Fall Does Prose

[fallwritesfiction]

late nights, brakes lock (hear the tires squeal) Fandom: Persona 5 Pairing/Characters: Kurusu Akira/Sakamoto Ryuji/Takamaki Ann Rating: Mature Additional Tags/Warnings: Missing Scene, Dom/sub Undertones, Service Submission Summary:  It's getting close to midnight. Joker, Ann, and Ryuji are all exhausted. First, however, Ann has a few orders for the boys.

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[fallwritesfiction]

3. temperature play Fandom: RWBY Pairing/Characters: Blake Belladonna/Weiss Schnee, Pyrrha Nikos/Winter Schnee/Yang Xiao Long Rating: Explicit Summary: Chapter One: Weiss Schnee, Ice Queen of Atlas, entertains Lord Belladonna of Vacuo. Her vassals would not approve of the shape this entertainment takes.

Chapter Two: Queen's Champion Winter Schnee and her wife Yang Schnee likewise entertain Lady Pyrrha Nikos, with similar results. Notes/Warnings: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Nonbinary Character, Oral Sex, Temperature Play, Safer Sex, Sex Toys

Historians and storytellers alike later note that the Lord Belladonna spent a suspicious amount of time in Atlas after that Midwinter Ball, and that Queen Schnee spent a suspicious amount of time outside of the castle. The truth of the matter is that no one suspected anything; four people knew exactly what was going on, and no one outside of that circle batted an eyelash. Lord Belladonna and Queen Schnee were both known for strange whims, and this was merely thought to be one of them.

Of course, the Queen of Atlas could not simply leave the castle environs without an escort, and so the Queen's Champion and her wife often escorted their monarch. If these visits happened to coincide with when Lady Nikos visited Atlas, all the better. The guards always seemed to enjoy the resultant spars, at the least.

Naturally, the Queen has the choicest of accommodations wherever she may travel, and those with the strongest magical defenses. Just as naturally, they are hardly adequate to keep out someone of Blake Belladonna’s skill.

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[fallwritesfiction]

107. cut Fandom: RWBY Pairing/Characters: Blake Belladonna & Weiss Schnee, Ruby Rose/Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna/Ruby Rose Rating: Teen Summary: Weiss gets her scar. Blake and Ruby have stronger feelings on the matter than she expected. Notes/Warnings: Alternate Universe - College/University, Injury Discussion, Violence Mention

When Weiss arrives at Ruby's apartment, she can feel Ruby's anxiety rise and crest.

"Holy shit, Weiss!" Ruby pulls her inside, forgetting even to close the door. Weiss manages to reach back and close it for her. "What-- What happened?!"

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[fallwritesfiction]

2. begging

Fandom: RWBY Pairing/Characters: Winter Schnee/Yang Xiao Long/Pyrrha Nikos Rating: Explicit Summary: Queen’s Champion Winter Schnee and her wife Yang Schnee meet Lady Pyrrha Nikos, a Mistrali knight-errant. It goes better than any of them expected. Notes/Warnings: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, orgasm delay, orgasm denial, begging, asexual spectrum character, canon-typical mock combat, safer sex, oral sex, manual sex

In the past eight years, the Kingdom of Atlas has become known for their elaborate celebrations. Before the coronation of Queen Weiss Schnee, they honored only the high holidays, and had smaller, informal celebrations for the namedays of direct royal descendants.

Since her coronation, however, and the subsequent retitling of Prince Whitley Schnee to Lord Whitley Schnee, the Atlesian court has advanced considerably. Formerly comprised of only a handful of titles and positions - the bare minimum needed to run a kingdom - it has since swelled to a court worthy of Vale's complex mass of titles, or Mistral's cutthroat politics.

All three Schnee siblings attend court on the high holidays, and for one of their namedays. Aside from those guarantees, Lord Whitley attends every event, with occasional appearances by Winter Schnee in her capacity as Champion, and very rarely the Queen herself.

When word spreads throughout the capital city that all of the Schnee siblings are in attendance at an otherwise unremarkable ball, a great many nobles hasten to put on their finery and scramble to find an invite.

The truth of the matter is nothing more than this: in the middle of a boring week, which came at the end of a boring month, Whitley Schnee coaxed his sisters - and, more importantly, Winter's wife - into coming to a ball he threw because he was, as stated, quite bored.

Winter still isn't sure how he talked Yang into coming.

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[fallintolife]

like what I do? want a say in what I write next? I’ve got a poll over on my Patreon for $5+ Patreons where you can vote on what you want to see. current selections are Ice Queen Schnee, Enter The Dragon, and two original works!

[fallwritesfiction]

Prompt: 115 lower Fandom: RWBY Pairing/Characters: Weiss Schnee/Ruby Rose, Blake Belladonna/Ruby Rose Rating: General Summary: Those in Weiss' old life would never have approved of what she has now. Notes/Warnings: Alternate Universe - College/University, polyamory. Part of the Beacon University AU

According to many in her old social circles, Weiss Schnee has lowered her place in society.

Currently, she's sitting on a couch with one person whose surname no one she previously spoke to would know, and one person whose surname they would all immediately know and curse. She has kissed one of them, and could likely kiss the other if she were polite about it, judging by Blake's relationship with Pyrrha. Neither of them have any particular accolades, or any societal standing in Atlas.

And yet, Weiss has never felt as though she's ascended higher.

"Mm, whatcha thinkin'?" Ruby has her legs in Blake's lap, her head in Weiss', and her eyes on Weiss' face.

Ruby has a look in her eyes that Weiss suspects will result in a conversation that would utterly break the relaxed mood they've cultivated. So instead of answering, Weiss digs the pads of her fingers into Ruby's scalp, distracting her with touch. For all that she gets plenty of affection from Blake, Weiss, <i>and</i> Yang, Ruby still melts easily underneath it.

"Weiss," Blake says quietly, later on when Ruby's passed out across their laps. Weiss looks away from the television screen, meeting Blake's golden gaze. "Was something wrong, earlier?"

Weiss could lie. She could deflect. She could say she doesn't wish to speak of it. She knows Blake would respect her decisions, would accept that Weiss holds her own counsel sometimes. And yet, she doesn't do any of that.

"I was thinking on where others would have had my life go," Weiss says, looking down at the red head of hair in her lap, "and what I would have missed if I had listened."

Blake reaches out to take her hand, squeezing it gently. "I'm glad you didn't."

Somehow, Weiss forgets to let go of her hand. Blake doesn't ask for it back.

[fallwritesfiction]

Prompt: 114 awkward Fandom: RWBY Pairing/Characters: Ruby Rose/Blake Belladonna Rating: Explicit Summary: Blake knows Yang has someone over, and knows exactly what they're doing. Her nose won't let her ignore it. Notes/Warnings: Alternate Universe - College/University, oral sex. Part of the Beacon University AU

There are some things you just get used to, in polite society.

You're going to know someone else's private business, sometimes. You're going to overhear an argument, witness a child being disciplined, know when your neighbors are fighting. For the most part, it's best to politely pretend you didn't observe, and move on with your life, even when it makes it awkward.

When Blake scents sex on her way through Ruby's apartment building, she walks a little faster, but otherwise thinks nothing of it. As she gets closer to their door, she realizes she can smell <i>Yang</i> underneath. Blake winces, knocking on the door and hoping it's an old scent.

It's Yang who answers the door, and any hopes of her not being in the middle of something - or someone - vanish as Blake struggles to keep a straight face.

"Oh hey, Blake." Yang tilts her head. "Weren't you and Rubes supposed to go out tonight?"

"The fireworks got rained out," Blake says, trying not to let strain show in her voice.

Yang's face goes from confusion to 'oh shit'. "Um. I'll just--"

Blake reaches out, her fingers wrapping around Yang's wrist. "You're allowed to have people over."

The other woman tries to laugh it off. "Okay, mom."

Blake squeezes once, then lets go. "You know what I mean."

Yang closes one eye, dropping the attempt at humor. "We'll talk later?"

"Of course."

Blake ducks past Yang and opens the door to Ruby's room, slipping inside.

Intellectually, Blake knows that Yang has sex. She knows, even, that Yang has a lot of sex. She also knows she could probably extrapolate Yang's tastes, both in partners and particular acts.

She doesn't want to think about it.

She and Yang tried, and they failed. There's no shame in that, but Blake is now in a serious relationship with Yang's sister, and she would very much rather pretend that Yang's sex life doesn't exist. She won't lie and say that she's no longer attracted to Yang, but it is very much on the physical end; Blake has particular physical traits that will gain her interest regardless of her willingness to be interested. That physical interest, now, is causing a physical reaction. Again, without her willingness to react.

"Blake?" Ruby looks up from where she'd been reading on her bed, setting the book aside and sitting up.

Blake whines.

Ruby scoots over to the edge of the bed, taking Blake's hands in her own. "What's wrong?"

"Neo is here." It's a female scent, and as far as Blake knows Yang only has one female lover. "And they're...."

"Oooh." Ruby pulls Blake onto the bed, pulling Blake's head up against her shoulder. "And you can smell it, and you're all hot and bothered and don't like it."

Sometimes, Ruby's intuitive leaps happen at the exact most inconvenient time.

"I don't...." There's a steadily-increasing throbbing between Blake's legs. She's starting to overheat, and Ruby smells <i>so good</i>. She buries her nose in Ruby's shoulder, breathing in deep. It just makes things worse.

"It's okay," Ruby says, stroking a palm down her back. "Bodies are just like that, sometimes. They remember you could be doing something, and have to remind you that they know how that goes. Like when you watch a scary movie and jump even though you know you're okay."

Blake nods into Ruby's shirt, curling her fingers into the fabric. She wants to touch Ruby's skin, but doesn't trust herself.

Ruby rubs her back, and whispers soothingly, and pulls her in close. Blake is hard against her thigh, and trying very hard not to move.

Fingers curl under her chin, nudging upward, and Ruby murmurs, "Can I kiss you?"

"Ruby, I...." There's no end to that sentence that doesn't result in them having sex.

"We could go for a walk instead," Ruby says, "I've got an umbrella somewhere. Or you could let me distract you."

Blake pulls her down with a growl.

They quickly end up half-naked, hands seeking skin and mouths sliding together. Ruby's nails dig into Blake's back just shy of pain, and she wraps one leg around Blake's hip. Blake pants, feverish and wanting, knowing she's mumbling something and not caring.

Blake's hands drop to Ruby's zipper, and Ruby stops her. "Wait."

Blake freezes, meeting Ruby's eyes and trying to catch her breath.

"Is this better?" Ruby cups her cheek, eyes concerned. "Or are you still upset?"

It takes a bit for Blake to process that. When she manages to surface from her haze, she remembers being distressingly aroused. Another few moments, and she realizes she's not, any more. She's aroused, yes, but it doesn't have the rising edge of distress from knowing she shouldn't be.

"Yeah," Blake says, kissing her. "I um. Can I borrow your shower?" It doesn't feel right, knowing her body is reacting to girlfriend's sister. She can take care of it on her own.

Ruby's eyebrows come together. "So you can jerk off?"

Blake blushes, dropping her head and nodding.

"Blake," Ruby nudges her until she looks up again. "I don't care why you're turned on. I like having sex with you, and I want to do that, if you're okay with it. You don't have to go jerk off in the shower."

"This isn't... weird for you?" Blake manages to keep eye contact.

Ruby shrugs. "If you wanted Yang, you'd be with Yang." Her nose wrinkles. "I don't wanna hear about it, but if you still think she's hot that's okay. And it's the whole..." She waves a hand vaguely. "Scent thing, anyway. Scent has like... the least filters in the brain, or something. Turns on all the body stuff without asking."

Blake's mouth opens, then shuts. "Did you take a psychology class?"

Ruby's fingers thread into her hair, gently rubbing over her scalp. "Sorta. It was a weird biology/psychology crossover thing. Really cool though." She kisses the tip of Blake's nose. "So... wanna fuck?"

That startles a laugh out of Blake. "Gods, I love you."

Ruby just grins.

"Yes, Ruby," Blake's hands drop back down to Ruby's zipper, patient this time instead of urgent. "I want to have sex."

It's slower, more deliberate than the energy from earlier. There's still the forbidden thrill of touching each other without barriers, the headiness of trust and intimacy. Blake gently nudges Ruby onto her back and puts her mouth to work, groaning at the feel of Ruby bare under her tongue.

By the time they've both orgasmed, the urgency has faded altogether, and the room smells entirely like them and how they fit together.

There's music playing from the other room, something with deep bass and trilling vocals, but Blake easily pushes it out of mind, kissing the underside of Ruby's chin. Ruby wraps her arms around Blake with a happy sigh.

"Still not weird?" Blake asks, when they're getting themselves together to go for a walk anyway.

"Nope," Ruby says easily.

And that's that.

[fallwritesfiction]

Prompt: 113 voice Fandom: RWBY Pairing/Characters: Ruby Rose/Blake Belladonna Rating: Explicit Summary: Ruby really, really likes Blake's voice. Notes/Warnings: Alternate Universe - College/University, explicit sexual content, penetrative sex. Part of the Beacon University AU.

"Good, keep doing that."

Blake's voice rumbles out and into Ruby's ears, making her shiver. She rolls her hips, hands braced on Blake's stomach. Sweat trails down the back of her shoulderblade, and she shakes her hair out of her eyes.

"There you go."

Blake moves with her, hands smoothing over Ruby's thighs, her ass, moving inwards to her hips. Her golden eyes don't leave Ruby's. She keeps talking, keeps... keeps praising Ruby.

"Clench for me." Ruby squeezes her internal muscles tight around Blake, and her breath catches in her throat when Blake moans. "Good, Ruby, fuck."

Ruby does it again, and again, picking up the pace. She wants to feel Blake come inside her. Blake whines, her head tilting back, murmuring pieces of appreciation, of love. Ruby rides her hard and fast, wanting it. Wanting everything.

When she feels a starburst inside her, Ruby drops one hand between her legs, rubbing until she comes soon after Blake. They slow, then halt, both breathing heavy.

One of Blake's eyes creak open, closed when she came, and she studies Ruby's face. "Are you okay?"

It's been almost a year and a half that they've been dating, and figured they could probably stop using condoms. Ruby will use barriers with Weiss if they get there any time soon, but with Blake, she doesn't. Not as of tonight, anyway.

"Um," Ruby stretches out her arms, squirming a little and deciding how she feels about this. "I might still wanna use condoms sometimes. This is... messy."

"But you're okay?" Blake pushes gently, opening her other eye.

"Yup." Ruby leans down for a kiss, then darts into the bathroom to clean up a little.

When she gets back, Blake's laying on her side, phone in hand.

"Are you messaging Weiss?" Ruby teases. She doesn't expect Blake to pause, looking up at her like a deer caught in the headlights.

"Just about a news article," Blake says. "I wouldn't...."

"I know," Ruby says, climbing into bed behind her. "Put the other woman away and come cuddle me."

Blake puts her phone back onto the bedside table, and rolls over to curl around Ruby.

"You're happy," Blake murmurs, once they've both cooled off and started to doze a little.

"Yeah," Ruby says, hit by the wonder of it all. "I am. Really, really happy."

Blake mumbles something that might be <i>good</i>, and they fall asleep.

[fallwritesfiction]

Prompt: 112 (dis)engage Fandom: RWBY Pairing/Characters: Winter Schnee, Weiss Schnee, Jacques Schnee, Whitley Schnee Rating: General Summary: Winter has long since learned to disengage when her father. She's taught Weiss how to do so as well. Notes/Warnings: Alternate Universe - College/University, implied homophobia, the general awfulness that is Jacques Schnee. Part of the Beacon University AU

Winter has learned, over the years, that the cleanest way to cut her father's legs out from under him is simply to not engage.

His greatest interpersonal interest is, as Weiss once put it "petty displays of power". He will find a way to control any given situation, or a way to make someone regret taking it out of his control. They may have come to an understanding about what holiday plans Weiss and Winter will and will not tolerate, but even that was a result of years of fighting. His disproportionate responses for even routine inconveniences are exhausting and Winter prefers to avoid the tantrums when she can.

This is rarely helped by the simple fact that Whitley seems to have inherited this personality trait from him. Winter and Weiss will present a solid front on a matter, only for Whitley to undermine them and take their father's side on every issue, regardless of how small or meaningless. He has adopted an us vs them mentality where he and Jacques are on one side and she and Weiss are on the other, and Winter has no idea how to bridge the gap.

"When are you going to get married, Winter?" He demands, during one of Winter's rare visits to Atlas.

"When I find someone worthy of my time," Winter says, without looking up from her paper. She ignores the little voice at the back of her mind that says she already has; neither she nor Pyrrha are prepared to weather the full force of Jacques' attention.

"He had better be from a respectable family."

"She will be."

Jacquest opens his mouth, surely to say something he feels is cutting, only to close it with a glance at Whitley.

Winter had thought, once, that the three of them would be able to bond over their father's shared disapproval concerning their potential romantic partners. In a strange twist of fate, all three of them are queer: Winter prefers women, Whitley men, and Weiss has no gender preference but refuses to limit herself to men to please their father. None of them have formally announced their preferences to their father, but after Weiss seducing the Mistrali diplomat's daughter, Whitley seducing his son, and Winter subsequently referring to all potential future partners as her <i>wife</i> to support her siblings, it's come quite clear that none of them are going to lie back and think of the family on this matter. Winter suspects that Jacques would strongly prefer them all be heterosexual, but has realized that he'll simply alienate them all if he voices these concerns. He is a stubborn, manipulative abuser, but he isn't stupid, and he wants a legacy. If he attacks one of them for being queer, he attacks them all.

He turns to Weiss, an eyebrow raised.

"I haven't the time to concentrate on both my studies and potential partners," Weiss lies, as convincingly as if she didn't board the plane to Atlas with a mouth-shaped bruise on her collarbone and breathlessness threaded into her voice. She's gotten very good at that particular lie, likely because until recently, it wasn't one. Before Rose, she had no intention of finding a partner in Vale.

Jacques grunts, unable to find fault in that. He might say something when Weiss announces her plans to pursue her Master's degree - and the subsequent PhD - but for now, it serves his ambitions better for Weiss to become educated than for her to marry young. Her designs have been weathering extensive SDC testing, and none of his researchers have been able to find fault in them. As much as it disgusts Winter to do so, she agrees with Weiss' decision to present herself as more valuable as a researcher than a bride. Until Weiss has full access to her trust fund - and Winter is counting days until her sister turns twenty-five - they must keep up a pleasant fiction.

He doesn't say a word to Whitley. Winter resents this even as she knows she wouldn't wish that kind of attention on anyone, let alone her brother. She may not personally enjoy the way he's chosen to protect himself but she won't bedgruge it.

Winter and Weiss stay in Schnee Mansion for the requisite three days, then Winter flies back to her base and Weiss back to Vale. They manage to not engage their father on any serious topics, and Winter calls it a victory.

She still sleeps for an entire day when she gets back, and spends much of the next catching up on reports and messaging Pyrrha, but she's long since learned that not all victories involve triumphant returns. Sometimes, victory is returning home at all.

[fallwritesfiction]

Prompt: 111 morals Fandom: RWBY Pairing/Characters: Blake Belladonna & Weiss Schnee Rating: Teen Summary: Blake and Weiss, discussing everything and everything under the sun. In particular, Ruby. Notes/Warnings: Alternate Universe - College/University, mentioned pairings, one-sided monochrome. Part of the Beacon University AU.

After the singing incident, Blake sometimes finds herself at Weiss' apartment without Ruby anywhere in sight. She learns early on that she has to be careful when she goes and what she brings up as the night wears on, because after the third time they stay up debating into the small hours, it becomes clear it's not an isolated event. They really will spend hours debating, and either lose track of time or ignore it entirely.

Blake, of course, ends up ignoring her own guidlines. She's curled into one corner of Weiss' loveseat, Weiss sitting on the other end with her legs tucked underneath herself. They're touching quite a bit more than they would have been if they'd opted for the couch, or separate seating entirely. Blake is willing to believe Weiss has noticed, and simply doesn't care. She seems touch-starved, and having heard stories about Weiss' other acquaintances, Blake can't imagine where she'd be sating her skin hunger other than Ruby and Blake. She's certainly not tactile with Winter.

"They'll think you're playing princess and pauper with Ruby," Blake says quietly, setting her tea to the side. 'They', of course, meaning the media, and those who get their opinion from gossip reporters.

"And they'll think you've been turned against your people by humans," Weiss says, more evenly than Blake would have expected.

"They're very convincing humans," Blake says dryly.

She's teasing, but it's also true: Weiss has opinions and viewpoints that Blake hadn't come close to thinking of, and has changed her mind more than once. It's exactly what her father said college would be like: late nights spent debating the finer points of morality, drinking too much caffeine, and procrastinating on term papers.

Weiss smiles, shaking her head, then turns serious again. "No one will like that we're dating the same woman."

She's right. Less in the poly aspect and more in that a Schnee and a Belladonna dating the same person is a recipe for everyone to get upset about everything, from all sides of the fence. Blake has very quietly told her mother about Ruby, but her father is going to have to wait until she can bring Ruby home. She'd like to see him puff up about oppressive humans with Ruby riht in front of him.

"Oh, is it dating now?" Blake asks, instead of speaking any of that aloud.

Weiss reddens, suddenly very interested in her coffee cup.

"I know you've been..." Blake clears her throat. "Kissing her."

It may not be just kissing, but Blake knows it certainly isn't sex. She can tell.

Weiss' flush expands all the way out to her ears. "She told you?"

Blake chuckles. "I know what to look for."

If Blake weren't a faunus, she'd never have caught Weiss' reaction. Her flush changes a very little, her pupils dilate just a bit. If it weren't for her scent changing, adding in desire, Blake would never know. But she does know, and she wonders: is Weiss remembering kissing Ruby? Or is she thinking about how Blake would know? Is her desire reflexive, just her body reacting to thoughts the way bodies do?

(Is she imagining Blake and Ruby? Does she wonder, as Blake does, what it would be like if Weiss were there as well?)

Blake could add something about Weiss being willing to kiss Ruby like that - in a way that leaves her <i>drenched</i> in Weiss' scent and still aroused hours later - and talk to Blake as if their future is solid, but she'll let it go. She's pretty sure Weiss is an overthinker; she'll get through it eventually. It would be cruel for Weiss to toy with Ruby, but by all accounts Weiss' attention hasn't wavered, she just hasn't put a formal label on what they have. It's not Blake's place to push.

Weiss brings up tarriffs again, and Blake allows the distraction. She calls it a night at a reasonable hour, and hugs Weiss perhaps tigheter than she otherwise might have. They're in this together, after all.

(She absolutely does not think about the light in Weiss' eyes during debates, or the long, elegant lines of her neck. Down that road lies only madness. They have a solid friendship, and strong feelings for the same woman. It's enough.)

[fallwritesfiction]

Prompt: 110 Hush Fandom: RWBY Pairing/Characters: Blake Belladonna & Weiss Schnee Rating: General Summary: Blake walks in on Weiss singing. Notes/Warnings: Alternate Universe - College/University. Part of the Beacon University AU

When Blake hears singing coming from Weiss' apartment, she thinks it's recorded music.

She lets herself in, turns the corner, and stops.

Intellectually, she knew Weiss was a trained singer. There are a few grainy videos online that Blake never bothered to watch through, just noted and skipped. She did note that Weiss stopped singing in public at some point, and wondered, but it was none of her business then and hasn't come up since.

Now, though she knows she should announce her presence, she can't help but watch for a moment. Blake knows and has known that Weiss is very pretty. It isn't until now that she sees Weiss as <i>beautiful</i>. She's focused, intent, eyes closed and form held taught. If Blake didn't know better, she'd say Weiss was preparing this piece for performance, working through the nuances, the emotion, pouring over every note and breath.

When she song ends, Blake clears her throat.

Weiss whirls, her hand going for a drawer that Blake thinks probably has a weapon in it. She's not going to imagine what kind, or what would have happened if Weiss hadn't realized who she was in time.

"I'm going to guess," Blake says, adrenaline sharp, "that Ruby didn't tell you I was coming."

"No." Weiss picks up her phone, turns on the screen, and grimaces.

"That's probably her telling you she needs to borrow on of your reference books," Blake says dryly. Her own phone takes that moment to beep and buzz multiple times. The screen tells her she'd apparently gone through a deadzone, and missed quite a few texts.

"And that," Weiss sighs, "is probably her telling you that she couldn't reach me."

"Yeah," Blake says, shooting off a text to let Ruby know she's here. "I took the Bronze line, and reception is strange on that train."

Weiss sweeps past Blake, her floral perfume tangling in Blake's nostrils. "Come on, I think I know what she needs."

They don't talk about it. Weiss calls Ruby, finds the book she was looking for.

"Actually, Ruby, hold on a moment." Weiss mutes her end of the call, and turns to Blake. "Would you like to stay for tea?"

Blake startles, blinking. They've shared space many times, and message regularly, but the time they spend together in person is because of Ruby, not independently seeking one another's company. It sounds... nice. Blake nods.

"I'll have her back to you within a few hours." Whatever Ruby says in return has Weiss rolling her eyes fondly. "You do know how to share, Ruby Rose."

Ah. She's deliberately being a brat, then. If she were serious, Weiss would have a different tone entirely.

They say goodbye, and Weiss hands her the book before leading the way into her kitchen.

Weiss' apartment, for the most part, looks like what Blake would imagine Winter's would: the colors are in steel grey and pale blue, with white for accent and the very occasional black for contrast. The art is all minimal, modern pieces, either landscapes or abstracts. She has a living room that looks as though it's done very little living, a dining room that looks as though it's done very little dining, and a guest bathroom that is perfectly sterile.

The kitchen is slightly more personalized, if only because it gets some use. Weiss, as Blake understands it, isn't the most skilled cook, but she can follow directions and prefers her food fresh. As soon as they enter, Weiss pulls a box of tea out of the cabinet, and sets the electric kettle to boil.

Once there's nothing to do but wait, the pressure of not talking about it weighs on them both. Blake was very clearly not supposed to see or hear that. If Weiss were open about her singing, she would still be performing or at least discussing it in friendly conversation. Blake has heard not a single word about it, and she suspects Ruby hasn't either. That makes it, if not quite a secret - at least not any more - at least something private.

"When I took my first gender studies class, the professor made a speech." Blake takes a deep breath. "She said that Psychology majors and Gender Studies majors had something in common: they both joined because they had a question. With Psychology Majors, it was because they wanted to know why someone was broken. Themselves, or someone they loved."

Weiss waits her out, eyes patient.

"With Gender Studies," Blake says, "it was because they wanted to know why they didn't fit. Or where they fit. You don't get straight, cisgendered men taking Gender Studies."

"And you're...?" Weiss clearly doesn't want to label her, but Blake thinks she knows what answer the other woman thinks she's going to get.

"Bisexual," Blake says easily, "but also... transgender."

Weiss' eyes widen. "You've...?"

Blake shakes her head, fairly certain she knows what Weiss is asking. "How I am now is just how my biology worked out." She wonders, briefly, if Ruby and Weiss have had a similar discussion, before deciding it's none of her business. "And how I am... would have many people saying I'm not a woman."

That's it. That's their breaking point-- or at least the latest one. If Weiss reacts badly to this, Blake will politely excuse herself and quietly have nothing to do with her. She'll nudge Ruby into having that talk with her, and hope that it's just Blake she can't stand.

"The world is full of idiots," Weiss says, without missing a beat. "You are how you say you are."

Perhaps in a feel-good novel they'd embrace, but it feels more meaningful to Blake that Weiss allows her her quiet, scrolling through the notifications on her phone while Blake collects herself. She cares more about Weiss' opinion than she thought, if the spectre of her rejection loomed this large.

They exist in companionable silence, sitting in Weiss' kitchen, until the tea is gone and it's time for Blake to bring Ruby the book.

They do hug at the door, and Blake leaves with a light buzz that she doesn't examine too closely.

[fallwritesfiction]

Prompt: 109 Impulse Fandom: RWBY Pairing/Characters: Weiss Schnee/Ruby Rose Rating: Mature Summary: Weiss makes a snap decision. She's rather pleased with how it turns out. Notes/Warnings: Alternate Universe - College/Universe, making out. Part of the Beacon University AU.

Weiss and Ruby get through two hours of studying before Weiss gives into the buzz beneath her skin, plucks the pen right out of Ruby's hand, and kisses her.

Ruby stops for a moment, hums, then kisses her back.

Somehow Weiss ends up on top of Ruby on the couch, one arm holding herself up, and the other stroking the side of Ruby's neck. Ruby's hands start at the small of her back, and fall a little lower with every kiss. Weiss shivers and moans into Ruby's mouth when they reach their destination, and Ruby pulls her hands back as if burned.

"Sorry, I should have--"

And yes, she probably should have asked. However, Weiss wants Ruby's touch, not her apology. She grabs Ruby's wrist, placing her hand right back on Weiss' ass.

"Did I say you should stop?"

Ruby squeezes, slow and deliberate. Weiss moans again, leaning down for another hungry kiss.

Patience is not something Weiss has ever associated with Ruby, but there's nothing hurried about the kiss, about Ruby's hands on her. She doesn't push, doesn't rush, seems absolutely content to kiss and kiss and make Weiss makes sounds Weiss didn't think she was capable of.

And gods, someone taught her to kiss.

Weiss is used to having to teach in a lot of aspects, but almost always, she has to teach her partners how to kiss. Impatient boys, or hesitant girls, or inexperienced people from all across the spectrum. She's only had actual sex with a handful of people, but somehow she's the only one her age who seems to have paid attention. Ruby - somehow, some way - paid attention to someone at some point, and now Weiss is reaping the rewards.

As much as she actually thought about this - not much - Weiss did not expect to end up heated and needy from just kissing on the couch, with all her clothes on and hands completely outside of them. The back of her mind has been quietly telling her they could absolutely get away with having sex on this couch. A slightly more ambitious part of her remembers that Ruby's bed is right there, just a few steps and a doorway away.

When those voices threaten to overwhelm her restraint, Weiss sits up, threading fingers through her hair to pull it into some semblance of order. Ruby stays lying down for a moment, breathing hard and laughing under her breath.

"Something funny?" Weiss asks, her voice breaking into a lower pitch. She tries to sound arch, but she feels much too good right now to even suspect Ruby's laughing at her.

Ruby finally sits up, face flushed and pupils huge. "I'm just really..." She laughs again, shaking her head.

"Breathless?" Weiss teases, pulling the tie out of her hair before putting it back up in quick motions.

"Turned on," Ruby admits, sheepish.

Weiss turns Ruby's head towards her with firm fingers on the other girl's chin. She kisses her, too quickly to start another round. "Good."

"Good?" Ruby sways a little, dazed.

Weiss hums confirmation, picking back up her notebook. "Yes. Good. Now come here; we're not done yet."

If Ruby notices that Weiss' eyes drop to her mouth more often than before while they study, she doesn't say a word.

[fallwritesfiction]

Prompt: 108 Compromise Fandom: RWBY Pairing/Characters: Yang Xiao Long/Neopolitan, Yang Xiao Long/Junior Rating: Teen Summary: Yang makes her lines very clear, with both Neo and Junior. Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - College/University. Part of the Beacon University AU

Yang stares down at her phone, growling under her breath. How do you say "never do that again" without ruling out ever banging the person again?

The thing is, she's mad. She is. What Neo did was fucked up and if she'd had like thirty seconds to actually think she would have said hell no and kicked her out. She knows she shouldn't have been thinking with her clit instead of her head, but she did, and Neo didn't give her a real chance to say no. Yang wouldn't call it forced or anything, but some lines got blurred and it's not okay.

On the other hand, she never set any boundaries. She never said that she didn't want Neo in any other part of her life. Yang made it pretty clear she wasn't trying to do anything long-term, but Neo didn't cross that line. That doesn't make it Yang's fault, but it means she could have been clearer, and she wasn't.

She flips a couple contacts over and messages Junior instead, because that's easier: <i>hey look im sry abt neo. i didnt ask her to come and shes not gonna do it again. im not cool w/3ways and i didn't mean to say yes. sry.</i>

Yang actually isn't against threesomes, but it's close enough to true. She flips back over to Neo's screen, growling again because she still doesn't know what to say. After a few minutes, she asks: <i>how did u kno where i was??</i>.

Yang's phone buzzes almost immediately. <i>I've been in this town for a long time, Blondie. I know a lot of things.</i>

A second later, it buzzes again. <i>Did you have fun with your boy toy after I left? ;)</i>

Neo not regretting anything makes her response easier. It wouldn't make it <i>okay</i> if Neo were drunk or did it on impulse or something, but Yang would have a different reply. <i>it wasnt ok. felt like being stalked by someone who knows how 2 make my brain shut off. dont do it again.</i>

<i>Way to make me sound like a creep, Yang.</i>

Yang rolls her eyes. <i>dont act like one and it wont be so easy. i didn't tell u where i was and u showed up and walked into the middle of my scene. not ok.</i>

<i>I didn't hear you complaining when I was in your lap.</i>

She has to put her phone down and walk away from it for a few minutes before she can reply. This is why she doesn't do long-term, because girls are just <i>like this</i>. Yang takes a deep breath, trying to clear her head. She doesn't mean it. She personally knows a lot of girls who aren't like that. She's just... she was starting to like Neo.

Yang crawls back into her bed, laying on her back with her phone held up. <i>look i made a bad call bc ur hot even when what ur doing is fucked up. u still came bc u knew i was there and got in my biz.</i> She bites her lip, then quickly sends: <i>i wanna keep doing this but u have 2 respect my limits.</i>

While she's waiting, she gets a <i>k</i> from Junior, which is pretty much what she thought she'd get. They don't message a lot, and he keeps his short.

<i>Yeah, okay.</i>

That nearly gets her to throw her phone.

There's no way to know how Neo means that. Is it basically an apology? Is it sarcastic? Just her acknowledging the point and moving on? Yang groans, turns the phone on silent, and goes to make dinner. She does not have the brainpower to deal with this right now.

(Several blocks away, Neopolitan looks down at her phone with a bitten lip and what might be remorse in her eyes.)

[fallwritesfiction]

Prompt: 107 Cut Fandom: RWBY Pairing/Characters: Weiss Schnee/Ruby Rose, Blake Belladonna/Ruby Rose, Blake Belladonna & Weiss Schnee Rating: Teen Summary: Weiss gets her scar. Ruby and Blake have stronger feelings on the matter than she expected. Notes/Warnings: Alternate Universe - College/University, injury discussion, violence mention. Part of the Beacon University AU

When Weiss arrives at Ruby's apartment, she can feel Ruby's anxiety rise and crest.

"Holy <i>shit</i>, Weiss!" Ruby pulls her inside, forgetting even to close the door. Weiss manages to reach back and close it for her. "What-- What happened?!"

The cut stretching from hairline to jaw is a striking one, but ultimately very thin and shallow. Weiss had it attended to. It's fine.

She waves off Ruby's concern. "Fencing incident. I believe we had an outing planned?"

Ruby gapes at her. On the couch, Blake's book drops onto the table.

"I said I'm fine," Weiss crosses her arms over her chest, daring them to say any differently.

"No you didn't," Ruby says. She sounds faint. "You said it was because of fencing. You never said you were fine."

Ruby attempts to pull Weiss into the kitchen. Weiss resists.

"Well, as I <i>am</i> fine, we're going to--"

"Sit <i>down</i>."

Weiss finds herself sitting in a kitchen chair without quite deciding to. She looks to Blake, betrayed, and sees for the first time why it's always a Belladonna on the front lines of workers' rights protests.

"Ruby," Blake says calmly, rising from the couch, "Yang's first aid kit is out of butterfly closures. Please go pick some up from the drugstore."

Ruby looks from Weiss to Blake and back again, twisting her fingers together. "But...?"

Blake stands next to the table, golden eyes boring into Weiss'. "Weiss isn't going anywhere."

Weiss doesn't agree. She doesn't move, either.

"Okay." Ruby takes a deep breath, darts into her bedroom to grab her wallet, and runs out of the apartment with one last worried look at Weiss.

The door closes and locks behind her, and it's just Weiss and Blake.

"I've already been cared for," Weiss says, wary. "And Yang's kit is never out of anything."

Blake sits with a sigh, crossing her legs. "I'm surprised you remembered that."

Weiss bristles. "I have a perfectly good memory--"

"Except," Blake cuts in, "apparently, when you've been hurt. If you had been thinking clearly, you would have known that you're not going anywhere in public until your press agent has had a chance to spin this into something harmless, or at least explain it in a way where no one can credibly say it's Ruby's fault."

Cold shocks through Weiss' system.  Blake is absolutely correct. If she ever, ever plans on making her (yet-unformalized) relationship with Ruby public, she cannot be seen out with a very visible injury and no apparent explanation. Generally in Ruby and Yang's neighborhood the neighbors politely ignore that Weiss and Winter are there on a regular basis, but an injury is a different beast altogether. If she is very lucky, no one will have gotten a decent picture of her on her way here.

Weiss wants to put her head in her hands, and nearly does before she remembers that it isn't an option.

"Sometimes I forget you're a Belladonna," she mumbles, closing her eyes. It doesn't even hurt. The strike had missed her eye entirely, for a miracle.

"You've been doing a good impression of forgetting it entirely," Blake says dryly. "But yes, I have to be careful about public appearances as well. Not the same way I would at home, but neither of us wants Ruby to be in the papers for something like that."

"She doesn't know."

Blake's fingers wrap carefully around Weiss' wrist. "Part of the reason I love her is that she knows who I am and doesn't care. She wants Blake, not the Belladonna heir." She doesn't say, but Weiss can hear, that it's part of why Weiss is here as well. "It's my job to make sure she can keep thinking that way. And yours."

They stay that way, in silence, for a moment. Then Weiss asks, "Are we going to hide Yang's butterfly closures?"

Blake chuckles. "No. Once she calms down, Ruby will know why I sent her there. Yang will just have to deal with having too many of them for a while. We are, however," her voice takes on a warning tone, "going to redress that." Weiss opens her mouth, and Blake cuts her off. "You have caked blood in your eyebrow, and one of your closures is starting to peel." Weiss closes her mouth.

"Now," Blake says, gentle again, "is there anything else I should know before Ruby comes back and you start pretending you're unbreakable again?"

Weiss slumps, shaking her head. Blake's caught her out entirely. Soft lips touch her forehead, on the other side of the cut, and Blake leads her to the couch.

Ruby returns with the sheepishness of someone who knows they've been sent on an errand so they can master their anxiety, and Weiss lets the two of them fuss over her.

She likes it more than she'll ever admit.

[fallwritesfiction]

Prompt: 106 Prowl Fandom: RWBY Pairing/Characters: Yang Xiao Long/Junior, Yang Xiao Long/Neopolitan Rating: Mature Summary: Yang's at Junior's club. Neo shows up without warning. Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - College/University, Dubious Consent, Neo being a little shit. Part of the Beacon University AU

Yang's in the back room of Junior's club, and they haven't even really started, when someone knocks on the door.

She looks to Junior, who shakes his head, and he stands up, walks over, and crosses his arms over his chest.

"Who the hell are you?"

Instead of answering, the person on the other side of the door whistles. Yang shoots upright onto her feet. "Neo?"

Mismatched eyes gleam at her out from around Junior's body, and he steps aside. "You know her?"

Neo strides into the room, smirking. She's got on a skintight pair of pants, a low-cut shirt, and the smugness just about drips off of her. She walks right up to Yang, pushes her backwards into the chair, and climbs into her lap.

Yang's got a lot of questions, but the problem is that a girl in her lap means sex, and Neo in her lap means <i>really good sex</i>, and her body's doing its best to shut down her brain.

"Uh, if this is some kind of jealous girlfriend thing...." Junior rubs the back of his head.

"She's <i>not</i> my girlfriend." Somehow, that's what comes out of Yang's mouth. Not an explanation, not a demand for answers, that.

Neo huffs out a laugh, pushes up Yang's chin with one finger, and kisses her.

Part of Yang would really like to pull away and ask what the hell is going on. A bigger part tells her to breathe Neo in as deep as she can, hang onto the girl's hips - already moving, already grinding against her - and see where this goes.

Neo bites at her lips, scratches nails down the back of her neck, pushes their bodies together again and again. The back of Yang's mind notes that Junior shuts the door, but she can't think straight to put together what that means or if he's still in the room.

"Lotta kissing for not your girlfriend." Still in the room, then.

Yang manages to move one hand to the arm of the chair, and the other to push Neo backwards. "What the hell?"

Neo rolls her eyes, leans back enough for her mouth to be visible, and mouths, "Are you complaining?"

"Yeah, kinda?" Yang can barely think through the heat between her legs, through her body telling her to stop asking questions.

Neo twists to the side to look at Junior, still in Yang's lap. She signs something Yang can't see, and Junior snorts.

"Yeah, I sign," he says, moving his hands at the same time. "What's going on here?"

They go back and forth, and Yang tries to shake off her arousal. Before she can decide what she's going to do, Neo turns back to her, looking victorious.

"Says she's gonna give you a lap dance," Junior says, the creak of the bed announcing him sitting down. "Doesn't mind if I watch. You okay with that?"

Yang has a list of questions longer than her arm, and underneath how turned on she is, she knows this isn't okay. But there's a hot girl in her lap, a hot guy watching, and she once again fails to make what other people would call a smart decision. She nods, and puts her hands right back on Neo's hips.

It's not surprising that Neo knows exactly what she's doing. A lot of fighters do other physical stuff, like dance. She knows how to move her hips, how to tease, how to keep both Yang's and Junior's attention.

Unlike in a club, Yang doesn't have to keep her hands to herself. She runs her palms along Neo's thighs, up her back, along her hips. The other girl keeps up that smirk, her eyes getting darker and darker as she moves.

When Neo steps away and stops dancing, it takes Yang a second to blink out of the trance. She shakes herself, tilting her head at the other girl.

"Gotta go!" Neo mouths, tipping her a wink and turning towards the door.

Dumbfounded, Yang and Junior watch as she walks right out and closes the door behind herself.

"She uh. She do that a lot?" Junior asks, both of them still staring at the door.

"If you get on that bed and keep your mouth shut, I'll ride you into the mattress," Yang breathes, so wet she can barely think.

A beat, then the two of them scramble for the bed, stopping only for Junior to pull a condom out of who knows where.

Yang makes good on her promise.

[fallwritesfiction]

Quick note that I repost all stories over on my Ao3, where they’re a little cleaned up and much easier to comment, bookmark, or subscribe to.

(I also have a Patreon and a Ko-Fi, if you want to help me write more!)

[fallwritesfiction]

Prompt: 105. Forward Fandom: RWBY Pairing/Characters: Ruby Rose/Blake Belladonna, Ruby Rose/Weiss Schnee, Yang Xiao Long Rating: General Summary: Blake decided, before she ever met Weiss, that she wouldn't let the name color her perceptions of the person. Notes/Warnings: Alternate Universe - College/University, polyamory. Part of the Beacon University AU. Follows directly on from 104 Heavy, which itself follows directly on from 103 Dismissal.

Blake wakes up in a room that isn't hers, with two other bodies in the bed with her. It's not a first. She's not had sex with them both. That <i>is</i> a first.

It isn't as though Blake would object. Weiss is, as noted, very pretty, and Blake has suspiciouns about her sexual tastes. She's gently pushed away her attraction, because Weiss is very high-strung, and more attached to Ruby than Blake suspects either of them realize. Having sex with Weiss, in this situation, could never just <i>be</i> having sex with Weiss. So Blake keeps her appreciation to herself, and simply enjoys having another attractive woman in her life.

When she wakes up in a bed with Ruby and Weiss, it's because they've all had just enough to drink that putting Weiss in Pyrrha's spare room, or on Ruby and Yang's couch, never comes to mind. She's Ruby's, and they're all friendly enough to share a bed. It isn't an issue.

That morning isn't, either. Blake's body informs her - rather politely, considering how much eggnog she had the night before - that she would be smart to take it easy that day, and that so long as she does, she won't have any problems. She crawls out of her side of the bed - Ruby's in the middle, of course - and stumbles into the shower.

By the time she gets out, wrapped in Yang's robe and feeling a lot clearer-headed, Yang has started breakfast, and is humming way too cheerfully in the kitchen.

"I seem to remember you starting a drinking contest," Blake comments, sitting down and taking a cup of coffee from Yang with murmured thanks. "Despite our best efforts."

"Yup," Yang says, flipping chocolate-chip pancakes. "I feel pretty good though!"

"Small miracles," Blake comments dryly, taking a sip of her drink.

"Speaking of small miracles," Yang says, looking slyly at Blake from behind a curtain of hair, "you got Pyrrha kisses and nobody exploded."

Blake snorts, not bothering to comment. Yes, she got Pyrrha kisses the night before. Ruby laughed, Winter smiled, Yang cat-called, and Weiss looked like she didn't know if she should be scandalized or not. Ren and Nora, two of Pyrrha's friends from her gen-ed classes, had been too used to it to look up from the television.

"Speaking of kisses," Yang says, turning back to the food, "should I be having the scary big sister talk with Weiss?"

Blake looks up towards the ceiling, thinking that over. Shovel talks are for people you don't know, don't trust, can't imagine the best of. She doesn't think that's true here.

"Not unless you want Winter doing it to Ruby."

Yang shudders in mock-horror. "Ugh. Nobody deserves that."

"Excuse me," Weiss says, padding into the kitchen, "what does nobody deserve Winter doing?"

She homes in on the coffee like a bloodhound, Yang handing her another cup while she and Blake exchange a glance.

"A shovel talk," Blake says, deciding it's best to have this out in the open.

Weiss frowns down into her coffee cup, adding more sugar than Blake would have expected. "What is a shovel talk?"

"Y'know," Yang says, following Blake's lead, "if you hurt my sister, I've got a shovel and a lot of empty land...?"

Weiss snorts, and it's so unexpected that Blake and Yang both stare at her. Even her most relaxed so far has been slightly stiff at best. "As if she'd need to do the digging herself." She takes a seat at the kitchen table, and Yang and Blake quickly pretend they weren't staring.

Halfway through her cup of coffee, Weiss looks to Yang, suspicious. "Please don't tell me you're going to try being intimidating."

"Hey now," Yang says, adding another pancake to the stack, "I can be very intimidating. I've got a lotta muscles and more rank belts than some people have regular belts."

"And you love Ruby more than you distrust me," Weiss says, thoughtless.

This time, neither Yang nor Blake try to pretend they're not staring.

Weiss' mouth opens, closes, then opens and closes again. She looks like she'd like to apologize, only she's not sure she's done anything wrong, and isn't sure where to start besides.

"Ugh, what time is it," Ruby slouches into the kitchen, rubbing sleep out of her eyes. Everyone very quickly busies themselves with either their coffee or cooking.

"'Bout ten, Rubes," Yang says cheerily, plating some pancakes and shoving them into Ruby's hands. She's terrible at lying to people she loves, but Ruby is hungover and easily distracted, sitting at the table without seeming to notice a thing.

Ruby grumbles something that might be a thanks, and digs in.

They all eat under Yang's eye, even when Weiss tries to beg off, and Yang skips out of the house with some transparent excuse no one believes. They all know there's only two places she could be going.

Ruby claims the shower next, leaving Weiss and Blake in the living room.

It's not the first time they've been alone, but since Blake's easy half-drunk affection last night, and whatever that had been in the kitchen before breakfast, the air between them feels weighted. Blake takes a deep breath, stretches her arm across the back of the couch, and looks from Weiss to the space next to her in clear invitation.

Weiss moves closer. She leans into Blake, first hesitantly, then with a sigh that banishes the tension. Blake's arm goes around her shoulders, and both their eyes close.

Blake met Winter first, of the Schnee sisters. She met Winter Schnee, Blades instructor, a woman made of sharp angles and the highest standards. Blake had been ready to drop the class, to walk away from a woman with <i>that name</i> and <i>that reputation</i>, but Winter looked her in the eyes without once looking to her ears, and spoke to Blake Belladonna exactly the way she did to Jaune Arc, who was white and human and male and came from a good family.

(Well. No one speaks quite the same way to Jaune that they do to anyone else, but Winter treated them the same.)

She learned more in that semester than she had in two years of private instruction, and had signed up for the next level as soon as registration opened. She'd looked at Winter Schnee, and decided that the name wasn't the woman. She'd made the choice to move forward, to drop her preconceptions.

When Blake found out that yes, Ruby really was working with <i>that</i> Weiss, she'd had her share of doubt. Winter Schnee was a highly competent, hardworking woman who had proven herself over and over not to be a bigot. What were the chances that two people from the same family that exploited fanus - from the same <i>generation</i> of that family - would be open-minded? Blake knew from her initial flurry of conflict about Winter that neither sister was much for the spotlight, for making statements about the company or its policies, but Blake didn't hold out much hope. She knew perfectly well Weiss was an engineering major, and that her designs had already been publicated and praised for their innovation. She was perfectly poised to take over the weapons development section of Schnee Defense Company, if not the entire thing. But Ruby liked her, and Blake chose to trust in that, at least.

When they met, Blake expected... something. Some measure of... she didn't know, recognition, or prejudice. Something. The Belladonnas had been vocal about their disgust for SDC business practices for a long time, and Blake certainly knew exactly who Weiss was long before she came to Beacon. Maybe Weiss wouldn't know who <i>Blake</i> was, not because of that, but Blake still expected something that would prove she had been right to hold all Schnees in contempt.

Instead, she got a girl who was very particular about her timetables, and would Ruby <i>please</i> grab her coat or they were going to be late, yes hello Blake nice to meet you, <i>Ruby please</i>. Not once had she looked at Blake's ears, at the gold of her eyes - so rare in humans as to be nearly nonexistent - or commented on her last name.

After the movie, she'd gotten what felt like just... Weiss. Or rather, like a shared Schnee trait that wasn't warmongering or bigotry, because Winter too, enjoyed debate. Weiss had passion where Winter had detachment, but Blake by that point had spent enough time in Winter's classes to see the similarities. Not once, her name. Not once, her ears. Not once.

And at the end of that night, with Ruby curled in her arms, Blake decided again: she would take Weiss on her own terms, not her family's. Today, like every day since then, Blake decides to move forward.

Ruby emerges, in her laying around clothes and with a line between her eyes that spoke of more alcohol than she should have had. She slumps onto the couch, sticking her head in Weiss' lap.

Weiss fingers curl into her hair, gentle. Those hands have penned weapons of war. Those hands have held weapons, tested them, adjusted them. The blood in her veins has caused blood to run in the streets. And yet, she is so gentle with Ruby, so respectful with Blake. She is not her family's history, and Blake will not ever think it of her again.

Blake leans her head against Weiss', and lets herself drowse.