A head of long blonde hair rose from its slumber. Lilac eyes blinked away the weariness that came from a short but ultimately needed nap. Yang looked around the classroom, and in the dim light saw that no one else was present. Everyone else had probably left long ago, leaving her to sleep the rest of the afternoon away. At least it had been the final class of the day.

That was perhaps the one good thing about Professor Port's class. She, like many of her peers, fell asleep during his long and drawn out stories of past glories. Tales of battling Grimm she had never even heard of. Winning fame and gracious gifts from rescued civilians, noble ladies throwing themselves at him in gratitude like something out of a fairy tale. Yang wondered if Ruby would be secretly into the stories, seeing how they came so close to the folklore that had inspired her to become a huntress. Maybe she would ask one of these days.

The blonde girl stood up and stretched, a few satisfying pops of her limbs echoing in the empty room. Obviously her friends had seen fit to leave her here alone in the dark. She wondered if her professor had shared their decision. Or maybe he hadn't even seen her at all. She wouldn't be surprised, knowing how oblivious Peter Port was when it came to the students he loved to monologue to.

Moving through the row of seats that she and her team had claimed as their own, Yang looked down at one of the desks to see a light blue notebook resting there. A large Schnee emblem was emblazoned on the front, which made the girl smile. Typical Weiss. Everything she owned had her family symbol on it. Or maybe it was just that the Schnee Dust Company made every sort of item under the sun. After all, they made soda. They made tooth paste. It wouldn't have surprised her if they made things like toilet paper as well, each sheet having one of those intricate snowflake logos on it. The thought of someone using such an item made her smirk mischievously. Especially if that someone was Blake.

In any case, Yang knew that she had hit the jackpot. Grabbing hold of the notebook she opened it up to see that her teammate had dutifully written down everything their professor had said today. Score! Free Weiss notes! The heiress took the best ones, being the meticulous little perfectionist that she was. Emphasis on little. With final exams coming up right before the Vytal Festival, she knew that these notes would be vital to her success.

Yang cackled stupidly to herself. A shame no one else was around to share her brilliance with. It really was their loss.

She sat down, opening up her own notebook so that she could quickly scribble down the notes Weiss deemed necessary for her own success. The first page was neatly written in handwriting which she could only describe as dainty. Hoping against hope that there wouldn't be an entire novel of the stuff, Yang flipped the page to get an idea of just how long she would be here.

How she wished she hadn't done that. How she wished she had never seen that notebook in the first place.

Her eyes practically bulged out of her head at the sight of what was on the next page. There, in Weiss' handwriting, was a depiction of insanity she had only ever seen in that one horror movie about the hotel that drove people insane.

(Heart) Jaune Arc (Heart)(Heart) Jaune Arc (Heart)(Heart) Jaune Arc (Heart)(Heart) Jaune Arc (Heart)(Heart) Jaune Arc (Heart)

Mrs. Weiss Arc Mrs. Weiss Arc Mrs. Weiss Arc Mrs. Weiss Arc Mrs. Weiss Arc

Jaune x Weiss Jaune x Weiss Jaune x Weiss Jaune x Weiss Jaune x Weiss

Jaune XOXO Jaune XOXO Jaune XOXO Jaune XOXO Jaune XOXO

I love Jaune Arc I love Jaune Arc I love Jaune Arc I love Jaune Arc I love Jaune Arc

Over and over again. Filling up an entire page. Weiss' declarations of affection for the boy she claimed to hate filled the pages of the notebook. A shaky hand gripped the edge of the page, flipping it to the next, hoping for the first time in her life that it would contain schoolwork rather than... than... whatever this madness was!

Yang placed a hand over her heart. "Oh... my... gods..."

There was more. Not simply words repeated over and over again like a girl with a grade school crush. There were drawings. Diagrams. Poetry. Page after page of the stuff. And Yang simply didn't know how to handle it.

Yang never knew that such a prim and proper little princess could be so into a boy. She guessed that was what happened when someone grew up so repressed. Once they got a little taste of freedom they wouldn't know how to handle it. Their emotions would rage like an uncontrolled inferno. And this little Ice Queen was on fire.

Releasing a breath she hadn't realized she was holding, Yang shut the offending notebook and stood up. She grabbed it along with the rest of her belongings and headed out. Normally juicy dirt like this required a healthy diet of ridicule and teasing. This, however, was just freaky. Sad in a way. Weiss Schnee was obviously in love with Jaune Arc, and yet she kept those feelings hidden from the world. From Jaune. Most importantly, from herself.

This needed to be addressed. She would speak privately to Weiss and confront the girl about her feelings. Not for the drama or the enjoyment, but for her own good. Denying these feelings she had for Jaune would only lead to her own pain and suffering. Yang knew that Jaune would leap at the opportunity to be in a relationship with the girl. All he needed was her to reciprocate his already established feelings.

After reaching her team's room, Yang entered to find her sister and friends. They were all in their respective beds reading, and to no one's surprise their choice of literature was all different. A comic book for Ruby. Thinly-veiled smut for Blake. A school textbook for Weiss.

She was about to give Weiss a whole different brand of reading material.

"Did you have a good nap?" Ruby asked smugly.

So they had left her behind intentionally. Well, no reason to show weakness now. Own it. "As a matter of fact I did," Yang shot back. "Way better than listening to whatever Professor Port was talking about."

Ruby stuck her tongue out, clearly knowing that she wouldn't get a good reaction from her big sister. But right now Ruby wasn't the priority. No, her pint-sized partner was. Yang turned her attention to the girl who sat on the bottom bunk, face still buried in a book about botany. Professor Peach really taught the strangest subject.

"Weiss," Yang said, taking a step over to the girl in question.

The white-haired girl looked up, oblivious to the fact that her secret desires had been found out. "Yes?"

"Can you come with me for a sec? We need to talk."

The request earned a quizzical reaction from the heiress. And not just her, as Ruby leapt down from the bunk above her to stand on the floor.

"What do you wanna talk to my partner about?" the younger girl asked suspiciously.

Narrowed silver eyes didn't budge as they bored into Yang's own. Ruby may have been a goofball and a dork, but she took her friendships very seriously. She probably felt that anything Yang needed to discuss with Weiss would be a team issue that they all needed to be in on.

"It's personal," she answered, leaving it intentionally vague.

"Personal?" Weiss questioned. "Yang, if this is about me using your shampoo, I apologize. I ran out of my own. I promise that I only put a little water in the bottle to make up for what I used and stretch it out."

The blonde opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. No, she hadn't known that Weiss had used her shampoo. No wonder the stuff seemed more liquidy than usual!

Still, this wasn't about something as frivolous as shampoo. And Yang never thought she would think something like that.

"Just... just come with me. We need to talk."

Weiss didn't like it. Ruby didn't like it. Blake... was Blake. She hadn't even bothered to look up from her smut. She appreciated that about her partner. She may have been embroiled in all sorts of drama when it came to the White Fang, but she didn't get involved with dumb teenage drama.

"Very well," Weiss conceded, shutting the book and setting it to the side before standing up. "But let's make this quick. I wish to get back to studying for exams."

Of course she did. And she probably wouldn't be writing about how much she loved Jaune while she studied.

The two girls moved to the doorway, and right before stepping outside Yang turned back to look at her sister. Holding up a hand, she gave her a command like she would Zwei. "Stay."

Ruby pouted, scrunching her face up and giving an adorably deadly glare at the blonde. But she ultimately complied.

Yang and Weiss walked down the hallway, and were silent for the first few seconds. Until Weiss spoke. "What's this about, Yang?"

She took a deep breath, but in the end produced the single item she carried with her. The blue notebook she had found in Port's classroom. "I found this," she said, presenting the item to the girl next to her.

"My notes," Weiss stated nonchalantly. "I must have forgotten them in Professor Port's class. Thank you for recovering them. But did we really need to come out here in order for you to do so?"

Oblivious or denial. Yang couldn't decide which it was. Maybe Weiss was just a great actress. Or maybe she didn't think that anyone would snoop through her belongings. Either way, this was far from over.

"It's not about the notes."

The heiress gave her a curious look. "Then what is it about?" She looked around the hallway they moved through. "And where are we going?"

"To one of the empty dorm rooms. We need to chat in private."

A soft frown curled up on Weiss' lips, but she complied. Soon enough they reached one of the vacant rooms which had been prepared for exchange students showing up for the Vytal Festival. Closing the door behind them, Yang prepared herself for what needed to be done.

"Weiss," she began. A brief pause settled over the room, as she didn't know how to go on from there.

"Yes, Yang?"

"We need to talk."

"I believe you have made that intention quite clear," Weiss said, a slight twinge of irritation in her voice. "We're both here now, so just spit it out already."

Spit it out already? Very well.

Yang opened up the notebook to the first page of horrors she had witnessed. Licking her lips, she recited the first line. "Heart Jaune Arc Heart. Heart Jaune Arc Heart. Heart Jaune Arc Heart. Heart Jaune Arc Heart. Heart Jaune Arc Heart."

After only the first few words she saw Weiss' reaction. Pale blue eyes widened, and her lips parted like they wanted to speak, but nothing came out.

Nothing? Okay, she would continue to 'spit it out'. "Mrs. Weiss Arc. Mrs. Weiss Arc. Mrs. Weiss-"

"Enough!" Weiss screamed, attempting to grab the notebook away from the blonde, but was thwarted when Yang simply held it high above her head. A face filled with fury glared up at her, and those icy-blue eyes turned paradoxically hot. "Give it back!"

"Weiss. Do you love Jaune?"

The shorter girl ceased her attempts to get her notebook back, and she seemed to shrink even smaller under the question. "No, of course not," she stated. "I don't love Jaune. I don't even like him."

"Then why all the lovey dovey stuff? Why repeat you love Jaune over and over again?"

"Because it's the only way I can stop thinking about him!" she shouted.

The outburst took Yang aback. Her own eyes were wide now. "...what?"

"If I don't write it down I can't get him out of my head," Weiss explained. "It's so annoying. He's so annoying! Even when he's not confessing his love for me, he's still making me think about it!"

So Weiss couldn't stop thinking about Jaune? Yeah, this girl had it bad for him. So bad that she didn't even recognize it for what it was. Weiss really was like a grade schooler here, crushing on a guy hard and not even realizing it. It wouldn't have surprised Yang if the scorn was some misguided way of expressing affection. Like how a child might tease or pull the hair of their crush on the playground.

"Weiss... I think that's called love."

"It is not!" Weiss insisted. "Seriously. In love? With him? What's there to love about Jaune anyway?"

Truth be told, Yang had never given it much thought. Any thought, really. However, she was sure she could come up with a few positive qualities here on the spot.

"Well, he's kind and caring. A good sense of humor. Always trying to improve himself. Nice thick blond hair, deep blue eyes. Tall." Yang blinked. "You know, saying all this why am I trying to convince you to like him? I should go after him myself."

"Go ahead. It sounds like you just described your father anyway."

"Aaaaaaand it's ruined. Thanks a lot, Weiss."

The heiress crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm sure I only did you a favor by turning you off from that buffoon."

"Sure, why not," Yang said dismissively. "Now go ahead and do yourself a favor by admitting that you like the guy."

"I do not!"

Yang flipped a page in the notebook. Once she got past the repeated declarations of love, there was a diagram filled with circles, each labeled with names and descriptions in excruciating detail.

"You sketched out a ballroom for a wedding reception," she said as she flipped the book around to show it to Weiss. "It has the seating arrangements for all your friends and family who will be attending your and Jaune's wedding."

"And?"

And? How could she ask that question after being presented with this kind of evidence? "And, Weiss," Yang stated pointedly. "This goes way beyond getting him out of your head. It looks like you're planning out an entire future with him."

"You're exaggerating, Yang."

"Are these your wedding vows?" she asked, pointing to the words on the next page.

"So what? I'm a completionist."

Yang's finger moved down to the next section. Two columns designated male and female, with several names listed underneath each. "And what about the baby names?"

"What about them?"

There was fire building inside her now, and Yang felt as though her Semblance was about to go off at any second. How could one person be so stubborn? Or clueless? Or whatever else Weiss was? How could she stand here and say that she did not love Jaune with a straight face?

Yang flipped angrily to the next page, being careful not to destroy something that Weiss had obviously put a lot of effort into. As in denial as the girl was, she didn't deserve to suffer for her obliviousness. No, she simply needed someone to show her the way. Yang would be the one to undertake that burden.

A crude drawing came next, illustrated with what looked to be colored pencils. Clearly Weiss did not share Blake's gift for art. An armored man atop a horse was armed with a sword and shield. Standing opposite him was a large, and probably what was supposed to be fearsome dragon. Only where the beast's body was reptilian, he had a human head with white hair and a white mustache. Fire spat from his mouth, aimed at the gallant knight facing him.

"Weiss. Did you make Jaune your literal knight in shining armor? And who or what is he even fighting?"

"There's nothing in that picture indicating it's Jaune," Weiss said dismissively.

Yang sighed in frustration. "How about his family crest on the shield?"

Weiss narrowed her eyes to look at the twin yellow crescents which adorned the heater shield. Once more, she ignored the evidence. "Those are moons."

"And?"

"Jaune's are rainbows," she explained. "Those are clearly moons."

"You are so in denial."

"There's nothing to deny! You're just making things up!"

Another flip of the page. This one was gold. "Roses are red. Hellebores are dark. My name is Weiss Schnee. And I love Jaune Arc." She paused, letting the poem linger in the air for a few seconds before continuing. "How romantic," she said sarcastically.

"I never claimed to be a poet."

"Obviously not. But still. You're writing bad poetry about being in love with Jaune. If this isn't a stereotypical case of a seventeen year old girl being in love, I don't know what is."

"I am not in love," Weiss insisted again.

Yang held up the notebook as if she were a lawyer presenting evidence to a jury. "What other possible explanation is there for all this?"

"It's like... it's like trying to get rid of a craving," the heiress explained. "If you really have a craving for ice cream you go out and buy some. Then once you eat it the craving is sated and you feel normal again."

"So... you're craving some Jaune then?"

"Yang! Don't put it like that. It sounds dirty."

Yang held her hands up defensively. "Okay, okay. But same principle, right? You have all these feelings for Jaune and the only way to get rid of them is to write them down."

"I don't know," Weiss frowned. "Even calling them 'feelings' sounds a bit too forward."

"Then what would you call them?"

Weiss pondered the question for a moment, her eyes darting to the ceiling before returning to her teammate. "Perfectly normal thoughts for two people who have spent so much time together."

More excuses. How could one girl be in such denial? "Okay. You've spent a lot more time with Ruby, Blake, and me. Do you have these thoughts about us?"

"What?" Weiss spat. "Of course not!"

"Why not?"

"Are you offended that I don't?"

"No I'm not offended." Yang leveled a finger at the other girl. "And don't you even dare try to turn this around and make it about me. I'm just wondering why Jaune, a guy you barely even talk to, and not your three best friends is the one who you can't stop thinking about."

"Precisely for the reason you just said," Weiss explained. "You three are my teammates and best friends. We're sisters. Jaune is not a sister."

"I don't know. Did you see how he rocked that dress at the dance?"

"Regardless, Jaune is not a part of our sisterhood. Therefore it is perfectly logical to think these things about him."

Weiss' excuses were getting thinner by the minute. Yang couldn't believe she was rationalizing all of this. Or worse, that she actually seemed to believe in the rationalizations.

"Okay. What about Ren?" she asked.

Weiss shrugged. "Ren is obviously taken by Nora. And before you ask, Nora is obviously taken by Ren."

"So you can see that Nora has a thing for Ren despite the fact that she's never come out and admitted it?"

"Of course. Only a fool wouldn't realize she has an enormous crush on him."

"Yet you can't see what's right in front of you..."

"Right now you're right in front of me, Yang," Weiss snapped. "And as I've stated before, I'm not interested."

"I'm not hitting on you!"

"Good."

"But you're doing some serious deflecting here, Weiss," Yang accused. "Why don't you just come out and admit you're Noraing on Jaune?"

"Because I'm not. Maybe you're Noraing on Jaune and just projecting it onto me. After all, you're the one with nothing but good things to say about him."

This was going nowhere and Yang knew it. She knew that words alone wouldn't penetrate the thick wall of ice known as Weiss' heart. If she wanted things to progress she would need to take action. And if there was anything Yang was good at, it was action.

Yang knew that she had a mission. To make Weiss recognize her repressed feelings for a boy who loved Weiss for who she was, rather than any fame or money. And if it took a little bit of foul play then so be it. After all, all was fair in love and war. Right now Yang was about to wage all out psychological warfare in order to make the heiress act.

"Okay. You're right," Yang said as she finally handed Weiss her notebook. The girl grabbed it, clutching it tightly to her chest lest it fall out of her possession once more. "I think we're done here."

"Fine with me."

Yang turned and took a step toward the door. "I'm gonna go tell Jaune that I think he's the bee's knees."

She didn't get far, as an unseen hand shot out and grabbed hold of her wrist. "Wait! You can't do that!"

Bingo. Yang turned back to gaze into the angry blue eyes of her friend. "Huh? Why not?"

"Because..." Weiss struggled to say. "Because... you just admitted that he reminded you of your father! It would be weird if you had a relationship with Jaune!"

"Nah, that's dumb," she waved off. "Just because they have the same color hair and eyes doesn't mean they look anything alike."

"Yes, but, still... and... um..."

Yes, keep spinning those mental wheels, Weiss. Try to come up with a reason why I can't confess my love to Jaune. Because we both know that you've got it bad for him. "Anything you'd like to share with the class, Weiss?" she finally said aloud.

For a few long moments Weiss stared at her with that trademark cold Schnee glare. Finally though, she relented and released her hold on Yang's arm. "No. Nothing at all. Go ahead and confess your stupid love to Jaune! See what I care!"

Without waiting for a response Weiss stormed past Yang, and stomped out of the room with a huff. In her wake was a very amused blonde girl, grinning from ear to ear at the amount of progress she had just made in such a short time.

Yes, she was doing this for her friend's benefit, but that didn't mean she couldn't have a little bit of fun along the way. It was working already. All she needed to do was keep pushing, and then two of her closest friends would find love and happiness with each other.

Yang never knew that playing matchmaker could be so fun.

Another day down. Another day survived. Another day of self-improvement. Life was good for Jaune Arc. Not perfect, but good.

Final exams were coming up, and soon after that the Vytal Festival would follow. He had been in Beacon Academy for nearly a whole year, and he had gone from zero to hero. He had gone from a boy who didn't even have Aura, a boy who could barely wield his sword, to a man who had helped stave off a Grimm attack in downtown Vale. In the end, wasn't that what was truly important? Wasn't that why he was here?

Sure, he had struck out with Weiss. After the dance he had given up his pursuits of her, even going so far as to help out Neptune with his own doubts when it came to the girl. As long as Weiss was happy, he was happy. It didn't mean that Jaune himself would never be happy someday too. Like Pyrrha had once told him there were plenty of other fish in the sea. It was just a shame that none of those fish seemed to be interested in him like he had been Weiss.

Sitting in the library, Jaune had decided to buckle down and really give a good effort in studying. Gone were the days from the previous semester where he had hidden comic books in his textbooks. He wanted to succeed. He wanted to be a huntsman. He wanted it more than anything in the world. Jaune would succeed or die trying. Sadly that statement was more literal than metaphorical in this line of work, but it was the job he had signed up for.

A handful of other students were present as well. Like him, they were ones more driven to succeed for their own various reasons. Oddly enough the hulking form of Cardin Winchester sat alone at one of the tables in the corner of the library. Weiss, as studious and ambitious as ever, had so many books and papers scattered in front of her that one might mistake her for a general planning a military campaign. A part of him wanted to go over there and ask if she wanted to study with him, but he knew that it would likely be a mistake to test their newly mended friendship so early. If he could even call what they had a friendship. In all honestly he had no idea if she even knew that he was responsible for helping her out with Neptune.

Oh well. No reason to bring it up if she wasn't interested.

The gentle sound of the library doors opening made him look up, and to his surprise Yang Xiao Long of all people walked in. She was certainly not one for studying, at least to his knowledge. Maybe she was there just to annoy Weiss. Or fetch her to return to their team's dorm. Jaune shrugged, reverting his eyes back to the text in front of him.

It came as quite a shock when Yang came to his table, and not Weiss'. He looked up at his fellow blonde, curiosity written on his face. "Hey, Yang," he greeted softly. "What's up?"

The girl sat down in the seat next to his. She brought her face close to his. "Whatever happens next, Jaune, just play along."

This did nothing to aid his confusion. "Huh?"

"This is all just an act, okay? Play along. If you do I guarantee you'll hit the jackpot."

Yang stood up, and Jaune was about to question what in the world she was talking about. However, all words died in his mouth when the blonde draped an arm around his shoulders and used him to gently lower herself into his lap.

The light, yet amazingly weighty body of the beautiful young woman rested on him, and Yang's face erupted into a smile that was bright as the sun. "Oh, Jaune," she giggled, leaning her forehead against the side of his head. "You're so funny."

Jaune froze. What was he supposed to do here? What was even happening? His mind tried to recall the words of his friend from only seconds ago, but only fragments were coming to him. Play along. Just an act. Those in particular stuck out, and despite the tantalizing feeling of having a girl resting against his body, he knew that it wasn't real. Whatever Yang was doing was part of some sort of scheme on her part that he wasn't privy to. She only asked that he play his part.

Thanks for not telling him his part, Yang!

She was touching him so liberally. Should he touch back? Wrap an arm around her back like she was with him? His mind was blank, and his body was a nervous wreck. What if he went too far? What if he did something she hadn't anticipated? What should he do!

Perhaps she noticed how he had frozen up, and Yang moved her head to whisper into his ear. "It's okay. You can hug me. Sweet talk me, lover boy. Anything you'd say to Weiss, say to me."

Yang was asking him to flirt with her? That was... new. Unexpected. And completely insane. He didn't have any preconceived lines. No song lyrics written up. He didn't even have his guitar with him! How was he supposed to impress Yang if he didn't have good old Betsy to serenade her with?

"I... um..." he managed to force out.

Yang giggled again, and despite the whole thing being an admitted facade, Jaune wished it was real. The blonde bombshell was the epitome of beauty, and on a more primal level, sex appeal. Yang was perhaps the most beautiful girl in their class, and dare he say the entire school. The fact that she was acting this way around him was cruel, even when he knew there was no malice behind it. She was giving him a taste of what most guys at Beacon could only dream of.

"You're so cute when you're nervous, you know that?" she teased, running a finger along his jaw.

He must have been the cutest guy in the world then, because his nerves were off the charts. Why was she doing this? Why was she tormenting him with sweet words and touches that he knew weren't real? Why had she said that he would hit the jackpot if he-

"Excuse me?" a familiar voice growled from their side. "What in the world is going on here?"

A pair of heads turned to see an irate Weiss staring both of them down. Well, at least as much as her five-foot-nothing frame could do. Even seated, she stood barely taller than the pair of blonds sitting on a single chair.

Weiss' arms were crossed over her chest, and Jaune could imagine her tapping her foot expectantly on the floor waiting for an answer. He understood her anger too. This was a library, not a bedroom. If she decided to demand that the two of them indeed 'get a room', it would be entirely appropriate.

"Oh, hey, Weiss," Yang said, surprised that her teammate had come over. "What's up?"

Weiss' lip twitched as her scowl deepened. "I think you know 'what's up'," she replied, making air quotes with her fingers. "This display of debauchery has no place in a public setting."

Yang hummed thoughtfully. "You're right. I just couldn't help myself seeing this tall, blond, handsome noodle sitting here studying and improving himself. Jaune's such a catch, you know? Any girl would be lucky to have a guy like that in their life. One to hold them tight at night. Wrapped in his big, strong, yet loving arms. Making them feel warm and safe and loved, knowing that he would do anything to protect them. Isn't that right, Jaune?"

Little did Yang know, but Jaune . exe had just shut down. What had she said again?

"But you're right," she continued, leaving the comfort of his lap. Much to Jaune's disappointment. "Jaune, maybe we should go back to your dorm. We'll come up with an excuse to kick your team out. Or... maybe we could just go to one of the training rooms and have a little one on one action. Work up a good sweat." She winked, nudging his ribs with an elbow. "Sound like a good plan?"

Forget shutting down. Jaune's brain had just crashed entirely, and was in desperate need of a reboot. Probably a whole host of troubleshooting as well. Yang was a virus which had just corrupted his memory, and he would be useless until this was all resolved.

He was on autopilot as Yang took his hand, and his legs moved on their own following after her. They were both stopped as another hand grabbed his other arm, tugging on him with surprising strength for someone so tiny. "Wait!"

Both he and Yang turned to see Weiss looking away, a small blush creeping on her cheeks.

"What's wrong, Weiss?" Yang asked exaggeratedly. "Did you wanna come with us and join in on the action?"

Join in on the action. Yang was so, so cruel. Such imagery only existed in dreams and fantasies. What had he done to deserve such cruel teasing? Yang had implied this would be for his benefit, but right now all he could see were temptations which would never come to pass.

"Absolutely not!" Weiss yelled, far too loudly for a library. She earned a glare and a shush from the librarian. The reaction made Weiss blush further, shrinking down onto herself and seeming even tinier than usual.

To his surprise, Yang let go of his hand. Bumping his shoulder with one of her own, Yang helped to turn him to face Weiss, giving her his full attention while the blonde stood behind him. "Then what is it, Weiss?" she asked genuinely. "Is there something you wanted to say to Jaune, maybe?"

A soft, almost inaudible mewl sounded in Weiss' throat. Was she in pain or something? The white-haired girl continued to look anywhere but at him, and her body was practically vibrating as she stood in place in front of him.

"No? Okay then," Yang said, grabbing hold of Jaune once more. "See ya later!"

He didn't get far, as Weiss was still holding onto him. He felt like he was about to get torn apart in this game of tug-of-war between the two strong girls.

"Wait," Weiss said again. Softer this time. More vulnerable.

A look of genuine concern was etched on Jaune's face now. What was going on with her? "Weiss?" he questioned.

Yang let go once more, and this time moved away from him toward the door. "See ya around, Jaune."

And just like that, like a violent yellow tornado, Yang twisted away from the destruction she had just wrought on the innocent, leaving Jaune and Weiss standing by themselves.

Jaune peered down at the girl, more than a foot shorter than him, and wondered what was going on. He was still recovering from Yang's provocative comments, and he hoped that he would be able to give Weiss his undivided attention. "Weiss?" he repeated.

"Jaune," she spoke softly. Softer than what was even necessary for a library. "I think I... I... I l..."

Whatever it was that she wanted to say was obviously important to her. And hard to get out too. He would be patient with the girl. With any luck she would end up saying something that would fix their strained friendship completely. Maybe she was trying to thank him for setting her and Neptune up at the dance?

He saw how her head peered around his body, and Jaune turned to see what she was looking at. Yang's head was peeking in around the corner of the door, a mischievous smile on her lips as she seemed to watch the scene unfolding before her with unrestrained glee.

Was this what she had meant by him hitting the jackpot? Had this been her intention all along?

The sound of Weiss' words drew his attention back to her. "What I mean is that I... I love..."

His heart skipped a beat. "Love what?"

Blue eyes shot wide open. "Ice cream!"

Not what he had been expecting to hear. Or hoping. Jaune frowned, looking down at the girl who had once more averted her gaze. "You love ice cream?"

"Yes," she state confidently. Her hands drifted up to her hips, and that familiar Schnee confidence returned to both her body and her voice. Even her very poise suddenly exuded power and dominance as she glared up at him. "I'm going to head down to Vale right now and get some ice cream."

Without another word she stomped past him. Jaune turned and watched her leave, and was surprised when she stopped at the library's exit. Not because Yang barred her path, but because she turned back around and stared at him expectantly. "Well?"

He frowned again. "Well what?"

"Are you coming or not?"

"I didn't know I was invited."

Weiss scoffed, shaking her head and rolling her eyes. "Of course you are! Who goes out for ice cream alone? Now hurry up before I change my mind."

Again the heiress walked away without so much as waiting for a response. Jaune merely shrugged. He wasn't about to turn down a trip to Vale with Weiss. Or ice cream.

As he exited the library, he saw Yang leaning against the wall to his right. Her arms were folded coolly against her chest, a grin playing on her lips as she turned to regard him.

"What'd I tell you, Jaune? You just hit the jackpot."

Memories and regrets of what Yang had done with him not being real passed. To his surprise, he had found something even better. Something which he never would have expected to happen. It dawned on him at this moment what had just taken place in the library. What's Yang's game had been. What Weiss' reactions had indicated. What her words meant.

Weiss Schnee had just asked him out on a date. To go into the city to get ice cream with her.

He didn't know how. He didn't know why. But he wasn't about to question it.

"You knew," he said to the girl beside him.

Yang chuckled. "Yeah. I knew."

He could hardly believe it. It didn't mean that he wasn't grateful for it though. "Thanks."

A shrug of the girl's shoulders told him it wasn't a big deal to her. "Anything to make my friends happy. And you're both my friends. Being the team mom is kinda my thing too, having helped to raise Ruby and all. So I can't stand watching one of my kids suffer when she's crushing on a boy."

Team mom. Somehow it seemed appropriate for Yang. She may not have seemed like the most responsible one, but looks could be deceiving. She did indeed have a certain motherly love for her team, much like Nora did with his. Those two were the ones who while not being official leaders, would still go above and beyond to do anything for those under their protection.

As it turned out, those duties extended to setting their teammates up in romantic relationships.

"You'd better hurry up and get ready. Weiss is a very punctual girl. She wouldn't want her date to be late."

Jaune couldn't argue with that. Weiss seemed like the type to plan out an event down to every excruciating detail. The fact that this ice cream date was so spontaneous was truly shocking to the boy.

"Yeah. Good idea," he agreed.

"But before you go," Yang said, once more taking hold of his arm. She spun him around to face her. "I just wanna try something. Let's see if this works."

The girl's tongue darted out to wet her lips, and her head tilted ever so slightly as her face neared his. His brain knew what these actions indicated, but he could hardly believe they were true. Why would Yang want to kiss him if she had just gone to so much trouble to set him up with Weiss?

The answer hit him in the head. Literally.

Yang moved away from him, and both turned to see that Weiss had just run up and thrown something at him. Looking down, it was a light blue notebook. Obviously hers judging by the Schnee family logo printed on its cover.

"Read that!" she demanded before running away. Straight into her partner, who had appeared from around the corner. Weiss leapt onto the back of her waiting getaway Ruby, wrapping her arms around the girl's neck before giving her a swift kick to the leg. "Run, you dolt! Run!"

Ruby sped away, leaving Jaune and Yang with a pile of rose petals in her wake. The madness only continued, it seemed.

Reaching down to pick up the notebook, Jaune opened it. After flipping through the first few pages his eyes widened.

"Yeah," Yang sighed. "You have fun with that. She's all yours now."

The blonde girl finally walked away, leaving Jaune alone with the notebook. A crush was an understatement. He smiled.

Jaune didn't know if he was ready for a full and committed relationship with Weiss Schnee, but he was sure going to try. After all, it was the least he could do with someone who was trying as hard as she was.

Author's Note: This wholesome crack has once again been brought to you by the Work in Progress Discord server. They continue to help inspire me to write dumber and dumber stories, and I can't get enough of them!

My heartfelt thanks go out to Constable Paperbag for drawing the cover art of this fic. He brings as much talent to the table as Weiss herself, and it's a flawless recreation of the sketch from Weiss' notebook. You should go check out his actual literary works, which I assure you are much better than the drawing. In fact he just updated his story Burned earlier in the month. That would be a great start!

I hope you all enjoyed this latest crack piece. It's been a while since I've done pure White Knight. This was silly and stupid, and very fun to write.

Thanks for reading.

Edit: Apparently I can't use a less-than sign on this website, so Weiss' heart emojis are ruined. So I had to end up using (Heart) in their place.