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brokenmimir · 4 years ago

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Storm Tossed Love

White Rose Week 2020, Day 3: Secret Relationship AU

Captain Weiss Schnee, Bane of Pirates and Hero of Whitebay, pursues her arch-nemesis Ruby Rose, captain of the notorious pirate ship Crescent Rose, in what definitely isn't a unique form of flirting.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/24683041

The bow of the Myrtenaster cut through the choppy waves, the strong tailwind from the brewing storm driving them forward. All hands were on deck, with some crew busily rigging safety lines, while others were in position to instantly react to the storm gusts, belaying pins at the ready to adjust the sheets at a moment's notice.

“Captain, we're cutting it too close,” Neptune said, his eyes wild as he flinched at another flash of lightning.

“You're greener than your gills, Lieutenant Vasilias,” Captain Weiss Schnee sneered, not even pausing for a moment from where she was peering through her telescope.

“But captain, this is madness!” he tried again. “We're going to dash apart on the rocks! Even without this wind it'd be too tight, and at this speed we'll never make it! We're gonna rip our keel right out from under us! You have to pull away from the coast!”

“And put that storm to our starboard?” Weiss scoffed. “If you wish to capsize us with one of those waves feel free to turn us about, but I'd prefer not to drown, lieutenant.”

There was a loud snap, and then a cry of distress, as one of the sheets snapped, unable to withstand the strain any longer. The rope shot across the deck with great force, taking one of the sailors in the head and knocking him off of his feet. When he didn't move Weiss pursed her lips in displeasure. He may have been a fresh rating from their last port, but he was still one of her's.

“There!” Weiss shouted, lowering her telescope. “Get that sheet fixed, now gentlemen! Miss Soleil, hard o' port when I give the word! Then follow my directions promptly! Miss Nikos, ready the cannons! We're only going to get one clean shot at this, but after is a different story. We may well lose those pirates in the storm if we can't cripple them.”

“Aye, ma'am!” both women called.

Weiss leaned against the railing, gripping it tightly as she strained her eyes trying to make out what she'd seen earlier in the dim light. The section of Anima they were sailing around was a mess of reefs and rocky islets, with only the bravest or most foolhardy daring to come so close to the coastline, even in fair weather. With a massive storm pushing them too fast forward and whipping the seas into a frothy mess, it was anything but fair weather.

“Now, Miss Soleil, hard o' port!” Weiss shouted.

Neptune screamed in terror, gripping to the railing with both his arms and legs, while the rest of the crew held onto the safety lines and Soleil grunted, turning the wheel hard despite the currents and waves trying to resist the movement of the rudder. Just when it seemed that the ship would balk, they finally came about just enough, and moments later they shot through a gap between a coastal cliff and a rocky islet, one barely narrow enough for the three masted warship to pass through without scraping the sides.

“Now, hard o' starboard!” Weiss cried.

With a groan of straining timber the ship came about, a miniature whirlpool in the lee of the cliffs helping to propel them out towards the ocean, putting them just to the outside of huge, rocky protrusion barely visible through the storm-driven breakers.

“Ship sighted!” the lookout shouted. “Ahead of us, past the coast! Black flag… it's the Crescent Rose!”

“We've got her,” Weiss crowed. “Hard o' port when I say the word, Miss Soleil, and ready those guns, Miss Nikos! It'll be a fast shot, but we should get our whole broadside to bear!”

“Aye, aye, ma'am!” Pyrrha answered.

Neptune, who had apparently found the courage to open his eyes, lost any bravery he had as he shrieked. “There's a reef ahead! We're gonna run into it! We have to turn to starboard!”

Weiss rolled her eyes. “Turn to port on my mark, Miss Soleil.”

“You're gonna drown us all!” Neptune wailed.

“Now, hard o' port!”

With the trust earned over years of hard sailing, Ciel Soleil followed Weiss's word over the evidence of her own eyes, turning the ship to port and sending them speeding directly towards the huge reef before them. Past it was open water, as the small protrusion of coast that they had been lapping around gave way to offer a straight shot to open sea… as well as the pirate ship that Weiss was just beginning to make out in front of them.

Just as they were about to crash to their deaths, another high, storm tossed wave lifted their ship, and with inches at best to spare they were tossed over the reef, a move impossible in any weather but such a powerful storm, and even then it being high tide was the only thing that let them clear the reef. Like a watermelon seed spat from the lip of the coast they flew out into the open water, carrying such momentum that the pirate ship, if it had even spotted their ship sailing in a place no sane captain would dare to take their crew, had no chance to react.

“Fire!” Pyrrha Nikos shouted, and the guns of the Myrtenaster called their full throated roar of battle.

Weiss turned her attention to the Crescent Rose, finally spotting her target where she stood on her own quarterdeck. Ruby Rose, the most infamous privateer to ever accept letters of marque from Vale, stared at Weiss with a completely gobsmacked expression on her face. She barely reacted as a cannonball shot just past her, slamming into the mizzenmast with a shower of splinters. Weiss could do nothing but smirk in satisfaction as the pirates scrambled madly, completely unprepared for her attack.

Unfortunately, that proved to be the only truly great blow of what became a desperate, running battle against ship and storm. Even with one mast badly damaged, and a fair bit of rigging fouled, the single, rapid broadside did far too little damage to the pirate ship to truly slow them down, and by the time Weiss was able to bring the Myrtenaster back into combat position, fighting the weather the whole way, Ruby Rose had gotten her crew ready, and it was her turn to demonstrate her mastery of sailing by somehow losing them in storm tossed darkness.

When the sun finally rose Weiss snarled, slamming an angry fist into the railing as the first rays of the morning sun finally revealed the pirate ship in the distance. The Crescent Rose had taken a different course than Weiss had predicted, leaving them out of position for a proper intercept until long after they reached Mistral waters, whose junks would fiercely maintain the neutrality between even an Atlesian warship and a Valean pirate.

“Damn her for a fish,” Weiss growled. “We had her.”

Pyrrha, who had come up beside her, simply chuckled. “Almost. Will we pursue?”

“No,” Weiss said, with a sigh. “We won't catch her. As loathe as I am to compliment a Valean ship, much less a pirate one, the Crescent Rose has more speed than we do in stern chase, especially with this much tail wind. No, she's gone, and we might as well give up the hunt for the day.”

“Will we return to Solitas then?” Pyrrha asked.

Weiss shook her head. “No, we need to resupply, and we can perhaps get some information as well. Lieutenant Vasilias?”

“Ma'am?”

“Stand down the men and take the watch. We're bound for Argus, if you think you can manage it.”

“Of course I can,” he said, puffing out his chest proudly. “My father-”

“Bought you a commission you didn't earn, and ensured you took up otherwise useful deck space on my ship,” Weiss interrupted. “Miss Nikos? If you could ensure that the Lieutenant doesn't sail us to Menagerie or Sanus while I get some rack time?”

“Aye, aye ma'am,” Pyrrha said, squinting at the coast. “We should reach Argus before the night watch.”

Weiss nodded to her, before heading to a cabin. Once there she collapsed on her bed with a sigh. It had been a long night, but an exhilarating one, although if Neptune Vasilias didn't shape up he'd find himself going for a long swim soon. Still, despite her lack of success it wasn't all bad. She'd remember Ruby's expression for the rest of her life; it wasn't often that she truly surprised the unpredictable pirate.

That evening, freshly washed and wearing a starched uniform, Weiss strolled down the gangway and onto the dock. Argus was a large city, one founded with a mix of Atlesians and Mistralians, although it was legally a part of Mistral, and thus neutral in the war between Atlas and Vale.

Weiss pointedly ignored the murmuring crowd as she moved through the city. When she first gained her captaincy, many said that it was because of her father's influence, the same way that Neptune's officer position was received. To be honest, that was the reason she initially became a lieutenant under Captain, now Commodore, Port, but she had long ago learned to be a good officer, and he had selected her to take control of the Myrtenaster after his promotion. Perhaps one day, after a few tough lessons, Neptune would be the same.

Or, perhaps not.

Weiss soon found her way to a small, relatively quiet inn near the docks. Most of her crew would be partying in the rowdier areas, and she hoped that Pyrrha could them in hand. She, however, had different evening plans than drinking herself silly.

The room went still and quiet when she stepped inside, but she ignored the stares and walked up to the man behind the bar. “I'm expected.”

“R-room four,” he stammered.

She nodded, and walked up the stairs, and soon she took a deep breath, adjusting her long, white braid under its stiff tricorne one last time, before knocking. In moments the door flew open, to reveal a grinning, silver eyed rapscallion, who grabbed her still raised fist and dragged her inside by it, tossing her onto the bed.

“Oof!” she grunted. “Ruby!”

“Weiss!” the pirate captain cheered, closing the door and then hopping on top of her. “Did you have to almost blow my head off!?”

Weiss sniffed. “If you let a little ambush like that get you then you'd deserve it.”

“Little ambush, she says,” Ruby grumbled. “I'm gonna be in port for, like, a month, maybe two fixing that mast. I'm gonna punish you for what you did to my Crescent Rose.”

“N-now Ruby, let's not be hasty.”

“Now you say that,” Ruby pouted. “Last time I damaged the Myrtenaster I couldn't sit down for a week.”

“Well, you deserved it, being a notorious scalawag,” Weiss sniffed. “Damaging my ship. Reprehensible.”

“Yeah, well… I'll reprehen-that thing you”

“Reprehensible isn't a verb,” Weiss snorted.

“Well, uh… you aren't a verb. So there!”

Weiss crossed her arms and gave her an unimpressed look, only to be interrupted by giggles as Ruby began to tickle her. “No, stop, stop!”

“Imagine if people knew that the great, scary Captain Schnee, Bane of Pirates and Hero of Whitebay, was so ticklish. And a giggler.”

“I'm not a giggler!” Weiss shouted, only to break out into another fit of giggles as Ruby began tickling her again. “Stop, stop!”

“I'll think about it… maybe,” Ruby mused, before tickling her again.

“I'll- I'll make it worth your while,” Weiss gasped.

“Oh?” Ruby asked. “How's that?”

Weiss looked up at her through her eyelashes, cheeks flushed and eyes dancing with happiness. “A kiss.”

“I dunno,” Ruby said. “I do like kisses…”

Weiss then grinned, waggling her eyebrows. “You'll like where I'm putting this kiss, sailor.”

Ruby grinned back. “Aye, aye, Captain Schnee.”

#white rose week #white rose #fanfic #ruby rose #weiss schnee #rwby

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