Chereads / RWBY Wolf Faunus / Chapter 31 - Ch. 31 B & t B

Chapter 31 - Ch. 31 B & t B

Alabast awoke a few times throughout the night due to Yangs snoring. But it was mostly him sleeping lightly to make sure they weren't attacked during the night. It was improbable, but not impossible. And he'd rather be safe than sorry. He can't get complacent again. Because he can be as strong as a god, but one slip and that could be the end of everything he holds dear.

But he got some good sleep even still. The rising and falling of Yangs chest as she slept, and the beating rhythm of her heart was pleasant. And that's not talking about the actual soft chest itself, as it hides behind her white shirt. And she somehow took her bra off without him noticing as well. But he wasn't going to say anything about it, he was a guy after all and what man would complain about sleeping on the chest of their girlfriend who's not wearing a bra?

Around 8am Alabast decided it was time for them to get back to Beacon. He also had to get ready for his next date with Weiss.

"Yang. It's time to get up" Alabast had his arm under her back and couldn't exactly get it out.

"Mmmm, 5 more minutes" Yang rolls onto her side as she rolls towards Alabast. She wraps her arms around his head and pushes it between her boobs like he was a pillow or stuffed animal.

Alabast's eyes went wide. "Deal". His voice was muffled and made Yang hold his head tighter, probably from the feeling in her chest from him moving his jaw and talking.

He could still breathe but mostly thanks to his semblance. Otherwise he would be suffocating. A wise use of a very powerful semblance most men would say.

A couple minutes later Yang opens her eyes and sees Alabast's situation. "Alabast!" She quickly releases his head and frees him from the deadly pillow and embrace.

Alabast's eyes snap open once he is freed. "Yes?" His face not covered by any hair looks normal. Not even like he was just suffocating or anything.

"You weren't suffocating?" Yang asks as they both sit up on the bed. She wasn't even embarrassed about the previous position at all.

"Although you did try your 'breast' to do so, I just used my semblance to get air from somewhere else" Alabast smirks at Yang.

"Haha, 'breast'. I see what you did there. That was a good one, I'll give you that" Yang moves her hair over her shoulders. "Glad that you didn't die Alabast"

"It'll take more than boobs to kill me, my Dragon" Alabast gives her a kiss. "The bathroom is over there if you want. We should head back to Beacon after, and we can grab some breakfast on the way" He points to the hallway entrance where the front door is and a side door for the bathroom can be seen.

Yang goes in with her jacket and bra. Alabast just puts his vest on without buttoning it up. He puts his socks and shoes on. The tie just sits around his neck. He definitely has 'the morning after' look going on.

Yang and Alabast leave the apartment via Alabast's Darkness. They went back to the street outside where they disappeared last night. His apartment was very close.

They went and got some breakfast and made their way to the bullheads that took them back to Beacon. Alabast had moved his hair to cover his face again before they left the apartment.

They chatted about when they would be able to put the bike together. It would be a while but they weren't in a hurry or anything. He would eventually got to Yang and Ruby's house back in Patch to meet their dad anyway, so he and Yang would find some time to put the bike together and modify it there.

Before they knew it they were already back to Beacon and went to the dorms.

Alabast and Yang had told their teams that they would be out for the night so they wouldn't worry the previous day.

They knocked on their respective doors and used their scrolls to enter.

Alabast greeted Ren, Nora and Pyrrha. Nora tried to get him to spill the beans but he deflected her questions onto Yang since he had to get ready.

Nora couldn't argue, she would have asked Yang anyway after she got any info from Alabast. So this just cuts the middleman out. But she wanted to have his side of the story as well.

Alabast gives Pyrrha a hug and a kiss good morning. Which makes Nora squeal slightly and squeeze the air out of Ren. He still is more of a stealth build rather than a strength build. He's been able to improve his stamina, but not his strength by much. That's why the pair make such a good…pair. Ren and Nora cover the others' weaknesses.

Alabast changed into a black tshirt, black jacket, and blue jeans.

He went outside the dorm room after saying goodbye to his teammates.

When he opened the door he saw Weiss Schnee leaning against the wall beside her teams door. Her hair was in its usual ponytail to the side, on the back of her head. She wore a fancy looking jacket that was white with a hint of very light blue. The inside of the jacket was a subtle red that didn't make her outfit look weird. She had a black skirt on, a button down shirt with floral patterns was tucked into the skirt. The scarf around her neck was white and looked soft. And she had a small handbag as an accessory.

"Took you long enough" Weiss crosses her arms across her chest as she looked down the hall.

"Isn't someone eager. We still have 15 minutes until we were supposed to leave" Alabast walks out into the hall and closes the door behind him. "Are you ready to leave?"

"Yes" Weiss has a blush on her face. She was a little excited and got ready a little early. She also couldn't help but overhear Yang 'brag' about her date yesterday and get a little excited to see what Alabast had planned. He hadn't told her anything like he didn't tell Yang anything.

"Let's be on our way then". Alabast leads the way to the bullheads.

"How was your day yesterday, Princess?" Alabast asks as Weiss walks next to him after they leave the dorm.

"It was alright. Nothing particularly special happened" Weiss says in her usual tone.

"Ah. Well then, today will be special. And you look beautiful, although I wish you wouldn't have covered your scar with your makeup" Alabast says while looking at her face.

She has makeup on, but she only had a little. It covered the bottom portion of her scar, the bit under her eye. The part above her eye isn't hidden with makeup.

"I-I just felt like covering the bottom of it today. I don't care if it's showing or not" Weiss turns her face away from Alabast. The blush appearing on her pale face again.

"Don't worry, the scar below my right eye will just be lonely today" Alabast teases her.

"I'll take it off when we get to the bullhead" Weiss quietly says.

They make small talk as they walk. And once they get on the bullhead they go to the back and sit down.

Weiss takes out a hand mirror from her handbag and removes the small amount of makeup covering her scar.

"There's my Princess" Alabast grabs her hand and closes the mirror in her hand. Weiss looks into Alabast's eyes with her light blue eyes.

He moves closer to her and steals a quick kiss.

"Alabast!" She quietly shouts as she blushes furiously. Then she covers her face with her scarf as she looks to the side. "Some warning would be appreciated…."

Alabast smiles at his small girlfriend beside him. He holds her left hand in his right hand and moves his thumb across the top of her hand.

Weiss puts the hand mirror back into her handbag and lets her hand rest in Alabast's. After a few minutes she moves her scarf down.

"The last time we were really alone was back at the library, wasn't it?" Weiss says while looking at their reflection in the window across from them.

"Technically speaking, yes" Alabast sighs. "It's hard to find time between school, training, more school work, spending time with my team, and spending time with you girls. I'm glad we can spend time together, but it makes spending individual time with each of you rather difficult"

Weiss feels a pang in her heart as she looks to Alabast who has his eyes closed.

"But it makes the time we spend together all the more special. That way I can show each of you just how special you are to me" Alabast squeezes her hand firmly.

The worry and panging of her heart disappears just as quickly as it came. She didn't want to make his life more difficult, but she understands that that could have been a terrible misunderstanding. She's glad that she chose Alabast, and hearing that he's also happy is great.

Weiss scoots closer to Alabast so they are sitting directly next to eachother, knee to knee, hip to hip, and would be shoulder to shoulder but the height difference was a little severe. She puts their hands on her lower left thigh and puts her head on his shoulder. She looks into the window and sees their reflection.

It was a big guy with long bushy hair that looks rough and bristly. But is actually rather soft and fluffy. It's also rather heavy as well. Two ears that point to the sky sit atop his head. Although, one has its tip cut short and flat. The inside of the wild like ears is also the same as the gray tips. The mans face is handsome and has sharp features. Even though his hair covers the left side of his face, you can tell he is good looking. His face has scars here and there. The main one that sticks out is below his right eye. A vertical scar that doesn't reach above the eye makes its presence known quite clearly. The mans only visible eye is a deep dark blood red color. He's wearing a black jacket and shirt with blue jeans that are more towards navy than regular blue. His shoulders are wide, strong and sturdy looking. Like they have been carrying around a heavy weight and grown stronger to carry it and more. His arms are packed with muscle just like the rest of his body. Weiss does remember when Ruby pulled his shirt up to reveal his amazingly defined abs. And behind the man sways a long and bushy looking tail. It looked more like a small Beowolf than a Faunus tail.

Sitting next to the man in the reflection sits a petite woman in stark contrast. She is clearly more than a foot shorter. She has long white hair pulled into a ponytail to the side of the back of her head. It's straight and very elegant looking. It's much longer than one would expect, the hair goes well past her hips even in the ponytail. But it looks very well kept. The woman's skin is pale and looks untouched by the sun. And only a vertical scar over her left eye legs you know she isn't a doll. Her eyes are a beautiful light blue color that are highlighted by her white hair and pale skin. And her outfit just adds to her beauty as well. One wouldn't be wrong in assuming she looked like royalty, because she does look it.

Weiss looks at them and reminisces that only a few months ago she was very prejudicial against Faunus. She may not have outright done anything to harm them, but her view of them was nearing the bottom of the barrel of it wasn't already there. Yet here she is. Going on a date with the Faunus that threw that barrel out the bullhead and opened her eyes to the real world. She still holds some of her old views, but she is trying to change what was taught to her since she was born. It also doesn't help that her family was under constant worry of attack due to their family business. And her father, well, her father only by name. As he didn't truly act like it after some time. Her 'father' had made sure she knew that the Faunus were out for blood against them and that the Faunus were only suitable for the grunt work far beneath where they stand. Especially after the attack.

Weiss never really 100% agreed with her father on the Faunus. But no Faunus really proved her wrong. But it's not like they were given a chance. After her father banished all the Faunus that worked in their mansion she had little contact with any Faunus growing up. They were banished after an attack against the Schnee family mansion. The attack was close to being successful, they nearly killed her, her brother, and her mother when Weiss was young. Her older sister was away for training for the Atlas military. Her father was away for business.

Weiss shakes her head. This man sitting beside her is her boyfriend. And it doesn't matter if he is a Faunus or not. She loves him and everything about him. Even if her father would never agree to it. If she was going to become a Huntress to rebel, why not have a boyfriend that she loves as well. And if he's a Faunus then so be it. Her father might just have a heart attack. Or try and kill Alabast on sight. But Weiss believes that only a few things would be able to kill Alabast so she doesn't need to worry. But father won't be able to stop her from dating him.

(Long story short: She likes the wolf Faunus and is trying to get past her distorted views. I just wrote a lot more in depth than I meant to and am too lazy to edit or change it)

The bullhead takes off after some time passes. Weiss and Alabast talk about some minor things.

They reach Vale and walk out of the Bullhead holding hands.

"Let's get going to our first destination" Alabast leads the way with Weiss walking with him. He has to slow his pace to Weiss's. But he doesn't mind spending more time walking with her.

They chat about some various topics along the way.

Weiss wondered what Alabast had planned. She hoped to do something they wouldn't be able to do on campus and something the both of them could enjoy together.

They stopped infront of a large building called Vale Ice Rink.

"I didn't even know Vale had an ice rink" Weiss says, clearly surprised.

"Neither did I, at least until recently. Turns out that they use dust crystals to keep the ice cold and strong. It requires little maintenance too" Alabast tells Weiss as he leads her inside.

Weiss enters and looks around. "Have you ever been ice skating before?"

"How hard could it be?" Alabast hadn't found much he couldn't do, so he wants to experience this with Weiss since he heard she likes to skate from time to time.

——————

Not many people were inside the huge rink.

Alabast falls to the ice heavily and is sprawled out on his stomach and slowly slides across the ice as Weiss elegantly skates to his side, matching his pace as he slides.

"You ok Alabast?" Weiss can't help but smile as Alabast gives up and just lets himself slide.

Weiss moves around Alabast. "The ice is more slippery due to the dust crystals" She stays in front of his eyes as he spins and slides forward. "Do you want some tips?"

The ice even messes with his semblance a bit as he uses it to stand back up.

Alabast has his arms out to try and stay balanced on the blades attached to the boots on his feet. "How do you make this look so easy" Alabast says as Weiss has her arms behind her back and her hair flows behind her.

Weiss sees Alabast's tail is unusually stiff as if it's trying to keep him balanced like his arms. She laughs into the back of her hand. "Years of practicing and using my glyphs"

She makes a white glyph appear above her hand as it radiates a cold aura.

Alabast stumbles a bit. His knees bend and now he starts spinning in place. "What the hell!"

Weiss stays in front of him as she skates. "Don't get angry, it'll only make it worse"

"You don't say" Alabast sarcastically responds.

Weiss stops Alabast from spinning. "You would first have to learn how to fall properly, but you've already got that down"

Alabast rolls his eyes.

"You're trying to walk like normal, but that isn't going to work. You need to push the blades on your feet against the ice to create friction. You're balance will get better once you get moving and adjust to moving around" Weiss then explains in greater detail how to do it.

Alabast listens and does as she says. Weiss skates alongside him as she instructs him. She watched as he failed and succeeded.

He eventually was able to do it, even if he sometimes stumbled a bit. He can skate forward, move to the sides, and even stop.

"Good job!" Weiss feels great at having taught Alabast. It was fun being able to do something he couldn't besides school work. Teaching him was only a small part of the great feeling she had. It was seeing a new side to him that made her feel so happy. Her chest felt so light and warm as she gazed at Alabast.

Alabast didn't need his hands out at his sides or in front of him anymore. And his tail was back to its usual movements.

He grabs her hand and they go around the rink a few times as he gets more acclimated to moving on the ice.

"This was a great idea" Weiss says as she glided across the ice with Alabast next to her. She was the one who now had to adjust her pace to Alabast's.

"Glad you like it. I'm having a good time too…. Now that I'm not falling every time I try to move" Alabast remembers struggling and being too stubborn to ask for help from Weiss.

"You're learning much faster than I expected, it seems like you're trying hard" Weiss says, feeling the warmth from his hand.

The ice rink is cold, but their aura keeps them warm. Another perk for having aura. And she's used to colder weather back at Atlas.

"Well falling on my face is a good motivator" Alabast says as they start turning.

Weiss laughs. "I'm sure it is"

——————

After 2 hours of skating without falling they take a break and get off the ice.

"So I hear you're excited about the Vytal Festival coming up" Alabast says as he sits at a table and begins releasing his feet and ankles from the skating boots.

Weiss also sits down and undoes the boots. "Of course I am" She states.

Alabast frees his feet and can feel some strain in his ankles that quickly goes away. "Are you hoping your sister comes with Atlas?"

Weiss freezes. "What? No! Why? I wouldn't mind if she came but I don't think she would. Did you find out anything? No, they wouldn't publicly release that type of information….."

Alabast looks at Weiss as she starts acting a bit like Ruby but gets flustered in her own beautiful way.

Weiss stops after a minute. She looks at Alabast and sees him smiling gently at her. "I'm not not expecting her to come. Hmph" She says and goes back to undoing her skating boots.

"It'll be my first festival. And we all will be competing for first place. I even plan on showing off the other half of my semblance" Alabast gives a tip of information to her. He knows that she is very competitive and wants to learn all she can for herself and her teammates victory.

Weiss whips her head to Alabast, her hair majestically flowing. "Really? You're going to show it off there? Wouldnt that oh I don't know, cause complaints and cause an uproar?"

Not the reaction he was expecting, but amusing enough. "It might. But it can be explained as I didn't fully know or understand my Semblance and simply discovered the light. Or something along those lines since it's the truth anyway. Plus it'll almost guarantee the win when I surprise my opponent with it"

Weiss rolls her eyes. "Like you need a surprise attack to win"

Alabast leans back in his seat. "I very well might. The way everyone is improving is fast. My body and Darkness are already as strong as I can make them right now. I'm only able to train my Light and how I use my abilities. And who knows what our opponents will bring to the fight in terms of Semblances"

Weiss gets her skating boots off and leans on the table. "Right! So we should find as much information on them as we can to be prepared!"

Alabast puts his hand on her head and pats her head as he smiles at her. "You're right, that's a good idea"

Weiss moves back in her seat slightly but not out of Alabast's reach. She enjoyed feeling Alabasts warm hand on her head and him running his fingers through her hair. She looks down at the table to let Alabast reach her head better.

Alabast takes his hand back and Weiss looks up at him. "Let's get something to eat. We can walk around a bit before we do the next thing"

Weiss agrees and they put their feet in their more comfortable footwear than the skating boots.

They leave the Vale Ice Rink and walk to a restaurant that isn't very fancy or popular. Alabast thought that Weiss would like a new and quiet place to eat at.

Alabast was right. They had a good time eating and casually talking. Just enjoying the atmosphere and not being bothered

They leave the restaurant and walk around the town. Sometimes stopping to look inside the various shops. They saw a handful of dust shops that had been robbed and put out of business. Either from the robbery or because of the price of dust increasing. But they tried to ignore that and continued on with their date.

-Vale Karaoke Booths-

Alabast looks at Weiss. "I wanted to hear you sing and it's not like you've had a chance to show off your skills in this department besides your lovely talking voice"

Weiss narrows her eyes slightly. "Well training to be a Hintress doesn't exactly mean singing and dancing… and Ive only sang once after getting attacked back at Atlas"

Alabast puts his hand on her shoulder. "We can always do something else, it's not like this is a deal breaker"

She shakes her head. "It's a lovely plan. I can't wait to hear you sing too" A smirk appears on her face.

Alabast's grip on her shoulder flinches.

She grabs his hand and leads him in. "It's only fair right? I'll sing two songs for every one you sing, deal?"

Alabast gives in. "Deal". He's fairly certain that his voice is too gruff to be good for any singing. But it isn't like he's tried. After he hurt his vocal cords from shouting when he was 6 he hadn't tried singing, he didn't really do much talking after that if he thinks about it. It's only recently that he's talked so much.

Weiss leads him in and they get a booth and sit down next to eachother. It's like a typical narrow Japanese karaoke booth that's moderately sound proof so you don't hear your neighbors songs.

Weiss selects a song and stands on the slightly elevated stage infront of a tv screen where the song would display the words.

The lights were down and they had water different drinks on the small table. They planned to spend the rest of the night here and go back to Beacon at night. They could have food sent to the booth when they get hungry.

She holds the microphone in both hands and closes her eyes. Just like she would when she would perform for hundreds and thousands of people.

('Path to Isolation' by Jeff Williams)

A piano begins playing lightly.

"It starts

With the unexpected loss

Of something dear

The warmth

That comforted and cradled

Just disappears"

Alabast feels a pain within his chest. One that he thought had disappeared when he met his girls. But it wasn't dulled like it had been over time, it's like it was fresh. He wasn't sure what it was but continued listening to Weiss.

"And in its place there's nothing

Just an endless empty hole

The light that showed the way is gone

And darkness takes control"

Alabast remembers why his chest is hurting so. He remembers the figure that held him when he first came to this world. He can't remember her face, her snowy white hair stood out. And the emptiness he felt as he left her embrace and left her to save himself.

"Bitterness and anger

Are quick to fill the void

The path to isolation

Is littered with the dreams that lay destroyed"

Alabast gets the first portion. But did he have any dreams to be crushed? As soon as he arrived he was thrown into the void.

Drums start playing as the piano picks up it's pace. And Weiss's voice also gets more solid compared to its lighter and more pained tone.

"The cold

Seems to grow in my soul

It's consuming me"

Alabast only knows a little bit about Weiss's family. She only really told him about her father and how he tried to control her. He knows she has a mother, younger brother, and older sister.

"Confused

And I'm losing myself

In the storm"

Weiss gets more into the song. Alabast understands why she was so popular. He didn't like slow songs, but he enjoyed and connected with Weiss's singing. Even if he was a bit biased.

"Growing jaded

Being pushed being pulled

I'm unraveling"

Alabast can draw quite a bit from the lyrics. He might not exactly understand why she had her unique personality when he first met her, but he assumes she wrote this song in parallel with her feelings of being controlled by her dad or something similar. And being constantly watched and judged because of her last name and popularity.

"Can't find myself when I'm

Constantly forced to conform"

Weiss takes a breath and continues with her song.

"Enemies surround me but

The worst appear as friends

Liars and pretenders

Only seek to reach their ends

Everything is breaking

Right before my eyes

Looking in the mirror

I see someone that I don't recognize"

The drums die down and the piano and violin continue in a somber tone.

Alabast wasnt ignorant to Weiss's situation. But he did underestimate it. He thought Pyrrha had it worse or just as bad. But he wants to kick himself for comparing their situations. He had been there and listened to both of them. Pyrrha was quicker to open up to him, while Weiss had slowly melted her ice walls.

The drums pick up along with the piano and violin.

"The joy

That my heart used to know

Is eluding me

Removed

And the one thing I feel is alone

Smile's faded

And I'm spinning and sinking

I'm weakening

Frozen in solitude

Loneliness chills to the bone

Memories escaping

As my heart begins to drain

Scars that cover wounds

Can't hide the self-inflicted pain

Everything my mind wants

In conflict with my heart

Fighting back surrender

But every day I'm falling more apart"

The drum and guitar stop as the tempo gets slower for a few second before all the instruments join together and rise.

"Mirror what's this thing i see?

Who is staring back at me?

A stranger to my heart has filled my mind

Mirror

Help me

Who am I?"

The song ends and Weiss opens her eyes after closing them again while she sang. She looks at Alabast who was sitting there staring at her.

She lets her hands relax at her sides after holding the mic up while she sang. "How was it?"

Alabast stands up without saying a word and walks to Weiss. He wraps her in a hug and moves her to the seats that are like booths.

She lets the microphone fall to the table as she sits on Alabast's lap facing him, her legs on the seats. Her face in his hair. She wouldn't have done this if Alabast hadn't practically picked her up and placed her.

"It was great" He wraps his arms around her back under her hair. He doesn't know why his chest hurts so much. Alabast thought he moved on. He didn't even know his mom in this life.

Weiss could tell something was wrong with him.

She had chosen a song that she herself had written and didn't get changed by her father or the people who hovered over her shoulder and changed her songs. Sometimes they just threw her songs out entirely and gave her songs that would get higher ratings.

She put her arms around him and didn't ask. Weiss just wanted Alabast to know she was there for him.

Some minutes go by in silence.

"My mom…"

Weiss heard Alabast talk lightly.

"…I don't even remember what she looks like anymore…"

Weiss listens to Alabast as he lets it out.

"When I was 6. At the 'Bloody Hours' protest, I left her there to die…"

Weiss's eyes widen. "Alabast…"

He shakes his head. "She shielded me from what she could and then she told me to run. I can't remember anything before that and even parts after that are blurry…. But I remember running away and seeing her get beaten. Her pure white hair…" He gently grabs Weiss's hair. "…stained red from her blood, and brown from the dirt of the ground she was beaten on… I didn't stay to watch her die… but I'm sure it was soon after I ran away…"

Alabast holds her hair in his hand as he tightens his hold on Weiss.

Weiss can feel Alabast's shaky breath on her skin. His tight hug, like he was afraid she would leave. Alabast's pain and sorrow in his voice. And the tears running down his face that drip onto her every now and then.

"You're singing really was amazing Weiss" He holds her in his arms and focuses on her warmth.

Weiss listens to Alabast's words over and over, even if he is quiet now. She doesn't know what to say, she isn't really great with her words like Ruby somehow is. Weiss isn't used to being there emotionally to support people in these types of situations. But she let him know that she was there and listening.

Time passes and Alabast shares a bit about his past. Nothing about the White Fang, but about how he trained and didn't rely on anyone but himself and how he just tried to leave his feelings on the fields where the 'Bloody Hours' protest happened.

Not more than 15 minutes go by as Alabast talks. His tears stopped after the first few fell. He finished talking and silence descends upon the room.

Weiss moves slightly. "Can I share too?"

"…If you want to, I'll listen…" Alabast was feeling a little better, but his emotions were still swirling like a vortex.

Weiss takes a deep breath and let's it out before she starts. "My family used to be happy. Even my father used to be…. but at one point he grew distant and cold. Around that time is when my mom started to drink….heavily and constantly. My sister started to train for the Atlas military so she was barely around. And my brother…. He used to be an adorable kid… but when he grew up he became like my father. I may not have been the perfect daughter… but I did my best for my parents. For a while I did exactly as they asked of me. But it was mostly my father. My mother just drank and neglected us, she chose alcohol over raising her kids… but there were the maids and others that helped around our house. Most were Faunus while I was young. But then one of them let in a group of Faunus activists that tried to hurt or capture me and my family… after that my father got worse, he even fired all the workers at the house and never allowed a Faunus near us if he could help it. My mom drank more after that, and I was alone…."

Weiss explains briefly how she got into singing and how she quickly got popular. How people wanted to befriend her because of her Schnee name or because of her popularity as a singer. And how her father had arranged marriage proposals for her. 'Because pure blood hunter families should stay that way' her father said. It was stupid and only the old families really gave importance to it, and some old Hunter families fell apart or don't follow that thinking.

Weiss feels a good deal of weight lift from her chest after talking to Alabast. She hadn't had a true friend that she was close enough to to talk about this with. She was getting close with her team, but they weren't that close yet.

"You aren't alone anymore Weiss. I'm here… and so is Ruby, Pyrrha, Yang, Blake, even Ren and Nora are here for you. I can't say they won't betray you and you're trust, but I can say that I won't. I'll do my best to never make you feel like you have to hold everything in. Thank you Weiss" Alabast speaks gently into her ear.

Weiss takes his words to her heart. Even if they're hard to fully agree with, she knows he isn't wrong. "We're here for you too Alabast… I love you"

Weiss can feel his hair tickle her face as she presses into it more.

"Weiss, I love you too" Alabast leans back, he had been sitting up and slightly forward. This lets Weiss lay completely against his chest.

They sat there for a couple minutes just embracing eachother. Neither were very good with words, or so they thought, but they didn't need a Shakespeare. Just eachother.

——————

After some time Alabast decided that he should rip the bandaid off and sang a song. He wanted to get the heavy mood out and get the night rolling.

He didn't know many songs on the list, but he went with songs that he knew. Mostly songs from Ruby's playlist, he can't go back to his old songs.

He wasn't great, but it wasn't like Weiss expected much. she just wanted to mess with him and at least hear him sing once. Weiss was actually pleasantly surprised that he agreed to it. It made her happy that Alabast wanted to hear her singing that badly.

They went back and forward. Weiss would sing 1-2 songs and then Alabast would sing 1.

They also took breaks and just let songs play as they talked or held eachother.

They ordered food and ate. The mood didn't get serious or heavy like it had like at the beginning.

——————

Alabast and Weiss leave the karaoke place at night. They go towards the Bullheads after a great day date out in Vale.

"Hey Weiss" Alabast says as he sits down in the Bullhead.

Weiss sits next to him. "Yes?"

Alabast looks out the window. "Can you tell the others about my mom?"

Weiss looks at him with a confused and serious expression. "Why don't you?"

Alabast sighs. "I'm not really sure I can talk about it again" He closes his eyes. "I know it's childish bu-"

Weiss grabs his hands. "It's not childish Alabast. If it's that difficult I can do it for you, I don't mind doing it. I was just a little surprised you asked me"

Alabast looks at her and puts one hand on her cheek. "Thanks Weiss"

He leans down so his lips hover just over Weiss's lips.

She was expecting the kiss but it didn't come.

She realized Alabast was waiting for her and she gave him a kiss. It lasted a few seconds before Alabast deepened the kiss .

After Alabast breaks the kiss, she moved her face away and moved her scarf to cover her face. But she doesn't complain this time.

He could have sworn that he saw her smiling and blushing face before she covered it and looks away.

Alabast sat up straight and had a smile on his face. Weiss moves next to him and leans on his arm as she looks at the opposite end of the Bullhead.

He didn't think that it would be so difficult talking about his mom, but he's glad he did. And he's content with his date. He had fun with Weiss and it was a little bumpy at times but he enjoyed those parts too.

Now what he didn't think about was the upcoming classes.