134Trapped
Chapter 12 Aftermath
By Lightningstrxu
Weiss' heels clacked as she made her way down the hospital hallway. It had been one month since the White Fang's attack on Tempest. Most of their group had recovered from their ordeal; most but not all. Reaching the room, she lightly tapped on the door.
"Ruby, are you decent?" Weiss said clearly, as to be heard through the door.
"I'm always awesome, Weiss." Ruby replied from the other side of the door. "It's so much better than decent." Weiss rolled her eyes and sighed before opening the door. Ruby sat hunched over a desk, sketching something. The desk itself was a disaster area; all around it crumpled sheets of paper littered the floor.
"It'll be just a moment, Weiss." Ruby held a hand up with a single finger extended. Ruby then went back to sketching on the large sheet of graph paper she had procured. It was a rare sight to behold Ruby being so intently focused. She was sketching furiously, her eyes darting back and forth. "And done." Ruby looked up from her work. "Come here, Weiss." Weiss walked over and looked over her partner's shoulder.
"Is this the latest design?" Weiss asked as she looked at the rather impressive sketch of a rapier on the paper.
"Sure is." Ruby beamed. "What do you think?" Weiss' eyes scanned over the schematic.
"It looks alright." Weiss stated after a moments study.
"Only alright?" Ruby looked forlornly down at the drawing.
"I'm sure its fine, Ruby!" Weiss sighed. "Look whatever you make for me will be perfect, I don't have much experience in weapon design. That's why I asked you." She placed a hand on Ruby's shoulder. "I can't think of anybody I would trust more to design a new rapier for me than you."
"Thanks, Weiss." Ruby beamed. She then started packing up her supplies. "How goes the recovery effort?"
"It's going well." Weiss replied. "Thanks to us, we kept the damage to the city to a minimum; you caused the most damage."
"Ah well, I did kind of cause a sonic boom." Ruby smiled sheepishly. "Not one of my best ideas, as you can see." Ruby motioned down to her legs. Weiss frowned slightly; It was easy to forget sometimes, the current condition of Ruby's legs. The younger girl didn't let it bother her. Weiss' gaze flitted down to see Ruby's legs, heavily wrapped and braced, ensuring they didn't move. Even now Ruby was currently sitting in a wheelchair; it would be months before she would fully recover. "Don't give me that look, Weiss." Ruby said with a sigh.
"Sorry, Ruby." Weiss whispered, attempting to put a smile back on her face.
"Don't apologize." Ruby snapped. "I made the decision to push myself beyond my limits, Weiss. This is my fault, so stop looking sad every time you see me; you and Jaune both."
"Okay." Weiss nodded. Jaune's semblance could work miracles, but there were limits to what even he could fix. He had tried healing Ruby as soon as he had recovered from healing her. But it was too late, the older the injury, the less effective Jaune's semblance was. Ruby healed enough that she would make a full recovery, but not enough to allow her to skip over the process. Which sadly meant that Winter was well beyond his capability to help.
"Good, so how are you and Jaune doing?" Ruby said with a sly smile. "You've had that hotel room all to yourself for a month now."
"I don't know what you're implying, Ruby." Weiss said defensively, crossing her arms over her chest. "What Jaune and I do is none of your concern, and since when have you cared about my love life? I would expect this from Yang, not you."
"I'm just so bored, Weiss!" Ruby sighed. "You all visit me often enough, but I'm still by myself a lot of the time, and even I can only work on weapon design for so long." Ruby let out a groan of frustration. "So right now, living vicariously through you is all I've got."
"Well, you'll have to find someone else's love life to snoop through Ruby; my lips are sealed."
"That means you've done stuff." Ruby giggled.
"Shut up!" Weiss scolded, her face turning red.
"You know, I can always grill Uncle Qrow about him and your sister." Ruby teased. "Not that he'll visit anytime soon."
"Speaking of that drunkard, I've yet to give him a piece of my mind." Weiss angrily spat. "Did you know he has not once visited my sister since she was hospitalized? He won't even visit you."
"Well, duh." Ruby stated in a matter of fact manner. "A hospital is the last place my uncle should be stepping foot in. Especially when people he cares about are being treated there."
"That doesn't make any sense." Weiss said with a look of confusion on her face.
"What?" Ruby replied, equally confused. "Did nobody ever tell you about my uncle's semblance?"
"No." Weiss shook her head.
"Qrow's semblance is bad luck." Ruby stated plainly. Weiss stared incredulously as if something as esoteric as 'bad luck' could be a semblance.
"You're joking, right?"
"Nope." Ruby smirked. "Qrow causes uncontrolled bad luck around him; it can hit his enemies, himself, and most importantly, his friends. If something can go wrong around my uncle, it probably will."
Weiss blinked in realization as Ruby's words washed over her. Ruby's uncle hadn't avoided Winter because he didn't care. Winter had been in critical condition when she had first arrived if any one thing had gone wrong…Weiss shook her head; she didn't want to think about it. Even now, Winter still hadn't woken up, though her condition had significantly improved. All that time he had avoided her because he wanted to protect her from his semblance?
"I suddenly feel like I owe your uncle an apology and a hug." Weiss sighed.
"Yeah." Ruby chuckled. "He has that effect on people." Ruby looked around the room for a moment, fidgeting nervously. "Hey, Weiss."
"Yes, Ruby?" Weiss glanced over at her partner. "Is something wrong, do you need something?"
"No, nothing's wrong." Ruby shook her head. "It's just; I've been doing some thinking. Kind of have had a lot of time to do so. But when I get out of here, would you want to go shopping with me?"
"Oh, what did you want?" Weiss asked. "Did you need to pick up some new dust rounds?"
"No, it's not that?" Ruby shook her head. "I just thought it might be time for a new look, and well, I don't know anything about clothes and I trust your opinion, Weiss."
Weiss heart nearly skipped a beat. Ruby wanted to go clothes shopping? Ruby Rose…her partner who still referred to heels a 'lady stilts,' felt the need to improve her look?
"I'd love to." Weiss smiled. "Just don't bring Yang along; she thinks she knows what fashion is." Weiss and Ruby both broke down into a fit of laughter.
"Thanks, Weiss."
"You're welcome, Ruby." Weiss leaned down to hug the younger girl. "I have to go now, same time tomorrow?"
"Of course." Ruby squeezed her partner once more before letting go. "Have a good day, Weiss."
"You too, Ruby." Weiss said as she slipped out the door.
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Weiss walked into her hotel room, and she smiled when she saw Jaune fast asleep on the bed. She gently closed the door behind her. Slipping out of her heels, she tiptoed up to the bed. Sliding in next to him, Weiss wrapped her arms around and nuzzled him. His eyes popped open.
"Morning…" Jaune said with a yawn.
"More like afternoon." Weiss replied. "What time did you end up getting back? You weren't here when I left this morning."
"Around ten." Jaune mumbled still half asleep. "Ren and I were clearing out some of the lingering Grimm. They've started thinning out, so hopefully, they won't be a problem soon." The creatures of Grimm; this was one of the main reasons their group had stayed behind in Tempest for so long. While the White Fang attack had failed, it had brought with it a massive spike in negative emotions; both from the event itself as well as increased tension throughout the city during the aftermath. With that surge of negativity came the Grimm, they had all taken turns on patrol duty to thin out the numbers. With the city returning to normalcy the Grimm were finally dispersing. "Why, what time is it now?"
"A little after one." Weiss whispered. "Go back to sleep; you deserve some rest." She moved forward and kissed him on the cheek.
"Okay." Jaune nodded snuggling back into his pillow, Weiss reached up to run her fingers through his hair. She gave a small smile, content to watch him sleep. Never in all her wildest dreams would she have imagined being so close with someone, to be able to let her guard down around him so completely. Her eyes drifted shut as she cuddled him, completely at peace.
That was until a knock at the door jolted Weiss awake. Indignantly rolling out of bed, she stomped over to the door.
"What?" Weiss snapped as she flung the door open.
"I'm so sorry for disturbing you, Miss Schnee." The man at the door bowed. "But, I have a parcel for you." The man held out a small white envelope.
"Oh…" was all Weiss could reply, her face tinged red with slight embarrassment for snapping at the man like that. She reached out and took the letter from the man. "Thank you, sir."
"You're welcome, Miss Schnee." The man bowed before walking away, Weiss closed the door and wandered over to a nearby chair.
"What did you get?" Jaune asked suddenly, causing her to jump.
"I got a letter." Weiss replied while breaking the seal on the letter and opening it. "What?" her face scrunched up in confusion as her eyes scanned the page.
"What does it say?"
"It's from the manager of The Hanging Gardens." Weiss' eyes narrowed as she reread the letter. "As a reward for services to the city of Tempest, they are giving me one week's stay along with a guest of my choice at a private suite on the property."
"That's great." Jaune smiled. "You could use a vacation."
"What?" Weiss gasped. "There's no way I could accept this. I do my work for the good of others, how would it look if I started accepting gifts for doing my civic duty."
"Weiss, you saved a city; we all saved a city. Taking a vacation doesn't make you a bad person."
"Hmmph." Weiss huffed crossing her arms over her chest. "Well, I'm not going, and that's final."
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Weiss Schnee was going, and that was final. Weiss sighed as she sat in the airship that would take her to her destination. Never again would she doubt the persuasiveness of Ruby, Yang, and Nora. The group of the had all apparently received resort stays, which had alleviated her fears of receiving preferential treatment due to her name. But when Weiss had suggested they all go together, she had received an emphatic no from everyone. They had all insisted that she go with Jaune.
"Stupid airship." Jaune groaned sitting next to her, attempting to keep his stomach down on the short ride.
"Can't your semblance help with that?" Weiss asked, patting his shoulder reassuringly.
"I can't focus enough to bring it up." Jaune sighed. "Besides, I don't think it would help this anyway."
"Well, it's a short ride anyway." Weiss gave him an encouraging smile. True to her words, the airship ride was very brief, and they docked and exited the airship. "Wow!" Weiss exclaimed as her eyes widened. Before her was a verdant paradise: Green grass and flowers of all possible colors stretched as far as she could see. Never would she have thought that a place so green could exist in Atlas; It was a truly a marvel of Atlesian engineering.
"It's amazing." Jaune commented, snapping Weiss out of her reverie.
"Yeah, it is." Weiss smiled up at him. "Shall we?"
"Of course." Jaune reached out and took her hand in his. Walking hand in hand, they made their way down the path. It was still hard to believe everything they were seeing, it was sunny and warm; butterflies fluttered around to all the various flowers. "This place Jaune, it's just so…so."
"It is very impressive."
"Jaune, can you imagine the engineering that went into this place." Weiss looked around taking everything in. "The temperature controls, the artificial skyline and sun, all these flowers." Weiss gripped tighter onto Jaune. "Do you think they'd let see the dust facilities so I can study them." Weiss looked up at him her eyes shining.
"Perhaps." Jaune couldn't help but smile back. Seeing Weiss as excited about dust as Ruby would be about weapons. It took about another half hour for them to reach their destination. A private cabin well away from the central facility surrounded by some of the most breathtaking scenery either had ever seen, lush green grass perfectly trimmed, roses of every imaginable color, and even a small pond of perhaps the clearest water either had ever seen.
Walking up to the cabin Weiss' gaze happened to fall upon the small sign by the door. Honeymoon Suite. That brought on an unexpected wave of nervousness; she had thought she had prepared for this. While she and Jaune had shared a hotel room for the past month, with how busy their schedule had been, often patrolling at opposing hours their relationship had not advanced much; physically at least. But now, they would be alone for an entire week with no interruptions; she was ready for that next step that much she knew, but it did not make her any less anxious. Opening the door, they stepped inside.
Inside was a grand and lavishly decorated living room; a plush couch was the room's centerpiece.
"Wow, this is amazing!" Jaune exclaimed, looking around.
"It is rather cozy." Weiss replied.
"This is cozy?" Jaune asked, incredulously motioning to the room.
"Well comparatively." Weiss shrugged.
Jaune could only shake his head. Guessing that, compared to the opulent Schnee manor, this cabin could be considered cozy. Making their way to the bedroom, they were greeted by perhaps the plushest bed he'd ever seen. Sitting at the foot of the bed was a lone suitcase: Weiss'.
"Did they forget my suitcase?" Jaune looked around the room. "They were supposed to bring it here right?"
"Well, mine arrived." Weiss helped Jaune in his search. "Maybe they forgot it? You'll have to check with the main desk."
"Yeah…" Jaune sighed. "I just thought a five-star tourist resort would have better service than this." Jaune headed to the door. "I'll be back in a bit, Weiss." With that, Jaune exited.
Weiss stood there a moment, watching the door. After a few minutes, she was sure that Jaune was gone, and she let out a sigh of relief. It had been a gamble. But slipping a tip to the courier to "conveniently" forget Jaune's bag had paid off. Now she had time to prepare; she walked over to the windows and closed the blinds.
"Jaune Arc." Weiss smirked devilishly, as she searched through her suitcase. "You had best appreciate this."
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Jaune trudged up the path towards the cabin, it had taken over an hour to go to the main desk and walk back. With suitcase in tow, he muttered under his breath, but he was back now. Ready to share a relaxing evening with Weiss. He reached out and opened the door.
"Hey, Weiss…" Jaune's voice trailed off as he stepped inside. The cabin was darkened all the curtains drawn. Candles had been lit bathing everything in a soft light. "Weiss?"
"In the bedroom Jaune~!" Weiss called out her voice sounding oddly giddy. Jaune walked swiftly to the bedroom.
"Weiss what's…" Jaune's words died in his throat. Weiss lay upon the bed clad only in pale blue lingerie and a pair of heels.
"Like what you see?" Weiss was giggled upon seeing Jaune's stunned silence; she stood slowly and started to sashay towards him; only to nearly fall flat on her face.
"Weiss!" Jaune reached out and caught her. "Are you okay?"
"My hero!" Weiss grinned before pressing her lips to his in perhaps the sloppiest kiss she had ever given him. She pulled back still giggling. Jaune licked his lips a strange taste in his mouth; his eyes caught sight of the bottle of wine on the nightstand next to the bed, two glasses stood next to it. One full and the other empty.
"Weiss, have you been drinking?" Jaune asked concerned.
"You gone a looong time." Weiss replied nuzzling into his chest. "I got nervous, so I mayhave had a few to calm my nerves."
"Uh huh…" Jaune could only nod in response. "How many is a few?" Weiss' face scrunched up as she began to count on her fingers, seeming to struggle with the basic concept of counting.
"This many!" Weiss exclaimed while proudly holding up three fingers. "I think." She added with a whisper.
"Three huh?." Jaune sighed and shook his head. While he doubted the wine was particularly potent that many glasses in so short of time would leave a girl of Weiss' stature completely floored. "Alright let's get you into bed Weiss."
"Yessss!" Weiss cheered as she bounded away from him and flopped ungracefully on the bed. "Come here Jaune." She purred seductively.
"I'll be there in just a moment." Jaune walked over to Weiss' suitcase; searching through it he quickly found her nightgown. Walking back to the bed he held it out to her. "Put this on."
"Jaaaaune, you're supposed to take my clothes off not tell me to put more on." Weiss pouted looking up at him with sad eyes.
"You are if you're going to bed." Jaune held firm not swayed by her pleadings. "So put on your pajamas and let's get ready for bed."
"Wouldn't you rather do other things?" Weiss giggled again apparently amused by her own innuendo.
"In the morning Weiss, I promise first thing we can do all the things you want." Jaune waved the nightgown in front of her again. "But for now let's get some rest okay." Weiss stared at the garment a moment longer.
"Okay!" Weiss chirped happily grabbing the gown and pulling it over her head, after struggling with the apparently complex article of clothing for a minute she succeeded in putting it on. Jaune lay down on the bed next to her. Weiss immediately clamped onto him nuzzling his shoulder. "Mine!"
"That's right Weiss." Jaune smiled a little amused at this side of Weiss. "I'm yours."
"And don't yoooou forget it!" She poked him in his side with her finger to punctuate her statement, before resuming her snuggling.
"I won't Weiss." Jaune wrapped his arms around her, slowly but surely Weiss' eyes drifted shut, and she fell asleep in his arms.
"Poor girl." Jaune kissed the top of her heard. Weiss was going to have a hell of a morning when she woke up. But he'd be there to help her.
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Weiss' eyes fluttered open the room was dark, why was it so dark? She blindly reached out where she knew the nightstand to be, after about a minute of fumbling she found the lamp and turned it on. This proved to be a poor decision.
"Ah!" Weiss gasped as she buried her face back into her pillow. The lamp was evil; it must have been a creature of Grimm in disguise. But how would a Grimm get into her and Jaune's cabin it just… Suddenly Weiss remembered last night, and all that prep work wasted because of nerves. She had made a complete fool of herself. She felt stupid, felt embarrassed, and most importantly felt sick. Leaping out of bed she sprinted to the adjoining bathroom, before emptying the contents of her stomach into the toilet. This was supposed to be a romantic getaway, and here she was sick as a dog from her own stupidity.
That was when she felt a hand on her shoulder, followed by warmth as her body was enveloped in white light. Concern, comfort, and relief. Those were three emotions she felt most strongly through Jaune's semblance.
"It's okay Weiss." Jaune whispered. "I'm here." Weiss turned back and looked at him. He smiled at her and held up a small hand towel. Weiss took it from him and wiped her face off. "Feeling better?" Weiss weakly shook her head in reply unable to find the strength for words. Physically she felt better, but emotionally? That was another story. "Come on." Jaune stood and held his hand out to her. "Let's get you back to bed." Weiss grabbed onto his hand, and she was pulled to her feet. After guiding her back to the bed, Jaune helped her into the bed. "I'll be right back; I'll go make you some breakfast." Jaune kissed her forehead before exiting the room.
Weiss lay on the bed staring at the door, why wasn't he upset like she was? She had ruined the evening, quite possibly the entire vacation. She had been so stupid. Jaune entered the room after a few minutes, a glass of water and a plate of toast in hand.
"Here." Jaune handed the plate to her which Weiss accepted.
"Why aren't you mad at me?" Weiss asked exasperated, and she couldn't take it anymore.
"Hmm?" Jaune looked at her curiously. "Why would I be?"
"Cause I ruined our evening!" Weiss snapped. "Last night was supposed to be perfect, you'd return from your excursion find me on the bed and then…" Weiss' face turned red. "You know…things would happen."
"Weiss." Jaune sighed. "You didn't ruin anything, I never expected anything to happen last night. I don't expect anything to happen tonight or any night for that matter. We both have the rest of our lives ahead of us, if things are meant to happen, well they'll happen."
"I still made a complete fool of myself." Weiss commented while taking a bite of her toast.
"You did." Jaune smiled. "But you're my fool, you dolt."
Weiss smiled back at him; looking into his eyes she knew at that moment that he was right. They had their whole lives ahead of them. A life she was now sure would be with Jaune Arc. He was irritating, naïve, goofy, kind and gentle; be he was hers, and she was his. She didn't know what the future held, but she knew one thing for sure.
They would be there to face it together.
Fin
Epilogue Five Years Later
Jaune paced nervously in the living room of their apartment. He checked his scroll.
"Come on Weiss where are you?" Jaune put his scroll back in his pocket. Weiss was usually very punctual, but she was running nearly an hour late. "Maybe she got stuck in traffic." He seemed to say to no one in particular. Jaune sighed rubbing his hand through his hair he flopped down on the couch; His eyes were wandering to the various pictures around the room, five years' worth of memories he and Weiss had built together. The final confrontation with Salem, the peace that rose up in its place. Grimm were still an occasional issue, but they were no longer the oppressive force that threatened mankind. He smiled when his gaze fell upon the centerpiece of the room, Hanging on the wall was his shield and crossed behind it was Crocea Mors and Weiss' new rapier Kolter Mond, and hanging just below was the broken hilt of Myrtenaster.
"I'm home!" Weiss called out as she walked into the room.
"Oh finally." Jaune stood up to greet her. "I was starting to get worried."
"I had a doctor's appointment." Weiss replied as she hung up her coat. "Didn't I tell you?"
"No, you didn't."
"Oh…" Weiss laughed nervously. "It must have slipped my mind."
"Weiss?" Jaune's eyes narrowed. "What's wrong?"
"Jaune." Weiss took in a deep breath; there was no reason to dance around the subject. "I'm pregnant." Jaune stood there blinking in stunned silence.
"Oh my gosh!" a voice shouted from the hallway closet.
"Ruby shut up!" another voice whispered harshly.
"What?" Weiss looked confused before a scowl formed on her face before stomping over to her closet and flinging the door open causing Ruby, Blake, and Yang to spill out.
"Hey, Weiss." Ruby waved sheepishly.
"Congratulations!" Yang cheered.
"We're sorry." Blake sighed.
Weiss turned on her feet and walked back over to Jaune.
"Jaune, is there a reason my team was hiding in our closet?" Weiss inquired coldly.
"Well, you see…" Jaune stammered out. "It was supposed to be a sort of surprise party."
"Oh really?" Weiss' foot tapped impatiently on the ground. "A surprise for what? My birthday is months away!"
"Well, you see Weiss…" Jaune began nervously. He reached into his hoodie pocket and presented Weiss with a small and ornate dagger, perfect for her to wield in her off hand. It was delicate looking, almost as if it were made of glass. Weiss could see the small space in the hilt of the dagger where a dust crystal could be inserted. Etched into the guard was the design of a snowflake overlapping a crescent moon. "Weiss Schnee…" Jaune knelt down before her. "Will you marry me?"
Weiss froze her heart hammering in her chest, her mind racing to find the right response, and her lips struggling to form the words.
"Really Jaune?" Weiss spoke at last. "A surprise engagement party, what if I had said no?"
"What?" Jaune could hardly suppress the confusion on his face.
"This has to be one of the most ridiculous and idiotic ideas you've ever had." Weiss continued berating him. "But it's also the sweetest, romantic and the most heartfelt thing you've ever done." Her tone softened as a smile formed on her face. "Of course I'll marry you, you dolt."
"Woohoo!" Nora shrieked as she popped up from behind the couch, followed by Ren who looked exhausted. "Kiss him!"
Weiss' eye twitched as she glared at Jaune who could only laugh nervously.
"By the way, Ren and Nora are here too."
Weiss sighed, only Jaune would think to invite so many people to what should be a private moment between the two of them. But then again who was she to disappoint a crowd. Helping him to his feet, she accepted the dagger from him and pulled him close.
Wrapping her arms around him, she brought her lips to his.
Well so ends this long and rather interesting journey that this story has been. Considering that this story was originally meant to be a one-shot I don't think it turned out half bad. But Trapped is now over. But all is not lost if you haven't checked it out yet there is my new story Last Resort (Which will now have my full focus for a little bit at least.) A Dragon Slayer fic. There is also Disillusioned my upcoming Topaz (Jaune x Emerald) fic which if things go my way should be out sometime in March. To all fans of Weiss there is also another story in the works called True Colors an AU where Weiss is born as Jacques illegitimate faunus daughter, depriving her of the glyph semblance as well as changing her upbringing a good bit. That one is on the backburner for now since it's mostly in the planning stages at this point and more character driven than narrative.
Some special thanks goes to Mallobaude's Letters to Winter and Myareska's Just a Few Pointers for being the primary inspiration to start writing a White Knight story.
More thanks to WarrenDSherman for coming up with the idea of Jaune presenting a dagger.
Also I have fanart now, just in time for the finale. Cover image by kegispringfield.
Thanks to all my readers and reviewers, this story was far more popular than I ever thought it would be.
