SxD: Everyone Noticed But Them

Ruby was the first to notice something was up. At first, she just thought it was funny that Weiss, Beacon’s resident perfectionist, had some

Ruby was the first to notice something was up.

At first, she just thought it was funny that Weiss, Beacon’s resident perfectionist, had somehow ended up spending so much time with Issei Hyoudou of all people.

But then she started seeing things.

Weiss lecturing Issei but actually taking the time to explain things properly.

Issei actually listening to Weiss.

Weiss rolling her eyes at Issei’s ridiculousness but not actually leaving.

The fact that Weiss, Queen of Standards, let Issei walk next to her without shoving him away.

One day, she just blurted it out.

“Weiss, do you liiike Issei?”

Weiss choked on her coffee.

“EXCUSE ME?!”

Ruby grinned. “You totally do!”

Weiss turned bright red and went on a five-minute rant about how completely absurd that was.

Ruby wasn’t convinced.

Weiss stood up, clutching her coffee like it was a shield. “I do not like him! He’s immature, loud, completely lacking in etiquette—”

“And funny,” Ruby added, ticking her fingers. “And nice. And strong. And weirdly hot, in a dumb kind of way—”

“Ruby Rose!” Weiss shrieked, nearly dropping her coffee.

Ruby just beamed. “You didn’t deny the hot part.”

“I—That’s not—You are impossible!”

Weiss turned on her heel and stormed off in a flustered huff, muttering something about “immature children” and “completely unfounded accusations.” Ruby, watching her retreat, just sipped her drink with a smug grin.

“Yup,” she said to herself. “Totally likes him.”

—-----------------

Yang saw it too. And unlike Ruby, she weaponized it.

She started making offhand comments just to see Weiss’s reactions.

“So, Weiss, you and Issei have been hanging out a lot lately. Something you wanna share?”

“Issei, you sure Weiss isn’t your girlfriend? You two argue like an old married couple.”

“Weiss, be honest. If Issei got down on one knee right now, would you at least consider it?”

Every time, Weiss would explode in indignation.

“I HAVE HIGH STANDARDS, YANG!”

“HE IS LITERALLY INCAPABLE OF THINKING WITH HIS BRAIN!”

“STOP SAYING THINGS LIKE THAT!”

Yang? Thrived on it.

Yang leaned casually against the hallway wall, arms crossed, watching Issei and Weiss from a distance. Issei was enthusiastically talking about something—probably food, or dragons, or boobs, knowing him—and Weiss was pretending not to listen.

But her eyes lingered. Her arms weren’t crossed. She wasn’t walking away.

Yang smirked.

Later that evening, as Team RWBY settled into their dorm, Yang stretched and innocently said, “Hey Weiss. You were with Issei again today, huh?”

Weiss didn’t even look up from her book. “So?”

“Nothing. Just thinking, you two really have that enemies-to-lovers vibe going on.”

Ruby snorted.

Blake looked up from her novel with mild interest.

Weiss slammed her book shut. “We are not lovers. Or enemies. Or anything! He’s a loud, ridiculous boy who can’t go two minutes without saying something absurd!”

Yang nodded. “Uh-huh. But you’re still always sitting next to him.”

“I have to. He’s always there.”

“Mmmhmm. And you’re always patching him up when he gets hurt.”

“He doesn’t have aura! Someone has to do it!”

“And you’re always watching his fights.”

Weiss faltered.

Ruby gasped dramatically. “Oh my gosh. Yang’s right. You do like him!”

Blake, dryly: “This is the most entertainment I’ve had in weeks.”

Weiss buried her face in her hands. “Why are all of you like this?!”

Yang grinned, throwing an arm around her. “Because it’s fun watching you crash headfirst into feelings. Don’t worry, Weiss. When you two finally kiss, we’ll pretend to be surprised.”

“I AM GOING TO BED.”

She stormed off, slamming the bathroom door.

From behind it, a muffled scream: “I do not like him!”

Yang winked at the others. “Y’know… she didn’t say she hated him either.”

—--------------------

Blake didn’t comment much. But she saw everything.

She noticed the way Weiss looked at Issei when he wasn’t paying attention.

She noticed how Weiss always seemed to be near him, even when she pretended it was just coincidence.

She noticed how Issei—the biggest pervert in existence—never actually pushed Weiss too far, as if he respected her boundaries in a way he didn’t with others.

Blake smirked behind her book. It was only a matter of time. Blake didn’t speak about it. She didn’t tease like Yang or gasp like Ruby. She simply watched.

Weiss thought she was subtle—sitting across from Issei instead of beside him, speaking curtly when others were around, always pretending her help was “necessary” rather than “wanted.”

But Blake had spent her life learning how to read people. And Weiss Schnee… was an open book pretending to be locked shut.

She noticed the way Weiss’s voice changed slightly when she spoke to Issei. Still sharp, still commanding—but softer around the edges.

She noticed how, after a tough mission, Weiss’s eyes scanned the crowd for one person before anyone else.

She noticed Issei too. The way he leaned a little closer when Weiss talked, even when she was scolding him. The way he always pulled his punches when sparring with her. The way he somehow never made the kind of lewd comments around Weiss that he made around literally everyone else.

Respectful. Attentive. Protective.

It was… sweet, really.

One evening, while the team was reading in silence, Blake turned a page and spoke without looking up.

“You know it’s okay to like someone, right?”

Weiss looked up from her notes. “Excuse me?”

Blake didn’t even glance at her. “You don’t have to pretend. We already know.”

Weiss opened her mouth. Closed it. Opened it again.

Blake turned another page. “You don’t have to say anything.”

Silence lingered.

“…I don’t like him,” Weiss said too quickly.

Blake finally looked up, just enough to raise a brow.

Then she smirked. “If you say so.”

Weiss turned pink again and returned to her notes, very determined not to look at anyone.

Blake returned to her book, the ghost of a smile on her lips.

She gave it another week. Maybe two.

It was only a matter of time.

—---------------------

Jaune didn’t get it.

He liked Weiss. Had since the first day at Beacon. He’d asked her out more times than he could count—and every single time, she turned him down cold.

But Issei?

All he had to do was say, “Hey Weiss, wanna hang out?” and she’d sigh, roll her eyes… and say yes.

It confused him.

Not that he had anything against the guy. Issei was a good friend—loud, yeah, and kind of a pervert, but he always had your back. When Cardin and his goons started pushing Jaune around, Issei was the first one to step in. No hesitation. Just walked right up and shut it down.

The guy was strong too. Stronger than he had any right to be, especially for someone without aura. That alone made no sense.

But it wasn’t the strength that bothered Jaune.

It was the way Weiss looked at him.

Not with the usual exasperation she gave the rest of them, but… something softer. Warmer. She still got mad, still scolded him, but there was a difference. Like she trusted him. Like she saw something in him.

And that’s what Jaune couldn’t figure out.

What was it that Issei had… that he didn’t?

“I mean, isn’t Weiss way out of Issei’s league?” He muttered one day in the cafeteria, mostly to himself.

He didn’t expect anyone to hear it.

Unfortunately, Yang was sitting right next to him.

She turned to him slowly. Smiling. Dangerously.

“What was that, Jaune?”

Jaune blinked. “Uh—nothing! I just meant, like—Weiss is really elegant and stuff and Issei’s, uh… y’know… loud?”

Yang’s smile widened. “You mean the guy who beat you in a spar without even trying?”

Jaune paled. “He beats everyone without trying!”

“Mm-hmm,” Yang said, standing up and cracking her knuckles. “Don’t worry. I’ll help you adjust your perspective.” Jaune forgot out of everyone, Yang was the one that was most invested that Issei and Weiss get together.

Jaune didn’t get to finish his sandwich. Or breathe properly for the next five minutes.

After that, he decided not to question anything about Weiss and Issei ever again.

—-----------------------

Pyrrha thought it was sweet.

She saw how much Issei genuinely cared about Weiss, even if he was a bit clueless about it. He always looked for her in a crowd, always smiled a little wider when she was near. And she saw how Weiss—despite all her sharp words and dramatic sighs—never actually pushed him away.

If anything, she leaned closer over time.

One afternoon, as they watched Issei sparring with Ren, Pyrrha leaned over and spoke softly.

“I think he’s good for you.”

Weiss blinked. “What?”

Pyrrha smiled, the kind that made it hard to get defensive. “Issei. He makes you smile, even if you don’t realize it.”

“I don’t—” Weiss started, then paused. She had smiled. Once. Maybe twice.

Maybe more.

“I just think,” Pyrrha continued gently, “it’s nice to see you let someone in.”

Weiss looked away, her expression unreadable. “…He’s infuriating.”

“But you haven’t told him to go away,” Pyrrha said simply.

Weiss had no idea how to respond to that.

So she didn’t.

But later that day, when Issei waved her over like a puppy with no self-control, she sighed… and walked over anyway.

—---------------------

Nora started a betting pool.

It started as a joke—just a passing comment at breakfast about “when Weiss would finally stop being a tsundere and kiss the guy already.” But within the hour, there was a whiteboard, color-coded charts, and a surprisingly well-organized spreadsheet pinned to the dorm wall.

“This is now officially the Weiss-Issei Romantic Inevitability Fund,” Nora announced, slamming down a jar labeled Sweet Dust Jackpot.

Blake calmly bet that Weiss would take months to confess. “She’s too prideful,” she said, not even looking up from her book.

Yang smirked and dropped her lien in the jar. “Please, Weiss will never say it. Issei’ll have to wear her down until she blurts it out during a breakdown.”

Pyrrha’s bet was gentler. “She’ll realize it first,” she said softly. “But she won’t admit it out loud. Not for a long time.”

Jaune blinked at the board, confused but intrigued. “So… wait, if she confesses after he almost dies in a fight, do I still win if I picked ‘during an emotional breakdown’?”

“No, dummy,” Yang said, smacking his shoulder. “You have to be specific! This isn’t amateur hour.”

“W-well, I bet… uh… next semester?” Jaune offered.

“That’s not even a situation, that’s a season!” Nora yelled.

Jaune wrote it down anyway.

Ren? Ren didn’t bet. He just looked at all of them, sighed like the weight of the world was on his shoulders, and went back to his tea.

“I live with this,” he muttered.

—-----------

This is actually really helpful when you have writer’s block or full of stress. Hopefully nobody reads this one.