29Yes, I'm sorry, yet another old rp turned to a fic, but this one is with a different partner so hopefully you won't get tired of the same writing styles (just mine haha). And it's some good old Schneekos, from simpler times. It's a throwback to volume 1 and 2 days.
At the time we were writing this we named it Sniffles, but I've decided to change that since it was kind of lame. Pyrrha's sections will be underlined.
Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.
Step By Step
Chapter 1. Reservations
Weiss paced back and forth across her vacant dorm room. Vacant, because Beacon's mid-semester break had recently begun, and her teammates had all gone off to visit relatives.
However, going home to her father wasn't exactly Weiss' idea of a relaxing break, so she'd opted to stay at school. She might've felt a bit better if Ruby and Yang had left Zwei behind to keep her company, but they were going to visit their father, so Weiss understood why they'd taken the dog along with them.
But despite the emptiness of her room, Weiss wasn't entirely alone at school this week.
Across the hallway, team JNPR had headed out as well - all of them but one. Pyrrha had decided to stay at school as well, and it hadn't taken long for the two of them to discover the other's situation was similar to her own.
It was fairly impulsive on Weiss' part, probably due to her jitters whenever she was around the crimson-haired girl, but she'd blurted out a proposal to her, a simple offer to go to lunch together tomorrow.
When Pyrrha had agreed, Weiss had very nearly fainted before quickly wishing her a good day and hurrying back to her room.
Which brought her to the present.
Pacing. Back and forth. Because Weiss hadn't thought this through before she'd spoken to Pyrrha and still needed to make the reservations for lunch at one of the most prestigious restaurants in Vale.
"Come on…" Weiss huffed into her scroll where she'd been on-hold for nearly an hour. "Please. Just let me have this…"
. . .
Sitting alone on your bed when you had the entire dorm to yourself for days to come probably wasn't everyone's idea of a good way to spend the first day of break, but Pyrrha was never one for rushing through activities. She had plenty of time to do all the things she wanted and still be able to relax around her studying and minor school-related activities without worrying about a thing.
The sky outside was a brilliant blue, but that wasn't the main reason for the small smile on her lips. Not even the peace and quiet provided by the lack of a somewhat bumbling leader or a slightly excitable teammate brought the happiness she was feeling - though they were certainly not unwelcome.
No, the reason Pyrrha was still smiling as she spread a few books across her bed and idly wrote down notes on her current subjects was something more out of the ordinary.
It had almost happened several times before, but somehow something always came up that meant they would have to cancel - not that she ever really minded. However, she had an exceptionally good feeling about this particular one.
Weiss' offers to meet outside of classes without the rest of their teammates intruding on their time together were always accepted immediately, and this was no different.
And this time, there was no physical way it could go wrong. At least, not unless Nora somehow managed to roll herself back to Beacon using Magnhild like a wheel. Which, to be honest, was completely within the realms of a possibility. Pyrrha's smile grew a little wider at the image before her thoughts moved back to something less comical.
Weiss had always seemed to lose a little - or a lot, occasionally - of composure whenever the two of them talked. Her speech was less stern and her body language changed from the authoritative heiress she carried herself as to an almost stuttering, shy girl.
It was odd at first, but Pyrrha quickly determined it had nothing to do with her reputation like most others, and really she found Weiss' change in demeanor to be quite cute, though she'd never say it out loud. And that's what had happened today.
Still, their date was tomorrow and she had the whole afternoon ahead, starting with getting her studies out of the way so she could enjoy their time together to the fullest. Her pen flowed onto the paper with her usual elegant handwriting as she flipped the page every so often, typing out the important parts into her scroll as she went along. It was a very stress-free day, and for that Pyrrha was glad.
. . .
She was so stressed out.
It'd been nearly an hour and Weiss was beginning to think the restaurant was playing her, and that they'd never put her off of hold. The casual music that played in the meantime was infuriating, the exact opposite effect it was supposed to have on her.
With a frustrated groan, Weiss finally gave up. She hung up her scroll and tossed it onto her bed.
It was strange, but she wasn't feeling angry like she normally would have when she was so miffed. No, rather than rage or anything along those lines, waves of frustration crashed over her, making her chest tighten uncomfortably. The sting worked its way up and settled painfully behind her eyes, and the tears that followed were inevitable.
Weiss collapsed onto her bed, sobbing softly.
"Why… why can't anything… ever go right? I just… I just want to have a good time with her…"
She was pathetic. She should've known better than to make a date she hadn't even planned yet. And now Pyrrha would be upset with her.
Weiss felt her heart pound at the thought. There was nothing she despised more than the thought of disappointing someone she looked up to so much.
She cried to herself for a few moments.
But her stubbornness was in her blood, flowing through her body, and she refused to give up yet. She'd try getting reservations somewhere else.
Weiss pushed herself up, but decided to do something else for the moment until she'd calmed down. She wiped her eyes and made her bed, wandering the room aimlessly, fixing a crooked book here or a falling poster there.
Then, she returned to her bed, picked up her scroll, and tried again.
. . .
There was never really any pressure to study, but that didn't stop Pyrrha from wrapping up the first few day's worth of classes in a few hours of relaxed research. Placing her scroll to one side and resting her pen on the last pageful of writing, she reached up and straightened her back as much as she could, stretching out the kinks in her muscles with a murmur of satisfaction.
With that out of the way, she set about clearing what little mess she had made on her bed, sliding her books back into the gaps on the shelf. Now that everything had been tidied, it was beginning to head towards the evening.
She gave a momentary glance out the window at the sun lowering in the sky and the clouds drifting lazily across its expanse before her attention was snagged by the twinge in her stomach. She checked the time on her scroll and debated the worth of heading down to the dining hall.
It was obvious quite quickly that she didn't feel like going all the way just to appease a slight hunger, but the notion in turn brought another possibility to her mind.
She had seen Nora being 'sneaky' many a time before, and even caught Jaune on several occasions. She had asked Ren about it once, and he had explained that Nora always kept a stash of sugary sweets and foods hidden around the dorm in case she has a craving in the middle of the night. Of course, Nora being Nora couldn't keep to her own rules and somehow Jaune had learned of it too - but none of her teammates were here, and Nora wouldn't notice if just one thing was missing, right?
Pyrrha glanced around the room, scanning every surface and every gap for a likely hiding spot for a collection of easily-concealed treats. It wouldn't be anywhere near Pyrrha or Jaune's things, as the risk of it being found would be too high, and sticking it in her own "quarter" as she called it would be far too obvious.
Pyrrha's eyes settled on the third bed, and a sly smile crept onto her face. Ren knew from the start and he wouldn't say anything about it to anyone, which made it the perfect place to hide something that Nora wanted to remain hidden.
She made her way over and searched thoroughly; under the bed, guiltily rifling through the drawers, high and low until she turned one eye down the gap between the headboard and the wall. Sure enough, there was a grey and pink backpack shoved against the wood. Pyrrha reached down and hooked two fingers under one of the straps, her heart beating a little faster at the thrill of doing something she shouldn't.
She sat herself on the edge of Ren's bed and quietly rummaged through its contents, settling on the same kind of gummy sweets she won as a prize back when she was a child.
The memories of a simpler time were as sweet as the candy, and Pyrrha made a mental note to buy a few replacement packets next time she was in Vale - with a few extra for herself.
Today was certainly a good one.
. . .
Weiss couldn't curse this day enough. But she knew it should be her own carelessness and borderline stupidity she should curse. Why would she ever think things would work out in her favor?
It was already evening, and she had been so anxious, she'd neglected to eat all day. Yesterday's supper had been the last time, and now hunger clawed at her belly.
But she didn't want to risk going to get something to eat at the cafeteria, only to find the restaurant had gotten to her call and to have Weiss not be present to speak to them. Due to its excessive use today, her scroll was low on battery and needed to stay in the room to charge, therefore she couldn't take it with her.
Weiss sat on her bed again, keeping one hand on her scroll as the other ran through her bangs, a habit she had when anxious. She felt it was a good thing her hair was naturally white, because it was surely turning grey by now.
She must've waited another hour at least, pacing and fretting. She tried to distract herself by reading as she waited, but she couldn't comprehend the words. Her head was starting to hurt and she needed to focus in case someone came on the other line for her to speak to.
What a fine mess I've gotten myself into, she thought, groaning yet again. Pyrrha was right across the hallway, and it would be an easy task to simply pay a visit and explain the situation.
But Weiss refused to cancel on her until there was no other feasible options.
. . .
It hadn't been too long since she'd finished her little raid and pushed the backpack back into place where she'd found it, but in that time Pyrrha's thoughts had wandered back to Weiss - or more specifically, the evening that was coming to be spent with her.
The first shades of yellow were beginning to tint the view outside, and Pyrrha sat on the top of one of the low bookshelves placed in front of the windows, her back resting against the frame and her arms wrapped around her knees as she stared through the glass at the falling sun.
She had imagined and theorized what an evening out with Weiss would be like from the first time the heiress had offered, but the more time they spent together and the better she got to know her friend, that image altered to suit.
If it were casual, then they would probably spend an hour or so wandering the streets of Vale, visiting shops of all kinds, helping each other choose what to buy, if anything, and eventually making their way to one of the corner cafes, where they would sit at a window-side table with two steaming cups of coffee - cocoa for Pyrrha - and chat about all sorts of things.
It would be a very relaxed kind of day, and in her head it would end with a quiet hour or so spent in the park amidst trees and greenery, sitting together on a bench watching the sunset like she dreamed about doing.
The idea really did sound like a wonderful time, but there was also the more formal side of things to think about. Not quite Beacon Ball level of elegance, but close. Looking their best, beautiful clothes, expensive food that tasted better than its cost, spoiling and being spoiled like princesses, romantic candlelight…
Pyrrha tried not to let her dreams run away with her, but the idea of dressing up to be with Weiss really did seem appealing.
Her lips curved into a tiny smile at her own thoughts, pushing her negativity away before it could take hold. She wasn't going to let some tiny doubts ruin her mood, nor the coming day.
Perfect fantasies aside, she was certain that tomorrow would be a day she would never forget, and if the slight fluttering in her stomach was anything to go by, she was growing more and more excited for it as it drew closer.
Weiss hadn't specified what kind of date it would be, but Pyrrha reasoned she would be told in advance so she had plenty of time to dress accordingly - normally, she didn't really care for her appearance, but she felt like she wanted to make an effort for Weiss. After all, at the time of the proposition, she'd appeared to be looking forward to it as much as Pyrrha was.
. . .
As the hours passed, Weiss was progressively becoming more upset. Every place she called refused or ignored her - or worse, told her they had a free spot and let her feel that relief, only to redact their statement a minute later.
She hung up her scroll for what must've been the tenth time that evening, dropped it onto her bed, and fell onto her back beside it. She rolled over quickly to stifle her wails of frustration.
"What could possibly be going on that not a single high-end restaurant in Vale has a single spot available?!"
The trepidation stirred within her, and she knew what she was going to have to do; cancel on Pyrrha. The thought alone made her stomach twist, reminding her of just how empty it was.
But a glance to the clock told her it was too late to go to the cafeteria to get something to eat, and quite honestly, Weiss didn't feel like moving anymore anyway. It was a miracle she managed to push herself up and remove her combat skirt in exchange for her nightgown. She let her hair down, fighting back tears all the while.
"I just can't believe it. It must be a plot against me. Unbelievable…" She tried to sound angry, perhaps to fool herself into thinking that was what she was.
But it was clear she couldn't even keep up the act. She was upset and disheartened above all else, and feeling that way only caused her spirits to sink lower. She brought her hands to her face for a time, palms covering her eyes, and tried to convince herself it was sweat running down her cheeks.
. . .
In the time that had passed between her daydreaming and settling down into her bed, Pyrrha had cleaned one half of the room, narrowed her outfit choices for tomorrow down to two, one formal and one casual, spent a short while in a video call with Nora and changed into her nightwear, neatly arranging her myriad of armor and clothing on the top of the nearest bookshelf.
She had debated on reading a little to tire herself out, but even though the silence would have been blissful to enjoy, she knew that she would have ample opportunity to take advantage of it before her teammates returned, and the premise of sleeping meant that she would awake sooner, too.
It was a little strange not saying goodnight to anyone after the few months spent sharing the dorm, but despite her apparent indifference towards the quiet, she briefly considered the idea of sending the only other person around she really knew a goodnight message.
She's probably already asleep… on point and always, taking excellent care of her health.
With that settled, Pyrrha gently placed her scroll on the bedside table and wrapped her quilt a little tighter around herself, snuggling down into the softness of her pillow and surrendering herself to the comforting world of sleep, the excitement building alongside her nerves.
. . .
Something possessed her to try one last time. Perhaps it was her inherent stubbornness that more often than not got her into heated arguments, and usually worked against her. But this time, it actually worked in her favor.
On a whim, she'd sent out one last call and been told a spot had cleared up. She was almost dubious at first, expecting to be cut off again, but the man on the other end of the line happily informed her that her arrangement had been set for noon tomorrow. When Weiss hung up her scroll, she felt almost limp with disbelief, baffled with relief.
By this time, the only light left in the room was coming from the bedside lamp, and the dim glow around the room made the promise of sleep all the more enticing. She crawled beneath her blankets and flicked off the light, telling herself there was no longer a need to worry now that the date was set. All her fretting had finally payed off, it seemed.
But sleep never came to her. She blamed a lot of things, like the lack of Yang's snores and Blake's gentle breathing to provide the background noise she'd grown so accustomed to over the months. Ruby's bed didn't send out those little creaking noises anymore without its occupant, and Weiss would go so far as to say she missed even those sounds. No furry body curled up at her feet to keep them warm.
Overall, she couldn't shake the feeling of being what she'd feared to be all her life-
-alone.
Utterly, miserably, terribly alone.
The apprehension about tomorrow didn't help either, and the night was spent tossing and turning, almost to the point of thrashing in discomfort. She was hungry and thirsty, too, and everything was too quiet - hauntingly so - as though trying to force her to remember the past…
For hours she fought against herself in that bed, until the break of dawn slipped through the window sill. Only then did she finally wear herself out enough to lose consciousness altogether.
A/N: A bit of a troubling start for the two (well, at least one of them!) Even as far back as when this was written, we all knew Weiss to be the type to overwork herself to the point of collapse, as she later is shown doing in future volumes as well.
I always love how my partner writes Pyrrha. I hope to do another Schneekos rp with them again someday.
Please review!
