinion?" Blake asked softly.
Weiss could only nod her head in reply as she sank back down onto her bed.
"I think you're overthinking it."
"Duh" Yang said, earning herself a gentle shove from her partner.
"And how exactly is that true?" Weiss argued.
"We have been raised on stories of love and heroism, and grand declarations of emotions when most of the time that just isn't the case," Blake explained. "Love isn't always shown like this. Yes, it can be big and bold and brash," she continued, giving Yang a very pointed look. "But it can also be in the small things. The subtle moments that aren't always noticed. Such as a look or a touch on the nose. Or taking the time to remember and search out a reminder of your childhood."
Weiss' stomach was swimming even harder at Blakes words. Finding those sweets meant so much to her. It was a reminder of a time before her life was swept up into a mess of chaos and deceit. It was a time when she was truly happy as a child, before her grandfather died and her father dropped the pretense of caring for anything or anyone but himself and the amount of lien he could earn.
"It's okay, if you're not there yet, Weiss," Blake spoke caringly. "He's a good man and all of us know he isn't going to pressure you into returning the sentiment."
"I, erm.." Weiss struggled to find her words.
"Oh, you.." Blakes ears flicked forward. "You feel the same but you're not sure how to say it."
Weiss could only nod her head quickly in reply, earning a delighted squeak out of Ruby in the corner of the room. Truthfully, she had known for a while. He fills her soul with laughter and hope. He is her first thought in the morning and the last at night. When she was with him, everything just felt easy. She had fallen in love with a man who raised her up and she was always going to be there to make sure he stayed by her side.
The bed dipped as Blake and Yang sat on either side of her, while Ruby bounced onto the floor with crossed legs and her chin resting in her hands. They all beamed at her with bright, wide smiles. Of course they would be who she shared it with first. Throughout everything they had endured, they always could rely on each other. There had been rough patches, and there were still disagreements from time to time, but this was her team. Her found family, who helped her learn how to start healing the cracks within herself.
And then there was her future family. The man who helped her feel immense joy and who held onto her tightly when she was in the darkest of places.
"So what are you going to do next," Ruby asked excitedly but was interrupted by a long, drawn out yawn.
Weiss laughed. "We all need to sleep," she stated. "And then I need to somehow find the right words again."
"It's three words, Weiss," Yang said. "Doesn't have to be complicated."
"You took that first step with Jaune, I know you can do the same again," Ruby smiled brightly.
Weiss smiled warmly at the three women surrounding her.
"Thank you, Blake," she said with a gentle wobble in her throat. "All of you. Now, off to bed you go."
Yang snorted out a laugh. "Yes, ma'am."
Weiss scoffed and rolled her eyes, but they all fell into their beds and drifted off to sleep. Weiss however lingered awake a little longer than others, her mind racing with the thoughts of what had happened. She made her plan, and steeled herself to execute it later that day.
Indeed the tables were turned when team RWBY re-entered the commissary that evening for food before the long night ahead of them. A weary team JNR occupied the table they had all been sat at earlier and they filed into their seats just like this morning. Conversation was light, no major attacks although there was a rumbling of a rumour about a possible sighting of The Crown. Team CFVY had been trying to track down any possible clues but the trail only led to angry and discontented gripes amongst some members of the city's swollen populace. Atlesians saying that the problem is a Vacuan one, and Vacuans being distrustful of outsiders poking their nose around. They ate together and discussed possible motives, theories on what they could be planning. A few wild theories from Nora kept the tone light until the topic of conversation moved on.
And then the opportunity that Weiss was looking for presented itself for her when a loud yawn escaped the mouth of her boyfriend.
"Well, I don't know about you guys but I think I am going to try and hit the sack. Get an early night."
"Lugging those boxes around sure does take it out of you," Nora agreed with a smile.
"Yeah, you can say that again," he stretched. "Night guys. Have a safe shift tonight," he said vaguely to her team as he stood to leave.
With a look of encouragement from her teammates, Weiss bolted out of her seat. "Can I walk with you?"
He smiled at her warmly. "Yeah, of course. I was actually going to ask if you would."
"Wonderful," she smiled. "I'll meet you all at the front gates." She addressed her team. And with a smile and a nod, they waved her away.
They made comfortable small talk, chatting about their day while they strolled back towards the room he shared with his team, but there was an air of discomfort about him, like he seemed to be wanting to say something, but would catch himself before he began. As they approached the door to his room, Weiss realised this had been the longest they had spent alone together all week and she had desperately missed his company. But first, there was something that needed to be said.
"Jaune," she started carefully. "Can I ask you something about earlier this morning?"
He sighed heavily. "I know, I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me," he began to ramble, letting out his pent up worry. " I just did it and then I realised, I mean you may not feel the same and I don't want you to feel pressured into saying or doing anything you don't want to and I…"
Weiss pulled him down into a deep kiss and it was absolutely breathtaking.
Everything melted away. He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her close to his body. There was nowhere else in this world she would rather be than here in this moment, and it was one she had dreamed about since she was a little girl. The brave knight sweeping her up into his arms. Maybe it wasn't quite the same as her dreams, but she was rather aware that she was never one to do things in the proper fashion.
And when she pulled away she reacted on instinct.
She raised her left hand, extended her pointer finger and popped it gently against the edge of his nose.
"Boop." she said softly.
She watched his face morph from shock, to disbelief, to utter confusion and then happiness. "Do you mean it?"
"With everything I have within me," she said breathlessly. "But I need you to know something."
"Weiss?" he looked deeply concerned, but she only shook her head.
"Jaune, just listen, please." She took a moment to compose herself. "I have never felt like this about anyone before. While I love my family and my team, what we share is completely different. You have only ever seen me, the real me. Throughout all of the good and the bad, and you are still standing here beside me. I can be open and honest with you and I want you to be able to feel the same."
"I do, you know I do," he insisted.
"So no more silly gestures or hidden meanings. Just say it," she breathed.
He smiled down at her. That big, goofy smile that made her heart soar.
"I love you," he said.
"I love you, too," she replied.
And they kissed again, more gently this time. He wrapped his arms around her, enveloping her petite frame with his strong arms. She rested her chin upon his chest and they stood together quietly and content in the glow of emotions shared.
"I'm still going to boop your nose by the way," he said suddenly and she scrunched her nose up in reply. "Mostly because it's adorable when you do that face," he laughed and she once again found herself rolling her eyes. She wondered whatever did she find in him with his incessant teasing of her, but then she saw that smile that warmed her heart deeply.
"You are utterly incorrigible," she exhaled.
"I know, but you love me anyway."
"Hmph. You, sir, are treading a very fine line," she warned.
"I know," he said plainly in reply.
She narrowed her eyes at him, but her lips were still curled into a smile.
They stood wrapped up in each for a few minutes before Weiss let out a soft sigh. "We've been here before, haven't we?" She muttered . "I really do wish I could stay here, but unfortunately the night shift beckons.".
"Go. I'll see you in the morning okay." He said, giving her a tight squeeze, but as they moved apart from each she found that his hand lingered on the small of her back for a second before it dropped to his side. "And when you're free next, I picked up a second bag of those candies. Maybe, after you've seen your Mom, we could share them while you tell me some stories about grandfather."
"Really?" she asked, shocked.
"Yeah. He was important to you, so I wanna hear all about him." He spoke with honesty.
"That sounds wonderful." Her eyes glistened and her heart swelled at the gesture. Simple in what it was but deeply meaningful to her. "Goodnight, Jaune. Sleep…" she was interrupted by the sound of their scrolls beeping loudly. Both drew the small object from their pockets and saw that an urgent message had come in from Rumpole. A massive fight had broken out in one of the camps and Grimm had started to swarm all over the area. Every available Huntsman had been called to arms.
"Who needs sleep, huh?" he said dryly.
"Speak for yourself," she quipped in reply.
Tearing off down the halls they met with their teams and headed out into the evening light. The sun was dipping below the horizon and the first stars of the night were beginning to sparkle in the sky as they leaped and soared towards the angry horde of monsters attacking their home. Weiss moved with purpose and determination, focused on the job at hand while she slashed and sliced any foe who came her way. She caught his eye, and with a nod they separated into their teams. He immediately began directing civilians away from danger as Nora and Ren worked around him.
A brave, noble leader.
And the man who had captured her heart and soul.
And her sweet tooth…