Weiss frowned at the bottle Yang held out to her. “Yang, I already put on sunscreen, I’ll be fine.”
“Do extra, you’re already looking a little red.”
“I am?!” Weiss took the bottle from Yang and started reapplying sunscreen without even checking her skin for herself. Yang simply smiled victoriously, giving Blake a thumbs.
Whoops, guess she noticed her staring.
Ruby set her basket down near Blake and leaned down to look at her. “Come on, you just gonna sit in the sand the whole time?”
Blake’s cat ears twitched as she quickly turned away from Yang to look up at her. Ruby had blocked the sun from Blake’s view, which gave her an almost angelic aura. “Oh, don’t worry, I’ll get in the water.”
“Heh, not while wearing all that you aren’t,” Ruby said, standing upright with her hands on her hips. She wore a red top reminiscent of a sports bra and matching board shorts. She looked like a surfer, both in outfit and in body type.
Blake looked down at herself, still in her white denim shorts and black t-shirt. She was just about to get undressed down to her black bikini underneath, but she had gotten a little distracted. She chuckled sheepishly and got to her feet. “Right.”
So far, Team RWBY’s excursion to Patch had been amazing. Taiyang was delighted to finally get to meet Blake and Weiss. They’d gone on hikes and had cookouts, and Blake even made nice with Zwei (after much encouragement). But now the weekend was over and Tai had to head to Signal for the day, leaving the four girls and one corgi left with a whole day to decide on what to do. But the moment Yang suggested heading to the beach, it was a foregone conclusion, even if they did have to outvote Weiss 3-to-1.
Weiss wasn’t a fan of hot weather, or the sun, or humidity, or the beach. If Yang and Ruby weren’t from here, Weiss would have been just fine with never setting foot in Patch in her life. But she could never turn down the offer to meet her girlfriends’ father, and of course, reuniting with her Snuggle-Wuggles (Zwei) was what sealed the deal for this trip. Blake had reminded her that if she didn’t like the weather in Patch, to just wait until Team RWBY’s eventual trip to Menagerie. Weiss did her best to not think about that. Her priority for the day was to maintain a continuous layer of sunscreen and to stay in the shade as much as possible. And she was not getting her hair wet.
And if she could get away with it, she was not taking her cover off. She’d spent long enough looking at herself in the mirror to know that she did not want the huge scars in her abdomen and back to be out in the bright sun. She knew her girlfriends would never judge her in a million years, but she couldn’t get past it. She would rather them just stay covered. Besides, the more protection from the sun, the better.
“You sure you don’t want to join us?” Ruby asked, peeking under Weiss’ umbrella.
Weiss shook her head. “I’m fine right under here. If any of you would like to join, please do.” She did feel a little bad not joining them in the water, but the idea of getting into the ocean…just no.
Ruby looked a little disappointed, but smiled and shrugged. “Whatever your comfortable with. I love you!” She then turned and ran to join her sister, who was already wading into the tide.
Weiss sighed, never enjoying having to tell Ruby no. But those thoughts were quickly dispelled when she caught sight of Blake. She turned in time to watch her pull her shirt off, revealing the black bikini top underneath, and the scar in her abdomen. It may not have been as large as Weiss’, but it was noticeable. And yet Blake had to problem revealing it to the bright sun.
Then Blake tugged her shorts off to leave herself in her bikini bottoms, and Weiss chose then to look away, blushing. She didn’t look away for long, however, because she heard a whistle from Blake’s direction. She looked back up to see Blake wink at her and blow her a kiss, then turn and run to join her other girlfriends in the water.
Even in the shade, Weiss felt like she was burning.
~~~
Weiss had planned to read while the others enjoyed the beach, but she just couldn’t take her eyes off her girlfriends long enough to read even a single page. Whether they were doing something hot, something cute, or something completely idiotic, she couldn’t help but watch and smile.
Yang and Ruby had devised a plan to see how far out to sea they could go while still touching the floor. Once they’d reached that limit, Yang had the bold idea to put Ruby on her shoulders and walk even further. Weiss was thankful Blake at least tried to talk them out of that, but the chaos sisters did it anyway. Thank the Brothers Yang was a good swimmer with strong lungs. Ruby ended up falling off her shoulders when Yang finally had to come up for air. Dorks.
At least now they were closer to shore. The three of them were bopping about a beach ball, but every now and then it would fly onto the sand and one of them would have to retrieve it. This time it was Blake’s turn to go grab it, and she trekked from the water and onto the wet sand, water cascading down her body. She rand her hand back through her hair to keep it out of her face, and that was enough to make Weiss’ heart hammer in her chest.
Blake picked up the ball, then when she looked up, she caught Weiss staring at her. She smiled and waved to her. “You sure you don’t want to join?”
Weiss felt a tightness in her chest. She did, she really did want to join. But the thought of her scars being exposed…
Blake held the ball against her hip with her hand, leaning her weight to one side. The scar in her abdomen, to the side and just below her bellybutton, was plain to see, yet she paid no mind to it.
“You okay, Weiss?” Blake asked, tilting her head to the side, and making Weiss realize she hadn’t even responded to her question. “You sure you don’t want to join?”
Weiss sighed and began to crawl out from beneath her umbrella, a determined smile on her face. “Actually, I’d love to join.”
Blake beamed while dual cheered erupted from behind her from Ruby and Yang. “Yay! Go Weiss!” Ruby called to her.
“You sure?” Blake asked, reaching a hand out to help Weiss to her feet.
“I’m sure,” Weiss said, then took a breath before tugging her coverup off, unveiling her light blue bikini. She knew her scars were visible, but she did all she could to not think about that, instead holding her shared gaze with Blake and smiling at her. “I don’t hate the beach that much.”
They held eye contact for a bit longer, then Blake chuckled softly and stepped forward, kissing Weiss lightly on the mouth, leaving a salty taste on her lips, then took her hand as she led her to the water. “What about getting your hair wet?”
Weiss faltered for a moment. “Now, if we could avoid that…”
“Screw that! Get in the water, ice queen!” Yang called and sent a mammoth wave of water hurtling towards her. Weiss could barely let out a scream of terror before being soaked completely. Weiss stood there, shocked for a moment, then fixed a glare on her bombastic partner. “Uhh heheh…” Yang stammered nervously, then decided she should flee the scene, swimming further out into the water.
Ruby shuffled up to Weiss awkwardly, then reached out and brushed some wet hair out of her face. “Uhm…you look pretty with wet hair…”
Weiss looked at Blake and pointed at the beach ball. “Can I borrow that?”
Blake lifted the ball to her skeptically. Weiss swiped it from her and began bonking Ruby in the head with it. “I should never have let you convince me!” She yelled lightheartedly as she began chasing Ruby around.
Blake sighed, happy to see Weiss was finally participating. Not exactly in the way she expected, but “unexpected” was kind of their thing. She waded back into the water to follow Yang. Better to spectate one of Ruby and Weiss’ pantomime chase scenes with her partner by her side.
More Anthidium illustre shots, such a beautiful being....
Here is a snappy looking beast from the Rocky Mountains west. I know that this specimen came from Clare Kremen's group and am pretty sure it came from their Central Valley Yolo County hedgerow study. Photos by Anders Croft.
If you’re interested in participating in or just enjoying a Pollination Week (polyamorous Team RWBY w/o enabl3r) later this year, fill out this form (link found in the first reblog)!
You can also suggest prompts and vote for when the event will take place!
==> Treekat: Your afterlife becomes torturous as night gives way to early morning, and you wake up with tears in your eyes, once more experiencing disgusting sensations from within. It's a fire not even you can quell, and a nightmare that makes you want to scream, but you can't afford to be even more of a burden than you are. You hide in the nearest wardrobe, shuddering as the sweetness of your natural scent begins to thicken from inside the enclosed compartment, and you sob as you realize your ultimate fate.
