The Champion And The Singer (ch2)

EARLY RELEASE FOR ALL PATRONS! THANK YOU!

Glad you're all enjoying so far! Now we'll get to see Pyrrha's perspective!

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.

													Chapter 2. First Meeting
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After a night out with her sister, Weiss was more than thankful to rest up before tomorrow.

And as soon as she woke the next morning, she was all-too eager to get ready for her concert.

The concert that Pyrrha Nikos would be attending.

Weiss knew the routine by now. Whenever she was to hold a concert in another kingdom, she'd often get a hotel room with Winter, who would take the day off from her work in the military to be Weiss' own personal bodyguard of sorts.

Aside from wanting to support her younger sister, Winter had her own reasons for being so adamant about attending every concert.

But Weiss didn't know about that yet. Not if she didn't need to...

The heiress spent the morning prepping herself, first with a shower, then blowdrying her hair to ensure it shone. She sifted through the selection of outfits she'd had sent to the suite ahead of time, and ultimately selected a sky-blue dress for this evening's concert.

She ate small meals that day before Winter called for the private Air Ship to take them to the stage where Weiss would be performing tonight.

There, the make-up artists went to work, brushing and re-brushing her hair and fixing her clothes for her. One man brought Weiss her rapier, as she planned to use it and its Dust tonight to give the audience a dazzling spectacle.

Of course, Weiss intended to stun her audience, and in the process, stave off her father's ire.

But even more so than all of that, tonight Weiss would be singing for one person in particular.

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Despite what she'd thought when she'd agreed to attend the concert yesterday, Pyrrha was actually put through a great deal of trouble in order to get there.

Her agents had tried to insist she do a follow-up performance of her own in the same arena today, as the Grimm fights had been a massive hit.

But Pyrrha had denied the offer, adamantly declaring that she had already made plans for herself. She wasn't one to argue often, but when she was made to, she could be a very convincing and even intimidating person.

So she'd firmly declared she was taking a personal day off, and after dressing herself in comfortable clothing and calling for a cab, she'd arrived at the concert stage.

And it was... truly quite impressive.

The arenas where she typically fought her matches were grand things with audience seats on all sides. Those stadiums could fit thousands of rowdy onlookers and then a few extras, just about anyone who'd managed to get their hands on a ticket.

But this stage was very different from her own.

There were only two sides; one for the performance and one for the audience. Unlike Pyrrha's matches where just about anyone could get in, this stage gave off an entirely different feeling, the feeling that only a select or elite handful of society could manage to get in.

The audience members themselves were very different from the types who attended Pyrrha's matches. Everyone here seemed to be dressed almost formally, and spoke in rather reserved, sophisticated tones. Pyrrha was glad that her selection of skirt and blouse seemed appropriate for mingling amongst such a crowd.

Until now, she'd never considered how big a deal it might be to get into one of Weiss Schnee's famous concerts. Pyrrha would often hear recordings of her songs, and she would hear other people discussing the young singer's success.

But now she was beginning to realize that her invitation to be here had been somewhat of a big deal. After all, she'd only gotten her hands on her ticket because the singer's own sister had handed it to her in-person.

As Pyrrha followed the crowds of people who gradually filed into their seats with her program pamphlet in one hand and her ticket in the other, she recalled her meeting with Winter Schnee yesterday.

The young woman had formally introduced herself, and Pyrrha had recognized the last name right away. Naturally, she'd been as polite as she always tried to be, but she might've put in just a little more effort in speaking to a renown Schnee, and one who was in the military at that.

That was how Pyrrha had found out about Weiss' desire to meet her.

Winter had said how the girl had taken an interest in Pyrrha years ago and had been admiring her ever since, but was too shy to utilize the VIP pass for herself to meet her. Pyrrha had been a little sad that she hadn't gotten to meet the girl yesterday, as Weiss sounded like a very interesting person.

But she was also glad she was given a concert ticket in return. This way, she could experience one of Weiss' concerts firsthand and get another chance to meet with the girl.

Even now, as she shuffled at a respectful pace amongst the crowds of people and glanced down at her ticket, she was amazed by her seat number. She'd been presented with a front-row ticket free of charge, and if it was at all possible, she would've liked to meet the girl responsible in person to thank her.

Pyrrha found her indicated seat number and finally sat down.

There were several yards of space between the front row and the stage, which rose up before her to about the height of her own head. She had heard many stories about these concerts and how Dust was often used for visual effects, and guessed the audience was put at a distance for safety precautions.

As she was observing the scenery, Pyrrha noticed another peculiar tidbit.

The onstage curtain that was presently drawn to either side to reveal the dark, vacant center, was not the usual deep crimson color, but rather it was white. In just looking at it, the slight discomforting heat of being a part of such a large audience began to fade away.

She also took note of the copious amount of security guards. She'd thought enough had checked and rechecked her ticket and identification outside the building, but just as many of them were lining the walls inside. It seemed a bit excessive to her, but she assumed it was due to the Schnee's wealth and importance in the Dust business.

Pyrrha sat with her back very straight and her hands folded in her lap as she observed the place for a few more minutes. But at the sound of an announcer's welcoming voice, her eyes were ultimately drawn back to the center of the stage.

The darkness was suddenly illuminated by a single spotlight, but it wasn't blinding or garish. Rather, it was soft and mellow – inviting.

As the audience's noise died down, a faint clicking of boots could be heard onstage.

Pyrrha watched with excited eyes as the star of tonight's show took her entrance.

She adorned an ice-blue dress with boots and a bolero to match, as well as a slender rapier at her hip. Her long, straight white hair was tied back into a ponytail off to one side of her head, and it swayed all down her back as she walked. Her hands were folded neatly before her stomach, and her piercing blue eyes were focused ahead of herself.

She was certainly a gorgeous girl, even more so in person, Pyrrha realized.

But perhaps most dazzling of all was that every time she took a step, a faint, dusty blue powder rose up behind her. It sparkled in the soft glow of the spotlight, shining like the magical trail of some otherworldly fairy.

The audience was torn between looking at the blue dust and looking at the one who had created it.

Pyrrha did her best to keep her eyes trained on Weiss, who finally came to a pause at the center of the stage. She lifted her head and looked out over her audience for this evening's performance.

For Pyrrha's matches, this was the part where everyone stood out of their seats and whooped and hollered and cheered at the top of their lungs, dropping the snacks they'd bought and scattering popcorn everywhere as they jumped up and down.

She immediately found that Weiss' concerts gave off an entirely different atmosphere.

Everyone remained in their seats, and the only sounds of encouragement were the sounds of clapping.

Somehow, just that didn't seem like enough to Pyrrha, but she wasn't about to make a fool of herself by being the only person to do otherwise.

So she made sure to clap just a little bit louder than the people next to her to show how eager she was for tonight's show.

As they clapped, Weiss pinched the ends of her dress with dainty fingers, took a step sideways and dipped her torso into a perfect curtsey.

Pyrrha didn't dare to look down at the pamphlet in her hands for fear she'd miss even a second of this beautiful girl.

She remembered that the first song would be an aria of sorts. At this closer proximity, she could very clearly see Weiss parting her lips now, her chest expanding slightly as she took in her breath, her eyelids falling down to give her an overall melancholy appearance.

Pyrrha didn't noticed she herself had been holding her breath until the second Weiss released hers.

The voice that drifted up on the air was an absolutely beautiful sound. Pyrrha wished there was a better word for it, but right now 'beautiful' was all that was on her mind.

The pace of this song was very slow, and Weiss' voice glided over every word, every note, effortlessly. Her voice was so much clearer, so much more enticing than any recording or replay on the radio.

None of those did her any justice. She sounded like an angel.

Pyrrha had been so fixated on Weiss and on the girl's incredible voice that she'd failed to notice the next subtle round of effects.

A light flurry of snowflake-like powder was beginning to fall all around the stage. It sparkled in whites, silvers, and blues, each tiny flake catching the light at different times as they fell, giving off a sense of perpetual snowfall.

A small shiver traveled up Pyrrha's spine, but it wasn't because of the whites and blues making her cold. In fact, she felt oddly warm, despite the environment.

She shivered because this was her first time experiencing something like this.

She'd been to concerts in the past, but never before had she ever been so enchanted, just by the first song alone. She'd never heard such a lovely voice, especially one that was unsupported by instruments of any kind. No microphone, no instruments, no additional singers meant that every minuscule part of Weiss' voice was heard by every ear in the room.

And yet her breath never hitched, her words never faltered, and her sound never suffered. Every consonant, every stressed sound, every single nuance was annunciated with perfect articulation, every time.

Her voice matched her beauty, and vice versa.

Pyrrha was lost in the song, and only when Weiss held out one last note before fading into silence did she realize the song was already at an end.

Over three minutes of Pyrrha's life had just passed her by, and yet she'd hardly even noticed them. She instantly found herself missing the words, missing the sound of that voice.

But as a soft yet delighted applause went up around her, she quickly joined in to show her support.

Typically, the length of an applause demonstrated how pleased an audience was by the performance, and Weiss was given one of the longest Pyrrha had ever seen. It lasted an entire minute, just for the first song alone.

Weiss dipped her head, presenting them all with a reserved smile, her eyes reflecting the brightness of the lights above her.

The girl swept her gaze around the audience, and Pyrrha felt she paused for just a second longer when Weiss' eyes locked with hers.

But as soon as Pyrrha blinked, Weiss had looked elsewhere.

At last, the applause died down as Weiss prepared for her next piece. Music began to play from somewhere unseen, once more demonstrating that the audience's focus should be only on Weiss and nowhere else.

The instruments that accompanied her music were light, airy, gentle kinds, nothing at all rowdy or deafening. Tinkling piano keys, lulling violins, and even an entrancing harp. All sounds that put one's mind at ease.

Pyrrha found relief when Weiss' voice was carried into the air once again, as she'd found herself missing it terribly during the brief pause.

The next song was a bit livelier, and with the instruments now introduced, it called for a slight alteration in Weiss' voice. She needed to take deeper breaths and sing with more support than before, adding a bit more volume in order not to be drowned out.

It was a very subtle change, one Pyrrha wouldn't even have noticed if not for the slightly louder tone Weiss was using.

But Weiss was a professional, and she never showed the fact that she needed to put in a bit more effort now. She never lost her breath or forced a note, never had to scramble to finish one word or gasp to begin the next.

Pyrrha knew of plenty of other more experienced singers who often made such blunders.

But not Weiss.

As with the first song, everything was perfect, every intake and exhale, every word and every note. Her outstanding performance spoke of years of rigorous training behind closed doors, countless lessons on how to speak and breathe and project her voice.

Weiss was nothing short of stunning.

Again, Pyrrha hardly realized the time that was passing during the song, and only realized it when the music stopped and the applause started up once more.

For the next song, Weiss drew the rapier at her hip right as the music started. She began moving around the stage with a slow, confident stride, turning the chambers in the rapier until she'd selected the color she wanted.

She formed several glyphs, all blue and white, and caused them to move in accordance to her step and song. They glided around the stage in swaying motions, hypnotizing the audience with the magical feeling they gave off.

With all of this, combined with Weiss' captivating voice, no one watching even dared to blink.

The following songs were all accompanied by Weiss' glyphs, all varying in color, coated in different forms of Dust. Some sparkled with blue ice, some burned with red flames, some swirled with yellow lightning. All matched the tone and lyrics of the song being sung at the time.

Weiss controlled them with professionalism and skill, sometimes making them swirl in time with the piano or the violins.

Pyrrha was utterly baffled. She couldn't comprehend how Weiss was managing to form glyphs, wield her weapon, control the Dust, move herself around, and sing all at the same time. It took painfully high levels of expertise to accomplish something so intricate.

Now Pyrrha felt she truly understood the level of prestige and the meaning behind the excitement associated with Weiss Schnee's concerts.

The angelic music, the alluring lights, the magical display of Dust...

It was almost like an otherworldly experience.

When each song ended, the audience was forced to momentarily break their suspension of disbelief to clap, and then were pulled right back in.

Pyrrha never wanted it to end. She was so drawn to Weiss and the manner in which she performed. It was astounding.

So when the announcement was made that this would be the final song, Pyrrha felt her shoulders slump a bit. But she gave Weiss her undivided attention for the final number.

Only piano accompanied the piece this time, and Weiss reverted back to using her softer tone.

The lyrics instantly told it was a song of love, admiring someone from afar, seeing but never being seen.

It broke Pyrrha's heart, and yet it drew her in deeper by the second.

The tone of the song was hauntingly beautiful, and elicited a mix of emotions Pyrrha had never felt before.

By the time the final note was sung, she found she was crying.

Weiss' voice faded, and the echo of the last piano key dissipated into thin air.

There was a moment of complete silence.

The audience was made to realize it was over, though they refused to accept it right away.

Then, the applause erupted.

It was much louder than any of the previous times, as though this refined group of onlookers had temporarily tossed away their important titles and properness. People were standing up from their seats, some were smiling and some were sobbing.

Pyrrha was somewhere in between, but she stood up as well, clapping hard enough for her hands to sting.

Weiss concealed her breathlessness with another round of curtsies, turning herself slightly each time to face every section of the audience.

And again, Pyrrha met her eyes.

She felt a bit bashful due to the fact that she was crying, but she didn't care. She smiled earnestly and clapped harder now that she knew Weiss could see her.

And the girl onstage smiled back, and even gave the tiniest little bounce of delight.

Pyrrha felt a warmth in her chest for every second those beautiful blue eyes were locked with her own.

Something about Weiss greatly intrigued her, and it was beyond her appearance and her skill.

Pyrrha considered herself extremely lucky that not only had her ticket been for a front row seat, but it was also a VIP pass.

She made sure to clap until the announcer spoke over the intercom, thanked the audience, and asked them to take their leave.

Weiss gave one final curtsey and turned her back, then exited the stage.

Pyrrha waited to see how many other people were headed for the stage to have brief VIP meetings with the girl.

Typically, Pyrrha herself would get anywhere from twenty to thirty, due to the largeness of her audiences.

But again, Weiss' attendees were only a select fraction of Pyrrha's, therefore only ten people per concert were permitted the VIP tickets.

Of course, Pyrrha wasn't required to go and see Weiss.

But she very much wanted to. Especially after what had happened after her own tournament.

She'd wanted to see Weiss then, but had understood how intimidating such a thing was, and saw why the girl had backed out at the last minute.

But the fact that Weiss had gone through all the trouble of sending her sister in her stead, and had her offer Pyrrha a ticket to Weiss' own performance said a lot of things. Mainly that she truly did want to meet with Pyrrha, but perhaps in a more familiar environment.

Pyrrha wasn't about to get cold feet now.

She followed the instructions of the nearby security guards, who were all gathering the ten VIPs from the first row of seats. Pyrrha made it a point to slip to the end of the line as they were all led up to the stage.

She waited patiently, watching as each person before her disappeared behind the curtains.

These guests were different from Pyrrha's, who were normally young children or people her own age. The people visiting Weiss were all much older.

They walked away one by one, not with autographed notebooks and cheery grins, but rather with contemptuous eyes. Pyrrha could tell they were all here for business reasons only, and Weiss had rejected whatever offers they'd made.

/How awful. To have the majority of her fans simply be after her money and her hard-earned talent./

Pyrrha was often given genuine praise, hugs, and even little gifts from her fans. They'd take pictures together and ask her strings of questions about how she fought.

Every once in a while she would be approached by someone looking to exploit her, but Pyrrha was a master at turning them down politely.

It seemed Weiss got the majority of those people, and only rarely got visited by the preferred kind of fan.

Pyrrha couldn't help but glower at each well-dressed man and woman that walked away, calculating declining numbers in their heads once they'd failed to buy Weiss for themselves.

However, she was rather content to see a familiar face amongst the crowds – Weiss' sister, who had introduced herself to Pyrrha yesterday.

Winter didn't seem particularly happy about the discourteous people either, and as every one of them exited the stage, she approached, took them aside, and had a rather chilling conversation with them. Pyrrha smiled as she watched them all scurry away with tails between their legs after that.

At last, the person before herself was brought up backstage, and now Pyrrha was the last person left on line. Winter was finally able to approach and speak with her.

"Miss Nikos." She dipped her head, doing her best to brush off the lingering annoyances in favor of respect. "I'm very pleased you made it tonight. Did you enjoy my sister's performance?"

"Oh, yes. She was incredible! Absolutely grand! I'm so honored I was given the opportunity to attend such a wonderful performance! And free of charge!"

Winter's lips curled up a bit.

"Well, perhaps not in the form of money. But there is a slight bit of payment I would appreciate if you'd make." Her eyes flashed up to the curtain, where her sister was likely being harassed by another shark.

Sure enough, it was only a few seconds later when a man was escorted out by two male guards and asked to take his leave. Winter sighed.

"Every time. But I'm glad she's clever enough to see through their unscrupulous tricks. She's never once fallen for their kind words and even kinder offers."

"I... don't mean to sound rude..." Pyrrha said in a low voice. "But that's... kind of horrible. Isn't it?"

Winter gave a single nod.

"It is. But unfortunately, there's not much Weiss can do about it except keep refusing them. She's got her own agenda set by our father, but that doesn't mean she can simply ignore the wishes of other potential sponsors. But this way, if she at least meets with them face to face and turns them down politely, they can't go complaining about us behind our backs."

Pyrrha frowned.

"So even after her performance is over, she's still working."

"Essentially, yes."

Winter watched as the most-recently-rejected man straightened himself up and headed for the exit doors. The rest of the audience had left, and now only a few other guards remained inside.

Now that Pyrrha was the only guest left, Winter offered a kind smile and a hand to her.

"Now then. Would you care to make your payment and make my little sister's night?"

Pyrrha's smile returned as she accepted that gloved hand.

"I would love to."

Winter led her up the steps until Pyrrha was onstage herself. The other two guards seemed to tense, as though anticipating another businessman. But Pyrrha saw them visibly relax at the sight of her. They even smiled and greeted her kindly.

"Miss Nikos! What a pleasant surprise tonight."

"I assure you, you're the kindest face we've seen all evening."

"Oh, gentlemen, you flatter me!"

They were about to follow her behind stage, as it was required that when Weiss met with her VIPs, she not be left alone with them without guard.

But Winter held up a hand to them to dismiss them for the night.

"I'll take this one myself."

They left the two men behind, and Pyrrha directed her full attention to the white curtain now. Winter pulled it aside for her, and Pyrrha bowed politely before entering.

It was very well-lit behind the stage, and there were staff personnel bustling about here and there to get the clean-up in order. Winter directed Pyrrha to a small lounge area with two cushioned seats and a small coffee table in between them. Weiss was seated at one, presently waving over a passing worker to make a request for a glass of water.

Winter had Pyrrha pause and stepped in front of her before she raised her voice a little.

"Weiss?"

The young heiress looked up to see her sister. Pyrrha was hidden from view for the most part, but she didn't miss seeing the sparkle in Weiss' eyes and the smile on her face when she realized it was her sister here now, and not some old man.

"Winter!"

Weiss stood from her chair and ran to her, throwing her arms around her in the most refined way possible. Winter returned the embrace warmly, in a way that made Pyrrha's eyes water to see them both like this. Weiss sighed and asked a soft question.

"Did I do well tonight?"

"You did wonderfully, as always," Winter assured her. "But there is one last VIP here to see you tonight." She released Weiss and stepped aside.

Pyrrha could see it in Weiss' expression, the hopefulness that it might be her, and the doubt that it probably wasn't.

But the latter emotion was swept away immediately when she saw Pyrrha for herself.

Weiss brought a hand to her mouth in disbelief, struggling to think of something to say. Pyrrha lifted that burden from her shoulders and greeted her first.

"Weiss!" she beamed. "It's so good to finally meet you!"

Winter gently nudged her sister forward and then took her leave of the girls. Weiss all but stumbled, though she quickly righted herself.

"Not at all. The pleasure's all mine."

"I assure you, it's mine! Your performance tonight was simply outstanding! I've never seen anything like it before. It was truly and experience. Thank you."

Weiss was clearly getting flustered now. Pyrrha guessed she was so used to hearing nice things backed by business pitches that she didn't know how to react to genuine praise.

Just then, a woman came by with a glass of water and handed it to Weiss, who thanked her quickly.

"Sorry," she said to Pyrrha. "Would you, perhaps, like a drink?"

"Oh-" Pyrrha was about to refuse, but then she thought better of it. "Well, actually, some water might be nice."

The woman hurried off to fetch another glass.

Weiss clutched her glass with both hands – after all, she was finally meeting the person she admired most in the world.

"Please," she said softly. "Have a seat if you'd like."

Pyrrha gladly accepted the invitation and sat across from Weiss with the table in between them. Weiss was still holding tightly to her glass, as though unsure of whether or not she should drink in front of Pyrrha and risk appearing rude.

But Pyrrha could guess the girl hadn't had anything to drink since before the start of the concert, and after a full hour of nothing but professional singing, she knew Weiss must be parched.

Pyrrha was glad when her own glass of water arrived just then. She thanked the woman and brought her own glass to her lips, a small, subtle hidden message in the etiquette; if the guest drinks, the host may feel free to drink as well.

Thankfully, Weiss understood, and began sipping at her own glass.

Once their dry throats had been satisfied, both girls placed their empty glasses down on the table, and their eyes inevitably met. Pyrrha was certain she got the first word in.

"Weiss... I truly can't say it enough. I can't convey properly just what your music makes me feel. It's incredible. It's beyond me." She spoke with a smile, all but gushing about the performance.

And Weiss was a little lost for words. She really wasn't used to hearing these sort of things. She had to try and remember how to reply to such praise.

"I'm very pleased you feel that way. It means my performance was a success."

"A grand success," Pyrrha chuckled. "I really can't get over it. The Dust effects were amazing enough, but your voice! I've never heard anything quite so beautiful."

Weiss felt her heart jump back to life. She inhaled slowly and tried to keep her voice level.

"Thank you. Really." She smiled. "I... I'd wanted to say similar things about your match yesterday. I'm sorry I got cold feet and didn't see you, even after you'd gone through all the trouble to arrange it. I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize! I completely understand how intimidating it must've been. It was wrong of me to think you'd feel comfortable in doing something like that, surrounded by total strangers."

"And yet, you managed to do it for me tonight..."

"Only because this is an entirely different environment. Everything is so well-organized here. I didn't feel anxious at all.

"But I can imagine how rowdy and rambunctious my stadium must have been. Don't worry about it, Weiss. It's my pleasure to be here. I'm so glad you invited me tonight. I never might have attended otherwise if I hadn't known you'd wanted to see me personally."

Weiss stiffened a little, hoping the lighting could conceal the blush she felt coming on.

"Oh! Well, I've... really admired you for quite some time. About a decade, actually..."

"Ten years?" Pyrrha blurted. "You've been watching me for that long?"

Weiss nodded almost guiltily.

"Every match. Every tournament. Every pageant. I've always wanted to meet you. Your fighting style is impeccable. You're so powerful and so graceful at the same time."

Words were beginning to fail her, so she finished before she could start stammering and make a fool of herself. "You're just... incredible."

Pyrrha's smile shone brighter with every word that came from Weiss' lips.

Of course, she'd heard all of those words a million different times before from a million different people.

But coming from Weiss, they seemed to have meaning.

"Well, then," she said. "It seems you feel the same way about me as I feel about you! On top of your breathtaking performance with Dust, there's your lovely voice, as I've said. And on top of that, you're very pretty."

Weiss' heart skipped. She wanted to look away, but Pyrrha's gaze kept hers, bright and inviting and warm. Weiss barely noticed when she replied back.

"I think the same about you."

It was Pyrrha's turn to blush. She knew she'd been attracted to Weiss from the start, but she honestly hadn't expected it to be mutual.

But...

But it was.

She very nearly squealed in delight, but she managed to restrain herself, though she failed to erase her wide smile.

"Then... if that's how you feel... perhaps we should get to know each other a little better?"

Weiss could scarcely believe what she was hearing, seeing, feeling, experiencing, right now.

Pyrrha Nikos was... she was-

"Yes..." the heiress replied. "Absolutely. I would... I would love to, Pyrrha."

The champion nodded excitedly.

"Then I've got an idea."

She reached into her skirt pocket and extracted a small piece of paper and a pen. Her agent insisted she never go anywhere unprepared.

But he typically intended for her to use them to write down information about her matches for interested persons-

-not to write down her number for a beautiful girl.

But write it she did, and signed it with her name before offering it to the singer.

Weiss' heart really almost stopped that time. She stared down at the paper, then up into Pyrrha's eyes. The champion winked.

"What say you to making plans to get lunch together sometime soon?"

Weiss needed to force herself to respond verbally.

"Y-Yes, I... I would love to..."

"Then the feeling's mutual."

At that point, Pyrrha stood from her chair, sensing her time with Weiss was just about over.

Weiss clutched the small paper to her chest and stood as well. Pyrrha could see the pink tint on the girl's cheeks, and felt a similar heat rising up in her own face.

Pyrrha was truly smitten with her.

"Th-Thank you for having me," she said quickly, turning away. "You can call me anytime."

Weiss was still in shock, but it was beginning to wear off, enough so that she could smile again.

"Yes. I... I will. Thank you, Pyrrha."

The champion suppressed a giggle of joy, and instead made it a polite farewell.

"I very much look forward to hearing from you, Weiss. Have a good night. I'll see you soon."

"Yes. Yes you will."

With Weiss' affirmation, Pyrrha made her way offstage, unknowingly followed by Winter's approving gaze.

Weiss turned around and headed back to her seat where she relieved her trembling legs for a moment, sitting down and trying to absorb everything that had just happened in such a short amount of time. She looked down at her hands, fearing the paper had just been an illusion.

But it was there, written in red ink and signed with Pyrrha's name.

She hadn't noticed the tiny heart that had been drawn in until now.

It made her own heart leap, and little did she know Pyrrha's was doing much the same.

They parted that night with a new kind of warmth in their chests, and though their hearts were beating a mile a minute, they also soared with an elation they'd never felt before.

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A/N: A first meeting basically becomes basis for a first date! Not too shabby for two young ladies who've never been in love before, right? But how will rushing into things turn out?