Had it been possible, Weiss would have stayed in Blake's arms for the rest of her life. Unfortunately, it was not. They said they would be going to Vale, and the Schnee always keep their words. Usually, it was because they turned it in a way that benefited them, but Weiss refused to play this game with her friends. She tried to stand up and felt that Blake was still holding her.

"Are you feeling better?" Blake was looking at Weiss, trying to determine if her words had helped.

"I do, thanks to you." In her position, Weiss wanted nothing more than to put her arms around Blake's neck and kiss her, but she knew it wouldn't be welcome and stopped herself from doing it. She raised her eyes to try and think of something else, her gaze falling on the top of Blake's head. "They're so cute." She raised her hand and was halfway through scratching the cat ears in front of her when she stopped, not sure if it was okay.

"Go on."

Encouraged by Blake, she resumed her movement. At first, her hand was uncertain, not wanting to hurt the soft appendages, but she quickly grew more confident. She started by slowly tracing the contour, feeling the soft fur under her fingertips. She reached the base of the ear, where it met the black hair, and caressed her softly as cats usually liked. She looked at Blake, curious as to whether she enjoyed it or not, and was met by a surprising sight. Blake had closed her eyes and a radiant smile had appeared on her face, enjoying the moment to the fullest.

Not wanting to take advantage of Blake's generosity, Weiss stopped caressing the wonderful ears that were just in front of her and tried standing up once more, but Blake was still holding her. There was something else she wanted to say.

"I do consider you a friend, and I'm sure it's the same for Ruby and Yang. I don't think Ruby would be able to lie about liking someone for so long. She says you're her best friend, and I have no doubt she means it." Weiss didn't say anything, listening to what Blake had to say. She already knew that about Ruby, but hearing someone else say it made her very happy. "As for Yang… don't tell her I said that to you, ok?" Weiss nodded. "A few days after you learned that I'm a Faunus, we were talking about you and why you reacted like you did. I was still a little angry at you, but since you had been nice to me when you found me, I told her what I knew about the relationship between your family and the White Fang as objectively as I could. I think I expected her to side with me, to agree that you overreacted." Blake had a small laugh at herself. "The first thing she said was 'Poor Weiss'."

Surprise could be seen on Weiss' face. It was not the reaction she would have expected from Yang either.

"I'm not proud of it, but I got upset when she said that. I told her that what I had gone through was not any easier than what you did, and that you at least always had enough to eat. Then she looked at me and said that it was not a competition and that she could care for the both of us. I felt really stupid after she said that." Blake looked away, still embarrassed of her reaction at the time.

Weiss put her hand back on Blake's head, trying to comfort her. "We all do stupid things sometime, don't worry.

Blake smiled at Weiss in thanks and remembered she was the one supposed to be comforting her. "Anyway, she cares a lot about you, and I think that's why she acts so flirty with you, she is just trying to show she is your friend."

"That's a weird way to show friendship. And she is like that with everyone." Weiss spoke before being able to stop herself. She knew that Blake was right, but a little voice in the back of her mind told her that it was not the case.

Blake shrugged. "You're not the easiest person to get close to, I guess she just does what she feel is right. And she isn't like that with everyone. Have you seen her flirt with Pyrrha, or Ren? She only does that with people she is close to, and she is always careful to not go too far. All this time, has she ever gotten too close to you or touched you?"

Weiss was staring at Blake's amber eyes. "She… No, never."

"Because she doesn't want to make you uncomfortable." Blake didn't know if Yang was doing it consciously or not, but it didn't really matter. "We're all your friends, and I'll tell you as many time as I need." Blake put her head on Weiss' chest, getting closer to the heiress.

Weiss was grateful for Blake's effort. She knew it wouldn't be immediate, but she would truly believe they were friends one day. Remembering they had planned to go out, Weiss tried to get up for the third time, only to be stopped by Blake's arms once again.

"Are you going to let me go?"

"Do you want me to?"

'Please never let me go' was the first thing that went through Weiss' mind, but the corniness almost made her want to hit herself. "Didn't you want to go to a certain bookstore?"

Blake's eyes lit up at the mention of the store and she reluctantly let go of Weiss. "Fine, let's go."

The trip to Vale went without a hitch for the two huntresses-in-training. Since the majority of the students were home, they had the airship for themselves and got to enjoy the peace for just a little longer.

Vale itself was pretty calm since it was a weekday. A few building had started to decorate for the Vytal festival, but the construction of the biggest displays had not yet began.

They slowly started walking into the city, looking at the different stores when they heard someone call them.

"Why are two pretty ladies like you alone?"

Blake turned toward the voice with a hand on the hilt of Gambol Shroud while Weiss was getting ready to glyph the impudent into the sea. Blake was used to dealing with it given the places she had lived in and knew a blade under the throat was very convincing, while Weiss didn't want anyone to ruin her time with Blake. They might get an earful from Ms. Goodwitch if she heard about it, but they would have peace for the time being.

The two girls felt a little stupid to have reacted that strongly when they saw that the person who called them was a blue haired guy with a red jacket, closely followed by a blond Faunus that had his shirt open.

Neptune put his hands in front of him. "It was just a joke, please don't hurt me."

Weiss rolled her eyes before smiling a little. "How are you two doing? We haven't seen you in a while."

"Since we're not Beacon's students, we didn't get a break and are still on our mission of shadowing a crime specialist."

Blake looked at Sun, who had gotten close to her. "So, are you working right now?"

"Yes, but we can't tell you on what. It's a… secret mission." Blake could hear in his voice how proud he was to be able to say that.

Seeing that Sun was starting to flirt with Blake, Neptune put a hand on his shoulder to stop him. "Come on dude, we still have work to do. Let's leave them alone." Neptune waved at the two girls with a smile straight from a toothpaste ad. "See you later." He dragged Sun behind him, who would have preferred to spend more time with Blake than go back to work.

Blake waved back and turned to Weiss. "You really don't find them attractive?" She knew the Weiss was into girls, but she wondered if she felt anything for boys or not. She did not want to make her uncomfortable by starting to talk about boys if she didn't like them.

Weiss shrugged. "Not really. I can tell that they fall in the 'pretty boy' category for people who likes them, but it doesn't do anything for me." Weiss grinned at Blake. "If you want to talk about how sexy Sun is, don't stop for me, but I won't share your enthusiasm." Weiss felt her heart ache as she said that. She had talked without thinking and realized that she hated the idea of Blake and Sun being together. She scolded herself. Blake was free to choose whoever she wanted and she didn't have the right to say anything, she still hadn't told her how she felt after all.

Blake frowned. Ever since the dance, Sun had been trying to get closer to her, flirting with her and sending what he thought were subtle messages. She didn't dislike the attention, but she couldn't see herself in a relationship with him and hadn't found a way to tell him yet, as she didn't want to hurt him and lose his friendship. "I… won't, don't worry." The image of the monkey Faunus appeared in Blake's mind. "But those abs…"

"I'd prefer a nice pair of b—" Weiss interrupted herself, her face a deep crimson. She put her hood on, trying to hide her face.

"Did I almost hear Weiss Schnee say that she would like a nice pair of boobs?" Blake wore a big smile on her face, half for teasing Weiss and the other because she enjoyed seeing the heiress let herself go and be more comfortable with her.

"I was not. Shut up." Weiss pulled on her hood a little harder, desperately trying to conceal her face even more.

Usually, Blake would have continued to make fun of her friend, but she felt Weiss wouldn't want her doing it in public.

Weiss removed her hood as they were walking toward Vale's center when they passed a store that had all kinds of product for women, from makeup to perfume, even accessories. Blake slowed down and stopped in front of the window. She liked makeup a lot but never owned any, except for her eye shadow, and she didn't want to bother Weiss if all she was going to do was look and not buy anything.

Weiss saw that Blake wanted to enter the store but hesitated and got close to her. "You want to go in?"

Blake looked at Weiss, surprised to see her so close. "N—No, it's okay…"

Her lie did not fool Weiss, who took her by the arm and entered the store. "Come on, you're dying to enter."

She was right, so Blake let Weiss take her inside the store. Once inside, the first thing she noticed was the smell. The part of the store where the perfumes were was not far from the entrance, and the combination of all of them was overwhelming for Blake's sense of smell. She put a hand on her nose and mouth, trying to protect herself from the stench. She grabbed Weiss and went deeper into the store.

"Blake, what is happening?" The stopped near the nail polish aisle.

"Sorry, the smell of perfumes was a little too much for me."

Weiss remembered what she recently learned about Faunus and their sense of smell. "Wait for me here, I have an idea." She left Blake and went back the way they came, walking quickly.

Blake was a little confused by her friend's actions and looked at the products around her, waiting for Weiss to come back.

After only a few minutes, Weiss was back with a smile on her face. "What do you think?" She held a piece of paper in front of Blake.

Blake recognized the papers that were used to test perfumes and leaned to smell to one Weiss as holding. It reminded her of the forest where she used to play when she was younger, making her nostalgic of easier times. "It's really nice, but I'm not sure it fits you."

"Or course not, it's for you."

"What? No, I can't—" Blake was interrupted by Weiss putting a finger on her mouth.

Weiss voice's was low so as not to be overheard. "You said it yourself, not wearing perfume can…" Weiss looked at Blake's bow, "cause some problems. As your teammate, I will do what I can to help you." Weiss removed her finger from Blake's lips and the Faunus sighed, resigned. Weiss was right, at least she wouldn't have to avoid every animal in fear that one of them had a thing against cats and outed her as a Faunus. "Good. I'll go pick a bottle." Weiss was happy to have found a perfume Blake liked on the first try.

Once she got back, she saw that Blake was looking at the darker shades of nail polish. "See anything you like?"

"I like that one." Blake pointed at a bottle of black nail polish. "But the price…" The price tag next to it was showing a number that, while not exorbitant, was completely out of Blake's budget.

Weiss took a bottle from the display and went to pay for it and the perfume. "Don't worry, it's a gift."

Blake put herself in front of Weiss. "It's okay, I don't need it that much, don't worry." She tried to stop her, being embarrassed, and maybe a little ashamed, that Weiss was paying for all of that.

Weiss didn't understand what the problem was, but she knew she wasn't doing that just to show off her money. "Blake, in the last few days, you've been there for me, listening to me talk about all of my problems. I just want to thank you."

Blake was surprised at Weiss reaction, she didn't expect it to be that important to her. She moved aside, letting her pass. She didn't want her friends to pay everything for her, but a little gift couldn't hurt. And to be completely honest, she had been wanting to wear black nail polish for a while.

Once Weiss had paid, they left the store and Blake couldn't stop smiling. Even if she was embarrassed to have Weiss pay for her, she was really happy to finally have something she had wanted for years. She couldn't stop herself from throwing regular glances at the content of the bag and smiling a little more each time. She was about to thank Weiss when the scroll of the heiress rang. Blake saw her take her scroll out to look at the caller's name, then alternating between looking at her and looking at the scroll. Blake understood that Weiss wanted some privacy and smiled to her. "There is something I forgot to look at. Don't leave without me." She then went back into the store, leaving Weiss with the person who called her.

Weiss looked at Blake go and answered the phone once she was sure she wouldn't be heard. "Hi Yang, how are you?"

"It's nice to see Dad again. And you? I'm not interrupting anything I hope." Weiss could hear in Yang's voice that spending time with her family and relaxing had put her in a great mood.

"I'm in Vale with Blake, we decided to get some fresh air."

"Ooh, you managed to go on a date with her? Well played." Yang's grin could be heard in her voice.

"It's not a…" Weiss stopped to think about the situation she was in. It was her and the girl she loved, spending time together in town. "Uh. I guess it might be considered a date from a certain point of view."

"It's not 'from a certain point of view', it's a date you dolt." Weiss was about to comment about Yang's use of 'dolt' but was interrupted. "So Blake's into girls too?"

"She is. But please don't tell anyone, I think she wouldn't like it." She didn't talk about her suspicion that Blake liked Yang. If it was true, it was not her place to tell Yang.

Yang rolled her eyes, even if Weiss couldn't see her. "I know I like gossip, but that's not the sort of things I would do to my best friend. Sometimes I wonder how you really see me."

Weiss felt bad, realizing how she must have sounded. "I'm sorry Yang, that's not what I meant. I was just thinking about Blake, I didn't mean—"

"Don't worry," Yang's voice was soft, showing that she was not angry, "I'm starting to know you. You should be careful though, not everyone will let you get away with it."

"I'm a Schnee, I will get away with worse." Weiss' voice was a little sad. Because of her name, she was treated differently by most people. At least she didn't have this problem with Yang. "So… What should I do know? How do I know of she likes me?"

Yang sighed. "Weiss."

"Yes?"

"Stop. Overthinking. You're not in class, there is no good or bad answers. Just have fun with her in Vale, and when you feel ready, tell her you love her and ask her to go out with you. Don't try to show off or be someone you're not, we've lived together for months, she will notice." Yang thought that Weiss would be the type to try too hard to impress someone and decided to prevent it.

"I'll… try." Weiss was about to say goodbye to Yang when a question came to her mind. "Yang… Why are you helping me so much?"

"Isn't that obvious? Because you're my friend." Weiss felt a small smile appear on her face as she remembered her earlier talk with Blake. "I have to go, I hear Dad and Ruby coming back. See you later."

Weiss put her scroll back in her pocket and waited a few minutes before Blake came out of the shop.

"Sorry it took so long." Blake's hands were behind her back and she was looking a little nervous. She gathered some courage and held out a nicely wrapped little box in front of Weiss. "It's not a lot, but it's for you."

Weiss took the little box, not knowing how to react. "Thank you. Can I… open it?"

Blake nodded, both apprehensive and excited to see Weiss' reaction.

Weiss removed the wrapping and opened the box, revealing a stylized black cat on thin chain. A smile appeared on the heiress' face and Blake could see in her eyes that she was very happy. She took the necklace from the box and put it around her neck, leaving it over her shirt, wanting to keep it in the open. She couldn't wait to see how it went with her usual outfit. She gave a quick hug to Blake before talking. "Thank you so much, I love it."

Blake blushed, embarrassed and happy to see how much Weiss seemed to appreciate her gift. "It's nothing. You just paid for my perfume and makeup, and I never really thanked you for the magazine full of Dust cartridges during our last mission."

"Well, you just offered me the best gift I ever had, so now we're even." Weiss had a little grin, showing that she was joking. She didn't do any of that expecting something in return, but she appreciated the thought nonetheless. Thinking about it, it was probably the first time she liked a gift that much. Being a Schnee, she could have anything she wanted, as long as her father approved of it anyway, and she was regularly covered in gifts for different reason, be it her birthday or a business partner wanting to curry favors with her father. Some even tried to get her to agree to marry them when she was old enough, only backing off when her father threatened to cut all ties with their company if they didn't stop immediately.

The two girls were making their ways to Vale's center, with Weiss wondering if it would unwelcome of her to take Blake's hand in hers, when two girls started walking toward them, one of them waving at them.

The girl waving at them had light blond hair in a long braid, fair skin and was wearing a white silk dress with gold embroidery and sandals of the same color. She was wearing gold rings, gold necklaces and gold bracelets. Everything about her was telling of how rich she was.

The other girl didn't seem has happy to see Weiss. She had short brown hair and was not as ostentatious as her friend. She was wearing a black crop top and jeans shorts with sneakers, showing a lot of tanned skin and a toned body, clearly belonging to someone who trained a lot. Unlike her friend, her attire gave more of an athletic vibe than a rich girl one, but the manicured hands, carefully applied makeup and the high quality earrings all showed that she had no worries about money.

Blake guessed that they knew Weiss from the parties she talked about and had recognized her from afar, probably with her hair.

Once the two rich girls arrived next to the huntresses-in-training, the blond girl was the first to talk.

"Hi Weiss, it's been a while."

"Aure." Weiss had tensed up when the girls had approached and her tone was cold, as she clearly didn't enjoy seeing them here. "How are you?"

The girl had a small giggle, planning to enjoy what was coming next. "Come on, Weiss, don't be so cold toward your girlfriend."

Weiss sighed. Of course. She looked at Blake and knew she would have a lot of explaining to do.

Just a quick note about the OCs that have been appearing recently. This is not a story about them. Their importance may vary, but none of them will be a main character. I just wanted to make that clear, as some people tend to react pretty strongly to them, especially when it comes to relationships with characters from the show. Just remember what Weiss told Blake and ask yourself if she would lie to her. :)

Also, about the time between each chapters. Given the pace at which I write, I'd like to keep a little more than a week between chapters, maybe two. Well, as long as nothing happens to delay me anyway.

Thanks to everyone who has read, followed, favorited or reviewed this story. I hope you liked this new chapter and will keep enjoying the story.

If you have any comments, suggestions or anything you want to say, reviews are always welcomed.

Have a nice day and until next time.