Work Text:
“That’s precisely my point!” her father said. “We offer faunus the exact same wages given to the rest of our mining staff. Their argument’s completely invalid, right out of the gate.”
Weiss mentally rolled her eyes, careful to not drop her delicate mask of polite indifference as she tuned out the rest of her father’s self-serving arguments. She scanned the room, silently loathing all that she saw. People who claimed to be here in the name of charity, but truthfully is was just another soirée for the upper echelons, another excuse to show off the latest designers. Nobody even bothered feigning sympathy for the city in ruins. Weiss let her gaze wander to a painting that was up for auction (with all the proceeds for charity, of course.)
She walked closer to get a better look. It was a breathtakingly photo-realistic painting of Beacon Academy, in all its bygone glory. Her heart ached in her chest. Beacon had become so much more than just a school, it had become her home. She fought back tears when memories of her school, her dorm, her team came flooding back.
Blake had taken off, this time apparently for good. Yang had lost an arm. And Ruby… Weiss’ partner, her best friend, her leader. Ruby Rose had still been unconscious when her father had swooped in to take her back to Atlas, the aftermath of an unknown battle atop Beacon Tower. Weiss’ family had been shattered. She had no one to talk to about what she had seen, what she had gone through, what she felt
“It’s beautiful,” observed a well-dressed man, off in the periphery of her vision. “You two match.”
Weiss’ gaze never left the painting, her mind still deep in her own thoughts.
“Yes, it’s a lovely painting,” she replied, a little flatly, crossing her arms over her chest.
The man looked vaguely confused that his feeble flirting had failed to make this girl fling himself into her arms.
“So,” he continued, kicking the ground in front of him lightly. “That was my attempt at breaking the ice. How am I doing so far?”
Weiss let out a heavy sigh. “You are leaving a lot to be desired.”
“Well, I’ve always appreciated honesty.” He extended a hand in her direction “Henry. Marigold.”
Weiss finally turned to look at him., He looked sharp and had a distantly handsome face, the kind she might have found attractive had her mind not been a thousand miles away.
She placed her hand in his.“Weiss Schnee.”
“I know, I saw your performance. Obviously.” He nervously cleared his throat. “You were wonderful, and I promise I’m not just saying that because you’re pretty.”
Ah, the false bravado was back.
“Honesty, remember?” He leaned against the barrier rope in front of them, trying really hard to seem casual. He pressed on despite her lack of a reply. “So, you thinking about buying it?”
“No, I don’t think so,” she replied, shortly.
“Yeah, kind of pricey for a painting,” he remarked with a sneer.
Weiss could feel her temper flaring, this guy just needed to disappear.
“It’s to raise money,” she spat.
“Oh really? For what?” he asked.
She shot him her most venemous glare. Was he serious? “For what ?”
He laughed “I’ll admit, I only come to these things for the food and drinks.” As he said it, he pulled a glass of champagne from a passing server. “And the extraordinary company, of course”
He took a sip from his glass as Weiss struggled to contain her anger. “So what, is it another Mantle fundraiser or something?”
“Get out,” she said through gritted teeth.
Henry take a step back, dumbfounded. “What?”
“Get out, or I will have security escort you out.”
“But I haven’t done anyth-”
“ Leave! ” she shouted, the last thread of her patience fleeing her control.
He looked at her, before adopting an arrogant tone that reminded her unpleasantly of Cardin Winchester. “ Pfft , whatever,” he said, draining his glass as he walked away.
Weiss clenched her fists at her sides, willing away her anger. She stared back at the painting once more, at the plaque that read:
SHOW THE WORLD WE CARE
All proceeds go to the Kingdom of Vale.
Her ears filled with the sounds of idle chatter and laughter. How could everyone be so carefree, when thousands of people have lost their lives, their homes, their families….
Slowly Weiss felt her anger rise further, as memories from that day flashed through her mind. A haughty voice sliced through her thoughts.
“But really, does it come as any surprise, what happened to Vale?” Weiss turned her head slightly to hear the woman speak.
“It was a long time coming if you ask me.”
Weiss turned further to fully observe the woman. She was draped in an elegant gown that Weiss was sure cost more than all of the teachers at Beacon made in a year (combined), and glistening jewelry adorned every available surface on her body. She seemed to be with her husband, who at least had the decency to look embarrassed.
“Honey…” he said, rubbing the back of his neck as he nervously glanced around to see who was within earshot
But his wife just laughed. “What? You said the same thing last night. If they’re so arrogant to think they can get by without proper kingdom defense, then I say good riddance!”
“ SHUT UP! ” Weiss shouted at the woman, her breath quickening as her anger finally boiled over.
Suddenly the ballroom went quiet, all eyes were on her, and her alone. She saw her father move toward her in the corner of her eye.
“ Weiss ,” he said, menacing dripping from the name.
She didn’t care.“You don’t have a clue, none of you do!”
The woman before her looked as though Weiss had slapped her. “Excuse me?” she finally said, aghast.
“You’re all just standing around talking about nothing! Worrying about your hair, your money, your stupid problems that don’t mean anything! ” Her chest was heaving in fury, red intruded on the edges of her vision.
Jacques grabbed her wrist with a bruising grip. “Weiss, that’s enough,” he stated firmly, yanking her towards him.
Weiss attempted to wrestle her arm away. “Let go of me!”
But her father’s grip was like iron, his voice just as unforgiving. “You’re embarrassing the family!”
She didn’t care about the family, not his family. Her family had been at Beacon. Her family had been Yang, and Blake, and Ruby-
“I said LET GO! ”
Weiss broke free from her father’s grasp, but she was unprepared for the sudden change of momentum, and slammed against the ground. She felt her aura flair, reflexively, and a glyph appeared on the floor next to her, accompanied by a large, spectral boarbatusk.
The summoned Grimm roared and charged towards the woman and her husband.
“Please! I’m sorry, I’m sorry! Just leave me alone!” the woman tried to plead with the beast as it leapt at the pair, its razor-sharp tusks ready to tear them to shreds.
A gunshot rent the air and the apparition squealed horribly, before vanquishing in the air.
The silence that fell on the room was deafening.
Weiss searched for the source of the gunshot. It wasn’t a long search - General James Ironwood stood in the middle of the room, a monstrous sidearm still smoking in his hand.
It didn’t take long for the would-be victim’s arrogance to return.
“Arrest her! What are you waiting for? She’s insane, she should be locked up!” The woman screamed, pointing directly at Weiss.
Ironwood looked at Weiss, with the faintest nod of approval.
“She’s the only one making sense around here.”
He turned and began walking away, but not before sharing a brief look with Weiss. “Thanks for the party, Jacques.”
Weiss stared at him as he left. He had agreed with her. Ironwood was the only one in the room who had any idea of what was happening outside of Atlas and he had publicly taken her side. She made a move to follow him, but felt her father shift to stop her. She fixed him with her coldest glare, which caused him to hesitate just long enough for her to take her leave.
She had to find General Ironwood.
Exiting the ballroom, she ran to catch up, hurrying in her heels. “General Ironwood, sir!” she called out.
The General paused, turning slowly around. “Miss Schnee. I was hoping you would find me.”
“Sir?” she asked, slightly confused.
Ironwood nodded in the direction of the door to her father’s office, wordlessly beckoning her to follow. He held the door open for her to step inside. Over the threshold, it was at least 10 degrees cooler than it had been in the hallway. Weiss had always assumed it was a move by her father to discomfort any visitors.
She watched as Ironwood made his way towards the shelf behind her father’s desk. He soon found what he was looking for, uncapping a bottle of scotch and pouring himself two fingers into a small crystal glass. For the first time, she got a good look at him. He was ruggedly handsome. his well-defined chin covered in three day’s stubble, a look that served him surprisingly well. A career spent in the Atlas military had given the General a physique that belied his age, the streaks of white sprouting from his temples notwithstanding.
There was a weariness in his eyes, too, a look she had caught before in her own reflection, when she stared into her bedroom mirror. It was the look of someone who had seen the horror of war, witnessed death firsthand.
“Readjusting to civilian life has been hard on you, hasn’t it, Miss Schnee?”
She realized right then that she hated being called that. “It’s just Weiss, General. I highly doubt my father will allow me to keep the family name after what just occurred back there.”
The General blew air through his nose, smirkingly slightly. “No, I suppose not.” He loosened his tie and undid the first two buttons of his dress shirt, as he leaned against Jacques’ desk.
Weiss fidgeted with her fingers, before she caught herself, smoothing out the front of her dress. “It’s been…. difficult . The people here, they don’t know what’s happening out there.” Her tone turned bitter, angry, as she spoke. “They don’t care, not unless it’s about their money or the society pages .” Hot tears streamed down her face, but she couldn’t bring herself to care. “Vale is destroyed, Beacon is gone,, Team RWBY is scattered, Yang lost an arm, Ruby’s unconscious, Blake is gods know where, and Pyrrha and hundreds of innocent people are dead, and they don’t care .”
And then a pair of strong arms encircled her, and she felt her last threads of composure snap. She sobbed into the General’s chest, clutching the lapels of his uniform jacket.
“You’re right, they don’t know. They have all the money and power in the world, but they choose to remain ignorant.” Ironwood gently pushed Weiss up from his chest, tilting her chin so she looked at him. “It may surprise you to learn, but less than half of the men under my command have seen battle first-hand. So few were tested in the long peacetime.t You are strong, Weiss. You survived.”
Weiss sniffled and took a hold of the hand under her chin. It felt unnaturally cool in her palm. She gazed up,. Slowly, she removed the glove, revealing the sleek silver metal of the General’s prosthesis.
“So did you,” she finally replied. She traced the inside of his palm with a fingertip, before looking up to the silver stripe on his forehead.“You’ve seen the worst things in all of Remnant, and you’re still fighting every day to make the world a better place.” Weiss stretched up on her toes to softly run her thumb over the neurotransmitter plate, that technological wonder that helped him control the multitude of prostheses.
It was only when Weiss sighed, softly, did James Ironwood realize that he had bent close enough to feel her breath over his face, their mouths mere inches apart.
“Everyone is told the tales of heroism, but nobody tells you how lonely survival can be.” he said. Ironwood gently brushed the knot of scar tissue under her left eye. “You aren’t alone,” he murmured
Weiss pushed forward hesitantly, and when the General didn’t pull away, she closed the gap between their lips.
It was a soft kiss, at least at first. It quickly grew hungry and wanting. Some logical part of Weiss’ mind knew this was irresponsible. More than that, it was dangerous , risking massive consequences for them both.
She didn’t care.
His hand in hers, Weiss led Ironwood to the ridiculously expensive couch along the side of the room, where she guided him down, and then straddled his waist. Ironwood ran his hands around her hips, and down to her backside, taking it firmly in his hands. She moaned into his mouth and began undoing the remaining buttons of his jacket and dress shirt, throwing both of them open to reveal the cool titanium alloy beneath, and the planes of sculpted muscle. Weiss could feel his length grow to full hardness against her leg. She re-adjusted slightly atop him, and ground her hips down onto his.
A full-body shudder coursed through her, the wonderful friction heated her core. Slim, pale fingers trailed down the flesh-and-blood side of Ironwood’s torso, and goosebumps followed in their wake. As the seconds passed, Weiss’ desperation grew.
“General,” she begged in a whisper, eyes searching, and pleading . “Please…”
Ironwood took a few steadying breaths. Then with Weiss still in his arms, he stood from the couch, and walked confidently to Jacques’ desk, gently depositing Weiss atop it. He reached under the skirt of her dress and pulled her panties to her ankles. With a delicacy that belied his build, he traced his fingers through her sopping wet slit. The General easily found her clit, and began circling it with the tips of his fingers.
Weiss gasped and bucked her hips into his hand, seeking more, needing more. Ironwood bent down and peppered the pale expanse of her neck with hot opened-mouth kisses. Weiss couldn’t contain her needy moans, and clawed desperately at his shoulders. His touch sent sparks of lightning to the base of her spine, but he was careful, pressing against her just enough to give her the pleasure she yearned for, but not enough to send her over the edge.
Not yet.
Weiss dragged her fingernails down Ironwood’s chest, leaving thin red lines over the half of his torso that remained flesh and blood, and dropped her hands to his trousers. She fumbled with the clasp a bit, not having moved her face from the place in Ironwood’s neck. Eventually, the frustratingly complex clasp came loose. She was finally able to push the immaculately pressed uniform down just enough to free the General’s member from the confines of his boxers. She wrapped her hand around his shaft and gave it a few gentle strokes.
Ruby had been Weiss’ only previous partner, meaning her experience with men was functionally non-existent. But the barely restrained moans that came from Ironwood gave her confidence, and she picked up the pace, swiping her thumb across the tip to spread the precum that had pooled there. Ironwood braced himself against the desk with his free hand.
“If you keep that up, I won’t last,” he said with a low chuckle.
Weiss grinned despite herself.“You can’t leave a girl hanging, General. You have a reputation to protect.”
“Call me James, Weiss,” he instructed with a groan. “I believe we’re past the formalities.”
Weiss kissed the space just below his earlobe, and shimmied the skirt of her dress up to expose herself fully to the general.
“Just… please go slow, James. I’ve never...I’ve never been with a man.” Her confession was accompanied by a bright red blush, as she averted her eyes in embarrassment. Ironwood once more took her chin in his hand, urging her to look at him. He pressed another kiss to her lips, this time slower, more thoughtful. He rubbed the shaft of his throbbing member through her delicate folds, nudging her clit with each pass. Weiss’ breaths quickened in anticipation, and she reached down to position him at her entrance.
Weiss bit her lip to stifle her moans as he gently pushed inward, giving her time to adjust to his girth. He wasn’t painfully large, from what she could tell, but its heft was impressive. Weiss’ inexperience with men meant that it filled her more than she could have imagined possible. There was some pain, as she felt him pushing deeper, but the pleasure more than made up for it, spikes of ecstasy tingling in her fingertips, raising the hairs on the back of her neck.
Once fully hilted, Ironwood paused, kissing her throat once more while Weiss steadied herself to the sensation. When Weiss finally murmured her readiness, he pulled back, and then re-entered her with measured, deliberate thrusts. He sought after any sign of discomfort or pain on her face, but only saw ecstasy. Faster, deeper strokes soon followed, causing Weiss’ mouth to open in a wordless moan. She could feel him hit every ridge, every bump, as he took her on her father’s desk.
For the first time since coming home to Atlas, Weiss didn’t feel alone.
James shifted his stance slightly, and it caused his member to brush against a spot deep inside her that caused stars to burst in her vision. She felt her walls clenching hard around his shaft, attempting to draw him in ever deeper. James grunted, and his breath sped up, and he could feel that she was close. He wouldn’t let himself cum until she did. He snaked a hand between their bodies, and once more sought out her clit, grinding his fingers against her.
That was it for Weiss. She came undone with a wordless cry that she stifled by burying her face in his neck. Her vision turned white at the edges as she rode what seemed like endless waves of pleasure that emanated to the very core of her being.
Her climax had just begun to fade, when she heard James’ breath become erratic, his even and measured thrusts devolved into a primal rut that had no gentle rhythm. While she was becoming a little over-sensitive due to her own climax, Weiss gently ran her fingers through his hair, and rested her forehead against his. It was a soft encouragement, showing she was content and wanted him to finish just as she had.
It only took a couple more thrusts, before he hilted himself, spilling his seed deep inside of Weiss, who gasped at the feeling of his hot cum splashing against her walls. James gave a few more half-hearted thrusts before finally coming to a halt, giving himself time to catch his breath.
Weiss continued to thread her fingers through his hair, waiting for him to come down from his climax. They shared several more soft kisses as they basked in each other’s touch.
Weiss knew that they’d have to return to the party, and she would have to face her father’s wrath for her actions. But for now, she was happy to just enjoy the company of someone who understood her, completely and without judgement.
CODA: Written by Liara_90
Klein Sieben, Schnee family butler, walked into the Master’s study with the usual list of chores to be completed in his head. Letters to be deposited, papers to be arranged, possessions to be brushed, dusted and polished.
Klein rested one hand on Mr. Schnee’s desk, frowning slightly at the unusual sensation. A spilled drink, perhaps? A leaking fountain pen?
He raised his fingers to his nose, and realized
everything.