Chapter 53Notes:
Hey remember when I showed off Blake's look in Chapter 19 and Weiss' in 22? Yeah, this is where they finally show up in the fic
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
"Y'know, as much as I like having Penny around, I can't help but think that our current living situation is entirely unsustainable," Blake murmured quietly, standing in front of the full length mirror mounted to the bathroom door as she turned this way and that, grimacing as she took in her new outfit and tried not to feel too put out about losing the clothes she'd worn for so long- after nearly a half decade in the White Fang, the idea of throwing out old clothes and getting a new outfit was… weird to her- even before, on Menagerie, she'd more often taken old clothes to her mom to repair and upsize… or failing that, donate to someone who needed it more.
Unfortunately, her and Weiss' combat outfits were… basically ruined by that fight at the docks, and after barely two days of combat training now that they were in the second month of the semester… well. The strain in the seams had shown. Plus, Blake's clothes were showing their age now anyway. They were the first clothes she'd gotten from Ilia back when she'd transitioned and stabilized into her new self, the clothes that she'd modified and changed until only the bow remained- the bow that still managed to stay intact, but… the rest of the outfit was a loss. Too many frayed seams, too many tears, too many years of washing and replacing and patching…
It was sad to see the old outfit go, but the only thing it was useful for now was spare fabric.
And now… Blake didn't know what to think about her new clothes- meanwhile, Weiss had simply gotten a new combat outfit after remarking that her original one had been picked out by her father to exemplify the Schnee name, and Weiss wanted clothes that fit her . Fit Weiss , more than they fit Schnee .
Really, the biggest change Weiss had made was moving on to a light shade of gray rather than blinding white, and picking out more blacks and blues as opposed to having a red lining. It went well with Myrtenaster- or, it would once Ruby got back with the test parts she'd be making for Myrtenaster's expanded lance form. Because Weiss wanted to learn how to fight with a lance.
"Whyever would it be unsustainable?" Weiss responded dryly, raising her eyebrow as she motioned vaguely at the rest of the surprisingly large and yet somehow surprisingly small room, their belongings crammed in every possible corner to try and eke out every last bit of room while also maintaining an actual livable space. She quietly decided to ignore the sound of flames and screaming outside as Team CMNE started a brand new prank war on each other and a few unfortunates that thought it was a good idea to join in. "Is it because of the fact that Penny is using Ruby's bed while Ruby continues sleeping with Yang- which, by the way, continues to be nerve wracking because she refuses to disarm any of her weapons before bed or even lock them up properly and I keep having recurring nightmares about her exploding in the middle of the night- or is it because Penny literally only has the single change of clothes and the only reason why she's been able to go around for the last few days is because she's a robot girl who doesn't get dirty the normal way humans do and Ruby keeps making new clothes for her to keep her disguised?"
She paused, snorting as she examined her newly painted, crimson nails- the color standing out starkly against her pale, white skin and almost white jacket. "Or is it the fact that at some point, someone from Atlas is likely to end up knocking down our door to retrieve their wayward student and/or military asset and will likely drag her away no matter how much she or we protest."
"Well, pretty much all of that, but I was mostly referring to the fact that Penny weighs about three times more than a girl her size should and since she sleeps above my bed I'm kind of afraid of her falling through the slats and landing on me in the middle of the night," Blake deadpanned, adjusting her bow where she'd tied it around her arm (in remembrance of some of the older White Fang armbands they used to use before there was an official uniform) and looking at herself again- huh. Her tan was evening out again. Nice. "Do you think the coattails are too much? I don't want them to get in the way while I do stuff…"
"I think they look very you , Blake," Weiss just nodded and bobbed her head, rubbing her chin as she looked over at her teammate with a discerning eye (and trying not to linger on any one part too long), humming under her breath as she took in the sharply flared shoulders of Blake's sleeveless coat, the flexible two toned pants, the V-cut shirt beneath… Hmm…
"Just about the only thing I'd change is… maybe cover up your neck area a little? It seems a bit exposed the way it is now," Weiss suggested, pointing to herself, where she had a high collar that wrapped securely around her neck and provided a slight bit of extra support and protection due to the Dust woven fabric acting like a thin layer of armor and protection against attacks to her throat. "Maybe a gaiter or something? Also, do hurry with your turn in the mirror, I need to make sure my pouches and supplies all still work with this outfit."
"Hey, I need to do an equipment check too," Blake shot back without any heat, frowning a little bit as her eyes lingered on Weiss maybe a little more than she'd thought they would- remembering just how much vitriol Adam had spat that night and grimacing a little bit as her ears fell slightly flat. "Maybe… a scarf? Might be a little more dynamic than what I've got going on."
"Are you sure you're not copying Cinder with that? It seems like you're quite taken with her idea of aesthetics considering how much you were staring at her the other day," Weiss asked, standing up as Blake moved away from the mirror to twist and turn in that spot as well, idly nudging her equipment pouches into comfortable places along the belts that hung at her waist- making sure not to unseat her dark blue waist-cape from where it hung on the outside of her new combat… coat…dress???? Honestly, even with as much high society training as Weiss had, she really wasn't sure what possessed her to pick up such a strange garment, but it went really well over her new black skirt, plus the blue waist-cape- the dark ruffle of fur around the neck was also extremely comfortable and…
Hm.
Maybe she was a little too influenced by Blake and Yang, because for some reason she had just wondered what it would be like to nuzzle against Blake instead of her coat's fur collar.
Mm… not good. Not good at all…
"I think I might have accidentally copied most of Team CMNE actually, now that I think about it…" Blake grumbled, winding her black scarf around her neck (and resolving to get a professional Huntress grade one later once she had the time and funds) and looking over her outfit again. "The shoulders are totally Cinder… the coattails are Cinder… so is the scarf… but I think I might have gotten some of the details from Emerald and Neo too. Huh. They are really cool, and… well."
"They're a second year team that actually hangs out with first years because of Yang and Ruby being Cinder's siblings, yes. And they certainly are very … cool…" Weiss hummed, shaking her head a little to get the image of Cinder's boob window (and the image of Neo pressing her face into Cinder's boob window) out of her head. Dammit, pay attention you useless lesbian! "But it's overall different enough that it's more you than it is them . And I think you look very nice. Albeit, I do think the coat might be a mobility issue at times?"
"Yeah, it might. I'll see where it goes later on. At least I won't have to worry too much about people staring at my ass now… what was I thinking, wearing short shorts with stockings, that highlighted my ass and legs way too much. The amount of people I've heard whispering about my Bellabooty… perverts, the lot of them," Blake grumbled, smoothing over the back of her coat as she returned to her spot in the mirror while Weiss just casually walked over behind Blake… and flicked her eyes down for a brief moment.
Hm.
Nnnnope.
"Actually… I think the way your coat is tied and tailored, it makes your butt look bigger," Weiss sighed, then actually looked in the mirror to focus on the rest of Blake's outfit. "... Also, the front really emphasizes your bust. Not that I can say anything about that when I gave myself a cleavage window, but still."
"... Oh gods dammit, why didn't I notice this earlier? Fucking- ugh," Blake sighed, noticing now just how much buttoning her coat under her bust pushed her girls up. "I mean, shit, I look good but… dammit ."
"Come to think of it now, I think Ruby is the only one of us who doesn't try to emphasize her bust on purpose, but it's pretty clear that, grimm or no… the Xiao Long genes very much are affecting her," Weiss sighed, peevishly staring into the distance as if trying to make sure that Ruby could feel every last ounce of her boob envy for the younger girl. Ugh. Of course the shortest girl on the team (who was already only barely shorter than her and would probably grow taller than Weiss if Yang was any indication) would have bigger boobs than her still. How annoying.
Truly. Weiss' problems were complex and insurmountable. And also kinda stupid, because Weiss had better things to do than be jealous over boob size. Unfortunately… it still bothered her. A lot. Because her upbringing had instilled some complexes about femininity and unreasonable beauty standards into her head and now Weiss was always torn between staring gayly at another girl's boobs or staring in jealousy.
"You can stop staring at my tits through the mirror now," Blake deadpanned, turning around and poking Weiss' forehead. "Down girl."
".... Sorry. Got distracted thinking about my boob envy."
Blake snorted, patting Weiss' shoulder. "You and me both. I still sometimes wish I had Yang's bust size no matter how impractical it'd be on my build."
"... Yes but you're already so… gifted…"
"Yeah, I got lucky that my dad's seven feet tall and absolutely huge and my mom's… well. I'm not gonna say more than that," Blake deadpanned, adjusting the bow tied to her arm one last time before swishing her coat tails around, seeming entirely too interested in the motion as the fabric swirled against her legs. "... Oh, that's why some of the other trans girls in the White Fang always talked about spinny skirts…"
Weiss giggled. "It is fun- even if I'm not trans… it's very fun to get a new skirt and do that."
"Mm, so I'm told. Now c'mon, we've got Port's class in a bit and our free period's almost up- wanna grab some snacks before we head in?"
"I'd love nothing more."
[Just a quick reminder of what Blake and Weiss' outfits look like now]
Notes:
Weiss and Blake should have more one on one moments, I think, considering how they're essentially set up as complete opposites to each other within the team