Weiss and Blake were having breakfast with their friends of team JNPR, sitting apart from each other to avoid accidentally revealing their relationship. Jaune's attempts at flirting with Weiss were a lot less frequent than they had been at the start of the year, but it was still clear that he hoped something would happen between him and the heiress. Blake didn't let it bother her. If he kept at it when he learned they were together however, it would be a different story and she hoped it wouldn't come to this. Jaune wasn't the best at taking hints, but he wasn't completely stupid.

Nora, Ren and Jaune finished their breakfast first and went back to their room, leaving Pyrrha, Weiss and Blake alone in the cafeteria. The redhead had stayed behind on purpose. She didn't want to bother her friends too much, but it was an opportunity for some talk about love and relationship. "So, how did your night go?"

Weiss looked around, making sure they were alone, before answering with a smile. "It was very nice. Blake made the room look wonderful, with candles and flowers. It was so romantic." She didn't know she would enjoy talking about her romantic evening that much, and she felt Blake deserved the praise.

Blake had moved closer to Weiss and was also smiling. "What she doesn't tell you is that she was the one that cooked for us, and if we had cooking classes, she would ace them like all the others."

Weiss blushed and muttered a 'Flatterer' before continuing. "Then Blake managed to get a couch in the room and set up everything so we could watch a movie in the time it took me to take a shower."

Pyrrha was listening to her friends with a smile. "It seems you two had a nice evening. I'm happy for you."

Weiss had a little grin as she looked at the red head. "Maybe Jaune will pay more attention to you once he learns we're together."

"That's—That's not…" Pyrrha's face had turned the same color as her hair. She stood up. "I should go back to the room before they start wondering where I've been." She left the room, walking quickly.

The heiress shook her head. "Poor girl, having a crush on a dense idiot like him."

"Weiss." Blake knew that her girlfriend was tired of Jaune's attempts to woo her, and she couldn't really dispute the 'dense' part, but she was going a little far.

"Right, right. Let's go back."

The two girls went back to their room and spent the rest of the morning trying to avoid thinking of their meeting with Winter later that day. Blake tried doing some schoolwork but quickly found herself unable to focus and decided to go train after having brought back the couch she had borrowed. Weiss used the opportunity to do a light maintenance of Myrtenaster, making sure every part moved correctly, refilling the Dust containers and taking care of the blade. Once she was done, she found the notes she had taken about a new song among the impressive amount of paper on her desk. Her friends were always impressed that she could find a specific page in a few seconds in what appeared to everyone but Weiss to be a very messy, if neatly stacked, pile of papers, books, notebooks and binders.

Songs had always been a way for Weiss to unwind and forget her problems. As long as she focused on them, was it singing or writing, nothing would bother her. She went back over her notes, crossing ideas, writing new ones, all the while humming a small tune that could be the one for this song. She usually had some help for the music that went with the lyrics she wrote, but she could do a decent job by herself.

Blake came back after a couple of hours, and her attention had been caught by the small sounds Weiss was making as soon as she opened the door. Her girlfriend didn't make noises like that when she was studying. "Are you singing?" No response. "Weiss?" Still nothing. The heiress was completely focused on what she was doing and Blake decided to wait for her to finish until further questioning. She took a quick shower and lost herself in one of her books.

Weiss had made a lot of progress with the song, to the point she started being okay with it. Still a lot of work needed, but she didn't want to burn her notes in embarrassment anymore. Looking at the room, she saw that Blake was back. Her hair was still slightly damp and she only had put her panties back. Nothing unusual, Blake didn't like wearing clothes immediately after a shower, except that Weiss felt a lot less embarrassed than usual. For once, she wasn't feeling like she was disrespectful of her teammate by looking at her. "I hope you're not considering meeting my sister like that?"

Blake raised her eyes from her book, surprised. "Why not? You think she won't like it?"

The answer came so naturally it took Weiss a few seconds to understand it was a joke. Way to long if she was honest with herself. "You are certainly a sight to behold, but I think I'm going to be jealous if you start walking around Beacon like that." She made no efforts to hide the fact that she was enjoying the view of her lightly dressed girlfriend.

"I better dress up then." Blake laughed at the falsely disappointed look on the heiress' face and went to take a new set of clothes. She put on a pair of black pants with a gray stripe on the outside of the legs, a white zip-up shirt with sleeves going to the middle of her forearms and a pair of black high-heel boots reaching mid-calf. She put the finishing touches by tying a black ribbon on each arm and attaching a black piece of cloth to the back of her belt, covering her hip to hip, a translucent purple piece of fabric underneath.

Weiss eyes lit up when she saw what Blake was wearing. "That's what you wore when we were looking for clues about the White Fang, right? It looks really good on you."

"Thanks. Your coat was nice too, what did Ruby call it again?"

Weiss pinched the bridge of her nose, remembering the names their leader had given their outfits. "Snowpea. Why did you all get a cool name while I had a ridiculous one?" She faked a pout, getting a giggle out of her girlfriend.

"I like it, it sounds like something small and white, it reminds me of you."

"That… sounded really corny." Despite her words, the small smile on her lips showed she appreciated the compliment. "Please don't say things like that in front of my sister."

"Speaking of your sister, is there anything I should be careful about?"

Weiss thought for a few seconds. "Winter is a serious person, so try to stay serious and don't be too… rude. Not that you usually are but… Anyway, jokes and teasing aren't a good idea when meeting her for the first time. Our father is fair game, but please don't insult our family name. I know you hate it, but I don't want you and Winter to fight."

The words made Blake think. Did she hate the Schnee name? She had in the past, but getting to know Weiss, things were clearly more complicated than all the Schnee being monsters. "Don't worry, I think avoiding those subjects for our first meeting is for the best. Are you going to tell her I'm a Faunus?" The big question. Blake had no idea how her heritage would be received by Weiss' family, and she wasn't sure if she wanted them to know.

"I…" Weiss sighed. "I think I would tell her about you being a Faunus, but not about the White Fang. Winter wouldn't have too much of a problem with that, and she won't tell Father." Weiss' blue eyes met with her girlfriend's. "But the choice should be yours. If you don't want me to tell her, I won't."

Blake took some time to think. She wanted to trust Weiss when she said it would be alright, but years of hating the Schnee didn't make it easy. What did she know about Winter? She worked closely with Ironwood and was a high-ranking member of the Atlesian military. The general wasn't particularly anti-Faunus, they were allowed in the army and could get the same promotion humans did, even if they were even more a minority than in Vale. Winter Schnee wouldn't go against the general, and the files the Fang had on her didn't outline any strong anti-Faunus feelings, other than her being a Schnee. Thinking about it, the one time she gave the benefit of the doubt to a Schnee, it had worked pretty well. It hadn't been perfect, far from it, but seeing the blue eyes of her girlfriend looking at her while she was thinking made it worth it. "All right, if you think she can learn it without hating me, I'll trust you."

Weiss smiled. "Thank you." She kissed her girlfriend, which reminded her of something else. "Oh, I think it would be best to avoid kissing during the call."

Blake grinned. "You don't want her to know how lovey-dovey you really are?"

"I'm not lovey-dovey," The blush on Weiss' cheeks betrayed that even her didn't really believe it, "I'm just… just…" Blake raised an eyebrow, waiting to hear how she would get out of that one. "Fine, maybe I'm a little lovey-dovey. But I'm blaming it on my parents never hugging me." Weiss had said it like it wasn't supposed to be serious, just a joke where she pretended being too prideful to admit liking physical contact with her girlfriend. Some people might have thought she was that prideful, while others might have seen it as a joke, used to hide her embarrassment. But if Blake had to make a guess, she'd say it was true. The Schnee didn't strike her as the kind of family to show affection if they way Weiss had acted at the start of the year was anything to go by.

Blake took her girlfriend in her arms, holding her against her. "Anytime you want." She felt Weiss loosen up and lean against her chest. The Faunus looked at her scroll and saw there was still a little time before they had to go. "What were you working on? I heard you humming and you completely ignored me when I talked to you."

Weiss looked apologetic. "Sorry, I get like that when I work on a song. I didn't mean to bother you."

Blake's hands went to play with the heiress' fingers. She was really getting to like doing that. Weiss' hands were surprisingly soft for a fighter, her left hand rougher from handling Myrtenaster, and she could feel her relax, letting her do as she pleased with her fingers. "It didn't bother me, I liked it." After a moment of silence, she continued. "I never got to hear you sing in person. I… I know you probably get paid for it but… I'd really like to hear you sing sometime."

Weiss shrugged. "It never really was about the money, I sang because I liked it. One of the few things I liked I could do as much as I wanted, and if anyone can ask me to sing, it's you." Light blue eyes ran over the piles of paper on the desk, trying to find if she had a song she could sing to her girlfriend. There was one but… Did she still have the recording of the backing instruments on her scroll? The difficult part here was to get her scroll. Blake was still holding her, and Weiss didn't want to move to take it from her bed. She freed her right hand from the playful fingers of the catgirl, earning a disappointed whine from her, and with a small gesture of her fingers created a glyph under the scroll that launched it right to her hand.

Blake raised her eyebrows. "Nice."

"Winter and I used to do it all the time when we were little, getting things out of reach or sending them to each other. It drove our father mad." A small smile graced the lips of the heiress as she remembered the moments of friendship she used to share with her sister. She looked through the files on her scroll, quickly finding what she was looking for. "I can sing 'It's my turn' if you want."

"I have no idea what this is, but I'd be glad to hear it." Blake had never really gotten into music, only listening to it occasionally, preferring to spend her time in her books. Having Weiss singing for her still made her very happy.

Weiss stood up, went to the middle of the room, launched the recording of the instrumental part of the song and started singing.

"When I was young, If I just closed my eyes then I could go anywhere…"

The lyrics came back to her as she sang. She could never forget a song she had put so much of her feelings into.

Blake was trying to focus on the lyrics, but the sight of her girlfriend getting into the song and forgetting about the world around her was very distracting, her pale skin and white hair catching the light almost making her look like an angel. She still managed to understand what the song was about and Weiss' feelings behind it.

"You said 'Know your place, accept your fate and show good face and be thankful that you're there'."

Her father had tried to shape her to his image, making her nothing more than a puppet that would continue his legacy.

"It all begins, a chance to win, a dream that's been a lifetime, an endless vast uphill climb, the day I've waited for is drawing near."

She managed to get out of his influence, probably by coming to Beacon, but it hadn't been easy. Did her scar had something to do with it? She had said to Velvet she was proud of it but didn't tell the story of how she got it. Blake thought she would have to ask later.

The Faunus enjoyed the song, feeling a small pain in her heart each time Weiss mentioned her hardships and how much her life had been impacted by this man.

"Anything to crush my soul, anything to feel control."

Blake felt a shiver running down her spine. Even if Weiss hadn't lived in the streets, in didn't mean she had been happy all her life. She remembered the times in the Fang when they criticized anyone they thought responsible for the hatred toward them. Rich, humans, Atlesian… the Schnee family had been one of their favorite target. Knowing what she knew now… all those things didn't mean Weiss had had an easy life.

As Weiss finished singing, the two girls were slightly red, Weiss from the singing and the emotions that came with this song, and Blake from what she had just seen. Her beautiful girlfriend, her amazing voice, her strength as she opposed her father's will…

The black-haired girl stood up and gave the other girl a very passionate kiss, her tongue slipping past her girlfriend's lips and her hands exploring the smooth skin that had caught her attention a moment earlier. She wanted to hear more of this wonderful voice, but this time singing to the tune she would dictate. She could hear the small moans of the heiress as her hands caressed the alabaster skin of her thighs. She was going higher and higher, Weiss' pleas getting louder and her nails digging into her back. Hadn't she worn her jacket, Blake would have had marks covering her back for at least a few days. The black nails were scrapping the skin lightly when they met the hem of the heiress' skirt, and Blake opened her eyes to look at her girlfriend's reaction.

Weiss was looking at her with a mix of affection, trust and desire, having no intention to ask her to stop. No one had ever made her feel so loved and wanted, and she wanted to make Blake feel the same way.

Seeing her so trusting and having dropped her guard, Blake felt a presence in a corner of her mind. It was weaker than it had been before, not even a whisper this time, but it was there and reminded her of her old partner. If there was anyone she didn't want to think about when she was with Weiss, it was him. "Leave me alone!" The words left her mouth before she could think, the sudden burst of anger clashing with her usually calm demeanor.

Weiss didn't feel hurt, having a good idea of what was happening. "Adam?" She felt a little sorry for Blake, knowing full well how it felt to have the shadow of someone you hated still influencing your life. At least hers didn't interrupt when she was spending time with her girlfriend.

Blake nodded. "I didn't hear him but…" The soft hug that Weiss gave her made her silent. They had already talked about this and the heiress trusted her to overcome that.

Weiss decided to change the subject. "So, what did you think about it? I know the sound quality isn't the best, and the lyrics are very… dramatic, but I had fun making this song and singing for you."

"I liked it. I could really feel your emotions through the song, and the lyrics talked to me. I know it's not supposed to be about me, but it reminded me of my last months in the Fang."

Weiss shook her head. "I did think of my relationship with my father when I wrote it, but it's not the only way to see it. I'm glad it talked to you." Thinking about what she just said, Weiss added quickly. "Not that I'm happy you had to deal with that, just, you know, sharing this with you." Blake hadn't put back her bow yet and Weiss was very tempted to caress her ears, but stopped herself and went for her hair instead. She still wasn't sure if it was okay for her to touch her cat ears whenever she wanted. "If I had known singing had this effect on you, I would have done it earlier."

The teasing brought a small smile and a blush to Blake's face. "You are very impressive when you sing, it's very hard to resist. One or two others like this and you can say goodbye to your clothes."

"Tempting, but I'm pretty sure Yang will ask you how our first time sleeping together went."

Blake laughed. "I am not telling her we did it because you sang and I couldn't control myself. She will never stop making fun of us if I do." She got a laugh out of her girlfriend, a sound she didn't get to hear nearly enough for her taste.

Weiss looked at the time on her scroll and stood up. "We should get to the library, it's almost time."

Blake nodded and followed her out of the room, putting on her bow, her hands shaking lightly with nervousness. It wasn't every day you met your girlfriend's sister, and her being Winter Schnee did nothing to help.

The couple arrived at library and Weiss guided Blake toward one of the most private booth. Having Weiss say she would contact a family member had sent a shiver down the librarian's spine and convinced him to give her one of the booth where they could be sure no one would overhear. It was made for only one person, so it was a little tight for two, but neither of the girls minded being close to the other.

Weiss felt Blake's agitation and took her hand. "Don't worry, I'm sure my sister will like you." She composed the number her sister had given her, connecting her directly to her personal computer at the Atlas military headquarter.

Winter answered immediately, the screen showing a fair-skinned young woman, her white hair and blue eyes making it clear she was a Schnee. The way the camera was filming her made it hard to see her outfit, but some white and blue could be seen, with a touch of red. It reminded Blake of Weiss' own combat outfit, using the same colors. Probably not a coincidence. In fact, Winter reminded her of an older, stricter Weiss. Given the heiress' attitude at the start of the year, Blake couldn't help but wonder if Winter had ever smiled in her life. No, I shouldn't judge her like that. She decided to wait and see how it went before saying anything.

"Winter, I'm so happy to see you." Weiss' excitement could be heard in her voice, surprising Blake. She knew her girlfriend liked her sister a lot, but she didn't expect her to be this happy.

"So am I Weiss." Winter's voice wasn't the friendliest Blake had heard, but it was warmer than what she expected. It seemed she was rather fond of her little sister. Her eyes turned to the place Blake was on her screen. "And who is this young lady with you?"

"Winter, meet Blake Belladonna. She… She's my girlfriend."

Winter's eyes widened before she managed to hide her surprise. "Well, it seems my little sister has rather good tastes, but I'm not sure the same could be said about you, Blake."

It took Blake a few seconds to understand Winter had just made a joke. Her tone had been so matter-of-factly that it hadn't registered until she thought about it again. "Weiss can be a little difficult at times, but she's such a sweet girl the rest of the time. It's worth it." Weiss blushed at the compliment and smiled a little.

The corners of Winter's mouth raised slightly. "Interesting." She knew her sister could be hard to get along with, she hoped Blake was serious when she said she liked her. "You two are on the same team, if I remember your letter right."

Weiss smiled at Winter remembering what she wrote her. "We are. There were… difficulties at first, but we managed and now we're together." She took the hand of her girlfriend in hers and raised them to the camera. She wanted her sister to know it wasn't just a schoolgirl crush, that they at least wanted to try to have something serious. They lowered their hands, Weiss looked at Blake's bow and took a deep breath. "About those difficulties… Blake is… Blake is a Faunus."

There was a moment of silence, the couple still holding hands, hoping everything would go well. Blake tried to stop her ears from moving under her bow, but Winter squinting at her screen made her wonder if she had seen something. "Let me guess, cat ears? I can't say I'm surprised, coming from you."

Weiss had imagined a lot of scenarios that could be playing right now, but that wasn't one of them. "What? And how?" Blake stayed silent, too scared by how easy it had been for her to find her Faunus attribute.

"We see a lot a Faunus trying to hide who they are in Atlas, so I learned a thing or two about the way to hide ears, tails or other attributes, and since you told me she was one, I knew to be on the lookout for something." Blake was surprised by the way Winter talked about the Faunus. There was no disdain or hatred in her voice, she just talked about them the way she talked about anything else. She wondered if she was making an effort for her sister's sake. "For the cat part, I remembered the lady in her underwear that showed her cat tail on the cover of a certain magazine in your room. Lucky guess, I wasn't expecting to be right."

Weiss' face had taken a deep scarlet hue. "Wha—How? You went into my room?" She looked at the floor, mortified that her sister had seen the only time she found the courage to buy something a little racy. The giggle coming from Blake at least reassured her she didn't find it gross. Not that she would have, given her own collection of adult literature, but Weiss had always felt a little ashamed to have bought this magazine and she had gotten rid of it a few days after buying it, afraid her father would find it.

"I saw it on your bed. I think you forgot to put it back and I hid it under your pillow so that it wouldn't be found." Winter's voice had become softer, the voice of a big sister. As close as she could get to it anyway. "Klein wouldn't have said anything to Father, but I thought it would be less embarrassing for you if he didn't know about it."

Weiss nodded. The idea of Klein learning about that made her very uncomfortable.

They talked for a little longer, Weiss telling her sister about her life at Beacon and Blake speaking very rarely, happy to let the two sisters have some time to talk. Winter wasn't as intimidating know that she got to see her as a big sister instead of a specialist of the Atlas military. Then Winter asked the question Weiss didn't want to think about.

"Are you going to tell Father?"

Weiss' smile disappeared. Her father would learn of her relationship sooner or later and it would certainly be better if he learned it from Weiss herself, but the idea of telling him… "He said he didn't mind that liked girls…"

Winter let out a sigh. She knew Weiss didn't hate him as much as she did, but ignoring the facts would only ends up with her getting hurt. "Dust, Weiss you know him better than that. It's not that he doesn't mind who you are with, it's that he doesn't care, because he thinks you will come back running when he calls you to marry and have a child with the man he chose for you." The eldest Schnee sister easily lost her countenance when she talked about her father, but the man that cut her from the family because she went into the military would get no respect from her.

Weiss had clenched her fists hard, to the point her knuckles were even whiter than usual. She still had the hope her father really cared about her, but she knew deep down that Winter was right. "I—I still want to give him a chance."

Winter shook her head. "I don't think he deserves one, but this is your choice. Just be sure you really want to do it."

The sisters stopped talking and an awkward silence filled the air. Blake decided to try and change the subject. "So, you two swearing by 'Dust', is everyone in Atlas doing that or just you?"

Weiss was the one that answered. "It's something our grandfather started. He spent all is time working with Dust, bringing it to people, trying to find better ways to use it… He swore by Dust one time, his employees found it funny and kept teasing him about it so he started using it more often. Our mother did it to since she was used to hearing him do it and Winter and I decided to do the same to remember the person that made our family what it is." She shook her head and corrected herself. "What it was."

Not a lot was known by the public about Nicholas Schnee and Blake was surprised to hear about him. The SDC at the time seemed very different to the current one.

They were interrupted by a ringing on Winter's side. She looked at her scroll and saw that the conversation would have to end here. "General Ironwood needs me, I guess we'll have to stop here for today. It was nice to make your acquaintance Blake." The Faunus wasn't sure how genuine she was, but at least she didn't seem to hate her heritage and didn't ask Weiss to break up with her. Blake decided that the meeting had been positive. As she was about to hang up, Winter said a few words, finally sounding like a big sister. "Please take care of Weiss."

Winter Schnee had asked her, Blake Belladonna, to take care of Weiss Schnee. It was hard to believe but it made her feel happy, if a little guilty. After all, her father…

Weiss said her goodbyes to her sister and looked at her girlfriend when the screen turned to black. She frowned when she saw her. "Why do you look so sad? Did she say something she shouldn't have? Did I?"

Raising her head, Blake looked at the beautiful girl facing her, worry showing on her face. She could feel the tears pooling in the corners of her eyes. "I… I miss my family." With that, grabbed the heiress, holding her close and hiding her face against her. Seeing Weiss interact with her sister reminded her of the good times she had with her parents, and how she destroyed everything.

Weiss put her arms around her girlfriend, caressing her back and trying to soothe the sorrow as much as she could. She felt every sob, every little shake, and each time she wondered what had happened but knew better than to ask about it right now. It didn't feel good to have Blake break down in tears in her arms, and it felt even worse to be unable to do anything about it.

When Blake calmed down a little and moved away from Weiss, her eyes were red and the tears could still be seen on her cheeks.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Please say yes. I don't like seeing you like that.

Blake shook her head but still answered. "The last time I saw my parents, I insulted them, saying they were cowards for leaving the Fang while humans still didn't see us as equal and that I didn't want to see them again if they were going to betray us." She felt sick, remembering how awful she had been, seeing the hurt in her parents' eyes. "I didn't think it, I just couldn't understand why they left and lashed out. Except that they were right to leave. I shouldn't have written to them, they'll never forgive me."

Blake's parents had been member of the White Fang. Not that surprising given that Blake said she was practically born in it, and it wasn't that important right now. The important was that Blake was feeling awful. "One time, Winter was helping me train and, as you can probably guess, she isn't really the type to hold back. I was hurting everywhere but she said I had to keep going and I got angry, screaming at her that I hated her, and ran away to my room. She avoided me for a few days after that. I thought I made her mad and I hated that but I didn't want to make the first step. When the idea of losing my sister became too much, I went to her room late at night to finally apologize. I'll never forget what I saw. My sister, the person that inspired me, the strong woman who could beat anyone in a fight and wanted to work in the military… She was crying. I ran in her arms and we stayed there for some time, crying together. I never saw her so vulnerable than at the time she thought her little sister hated her." Weiss stopped for a second, forcing herself to get back on track. "What I want to say is that maybe your parents aren't angry, but worried about you and thinking that you don't want anything to do with them. If I'm right… well, I think your letter will make them very happy."

Blake looked at her, surprised. "You can actually understand people?" She stopped the indignant 'hey' with a kiss. The familiar reaction to her teasing made her feel a little better. "Thank you."

The two girls left the booth and started going back to their room, holding hands. The corridors were empty and they would be able to hear anyone coming near before they saw them, and the contact with each other felt more important right now.

"What did you think of my sister?

Blake took some time to answer. She didn't want to hurt Weiss but she didn't want to lie either. "She's nicer than I thought she would be, but she's still… cold and intimidating. Not as strict as you said she was."

Weiss nodded at Blake's assessment of her sister. Even her found Winter a little intimidating at times. "I'm happy it went well. And I hadn't talked to her in a while, maybe she made friends and changed a little since the last time I saw her?" She didn't know that Winter had done her best to seem friendly and get along with Blake, because she was happy that her sister had a girlfriend and didn't want to antagonize her.

The two girls arrived at their dorm and were surprised to see the door unlocked, voices coming from inside the room. "—you'll be able to see them soon enough."

They knew the voices, but the persons they belonged to should have been there.

"I know, I just missed them. It doesn't feel like team RWBY when there's two people missing."

Weiss pushed the door, opening it completely, and confirmed what they both suspected. Ruby and Yang were back.

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