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Chapter Text

Sneaking away from her father’s entourage had been easier than she thought. It was a good thing for Weiss that her favorite servant Klein had come along for this journey, and not just for his knack for brewing the best tea or procuring the best sweets for her. He had helped the princess avoid detection as she donned a cloak and slipped away under cover of the late hour and the dark sky, with only the moon and stars as witness to her betrayal.

That was a strong word, betrayal. More like defiance of her father’s wishes. Yes, much better.

Keeping the hood pulled low and close to her face, Weiss had to move about in a manner most foreign to her: secretive and without drawing attention to herself. This was tricky as she was used to being paraded about or throwing around her weight due to her title, and it certainly did not help that her distinctive fair skin and snow white hair made her stand out in almost any crowd, to say nothing of her fine clothing. Nevertheless, she had donned a somewhat simpler garment along with a dark cloak that one might presume to be the garb of a cleric or a shady figure best left alone. For Weiss’s sake, she hoped the latter image came off stronger so as not to attract attention from superstitious fools seeking a blessing for this reason or that.

Approaching the encampment, Weiss wove her way past the tents and the stables, searching for one particular person. She had been following a certain knight with great interest, seeking what information she could about the warrior’s exploits as well as her performance in the tournament circuit. She wished that had been the reason she had come to this tournament, rather than the uncomfortable fact that her father just wanted to enrich himself and select some man to pair with his daughter. Typical royal behavior, making matches either for political gain or to secure more lands and wealth with little regard for how the women involved felt. Weiss knew this; she was painfully aware that was the reason why her father married her mother, after all - to usurp the family name and boost his own status among the courts of Europe.

Shaking her head, Weiss turned her attention back to what spurred her here tonight. Yes, her. The fast-rising warrior from the distant city of Argos, a place with ancient history and purportedly customs different from what Weiss was used to. It was strange having a knight from so far away competing in tournaments in Flanders, Burgundy, France, and the various principalities of the Rhine Valley. There was even a rumor that this warrior once ventured as far as England to compete - and only after having gone to Ireland or Scotland to lend her sword against the English. Perhaps not too surprising for a knight to be such a bold mercenary, although how such a warrior could travel so far and avoid capture by her rivals was a true mystery.

There were many things that Weiss wanted to know about this warrior legend. But first, she had to find her.

When Weiss found the tent she was looking for, she slipped inside with a smile on her face. But that smile faded when she saw no one else inside. Her eyes, however, widened in awe of what else lay within. Aside from the rich reds and golds of the tent, there was an assortment of artifacts that looked rather ancient, various trophies and proclamations from monarchs and nobles, and a selection of food that consisted of grapes and figs and a cask of wine. Or at least, Weiss assumed it was wine. Against one wall stood a shield that was round and smaller than the ones Weiss was used to seeing, and beside it stood an array of spears and swords.

Except one sword was missing. The sword that found itself suddenly at Weiss’s neck as her wrist was held tightly behind her back. She gasped, freezing up, mind already racing at the prospect of what would happen if she were abducted, ransomed, or other worse…

“For an assassin, you’re going to have to try harder than that.”

And now Weiss gasped for a different reason. That voice… she didn’t quite know it from direct experience, but the cadence and the quality…

Its owner moved around to face her, and Weiss remained still as the point of the short sword moved to flip back her hood. She looked up and her heart skipped a beat or two. Or three. It was her.

Pyrrha of House Nikos, Champion of Argos and of the Mistrali Order of the East. Her victories in combat were already the stuff of legend, both in the tournament circuit and on the battlefield. While her time in war had thus far been brief, it was known that Pyrrha fought with a code of honor which was often lacking in the chaos of the age. She was young, not much older than Weiss, and yet she seemed to tower over the princess with a frame that looked easily twice her size, with olive skin that glowed in the firelight and vivid red hair tied back in a long ponytail that complimented her personal collection. But the eyes were such a shade of green, it made Weiss nearly buckle in the knees…

Wait, why was Pyrrha falling to her knees?

Having realized the moment she removed the hood that the would-be assassin was in fact a princess - and a Schnee, no less - Pyrrha’s gaze shifted immediately. Her brilliant green eyes widened, mouth opening in shock, and the next thing Weiss knew, the great warrior woman was falling to one knee to apologize.

“I’m so sorry! My sincerest apologies, your highness.”

“No!” Weiss forced the word out, hands outstretched as if she could somehow undo what had just transpired. “No, no. It’s fine. I was… it was unwise of me to enter your private quarters like this.”

Pyrrha looked up, a little amazed at having a royal be so forthcoming for a change. When Weiss gestured with her hand for her to stand, Pyrrha did not need telling twice. Rising to her full height, she remarked, “Sneaking into my tent is a strange way to get my attention.”

“Strange as it may seem, this was far easier than trying to speak to you during the tournament.”

Eyebrow raised, Pyrrha kept her gaze on the princess as she moved to return her sword to the rack. “If you wish to speak, then speak.”

Now that she was here and in the presence of the warrior of her dreams, Weiss suddenly felt a bit tongue-tied. Oh, she had many things to say, but where to start? The view of Pyrrha’s bare arms and the thin tunic that covered her broad shoulders and chest didn’t help at all. Willing her mouth to work, Weiss forced out an apology of sorts. “I’m sorry to disturb you like this. I’m not here for business.”

“Unusual as I’m accustomed to royals seeking my services or to become patrons for the tournaments in the hope of profiting from my name.” Pyrrha’s gaze was skeptical and a bit guarded. Weiss couldn’t exactly fault her. “Your father sent you to do his bidding?”

Hands clenched into fists around the fabric of her cloak, Weiss averted her gaze as she ground out, “He doesn’t know I’m here, and I intend to keep it that way.”

As the weight of those words settled into the space between the knight and the princess, Pyrrha’s face changed once more. The guarded expression melted away into one of sympathy, and even her shoulders relaxed as she let loose the tension that was second nature to her by now. For a princess to sneak out like this with the intent of avoiding her father finding out, and judging by how Weiss’s face was a mix of disgust and perhaps fear, Pyrrha could safely assume it was best not to press the subject. She knew enough of the man and his arrogance to have an already unfavorable opinion, though she had withheld judgment of the daughter until now. Mostly, she figured that Weiss wasn’t all that different. Perhaps she was wrong.

A feeling of deja vu was settling in… to be judged by others while never knowing the person behind the facade.

“Come, sit.” Pyrrha gestured over to a couple of chairs that were quite intricately crafted and decorated despite their modest size. Weiss took a seat in one, but Pyrrha opted to sit on her bed adorned with silken sheets. There was no question that she was amply compensated for her efforts, whether in battle or in the tournaments, nor was there any doubt that she had an eye for the finer things in life. It made Weiss’s heart flutter a little.

As Pyrrha prepared to pour a cup, Weiss sat up a little straighter. “Oh, I don’t drink.”

Pyrrha eyed her as she filled a goblet with something that was certainly not wine. “You don’t drink water?”

“Uh, I meant, I don’t drink wine.” Weiss’s cheeks burned at having reacted so quickly over nothing, accepting the goblet and ducking her face as she took a sip.

“It’s okay, I rarely drink wine myself,” Pyrrha said in a comforting tone. “Mostly it’s best for me to keep a clear head and not be intoxicated, but also I prefer wines that are seldom found in these areas. Seems that most people here prefer mead or beer, and I can’t say I’ve ever found them to be terribly appealing.”

“I know what you mean.” Weiss wrinkled her nose; the sight and smell of folks drowning in such cheap alcohol made her highly uncomfortable, though not nearly as much as watching fellow royals become inebriated to excess. “My mother has been… lost in the wine cellar for some time now, if you catch my meaning.”

Pyrrha blinked and slowly nodded in understanding. “I’m sorry. That must be very difficult to live with.”

Weiss sighed. “Just another casualty of my father’s ego.”

Offering the bowl of grapes, Pyrrha asked, “I hope that these are to your liking, at least.”

It felt odd to have someone so famous, so strong, so… her offering such a thing to Weiss. A servant could do the job and no one would blink an eye. Why did this bother her? Was it because she felt unworthy of being in the presence of such a warrior, much less to be served food and drink by said warrior? How silly. Then again, it wasn’t like the others who tried to dote on Weiss ever drew her attention for very long; it was always so easy to see through the gestures and flattery, knowing they only wanted the titles or wealth or more.

Pyrrha was different, though. Truly a woman of honor, she just saw Weiss as another guest in her tent. A rather beautiful one, to be sure, but a guest all the same.

Accepting the proffered fruit, Weiss took a grape and was surprised at how sweet and juicy it tasted. She quickly took another and another as Pyrrha took a fig for herself and watched idly.

After a few moments had passed, Pyrrha spoke up. “Do you come to tournaments often? Or visit the knights in this manner?”

Weiss felt her cheeks get warmer. “Um, no, this is my first time getting away from my father long enough to do my own thing. Normally when I see knights, they visit us. We have been fairly involved in the tournaments in this region.”

Pyrrha nodded. “Your family name certainly precedes you.”

“I trust that is not in a flattering manner.”

“Well, no,” Pyrrha confessed with a look that Weiss could only think to describe as bashful. How can she look that cute? “I mostly hear about your father, though I was aware of you, if only in the general sense.”

Weiss sat up. “And what do you think of me now?”

Lowering her goblet, Pyrrha took a good long look as if attempting to read Weiss’s history in her features. It might have been unnerving had it been anyone else, but being Pyrrha made it strangely thrilling. Weiss had hoped to get her attention, and now she had it. For her and her alone.

“I see someone who might yearn for more than the confines of her royal life. Someone who might not be as cold as the rumors make her out to be. And perhaps…” Pyrrha mulled over her next words, knowing they would reveal as much about herself as she wanted to see in Weiss. “Someone who wants to be more than a name.”

Weiss’s breath caught in her throat. For a woman who just met her face to face, Pyrrha was incredibly perceptive or just very lucky. But Weiss preferred the former option. It was clear that Pyrrha was quite intelligent; she had to be considering her skill in combat that was more than just raw strength. Being able to see that much in Weiss… it felt like…

Destiny was perhaps a strong word, and Weiss wasn’t a big believer in fate. But here and now… what was the harm in wanting to believe, even if only for one night?

“Do you believe in destiny?” Weiss wasn’t sure why those words came out of her mouth, but her brain hadn’t yet caught up to stop them.

Pyrrha didn’t hesitate. “Yes, I do, but not as a preordained fate we can’t escape. Rather, it’s a goal that we strive for.”

Weiss tilted her head. “Really?”

Pyrrha nodded. “Wouldn’t you rather believe that we can control the outcome of our lives than resign to a mysterious, possibly nonexistent force dictating what becomes of us?”

“Very much so,” Weiss agreed without a second thought. And then, an intriguing idea came to her. A bit bold, but it would mean taking control of her own destiny, and that alone was tempting enough.

“I have but one request for you, Pyrrha.”

The seriousness of the tone caused the knight to sit up, a hint of worry in her eyes at what was to come.

“When you next fight in the arena, fight for me.” Weiss had to struggle to keep herself regally composed and not let out the giddy side that was dying to make itself known.

Pyrrha blinked. “I’m sorry?”

“Fight for me, please.”

Pyrrha started to shake her head. “I’m sorry, but I don’t fight for other houses or their lords.”

Realizing her mistake, Weiss scrambled out of her chair to kneel before Pyrrha, clasping her hands around one of the knight’s and forcing herself to ignore how much bigger that hand was. “Not for my name, not for him. For ME. Just for me. And if not that, then for my honor. I beg you.”

It stunned Pyrrha to see a princess on her knees pleading like this before her. As the words worked through her brain, she began to grasp the full implications of what Weiss wanted. And truth be told, it was a bit terrifying.

“If I did this… if I fought for you, what would you have me do?”

Weiss had an incredulous look as if it were obvious. “Fight and win.”

“No, beyond that. What would fighting and winning in your name do for you? Would you have me take your hand, knowing what your father will surely think? Steal you away from your home?”

“Is that so bad?” Weiss responded, the desperation seeping into her voice. “I care not what he will think, only the satisfaction that he will be furious and I will be far away from him. I know you are a warrior of honor and a fearsome one at that. So please, honor my one request and take me away from here.”

The way those blue eyes shone as tears began to form tugged at Pyrrha’s heartstrings. She cared deeply and longed to help anyone she could, and this moment was no exception. It just hurt her to know that she couldn’t fully guarantee the safety of this princess. But if Weiss was so willing to sacrifice so much just to be in her company, then perhaps…

Pyrrha laid her hand over Weiss’s smaller, delicate ones still clasping her other hand. “You have my word. Tomorrow, I shall fight for you, Weiss of House Schnee, and if necessary, whisk you to safety wherever you wish.”

For the first time in perhaps forever, Weiss felt her heart soar. This was it, her chance to leave her lonely world and be with someone who might truly care for her.

Triumphant. Flawless. Victorious.

And when the dust settled and the crowds cheered her name, Pyrrha wasted no time spiriting the lovestruck princess away, with Weiss gripping tightly to her chest as they rode into the countryside and to a new life together.

Chapter Text

Down the hall, past the throngs of adoring, screaming fans. Make sure no one gets too close to her. Keep your suit sharp and clean. Try not to look like you’re lurking even though it’s your job. Always be ready for anything. Get her to the car and follow in after her.

Such was the routine of Pyrrha Nikos, the personal bodyguard of popstar sensation Weiss Schnee.

The small woman had rocketed to the top of the charts with her incredible vocals and heartfelt if often dramatic performances. Weiss had the benefit of growing up in one of the most privileged families in the world and it often showed, but she still had natural talent that at times could overshadow her practically aristocratic upbringing. She sang of her troubled home life, rarely holding back about the burdens of living under her now late father, but she also sang about other things like seeking love and exploring herself.

Oh how Pyrrha yearned to help in that exploration.

No, no, stay focused. She had a job to do, and she was going to do it perfectly. That’s what she’d been hired to do. The fact that Pyrrha was very much bisexual and had a thing for girls who were smaller than her - easy enough to find when she stood at 6 foot 4 with broad shoulders and a sculpted physique in addition to her curves - that was beside the point. And even if she wanted to risk the notion, she wasn’t exactly the best at conveying her own romantic desires.

They got into the limo, with Weiss entering first and Pyrrha following and closing the door behind her.

“Go.”

Same as always. Once they were both in the car, Pyrrha signaled to the driver, Yang, to get them away from the mobs of overly enthusiastic fans. Thank the gods it was just fans and not anything more dangerous. True, there had been a few tense moments in the time Pyrrha had been a bodyguard for Weiss, but they always were resolved fairly well. It was a good thing that the woman’s elder sister, Winter, had agreed to step up as manager for her own label, ensuring that Weiss would retain full control over her music and never deal with greedy executives looking to exploit her status. Another perk of her background, but a helpful one.

They had scarcely pulled out of view of the stadium when Pyrrha was pulled from her thoughts by the sound of Weiss sighing. Reflexively, she turned to look. She always did, just in case something was wrong. Usually there was nothing serious, but one could never be too careful in this line of work. Weiss stretched out, removing the outer garment she had worn once the concert had concluded and she needed to make her exit. Pyrrha was used to things like this, yet it never changed how her gaze lingered or her fingers clenched against her palms or her heart beat just a little faster. There was no denying that Weiss was a gorgeous woman, and Pyrrha was one of the lucky few to see her like this.

“Knock ‘em dead, princess?” Yang spoke from the front of the limo.

“I don’t know why you keep asking me that, Yang,” Weiss replied in a tired voice. “They somehow seem even more alive every time I’m done.”

“It’s just an expression, sheesh.”

Rolling her eyes fondly, Weiss slipped into her fresh change of clothes that she had ready in the car. Another routine: have a spare set of clothes on hand for when she leaves her concerts, especially if she wants to do something off schedule.

Anticipating what would come next, Pyrrha reached over to the mini bar and poured a glass of water and offered it to Weiss. The popstar accepted the glass but didn’t drink.

“Is something wrong?” Pyrrha wondered if she had made a mistake trying to anticipate what Weiss would need.

Rather than answer directly, Weiss slid over to pour another glass which she gave to her bodyguard. “You know you can relax while we’re in here, right?”

“I…” Pyrrha knew that, but her job demanded her to always be vigilant. And even if she could relax, it was safer to focus on being a bodyguard than to get lost in her thoughts about the woman she was supposed to protect at all hours. Still, she accepted the glass. “Yes, you’re right.”

With Weiss’s gaze still fixed on her, Pyrrha forced herself to relax as best she could. Easier said than done while wearing a suit inside a fairly cramped space, but she at least let her shoulders drop a bit and leaned back into her seat. And when she took a sip, it hit her how thirsty she actually was. She’d been so focused on Weiss that she had neglected to notice how dry she felt. How embarrassing. Still, she drained half the glass in one go.

“It must be tiring to always be on alert while wearing a full suit,” Weiss mused as she leaned forward in her seat, her water glass in between her hands.

Pyrrha put on a polite smile. “It’s fine, really.”

“Pyrrha.”

The smile vanished. Weiss was giving her the glare - well, more the stern look than the glare. Right, need to relax. Why was this so hard? “Sorry… it’s something I’m used to by now, but it can be pretty demanding. Not that I mind, of course.”

“I’m not looking to replace you, so please take it easy.” Weiss was being unusually perceptive or persistent tonight. What was going on? “You do a fantastic job, but you’re always so tense.”

After a moment, Pyrrha sighed. A genuine sigh, like the weight that she carried across her shoulders finally slid off. “When Glynda told me I would be assigned to you, I was so excited and so scared.”

“Why?”

“Because it was my first job. I never assumed it would stretch out this long or become permanent, that I would earn your trust so completely. I couldn’t help but wonder if you would even care about my name when we first met, so imagine my surprise when you addressed me by name and approached with such energy. You looked nothing like the stories I’d seen and heard, even the ones about your budding music career. And the way you…” Pyrrha stopped, unsure if she was crossing a line by going this far, afraid of what might come out if she kept going. It wasn’t exactly a hard and fast rule that people like her should never catch feelings on the job, but she was intelligent enough to know the risks associated with falling for the boss. And no matter what she felt, she had to…

“Pyrrha.”

She nearly jumped at the contact when Weiss touched her hand. Yeah, she really needed to unwind a little.

“I told you then that I would trust you with my life, and I stand by that now. For what it’s worth…” Weiss glanced away, chewing on her bottom lip as Pyrrha waited, trying desperately to will her body to relax just for one second. “I’ve always found you to be pretty. I think… when you first walked into my room that day, I realized at that moment that I could like women. Maybe I already knew that, but seeing you really brought it out. And thanks to you, I’ve been free to explore a side of myself I never considered possible, both for my music and for my own happiness.”

Pyrrha’s breath was lodged in her throat. When she remembered to breathe, she blinked and looked down to make sure the small hand was still there, laid over hers. She turned her hand over to gently take it and marveled at how readily Weiss’s fingers curled into her. Then she dared to look back up.

“I guess… you’re the type of woman I want to be with. And not just in a professional manner.” She couldn’t help herself. With how Weiss was looking at her, Pyrrha felt the need to get the words out before they ended up locked back inside the box that she stored away in the corner of her heart. Her fears of losing her job were far behind her now; there was no way she would get fired at this point, not after what Weiss had said. Not after being by her side for this long.

“Even if I shouldn’t.”

“And why not?” Weiss raised an eyebrow. Notably, she did not remove her hand.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Pyrrha continued. “I’m your bodyguard.”

“You are my friend,” Weiss corrected her. “A bodyguard, yes, but you’re more than that, and frankly, I’ve been hoping for more for some time.”

Pyrrha blinked. “I… sorry?”

Glancing up toward the front of the limo as if Yang would suddenly turn around to eavesdrop on their conversation, Weiss leaned in closer - much too close. “You have no idea how badly I wanted to climb you the first night you escorted me out in public.”

Now her heart was hammering in her chest. Some of Pyrrha’s dreams seemed to be coming true and it was dizzying. Oh the things she wanted to say…

Her traitorous stomach interrupted all of that, however. The way it growled loudly caught both bodyguard and popstar off guard. Pyrrha was on a roll tonight: letting herself get a tad dehydrated; inadvertently confessing feelings to her boss; and now she was starving.

“Please tell me you ate something during the concert.”

Pyrrha glanced around awkwardly. “I… had a protein shake?”

Weiss groaned. “Okay, what do you want to eat? And where?”

“Weiss, I-”

“My ride, my money, my rules.” Weiss put on that tone where she was determined to get her way, not in a snobbish manner but one who had learned defiance from a young age and was used to having to fight. For her small stature, she had an unnerving ability to make Pyrrha feel quite embarrassed.

As her stomach rumbled again, Pyrrha racked her brain for any good options. She knew what sort of food she would love to have, but the question was whether they could find it at this hour. She thought about the city they were currently in, what she remembered from studying the maps…

“Well?”

“I could go for a gyro,” Pyrrha blurted out, before adding in a sheepish tone, “And some fries. And maybe baklava.” Her inner Greek demanded savory satisfaction.

“Yang!” Weiss turned her head toward the front. “Take us to any restaurant that serves Greek food.”

“At this hour, you might have to rely on a street cart,” Yang replied as she made a turn.

“Then find us a street vendor if you must, but Pyrrha and I need a late night dinner.”

“On it!”

Fortunately, Yang had a pretty good idea where to find a few street carts or food trucks in this city, having spent a bit of time partying in the area long ago and thus needing to know what late night options there were when one got hungry. It didn’t take too long to reach a block where a truck was camped out serving up Greek gyros and baklava.

Once the car was parked, Pyrrha got out to scope the area out of habit. No one around, thank goodness, save for a few people walking around across the street at a safe distance. She really didn’t want to deal with rambunctious fans at the moment, not when she was starving and could smell the savory scent of shawarma.

“Is it safe?” Weiss asked from behind her.

Pyrrha recognized the tone of her voice, one that was more teasing than serious. She smiled as she stood beside the door to make room. Then before she could think better of it, she offered her hand. “Yes, all clear.”

Weiss graciously accepted the hand and got out of the limo with typical poise, despite her fairly ordinary looking attire. Well, ordinary by her standards. Pyrrha was certain that the price tag on those clothes easily reached triple digits.

She had to admit, there was something very amusing at the thought of what others would see if they witnessed them right now: a tall, well-built redhead in a fine tailored suit, escorting a small woman dressed in modest clothing, getting out of a fancy limo on a random city block just to grab some gyros. And the fact that Yang had chosen to join them only added to the comedy in Pyrrha’s mind, for the buff blonde also cut an impressive figure at 6 foot 2 and a chest as broad as her own, though definitely more endowed. Her suit wasn’t quite as nice looking but it still made for a funny sight having two big women in suits flanking this smaller woman who practically reeked of money. That’s what Pyrrha assumed as they approached the street truck.

The people working the truck didn’t seem to care who was standing before them at this hour - either that or they didn’t make a show of knowing who was paying. Pyrrha asked for a beef gyro and fries, then added an order of falafel salad with a sheepish smile. Yang asked for a beef gyro and fries as well. Weiss finished with three drinks and some baklava, catching Pyrrha off guard.

“You don’t want anything?”

“I thought we might share some food,” Weiss replied as she paid with her card. “Since you’re getting so much and I’m paying, perhaps I could have a little?”

Was this her way of taking her bodyguard out on a date? Pyrrha felt silly wondering if that might be the case, and yet she felt strangely hopeful tonight. “I’d be happy to oblige.”

“Then it’s a date!” Weiss beamed up at her as she offered one of the cold sodas.

A date. This is a date. The concept ran around Pyrrha’s brain as they took a seat along the curb near the limo. There wasn’t any good seating close by, and it was better to stay near the car just in case. But there was also something sweet about seeing Weiss be okay with such a humble appearance, taking the time to just sit on the ground beside her bodyguard like they were just young lovers getting to know each other. In a way, they were, but they had known each other for a couple years by now, and in some ways Pyrrha knew an awful lot about Weiss. Perhaps that was the reason why Weiss was making that move tonight… the realization of feelings possibly being shared and wanting her guard to know that it was okay to feel them.

Yang had the good sense to give them some space, taking it upon herself to grab all the food when it was ready, and even going to the trouble of shooing away a couple of onlookers who recognized the white haired popstar from a distance. Pyrrha didn’t even feel that bad about letting Yang do that for her; she was much too focused on savoring this moment - and the food.

She really had been starving. As soon as she had her gyro in her hands, Pyrrha took a huge bite followed by another. She even took a hearty swig of her drink, unusual as she rarely drank soda because of the physical regimen that her job demanded. Still, the carbonated beverage tasted great along with the hot beef and familiar tzatziki sauce coursing down her throat. She did all she could to avoid getting any mess on her suit, though her hands got very messy regardless. It made Weiss giggle to watch her big buff bodyguard struggle at one point to figure out where to put down her gyro so she could dig into her falafel. While Weiss was content to leave the gyro to Pyrrha, she helped herself to the falafel salad and the fries. She wasn’t as hungry but the food still tasted amazing. Pyrrha even surprised Weiss by saving a bite of gyro for her, laughing as the smaller woman had to lean forward to get it all in without spilling any on her clothes.

When they got around to the baklava, Weiss picked up a piece and held it up for Pyrrha, who graciously accepted with a bite. The bodyguard even went so far as to eat the whole piece, being careful to not bite Weiss’s fingers as she did so. Then she returned the favor, and was stunned when Weiss licked one of her fingers clean.

It was a good thing they were in the dark. If they had been directly under a streetlight or even in the limo, it would be very obvious that Pyrrha’s face looked as red as she felt in that moment. And when they got back into the car and drove on to the hotel, Pyrrha felt that same feeling of warmth as Weiss leaned against her and snuggled in close.

She did not hesitate one bit to carry the tired popstar inside, safe and secure in her arms, heart bursting with pride at being her bodyguard - and her girlfriend.

Chapter Text

There were a lot of Grimm that day.

It was supposed to be a straightforward mission: head into the Forest of Forever Fall, follow the train tracks, and see what is going on with all the weird Grimm in the area. After what had transpired in the Emerald Forest and Mountain Glenn, Teams RWBY and JNPR were really putting in extra effort to determine why the Grimm seemed to be more prevalent and more… bizarre.

At least the extended mission was providing Weiss and Pyrrha a chance to put their coordination training into practice.

What started as an excuse for Weiss to spend time with her idol Pyrrha had turned into a series of trainings for the two of them to learn each other’s combat styles - and for Weiss to work on her Aura. It was clear that Pyrrha was not only quite strong but also had a considerable amount of Aura, no doubt thanks to her years of training in the Mistral tournament circuit. Weiss on the other hand was something of a “glass cannon” - a phrase mentioned by Yang and seized upon by Nora much to Weiss’s annoyance.

But there was truth to the claim. Although her glyphs could produce some powerful effects and give her a special edge in combat, Weiss herself wasn’t that resilient, especially when an opponent got in close. As Winter once told her, her Aura levels could protect her from one or two direct attacks and not much more. Weiss knew she had to train more and boost her Aura with time and dedication, but it still bugged her to know that she couldn’t take the hits, so to speak.

Ruby was about her size yet her Aura seemed a bit more durable, though Ruby’s reckless behavior led Weiss to wonder if her Aura really was that much better. Yang was the walking embodiment of Aura tank: taking all the hits so she could dish it back with interest. And Blake… well, she seemed to be more resilient as well, probably thanks to her time training on the road with the White Fang. Nora seemed capable of taking the hits, Ren was a tad softer but still agile enough like Blake, and Jaune…

Anyway, Pyrrha.

She wasn’t a tank like Yang, but Pyrrha clearly could withstand the blows just as well. That is, when she actually allowed someone or something to hit her. It was one of the many things Weiss admired about the big tall redhead: despite her size and power, she was still graceful in combat. It wasn’t quite the elegant dance of Weiss, but there was a similarity there, and Weiss so badly wanted to be the dance partner to Pyrrha’s rhythm.

Thus the added training in between classes or even at night when their schedules permitted. It started in secret because Weiss didn’t want her teammates to be giving her a hard time for being away or for “chasing after Pyrrha.” Of course, it became evident that they were spending time together, and Pyrrha was fine with admitting that she liked training with Weiss.

While Weiss’s crush on Pyrrha was pretty obvious, it took the latter some time to realize she was developing similar feelings. Getting to know each other helped to show that they had a few things in common, and Pyrrha had to admit, she really did have a soft spot for girls that were smaller than her. Easy to say since she was one of if not the biggest girl at Beacon. But next to her, Weiss looked extra small and it was…

The first time Pyrrha thought of the word ‘adorable’ as being applicable to Weiss, it made her heart do a flip. And when the thought crossed her mind of how easy it would be to pick her up and spin her around or even launch her… why was she considering that? Had all that training so conditioned her brain that she was incapable of imagining normal interactions with other people outside of the context of physical training?

Still, the prospect of throwing Weiss like her spear sounded oddly tempting, even if she kept that to herself. No reason to mention that in case it scared Weiss off or gave her the wrong impression.

The general combat techniques they used were an attempt to play to their individual strengths: Pyrrha would handle the close quarters fighting and take the hits while Weiss would provide backup usually at a safe distance. Of course, Weiss would end up stabbing quite a good many Grimm with Myrtenaster and not just impaling them with a burst of Ice Dust, but her time with Pyrrha had reminded her of the limits to her Aura and fighting abilities. For all her grace and pose like a fencer, there were moments when she couldn’t parry every hit.

And today was one of those days.

Things had been tense enough when they had swept through the Emerald Forest. Not tense between the two huntresses in training, just tense in how many Grimm they had to face. And the return to Mountain Glenn had been worse; their escape from the underground ruins had been harrowing, and it was a good thing Pyrrha had taken on the burden of collecting enough Dust crystals to get that bomb away from them. Now, they were trekking through Forever Fall and still facing a disturbingly large number of Grimm. Along this journey, Pyrrha had noticed a few instances where Weiss took a hard hit, usually when too many Beowolves surrounded her or one of the Grimm hit her from behind. Sure, Pyrrha had sustained a hit or two herself, but she could brush those off better than her partner…

Partners? Are we really partners now?

By now, Pyrrha had spent enough time around Weiss to know that she trusted her. At first, it had been a tad embarrassing to see Weiss fawning over her the way she did, but it had been tempered somewhat with joint practices and lowering their emotional walls to understand each other better. It didn’t surprise Pyrrha that she would be expected to jump in and act as a literal shield for Weiss if the moment demanded it, nor did it surprise her that Weiss wanted to so badly prove that she was capable of being a combat partner to The Pyrrha Nikos. But if Weiss had paid any attention to Pyrrha’s efforts in helping Jaune, she would know that Pyrrha didn’t necessarily need someone to be just as strong as her fighting by her side.

But that didn’t mean Pyrrha stopped worrying in the heat of battle.

They had made their way to a small clearing when they came under attack from another pack of Beowolves and some Creeps. What was unexpected was a few of those strange Creeps also appeared - the ones they had found back in Mountain Glenn that would explode. Unfortunately, one of them got behind Weiss and she hadn’t noticed…

“WEISS!”

Pyrrha saw the flicker of blue, the tell-tale sign that Weiss’s Aura had taken a critical hit. And one of the big Beowolves had just let out that howl indicating it was going for the lethal swipe. It might not be enough to finish her off, but it could knock her out. Without hesitating, Pyrrha threw Akouo to stun the Beowolf as well as a handful of other Grimm nearby. She sprinted over, scooped Weiss into her arms, and started running along the trail, hoping the narrow path would provide them some cover.

“Are you okay?” Pyrrha asked, glancing down to quickly check for any visible injuries.

“I’m fine,” Weiss replied with a tone that suggested she really didn’t want to be treated like this, though her body hardly protested the comfort and safety of Pyrrha’s arms.

Before Pyrrha could say more, she spotted another swarm of Grimm up ahead on the trail, and she realized the ones from that clearing were in hot pursuit. She saw the elevated train tracks up past the edge of the hill and made a decision - a crazy one but perhaps necessary.

“I’m sorry, but you have to trust me.”

“What?”

Without further explanation, Pyrrha flipped Weiss around so that she was holding her by the waist and lifting her up over her head, with Weiss’s head and shoulders pointed uphill. Pyrrha took a deep breath, leaned back, then launched Weiss with all her might.

Under normal circumstances, Weiss would have shrieked and screamed. She would have protested. She would have tried to get out of this insanity and do her part to keep fighting the Grimm onslaught. Instead, as much as she wanted to demand to know what Pyrrha was thinking, her tongue remained silent and her body cooperated with the hasty decision to be yeeted into the air. Weiss thought Pyrrha was just tossing her on the other side of the Grimm. Nope. She was being hurled through the air with pinpoint precision towards the train tracks high above, and it would take one of her glyphs to ground herself, which she could fortunately still do.

What stunned Weiss the most was how readily she trusted Pyrrha in that moment. No explanation for what was about to happen, no guarantee that this crazy move might work, and no chance to argue. And yet, for all her combative demeanor, Weiss surrendered willingly to Pyrrha’s impulsive thinking because she just knew she could count on her. The way her body tensed up wasn’t so much concern as it was an innate understanding of what was about to happen, and the better to ensure Pyrrha’s wild tactic would succeed. In those few moments of soaring into the air, Weiss could only marvel at how strong Pyrrha was to throw her like that, how caring to ensure her safety… and how foolish of her Big Red to leave herself in such a dangerous predicament.

The trajectory was on the mark, and Weiss grounded herself with a Gravity Dust glyph so as not to fall in a heap or careen off the other side of the tracks. But as soon as she got to her feet and spun around…

“PYRRHA!!”

“LEAVE IT TO ME!”

In an awe-inspiring display of her skill and power, Pyrrha leapt into the air with Milo hovering a few feet away and spun in a perfect circle. The tip of her spear slashed at the approaching Grimm before crashing into the ground with considerable force. She used her shield as a guard to block an incoming attack, then leapt off her shield to flip towards her spear, seizing it only to launch it directly into the chest of a Beowolf and then closing the distance with remarkable speed.

From her perch high above, Weiss could have sworn she heard Pyrrha say, “I need that back, thanks!” It brought a smile to her lips; even in the heat of battle, Pyrrha remained too good and pure at heart.

With the Grimm annihilated, Pyrrha dashed up the hill toward the tracks. In a series of acrobatic moves, she managed to run up the support pillar with a little help from Milo, finishing with a flip and her “superhero landing” as Nora liked to call it for some reason.

“Pyrrha, I…” Weiss began to say, only to realize that whatever it was didn’t matter. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Pyrrha beamed. “Do you need any time to recover?”

A loud blast from the horn of an oncoming train cut Weiss’s answer short. Somehow in all the excitement, neither had noticed it approaching. But now, it was Weiss’s turn to put Pyrrha’s trust to the test as she grabbed hold of the tall girl, conjured a large glyph, and launched them off the tracks mere seconds before the train passed. Although Weiss was aiming for the opposite hilltop, her Semblance showed its limits as her Aura flickered once more, so Pyrrha reacted quickly to hug the small girl close as they landed roughly with Pyrrha tumbling a short ways with Weiss held tight to her.

Okay, maybe this partner thing is more than just a combat necessity…

As they disentangled, Weiss sat back and sighed. “Okay, I may need a minute to rest.”

“Well, I’m not going anywhere.” Pyrrha took her seat opposite her, giving her space. But that lasted all of about four seconds before Weiss scooched over to nuzzle up against Pyrrha’s side and lean her head against that broad shoulder.

And so, with Weiss’s head nestled into the crook of her neck, Pyrrha leaned her head against it and put one arm protectively around her waist, savoring the sounds and sights of the brilliant red foliage of Forever Fall - as well as the pleasant warmth spreading throughout her body at the prospect of her friend becoming something more precious to her. And Weiss completely felt the same way.

Chapter Text

Pyrrha wasn’t really one for video games, at least not to the extent that her friends Ruby or Yang were invested in them. But every now and then, one would catch her eye and draw her in.

The one that caught her attention most was Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey. Not because she cared about the franchise or the mechanics of such a game, but because it was based in classical era Greece during the Peloponnesian War and thus took the main character - and the player - on a tour of the wonders of the ancient Greek world.

And Pyrrha was a bit of a fanatic about Greek history, especially the ancient and classical stuff. She was that nerd who loved studying the mythology as well as the histories, so a game designed to be an alternate history epic was irresistible. Even more so when she realized that the main character was a badass Spartan woman who displayed excellent combat skill while on her quest to reunite her broken family and save the Greek world from total ruin.

That’s how Pyrrha ended up infodumping about the game to her girlfriend whenever she could. At first, Pyrrha didn’t talk about her game that much because she wasn’t used to gushing about things like that, much less having someone listen to her, and she knew that Weiss found video games to be boring or a waste of time. Yet, Weiss gladly made an exception for Pyrrha because she was head over heels for her tall redhead and just wanted to hear her speak. Eventually, she figured out it would be wise to occasionally ask about her game.

Thus Pyrrha would begin rambling about the storyline; about Kassandra’s journey across the Greek world; about the places she visited and the wonders she found. Pyrrha would get into the particulars of the game like how she had learned the hard way which armor sets were better suited to this or that skillset, which weapons fared better in certain encounters, and whether the game guides were helpful or just wrong. She would go on about the strategies she crafted for honing Kassandra’s skills as an assassin or a warrior or a hunter or a mix of all three depending on what sort of approach she wanted to pursue; she had played enough times to master all three approaches in combat and determine what methods worked best when.

And then, there were the romances. Pyrrha’s bisexual heart was very content with the variety of options, the touching and the humorous, although she would often reiterate that pursuing the ladies was more fulfilling in terms of story as well as the visuals. She spoke fondly of the romances that led to beautiful partnerships and achingly of the ones that were doomed to end with sadness. She even got comfortable enough to tell Weiss of the more raunchy encounters, especially the one male character that Pyrrha more than once called a “man slut,” which left Weiss giggling because she rarely heard Pyrrha speak like that.

More than anything, Pyrrha spoke admiringly of the graphics and how enthralling it felt to roam around the Greek world, seeing places like the Parthenon in its prime or visiting the ancient Mycenaean ruins scattered across the lands. She loved getting to walk through Athens or Delphi or other cities and find all sorts of historical locations, whether they held archaeological significance or mattered more in the mythological sense. Pyrrha even spoke about how she would spend hours just wandering across the land, not heading anywhere in particular, just enjoying the beauty and richness of the game world - though she also emphasized the usefulness of gathering any and all resources she could find.

Through it all, Weiss did her best to hang onto every word. She didn’t understand all the game mechanic talk, even though she would occasionally sit beside Pyrrha to watch her play. Video games just didn’t make sense to her, and while she tried to follow along with Pyrrha’s guidance, some of it still flew over her head.

But she tried, she really tried, because seeing Pyrrha be so excited was worth it. Weiss had been with Pyrrha long enough to know there wasn’t that much to get her so worked up in a good way, so getting to listen to Pyrrha infodump about this one game was a small sacrifice on her part. Besides, Weiss always adored listening to Pyrrha’s voice. She did at least know enough about Greek mythology to follow along with some of the plot beats or the places that got mentioned, and sometimes when a weapon name came up that was tied to some mythological figure, Weiss would perk up and ask if it was that one hero. It made her feel proud to see Pyrrha confirm that she was correct before the redhead kept going about whatever ability the weapon could unleash.

Truthfully, there were moments when the infodumping would turn into a haze for Weiss. It wasn’t that she got bored; rather, she just lost herself in the sound of Pyrrha’s voice and the way her face lit up with such passion, so the words became blurred in her ears and only the sound flowed like honey, warming her body as she just smiled and nodded along.

Pyrrha would sometimes notice that Weiss spaced out during her rambling. But after going “I’m sorry” a few times, it settled in that she didn’t have to apologize, that she could keep infodumping and Weiss would hear her out. Whether she actually listened or not was beside the point; what mattered was that Weiss willingly made the space for Pyrrha to geek out, and Pyrrha cherished that almost as much as the game.

Such habits would continue as Pyrrha embraced her nerdy side and got into tabletop games or role-playing games with the assistance of her friends. Weiss at least tried valiantly to play along with some of those games, though she often would end up watching her Big Red play instead. And listening to her babble on about strategies or whatnot.

Infodumping from Pyrrha was just another treat reserved only for Weiss.

Chapter Text

The first thing that was apparent the next morning was that Roman’s hairbrained device - the “Semblance Scrambler” - might have actually been the real deal.

The second thing was that this was a very awkward situation.

Last night, Weiss and Pyrrha had been out on the town to foil another one of Roman Torchwick’s heists, along with some help from Nora and Blake. Although Roman and Neo had gotten away, again, there had been a strange moment when Weiss and Pyrrha ended up too close to the bizarre contraption that Roman bragged was his new Semblance Scrambler. Weiss and Neo were apparently on the same page in that it was a dumb name, but that didn’t change the fact that they remained opposed: one living for the chaos, the other trying to become a Huntress. In the chaos of the fighting, the machine had activated and both Pyrrha and Weiss felt an odd tingling sensation, though it didn’t really impair their abilities at the time. And when Roman and Neo got away, they just assumed the machine was a joke and were at least grateful it wasn’t a bomb. So they left it in the warehouse for the police to deal with and returned to their dorms at Beacon.

Then the morning came…

Pyrrha was the first to notice something was off. She woke up at an early hour most days because of her regular regimen to start the day, and almost right away she felt… wrong. Like a core part of her was missing. When she touched Milo and Akouo, she gasped. She couldn’t feel their familiar pull, that sweet song of magnetism she knew so well. Slowly getting to her feet, Pyrrha stepped back and stretched out her hand, focusing intently on summoning her spear to her hand.

Milo did not move. Instead, a golden glyph appeared just beyond her fingertips.

Pyrrha’s scream woke up the rest of her team as well as the team across the hall.

The fact that Weiss awoke was testament to how attuned she had become to the tall redhead. But as she got out of bed to see what the commotion was all about, she knew something wasn’t right. The power that she had known all her life was missing, and she had a strange sensation prickling at the edges of her body. What mattered in that moment, however, was to determine what was causing Pyrrha to scream like that at such an early hour.

“What’s happening?!” Ruby cried out as her team piled in behind her through the doorway to the JNPR room.

Before them, Pyrrha sat on the floor, hugging her knees tightly to her chest with her back to the bed and a look of utter shock across her face. With her hair down and her pajamas that consisted of shorts and a tank top, she looked far from the composed girl everyone knew, and it was quite unsettling. Nora was next to her, patting her arm sympathetically as her eyes shone with concern. Jaune was still dazed from being awoken so abruptly, too stunned to process what was going on. Ren provided the answer to Ruby’s question. “It appears that Pyrrha has lost her Semblance.”

A moment of stunned silence filled the room. Yang broke it with a single word. “What?”

“But…” Blake’s gaze fell as if staring off into the distance at something no one else could see. “That’s impossible.”

“Apparently, she tried to call her spear to her side and it wouldn’t budge,” Nora explained. “And then…”

Pyrrha let out a pitiful whimper as she raised a shaky hand. Everyone watched as she tried to steady her frayed nerves and focus, and after a few seconds, a small golden glyph appeared right above her open palm. Although it glowed similar to the glyphs that Weiss made, it looked different: there was no snowflake, just a golden ring filled with strange markings that resembled letters. It would be a beautiful sight if it wasn’t so foreign to Pyrrha and to her friends staring in utter bewilderment.

Except for Weiss, who felt a surge of panic coursing through her veins.

“This doesn’t make sense!” Pyrrha wailed, the glyph disappearing as she clutched her knees and dropped her head.

Whatever else was said to try and comfort Pyrrha, Weiss did not hear it. Her heart was pounding loudly in her ears and her breathing was getting more erratic. If Pyrrha could suddenly conjure glyphs, did that mean…?

No. No no no.

Weiss turned and half-walked, half-ran back to her dorm, a short distance that suddenly felt much longer. She lunged for Myrtenaster, her fears only rising when she noticed the rapier moving into her touch just before she could grab it. Lifting her weapon, she tried to concentrate and create a simple glyph. She tried to make a gravity-based glyph, but the feeling wouldn’t come. She even attempted to make a fire-based one in her panic and thankfully didn’t set anything on fire, but her fears were confirmed. Weiss had lost her Semblance and somehow it had ended up as Pyrrha’s. But if that was the case…

“HMPH!” Weiss stomped her foot, barely noticing how Crescent Rose and Gambol Shroud rattled with a thin white glow. “That stupid machine!”

“Weiss, what the heck is going on?” Yang ambled in while the others continued to focus on Pyrrha.

Letting her anger get the better of her, Weiss whirled around and glared up at Yang. “Our Semblances got switched, Yang! What part of that isn’t registering?!”

“Hey! Don’t get snippy with me, princess!” Yang’s eyes flashed red only for a brief moment, a warning.

But Weiss was too caught up in her own emotions to notice or care. “That stupid Roman Torchwick did this! He made that stupid machine and somehow switched our Semblances! And now I can’t even use my own weapon properly!” As she slashed at the air with Myrtenaster, another magnetic pulse thrummed, but this time it reached Milo, though no one seemed to notice. “How am I supposed to train much less fight when I can’t summon a glyph? NONE OF THIS IS FAIR!!”

With a swing of her right arm, Milo zoomed across the hall directly at Weiss who caught it mere inches from her face. Yang stood frozen in place, her hair just barely escaping the blade. She stared dumbstruck, as did the others who all were looking through the doorway with matching looks. Even Pyrrha staggered to her feet, standing in the middle as she made eye contact with a horrified Weiss, and only then did Pyrrha notice the other weapons cluttered around the smaller girl’s feet that she had inadvertently summoned in her outburst.

The wail that ripped from Weiss’s throat far eclipsed Pyrrha’s scream.

It took them all some time to head down to the cafeteria, and even then things remained very awkward and very tense. Awkward for the others, tense for Pyrrha and Weiss.

Ruby tried to ease things up. “It can’t be all that bad.”

“Shut up, Ruby,” Weiss snapped, still glaring at her plate of food as it trembled slightly from the unprompted magnetism.

“Hey, don’t make me shove an apple in your mouth,” Yang snapped back, brandishing a green fruit to drive her point home. She had picked the sour one just for Weiss since it suited her sour mood.

Unfortunately for the apple, it got skewered by a knife zinging through the air thanks to Weiss who clearly was having trouble making the connection between her newfound Semblance and her volatile emotional state. She kept wondering to herself how in the world Pyrrha had managed to keep such an ability under wraps for so long; hiding such a crucial part of oneself felt anathema to her, flying in the face of all her training.

Pyrrha was doing no better, idly poking at her food as she missed the familiar tug of metal calling to her body and soul. Despite her current mood, she wasn’t having the random outbursts like Weiss, largely thanks to her own training on keeping her Semblance a secret. Still…

The commotion behind them made Pyrrha glance over and a dark look crossed her face. Cardin and his “team” - more like a pack of bullies - were zeroing in on Velvet again. Normally, Pyrrha would just wait until Glynda’s class to wipe the floor with them, but today was far from a normal day and her patience was worn thin. Before the guys could close in on Velvet, a large golden glyph appeared just in front of her like a circular wall. With her gaze fixed upon the meddlesome Team CRDL, arm outstretched and two fingers extended, Pyrrha made a simple motion with her fingers as the glyph turned red, spun fast, and sent the hapless boys flying out of the cafeteria. Velvet looked toward Weiss, who awkwardly waved and then pointed toward Pyrrha. The realization left Velvet too stunned to register what had happened, despite the gratitude that remained in her eyes.

Sighing heavily, Pyrrha turned back around and propped her head against her arm. “Well, until we can figure out how to reverse this, I suppose we have to adjust.”

Weiss gave a meek whimper as her shoulders slumped. She really just wanted things to go back to normal, but Pyrrha had a point, and neither of them were exactly fit to go chasing down bad guys around Vale if they could barely function in combat.

Not wanting the rest of the school to notice that two of the top first years were facing a Semblance swap problem, Pyrrha and Weiss retreated to the safety of the rooftops under cover of darkness. There, Pyrrha helped Weiss learn how to master Polarity as a method of dodging hits and parrying strikes, though Weiss showed a knack for wanting to take things up a notch. Pyrrha couldn’t exactly blame her; given her size and relative lack of Aura reserves, Weiss couldn’t expect to withstand hits nearly as well.

In contrast, Weiss tried to show Pyrrha how best to utilize glyphs with grace and poise, a challenge that didn’t seem too big as Pyrrha was already fairly graceful. The problems began to show when Weiss referred to moves and glyphs that required Dust, which didn’t really work for Pyrrha as her weapon didn’t use Dust in such a manner, so her only option was to just summon them more or less “naturally.”

One unexpected development was Pyrrha actually summoning… everything.

It started with Weiss explaining what Winter had told her and shown her about the Schnee family’s ability to summon defeated enemies to their side. Of course, that meant summons of tamed Grimm. At first, Pyrrha wondered if that might be a problem since she had spent so much time in the tournament circuit in Mistral. But when she set her mind to it and made a large golden glyph appear on the roof in front of them, she contemplated on what sort of foes fit the description of pushing her limits and helping her grow.

The glyph did take on a different form: four spears pointed inward appeared within the golden rings filled with strange letters, which Weiss still did not understand though Pyrrha seemed to know them. As the glyph spun, Pyrrha stretched out her hand and thought long and hard. To make it easier, she closed her eyes and tried to visualize one of her opponents.

When she heard Weiss gasping, Pyrrha opened her eyes. She gasped as well. There was a golden Beowolf with crimson eyes standing before them, looking as docile as a puppy.

“Awwww it’s so cute!” Pyrrha couldn’t help herself, overcome with how adorable the fake Beowolf looked.

Weiss could only stare, slack-jawed at how easy Pyrrha made it seem. Beginner’s luck perhaps? “Um… okay, what about another?”

“Oh! Sure, let’s see…” Pyrrha repeated the motions and soon, there was a matching golden copy of a Boarbatusk beside the Beowolf. Then there was a mini Ursa. Then a Gryphon. Then a Nevermore that perched on Pyrrha’s shoulder. Then a small Deathstalker. And finally, a Manticore. Each one had the same golden color with crimson eyes and touches, and all looked very sweet compared to their real counterparts.

“BOOM! Look at all these adorable creatures!” Pyrrha was practically beaming with pride at the little menagerie of docile Grimm she had created. “I think I could get used to this - uh, Weiss? Are you okay?”

Weiss was far from okay. It was bad enough not having the Semblance she had been born with, but to see another unlock summoning with such relative ease and flex it like it was no big deal…

The angry shriek echoed across Beacon Academy and into the night sky. It did not cover the crashing sounds of metal due to Weiss accidentally propelling hunks of nearby vents and gutters off the building.

“And… you’re sure you want to go through with this?” Ozpin peered across his desk.

Before him sat a very disgruntled Weiss and Pyrrha, both looking harried and with patches of dirt and soot on their clothes and faces. The effort to track down Roman and that blasted device had turned into a complete nightmare that somehow involved leveling almost an entire city block. Despite their efforts to learn their new abilities, neither Weiss nor Pyrrha had been able to overcome their muscle memories which complicated their pursuit of the nefarious criminal to say the least.

“Yes. We’re sure.” Weiss was trying very hard not to shout at the headmaster, and she could sense that Pyrrha was putting on her utmost display of Just Polite Enough, ironic as her eyes were also glaring daggers after an exhausting night.

Ozpin simply nodded, ever the man of mystery. “Very well then. Sit still…” He waved his cane as some unexplainable sparkly effects descended upon the two girls.

It did help. Somewhat.

“You should have come to me in the first place,” Diana sighed as she wrapped her lariat around Weiss and Pyrrha.

“How could we have known that Ozpin would screw it up like that?!” said Weiss who was currently residing in Pyrrha’s body. The Semblance swap had worked, yet somehow their souls had also been swapped.

“I’m going to have a long talk with Professor Goodwitch and let her know that next time, we will go to her first when these things happen,” Pyrrha grumbled, which looked humorous coming out of Weiss’s body.

Diana shook her head affectionately. “Yes, I trust that Glynda will be more considerate should these strange circumstances arise again. You were lucky that I had stopped to pay her a visit at this time.”

Once the lariat was securely fastened, Diana placed her big hands on their shoulders and concentrated as the lasso thrummed and shone. This time, the swap actually worked without any problems. As soon as the ritual was complete, Weiss immediately checked to make sure she had the right body and created a miniature glyph in her palm.

“Phew! Back to normal.”

“Thank the goddess, literally,” Pyrrha exclaimed as she twirled Milo around with the aid of her magnetism like she was welcoming back an old friend.

The bear hug they shared with Diana was a real treat; the chaste kisses on the cheeks were unexpected but certainly welcome.

Chapter Text

They were insufferable. Such a grotesque display.

Overt affection. Mushiness. Lovey dovey.

Cinder hated it all. And yet, here she was watching from her temporary abode in the dorms, leaning against the windowsill with her arms to prop her up. Out in the distance were the young lovebirds in their predictably annoying manner of being all sweet and cute in the Beacon courtyard.

Ever since Cinder Fall had arrived in Vale on her mission to infiltrate the school undercover as a Haven exchange student, she had learned quite a few things: the false facade of peace in a city plagued with crime; the weak spots in Beacon Academy thanks to the arrogance of Ozpin; and the utterly frivolous nature of these children seeking to become the next generation of so-called heroes in a world left entirely dependent on them.

What vexed her most was the clearly intimate connection between Weiss Schnee and Pyrrha Nikos. The heiress had quickly made it on her list for obvious reasons; the very embodiment of Atlesian privilege looking to play hero left a bitter taste in Cinder’s mouth. And then, there was the Invincible Girl who just looked so perfect and so poised and so pretty… yes, even Cinder had a hard time denying the appeal of Pyrrha beyond her stupidly kind nature and raw fighting talents.

But how could those two end up being so… romantically entangled? No, Cinder would not use the words “in love” or anything of the sort, because such vocabulary was the kind that she laughed at with scorn. Regardless of her feelings on love, Cinder had to take note of those two because she could easily exploit their status to her own nefarious ends.

She knew in general how the teams were formed, and she understood that once partners and teams were created, they were expected to stick together for the duration of their schooling and then into adulthood as freshly minted huntsmen and huntresses. Why the heiress and the golden girl didn’t wind up on the same team, she would never know. The way that Weiss practically clung to Pyrrha spoke volumes about how much the small white girl adored the tall redhead. And as the days passed and autumn rolled around, Pyrrha’s own affections became increasingly obvious.

It was enough to make Cinder gag. And she did, quite often in fact.

Yet… a small corner of her blackened heart did long for something like that. As much as she outwardly hated the sappy nature of their love and the overt displays of affection, deep down in the depths of her soul Cinder was actually jealous. Jealous that others could enjoy such love and care without any apparent conditions, jealous that someone like the Schnee brat could be deserving of these things. Yes, Cinder knew from a lifetime of suffering that this world was not fair, and seeing those two idiots being all cute together reminded her of that. It was not fair that they get to act so happy and head over heels for each other. Life was pain and misery, clawing for everything as you starved, having given up hope that anyone could love you.

If Cinder couldn’t have it, then no one should. Better to watch the world burn and see the huntsmen fall as they had failed her long ago. These foolish girls didn’t know true suffering, not like she did. No matter how annoyingly cute… and happy they looked… and how unfair it was that they could be… that they could have that…

“Cinder.”

Emerald’s voice pulled her from her mess of thoughts. Cinder blinked, not moving from her place.

“Yes, Emerald?”

The girl walked up to the window, peering out to see what was holding Cinder’s attention. It didn’t take long to spot the likely source. “You’ve been observing those two a lot lately.”

Cinder’s brow furrowed. “They would make perfect targets for us.”

“Ugh,” Emerald groaned as she watched Weiss leap into Pyrrha’s arms. “How… how can they be so happy all the time?!”

“Because they don’t know what it’s truly like to live in this broken world,” Cinder replied without missing a beat. Better to focus on the nefarious options rather than those lurking feelings about wanting what those two fools had. Much safer that way. She was unlovable; no one wanted her as a child, and for that she would see them all burn.

Turning her mind to other matters, Cinder stood up. “Did you gather the intel I asked for?”

“There’s a convoy coming in from Atlas in the next few days. New droids and troops and undoubtedly more Dust.” Emerald paused, a smile emerging as she hoped this next piece would earn approval. “And there’s a Special Operative among them that may be of interest to you.”

“Oh?” Cinder arched an eyebrow.

“Winter Schnee.”

Her lips curled in a devious, wicked smirk. “Oh, that is very useful. Thank you, Emerald.” Glancing back out the window to where the Schnee brat was being carried around by the Invincible Girl like she weighed nothing, Cinder knew she had options now. One way or another, she was going to ruin this cutesy couple to prove that love was a fool’s errand.

Two weeks later, Cinder Fall wanted to crawl into a pool of Grimm essence and perish. That seemed far more bearable than sitting here at a table with the lovebirds seated across from her and Winter Schnee of all people seated at her right side.

She was absolutely going to get even with Emerald for this stupid double date idea - and for asking if she could tag along. Though she was considering the possibility of including Emerald in - no, no, stop that.

With the way Cinder glared daggers across the table, it was a miracle that either Weiss or Pyrrha remained in their seats. Unfortunately, the glare coming from Winter was hardly any better; hers was icy, a contrast to the fiery woman beside her but not much.

Weiss tried to break the tension. “Winter…”

“Not. A. Word.” Winter’s voice left no room for debate.

It should have thrilled Cinder to see the heiress brat shrink as she did. Instead, she felt another pang of envy at the way Pyrrha took her hand as if to comfort her. This whole romance facade thing sucked, and even worse, it was the second time in as many weeks that Cinder had felt the stirrings of something resembling emotions in her heart that she never imagined possible.

To think that she would one day be getting advice from that golden girl on how not to piss off the sister of that heiress brat… yeah, maybe Cinder would have to swallow her pride and learn a thing or two from those lovebirds after all.

Chapter Text

Heels clacked along the smooth floor of the chilly room. The owner emerged from the shadows, clad in mostly white attire that was reminiscent of a general: a large cap atop her head; tight white dress with pencil skirt; oversized overcoat that dragged across the floor; and kitten heels that echoed throughout the large, villainous-looking space. Her pale white hair was pulled back in a tight ponytail that hung down her back. The Ice Queen looked formidable despite her short stature, and the shades added a nice touch to her sinister appearance.

Before her sat her victims, Ruby and Blake, each tied to a chair with a bunch of thick red string. There appeared to be trapdoors beneath each chair, so it seemed that struggling to break free would be ill-advised.

Blake’s ears flattened as she scowled. “So, you show your face, Ice Queen.”

Weiss glared through her shades, her heels continuing to echo. “How dare you speak to me like that in my halls of isolation. What an absolute menace you are.”

Blake merely glared back as Ruby struggled in vain against her restraints. “Please! We just-”

“Silence!” Weiss snapped, removing her shades so she could fix the troublesome girl with a more direct glare with her ice blue eyes that were as cold as her lair and her heart. “I believe I wasn’t talking to you, foolish child. You’re such an embarrassment.”

Ruby shrank in her chair. Why did she have to be so mean?

“You really think this will be enough to stop us?” Blake spoke up, hoping to draw attention away from her friend.

“As a matter of fact, I do,” Weiss said coolly. “You might notice I am using that red string to hold you both in place. It’s an extra sturdy type of yarn known to be irresistible to felines.”

Blake’s eyes widened as the words sank in. “Oh, you are SO evil.”

Weiss laughed. “Yes, and there is nothing you can do to stop me. I will restore order to these peasants while you get to watch, helpless and pathetic.”

“What do you want?!” Ruby cried out.

“I did not give you permission to speak, brat,” Weiss snapped again. Then she snapped her fingers and the trapdoor swung open beneath Ruby’s chair. Her shriek filled the room as she fell down, down down… all of about two feet into a small pool of ice cold water which was the cause of the majority of her shrieking.

Once she stopped shrieking, Ruby looked around and spoke through chattering teeth. “S-s-s-so c-c-cold…”

“And that’s just a taste of what is to come.” Weiss smirked haughtily as she looked down upon a freezing Ruby, noting how Blake seemed a tad fearful now that she knew what awaited her if her trapdoor was activated.

Suddenly, there was a muffled crashing sound followed by another that sounded closer followed by a terrific crash as a large figure came flying through the wall, landing on the floor in a kneeling position like a superhero. It was a young woman with long, vivid red hair pulled back in a ponytail, olive skin and broad shoulders. She wore a tight-fitting tank top that was dark red around the neck and changed color so that it turned golden around the hips like an autumn collage across her ample chest, with a red sash tied around her waist and her well-defined muscular arms on full display. She had tight black pants and golden-red boots to complete her outfit. In one hand, she held a red-and-gold mechanical spear, and when she looked up, she had the most vivid emerald eyes known to humankind.

“A huntress?” Weiss looked confused by the sudden intrusion, as did Ruby and Blake.

Eyes widening, Pyrrha muttered, “Oh! Sorry!” She quickly rummaged in the pouch on her waistband, ducking her head as she pulled out a black mask and tied it across her face. Then she looked back up, her face stern and serious with the mask framing her eyes perfectly and complementing her sly smirk.

“PYRRHA THE RED HUNTRESS!!” Weiss exclaimed, recoiling in shock.

“PYRRHA THE RED HUNTRESS!” Ruby shouted, the brief excitement overshadowing how freezing she felt.

“The Red Huntress,” Blake purred a little too low, causing Weiss to whip her head around and glare and leaving Blake biting her lip and glancing away, unable to hide the crimson in her cheeks or the bashful droop in her ears.

Composing herself, Weiss turned back with a devious smirk, slowly strutting as she watched Pyrrha rise to her feet. “Ahh, the Red Huntress, how unexpected of you to drop in. And when I say unexpected, I mean COMPLETELY EXPECTED!!” Weiss’s voice rose sharply on the last two words as she stomped her foot and glared furiously. She brandished her rapier and with a glyph sent Pyrrha flying sideways into a trap she had designed for this very moment. In a flash, Pyrrha’s arms and legs were secured, leaving her spread-eagle and unable to free herself as her spear was sent flying into another similarly made lock.

Shaking her head, Pyrrha looked up to see Weiss approaching, then using a different glyph to raise herself so that the Ice Queen was looking down at the Red Huntress.

“As you can see, I was actually prepared for you to barge in and interrupt my scheme, you big red menace. And don’t even bother trying to break out of these restraints because they are made of something unbreakable…” Weiss leaned in closer, mere inches from Pyrrha’s face. “PURE CAPITALISTIC EVIL! And a blend of plastic with hard lite Dust that requires zero metal. So struggle all you want!”

“I see you’ve outdone yourself, Ice Queen,” Pyrrha said calmly.

“How nice of you to appreciate my handiwork,” Weiss replied, placing a hand to her chest. “What’s not so nice is that you destroyed my walls! Seriously, do you have to come crashing in like that every time?! The door is right over there!” She flung out an arm to the gaping hole in the wall and the door that was ten feet to the right just to make her point.

Shrugging as best she could, Pyrrha sing-songed, “Soooorryyyy!”

Weiss leaned in even closer this time, hissing under her breath, “Oh, you are insufferable as ever, Red Huntress.”

“Can you just kiss already?” Blake called out from where she still sat. The next sound that followed was the other trapdoor opening and Blake yelping as she dropped into her own pool of ice cold water. How evil of the Ice Queen to dunk a cat Faunus into water like that, even shallow water.

Eyes half-lidded and lips curled in a sly smile, Pyrrha said, “You’re going to have to try harder than that.”

Scoffing, Weiss stood up and spun on her heel. “Oh, I am just getting started!” Walking across a string of glyphs, coat swishing behind her, she approached a gigantic machine. Weiss turned to address her literally captive audience. “BEHOLD! THE ETERNAL WINTER MAKER 6-5000!”

Pyrrha gasped dramatically. “You fiend!”

“Yes! Flail uselessly and despair!” Weiss cackled maniacally.

“C-couldn’t you just use a s-shorter n-name?” Ruby spoke up.

Weiss’s villainous ego deflated just a little as all eyes turned to Little Red. “Huh?”

“I mean… w-what if you just call it the Winterinator?”

A moment of silence hung in the air. Weiss blinked. “I… wha- what kind of idiotic name is that? Did you just add ‘-inator’ to a word like that somehow makes it better?”

“Well, it does sound a little more catchy,” Pyrrha said with an encouraging glance at Ruby who beamed at being recognized by the Red Huntress.

“Oh, come on!” Weiss groaned, stamping her foot. “You are NOT actually taking Little Red’s advice on how to do my job!”

“No, I’m with you. The actual name works better,” Blake chimed in, having finally gotten over feeling cold and wet but still a bit miffed that she couldn’t play with the string tying her to the chair.

“Thank you,” Weiss said sincerely.

Blake’s ear twitched at that. “Really? No Faunus-based insult? No casual racism?”

Weiss’s shoulders slumped as the smile vanished from her face. “No, I’ve been undergoing that anti-Faunus racism seminar you told me to take. Almost three weeks in by now.”

Blake’s ears perked up while Pyrrha chimed in, “I’m proud of you.”

Unable to fully hide the light blush in her cheeks, Weiss shrugged it off. “I may be evil but I’m not completely heartless.”

“Just a heart of stone,” Blake quipped.

“Which reminds me…” Weiss straightened up, getting back into character. “MY ETERNAL WINTER MAKER 6-5000! As you probably know, I come from a place where the air was always cold and the ice ate away at the heart. It was my mansion, but the rest of the kingdom was also a land of snow and ice as well. When I left home and came here, it was hard getting used to such warm weather. BUT NO MORE!” Standing before a map of Remnant, Weiss gave her all in declaring her villainous plan of villainy. “With my Eternal Winter Maker, I shall alter the atmosphere and create a solid cloud cover that will provide incessant snowfall, thereby unleashing my reign of terror over the entire…” She produced a comically large magnifying glass for emphasis, holding it over her target: “CITY OF VALE!!”

Ruby tilted her head in puzzlement. “So, you just want to make it snow all over the city?”

“No, you dunce, it’s going to be an ETERNAL WINTER and thus people will be forced to stay warm, which will allow me to enact the second phase of my evil plan: CORNERING THE ENTIRE COFFEE MARKET SO EVERYONE WILL BUY THEIR COFFEE FROM ME!!!” Weiss cackled maniacally before adding, “Oh, and Faunus will get a discount on their coffee as a gesture of goodwill.”

Blake snorted. “I should probably feel insulted, but I’m cold and wet and a discount on some hot coffee sounds really good right now.”

“Yes, that’s the kind of reception I need!” Turning to her machine, Weiss flipped a switch and threw a lever and pushed a button as she declared, “Now, watch as all of Vale succumbs to my ice queendom!”

While the Ice Queen was busy enacting her villainous plan, the Red Huntress seized her moment to try and break free. She concentrated all her energy on her spear, gazing intently at it as she tried to get it to move. The spear vibrated a little but refused to budge. Looking around, Pyrrha spotted a fancy hairpin and concentrated on that. With a bit of effort, she was able to make the hairpin hover, then with a jerk of her head sent the pin flying toward the locking mechanism on the other trap. She hit her mark, and as soon as her spear was free, she summoned all her concentration on her weapon which soon flew toward her right hand and pierced the casing. Pyrrha pulled her hand free, grabbed her spear and made short work of the other casings holding her limbs in place.

Unfortunately, Ruby noticed she had broken free and made the mistake of calling out her name. “Pyrrha!”

Blake hissed, “RUBY!”

Weiss whirled around, eyes wide. “WHAT?!”

Crap. Needing to act fast, Pyrrha lunged toward Weiss while hurling her spear like a boomerang. Her weapon found its mark, slicing through the red string holding both Ruby and Blake. Meanwhile, Pyrrha dodged and leapt to avoid a barrage of ice and a flurry of glyphs from the Ice Queen, summoning her polarity to fling small metal objects in her direction and then tearing a big hunk of metal off the control panel to throw off her opponent. By the time Weiss recovered, Pyrrha had caught her spear and was closing in fast.

“How did you get out of my trap?!”

“You didn’t cover my face.”

“Of course not! Your face is your best feature!” Weiss protested as she parried a blow and jabbed back.

Pyrrha met her attacks with grace and poise. “I’ve heard some say it is my second-best feature.” That remark was enough to cause the Ice Queen to blush once more, giving the Red Huntress her opening to knock her back. She then lunged for the Eternal Winter Machine and, with great effort, shifted its magnetism so that the wintry clouds were redirected over the Forest of Forever Fall.

“NO!!” Weiss cried out, scrambling to her feet.

Pyrrha managed to parry Weiss with one hand, her other still holding the machine steady as her polarity was exerted in earnest. She called to Ruby and Blake, “RUN! NOW!” And once they fled the lair, Pyrrha gave a battle cry as she brought much of the metal crashing down, thus ruining the machine in the process.

There was still a steady snowfall over the Forest of Forever Fall though it would not last forever. Both the Ice Queen and the Red Huntress escaped the wreckage, with the latter helping the former out. Their hands lingered a moment too long before Weiss withdrew.

“You big red menace! You have foiled my plans for the last time! From now on, you have my undivided attention!”

“Oh?” Pyrrha seemed more amused than threatened. “Is that a promise?”

Weiss glared, propping herself up with a glyph. “Oh it most certainly is. I will not let you stand in my way ever again. Curse you, Pyrrha the Red Huntress.”

Pyrrha did not reply right away. Instead, she leaned in closer - a little too close - until she could feel the Ice Queen’s breath against her lips. Then she spoke. “I am honored to be your nemesis, my darling princess.”

The color rushed into Weiss’s cheeks.

“Until next time!” And with that, Pyrrha took off.

Back at the Beacon dorms, Yang was toweling off Blake after having smothered Ruby in towels when she noticed Weiss skipping past with a big smile on her face. Weiss? Skipping? AND smiling?

“Well, someone had a good time with their elaborate roleplaying game.”

Unbeknownst to them, Weiss was having visions of a romantic showdown against her nemesis-lover Pyrrha the Red Huntress in the snowy landscape of Forever Fall Forest. Oh what a perfect date it would be! Their blades clashing amidst the fluffy white snow and the vivid red trees as they gave their best before the facades fell away and then came the Smooch Express.

Weiss made an excited noise and skipped a little higher.

Elsewhere, Pyrrha was having a similar moment of giddy smiles and gleeful skipping.