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Weiss Schnee nervously sorted through her notes on her desk as the sun began to set behind her, gradually dimming the light of the Team RWBY dorm room. Tonight was the night she had spent weeks preparing for and yet she couldn't help but doubt in her final design for the Beacon dance, held as part of the international Vytal Festival.
Perhaps she was fretting over a missed detail she had subconsciously picked up on or perhaps it was simple event jitters, but her lacking confidence was not seeming to recover at all even as she finished her initial review of her well-organized refreshment assessment, song selection and checklist of joint trainee attendees expected for the evening scattered across the desk.
Yang had agonized over her personal pick of classical music - referring to her refined tastes as "grandma-like" - but Weiss was confident she had managed to balance the tone of the songs to not disturb but enhance the feeling of joy and celebration expected for the dance. Her refreshment list was similarly well picked to suit the tastes of the incoming variety of students while not causing issue. Even the list of attendees was without discrepancy, as far as she could see. Yet the feeling of discomfort still lingered.
Taking a moment to collect herself, she knew what the real reason for her current situation was. The rejection still stung in her heart and her chest ached thinking about it. For the first time in her life, she had reached out to grasp a bit of happiness she had never known with a boy she had thought shared her interest and came up empty-handed. "No, not just empty-handed," Weiss thought. "Wounded and insecure."
Neptune bore all the hallmarks of a refined gentlemen she may have expected to see in Atlas but with a more boyish and adventurous air. A refreshing and attractive change, if she may add. Additionally, unlike the many suitors who often were presented to her in the past at Atlesian balls and galas, he never imposed on her and - if anything - seemed reticent to commit. She could tell immediately his interest in her stemmed only from herself and not her name. It was everything she could ask for. But despite being his "Snow Angel," he had chosen to turn her down. Given her past attempts to connect to him, she couldn't understand why and it tore at her.
"Done stressing over fruit punch and missing students from Vacuo, Weiss?" a voice called out from behind her. Turning, Weiss found herself looking into the lilac eyes of her teammate and sister to her partner. Like normally, today, her long mane of strikingly golden hair hung down her back without any accompaniments or styling. Unlike normally, Yang Xiao Long had opted to don a simple but stunning white dress that emphasized her shoulders and her chest. A pair of matching white heels completed her ensemble.
"Very funny, Xiao Long. Unlike you, I have an obligation to match the standards of this dance to the Schnee family expectations. Team CFVY entrusted as much to us at a bare minimum and I don't intend to squander the chance they gave us." Weiss said, standing and collecting her documents from the desk for the Beacon dance. Similarly to Yang, Weiss too was wearing a largely white dress and heels, distinguished only by translucent mesh coverings for her shoulders, chest and back to emphasize the difference between her dress and her own pristine white hair. She opted for her typical ponytail placed to the side and held in place with her usual Schnee family ornament.
As with the files in her hands, Weiss too had arranged for this coordinated outfit between herself and Yang to represent their place as organizers and partners for this endeavor.
"I was just trying to break the Weiss a little, don't take me so seriously!" Yang said, chuckling to herself.
"Let's just get going. I am aware it is time to head to the foyer," Weiss responded back, groaning in response to her teammate's constant corny jokes. Opening the door to their room, Weiss caught sight of the Team JNPR door across the hall. Four familiar faces flashed across her mind. Although not as close to her as her team, she would consider these faces to be friends to her still, with one blonde-haired exception. An exception that often found time to occupy her day with presumptive requests to become closer despite his lacking behavior, status and even fashion sense. Mercifully, since that musical catastrophe he performed at her doorstep a few days back, he had not found time to request anything else of her again.
"Perhaps his team had finally reached him and managed to convince him of her lack of interest?" Weiss thought. If so, she would need to consider paying back Pyrrha, Ren or Nora in kind, as a Schnee does allow such debts to fester. "Or perhaps Jaune realized Pyrrha is without a dance partner as well and acted as he should have here from the start?"
Weiss felt a bit of jealousy arise from the stray thought. Unlike Team RWBY, Team JNPR was perfectly divided by gender, allowing for easy pairings for occasions like this. Just as Ren had no doubt decided to accompany his partner and childhood friend Nora to the dance, Jaune too must have asked Pyrrha to attend once she had turned him down. "How nice for him," Weiss thought enviously. "Unlike him, my fame affords me no other reasonable options now that my first choice has rejected me. But at least Pyrrha will not find herself like me."
Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Weiss proceeded down the dorm building hallway out to the main courtyard with Yang to head to the ballroom. "Have you seen where Blake is? She left the room a bit back in that violet dress of hers. It was a bit too early, however?" Weiss inquired.
"She left early to go meet up with her favorite monkey boytoy before the dance," Yang remarked. "Perhaps they're doing a little more than just Yangin out, though?"
Weiss ignored the salacious comment gracefully. Surely Belladonna could be trusted to be a bit more responsible than that. "And Ruby?"
"She's stuck in the workshop making some last minute adjustments to Crescent Rose ahead of the tournament. She says she is going to blow the competition away, as expected of my cute little sis! I'm waiting on a scroll message to go back and help her with her dress and heels, but I can hold the frontline for a bit while you go check everything is ready again. No stress." Yang answered.
By now, Weiss and Yang had made their way to just outside the Beacon ballroom, quickly approaching the locked doors. A number of students of all types waited outside in sufficiently formal attire from all four nations, ranging from a team of Vacuan boys leaning against the building who whistled as they passed - they would pay for that if they had the misfortune of being slotted against Team RWBY in the upcoming competition! - to a few teams of Beacon seniors sharing what appeared to be unmarked beverages to a throng of mixed Mistralian students chatting amicably on the grass nearby watching them approach the door. For a brief instant, Weiss saw a flash of blue hair appear amongst their midst and her heart caught in her throat. But it disappeared just as fast as it appeared and she continued without further pause to the door with Yang.
Entering the building, Weiss quickly assessed the state of the ballroom. Yang and her had already long since prepared the ballroom per her exacting specifications, matching the natural decor of the room with celebratory streamers and balloons, precisely folded dollies, vases and silverware for the tables as well as long tables mapped out to fit their designated refreshments for the night. Refreshment stocks had been completely accounted for as of last night and only Beacon cafeteria staff were on-wait to deliver the final hot food items for the dance.
Checking her scroll, Weiss noted an update from the number registered for the representative of the Beacon kitchen staff, informing her that the staff was ready to deliver as soon as she could. Quickly sending a message back to the number to start moving the food in, Weiss approached Yang at the front standing behind the entrance podium.
"I expecte the Beacon catering staff to arrive within 5 minutes and finish unpacking within 20 minutes, Yang. Given the official start of the dance scheduled for 30 minutes from now, we can go ahead with opening the doors then," Weiss informed Yang. "Any update from Ruby?"
"Nothing yet. I'll call you over when I need to leave though, so just relax already. We've done a great job, Ice Queen! I'm sure your family is proud!" Yang replied casually.
"Fine, I will go check everything again then find somewhere to sit down," Weiss answered. Walking over from table to table, Weiss inspected the arrangements present as Beacon catering staff carried over trays of food from the service entrance and filled punch bowls as needed. Eventually, across the room from the entrance podium, Weiss spotted a drooping white tulip nearly falling out of its vase. Moving to fix the issue, Weiss lifted a finger and attempted to smooth the stem, pushing it into back into alignment with the rest. But no matter how much she coaxed the stem, the flower would just not stay stable and eventually drooped back down.
A stray thought echoed in Weiss's mind. "This flower is just like me, present among all my peers in their happiness but unable to hide my own sorrow," Weiss pondered. "I wonder if it's just my destiny to be alone even when I am surrounded by others, just another flower waiting to sink out of the vase."
Breaking from her morose thoughts, Weiss decided the flower could not be saved and plucked it from the vase altogether. Holding the flower up to the lights, she inspected it once again. The stem was soft and unable to bear the weight of the flowering head any long, but it was beautiful as when she picked them out for the Beacon dance to begin with.
Once again, she is reminded of that night a few days ago, where she reached out with her heart to Neptune and was found lacking. After Neptune left following the rejection, she remembers pacing slowly back to her dorm room, head held low and eyes tearing. She was in no rush for her team to see her state of loss and sorrow. But just like now, she noticed on the ground a wilting white tulip, practically symbolic of her at the time. Picking it up, she wondered where it had come from. Perhaps a service employee had accidentally brought it from the ballroom and dropped it here ahead of schedule? Unlikely due to the distance, but it was the only possibility she could think of.
Weiss recalls moving outside then and, finding a nearby flower bed, carefully digging a tiny hole and securing the flower inside, as her mother once taught her in her Atlas garden many years ago. Perhaps just like there was a chance for that flower, she recalled, there was a chance that Neptune may change his mind and so she brightened herself and returned to her dorm room with less sorrow than before.
"Unfortunately," Weiss thought, reflecting. "It seems like that chance has faded just like this flower in my hand. But the least I can do is bear it and move forward, making the best of it as I can." Having changed her mind, Weiss created a tiny glyph the length of the stem of the flower and froze it in place internally, granting the flower stability it did not have previously. She then placed the flower back in the vase and moved to finish her final checks when Yang began to call over to her indicating she is going to unlock the doors.
As students of all nationality began to walk into the ballroom and marvel at her preparations, Weiss found a seat and took a moment to appreciate what she has accomplished. "At least they will be able to enjoy themselves together," Weiss thought. "For now, that will suffice."
Maneuvering around the Beacon ballroom, Jaune Arc reflected on his unnecessary haste to make it to the event. "Maybe I should have just gone with the rest of the team after all," Jaune considered. "Regardless of if I was the 3rd wheel or the 5th wheel or whatever! Going with Pyrrha and whoever she is going with and Ren and Nora just made more sense. Now I don't even know where to go!"
Avoiding a throng of Atlas students in formal attire, Jaune lights up as he spots a familiar face among the crowd hanging out by a punch bowl, her distinctive black hair rimmed by red the color of roses. Moving towards the punch bowl and grabbing a cup, Jaune helped himself to a quick drink before sidestepping to Ruby Rose's left.
"I see you're hiding at the punch bowl too?" Jaune leaned over and said.
"Yep," said Ruby unenergetically, making sure to pop the P while continuing to watch the dance floor. Jaune spotted a few notable figures in the distance, such as Professor Port and Oobleck conversing as well as Ren and Nora lightly dancing at the edges of the dance floor. He would need to make some time to talk to them as well, he resolved.
"To the socially awkward!" Jaune said, raising his glass for Ruby to clink while she giggled at his response.
"Sorry things didn't work out with Weiss," Ruby apologetically stated, turning to look at him.
"Meh...it's fine. Neptune's pretty cool. I get why she went with him," Jaune remarked. Despite the pain in his chest from admitting so, he was a pretty cool guy after all, managing to convey himself better than he ever could, at least to Weiss. He would take his loss squarely there.
At that, Ruby turned to look at him in confusion and asked, "What do you mean?"
"Well, come on, not many people can pull off BLUE hair," Jaune emoted unconvincingly. Taking a drink of fruit punch as Ruby responded once more.
"No, I mean, Weiss came to the dance ALONE," Ruby informed, making Jaune choke on his drink. His mind grinded to a halt and he turned to stare in the distance at the glowing figure of Weiss Schnee in a beautiful white dress, currently desperately trying to fix a drooping white flower in a vase. Her favorite Atlesian flower, he recalled, just like the one he had prepared to give to her and dropped to the ground after seeing her approach Neptune to ask him to the dance that night a few days ago. And similarly to the flower, she looked despondent as she failed time and time again to fix the arrangement. Then suddenly he saw her perk her head up and look away as the sound of laughter echoed from a corner of the ballroom Jaune had yet to notice.
Peeking over as well, Jaune spied Blake in a purple dress, Sun in his normal casual outfit sporting a tie and Neptune donning a well fitted suit complete with a golden bowtie and his signature goggles laughing at a joke together. Neptune garnered more laughter from the duo by pantomiming an eating motion, although Jaune was not sure of the joke in question. Regardless, he felt his anger begin to rise witnessing Neptune blow off Weiss in her despondence after spending time with her and actively flirting with her like he did. Making a sound of frustration and gritting his teeth, Jaune handed Ruby his cup. "Hold my punch," he said, walking off in the direction of the trio.
He had a point to make clear.
Weiss Schnee found herself sighing and settling down in a chair amongst a group of female huntresses-in-training she did not recognize. Likely Mistralian however, as their dresses and demeanors seemed to indicate. She had just finished admitting the final students at the front with Yang and left her to go relax after spending most of the dance fixing issues wherever she could. As expected, there were some rowdy and intoxicated students who needed to be escorted out by Atlas provided security, an incident of a spill on a dress she helped remove and some minor damage to tables from roughhousing by a set of Vacuan boys who clearly needed to be taught to use chairs instead of tables as seats.
But perhaps most annoyingly of all was finding another of her flowers drooping from a vase, same as the first. Unlike the first case, Weiss was able to smooth out the stem and stand it back up, though at much time and effort and trouble. However, unlike the first, she was unable to soothe her heartbreak as she finally spotted Neptune in the distance. Sun, Belladonna - the traitor - and him were conversing and making fun, likely to some boyish joke made by Neptune. She wished she could have been by his side to hear it, perhaps it may have restored her mood. But he made no motion to come over to see her and she made no motion to see him as well, taking his rejection as respectfully as she was able to. No matter how much it increased the hurt she felt in her chest.
"Now is the time to relax," she chided herself internally. Not the time to worry about silly boys.
"Uh, hi Weiss?" A voice called out to her. An extremely familiar voice. Shock ran through her body as she turned to meet the aquamarine eyes of Neptune Vasilias. "Why now?" She wondered.
"Hello Neptune. What brings you over here?" she said, motioning for him to take the empty seat next to her. Her heart beat louder in her chest as he accepted and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly before sitting down.
"I saw you around while I was hanging in the ballroom with Sun and felt like I should come over to talk now that you're not so busy. I'm sorry about how I turned you down before the dance and I guess I have something to say about that," confessed Neptune. Weiss's eyes widened. She didn't expect an apology and she felt her cheeks color.
"What do you have to say?", Weiss asked tentatively, leaning in.
"Well, uh...I originally turned you down...because I can't dance, is all. Totally uncool, right?" Neptune muttered. Weiss's brain stopped at that. Can't dance? She went through all this pain and discomfort and worrying because he couldn't dance? Her emotions suddenly surged as her thoughts turned from kind to unkind back to kind rapidly as Neptune explained himself.
"I'm really sorry about that and hope we can still enjoy the night together, maybe?" Neptune inquired. Weiss calmed herself as she heard his words. "Yes," she thought. "The reason he turned me down may have been inconsequential and the effects severe but he is now apologizing and being honest. I can respect that. Perhaps this won't be so bad or stressing a night as I thought after all."
From there, she engaged in small talk with Neptune, discussing the night, his conversations with Blake and Sun so far and talking about their experiences in Haven and Beacon, respectfully. Much of the stress and fatigue from the day had melted off her frame, replaced with joy to finally be enjoying a night with a boy she fancied and who may fancy her back. She was inquiring about some of his teachers back at Haven when laughter suddenly erupted around the ballroom.
Looking over, Weiss spotted the distinctive figure of Jaune Arc...clad in a white dress complete with a lavender bow at the waist, seeming to hug his frame tightly. He made his way across the dance floor, through the chuckling students and stood in front of his partner Pyrrha, who also seemed to be enjoying the dance floor. He made a few motions with his hands and stated something Weiss could not make out but she did notice the dazzling smile Pyrrha took on in return as she broke into giggles herself. "What is he doing now?" Weiss thought, befuddled. Thinking back, she had not spotted Pyrrha and Jaune dancing prior to this point, although she did notice their teammates dancing occasionally across the floor during her time assisting around the ballroom.
Weiss watched as Pyrrha took Jaune's hand and he pulled her in close, moving confidently out towards the center of the floor. His teammates trailed behind as the music changed and suddenly the four broke out into a coordinated dance, moving with grace and rhythm she had never seen in the scraggly blonde before. Perhaps not so scraggly as she had once thought though, given those shoulders and how well he filled out that dress..."Wait, what the heck am I thinking right now?!" Weiss screamed internally.
As team JNPR continued to dominate the dance floor, the crowd's laughter and murmuring gradually shifted to cheers and clapping instead, watching something unprecedented and unexpected, but impressive nonetheless happen. One particular set of spins and maneuvers from Pyrrha and Jaune had Weiss staring dumbly with her mouth wide open, Neptune next to her likely in the same condition.
Watching for a few minutes, Weiss felt a smile come onto her face however. It appeared like her friends were enjoying themselves, she was now enjoying herself and the dance preparation had been as perfect as she demanded it be. Everything had worked out to form a nearly magical night. But still, something niggled at her. Something about Neptune and the appearance of Jaune when she did not see Pyrrha with him before, as well as this sudden dance routine.
"So, what made your change your mind?" Weiss asked Neptune, trying to sate her worries.
"Huh?" Neptune replied, unsure.
"You said you were embarrassed at first. What made you come talk to me?" Weiss asked again, this time more informatively.
"You're looking at him," Neptune said as Weiss's world ground to a halt. She found herself staring directly at Jaune's back as he glided through another dance with Pyrrha, moving confidently unlike his normal, dorky self. Was his back always so muscular as well? "You've got some good friends looking after you," Neptune finished with a friendly smile on his face as she turned to face him.
Weiss turned back to the dance floor without a response as her smile faded from her face into a more conflicted expression. A mix of emotions rushed through her head and her chest, ranging from shock to embarrassment to wonder to denial to gratefulness. She wasn't sure what she was feeling exactly but she couldn't help as her eyes locked onto Jaune's dancing form again.
She had completely and utterly misjudged him. Rather than someone who was after her money or her name, Jaune was clearly just interested in her based on the actions he took tonight. Otherwise he wouldn't have sent Neptune over, instead attempting one last time to pick her up while she was down, as it were. Otherwise he would not have donned a dress and embarrassed himself in front of the combined student body of all four huntsman academies, no matter how much his partner's smile glowed and sparkled all the while, even apparent from all the way over where Weiss and Neptune were seated. These were the actions of someone who cared not just for his partner but also for her as well. Weiss felt her cheeks warm slightly at the thought.
As the night wore on, she found herself engaged in additional small talk with Neptune but her focus was elsewhere all the while, unable to avoid Jaune and Pyrrha's interactions taking up at least the corner of her gaze. Unfortunately, Neptune never asked her to dance, but she supposed that is about as much as can be expected given his earlier confession. Regardless she felt the disappointment well within her as her mixed feelings on Jaune Arc dominated her thoughts up until the moment he departed the room with his team, Weiss's eyes trailing him all the while.
Neptune, ever the gentlemen, offered to assist in closing out the dance with herself and Yang, but she found herself declining rather easily, citing a need to finish what she and Yang had started together with pride. As the students shuffled out of the doors and back to their dorms, Weiss met up with Yang, Blake and Ruby waiting by the door following her own final checks.
"You look pretty tired, Snow Queen," remarked Yang immediately, a grin on her face. "I Schnee a need for some bedtime soon for you!"
"Quiet, you buffoon. Ruby, Blake, how were your nights?" Weiss inquired, watching Yang take her insult unphased.
"Well, aside from some crazy incident at the CCT that Ironwood asked me to keep private for now, I wish I was still working on Crescent Rose, but watching Jaune and his team tear up the dance floor was a good exchange I guess. How the heck did they do that!?" Ruby exclaimed. Murmurs of agreement came from each of them regarding team JNPR's coordinated dancing skills. Perhaps they would need to work on something as well to compete.
"I agree with Ruby, I had no idea their team and especially Jaune could dance like that. How impressive. As for how my night went...well, Sun was a gentlemen, although I am sure Neptune told you about all about that, right, Weiss?" Blake answered.
"Indeed, Neptune let me know about your time together. However, in the future, please be kind and inform me if you plan to attend the ball with not just the boy who asked you but his friend who turned me down," Weiss responded back. Blake winced as they proceeded through the ballroom doors, which automatically locked behind them as the room was cleared by Atlas security.
"Yeah, yeah, I'll try to keep that in mind. I didn't mean it that way. But at least you look like you enjoyed yourself somewhat? I saw you smiling over there for a bit, Weiss." Blake returned back. Weiss accepted her apology for what it was worth and moved to respond in kind but Yang cut her off.
"So what's up with Neptune sitting with you then, Weiss? I thought he turned you down. Did you say something to him, kitty cat?" Yang questioned. Blake shook her head no.
"It was Jaune, right?" Ruby stated, cutting in. All of their heads turned to her in response. "I saw him looking at you and then at Neptune after I told him you didn't come with any boys to the dance. He gave me his glass and marched off after that, he never returned either. I can only guess he gave Neptune an earful."
"Yes, Neptune did say it was Jaune who convinced him to come to me. I was quite surprised..." Weiss said, trailing off in discomfort. She still didn't know how to feel about the boy who had been dominating her thoughts since Neptune's surprising admission earlier.
"Wow, that was really cool of him. Didn't think ol' Vomit Boy had it in, just thought he had vomit!" Yang remarked jokingly.
"Jaune has always been a good guy at heart, if a bit slow and uncoordinated. I did see Neptune take a step outside to breathe at the same time Jaune had followed Pyrrha out, so it must have happened then," Blake explained. Ruby quickly agreed with her sentiment.
"Yeah, he's a nice guy," Weiss agreed as they approached their dorm room. Staring at team JNPR's door as they passed, Weiss remarked one last time "A very nice guy after all..."
That night, rather than dreams of a blue haired suave transfer student from Haven, she found herself dreaming of a dorky, uncoordinated but muscular and kind blonde haired Valean boy who she had once found herself hating to interact with. But for some reason, this time, she couldn't wait to see him again.
It wasn't until the following Wednesday of classes after the dance that Weiss finally got the chance she was looking for to talk to Jaune in private without the suspicion of either of their teammates. They were in Professor Port's class watching him demonstrate the proper way to tackle and capture a live Boarbatusk when he asked for a volunteer quite loudly, shocking half the room (who had been sleeping at the time) awake.
Jaune, absentminded as he was, had accidentally raised his arm to stretch and Port took that as a sign for him to come down and volunteer. Unfortunately for him as well, Pyrrha was not present to bail him out as she was absent due to some new extracurricular with Headmaster Ozpin himself (which Weiss speculated to be connected to her competitive career, of course, perhaps some advertising campaign for the school).
Weiss watched as Professor Port moved Jaune's limbs trying to teach him where to grab the Grimm, starting from the hindquarters all the way to tusks to prevent yourself from being gored while denying the Grimm the mobility it needed to escape. Jaune continued to make strange, helpless expressions as Professor Port practically tangled him into a pretzel shape, almost drawing a giggle from Weiss as she watched Jaune cope with his situation. She had originally thought to volunteer herself but was now glad she had not! Thankfully she had changed from the student she was at the beginning of the year, not in small part because of her team and because of Jaune and his team.
As the time for class came to a close, Weiss realized quickly that Jaune would need time to untangle himself in the front of the room. The bell rang and Weiss leapt at the chance. "I need to stay behind to ask Professor Port a question on our last homework assignment. Can you all go on ahead without me? I will assist Jaune as well if needed," Weiss stated.
With Ren being hauled off by Nora in another live demonstration of what was occurring in the front of the room, Blake with her head in her books and Ruby with her head in the clouds as the next class was weapon and dust maintenance, agreements were handed out easily all around. But not before Yang got a jab in, having seen through Weiss.
"Sure thing Weiss queen, take all the time you need with Port and especially Jaune," Yang said smirking, throwing a wink at Weiss. Weiss did not rise to the bait but noted to get her back for that in the future.
As the students began to shuffle out of the classroom, Professor Port finally let go of Jaune and moved through the backdoor behind his podium, entering his personal office before the next class. Jaune groaned audibly and slowly untangled himself from the heap he found himself in. Moving towards his desk, he packed up his class supplies and made his way to the upper exit, but a voice called out to him as he reached the top of the room.
"Ar-...Jaune, a word, if you might?" Weiss asked, correcting herself. She had seated herself at the top desk next to the exit to catch Jaune, now staring at him as he approached a bit limply, likely from the strain of what Port put him through.
"Weiss? What's up?" Jaune questioned, moving closer to the desk where Weiss was at until he was standing in front of her.
Weiss suddenly realized with surprise, looking up into Jaune's eyes, just how much taller he was than her, especially on the same level. Without the benefit of her heels by sitting down as well, Jaune positively dwarfed her and she found her cheeks unintentionally flushing as she continued looking up at him. "Was he always this tall?" Weiss thought quickly. However, she shook herself out of it mentally and asked what she had been waiting for.
"At the dance this past weekend, Neptune approached me after turning me down previously and he told me you had encouraged him to do so. Could you explain why?" Weiss said, getting straight to the point. She nervously awaited the answer from Jaune, seeing him turn sheepish as she asked the question.
"Well...when I saw you at the dance, you looked so lonely and distressed. N-Not that I was looking d-down on you or anything! But when I saw Neptune laughing it up with Blake and Sun, it just lit a fire in me, I guess. Neptune started out his relationship with you by flirting with you...not that I'm any better! B-But he could at the very least have accepted to go to the dance with you when you asked him last week in the hallway. I guess I just couldn't take it that the girl I had been wanting to take out all this time and also my friend was being played with by someone. So when I saw him outside on the balcony, I let him know what I thought and he got the guts to go up to you. I'm glad he did." Jaune said, stuttering some parts out in nervousness.
Listening to him describe what happened, Weiss found herself treating the normally clumsy behavior of Jaune differently than normal. Previously she had thought it low-class behavior and indicative of someone not taking her seriously; now it sounded genuinely endearing, like someone making an effort to be more than they were just for her sake. She restrained a sudden urge to reach out and console Jaune as he continued to give him strength. However, near the end, something stuck out to her.
"How do you know where I asked Neptune to the dance last week?" Weiss questioned, puzzled.
"O-Oh, I was originally also going to ask you to the dance then too. I even had a flower and everything prepared. But when I saw you ask Neptune, I knew I didn't have a chance so I just went back to my dorm. I had actually expected that he accepted and I guess that was part of why I was so mad at the dance at him. But W-Weiss, I just want you to know that I'm sorry for being so pushy with you when you weren't interested. I promise I will stop and be better about this in the future. I like how well our teams have come together and I don't want us to be the ones who pushes that all apart...can you forgive me?" Jaune explained and asked, looking at Weiss directly in the eyes as he asked. She found that they were a nice shade of blue, different from her own and darker, but no less expressive.
"Wait, a flower? Was it the same type of flower used for the vases at the dance, Jaune?" Weiss asked, contemplating his response and realizing that the flower she likely found that evening was from Jaune. Emotions stirred in her that were unrecognizable at the realization that Jaune's actions had prevented her breakdown on that occasion.
"Yeah, an Atlesian White Tulip, right? You once told your team about your favorite flowers during a conversation about gardens at the lunch table. I thought you might like it, so I spent some time in Vale looking for one for you," Jaune stated.
Surprise and another warm feeling stirred in Weiss, realizing that Jaune had been listening to her about her interests all along. She also recalled that same lunch he had referred to her as "Snow Angel" again and she had given him a complete dressing down, including a complaint about that favored hoodie of his. Weiss felt a bit of shame filling her at the realization. She needed to correct this mistake. Remembering his request for forgiveness, Weiss thought of an idea to settle the issues here.
"You asked for forgiveness, right, Jaune? Well I need to ask for forgiveness myself as well. I have been treating you unfairly all this time, thinking that you were perhaps only after my name or fortune," Weiss started off with. Seeing Jaune's eyes widen and him begin to open his mouth to talk, Weiss quieted him pre-emptively.
"Shush! I am speaking. I realize now that you were never like that and that we have both been treating each other unfairly. Do you agree?" Weiss inquired, looking up at Jaune. Once again, she was struck by the difference in height between them and a sense of nervousness invaded her. What if he decided he didn't like her reasons and didn't agree to reconcile? She was not sure she would be able to deal with the shame that action brought on her.
"Hearing that Weiss, I do agree. Let's start off on a new foot. How about that?" Jaune proposed, slightly shocked at her reasons but happy that they were finally reconciling together.
"You mean start off on the right foot again, Jaune." Weiss said, suppressing a giggle at his simple blunder again. "And yes, let's be friends, just like our teammates. Thinking of them...I believe we are the only ones not to exchange scroll numbers yet as well, aren't we? Hand it over, Jaune."
As Jaune passed over his scroll to her and she synced their devices up, a sense of relief overcame her. This was where their relationship should have been all along and she was glad that they had made this move. As Weiss made to hand the scroll back to Jaune, Jaune suddenly spoke up.
"Wait, I forgot! I need to meet up with Pyr in front of Ozpin's office right after this class. We talked too long, sorry Weiss! I'll see you in the next class though!" Jaune panicked, exiting the room as she watched.
"Pyr, huh?" Weiss thought. She recalled the sight of Jaune and Pyrrha intertwined on the dance floor pulling off moves she had only dreamed of before. A sudden sense of jealousy struck her, but she shook it off. She shouldn't feel that way towards her friends interacting, after all. Their benefit is her own.
Moving to exit the desk, Weiss realized that although she felt monumentally better about the dance especially since last week, there was still some strange sense of loss remaining in her chest. Perhaps it was the experience of actually dancing that Neptune was unable to provide her. Perhaps it was the drama that kept her from fully appreciating the dance experience as she should have. Or...perhaps it was the idea that Jaune was clearly moving on from her romantically that struck her. A strange feeling to have, given her feelings on Jaune just last week, but people change and so does she.
However, Weiss dismissed that notion. Although Jaune was just the type of guy she had perhaps been looking for all along, someone who cared for her deeply and looked out for her best interests...and perhaps was a little cute as well...they had already resolved to start from square one and she would not make any mistakes this time with him. It was part of her dignity as a Schnee to maintain her promise and she would do so on her grandfather's honor. Besides, although Neptune is not as perfect or flawless as she once thought, they were interested in each other and so she would follow through to the best of her ability.
She doubted Neptune would give her any more reason to dislike him, after all.
It was but a week later that Weiss found herself pacing through the gardens of Beacon, frustrated beyond belief. Although both Teams RWBY and JNPR had won their first round battles overwhelmingly, it was immediately soured by Team SSSN's behavior. Or, more specifically, Neptune's behavior. He had brazenly and openly flirted with the all girl Team NDGO that found themselves as his opponents, even openly implying their desire to touch his body on live television. How could she have liked someone like that!? How could she have been so fooled?
He was just as bad as her Atlas suitors...OK, perhaps not THAT bad, but the point remains. Weiss would be no longer be pursuing such a man.
Coming unto a familiar patch of flowers, Weiss realized with a shock that the white tulip she had replanted in haste two weeks ago...had taken root and flowered even more brilliantly than before, despite it being early Fall already. Was this some sort of sign that she should keep going despite all her recent romantic troubles? If so...it was well positioned. Dropping down to gaze more closely at the flower, she was reminded of memories of her childhood, in her mother's garden and better times in general. It was just what she needed to get through the day.
In the following weeks leading up to the end of the semester and the conclusion of the competition, Weiss found herself sneaking off to maintain the flower, first by securing it with enhanced soil imported from Atlas and minor applications of plant dust, but also with carefully provisioned doses of water to enable survival. The flower had already taken on greater meaning for her, having saved her from a tough emotional situation twice now.
But as events would have it, Beacon underwent a catastrophe and Weiss soon forget completely about the flower, being forced to return home to Atlas after the incident. As gnarled, tough and spined black feet trod down the vast gardens of Beacon, the singular white flower found itself facing annihilation time and time again from the movement of certain Grimm, but never experiencing it.
Years later, after the Grimm had long since been cleared out of the area and the threat to the world averted, a blonde man in white armor, wielding a familiar sword and shield, though much changed from his journey, found his way back to the gardens he once passed through in his youth. Looking down, the man realized the presence of the flower and alerted his companion.
"Well look at that. Something did survive the Fall after all and it just happened to be your favorite type of flower!" Reaching down to the soil, he plucked the flower out by the stem, taking care to separate it from the root. "Maybe I should ask the question I wanted to all those years ago now?" He questioned.
"Weiss Schnee, will you accompany me to the Beacon dance this Saturday?" Jaune Arc said, presenting the flower his fiancé's way.
Weiss Schnee smiled.