Broken Wings Ch. 7: Partners

Back with a chapter 7! I will say, we're still pretending Winter doesn't exist for this story but her being an older sister actually could've made this story really interesting but alas. I am back in school so the odds of each chapter not being really delayed are not great. Also thank you all so much for over 310 followers and 220 favorites, the support I continue to get still amazes me. Here's the chapter.

The cold sting of water being splashed in Weiss' face was a ritual that she had grown accustomed to after every class she did. Her diligence and attention to detail in those were always keeping her near the top of the class, but it was draining to pay so much attention in such boring classes. She normally needed to wake up a little before each study session. She looked back up at the mirror and stared at her face, recognizing the need to reapply her makeup.

It had been a few days since her team had to learn about her back and all of them had backed off of the subject immediately. Regardless of how much they believed it, none of them wanted to bring Weiss to the place she had been in that day. At least her trauma provided for a fantastic way to keep her team away from questions.

Near breakdowns makes them back away, Weiss thought. Great thing to keep in mind. Good thing that if they get closer I'll completely break down anyways.

She finished the last touch of her makeup and walked out into her dorm. It was currently empty, Blake and Yang had a class and Ruby was busy occupying herself with some running. It gave Weiss time alone, a decent chunk of it if she knew Ruby well enough.

She pulled out her scroll and sat down on her bed. She went through her contacts and hovered over a name. Most of her thought that the idea was terrible, but she needed to feel reassurance again. She needed just one moment of pure happiness and she couldn't think of any other way to get it.

Weiss pressed the call button and waited a few rings before seeing the screen light up with a familiar face.

"Hello, this is the Schnee Residence and you are speaking with Rosanne," Rosanne said.

"Hi Rosanne," Weiss said softly. Immediately Rosanne took a second look at the screen and her face erupted into a smile.

"Weiss! Oh my god Weiss, is everything okay?" Her face changed to worry with her last words and Weiss shook her head.

"No, everything's fine, I promise." Weiss laughed a little and shook her head. "I just… I really needed to see you." Rosanne returned back to her smile and nodded.

"Of course, of course, I'm so happy to see you again." Rosanne shook herself and regained her composure. "How've you liked Beacon? Are your wings trimmed? How about your team?" Weiss held up her hand and Rosanne stopped. "Sorry."

"Beacon's been difficult but better," Weiss began. "I don't feel as… Threatened all the time. My wings are trimmed enough for now and my team… I have actually been able to be more amicable with them than I anticipated." Rosanne's smile grew at that news.

"That is fantastic," she said, noticeably trying to keep herself from rushing. "So you're making friends?"

"I wouldn't go that far…" Weiss drifted off and blinked, remembering a few days ago. "But they've proven… They've…"

"Weiss, I know friend isn't a term you had the chance to use very often, but I'd call that friends." Weiss was silent for a few moments before finally answering.

"But they don't know me yet…" Her voice was weak, barely above a whisper. Rosanne bit her lip, realizing what Weiss meant.

"Weiss, if these are the types of people who can base their dislike on you based around your wings-," Rosanne started.

"It's not the wings," Weiss said, shaking her head. "It's not that, it's not that at all. It's the lies, it's the façade, it's the things that I've said that just aren't true, it's everything I've done to them since I got here so that they wouldn't dig too deep and I-." Weiss choked, forcing herself to stop midsentence to take in a shaky breath. She couldn't cry, not now.

"They know about my scars," Weiss said, each breath shaky. "One of them say them and… They don't know about the wings but… They…"

"And how did they react?" Rosanne asked, remaining very calm.

"They… They said they were sorry and they… "

"Stop and breathe," Rosanne said. "It's okay, Weiss." Weiss took in a few steady breaths, steadying herself. "They comforted you, they didn't try to hurt you more. Weiss, I don't think that they care. You're protecting yourself, I think they'd understand." Weiss was very silent, thinking over for a few moments.

"But I can't expose my wings to anyone," Weiss said, sounding completely crestfallen. "If I do I risk… I risk so much."

"I know," Rosanne said. "I just… I just want you to be happy."

"I'm happier here then I ever have been," Weiss said, a smile filling her face. "I'm just… I still feel in danger, I still feel like an outsider and I still hate everything about what I am and I still feel like if I fail I lose my life. But… I don't feel like I'm going to die every time I close my eyes and sleep at night." Rosanne nodded and smiled again.

"That's the best we can hope for for now. I'm so happy for you Weiss."

"What about over there?" Weiss asked. "How're… How is everything?" Rosanne shifted around and thought for a few moments.

"It's… Stable," she said. "Your parents spend a lot of time in conferences and discussing things. A lot of employees here have been reshuffled after your departure. I… Don't think that they think you're coming back."

"Good," Weiss said. "I don't ever want to come back. As long as you're there, I think they're prepared for me to have someone." Rosanne nodded and Weiss looked at the time on her scroll.

"Rosanne," she said. "It's been fantastic to talk to you again but I can't have anyone catching me."

"Of course," Rosanne said. "Goodbye Weiss, take extreme care of yourself."

"I will, goodbye Rosanne." The line went dead and Weiss closed her eyes. There were only a few happy memories she retained in her life and almost all of them were tied to Rosanne. Just that one call made her feel so relieved, every weight on her had been lifted.

She leaned all the way back in her bed and let out a single steady breath.

I wish this moment could last forever, Weiss thought. Just this one moment where all I feel is happy. No pain, no memories, no fears.

"Weiss I'm back," Ruby called out as she opened the door to the dorm. Weiss opened her eyes and scrunched up her face.

I don't ever know why I bother hoping for things.

"Welcome back Ruby," she said aloud. "I trust your adventures met your aspirations for an exceptional time?"

"Weiss, can you do me a favor?" Ruby asked as she tossed her bag to the side. "Can you drop all of the fancy 'I'm educated' talk around me?"

"Pardon?" Weiss asked, completely caught off guard.

"I know that's not how you actually would talk, I've heard you get emotional before. Can we just like… Not use more than 3 words in a sentence that have more than 3 syllables?" Weiss was completely stunned. She struggled for a few moments before coming back around.

"S-s-sure I guess." Ruby smiled at her and climbed on top of her bed.

"Thanks Weiss," Ruby said. Weiss was quiet, staying completely flat, hung up on one part of what Ruby said.

She's heard you get emotional before… Weiss thought. Ruby knows what I sound like and that means the others do as well. She… God that dunce of a leader.

"Hey Weiss," Ruby said. "Do you think you could study with me?"

"Pardon?" Weiss asked, snapped back into reality.

"Y'know, you're really good at classes and I'm not," Ruby said. "You've told me before that we have to get better and I figured that you'd be a good way to do so." Weiss pondered the idea for a moment before nodding to herself.

"You have to come to my bunk," Weiss said. Ruby immediately dropped down with a big smile on her face.

"Done!" Weiss sat up and Ruby climbed onto her bed with her, a history book in hand. Ruby opened her book and flipped to the last chapter Professor Oobleck covered, one that continued on with Faunus rights.

Weiss took in a deep breath and looked at Ruby.

"Okay, what do you want help with?" She asked.

"Everything," Ruby said. Weiss bit her lip. "I just want help in general."

"Studying methods?" Weiss asked. Ruby nodded. Weiss took in a breath and started to explain to Ruby how she preferred to study.

How Weiss studied normally involved a lot of repetition and reviewing key terms, something that took a lot longer to explain than she expected. But eventually, Ruby moved on to some specific pieces of studying. Weiss actually was enjoying being able to explain things to Ruby, she enjoyed having this moment where her knowledge could pay off. It felt oddly nice.

"Hey Weiss?" Ruby asked after an explanation.

"Hm?" Weiss asked.

"Why'd you come to Beacon?" Weiss stopped, completely caught off guard.

"W-w-what?"

"You just are the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, in a rich family, why come be a huntress?" Weiss was dead silently.

What do I do? What do I do? What do I do? Weiss thought frantically.

"I…"

I had to get away.

"I…"

I couldn't stay there anymore, I was suffocating.

"I just… Felt as though I had an obligation to restore some dignity to my family."

"Really?" Ruby asked.

No… No not at all, I have no obligations to the people who destroyed me, the people who made me realize that I'm a horrible monster.

"The reputation they acquired was justly given," Weiss said. "I feel as though by going through this, I can restore what they previously had." Ruby nodded and went back to the book. Weiss inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.

"I'm glad you did that," Ruby said as she skimmed through the chapter again.

"Why?" Weiss asked.

"Cause I got to make a friend." Weiss' heart shattered.

No don't go down this path Ruby.

"We didn't get off to a great start, but it's been cool knowing you. You're really not that bad."

Ruby… Please you don't know me. You don't know about what I've done.

"I'm just glad cause now I can't imagine a better team."

Ruby…

"Thank you," Weiss said aloud, putting on her best smile. "I'm glad I could meet you as well." Ruby smiled and hugged Weiss, forcing the heiress to throw her arms up. "Can you not hug me?" Ruby let go and looked away.

"Sorry."

After a few awkward moments, Ruby closed her book and climbed back up to her bunk. Weiss sat there, eventually standing up and walking to the door.

"I'm going out for a walk," Weiss said.

"Okay," Ruby said. "I'll tell Blake and Yang when they get back." Weiss nodded and exited the room, not wanting to stay any longer.

She didn't know where she wanted to go, she just had to walk. She had to get away from everything that just happened, she had to distance herself and think.

Weiss walked through the halls, settling on the library for a final destination to stay. It was always quiet and always had a corner or a nook that nobody else would be in. Weiss entered, found her spot and buried her head in her hands.

Why do they have to be so kind? Weiss thought. They just keep saying things, things I don't deserve. Weiss swore to herself and banged her head against the back of the chair.

Why can't they just let me be? Let me be the stuck up brat that they'd expect. Weiss took in a shaky breath, trying to hold down as much as she could so as to maintain the silence. But the damage was already done to her mind, it began to wander. There weren't many things Weiss could remember that would end well for her.

Age 13

Weiss' studies that she was required to undergo were only slightly less brutal than her combat training, meaning that one of the places she was more intimately familiar with was the library.

It was a quiet place away from it all, the spot that no matter what time of day it was she was guaranteed quiet time away from everything. Though almost all of her time was studying, at a certain point it just became a routine habit for her.

But she should've known better.

No place had held it's privacy or it's sanctity for her.

Why would it ever start on that day?

She was studying for her course on business one day. Despite how much she despised business and the idea of running the company, she found the way things worked fascinating. She was engrossed enough to the point where she didn't hear footsteps until a hand was on her shoulder. Weiss looked up and saw a face that she wasn't used to ever seeing.

"Mother," Weiss said. Engel smiled at her daughter and looked at the chair across from her.

"Weiss," she said. "May I?" Weiss nodded and Engel took a seat across from her. She smiled at Weiss and looked at the open book. "Studying for your future?"

"Really a formality of the courses I am required to attend," Weiss said. "I am simply ensuring that I am educated enough to complete all of my work adequately."

"And what is adequately?"

"Top scores." Engel shrugged and shifted her expression around a bit.

"I can hear your father's influence in those words."

That's because he is the one saying these things for me, Weiss thought.

"Yeah," Weiss said before returning to her work. She only could think for a few more moments before looking back up at Engel.

"If you would not mind, may I ask why you are here?" She asked. Engel gave Weiss her famous smile, one that she got a reputation for with business meetings and press addresses.

"I'm almost never here," Engel said, pointing around the room to indicate that she meant the Frozen Palace. "I spend a lot of time addressing potential new partners, the media, rarely have I been here for any period of time longer than a week. Not within the past few years anyways." Weiss nodded.

"I understand. I am glad you are enjoying your time at home." Weiss returned to studying, no longer wanting to hold a conversation with her mom.

"I never anticipated all of this," Engel said. Weiss looked up again, puzzled by what her mother had said. "Everybody I conversed with assured me that having a baby would change my life just…" She looked away as her face grew long. Weiss had never seen her mother like this, everything just sort of fell. The normal beauty and grace were replaced with regret and sadness.

"About three years after you were born I was declared infertile," Engel continued.

What? Weiss thought. I… You… I never…

"I was heartbroken because I never wanted one child. I wanted more angels to carry on. Being infertile was just…" Engel stopped and took a breath.

"Mom…" Weiss whispered.

"But we had to move forward and care for you," Engel continued. "I… The ideals I had been taught I questioned."

"Mom please…"

"But I supposed I never was given enough time." Engle suddenly flinched and looked down at the ground. "I'm just… I'm sorry Weiss." She stood and looked away.

Weiss felt herself crumpling. Somehow hearing how much Engel wanted to care, how much she wanted to do something. Weiss was only just able to keep from bursting into tears.

Suddenly her bird made so much more sense to her. Engel der Schnee, Eds, the bird that her mom got for Weiss. Her father never wanted for her to have it, it was the one olive branch. It was the one attempt her mother could think to make, the one time she tried.

Weiss looked up, wanting to find words to make her stay, to earn love, to do anything, but Engel was already gone.

No…

Weiss dropped her head onto her book, unable to stop the flow of water through her eyes.

No… Mom… Please…

Weiss started crying, drenching her book. She couldn't concentrate, she couldn't study, all she could think of was Eds. Everything that that bird, the bird that brought her so much joy, represented.

Mom… Eds…

She didn't move for an hour, it was the few times she couldn't bring herself to work. Nothing cut quite as deep as that had. Nothing had hurt that much in a long time and few things ever would come close to matching that.

But Weiss still looked upon that time more fondly than others. It was one of the closest things she had to a happy memory with her parents.

Weiss found herself back in the Beacon library, tears starting to run down her face. She shook her head and wiped them off, getting frustrated with herself.

I can't think about that… I told myself I wouldn't.

She stood up and took in a steadying breath, looking to return to the dorm. But before she did, Weiss opened up her scroll and looked for one of the few pictures she had kept.

It wasn't much, it was her as a seven year old child with a white bird on her hand.

"I miss you Eds," she whispered. Weiss tucked away her scroll and moved forward, hoping that the rest of her team would be there so she wouldn't have to relive more memories.

End: So that's it, I'll warn you there'll be a couple of shorter chapters (probably). But I promise to make them worthwhile. Questions, comments, follows, favorites and feedback are always appreciated!