Two years and what a ride this has been!

Thank you everyone for your support! I would never have gotten this far without you.

From the bottom of my heart, please enjoy~

Chapter 70: Promises of Trouble

Gulp.

Her mouth tasted sick and dry.

Weiss wondered briefly if that also applied to Yang's humor.

How had she ended up in this situation? …Of course, the answer was painfully clear. Ruby's sweet lips had been the perfect honey trap.

Despite hearing the door open. Despite noticing her friends. Weiss' rational mind lasted only a second before the tides of euphoria crashed against any objection and she allowed them to sweep her to bliss unknown.

A minute? An hour? Somehow, it felt all too short as the world around her shrank until all she could focus on was Ruby. The scent of light sweat and sweet scented shampoo, the warmth of calming sunshine. Her hands wanted to reach out and feel if Ruby's heartbeat was as loud as her own, yet she was paralyzed from the tender palms cupping her cheeks.

Only when they had to separate for air did light and color returned to the world around her. The heavy heaving of their breaths and chests were the only motion in the room. Ruby held a glassy gaze and her lips still glossy and moist beckoned with a soft smile.

Weiss leaned forward when she saw out of the corner of her eye a violent blur.

"WEEEEEIIIIIISSSSSSSSS!"

That unholy cry was the last thing she heard before all went dark.

And so now, she found herself still in the literal darkness. A little confused about where she was, but hyper-aware of what was going to happen to her.

She could not move even though she was unbound. Fear and apprehension were far stronger than any chain.

Clack!

Her eyes winced shut as a bright light blinded her.

"Alright," she heard Yang drawl. "We can do this the easy way…"

A pause… and then the tell-tale click of Ember Celica priming a round.

"…Or the hard way."

"Please say the hard way," Nora's voice echoed dangerously right beside her ear. Somehow, the weight of Magnhild hovering just centimeters above her head felt very, very real.

Weiss took a sharp breath. The nape of her neck felt clammy with sweat and with an infernal spot light so close to her eyes, she could barely see anything. Still, she had one card to play.

"Ruby," her voice called out with authority. "Turn on the lights."

And immediately, the room was illuminated once more, breaking the spell that rendered her immobile. Weiss took a moment to rub her eyes and blearily peer at what had blinded her earlier: a desk lamp, specifically her own desk lamp.

Her chair was positioned in the middle of the room with her friends encircling her, each had varying expressions… mostly amused.

She raised a deadpanned eyebrow at her partner standing by the light switch, "And why didn't you do anything?"

Ruby simply tilted her head questioningly. "Yang and Nora just pushed you into a chair and turned off the lights? And then… you just sat there really still." She beamed cheerfully, "So I wanted to see what happened next!"

Weiss couldn't resist the urge to face-palm. She made a mental note that Ruby might not be the most reliable when it came to hostage situations. Especially between friends.

More to the matter though, she leveled her harshest glare at the two powerhouses on their teams. She could forgive the wake of confusion they had left her in; she could forgive the 'bad cop, worse cop' routine she had to sit through; she could even forgive the very plausible threats they had thinly veiled.

But interrupting her moment with Ruby… an agitation from deep within welled and demanded satisfaction!

…That could only be fulfilled by Ruby.

…

Still, silliness aside, she knew what this was all about. To be fair, Ruby had agreed to tell their friends. The timing couldn't have been worse though; neither of them had prepared what to say in advance.

Weiss took a deep breath to steady herself. Her eyes hardened. No, this wasn't a misfortune; this was an opportunity. To speak what was on their minds. To speak without hiding behind formulated words. To speak the truth.

Coughing softly into her hand to clear her throat, Weiss spoke slowly, "I am certain you all may have realized it but…"

Her gaze shifted to Ruby, a silent question they both understood. Yet…Weiss still needed that affirmation.

A quiet nod. And Weiss found the strength in her words once more.

"…Ruby and I… are in a relationship."

The moment those words left her lips, she felt a rush of exhilaration.

"W-we're… in a relationship…" she breathed out as if she could scarcely believe herself.

After so long questioning it herself, to finally be able to admit it… a blush and smile graced her features. A heavy weight lifted from her chest.

"We're-!"

The weight suddenly plummeted into the cold pit of her stomach as a gauntleted hand clasped her shoulder with the gravity of her situation.

"Yeah, we heard you the first time, Snowcone," Yang's voice edged dangerously from behind her. Circling around Weiss like a shark, Yang leveled a predatory glare.

Nora circled counter to Yang. "Rather a bad time to confess now that we caught you red lipped, isn't it?"

Weiss involuntarily flinched and lifted her hand to softly brush her lips, now suddenly feeling very self-conscious.

"A-are you angry that we kept it from you?" Ruby asked nervously, finally sensing the hostility in the air. Her eyes shifted from Yang to Nora and back. "B-because it was all my idea!"

"Don't try to defend her, Ruby!" Yang barked.

"Oh, lay off, Yang," Blake chided with a small smirk. "Not like they were really being secretive about it or anything."

"You knew?!" Weiss nearly shrieked. "How?!"

The tiny twitches of her ribbon was the only answer.

"Urk!…" Weiss winced. What made her think that their nightly snuggles would have remained secret? Well, Ruby had wanted to keep quiet about everything and so Weiss had taken for granted that Ruby would have made sure Blake wouldn't have noticed.

To be fair and in retrospect, if Ruby's desires had been as hungry as Weiss', neither of them would have noticed nor cared if anyone else had been sleeping in the room.

Yang was also gaping slightly at Blake, meaning at least Yang was unaware - a small relief as Weiss realized what Blake had just implied.

"We'll talk about that later," Yang growled. "That's not the issue here."

"Then…" Weiss knew she was going to regret asking. "What is?"

Nora leaned in close with narrowed eyes. "Just how far have you gone with Ruby?"

"…"

"… EXCUSE ME?!" Weiss pitch reached record peaks, forcing everyone to cover their ears and Blake and Ruby to stagger where they stood.

Nora quickly recovered and shouted back, "How far have you gone with her?! Did you dirty her?! Does our innocent Ruby remain INNOCENT?!"

"Choose your next words wisely," Yang hefted a gauntlet and ran a thumb along the ammunition clip.

"We-we haven't done anything!" Weiss hissed back defensively. …But oh how you wished… a tiny voice whispered in her head and she had to fight a blush down. How many times have her hands nearly roamed across Ruby's gentle curves? How many times did her tongue desperately craved to taste Ruby?

Ruby shook off the ringing in her ears and darted to Weiss' side the moment she found her balance. She couldn't hear what they were talking about, but from their expressions, she could tell Weiss was not happy.

Her hand slipped into Weiss', their fingers entwining and Ruby felt the cool rush of warmth spreading up her arm and to her heart.

Lightly squeezing, she was rewarded when Weiss responded in kind. The agitation that swirled around Weiss dissipated and Ruby sighed in relief when she heard Weiss' heart steady once again.

With Weiss settled, Ruby focused on Yang and Nora. "I'm really sorry!" her head bowed in apology. "I told Weiss we should keep it a secret because I thought it would be fun and nice and I didn't know it would make you so upset so please don't be angry with Weiss because she did nothing wrong and-"

A soft pat on her head made her lift her gaze to find Pyrrha's gentle smile.

"Don't apologize, Ruby," she spoke kindly. "You and Weiss have done nothing wrong." She shot a glance to the two aggressors maintaining her perfect smile, daring them to disagree. "Right?"

"R-really?" Ruby looked back to Yang and Nora. "But you two looked really upset."

"I-we…" Yang sputtered as Ruby studied her with apprehension.

Forget Weiss' death glare. Forget Pyrrha's disapproving smile. One look into those shimmering silver eyes on the verge of tears and a cold grip extinguished the fire within Yang. Seeing Ruby like that… no, having Ruby look at her like that, Yang couldn't help but feel a twinge of fear. Not the fear of the apex predator, a more painful fear of los-…

"Gah!" Yang huffed irately. With one flick of her wrists, Ember Celica disengaged and she folded her arms across her chest. "We're… not really angry at Weiss," she gritted out truthfully.

Nora took that as her cue, slapping her cheeks several time before a beaming smile returned. Not a single trace of her earlier antagonizing demeanor could be found on her face.

"Wha-?" Weiss gaped incredulously at them. Jaune and Ren, who had been silent throughout the exchange alongside Penny, mirrored her expression.

"Ah~ we panicked and screwed up," Yang groaned. She spared Weiss a sidelong glance. "You know how it goes right? We were supposed to 'invite' you to a boxing match, and then I show you what happens when you take a match too lightly."

"I thought we were going to invite her to a game of croquet?" Nora pondered. "I even got my grenades ready~"

Her cavalier tone chilled the entire room.

…

"Okay, maybe it's a good thing we went with this instead," Yang admitted. She rubbed the back of her head, "We just… saw you like that and jumped into the protective big sis role."

Weiss folded her arms and huffed. "Well, that much I can understand," she grumbled.

"Oh really?" Yang perked up. "Then you know what happens next right?"

"Wha-"

Yang suddenly grabbed Weiss by her collar and hoisted the petite girl up. At that height, Weiss could barely place any weight on her tip-toes.

"I'll be nice and give you the short version of it, okay Weiss?" Yang grinned smugly. Her eyes flickered red for just a moment and she made sure Weiss noticed. "You've seen me cave through Grimm skulls and explode what's left. My punches can break through reinforced concrete and with Ember Celica, reduce a building to molten slag."

Her arms slackened and she unceremoniously dropped Weiss back down into her chair. She leaned down and patted Weiss' cheek twice with a condescending smirk. "I also know where you sleep," she finished cheesily.

When Yang backed off, Nora bounced up next. She leaned down just to be eye-level with Weiss and still carried a countenance of friendly amusement. She whispered lowly, "The femur is one of the strongest and hardest bones to break. It's also one of the most painful. You have two."

Weiss could only sit in in incredulous shock. How could they say that with a straight face?!

The worse part was that she knew they were being completely serious.

"Mmm!" Ruby pouted. "Stop being mean to Weiss!"

"Okay, okay!" Yang threw up her hands and chuckled. "We're done now if no one else has anything to say?"

"I think Weiss understands," Pyrrha quickly stated. Looking at Weiss, Pyrrha wasn't so sure she could handle another threat. One from either Yang or Nora was bad enough.

"Cool~" Yang grinned. "Come on, Ruby, let's grab some dinner," she invited.

Ruby's stomach picked that moment to rumble, but she glanced back worriedly at Weiss who was just starting to shake the shock off.

Weiss must have noticed, because she simply waved to urge Ruby. "I'll be fine. I just need a moment to recollect myself."

After assuring that she will join them once she was ready, Ruby agreed to leave first with Yang and the others. While team JNPR needed to head back to their room first and would also join later, Penny squealed and gave Ruby a tight hug, lavishing congratulations upon her.

As their voices trailed away, Weiss heard Yang and Penny asking Ruby for the details of their new relationship. Weiss could only pray that Ruby wouldn't say anything too incriminating.

Sighing once more, Weiss noticed that Blake had remained in the room with her.

"You okay?" Blake asked in a leveled tone.

"Can't say I wasn't expecting something like that," Weiss admitted. She had, in truth, been mentally preparing for what would happen once her relationship with Ruby had come to light. The whole debacle had been an unorganized mess though. The mood wasn't set at all and couldn't stay serious for more than three minutes.

But… Weiss was a bit happy at how it had all turned out. Death threats aside, all of them had been fairly accepting. No teasing. No taunts. Just… a warning- no, a promise of what awaited her if she hurt Ruby.

She hadn't expected anything less.

Blake neared her and placed a calming hand on her shoulder. "Weiss, please be careful."

"I know, I know," Weiss sighed. "If I make Ruby cry or anything of the sort, you'll string me up and do unspeakable torture before handing me to Yang." She managed a self-deprecating smile. "Only if I don't run myself through with Myrtenaster first," she half-joked.

"That's not what I meant," Blake spoke slowly, kneeling down to look directly at Weiss. "I know you would never intentionally hurt Ruby.

"And I know Ruby would never intentionally hurt you but…" Blake trailed off for a moment. "I think Ruby is too young... too inexperienced. And she might do something, unaware that it makes you exasperated or upset or hurt."

"What are you-?" Weiss couldn't place the look Blake was giving her. Soft and kind yet…

"If that happens, please talk to her. To us," Blake's words were more of a plea than anything else. "Yang said all of that but… she really cares and wouldn't want you to be hurt either, Weiss."

…

…

The silence stretched between them as Weiss processed Blake's words.

Worry. Genuine. Acceptance. Support.

Weiss could feel her eyes dampening. Just how did she find such caring friends?

Dinner had been fun while Yang grilled Ruby for details. Ruby didn't have much to say. True to Weiss' words, they hadn't really gone any further than kissing. And even that was so chaste and pure that Yang felt embarrassed just listening to it!

At the same time, she was happy that Weiss was respecting Ruby's boundaries. Silliness and intimidation aside, Yang had truly believed everything Weiss and Ruby had said. If Ruby said the secrecy was her idea, then it was. Not because it meant they were doing anything bad; Yang trusted that Weiss had her reasons for agreeing.

Still, being a big sister meant certain obligations had to be fulfilled. She certainly wasn't going to stand in the way of their relationship though.

Remembering the look Ruby had given her sent chills into her core. Sadness, disappointment. Just like when-

Yang shook her head.

By now, dinner was over and they were heading back. In the middle of the corridor, her scroll rang and she flicked it open to see the caller id.

"Hey, you two head back first okay?" she said distractedly to Ruby and Penny. The two were ladened with plates of food and drinks since Weiss and Blake ended up not joining them. "I need to go meet up with someone."

Lightly ruffling Ruby's hair, Yang turned the next corner and checked her scroll again.

"…the roof?" Yang quirked an eyebrow but nonetheless made haste.

…

Upon arriving though, Yang didn't see anyone. The moon above her shone in its broken grandeur, bathing everything in a pale light and casting long bleak shadows.

Looking at the message to make sure she had the location right, she clicked her tongue. "Calling me out and then being late?"

With nothing else to do, she started skimming through what she had on her scroll, looking for anything of interest.

"… seen it, seen it, seen it," she muttered while swiping through funny images and videos she had collected. Her finger stopped on a file she barely recalled.

Grimm Movements?

Without anything better to do, Yang opened the file and started reading.

"What the…?"

Detailed analyses of Grimm migration patterns. Maps depicting hotspots where record number of Grimm had accumulated. Projections of where they were coming from and where they were going.

A summer migration had occurred and the Grimm seemed to be pulled North towards Atlas. But… Yang hadn't noticed anything out of the ordinary when they were there. Of course, more important things were on her mind and she grimaced at the memories of Weiss' father, but still. Wouldn't anyone have noticed anything?

But as she read, a name stood out to her. The one who surveyed these areas...

"…!"

Before another thought could form, Yang felt the cold edge of steel on her neck. Her eyes widened shock and she couldn't move in fear of being decapitated.

"Are you always this open?" a void drawled from behind her.

Carefully turning around, Yang put away her scroll and glared as hard as she could, "Uncle Qrow."

"Heh," the grizzled man snorted and withdrew his weapon with a flourish. After carefully tucking it away behind him, he opened his arms in an expectant hug.

Yang stepped forward. And punched his shoulder as hard as she could.

"Yow! That's how you treat your uncle when he finally got some time off to visit you?!" he complained loudly.

"Oh grow up," Yang half-scowled with her hands on her hips. "What if you had accidentally cut my hair?"

"Pretty sure I wouldn't be holding a weapon ever again," he muttered.

…

Leaning against a wall, they both looked to the night sky.

Small pleasantries were exchanged. Idle and inane. They both asked how the other was doing, if anything fun or interesting had happened.

Yang usually enjoyed the stories her uncle told. Cool ones where he fought off hordes of Grimm or infiltrated super-secret bases. She also lightly smacked him whenever he veered off into one of his drunken or flirty tales.

Now though, Yang had some amazing stories of her own to tell. Her uncle listened and laughed along with her, but he also lightly scolded her on some of the riskier actions they have taken. In particular…

"That is exactly why you don't go against Goodwitch's commands," he spoke sternly when Yang told him of how she almost plunged into the forest to find her leader. "Her lectures can actually shave years off your life."

"Speaking from experience?"

"Why do think my hair is all grey now?" he grinned devilishly.

"Admit it, you just can't keep out of trouble," she scoffed. "Speaking of which…"

She narrowed her eyes at him. "You've already met Ruby, haven't you?"

He remained impassive. "Why do you think that?"

"A couple of days ago, Ruby was talking about how some 'rude man' was insulting Weiss and Winter. Slurred speech, staggered around like he was about to fall over but had impeccable balance."

"Sounds like that could be just about anyone."

Yang gave him a deadpanned look. "Scraggy stubble and a ratty cape."

"Okay, you got me," he threw up his hands in defeat. He could only chuckle when Yang started muttering about his earlier 'finally got some time off' lie.

"Look," she sighed. "Just… tone it down with the rudeness, okay?" Her gaze returned to the stars above. "I don't want her to think I'm related to a jerk. I… want to be like a big sister to her…"

"…" Qrow simply remained quiet before whispering, "…more than you probably know…"

"You say something?"

"…Nothing." Qrow pushed himself off the wall and turned to face Yang fully. "Anyways! About why I called you here!"

Yang nearly flinched when she looked over. She recognized that grin. His grin only promised trouble.

"Guess who got special permission to bring you and your team along on my next job?"

Extra:

Events that did not make it into this draft. So maybe non-canonical in this context. But maybe a little funny.

…

"Look," she sighed. "Just… tone it down with the rudeness, okay?" Her gaze returned to the stars above. "I don't want her to think I'm related to a jerk. I… want to be like a big sister to her…"

"…" Qrow simply remained quiet before whispering, "…more than you probably know…"

"What?" Yang cocked her head with a smirk. "That you're a jerk? Yeah, I already knew that. That's why I want to keep it a secret."

"Man you're sassy tonight," Qrow complained. "Did Tai teach you? Or did the Schnee start to rub off on you?"

Yang shrugged. "I only learned from the best." She leveled a condescending look at her mentor.

…

As team JNPR turned in for the night, Pyrrha quietly approached Jaune.

"Hey," she called out softly to his back. "You going to be okay?"

"Hmm?" he turned to look at her. "Yeah? What do you mean?"

"I mean…" Pyrrha hesitated and couldn't meet his gaze for a moment. "About Ruby and… Weiss. Are you okay with them… together?"

Jaune thought for a moment before he suddenly remembered. "Oh yeah…"

Back before the initiation, he… sort of flirted with Weiss. Not one of his proudest moments, he had to admit. She had made it quite clear that she was not interested and that he was out of his league.

And in the following days, they were all focused on becoming hunters and huntresses. With his confidence issues and everything that happened afterwards including Pyrrha personally training him, he hadn't any chance of pursuing Weiss. …Though… that might have been for the best. Had he continued, wouldn't he have just annoyed her?

He rubbed his head sheepishly. "Ah, that was… just a crush I guess," he chuckled. "Besides!" he cast a soft, almost forlorn look in the direction of RWBY's room. "When you see those two together, they look so happy!" his smile was genuine as were his words. "Doesn't that make you want to cheer them on too?"

"Oh Jaune," Pyrrha smiled softly and ruffled his hair.

…

Yang wanted to confirm Weiss' intentions towards Ruby, but she didn't want her little sister to have to see this. So she quickly guided Ruby out of the room along with everyone else and told Nora, "Make her…uncomfortable."

Nora saluted and the moment the door slammed shut, she walked over to Weiss with an evil smile. Yang will probably want to hear what Weiss has to say for herself. So all she had to do was make Weiss sweat for a bit.

"W-what are you going to do?" Weiss stammered, a bit worried that she had no witnesses to help restrain the valkyrie.

"I just want to ask you a few questions," Nora stated simply.

"Okay…." Weiss clearly did not believe her.

"Ahem!" Nora cleared her throat.

And suddenly leaned in close to Weiss. "Have you done it?"

"Wha-?"

"Did you push her love button?! Did you kiss with both lips?!"

"I-"

"Did you engage in some heavy petting?!"

"!"

"Did you spread her petals?! Did you taste her nectar?!"

With every phrase, Weiss grew more and more red.

"Did you make her your butter dog?!"

"Nora! Please stop!" Weiss pleaded.

"DID YOU BOOP?!"

The interrogation lasted long into the night. And Weiss' mind was broken from embarrassment by the time Ruby found her again.

Bad End.

Two years since this story was first posted and I think we've all grown a bit. It took this long for Ruby and Weiss to clear their relationship to everyone? Haha~ I can only imagine what the future may hold.



Thank you once again. I don't know how long this story may run, but please continue supporting this story and I into the future.

Please leave a comment or review, and I'll see you next chapter~