No Holding Back

EARLY RELEASE FOR HIGH-PLEDGING PATRONS!

Reward for s22132, who asked for some Dust Bunny after the finale of volume 3! Many things were obviously tweaked, as per the patron's request.

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.

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													Chapter 47. No Holding Back

Beacon was in ruins.

Every building had sustained some kind of beating, and in most cases, it was enough to leave the structures in shambles.

But despite the severe damages, it was most important that there had been no lives lost during the battle to defend the beloved school.

The aftermath was still a bit chaotic as students, teachers, and family members alike swarmed the campus, offering or receiving medical attention, trying to make repairs, or searching for people they wanted to check up on.

Glynda was perhaps the most active of all, even after the fight had ended. She worked tirelessly to use her semblance in order to repair as much as she could in as little time as possible. Her students had succeeded in killing off the last of the rampaging Grimm that hadn't already flown off or retreated. Even the massive dragon had met its end, though it left behind no small amount of wreckage in its wake.

In the basement of the tower, Ozpin was praising the efforts of two of his students. Jaune had successfully kept watch and prevented Cinder from interfering with the Maiden's power transfer. As a result, Pyrrha's acceptance of said power had been completed. Using the Fall Maiden's abilities, she had put and end to the attempted siege of the school, and chased Cinder off.

Not far above them, Ruby and Weiss had used their exceptional efforts along with the help of their friends and classmates in order to defeat the dragon.

Once things had quieted down a bit, these two groups had met halfway on ground level to congratulate each other.

But as Pyrrha had opened her arms to invite Ruby and Weiss into a hug, not even her Maiden powers could prevent the surge of guilt from rising up to consume her.

The miracle was that Ruby soon dashed that guilt in a matter of minutes. She quickly explained to Pyrrha that Penny had initiated some sort of emergency shut-down mode on herself before the damage had been done in their match. After some careful repairs and a few week's worth of resting in a comatose state, she would be back to her old self again.

That elated Pyrrha enough to break down into tears, bringing Ruby and Weiss to their knees with her.

Not long afterward, they were joined by Blake and Yang.

Even though Blake had sustained a major injury from where Adam had stabbed her, she'd still been able to move quickly enough to distract him from Yang after her partner had charged at him in a rage. Through their combined efforts, they'd chased him off and escaped with their lives, Blake's stomach wound being the worst injury between them.

But Ren and Nora had patched her up, and also taken care of the bleeding scratches on Yang's arms and shoulders.

Now, they were all too eager to collapse to their knees beside Pyrrha, Ruby, and Weiss, sobbing in relief as they took comfort in each others' safety.

Everything was still so fresh in their minds, but at least they'd all come out of it majorly unscathed, and without losing anyone precious to them.

Though Weiss was relieved beyond words to see her teammates and friends unharmed, she was the first to pull away from their group embrace, casting her gaze around the area. She couldn't help but search through the figures and faces all around them, as everyone else reunited with their friends.

Ruby perked up as she noticed her partner's action and softly tugged on her sleeve.

"Weiss? Are you okay?"

With a nod, the heiress turned back to her, offering a kind smile.

"I'm fine. I'm just... looking... for someone..."

No sooner had the words left her mouth when the crowds of people revealed whom it was she was seeking.

Team CFVY had stayed together throughout everything, and Weiss spotted them easily now.

Coco was limping and sweating, enough to remove her shades and wipe her arm over her forehead. Fox was supporting her, even though she was insisting she was fine.

Next to them, Yatsuhashi treaded slowly beside his own partner. Velvet was still a little disoriented from the hit she'd taken from the rogue robot a short while ago, but other than a sway in her step, she too, seemed all right.

Weiss didn't even blink as her gaze met with the Faunus girl's, and upon making eye contact, Velvet also froze in place. Weiss watched as she pulled Yatsuhashi down and murmured something to him. He nodded, and with that, Velvet scurried off to cover the distance between the heiress and herself.

Weiss pushed herself to her feet and took a few steps forward, leaving her own group behind to meet Velvet. The Faunus girl's expression was light with relief, and a wide smile was already spreading across her lips, even before she reached her.

"Weiss!"

With a happy call of her name, she opened her arms and couldn't help but throw them around her underclassman, softly but firmly.

Weiss was a little surprised and a little embarrassed by the blatant display of affection, but she did manage to return the embrace for a few seconds before Velvet pulled herself back fretfully.

"Oh, goodness! I'm so sorry, Weiss! Are you injured anywhere? I hope I didn't hurt you just now!"

Weiss wasted no time in shaking her head and quelling the other girl's fears.

"Not at all. I'm perfectly fine. Just a bit tired..."

Velvet's smile returned.

"I can understand that. I think we all need a three-day nap or something."

Weiss laughed lightly, noticing that Velvet's hands had slid down to cover her own. When she gave the Faunus girl a curious look, Velvet coaxed her back a step, away from the others. Her behavior both puzzled and concerned the heiress, who lowered her voice now.

"Velvet? Is... something the matter?"

Faunus ears twitched and perked tall as Velvet quickly shook her head.

"Oh, no! Not at all! I'm sorry if I worried you. I didn't mean to. Nothing's wrong at all. I just... still can't believe all of this happened. And it's over."

"Well... I wouldn't be so sure about it's being over," Weiss mumbled. "But at least for now things have quieted down."

"You're right," the older girl agreed. "And... since things have quieted down, I was wondering if... if I could talk to you for a moment, Weiss?"

The heiress cast a brief glance back over her shoulder. Pyrrha and her teammates were still occupied with one another as they told of their individual experiences throughout the ordeal. She turned back to Velvet and nodded.

"Of course."

Velvet kept her hands on Weiss' and guided her a few more paces away, to a space where they had a bit more privacy to talk. Once she discerned it was a good spot for the conversation she had in mind, Velvet paused and turned back to her. She met Weiss' eyes without wavering, though her lip might've trembled a bit.

"I'd wanted to ask you..." she began softly. "Why exactly you did that back there."

Weiss felt Velvet's grip on her hands tighten just a bit. The heiress hesitated.

"What do you mean?"

Velvet took a step closer to her.

"You know what I mean. Why did you... recklessly throw yourself in front of me against that rouge robot? I don't mean to say I ever doubted your abilities, but you could've been hurt."

"And you could've been, too," Weiss countered. "I don't mean to say I doubt you either, Velvet, but if I hadn't done something, I'm not sure anyone else might've gotten the chance to. I did what I had to."

Still, the hands on hers didn't loosen their grip, so Weiss tired to soften her voice and offered a smile. "Nothing bad happened. We all came out all right. So it's fine, isn't it?"

Velvet pursed her lips, not seeming entirely satisfied with the response, but she had to look at the truth in Weiss' words.

"You're right. I'm sorry. I know you're more than capable of taking care of yourself and your friends, Weiss. I don't know why, but I just... can't help but worry... Especially about you."

A sudden rush of warmth started pooling behind Weiss' cheeks, and she could only hope all the blood, sweat, and grime from the fight concealed the blush.

"It's... the same with me," she admitted. "Why do you think I jumped in to defend you, Velvet? Of course, I would've done it for anyone, but... I was always keeping an eye on you in particular. Not because I didn't think you could handle yourself, but-"

"But because you're worried about me, and you can't quite explain why?"

Weiss dipped her head bashfully.

"Sort of..."

Despite the awkward air around them now, Velvet managed a smile. She tugged Weiss in by the hand, just a step closer.

"You know what, Weiss? You taught me something today."

The heiress' eyes widened, and she couldn't keep the surprise out of her tone.

"Me? I taught you something?"

"Yes indeed," Velvet affirmed. "Care to know what it was?"

Weiss bit her lip, and nodded. Her upperclassman went on, and didn't hold anything back.

"You taught me that on this path we've chosen, we can't afford to hesitate. We can't just sit back and let things play out as they may. We can't just be bystanders without interfering. If any of us had done that today, I'm sure things would've turned out badly.

"This life we've chosen... this line of work... doesn't allow us to hold back. Today, you've shown me that sometimes you've got to jump in and take chances, no matter the risk. And not just in battle."

Her shy smile, her sparkling eyes, her warm hands - they all told Weiss exactly what Velvet meant.

The heiress could feel her heart already speeding up as she tried to make herself believe in the reality before her right now.

But she still did her best to remain composed. After all, she was her father's daughter.

Taking a deep breath, Weiss held Velvet's gaze.

"Are you saying... there's something else you'd like to jump into... with me?"

Velvet's nose twitched slightly as the corners of her lips curled up.

"That's precisely what I'm saying."

When she pulled on Weiss' hands again, Weiss willingly came forward.

The kiss was soft and private, as a kiss between a Schnee and a Faunus should be.

But the time for restraint was over.

So they didn't hold anything back.

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A/N: I made sure to add in all the little details and explanations about the "good" version of the end of the battle that the patron asked to see. I've always had a small soft spot for Weiss and Velvet, and I feel they wouldn't make a huge display of affections towards one another. Just something private and quiet like this would be enough.