Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Family. It’s a strange concept when she thinks about it. People have floated in and out of her life more times than she can count, many of them calling themselves her family. She’s not really mad about it. It feels more like an observation from outside of herself. It’s similar to how she interacts with everything. There’s a degree of separation. A barrier between herself and the world around her. It’s safer that way. Looking down, she runs her hand over the hard plastic of her suitcase handle. It won’t be too much longer now. The heat of humid air around her makes her hair stick to the back of her neck. At one point, it made her extremely uncomfortable, but it had been a couple of years since she left the cold of Atlas and traded it for the heat of Menagerie.

Taking a deep breath, Weiss lifted her chin and gazed down at her island home. Faunas wandered about the open markets ahead of her and she could hear their cries advertising everything from fish to clothing. She closed her eyes and savored the moment for a little longer. It had taken a couple of years for her to accept this place as her home, but it had managed to carve a place into her icy heart. A gruff cough behind her brought her back to the present.

“Are you sure you have to go?” Ghira said as he looked down at her. His massive arms were crossed over his bare chest, it felt like he stood a good two feet taller than her.

Weiss looked up, a polite smile pulling at her lips, “You know I do. I’ve already accepted the scholarships.” A chuckle brought Weiss’ attention down to look at Kali as she stepped from behind Ghira.

Her ears pointed towards Weiss and one flicked off to the side as she smiled in amusement, “Oh don’t listen to him. You know he’ll just miss you.” Weiss’ smile pulled a little tighter at the admission. She was going to miss them. She knew she would. After the past six years of the pair taking her in, she had grown rather fond of them. The words slipped out before she could suck them back in.

“Well, I’ll miss you both just as much,” she said. It felt odd to admit how she felt out loud. Being so distant from her feelings usually allowed her to not feel them in their entirety, but admitting she would miss her adoptive parents made the upcoming move feel much more daunting all of the sudden. She took a deep breath, trying to settle herself, but it came in more ragged than she intended. She was quickly engulfed by the massive form of Ghira as he wrapped her into a bone-crushing hug. Kali soon followed suit and wrapped her arms around her from behind. She tolerated the hug as long as she could before the stifling heat started to get to her.

“Okay, okay,” she said as she started patting Ghira and trying to squirm out of his arms. His hug only tightened further, holding her firm. Turning her head to the side, she directed a mock glare at Kali.

Smiling, Kali patted her husband’s arm, “Okay honey, that’s enough. She’ll miss the boat if you don’t stop crushing her like that.” Ghira let out a despondent sigh as he finally let go of Weiss. Putting his hands on her shoulders, he held on tight and looked Weiss deep in the eyes.

“I’m proud of you,” he said gently, “You better come back to visit us.” Weiss smiled, still not quite sure how to take the compliment even after all of these years.

“Of course I’ll come back to visit,” she says and she means it. She may be cold and a little distant, but these people had taken her in and steadfastly given her the love she needed. She still didn’t quite know how to take it and she had a tendency to hold them at arm's reach, but she knew she loved them. She wasn’t lying when she said she would come back.

She jumped as a loud horn bellowed behind her. It was her signal to leave. Looking over at Ghira and Kali, Weiss felt her lips quirk to the side in a smile. Grabbing her suitcase, she turned and started walking towards the ramp up to the ship. Her heart thudded in her chest as she looked towards the ship that would whisk her away into a new and very unpredictable life. She paused for just a moment and looked back over her shoulder to take in the chaos of Menagerie. Her gaze fell back onto her adoptive parents and her heart tugged back towards them. In a rare lapse of control, she ran back and tackled both of them into a hug.

“I’m going to miss you both,” she almost whispered. Both of them immediately wrapped her up in their embrace.

She felt Ghira’s chuckle more than she heard it as he said, “We’ll miss you too little princess. We’re only a call away if you ever need us.” Weiss felt something between a chuckle and a sob gurgle out from her throat and their arms tightened around her even more. A second horn bellowed out into the air around her and she felt their arms loosen.

“If you’re not careful, you’re going to miss your boat,” Kali said as she gave Weiss a gentle push. Taking a deep breath, Weiss pulled away and straightened her posture. She gave a clipped nod to both of them as she pivoted away. Her heels clicking across the paved pathway as she snatched her suitcase handle and power walked away from Ghira and Kali. She only trusted herself to turn around once she was on the boat. Clasping the railing in a white-knuckled grip, Weiss turned back around and looked at her adoptive parents one last time. She raised her hand and waived as the ramp retracted into the ship. She kept waving as she felt the engine engage and a loud horn bellowed out its final goodbye to the citizens of Kuo Koana. She didn’t stop waving until she lost sight of her adoptive parent standing on the coastline waving back at her.

She knew she was leaving a part of her behind as she walked away from the life she knew. She could feel the ache for her home already beginning to seep into her bones, but she tried to not give it too much time of day. She was walking away from her home, but she was also walking toward her future. There was an adventure waiting for her on the horizon. Weiss’ scroll beeped and she pulled it out of the pocket of her dress. Flipping it open and swiping up so that she could see the message coming through, a small smile tugged at the corner of her lips.

Kali: Miss you already!

Attached was a picture of the two of them wrapped in each other's arms where Weiss had left them. Turning her scroll, Weiss quickly snapped a picture of herself and sent it to Kali.

Weiss: Miss you more!

Kalie: Not possible!

The smile already on Weiss’ face tugged further into a grin and she looked up. Blue stretched out as far as the eye could see and she gazed at it, enraptured by its beauty. Her future was spread out ahead of her. She could see it in the waves rising and falling, carved through by the ship she sailed on. She took a deep breath and gazed out towards her future. Beacon. She was finally going to college. She was finally taking her first steps toward her goals and she was so ready to prove exactly who she was.

Chapter Text

“Nice view right?” a voice called out from behind Weiss, startling her out of her thoughts. She jerked her head around as a young man hopped onto the railing beside her. Blinking in bewilderment, Weiss looked him up and down. He was okay looking.. for a guy. She couldn’t help but think he could do with some decency though. His white collared shirt was completely unbuttoned to show off a rather impressive set of abs and his bleach blond hair looked as if he had jelled it before sticking his head in a wind tunnel.

A long monkey tail waved in front of her face as he spoke up again, “Hey, I mean, I was talking about the ocean, but I don’t mind the appreciation.”

“Ugh,” Weiss immediately huffed, “Wrong tree.” Not giving him a second to process, she turned around and sped towards a crew member who was pointing passengers towards their cabins.

“Wait! Wait! I’m sorry, I was just trying to make conversation,” said the young man as he leapt off the railing and jogged to catch up with her. The chain on his jeans jingled as he ran. Weiss felt her pulse quicken and her grip tightened on her suitcase.

“And what, exactly, gave you the impression I wanted to have a conversation?” she said as she leveled a scathing look at him over her shoulder.

He paused for a moment before giving her a goofy grin and shrugging his shoulders, “You looked lonely.”

Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.

Her left finger thumped into the handle of her suitcase as her scowl deepened, “Did you consider that perhaps I was enjoying a moment of peace before you disturbed me?”

“Pfft, but why would you want to feel peaceful? We’re on the ocean!” He threw his hands into the air to indicate the wide stretch of blue all around them, “This is an adventure! We should be able to enjoy it!” Weiss felt her shoulders tense as irritation slithered its way through her body. Who was this idiot? Why was he talking to her? She just wanted a moment to be alone and prepare herself for the road ahead. She was not here to make friends. Besides, she liked being alone. People have an obnoxious habit of being disappointing.

“What’s your name?” she asked, keeping her tone sharp. Perhaps if she laced enough ice into her tone, she would get the message through his thick skull.

“Sun Wukong, at your service!” he said as he struck a pose and brandished a peace sign at her.

“Well, Mr. Wukong, I appreciate your interest in wanting me to enjoy this ‘adventure’, but I am not here for fun and games. So please, enjoy yourself, but leave me out of it,” with that, she turned on her heel and marched away from him. Whipping her boarding pass out of her pocket, she brandished it at the crew member she had seen directing people to their cabins earlier. Weiss glanced down at his nametag as he gave her directions to her room.

“Thank you, Aiden,” she said, hoping her tone would communicate her apology for practically mowing him down in her attempt to get away Mr. Wukong. She kept her posture ramrod straight as she made her way to her room and didn’t dare look behind her to see if he was following. It wasn’t until the door to her room clicked closed that she sighed and slumped forwards into the door.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Her head connected with the door one last time as a sigh slipped out of her.

“I really hate people,” she muttered to herself. She took another few moments to just lean against the door and let the small storm inside herself calm. Detached. She had to stay detached. If she was going to do what she needed to do, she could not let her emotions get the better of her. Ever. Eventually, she felt the ripples of her emotions fade and freeze over. Confident that she was back in control, she pushed away from the door and scanned over her new living space.

She had about three and half weeks of the small room being her new home. The journey from Menagerie to Vale was a long one by boat. She could have taken an airship and been there within a week, but she was hoping this would be a good reset button. Three and half weeks with no cell phone service. It would just be her, her thoughts, and the waves. At least, that was her plan. As long as people left her alone, this would be a very restful journey. Walking forwards and running her fingers across the plain ruddy brown comforter on the bed, she grimaced. There was a slim chance Mr. Wukong would leave her alone. She knew his type. Her sister had been like that.

She huffed out a sigh and took stock of the sparse furniture. A desk was tucked between one of the walls and her bed so that it could also act as a bedside table. The bed itself was a simple twin bed on a sturdy bed frame and a small chest sat at its base. One eyebrow rose as she noted that all of the furniture was bolted to the floor. 

“I really hope that’s not necessary,” she muttered to herself. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and let the sounds of the ocean waves crashing against the boat lull her back into the peace she had felt on the deck. When she opened them, her gaze fell back onto her suitcase.

“Might as well unpack,” she said as she unzipped her rather overpacked suitcase. Most of it was clothing. Her books, stacks of research, and other school supplies were already being delivered to her dorm for her to pick up on arrival. She would definitely need to get more clothing, but that could wait until the weather in Vale started to cool. It had been a long time since Weiss had needed proper winter clothing and part of her was excited to feel the cold again. 

Her musings were cut short when her fingers rasped along heavy cardstock. Her brows furrowed of their own accord as she grabbed onto the offending item and pulled it clear of her clothing. An off-white package sat in her hands. It was surprisingly heavy, but not as heavy as the lump that sank into her chest. She felt hairline fractures spread across the ice she had frozen over top of her heart. Holding her breath, she turned over the package and looked down at the elegant, slanted writing in the very center.

For my little snowflake

The lump in her throat expanded and it was as if she could hear the ice over her heart fracture. A gurgled cry of frustration slipped from her throat as she threw the offending package away from her. It bounced off the bed with the force of her throw and smacked onto the wall before falling out of view.

The letters. Those goddamn letters. Why were they here!? She had thrown them in the trash before she left. She should have burned them.

Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.

Her nails clicked on the hardwood floor as she tried to take deep breaths. Pulling out her scroll, she slid it open and saw she had a few missed messages. She must not have noticed them come through while Sun was pestering her.

Kali: Please don’t be mad at your father. I’m sorry that I couldn’t warn you. He didn’t tell me he had slipped them into your bag.

Kali: He just doesn’t want you to lose access to them. Maybe now would be a good time to give them a chance?

Kali: Weiss? Please say something honey

Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.

Weiss’ nails dug into the floorboards with each tap as she tried to regain her hold on her temper. Why? She had told them she wanted nothing to do with the letters. She had thrown them away in front of Ghira and Kali. Both of them knew she had no interest speaking with them, so why? She closed her eyes as she let out a shaky breath and leaned up against the rough fabric of her comforter. The memories came back unbidden. Weiss tried to squeeze her eyes closed further and push them away but it was no use.

____________

Music poured through the softly lit kitchen as Kali bustled about. The wonderful earthy smells of LauLau had been spreading throughout the house for hours and Weiss’ stomach was protesting having to wait another moment. She peaked her head into the kitchen and watched Kali cut fresh salmon for the Lomi Lomi Salmon. Her mouth was already watering and her mind started planning her route. Maybe if she kept to the other side of the kitchen island and made enough conversation, she could steal a few bites.

Her museing was cut short as Kali leveled the knife she was using at Weiss, “I see you over there little missy. Don’t even think about it.”

“But Kallliiiiii,” she whined as she gave a defeated huff, revealing herself from the doorway.

“Don’t ‘but’ me. You’re just as bad as your sister,” Kali said, not putting the knife down as she tracked Weiss’ movements across the kitchen. Weiss scoffed as she rolled her eyes.

“Oh come on. I’m not that bad!” She kept her eyes on Kali, careful not to look at the lithe form of a teenage cat faunas slinking across the kitchen.

“Yes you are and you know it,” Kali said, “It’ll be done in twenty minutes. You can wait that long.”

“Pfft, twenty minutes from you means another forty and we both know it,” she said, leaning over the kitchen island to look at the many ingredients spread across it. Kali rolled her eyes as she went back to cutting her salmon.

“Maybe it would go faster if my daughters would stop trying to steal the food I’m cooking and be a little more patient,” the sentence was punctuated with a pop as she slapped Weiss’ hand away from the bowl of Poi already on the counter.

“Ow!” she said, snapping her hand back and putting on an exaggerated pout. Kali opened her mouth to berate her, but was interrupted by a loud crash as several dishes dropped onto the ground behind. Spinning around, she came face to face with her eldest daughter frozen in place with three still-steaming packages of LauLau clutched to her chest. Eyes wide and posture slinking down slightly, Blake’s ears pulled tight against the top of her head as she gave a small wave.

“Oh, uh, hi mom! What brings you here?” Blake’s voice wavered as she cowered under her mother’s exasperated gaze.

“Put those down this instant,” Kali said, wielding her knife towards her eldest and turning her back towards Weiss. Seeing an opportunity, Weiss shot her hand out and snagged a bowl of rice sitting on the counter.

“Run!” she shouted, pulling Kali’s attention just enough for Blake to dart away from her mother. The pair giggled maniacally as they ran away from the kitchen, Kali’s frustrated protests fading away as she gave up chasing after them.

“I’m too old for this,” Kali sighed as she turned to pick up the dishes that had fallen and went back to finishing her cooking.

Running through the house as quietly as they could, the sisters weaved their way through the house until they reached a pair of sliding doors. Stacking the three packages of LouLou onto the bowl of rice Weiss was holding, Blake rapped her knuckles on the door.

Tap. Tap. Tap-tap. Tap.

They both huddled together and glanced back and forth. There was still a chance Kali hadn’t completely given up on recovering her stolen goods. The sliding door scratched open a sliver and the large, foreboding form of Ghira Belladonna looked down at his two daughters. Weiss flashed a cocky grin at him and presented their prize. Pulling the door open more, Ghira peaked his head out and waved his daughters in as he shushed at them. Their giggling could wake a graveyard if they weren’t careful. 

“Another successful heist,” he rumbled out and ruffled their hair, “Sit, sit. I’m starving.” Blake and Weiss grinned at each other as they set their prizes down on the little coffee table in Ghira’s study. Silence reigned, as they dug in. It was only broken by Blake’s hum of happiness as she rocked back and forth with her eyes closed.

“God I love fish,” she muttered to herself, savoring the LouLou with a look of content.

Ghira chuckled as he looked down at his daughter, “You are your mother’s daughter.” Blake beamed up at him as she shoveled in another mouthful of LouLou and rice.

As it turned out, Weiss was wrong. It was another hour and a half before Kali’s voice rang out through the house, calling everyone to dinner. Blue eyes met amber as war was declared without needing to speak a word. Wiess was the first out the door, abandoning their game of chess and nearly knocking the table over in her enthusiasm. Blake wasn’t that far behind and the two sisters crashed down the stairs with gusto, intent on getting to the dinner table first. Blake shot her hand out and jabbed Weiss in the ribs so she could gain the lead. It lasted only a moment though as Weiss snagged a pillow from the couch she passed and chucked it at Blake, smacking her in the back of the head.

A muffled, “Oof,” escaped from Blake as she scowled at Weiss. Not losing any momentum, Blake stooped to grab the pillow so she could chuck it back, but Weiss dodged the projectile as it thumped into the wall beside her. She stuck her tongue out at Blake and turned to claim victory of first place in their race. Weiss pulled her shoulders back and almost strutted into the dining room, taking Kali’s glare in stride. She even met her gaze as she took her spot across from her adoptive mother. Weiss cocked an eyebrow as a grin started to spread across her face. Rolling her eyes, Kali leveled her glaze at her eldest daughter slinking in behind Weiss. Taking her spot next to her sister, Blake did not hold up as well against her mother’s ire. Her ears angled back slightly and she glanced over at Weiss. Ghira filed into the room last as he sat next to Kali, keeping his face composed.

A thick tension settled over the small family as Kali made her rounds, staring daggers at each of them. Weiss flitted her gaze over to Ghira as his composure began to crack. The crows feet around his eyes lengthened as a smile threatened to spread across his face. What little that was left of Weiss’ self control fell apart. She snorted loudly and the sound caused Blake to giggle. Weiss smacked Blake in the shoulder and Blake immediately followed it up with a smack of her own.

“Girls! That’s enough,” Kali’s voice rang out over the dinner table. There was enough frustration in it that the two sisters paused, Weiss with her palm pressed to Blake’s forehead and Blake with her hands grasping towards Weiss’s hair.

Sighing in exasperation, Kali picked up a spoon and pointed it at Ghira, “You put them up to this didn’t you?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said, shifting his posture so that he looked the picture of innocence.

Kali smacked him with the spoon, “How many times do I have to tell you that these two little ruffians need to learn patience?”

Ghira’s deep laughter filled the room as he finally confessed, “No offense dear, but it takes forever for you to cook dinner and we were starving. Take it as a compliment! Your cooking is so good that we couldn’t wait to eat it.” He disarmed his wife as he leant down to kiss her on the nose. She wrinkled her nose in a mock scowl and angled her ears as she glanced over at her two giggling daughters.

“Fine, but you’re all doing the dishes,” she said, “And at least invite me to your charades next time. You can’t have all the fun by yourselves.”

“Of course dear,” Ghira said as the four of them dug into dinner. Conversation flowed smoothly between them as it did every night. Weiss talked about her studies and her most recent research into the questionable choices of the Schnee Dust Company. Ghira and Kali listened with rapt attention as she ranted, giving suggestions how to potentially tackle the many social problems presented by the SDC. Ghira and Kali discussed a rising member of the White Fang. Apparently, a young woman by the name of Sienna Kahn was gathering a following rather quickly. Weiss could feel the concern radiating from the two leaders of the White Fang but she decided against prying into the situation. She trusted that they would bring something up if it was important. They had never shied away from discussions of politics and societal issues before.

“Hey, um, Mom?” Blake’s shy voice pulled Weiss out of her thoughts, “Do you mind if I go to the protests tonight after we finish the dishes? Adam organized a sit-in for that anti-faunas restaurant that just popped up on the docks.” Kali glanced up and cocked her head to the side.

“Hmm… I’d like to say yes, but it’s a school night. Don’t you have a chemistry test tomorrow?” she said as she looked at her daughter.

Blake groaned, “Yeah, but I already studied for it. I know my stuff mom, I promise.”

Kali hummed, but shook her head, “Still, you’ll need your rest. We both know sit-ins can last for hours and the owner of that restaurant does not strike me as the type to give up easily. Maybe next time.”

“But mooomm-” Blake’s whine was cut short as Kali shook her head.

“No buts! Not tonight,” she said she got up and began collecting the now empty dishes. Passing by Blake, she kissed her daughter on the forehead. Blake sighed in defeat and glanced over at her dad as she let her ears droop.

“Oh no you don’t. Don’t give me that look. Your mom is right. School is more important. There will always be another protest but there won’t be another chance for you to make up your grades,” he stood up from the table as well and reached over to ruffle Blake’s hair.

“Come on you two, we have some dishes to do,” he said.

Dishes, as it turns out, took longer than intended. Blake was on wash duty, Weiss dried them, and Ghira put them away. He was the only one who could without having to climb all over the counters. The two teenagers had yet to hit their growth spurts, but they didn’t let that stop them. They had a tendency to ignore the step-stool set aside for them, much to their parent’s dismay. All was going well until Blake dropped a freshly cleaned plate into the sink full of water. The resulting wave hit Weiss directly in the face and she stood stock still for a moment as soapy water dripped onto the floor. Her features sharpened as she glowered at Blake, who raised her hands in surrender.

“Sorry!” she said as she tried backing away, knowing it was already too late. Weiss woke up every day choosing violence. Quick as she could, Weiss snatched her drying towel from the counter and wound it up, releasing it with a satisfying crack. Blake yelped as she dodged, turning tail to run away from Weiss. Not giving Weiss the time to wind up for another strike, Blake leapt onto the kitchen island and rolled to the other side of it. The two squared off from across the island and stood stock still, studying each other to see who would telegraph their next move first. Ghira chuckled as he watched the two of them, happy to stay out of the conflict for now. Blake was the first to make a move.

Rolling her eyes, she waved at Weiss and relaxed her stance, “Whatever shorty. We both know you couldn’t reach me from there.”

“Ugh!” Weiss shouted as she grabbed an oven mitt and chucked it at Blake. She managed to dodge it, but realized too late that she had given Weiss the opening she needed to close the distance between the two of them. Panicking, Blake hopped back on top of the kitchen island and danced out of Weiss’ range when the rag cracked out towards her feet.

“I thought I told all of you to do the dishes,” Kali’s voice rang over the kitchen as she appeared in the doorway. Both girls froze for a moment.

“She started it,” Weiss said, immediately pointing over at Blake still standing on the kitchen island.

“Nuh uh!” Blake shouted back, “I just dropped a plate. I said I was sorry. You’re the one who tried to whip me with a towel.”

Kali’s gaze shifted to Ghira as she made her way over to the sink still full of soapy water, “And what do you have to say?” Ghira shifted in his place for a moment, glancing over at his daughters.

“Both of them are right technically,” he shrugged at his wife with a sheepish grin.

“Oh come onnn,” Blake called out, looking at her dad, “You know this wasn’t my fault. Don’t throw me under the bus.”

“Huh, well regardless of who started it, I’m ending it,” Kali said as a rasping sound brought all of their attention to the sprayer nozzle now pointed at them.

“Mom, mom no, please,” Blake said as her eyes went wide, “There’ll- You’ll get water all over the kitchen.”

A smug grin spread across Kali’s face, “And? This is my house.” That was the only warning they got before both teenagers were drenched in water. Their pleas for mercy fell on deaf ears and Kali did not stop until both of them were cowering on the other side of the island. Ghira doubled over in laughter as he watched the spectacle, tears forming in his eyes. He did not realize his mistake until it was too late.

“Kali, they’re soaked honey, you can put the sprayer down now,” he said. Kali did not put the sprayer down. Instead she leveled it at her husband.

“This is for encouraging their shenanigans,” she said as she open-fired on her husband. He ducked and tried to weave his way out of Kali’s range, but this was not her first time giving her family an impromptu bath in the kitchen. Her aim was true and she did not stop until all three of them were drenched.

Blake snorted from her place crouched and poked Weiss in the ribs, “Schneenanagins.”

Weiss smacked Blake in the shoulder, “Pest.”

“Jerk.”

“Alright, alright, enough you two,” Kali said as she pulled two towels from a nearby closet and threw them on the teenagers, “Go ahead and take a shower. We’ll watch a movie later.” She watched as two continued to tease each other on their way to the bathrooms. Walking up to her drenched husband, she pulled another towel from the closet and started toweling him off.

“What are we supposed to do with them?” she asked as she chuckled, “they’re getting into more trouble every day and I worry that the two of them together will only be a recipe for disaster.”

Ghira leaned down and pecked Kali on the cheek, “At least they actually get along now.”

“Oh god,” Kali mumbled as she remembered when Weiss had arrived just last year. Shell shocked and completely withdrawn, the 12 year old girl had lashed out at anyone who got close. Blake had been the target for a lot of it, mainly because she would not leave Weiss alone. No matter how much Weiss had tried to push Blake away, it hadn’t worked. Eventually, Blake had managed to break through Weiss’ walls until the two were thick as thieves.

Fixing the collar of Ghira’s coat, Kali sighed, “That may be the case, but we’re going to have to be careful. I know they’re just having fun but I’m worried about them. Breaking rules around home is one thing, but the real world isn’t so lenient.”

“Don’t worry honey,” Ghira said as he pulled Kali into a hug, “They’ll be fine. Yes, they get into a lot of trouble together, but they’ll also have each other to get out of that trouble. And we’ll be there to step in if things get too serious for them to handle.” Kali sighed again as she sank into the hug.

“You’re still worried aren’t you?” Ghira’s voice tickled Kali’s ear and she flicked it subconsciously.

“Of course I am. I’m their mother,” she said as she tucked her face into Ghira’s chest. They stood like that for a while. Long enough that they heard the showers turn off and then the shouts and thumps of two teenage girls bickering over something. Kali pulled back from Ghira and rolled her eyes.

“Come on, I’ll finish the dishes. It’s your turn to go check on those two and keep them out of trouble,” she said as she tossed the now damp towel onto the drenched kitchen floor.

An hour later, Kali, Weiss and Blake were all sitting in the living room waiting on Ghira. Weiss leaned against the arm of the sofa with Blake’s head in her lap watching as Blake skimmed through the news feed on her scroll. Her amber eyes flicked across the translucent screen as a scowl settled into her features.

“Blake, put it down. You’re working yourself up,” Kali said as she peered over her reading glasses. Blake opened her mouth to argue, but Kali put up her hand.

“Nope! I know. I know it’s frustrating and you want to keep an eye on the world. I know you want to see things get better. Passion is a good thing as long as it doesn’t become an obsession. You need to know when to put it down Blake. We’re here to spend some time together and you not knowing what is happening isn’t going to change the outcome,” she said. Her gaze was kind and gentle as amber eyes met amber. Blake let out an aggravated huff and clicked her scroll closed. She could be argumentative, but she knew this was one conversation she wouldn’t win.

“Dad!” She yelled out from Weiss’ lap, “Are you coming or not?”

“I’m coming, I’m coming,” came Ghira’s gruff reply from the front of the house, “Sorry, the mail came early and I was looking for some documents I need for work.”

Blake looked over at her mom and raised an eyebrow, “What was it you were just telling me about passion being a good thing as long as it doesn’t become an obsession?”

“Hmm.. While I don’t like your tone,” Kali said as she turned her gaze to her husband, “She has a point dear.”

“Hmm?” Ghira said as he tore his gaze away from the mail in his hands, “Oh! Right, right. Sorry, I got carried away again.” He stopped by a small table in the entryway and dropped all but one white envelope onto it.

Walking forward, he stopped by Weiss and held out the envelope, “Weiss, I think this is for you.” Surprised, Weiss reached out and took it. It was thick and obviously of high quality. Running her fingers over the stationary, she recognized the feel of it and her muscles tensed. Blake felt the shift and looked up at Weiss, her brows furrowing in concern.

“Weiss? What’s wrong?” she asked. When Weiss didn’t answer, she sat up and looked down at the envelope. The writing on it was thin and elegant. It looked like a cross between print and cursive.

“For my little snowflake,” Blake read aloud. Normally, she would have immediately started to tease Weiss, but she could tell something was off. Her sister’s breaths had started coming in short pants and her pupils were far too dilated.

“Weiss?” Blake asked again, reaching out to touch her on the shoulder gently. That seemed to snap her out of it because Weiss jumped and eyes suddenly focused on Blake. She could see Weiss swallow and then swallow again when it didn’t seem to work the first time. Ghira glanced over at Kali who’s brow was furrowed in concern, just like her daughter. Taking in a sharp breath, Weiss stood and marched over the waste bin in the corner of the room. Without pausing, she tossed the envelope and turned on her heel.

“I’m going to go to bed. I’m not really interested in watching anything right now,” she said as she took purposeful steps out of the living room and up the stairs. Her posture made it obvious that she would not be listening to any objections. Blake stood up and looked between her parents. Her ears pulled back slightly as she watched Weiss’ receding form with concern.

“I’ll go talk to her,” she said but was stopped when Ghira placed a hand on her shoulder.

He shook his head gently, “Not this time Blake. I know you want to be there for her, but let Kali and I handle this one. Okay?”

Blake shook her head stubbornly, “But why? She’s my sister and my best friend. I’m not going to just sit here and do nothing.” Her attention snapped over to her mother as she heard Kali take a deep breath. Standing up, her mother made her way over to the waste bin and retrieved the letter Weiss had thrown away.

Walking up to her daughter, Kali engulfed her in a hug and kissed her gently on the forehead, “I can’t really explain it yet. I’m sorry honey, but this one is something Weiss will tell you about when she’s ready. It’s… a delicate situation. I’m not saying you can’t be there for her, but just let Ghira and I handle this one for now. If Weiss comes to you later, that’s one thing, but let me go speak with her first okay?” Blake stayed stiff for a moment before she surrendered with a huff of frustration.

“Fine,” she said, “But tell her I’ll be in my room if she wants to talk.” Blake marched away down the hall and Kali couldn’t help but think how similarly her two daughters seemed to walk now.

“Are you sure you want to handle this one?” Ghira said once he heard Blake’s door close. Looking down at his wife, he asked “What are you going to say?”

Kali sighed as she pinched the bridge of her nose, “I don’t really know honey. We don’t even know what happened that night.”

“Hmm,” Ghira hummed as he walked up and pulled Kali into a hug.

“I know we signed up to foster, but this is not what I expected. I don’t regret our choice. I never could, but nothing could prepare me for when she showed up on our doorstep. She had a stab wound Ghira. And her face… who would do that to a little girl?” she said as she leaned into her husband.

“A monster,” Ghira said. His voice was low and gravelly, thick with anger for the sake of his adopted daughter. He felt Kali’s shoulders shake as tears hit his chest. He pulled her tighter and kissed her on top of her head.They stood like that for several moments before Kali took a deep breath and untangled herself from Ghira.

“Right,” she said, wiping tears from her eyes, “Time to go convince our daughter that some of her family does care.” Ghira nodded and looked down into his wife’s eyes, he caught her chin before she could turn away. Pulling her closer, he gave her a soft kiss.

“I’ll be right here if you need me,” he said.

Kali smiled into the kiss and tapped him on the chest as she stepped back, “You always are.” She steeled herself for the conversation ahead and made her way up the stairs. This was not going to be easy.

She stopped outside of the door to Weiss’ room and she felt her heart break at the soft sobs coming from inside. Kali let out a deep breath knocked twice on the door before stepping into Weiss’ room. The main overhead lights were off, but her fairy lights were on. They lined the tops of the walls and cast a soft blue light across the room. It was pretty sparse overall. Weiss had the essentials. She had a bed, a dresser, a bookshelf, and a desk but there were very few decorations. It wasn’t that Kali hadn’t tried to help Weiss decorate. She had dragged her out the markets several times with the intention of picking our decorations, but Weiss had never gravitated towards anything. Instead, she kept her room abnormally clean and perfectly placed. If felt.. empty if Kali were completely honest. It was strange compared to her other daughter’s room, which looked like a wind storm had blown through it a couple times.

Shifting her gaze from the furniture, Kali focused on her youngest daughter curled on the ground in the center of the room. She had her comforter pulled off the bed and wrapped around herself as tightly as she could get it. Her breaths were stuttered and her nose was red. Her body shook as another sob wrenched through her small body. Kali felt her heart ache and drop into her stomach all at once. Taking a few steps forward, she knelt onto the ground next to Weiss and dragged her into her lap. Running her hands through Weiss’ hair, Kali held her daughter tight against her.

“Shhh, I know honey, I know. I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry,” she whispered into Weiss’ soft white hair. She kept whispering and stroking her hair in an effort to comfort her daughter. She couldn’t stop the tears that leaked from her own eyes as she watched the young girl break apart in her arms. When Kali felt like she had run out of things to say, she started humming. She didn’t know the tune and it wasn’t beautiful, but it was something her mother had done for her and she hoped to god that it might help her daughter now. She kept humming until she felt Weiss’ sobs recede into little hiccups. Eventually, she felt Weiss relax in her grip. Bloodshot blue eyes, cracked open and looked up at her own.

“You’ve been crying,” Weiss said. Her voice was thick and the words felt heavy as they left her mouth. Sitting up, Weiss pulled a squashed tissue box out of the blankets she was wrapped up in and offered it to Kali.

“Surry,” she said, her words a bit slurred, “It kind of got crushed.”

Kali chuckled as she took a tissue from the box, “Thank you.”

“Why were you crying?” Weiss asked as she sat up further and pulled out her own tissue. A hiccup forced its way through her small body and gave a disgruntled huff as if she were offended her body would hiccup without her consent.

Kali's smile pulled taught and she poked her daughter in the forehead, “I come up here to you crying in the dark and the first thing you ask is why I’m crying?”

Weiss rolled her eyes, “I’m not completely in the dark. My fairy lights are on.”

“You’re misdirecting,” Kali said.

“So are you,” Weiss fired back. There was a little more color in her cheeks and the shine was back in her eyes, if a little dull. Kali wanted to shake her head in amazement. Children always were quick to bounce back.

“All right, all right, you win,” she conceded, “But if I answer your question, you have to answer mine. Deal?” She watched as Weiss’ blue eyes clouded over and regarded her with suspicion. Studying Kali’s face intently, Weiss eventually huffed. Curiosity had gotten the best of her.

“Deal,” she said.

Kali nodded, “All right then. I was crying because it hurts to see you in pain. I know you don’t like to talk about it and I will never force you to tell me or Ghira what happened to you before you joined us, but I know what I saw when you showed up at our front door. No one should go through what you’ve been through. Frankly, it makes me so angry I feel like I’m going to be sick and I wish more than anything that I could have been there to stop you from ever having to experience it.” Kali stopped to take a breath and run her fingers through her hair.

“I just.. I wish I knew how to fix this. I wish there was a way I could take away all of the pain so that you didn’t have to feel it. I was crying because I don’t know how to help you through this and I wish more than anything that I did,” she said. Weiss stared at Kali. She looked as if someone had just told her that the color blue didn’t exist and she had been making it up her whole life.

“But… why?” was her soft reply. Her voice was laced with disbelief. If her heart could break further, Kali felt it happen. This child, this thirteen year old child was so used to people turning her away that she could not conceptualize someone wanting to protect her.

“Because I love you,” was Kali’s immediate reply. She wrapped Weiss up in her arms and pulled her tight against her. She could feel the girl go limp in her arms and hang in her grip.

“You may not have come from my womb, but you're my daughter just as much as Blake is and I will always love you. Nothing will ever change that,” she whispered into Weiss’ hair as she held her close. Kali felt hot tears hit her chest as Weiss buried her face into her and clutched onto Kali’s shirt in a death grip.

“I’m sorry I don’t call you mom,” Weiss choked out and Kalie immediately began shaking her head as she pulled Weiss even tighter against herself.

“Oh no, no no no. You have nothing to apologize for,” she said. Her own voice was getting thick with tears again.

“You don’t have to call me mom. If you want to, I’d be okay with it, but I am just as okay with you calling me Kali. And Ghira feels the same. At the end of the day, it is up to you what you call us. Although,” her voice broke a little as a giggle came out, “I do think Ghira would mind if you called him your old man.”

She felt Weiss laugh through her tears as she spoke into Kali’s chest, her voice a little muffled, “Do you remember when he found a gray hair in his beard last month? We went from no hair dye allowed to three boxes of black hair dye and a mess in the bathroom.”

Kali’s head tilted back as she laughed at the memory, “I had him cleaning the bathroom for a week trying to get all of those stains out of the countertops.” She felt Weiss' laugh against her chest until her daughter took a deep breath and pulled away.

“Ugh,” Weiss said, pulling a tissue out of its box and blowing her nose into it loudly, “I feel gross.”

Kali smiled and shook her head, “That tends to happen when you cry as hard as you have.” Weiss tried to laugh, but it came out more like a gurgle and she grimaced as she pulled another tissue out of the box. She blew her nose again, loud as a foghorn.

“Ew. God I hate crying,” Weiss said, tossing the offending tissue into the nearby waste bin. Taking a deep breath, Weiss turned back around and leveled an intense stare at Kali.

“Well, you answered my question. What’s your question for me?” Weiss asked. Kali watched Weiss’ blue eyes harden. It was almost as if she could see Weiss’ defenses go up around herself. Kali thought for a moment, racking her brain for a gentle way to phrase her next words. Eventually she gave up and settled for telling the truth. If Weiss could handle what she had already been through, she could handle Kali’s next words.

“It’s less of a question and more of a request,” she said, taking Weiss’ hands into her own. Looking into her eyes, Kali searched her daughter’s ice blue eyes to make sure she had her attention.

“Klein has been keeping in touch with us,” she felt Weiss stiffen at the words and watched as her walls went up even further, “Hold on, hold on before you shut me out. He’s concerned. He’s been trying to keep in contact to make sure you are okay. He’s wanted to talk to you directly, but he hasn’t been allowed to because he’s been involved in all of the court cases. Part of keeping you out of that mess means that he hasn’t been allowed to speak with you. The same… the same goes for Winter.” Kali watched as Weiss jerked as if she had been slapped. She watched her daughter’s jaw tighten and Weiss pulled her hands away. One arm wrapped around herself and the other rested on the floor.

Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.

Weiss' finger started to tap out a rhythm on the floor. Kali took a deep breath before she continued.

“Like I said, I don’t know what happened that night. And I do not ever expect you to tell me. You have your own reasons for not wanting to speak with them and I am sure they are valid. I just want you to know that they have been in constant contact with Ghira and I. They do love you and they want to be a part of your life. So.. I’m not asking you to say yes, but I am asking you to consider it. We will respect your choice, whatever it is. Just, please take a couple of days to think about it,” Kali looked at her daughter and pulled the white envelope from behind herself before placing it down in Weiss’ lap.

Reaching out, she tucked a strand of hair that had fallen out of Weiss’ ponytail behind her ear. Kali’s gaze flicked between the two blue eyes staring forlornly down at the envelope in her lap.

“I..” Weiss’ voice faded off for a moment as she glanced up at her adoptive mother.

“Okay… I’ll consider it,” she said.

“Thank you,” Kali said as she pulled her daughter close and kissed her on the forehead one last time, “I’ll leave you alone for the night if you want. I’m sure you’re tired, but if you want to talk, Ghira and I are always available. We don’t care what time of day it is. And I’m sure Blake would be willing to talk as well. I know she thinks she is being sneaky, but I know she’s up all hours of the night reading her books.” Kali watched as a wry smile spread across Weiss’ face.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said, giving Kali an innocent look.

“Uh, huh, right,” Kali said as she rolled her eyes, “Well if you catch your sister not reading her books until three in the morning, tell her I said to go the fuck to bed. She has a test in the morning.”

“Kali!” Weiss almost shouted, staring at her adoptive mother in shock.

“What?” Kali, said shooting a mischievous grin at Weiss, “I’m an adult. I’m allowed to curse.” Kali smiled even wider before pressing one more kiss to Weiss’ forehead and standing up. She felt her knees crack from the effort and she groaned.

“I’m getting too old to sit on the floor,” she said as she stretched her arms up.

“Hmm, the old man is going gray and you’re cracking like a glowstick,” Weiss shook her head in mock disappointment before continuing, “What is this house coming to?”

Kali couldn’t contain the laughter that escaped from her and she shook her head, “Don’t you dare let your father hear you say that. I don’t think the supermarket would be able to keep black hair dye in stock.”

Weiss’ smile spread further as she giggled and then her giggles turned into peels of laughter. Kali couldn’t help it, she laughed along with her daughter until they were clutching their sides and their abs hurt from the strain.

“Come on,” Kali finally said when she straightened, holding her hand out to Weiss, “Time for bed.” Weiss took the offered hand and stood up, doing her own stretches. Kali smiled as she ruffled Weiss’ hair.

“Call me if you need anything,” Kali said before turning and heading towards the door. She paused when she heard footsteps rush up behind her and Weiss’ arms tackle her from behind.

“Thank you,” Weiss’ voice came out muffled as she pressed her face into Kali’s back. Kali held tight onto Weiss’ arms until she felt her pull back.

“Good night Kali,” Weiss said. She smiled at her and while it may have been a little sad, Kali could see the hint of hope shining through the small smile. It wasn’t perfect, but it was progress and that was enough for her.

“Good night Weiss, I’ll see you in the morning. I love you to the moon and back,” she said.

“I love you to the moon and back,” came Weiss’ quick reply and Kali smiled as she stepped out of her daughter’s room. Closing the door, she made her way back downstairs.

________________

Weiss opened her eyes as she came back from her memories. She still felt a little dazed. It hadn’t been a panic attack or, god forbid, a flashback, but she had been staring into space for quite a while. Looking down, Weiss’ gaze focused on her scroll again.

Kali: Weiss? Please say something honey

Shit! She had never responded to her message. She began typing but stopped when she noticed she had no service. Oh. Oh no. Weiss felt guilt start to boil up and sink into the pit of her stomach. God, why hadn’t she paid attention? She should have responded immediately. Instead she was going to make her parents wait three and half weeks for a response from her. She knew it was going to eat Kali alive to have to wait that long. All of her previous anger melted from her body as it was replaced with guilt. Sitting up, she slowly stood, stretching and twisting as muscles and joints popped and cracked.

“Guess I’m the one cracking like a glowstick now,” she muttered. A smile tugged at her lips as the memory surfaced once more. She let out a breath and leaned over to pull the package out from behind the bed where she had thrown it. She stared down at it before closing her eyes.

“I did promise you I would consider it. At least for a couple days,” Weiss opened her eyes again as she looked at the elegant writing on the package, “We got a little too busy for me to actually consider it… but I guess I don’t really have anything but time now. And I did accidentally leave you on read.” Weiss tilted her head back as she stared at the ceiling of her cabin.

Throwing her hands up in defeat, Weiss scoffed, “Fine, fine. I’ll consider it. And I won’t throw it in the ocean. No matter how much I may want to.” Weiss slapped her thighs as she dropped her arms back down and looked at the package on her bed. This boat ride was going to be a lot longer than she thought.

Chapter Text

Weiss’ eyes cracked open to light filtering through the small window above her desk. Groaning, she rolled to avoid the sunlight and stopped when her stomach lurched. The small movement made her vision swim. She flopped her arm about in the cocoon of her blankets until she managed to pull it out and drop its weight over her eyes. Her stomach gave another lurch as the ship rolled with a wave. Of course. Of course she would get seasick. She tried to swallow back the bile building in the back of her throat. She had to sit up. She had to move.

Achingly slowly, so that she didn’t disturb her already protesting stomach anymore, Weiss sat up in her bed. Blearily casting her eyes about, she zeroed in on the door to her room. Bathroom. She had to make it to the bathroom. A groan slipped from her throat. None of the rooms available had en-suit bathrooms. She was lucky enough to be close to a community bathroom, but she wasn’t sure she would make it. Her movements were slow and methodical as she tried to think about anything except the swaying of the ship. Somehow, miraculously, she managed to pull herself up so that she was sitting at the edge of her bed without evicting what little was in her stomach. She stared down at her legs as her mind slowly processed what was happening. Something was missing. Pants. She was missing pants. Thankfully, she still had a sleep shirt on, so she wouldn’t have to worry about that, but she still needed pants.

Gingerly, Weiss managed to stand, locate her pants and pull them on without losing her battle to her nausea.  How? She wasn’t quite sure. Stumbling out the door, and trying not to pay attention to the ache in her muscles, she cast her eyes about the empty hallway. A small sign pointed her in the direction of the bathroom and she stumbled her way there. Thanking all the gods above, Weiss managed to make it without incident and closed the door of the stall behind her. Unfortunately, her body seemed to recognize it was in a safer space and no amount of self control could stop her from vomiting everything her body held.

She wasn’t sure how long she sat on the floor of the bathroom as her stomach lurched with the waves. Minutes bled into hours as she felt as if she was fading in and out of consciousness. Eventually, she started to feel like she was coming back to her senses. The sway of the ship wasn’t making her as nauseous anymore, but the ache in her bones told her she wasn’t quite out of the woods yet. Everything felt heavy, and her eyes drooped, but she stayed put for another hour until she felt safe that she would not have to rush back to the bathroom. Gathering her wits, Weiss managed to haul herself to her feet and make her way out of the bathroom. She could make it to her room. She’d stumble a bit, but then she’d be able to slump into her bed and a nap sounded so-

“Oh hey Ice Queen!” came a cheerful and all too familiar voice from behind her. Shit. She felt her stomach lurch for another reason. Not now. She did not have the patience for this. Keeping her hand on the wall, she kept walking. Maybe if she didn’t look back, he wouldn’t follow.

“Where’ve you been all day?” his footsteps caught up with her quickly as he passed her and suddenly blocked her way to her room “Sorry I called you lonely yesterday, I wasn’t- whoa you do not look good.” He stopped as he looked Weiss up and down. She wished more than anything that the floor would eat her whole. Holding her right hand over her stomach and hunched against a wall, she tried to level her most scathing look at him.

“Why thank you, I appreciate the compliment” she said, “Now could you please move? You’re in my way.” She tried to shuffle forward, but he didn’t move.

“Oh come on, that’s not what I meant and you know it! Now which room is yours,” he said as he glanced at the hallway behind him.

“I am not telling you that,” Weiss said, “Now for the last time, move.” She was quickly running out of energy and she really just wanted to get to her bed.

Sun crossed his arms as he looked down at Weiss, “Alright, I get it, you want to be alone, but you’re practically green. You might not want help, but you’re getting it and I’m not taking no for an answer.” Weiss met his gaze and took in his surprisingly stern expression.

“You suck at respecting boundaries,” she said. Sun just shrugged.

“You can yell at me later,” he quipped. She tried to get angry. She really did. Her aching muscles and drooping eyelids wouldn’t let her though. Letting out an exasperated sigh, Weiss reluctantly surrendered.

“That one,” she said, waving her right hand at the door a couple feet away from them. Sun nodded before stepping beside her, taking her right arm and dropping it over his shoulder. He had to stoop so that her arm would go over his shoulders.

“Hey!” Weiss said indignantly, but Sun ignored her.

“You can hate me later,” he said as he shot her a shit eating grin. Weiss would’ve rolled her eyes if it wouldn’t have caused her stomach to protest. With Sun supporting her weight, he got her to the door of her room and let her swipe her keycard to enter. Once they were inside, Sun helped Weiss onto her bed.

“Have you eaten anything?” he asked.

Weiss scoffed and managed to roll her eyes now that she was sitting, “Seriously?”

“Right, dumb question,” he paused, looking around the room, “Okaaayyy, well, what about water?”

“I highly doubt it’s a good idea to have anything right now. Honestly, I really just want to sleep,” she said. Her irritation was fading. A little. He had been kind enough to help her into her room. He did seem rather genuine, if a little pushy.

“What’s that?” Sun asked as he walked up to the white package sitting on her desk. He reached out and his hands ghosted over the top of it. All of the irritation that had dissipated rose back to the surface with a vengeance.

“Have you perhaps considered respecting someone’s privacy before?” Weiss growled out through gritted teeth.

Sensing he may have gone a little too far, Sun scratched the back of his neck and shrugged, “Hate me later?”

“It’s later, now get out,” Weiss said.

“Okay, okay. I’m just going to grab some water for you and I’ll be right back,” he said, making his escape before Weiss’ rage could boil over any more. As soon as the door closed behind him, Weiss wobbled her way over to the door and locked it. Her knees gave out from under her and she slid down onto the floor with her back pressed against the door. The guilt from last night started to bubble up once more. Perhaps she had lost her patience too quickly. Her gaze focused on the package on her desk.

“What am I supposed to do with you?” she muttered as she stared at it. It had been years and yet, they had still been sending letters. She had never responded and even marked them return to sender, but they always made their way back. It sounded like a certain monkey faunas that would undoubtedly be knocking on her door again soon. No amount of pushing was going to keep him away, that was a fact. Her head hung in defeat. He at least seemed like he was kind. She could tolerate him for a few weeks and then they could part ways. Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock on her door.

“Hey, I found some ice!” came a cheerful voice from the other side. Groaning, Weiss decided to accept her fate and pushed herself to her feet so that she could open the door. The door creaked a little as she opened it and glowered at the cheerful blond on the other side.

“Ice for the Ice Queen?” he said, shaking the cup at her.

“Why the hell do you keep calling me that?” she said as she snatched the cup out of his hand and then paused. Glancing him up and down, she let her sour expression mellow before muttering a small, “Thank you.”

“So she does have a heart!” he said, throwing his hands up in success.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” it came out more shrill than she had intended but her irritation was rising again.

He shrugged, “No offense, but you’re pretty uptight.”

“Uptight doesn’t mean I lack a heart,” she shot back.

“Maybe, but you don’t show it.”

“I have my reasons,” she said, turning her back on him and entering her room. She shook a couple ice cubes into her mouth and savored the cold. The crunch began to ground her and settle her frazzled nerves.

“Oh, yeah! And one of the crew members suggested these,” Sun said as he held out a couple of wrist bands, “These should help make it manageable at least.” Weiss raised an eyebrow, but slipped them over her wrists. 

Taking a deep breath, she sat on her bed and looked Sun in the eyes, “Thank you, really. I do appreciate your help.” Sun blinked at her and shrugged a little sheepishly.

“No problem!” he paused as he stood there awkwardly for a moment, “So you need anything else?”

“I just need sleep for now, thank you,” she said.

“Right, cool. See you around then?” he paused on his way to the door as he glanced over his shoulder at her.

“We’re on a boat, Sun. A rather small one. It will be hard not to see each other,” she said. Her eyebrow was starting to rise of its own volition.

“Oh, yeah. Well, later!” he said, giving her a cheerful grin and sliding out of the room. All of the breath escaped from Weiss’ lungs in a rush as she slumped into the bed. Every one of her muscles protested as she moved into a more comfortable position and slid under the covers. Sleep came to her almost immediately.

___________

Over the next few days, Weiss settled into a routine. Her seasickness was mostly gone. It was more of a slight irritation and uneasiness than it was debilitating. She distracted herself from it by exploring the ship. While she tolerated Sun’s company, she did still try to avoid him. She had things to think about. Being out of cell service meant that Weiss couldn’t keep an eye on the constant stream of news about the SDC, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t strategize. Her eyes would wander across the open expanse of blue ocean as she weighed her options and formulated a plan of attack. She would get a degree from Beacon, obviously. It was the best school in Remnant. If she managed to graduate with perfect grades, she’d be a shoo-in at one of the smaller mining companies. After that, it would become a battle of wits. She’d work her way up the chain of command until she could go toe to toe with her father. His blue eyes and sneer flashed through her mind and she shook her head violently to banish the image. The thought of him made her want to be sick. Ice washed down her spine, but she swallowed back the bile and took a deep breath. She felt herself harness that ice, imagining it flow through her body to encase her heart. She froze it over and, when that didn’t feel thick enough, she did it again and again and again. The layers built until the numbness began to wash over her. Letting out a breath she didn’t know she was holding, she looked back out over the ocean. Eventually, years in the future she would take back the SDC. Her grip tightened on the railing with her determination. It was not a question of if, but when. She knew it in her bones. It was her destiny.

In the evening, she would stare at the package sitting on her desk. Her mind threatened to wander over the events of that night. The night that everything fell apart. Every muscle in her body would tense. The scars over her eye and on her abdomen would throb the more her mind began to wander until she’d barely manage to pull herself back and throw the package into the chest at the foot of her bed. As the sun fell, the dark would press up against her suffocatingly. She missed her fairy lights. It was only three weeks. She should be able to survive the dark for three weeks. The heel of her hands pressed into her eyes until she could see spots. She’d stay like that, trying to focus on her breath and contain her panicking thoughts late into the night. Eventually, exhaustion would take her in the early hours of the morning, but her sleep was rarely restful. She dreamed in flashes of white, the stench of whiskey, and the oppressive suffocation of the dark.

The mornings would always start in a strangled cry of desperation. Her bedsheets were always twisted around her and damp from the cold sweat she had broken out in. It would always take a few minutes for her racing heart to calm. It took longer than usual for her to get her bearings this morning. The exhaustion of not sleeping well for weeks was starting to get to her and the shrill call of seagulls circling the boat were not helping her focus. Wait. Weiss’ head snapped up and she peered out of the window. A seagull flew past and screeched its call across the ocean. If there were seagulls, then they were close to the coast.

“Oh thank the gods,” Weiss let out in a breath as relief began to flow through her. The thought of finally standing on solid ground again had Weiss up and dressed in record time. Making her way out of her temporary home, she walked out onto the deck of the ship. The crew were already bustling about in the early morning air. Casting her gaze about, Weiss looked for one that seemed unoccupied. She spotted someone that seemed familiar and, making her way forward, she realized it was Aiden.

“Excuse me,” she said, “Adien right?”

Aiden looked up at her a little startled and nodded, “Uh, yeah. Can I help you with something?”

“About how far away are we from Vale?” she asked.

“Oh, we’re about a day out. We should be able to dock midmorning tomorrow,” he said. Weiss swallowed down the disappointment and tried to keep it from reaching her eyes.

“Thank you Aiden,” she said, putting on a polite smile as she stepped back and made her way into the deeper levels of the ship. One more night. She just had to survive one more night. Her shoulders slumped. There was a headache brewing behind her eyes. Massaging her temples, Weiss shifted her trajectory towards the guest dining room. If she was going to make it through the day, she was going to need a very strong cup of coffee. Better yet, she was going to need several cups of coffee.

Entering the dining room, Weiss was greeted with the smell of eggs and bacon. A familiar shock of blond hair caught her eye in the corner of the room. Shaking her head, she surrendered to her fate. They’d made a habit of having breakfast together, so there would be no avoiding him today. Making her way through the tables she took the seat opposite him. The worn leather of the booth creaked under her as she sat.

“Morning!” Sun said, all too cheerfully. Weiss winced slightly as she took the black cup of coffee Sun slid over to her.

“Not good morning?” he asked as he lowered his volume.

“Didn’t sleep too well,” Weiss said. She took a moment to breathe in the scent of warm coffee and looked out the window they were seated beside. It looked out over the rolling waves and she watched as seagulls dove over the water. Their screeching cries filled the morning air.

“I wonder where they came from,” Sun said, nodding his head at the birds.

“The shore. We’re getting close,” Weiss glanced over at Sun. He had mellowed out over the past couple weeks. He could still be a little pushy, but he at least saved his normal level of exuberancy for after she had finished her coffee.

“Oh really? I thought seagulls just flew all across the ocean though. Figured they’d follow the boat,” Sun said, bringing Weiss out of her thoughts.

She hummed and tilted her head to the side, “Not really. Most seagulls stay on the coastlines or a couple miles away from them.”

“How do you know so much about seagulls?” Sun’s eyebrow arched in curiosity as he tore his gaze away from the birds in question.

“Grew up in Menagerie,” Weiss said, shrugging. She watched as the already raised eyebrow shot into Sun’s hairline.

“Really? I thought.. I thought you were just on vacation there,” he said.

“Why? Because I’m not a faunas?” Weiss’ tone turned cold as she sat back in her seat. Lifting her coffee up, she gazed over the top of it and met Sun’s shocked gaze.

“I… I guess yeah,” he said.

Weiss shook her head slowly, “Menagerie may be mostly populated by faunas, but humans aren’t banned.We’re just the minority.”

“Oh,” Sun nodded and glanced over the ocean before looking back at her out of the corner of his eye, “So… how did you end up in Menagerie?” Weiss’ shoulders tensed. She sipped her coffee to try to ease the anxiety spreading through her body.

“I got adopted by a family there,” she said. Her tone came out clipped and punctuated by an icy barrier. Sun, for once, only nodded. Silence fell over them for a while until he spoke up again.

“So why are you leaving?” he asked.

Weiss nearly let out a breath of relief for the change in topic before answering, “I’m going to college. Menagerie has a good school, but Beacon is the best of the best and I will settle for nothing less.” Sun eyed her up and down. There was something in her tone. It felt like something between determination and desperation.

“Your parents are supportive of it?” he asked. A small smile pulled at the corner of Weiss’ lips as she nodded. There were many aspects of her life she avoided discussing, but Kali and Ghira never made that list.

“You wouldn’t know it by how much they were pouting, but they’re proud. I’m sure they’re just sad to have the house to themselves. Empty nest and all,” she said.

“Oh? No siblings to make more mischief?” Sun asked. The smile on Weiss’ face vanished as she shook her head.

“First of all, I do not get into mischief. For another… my sister left a long time ago,” she said.

Sun’s head tilted as he tore his gaze away from the birds circling outside, “Where’d she go?”

“I..,” Weiss shook her head slowly. Part of her still ached just thinking about it. The vacancy that had been left behind and how the once lively home had become a shell of itself. “I have no idea,” she said.

“Maybe you could try finding her? I mean, you’re leaving Menagerie. Why not?” he asked. Weiss felt her jaw clench and she took a deep breath. The coffee was doing little to beat back the exhaustion settled into her bones, meaning she lacked tact. Well, what little she had of it.

“Please just drop it Sun,” she said, looking away from him.

“Oh come on! Well, what was she like?” he asked.

Weiss groaned and set down her coffee a little harder than she intended, “A lot like you.” Sun grinned and sat up, picking up his own coffee with his tail.

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” he said.

“Don’t,” Weiss shot back, “She was headstrong and endlessly optimistic. Like you, she was awful at respecting boundaries. She believed that if she just didn’t give up, the other person would let them in. Eventually. She had a habit of getting herself into trouble and was usually just smart enough to get herself out of it. She was one of the few people who could make me laugh.”

Weiss could feel Sun’s gaze boring into her, but she refused to look at him. Her fingers drummed across the table as her thoughts wandered back to the night everything had changed again. They had been such a good family. Why had she left? Her life had felt like something out of a fairy tale. That was Weiss’ first mistake. She had let herself believe that, after everything she’d been through, she deserved a good family. She believed that she deserved something that wasn’t broken. Then Blake left. Ghira and Kali had tried to keep going, but the house had just felt empty. It was like an echo of what had been, what could have been. When Weiss had first arrived in the Belladonna household, it had been overwhelmingly loud and vibrant. Over time, she grew used to the noise. It felt lively. It felt like home. An empty bedroom flashed before Weiss’ closed eyes. Darkness enveloped it and the wind fluttered through the open curtains of the window. Blake had gone and the vacuum she left behind consumed all joy in her absence. The once beautiful and lively home became hollow, a shell of what it once was.

“It sounds like she meant a lot to you,” Sun’s voice snapped Weiss out of her thoughts. She shifted her gaze back to him and met his own blue eyes. Weiss opened her mouth to respond before clicking it closed and simply nodding. She could feel Sun analyzing her. His posture shifted slightly as he knocked back the last of his coffee and pointed at her.

“Alright, finish that,” he said, gesturing at the coffee in her hand, “And then we’re going exploring.” Weiss looked up at him and groaned.

“Sun, I’m really not interested,” she said.

“I didn’t ask if you were interested. You’re moping and we have one day left on this boat, so I’m distracting you,” he said, giving her his trademark grin and thumbs up. Weiss huffed. He had a good point. If she sat for too long, she’d start thinking and she had done enough thinking for a while.

“Fine,” she said. She drained her coffee and pushed herself to her feet. Sun shot her a grin and led her out of the dining room. The rest of the day was spent wandering across every expanse of the ship. Weiss had to talk the crew down from locking Sun in his room a couple times as she quickly learned he had a habit of climbing anything remotely sturdy. Eventually, she was the one to lock him away. The sun was going down and the exhaustion in her body was beginning to win. A massive yawn caused her jaw to crack and Sun looked down at her from where he was perched on the ship’s railing.

“I think I’m going to call it for tonight,” Weiss said, looking up at Sun.

“Alrighty! Get some rest Ice Queen,” he said, waving down at her.

Weiss rolled her eyes, “No guarantees, and stop calling me that! Next time I’ll push you overboard.” Sun laughed and shot her a grin.

“Whatever, I’d like to see you try,” he said. Weiss crossed her arms and scowled. She considered it. For a moment, she really did consider pushing him off the railing. Then she thought of the effort required to get him back in the boat and scoffed.

“It’s not worth the effort,” she said as she turned and waved over her shoulder at him, “Goodnight Sun.”

“Night Ice Queen!” Weiss rolled her eyes, but a small smile pulled at the corner of her lips. He was endearing in an obnoxious way. She shook her head as she made her way into the ship and directed her steps to her room. One more night. She just had to survive one more night and then she’d be able to settle into her dorm room. They had made good time on their journey across the ocean. No storms meant that they arrived sooner than scheduled and she could settle into her dorm room before her roommate moved in. Weiss grimaced. She really hoped her roommate would be the more mellow type. Hopefully, they could just ignore each other. First though, she had to get through tonight, which meant sleep. Her posture drooped as a sigh escaped from her. Right, time to get ready for bed. She shuffled her way across the small room and pushed open the chest at the end of her bed before pausing. Her gaze fell on the package of letters sitting on top.

Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.

The irritation and anxiety began to bubble up from inside of her as she reached out and ghosted her fingers over the package. Her brow furrowed and she pulled it out, feeling its weight as she looked down at it.

“I was going to open it,” she muttered as she looked down at the package, “I really was… and I was going to read them with you. But then everything went wrong.” Weiss’ eyes began to cloud over with unshed tears as she stared down at the package. Her vision blurred and her thoughts wandered down the path it had every night for the past couple weeks. She tried to shift gears, shutting her eyes tight and trying to focus on the smell of sea salt around her or the call of gulls in the distance, but the damage was already done. She was far too exhausted to restrain her own mind. There was a soft thump as she dropped onto the bed and her mind began to wander down memory lane.

_______

“I love you to the moon and back,” Weiss said as she watched Kali exit her room. Her shoulders slumped a little once Kali was gone. Her fingers rasped over the thick cardstock in her hands as she pondered over what Kali had said. Winter. Was she really still trying to get in touch with her? Did she really care? Her thoughts went back to their last conversation and she winced. It still stung. Winter’s words were a needle in her heart that drove deeper every time she thought about them. If Weiss were to forgive her, there would need to be a lot of apologies, but maybe, just maybe there was enough of their relationship to salvage. She looked back down at the envelope. No better way to be certain than to read it. She flipped the envelope over and her hands trembled as she played with the seam of the opening. All she had to do was open it and read it. What if Winter was apologizing? What if she was begging for Weiss to come back? What if she didn’t apologize? What if Winter told her she was being a stupid child who didn’t deserve to be part of the family? What if it was Winter saying goodbye for the last time? The idea made her stop. She could feel her heart breaking at just the idea.

The envelope rustled as it dropped to the ground. Weiss crumpled down onto the floor and scooted away from it. Her mind boiled over with ideas of just what might be in the letter. She wasn’t sure how long she sat there until a deep sigh escaped from her and seemed to clear her mind.

“No matter what this thing says, sitting here and agonizing over it isn’t going to give me answers,” she muttered to herself as she picked up the letter again. Her muscles twitched as she commanded them to open it, but they did not fully obey. Furrowing her brow, she huffed in exasperation before yanking her door open and marching across the hall to Blake’s bedroom.

She didn’t bother to knock as she threw the door open and marched inside, “Blake, I’m only going to say this once. I need help and you are never to speak about this to anyone else.” There was no response. Weiss felt anxiety begin to prick at her neck when she realized how dark it was in Blake’s room.

“Blake?” Weiss called to the lump in her sister’s bed. Letting the door fall closed behind her, Weiss shuffled closer to the bed. There was no response.

“Blake?” Weiss asked again, a little softer this time as she poked the lump. It didn’t feel right. It was too soft and too cold. In one smooth movement, Weiss flung back the covers to find a collection of laundry in a human shape lying on her sister’s bed.

“Fuck,” she muttered as she looked up, only just realizing that Blake’s window was open. The cool humid air of Menagerie drifted through the window on a breeze as Weiss gazed out of it.

“Blake, where did you go?” she asked to the open window. She could feel the dread and fear settling into her bones. Her fingertips found her scroll in her pocket and she pulled it out, barely looking at it as she dialed her only favorite contact.

“Come on, come on, come on,” she said as she waited. The ringing felt like it went on forever. Each pause stretched on and she held her breath, hoping it was the one leading to Blake answering.

“Sorry, can’t make it to the phone right now. Don’t leave a message, ‘cause I won’t listen to it,” came Blake’s voice through the receiver. Weiss scoffed and threw her scroll onto her sister’s bed. She paced across the floor, her footsteps weaving a familiar path through the landmines of laundry scattered about. Weiss ran her hands through her hair and pulled.

“Dammit Blake, why did you have to run off tonight? Why couldn’t it have been any other night?” she asked into the humid night air. Looking back out the window, she paused in her pacing. Maybe she should go to Ghira and Kali. Weiss shook her head at the thought. If she went to them, Blake would push her away. Weiss slumped down onto the floor and pushed her back up against the bed. She would just have to wait. Her head fell backwards onto the bed as all of her energy drained out of her muscles.

Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.

She drummed her fingers against the floor as she stared out the window. Seconds bled into minutes and minutes into hours. Her anxiety built with each passing minute. Even if Blake had gone to the sit-in with Adam, which is what Weiss was suspecting had happened, she should have been back by now. It was past midnight.

“I’m giving you thirty more minutes Blake,” she muttered into the night air. Her scroll sat in her lap as she watched the time tick by. She knew Blake would be pissed if she told Ghira and Kali, but she had never been gone this long. Weiss wasn’t stupid. She knew Blake had a tendency to sneak out for White Fang protests, but she was usually back by now. Weiss shifted nervously as she recalled how they had been getting more dangerous. Shops were being set on fire, riots were breaking out, and there was a louder and louder call for violence coming from within the White Fang. Menagerie hadn’t suffered much of it yet. The island was primarily faunas so there wasn’t as much need to protest, but things in Vale, Mistral, and Atlas especially, were getting bad.

A grunt pulled Weiss out of her musing and she looked up as a hand appeared in her sister’s window. A dark lithe form pulled into view, teeth gritted and ears pulled tight against her head. Weiss watched as her sister threw her leg over her window and her eyes locked with Weiss’.

“Don’t tell Mom,” Blake said as she sat frozen on the windowsill. Weiss narrowed her eyes at Blake as she glanced down at her scroll. 12:27.

“You’re lucky,” she said curtly, “You had three minutes before I was going to go get her.”

Blake narrowed her eyes and huffed, “Seriously? Why were you even thinking of going to her?”

“It’s past midnight Blake! I was getting worried,” Weiss hissed out. She was trying to keep her voice down. A mother’s hearing was good, but one with hearing enhanced by cat ears was terrifying.

“Yeah well, I’m fine and I’m home, so no need to worry,” Blake mumbled as she deflated a little.

“What happened?” Weiss asked. Blake was still sitting on her windowsill, her body angled slightly away from her.

Her sister slumped a little as she shook her head, “Not tonight okay? I’m tired. I’ll tell you later.” Something in her tone set off alarm bells in Weiss’ head. She might not have her sister’s ability to see in the dark, but something was off.

“Fine,” she said as she got up and made her way to the door, but stopped before leaving. Instead, she flipped on the light and whipped around to her sister. Blake froze, all of the color draining from her face as Weiss faced her. Nausea bubbled up in the bottom of Weiss’ stomach.

“Your arm,” she muttered. Blake tried to shrug but winced. Blood was trailing down it, not quite dried yet. There was bruise on Blake’s face, just below her right eye.

“Sit down,” Weiss said, her tone growing firm and her jaw set.

Blake looked up at her in fear as she stumbled over towards her bed, “Please don’t tell-”

“Sit down,” Weiss repeated, cutting her off. Blake clicked her teeth shut and sat down. Weiss huffed as she turned on her heel and exited the bedroom. Making her way down the hall, she went into her bedroom and pulled an emergency medical kit out from under her bed. Checking over it, she made sure she had everything she needed before walking back into Blake’s room. She dropped the kit beside Blake and wandered over to the one clean pile of laundry in the room. Pulling out a white tank top that her sister rarely wore, she made her way back to the bed. The emergency kit clicked open as Weiss pulled out a bottle of water and poured some of it onto the shirt.

Glancing up, Weiss paused, “This is going to hurt.” Blake looked down at her and nodded. Weiss looked away at seeing the look on Blake’s face. Concern, confusion, and a little bit of fear all flickered across her face. She knew Blake would have questions. They were questions she didn’t want to answer. Weiss shook her head and sighed as she pressed the tank top to the wound and began cleaning it. Blake immediately hissed in pain and clinched her teeth. Guilt creeped up the back of Weiss’ throat, but she pushed it away. With each swipe of the cloth in her hand, she realized this was probably going to hurt a lot more before she was done.

“Hold that to the wound and keep the pressure on it,” Weiss said and didn’t let go of the cloth until she was certain Blake had a good hold on it.

“What happened?” she asked. Blake sighed quietly and shook her head.

“Adam texted. The sit-in wasn’t going well and he needed help. So… I snuck out. We sat together for a couple of hours. The owner was yelling at us the whole time. We ignored him at first. Most of us kept our cool, but Ilia,” Blake trailed off as she sighed, “She’s never been great at holding her tongue. She managed longer than I thought she would, but she went off on him. The owner started threatening us. I don’t know who threw the first blow, but it went from a sit-in to a full on fight faster than I could blink. The owner tried to stab Ilia and I pushed her out of the way.” Blake shrugged and winced as the movement caused pain to pulse through her arm.

Weiss scoffed and shook her head, “Well that explains how you got hit. What happened next?”

“Adam took over from there. He protected us. Knocked out the owner and we ran,” she said, “That’s about all there is to it. He wanted me to stay and look after my arm, but it was already so late. I was scared mom would figure out I was gone.” Weiss nodded as she thought everything over. She waved Blake’s hand away from the tank top covering her arm and inspected the wound.

“It’s deep. You’ll need stitches,” she said. Blake stared down at Weiss as she plucked items out of her kit. Instead of meeting her gaze, Weiss busied herself with pulling out what she needed. She pulled on a set of gloves and let out a shaky breath.

“Okay, lift it up,” Weiss said, gesturing to the tank top Blake had covering her wound.

“Do you..,” Blake’s voice trailed off for a moment as she stared down her sister, “Do you know what you’re doing?”

Weiss slumped a little as she sighed, “Yes.”

“I… how?” Blake asked. Weiss closed her eyes for a moment. These were the questions she didn’t want to answer.

“My sister… my older sister. She got herself hurt a lot,” Weiss said quietly. The wound had stopped bleeding for now. That was good. Weiss shifted as she pulled out her tools and glanced up at Blake.

“You.. have a sister?” Blake asked.

“Yeah,” Weiss’ voice came out more like a whisper.

“Why don’t you talk about her?” Weiss wanted to curse as she felt the tension pull at her muscles.

“We didn’t separate on the best of terms,” she said. All of her movements felt robotic. Her gaze shifted down towards her hands.

Shaking her head, she said, “I don’t really want to talk about it. Now hold still. This is going to hurt.” Not giving Blake time to think about what was going to happen, she pulled the needle through the wound and started the process of stitching her up. Surprisingly, her hands didn’t shake. She had thought after so long of not having to do this that it wouldn’t come so easily. Instead, it was like falling into an old habit or riding a bike. She felt the familiar numbness spread throughout her body as she compartmentalized. Blake’s hisses of pain and the guilt they called forth went into one corner. Her own rising panic and flood of memories were held at bay by the task at hand. She could focus on that later, but for now, she had to finish the stitches. It took a few minutes, but when she was done, Weiss gathered up her tools and set them aside. She’d need to disinfect the needle.

Holding out some medical bandages and an antibiotic cream, she said, “Put this on and change it daily. Let me know if you need help.”

“Thank you,” Blake muttered as she took the offered items. Weiss held her gaze and nodded curtly.

“Get some rest,” she said, “and don’t move that arm too much. We’ll have to remove the stitches in about 10-14 days.” She stood as she glanced over at the now ruined tank top.

“And throw that away,” she said, gesturing towards it. Blake nodded and her gaze fell to the floor. A white envelope caught her attention. Weiss already had her back to her, her emergency kit in her arms.

“Wait, Weiss,” Blake said, “You forgot this.” Weiss turned back and looked at the envelope.

“Oh, yeah,” she said quietly, taking it and tucking it under her arm. She didn’t meet Blake’s eyes. She could feel her gaze boring into her.

“Is that why you were waiting on me?” Blake asked. Her voice was soft and Weiss could feel the guilt laced into every word. She cast her gaze up to the ceiling and shook her head.

“It doesn’t matter,” Weiss whispered.

“I’m sorry,” Blake’s voice was low. If the cicadas had been calling any louder, Weiss wouldn’t have heard it.

“Just, drop it Blake. We’ll talk about it later,” she said, still looking anywhere but Blake, “But I’m too tired to look at it tonight and you need rest.”

“Tomorrow?” it almost sounded like Blake was pleading. Weiss knew it was an apology.

“Sure, tomorrow,” she said, “Goodnight Blake.” She turned before Blake could respond and made her way across the hall to her own room. Closing the door behind her, she tucked the emergency kit back under her bed and made a mental note of what would need to be restocked. Medical bandages, antibiotic ointment, and some more sterile thread. Her hands shook as she sorted through the items. She could feel her composure cracking and her breathing speeding up. The neat compartments she had separated everything into were falling apart. A sob wracked through her body as her tangled thoughts broke through. She didn’t make it to her bed that night.

___________

“Blake Shaya Belladonna!” Kali’s shout wrenched Weiss from her restless sleep. She gasped out panicked breaths and struggled against the grasp of the blankets wrapped tightly around her. Finally wrenching free and throwing them to the side, she stumbled onto her feet. Shaking her head, she looked around. The first rays of the sun were coming up slowly over the horizon, casting a dim glow across her bedroom. Her bedroom. Weiss took a shuddering breath and hugged her arms close to herself. She was home. Taking a few steps towards her desk, she picked up the water off of it and drank heavily to wash away the stale taste of sleep from her mouth.

“Did you really think you could keep this from us?” Kali’s anger drifted through the closed door and Weiss stopped in her tracks. Uh oh. Setting down her glass, Weiss crept up to her bedroom door and pressed her ear against the door.

“I didn’t-” Blake’s shaky voice barely made it across the hallway for Weiss to hear.

“Don’t you dare lie to us,” Weiss could see the look on Kali’s face in her mind’s eye. Her ears pinned back against her head and her eyes narrowed to slits, it was a look that screamed trouble for whichever child incurred her wrath.

“Fine. I went. They needed help, so I went,” Blake said. 

Weiss heard Kali scoff, “They needed help? Was that before or after setting fire to his shop?”

“We didn’t start it! We were just sitting there. He’s the one who was throwing around slurs and punches,” Weiss was certain that the two were wearing matching expressions of anger at this point.

“And how many times have we told you that retaliating will get you nowhere?”

“Doing nothing is getting us nowhere a whole lot faster! We’re sick of doing nothing mom, I’m sick of doing nothing! People like him should not be getting away with putting up an anti faunas shop in Menagerie of all places.”

“I agree with you on that, but there is a process for it,” Kali’s voice was coming through measured and strained. Weiss recognized this particular argument. It was one Blake and Kali had frequently.

“There’s a process for it?” Blake’s voice was shrill with her anger, “Mom, he shouldn’t have been able to open at all! How long are we supposed to wait for a process?”

“A lot longer now! Blake, that man is in the hospital. He has broken ribs and a concussion. He is suing. You, Adam, and Ilia have given him ground to stand on!” Weiss could hear the thumps of footsteps as Kali began to pace.

“Yeah, well he deserved it,” Blake growled out.

“No, he did not,” Ghira’s low rumble was firm as each syllable grated out.

“He tried to stab Ilia.”

“That means it is time to leave! Not that it’s time to retaliate.”

Weiss heard Blake scoff, “I’m starting to think that Sienna is right. You’re supposed to be leaders. Instead, you’re sitting here in this house separated from it all sympathizing with a racist who tried to kill my friend and injured me. Yeah, he got hurt, but we didn’t throw the first punch. We just made sure to finish it.” Even through the wood of the door, Weiss could feel the tension spread through the silence. Kali’s pacing stopped. There was a rustle of clothing as Ghira let out a tired sigh.

“Honey, I think it’s time,” came Kali’s voice. It was soft and gentle, like she was trying to deliver an armed grenade. Ghira hummed and the silence stretched on for a moment.

“What?” It was Blake this time. She sounded scared. Weiss wished she could see them all. It would make it so much easier to read what was happening.

“Your mother and I have been thinking about it for a long time, but we’ve decided it’s time,” Ghira’s low grumble carried weight and he paused for a moment before continuing, “We’re stepping down from leadership.”

“Wait what?” Weiss almost didn’t hear Blake’s hiss; it was so quiet.

“We started the White Fang to encourage cooperation and equality. But this? This violence, anger, and retaliation is not what we stand for. And it is not what we want you to be part of. I, we, cannot lead this movement in good conscience anymore. This is not the movement we want you to be a part of.”

“So you’re just giving up?” Blake’s voice cracked.

It was Kali’s voice that came through this time, “We’re letting someone else take the reins.”

“You’re both cowards! You’re just going to walk away from this when the fight gets hard?” Weiss could feel the heartbreak in Blake’s voice.

“Blake!” Ghira’s voice boomed out along the hall and Weiss jumped.

“We are not giving up,” he said as his voice came through softer, “But there are other ways to fight for equality. Violence is not something I condone and I am not comfortable dragging you into this.”

“You never dragged me into this. I joined because I believe we deserve better, just like you taught me. I believe that we can make change happen.”

An exhausted sigh echoed into the hallway before Ghira spoke again, “And now it’s time to teach you that there are some lines that shouldn’t be crossed. Change can happen, but it is going to take patience. I’m sorry I didn’t do a better job of teaching you that.” The floors creaked outside of Weiss’ door as Ghira seemed to step away from Blake’s bedroom.

“Get ready for school, we’re going to be late,” Kali said.

“Seriously? School is what you’re worried about?”

“Yes. School is what we’re worried about. You want to work so hard to change the world, school is how you can do that. Now get ready,” her tone was clipped and Weiss could tell Kali’s patience was thinning.

“But-”

“We’ll continue this conversation later Blake,” Kali’s word was final and Weiss backed away from her bedroom door as she heard her adoptive mother’s footsteps approach.

“Weiss, I know you’re awake. Are you ready?” she said from outside her door.

Weiss coughed a little and stumbled back up to the door and cracked it open, “Almost! Sorry, just a few more minutes.” Kali hummed and nodded as she stepped away. Her footsteps echoed as she made her way down the stairs. Weiss turned and caught Blake’s eyes. Her ears were pulled back and her brows furrowed as she shifted her gaze to her mother’s back. With an angry scoff, she whipped away and slammed the door behind her. Weiss stared at the closed door. She didn’t know what to do. Ghira and Kali were leaving the White Fang? That was Blake’s whole world. It meant everything to her sister. She wracked her brain to find anything she could do to help, but came up empty handed. What do you tell someone who feels like they are losing everything? There wasn’t much she could say. Instead, she settled for closing her bedroom door and getting ready for a day of classes.

The ride to school was silent and Weiss kept glancing towards Blake, trying to offer smiles of comfort or squeezing her hand whenever they were close enough. Blake barely reacted. Her usual bright smile and the spark in her eyes was missing. Weiss felt like she was trying to keep someone from drowning, but had never learned how to swim herself. Every time she tried to reach Blake, she came up empty handed. In the rare moments where their classes forced Weiss to leave Blake’s side, she couldn’t stop trying to come up with some way to help her. She was met with a brick wall. When the day was finally over and they climbed into the car to go home, Kali tried to strike up a conversation, but Blake was just as silent as she had been all day. Weiss met Kali’s concerned gaze and tried to smile. It looked more like a grimace. Blake slammed the door to the car and stormed off as soon as they got home. Weiss caught Kali’s worried gaze out of the corner of her vision and sighed.

“I’m going to try talking to her,” she muttered.

She saw Kali nod as she said, “I know this isn’t going to be easy for her. Sometimes she’s too stubborn for her own good.”

Weiss scoffed as a sly smile spread across her face, “You know she gets that from you right?”

“Unfortunately,” Kali chuckled and she shook her head. Weiss smiled and stepped forward to give Kali a quick hug. Stepping away, she made her way through the house towards her sister’s bedroom. She dropped her bookbag off in her room before knocking briefly on Blake’s door and stepping in. Blake glanced up, turning her back to the door quickly before realizing it was Weiss and relaxing.

“Sorry,” she muttered, “Thought you were mom.”

Weiss nodded and gestured at where Blake had a hand covering her stitches, “Need some help with that?”

“I.. yeah, if you want to check,” she said, turning her body to better face Weiss. The stitches were in good condition and there were no signs of infection. Weiss sighed in relief as she helped switch out the bandages.

“Kali see this?” she asked.

“No,” Blake shook her head, “She figured out about it from a news article. Some reporters on site caught photos of us.”

“Are you kidding me Blake? You sneak out and let reporters get photos of you?”

“I know, I know alright? It was stupid,” Blake huffed out in exasperation.

She seemed to pause as she watched Weiss examine her arm, “You never did explain how you knew how to do this.”

Weiss stiffened and she avoided Blake’s gaze, “I told you already. My sister got into a lot of trouble.”

“I’m not stupid Weiss,” Blake scoffed.

“Really? Because this,” Weiss gestured at Blake’s arm, “Indicates differently. Not to mention letting the press get photos of you. Like seriously? You’re the daughter of the leaders of the White Fang. The press are going to focus on you.”

“Yeah well, not anymore,” Blake growled out. Her gaze focused on a point on the wall as she tried to burn a hole in with her eyes alone.

“Are you okay?” the question almost came out in a whisper. The only indication Weiss had that Blake heard her was one of her ears twitching.

“No,” she said.

“Weiss, what am I supposed to do?” when Blake finally turned her gaze to Weiss, there were tears brimming in her eyes, “ I feel like they’re giving up. I feel like I’m giving up if I leave. What am I supposed to tell Adam and Ilia?”

“I don’t know,” Weiss muttered as she watched the tears begin to fall, “I don’t know what you should do. But… this doesn’t have to be the end. I mean, they didn’t say you had to leave the White Fang. They just said that they were stepping down. Maybe you can still be a part of it?”

Blake shook her head and a sob wracked through her body, “You know they won’t let that happen.” She wrapped her arms around herself and sat heavily down on her bed. Weiss sighed and lifted a hand, pausing for a moment, before resting it on Blake’s shoulders.

“You don’t know that yet. But, if they do make you leave… it might not be a bad thing,” Weiss tried to rush forward as she felt Blake tense under her hand, “You got lucky. This time, you only had to get stitches. But what about next time? Things are only getting worse, you’ve seen it. Vale, Mistral, Atlas , it’s all getting worse.”

“You think I don’t know that?” Blake’s voice pitched up with her frustration, “That’s why I can’t leave now! We need all of the support we can get. Now isn’t the time to back down. I refuse to give up.”

“No one is asking you to give up Blake! Just, please, for once, stop being stubborn and self sacrificial.”

“That is exactly what all of you are asking me to do!” Blake balled her hands into fists and clenched her teeth, “If all you’re going to do is try to convince me to let this go, then you need to leave.”

“Blake, please-”

“No, Weiss. You have no right,” Blake scowled at her and moved away. The tears were streaming down her face and it twisted into a sneer as she said, “You’re just like every other Schnee aren’t you? You think we should just sit down and take it? Be the good little faunas working in your mines?”

Weiss flinched back as if she had been struck, “That’s not - Blake, what is wrong with you?”

Blake scoffed, “Why don’t you go ask your father? He seems to have a pretty good idea.” Rage, white hot and scalding crawled its way up Weiss’ spine.

“I am NOT my father,” she growled out. Every word was laced with loathing and spoken through gritted teeth.

“Yeah well, you sure do act like it,” Blake said as she glared at Weiss. It took every ounce of Weiss’ self control not to lash out. The anger that rushed through her body made her fingers twitch and immediately it was replaced with disgust. She stared down at her hand. Opening and closing it, her stomach twisted in on itself. Was she really that different from her father? She almost struck her sister in her anger. Her foot caught on a stray laundry pile and she stumbled backwards.

“I..” her voice trailed off as she stared down at herself. No words came out. Her mind went blank as she searched for anything to say, anything she could say. She could feel Blake’s gaze boring into her as she backed away. Her skin crawled. She had to run. She had to get away. Turning on her heel, she slammed the door of Blake’s bedroom closed behind her. She didn’t stop at her bedroom door. No, her feet kept carrying her down the hall and out of the house. She didn’t know where she was going and she didn’t really care at the moment. It wasn’t until much, much later that she finally made her way back home. Kali showered her in hugs and worried looks. Weiss looked up at her in confusion until she realized she had left her phone at home and hadn’t told anyone where she was going. She waved off Kali’s many questions. She wasn’t ready to explain what had happened. Kali was gracious enough to not press too much and Weiss extracted herself from Kali’s arms so that she could make her way up to her bedroom. Glancing over at Blake’s bedroom door, she paused for a moment, but shook her head. If Blake wanted to talk, then she’d have to be the one to apologize. Weiss flicked on her fairy lights and marched to the center of her room. Her comforter was still on the floor from this morning and she threw it over her shoulders as her legs gave out from underneath her. She stared at her bedroom door.

Anger still rolled under the surface of her skin. How dare Blake compare her to her father? She was nothing like him. She was a Schnee by name and nothing else. Blake knew how much Weiss hated being compared to them and had thrown it in her face anyway. Weiss scoffed and threw her head to the side, her long ponytail catching in the folds of the blankets. If Blake wanted to make her out to be the enemy, then that was just fine with Weiss. She didn’t need Blake’s approval. Pulling herself up, Weiss cast one last angry look at her door before tossing her blanket onto her bed and cocooning herself within it. Despite her anger, her lack of sleep and the emotional toll of the past two days pulled Weiss into a dreamless sleep faster than she expected.

When Weiss woke the next morning, she wished she was still dreaming. Yawning and looking forward to brushing the cotton mouth away with a toothbrush, she paused when she opened her door to see Kali and Ghira. Both of them stood at the door to Blake’s room. Kali’s shoulders shook as she leaned into Ghira’s form. Weiss took a few steps forward and looked over the room. A familiar pile of laundry lined her sister’s bed. Ice washed through her body and she looked up to meet Ghira’s gaze. She would never forget the look on his face. It was devoid of all emotion except for the tears streaking over his face. His voice, when he did finally speak, was hollow.

“She’s gone.”

_____________

Weiss’ fingers trailed over top of the package in her hands. All these years later and she still hadn’t read any of them. She had been so ready to try, but then Blake had left and she hadn’t come back. Weiss knew she wasn’t going to come back. This wasn’t something she would get to share with her sister. She’d have to brave these waters on her own, just like she had for the past couple years.

“I’m not going to get rid of you am I?” she muttered down at the package on her lap. One day. One day, she would have the strength to read them. Taking a deep breath, she shifted her weight and pulled open the chest at the foot of her bed. It was late and she was exhausted. Changing into her pajamas, she dropped the letters onto her desk before rolling into her blankets. She fell into a dreamless sleep almost immediately. The dark did not take hold of her tonight. Her exhaustion was too profound.

The seagulls were her wake up call the next morning. She groaned and blearily stared out the window next to her. The sun’s rays nearly blinded her and she blinked as she shifted in the bed. Wait. Today was the last day of their journey. Weiss jolted upward and threw the blankets off herself in a rush. Looking out the window, she caught a glimpse of a shoreline off in the distance. A relieved laugh bubbled up from inside her and she quickly busied herself with getting dressed and packing her few belongings into her suitcase. She paused as she grabbed the package sitting on her desk.

“One day,” she muttered to herself, “Not today. And probably not for a long while, but one day I will read them.” Pulling out her scroll, Weiss opened her most recent text messages.

Kali: Weiss? Please say something honey

Weiss paused for a moment. Opening her photo album, she scrolled through to a photo of her and Sun. He had an arm thrown around her and a cheeky grin plastered across his face. She was looking at him in a mixture of disdain and amusement while trying to pry herself away from him. A smile tugged at the corner of her lips as she sent the photo to Kali.

Weiss: Sorry! This idiot distracted me and I didn’t see your message or the letters until after we left service range.

Weiss: I’m not.. happy, but I forgive Ghira. I haven’t thrown the letters overboard, yet. Just, please don’t throw surprises at me like this again? I’ll call you when I’m settled in my dorm. Love you both!

Kali’s response was almost immediate.

Kali: Weiss! I’m so glad to hear from you!

Kali: And you made a friend! That’s so good to see! I can’t wait to hear all about him. I’ll have my phone on me, so call anytime.

Weiss rolled her eyes as she shot back a quick message: He’s not a friend, I promise. I tolerate him at best.

Kali: Honey, that’s the seal of approval from you.

Weiss scoffed and chuckled as she shook her head. She decided to ignore Kali’s text for now, favoring putting away her few remaining items and doing a once over check of the room. Once she was certain she had everything packed, she went to meet Sun for breakfast. He slid her usual black coffee to her as soon as she sat down.

“Ready to get off this boat?” he asked, his grin showing in full force.

“Absolutely,” Weiss said. Sun threw his head back and laughed.

“Careful, if you keep smiling like that, I won’t be able to call you Ice Queen anymore.”

“You shouldn’t be calling me Ice Queen at all,” she fired back as she glowered at him.

“Pfft, but that’d be no fun,” he said,  grinning her way. Weiss rolled her eyes and looked out over the ocean. They couldn’t see the shore from this window, but Weiss wasn’t too mad. She could enjoy the view for a few more hours before they docked. A movement caught the corner of her vision and her head snapped back to see Sun holding her scroll.

“Hey!” her voice came out high pitched and indignant.

“Hey!” he said and grinned at her, holding her scroll out of arm's reach. His own scroll buzzed as he finished sending a message and slid it back across the table.

“You’re not getting rid of me that easily Ice Queen,” he said, waggling his eyebrows.

“Ugh,” Weiss said as she snatched her scroll off the table, “I’m deleting your number.”

“I’ll still text you.”

“You’re insufferable.”

“Yes, and?” Sun grinned at her and the sheer exuberance of his expression forced Weiss’ icy exterior to crack slightly.

“Don’t expect me to text back,” she said. Sun shrugged.

“Maybe you will, maybe you won’t, but you’re stuck with me for now,” he said, “Plus, a couple of friends and I are going to be in Vale for a while. We’ll see each other at some point.”

Weiss groaned and rolled her eyes, “And that is why I won’t be leaving my dorm room.” Their banter continued on until it was time to gather their things and disembark. Weiss could feel her nerves shivering throughout her body in a confusing mixture of fear and excitement. She was here. She had made it. She even let Sun hug her as they parted ways. A smile pulled at the corner of her lips as she loaded her luggage into a taxi. The ship had arrived a couple days early, which gave her some time to adjust before meeting her new roommate. Tall towers loomed over the city buildings as Beacon Academy came into view. Weiss let out a breath of wonder as she gazed out at the tall and imposing building. The next four years were going to be busy, but rewarding and she was looking forward to every moment of it. Thanking the taxi driver as she got out and dragged her suitcase from the trunk, she made sure to tip before turning to face her new dorm; her new home.

“Heya!” called a cheerful voice from behind the reception desk. The young woman had large bunny ears perched on her head and her brown eyes gazed at her curiously.

“Here for early move in?” she asked.

Weiss nodded and smiled politely, “Yes! I should be under Weiss Schnee.” The rabbit faunas nodded as she turned and started sorting through the files next to her.

“Here you are! Go ahead and sign these forms here for me and I’ll get your key ready,” she said.

Weiss nodded and ran through the form. It was pretty easy to fill out. Most of it was the generic, ‘please don’t break anything’. Once she filled it out and handed it over, the faunas placed a key on the desk.

“My name is Velvet by the way!” she said, flashing a brilliant smile at Weiss, “I’ll actually be the RA for your floor. If you ever have any problems or questions, feel free to ask. My phone number is in the packet of papers in the dorm room, but you can always ask for me at this desk and they’ll be able to get in touch with me.”

Weiss smiled, genuinely, “Thank you Velvet.” She glanced down at her key and up at the signs by the desk, trying to orient herself.

Velvet coughed and pointed down the hallway, “The elevator is down that way. Your room is on the third floor. It should be on the left a couple doors down.”

“Thank you!” Weiss said and smiled in relief. Making her way over in the direction Velvet pointed, she let herself smile. She had made it. She was really here. Her smile grew as she exited the elevator and sped her pace up. A few more feet and she made it. Room 315. Adjusting the key in her grip, she slid it into the lock and threw the door open with a grin and an uncharacteristic flourish. A shriek ripped through the air and Weiss lept backwards as she stared at the disaster in front of her. A girl, dressed head to toe in black and red was pinned to the floor under a mattress. Her red tipped brunette hair was plastered to her forehead in sweat and she was breathing heavily. The bed frames were set up like bunk beds and looked like the brunette had been trying to wrestle the mattress onto the top bunk before Weiss had burst through the door and startled her.

She didn’t bother to get up, instead, she tipped her head back and waved both arms at Weiss, “Oh hi! Sorry, wasn’t expecting anyone.” Weiss just stared at the grin plastered over the other girl’s face and scanned the room. It looked like someone had vomited red roses over everything. Weiss felt dread coil in the bottom of her stomach. 

“I’m Ruby! Ruby Rose,” the girl said enthusiastically, “We’re gonna be best friends!”

Crap . Another one.

Chapter Text

The trunk slammed as Ruby heaved it closed and slapped her hands across her thighs. The old beamer was coated in a thick layer of dirt she had long given up cleaning. Living on an island was fun until most of the roads were dirt. One good rain and any attempts she made to clean the old car were ruined. The screen door behind her crashed closed and Ruby looked up just in time to see blond hair hurtling toward her.

“Yang- oof,” she said as her sister barreled into her at full speed and pulled her into a tight hug.

“You better not be leaving without saying goodbye!”

Ruby wiggled and tried to pull out of her much stronger sister’s grip, but it was useless, “Yang! Let me go!”

“Nope! You’re my baby sister. I let you go when I want to,” Yang said, locking her grip and leaning back so that Ruby’s feet left the ground. She grumbled and kicked, connecting with Yang’s shin. She yelped and dropped Ruby, bouncing backward and holding her shin.

“I warned you,” Ruby grinned at her sister and stuck out her tongue.

“Jerk,” Yang said. The screen door slammed again before either could continue their usual bickering.

“All packed up kiddo?” called out the muscular form of Tai as he crunched across the gravel.

“Yup!” Ruby flashed a grin at him and glanced over his shoulder, “Where’s Mom?”

“Still in the house. She had to grab something real quick,” he said.

“Ooo, cookies?” she asked, bouncing on the balls of her feet.

Yang cuffed her in the shoulder and ruffled her hair, “Not everything’s about cookies Rubes.”

Ruby flailed her arms and connected with Yang’s chin, “Get oooofff.”

“Alright, alright you two,” the soft and lilting voice of Summer Rose rang out clearly across the yard. She pushed her way through the front door carrying a large bag in one hand and shielding her face from the sun with the other. The metal of her prosthetic glinted in the cool Autumn sun.

“Mom!” Ruby shouted and disentangled herself from Yang, rushing over to tackle her mother in a hug, “I’m gonna miss you.”

Summer laughed and shook her head, “You could always stay behind and leave with Yang and me. Plus, I’ll be on campus! I do work at the school after all.”

“Mom, I don’t think my stuff and Yang’s stuff will fit in your car,” Ruby said, her voice muffled as she pressed her face into her mother’s chest.

“Sure it will! We’ll have to strap you to the top of the car, but we’ll make it fit.”

“Pfft, nah! We’ll put Yang on top.”

“You will not,” Yang cried out. 

“Oh come on! It’d start your semester off with a Yang!,” Tai grinned as Ruby groaned and rolled her eyes.

“Good one dad,” Yang cackled.

“I take it back, I’m leaving now before they get on a roll,” Ruby said, extracting herself from her mother’s hug.

“Then you’ll need this,” Summer said, handing over the bag she’d carried out.

Ruby glanced inside and pumped her fist in glee, “Oh hell yeah! Cookies!”

Yang glanced up and narrowed her eyes, “You sure that’s a good idea mom?”

Summer shrugged, “I won’t be around for the sugar rush.”

“Good point.”

Ruby grinned and threw open the door of the beat-up old beamer, disappearing for a second before returning with a chocolate chip cookie in each hand.

“Quick! Hug her and send her on her way. She’s powering up!” Yang said as she backed away from Ruby. Her sister stared her in the eye as she ate one of the cookies in a single bite, cheeks chipmunked.

Ruby pointed her now empty hand towards Yang and widened her eyes dramatically, “Noffing will shave you from meeee.”

Yang bolted away and Ruby sprinted after her, the former track star quickly catching up with her older sister despite still chewing a cookie. Summer shook her head as she walked over to Tai.

“It’s going to be quiet around here without them,” Tai chuckled as he threw an arm over Summer’s shoulder. She hummed and leaned into him.

“I won’t say that’ll be a bad thing,” she said, watching Ruby leap and cling to her sister’s back.

“Onward my noble steed!” Ruby shouted, pointing forward as Yang ran off across the lawn.

Summer smiled softly and shook her head, “Maybe I’ll actually get to finish my coffee for once.”

“You’ll miss them and you know it,” Tai grinned and kissed his wife on the forehead. Her short brunette hair tickled his nose as he pulled away. Summer hummed again and watched as her daughters continued to race across the yard. Yang barrelled past them, Ruby whooping and giggling while still holding tight onto her sister. Moments later, Yang’s boot clipped a rock and she tipped forward, sending both of them sprawling across the grass. They stayed sprawled as they heaved breaths of air between fits of laughter. After recovering, Ruby pushed herself up onto her elbows and shook the grass out of her hair.

“I’m gonna miss you guys,” she said. Tai laughed and walked over to them, offering a hand to Ruby. She accepted and he pulled her into a bear hug.

“You’re not getting rid of us just yet! The holidays are around the corner and you’re only two hours away. You can always take a weekend trip,” he said.

“Yeah! Plus, we’ll be going to the same school. We’re literally in the same dorm,” Yang said, flashing a grin at Ruby, “Maybe we’ll even be roommates!”

Ruby groaned and rolled her eyes, “Please no! Mom, if Yang’s my roommate, I want to switch dorms.”

Summer laughed and shook her head, “I have no control over that dear.”

“Pfft, come on Rubes. I’d be the best roommate!”

Ruby pulled away from Tai and faced Yang, crossing her arms, “You mean the most overprotective roommate.”

Yang scoffed and waved a hand, “I’m your big sister, that’s my job.”

Summer grinned and walked up behind Ruby, mock whispering, “Between you and me, we both know you’ll be looking after her.”

“Hey!” Yang shouted indignantly.

“You’ll be looking after each other,” Tai laughed as he pulled both of his girls in for a hug. Ruby leaned into the embrace and savored it for a moment.

“I should probably get going. I want to beat the lunch traffic,” she said.

Tai nodded and glanced at the old car, “Got a full tank of gas?”

“Yup!”

“What about snacks?”

“Locked and loaded!”

“What about your route and cash in case of emergencies?”

“Dad! I promise, I have everything,” Ruby laughed and pulled away from Tai, “You don’t have to worry about me.”

“I’m your dad. It’s kind of my job,” he said with a shrug. Ruby stepped away and turned to Summer, pulling her into an even tighter hug.

“I’ll see you in a week,” Summer said, pressing a kiss to Ruby’s forehead. Ruby stayed for a moment longer, squeezing just a little harder before stepping away. She brushed away the tears forming in her eyes and turned to Yang.

“I’ll see you in a week too,” she said, poking Yang in the shoulder.

“Damn straight,” Yang said, flashing another grin at her.

Ruby’s face screwed up in disgust, “Ew, god, I hope not.”

Yang let out a bark of laughter and Summer chuckled as Tai shook his head, “How did both of my daughters end up lesbians?”

Summer glanced up at him as a smirk spread across her face, “The better question is how did I end up married to a man?”

Tai grinned down at Summer and pulled her close, “I have no idea, but I’m not dumb enough to question it.”

“Quick, Rubes, run before they start kissing,” Yang whispered to Ruby, grabbing her by the shoulders and turning her towards the car.

“Ugh, gross,” Ruby shuddered and let Yang guide her to her car. They paused for a moment and Yang glanced Ruby up and down.

“You sure about this?” she whispered, running her prosthetic hand through her hair.

Ruby nodded and sighed, “Yeah. It’ll be nice to be alone for a week or so. I can take some time to adjust before classes start.”

Yang nodded and let out a sigh, “Alright, if you’re sure. Call me if you need anything.”

Ruby met Yang’s serious gaze and flashed a thumbs up, “Of course!”

Giving her sister a quick hug, Ruby pulled open the door to her car and slid into the driver’s seat. She flipped down the driver’s side visor and plopped a set of sunglasses on top of her head before cranking down the window. Summer had pulled away from Tai and made her way up to the old beamer. She rested her arms against the car door and leaned inside.

“Hey, check under the cookies in the bag,” she said, gesturing towards the bag on the passenger seat. Quirking an eyebrow, Ruby twisted around and rummaged through it.

“No way!” she yelled, emerging with a worn-out CD case, “You finished it already?”

Summer grinned and shrugged, “I wanted to give you something to listen to on your drive.”

“Yesss!” Ruby pumped her fist in excitement and set the CD case down for a moment so she could wrap her arms awkwardly around her mother.

“I’ll have one ready for you when I come back to visit,” she said, silver eyes shining.

“You better!” Summer said, pulling away and flicking Ruby’s sunglasses down so they covered her eyes. She flashed a grin at her mother before pressing her foot into the clutch and the old car rumbled to life. Twisting to the side, she picked up the old plastic CD case. It was decorated with a mixture of painted roses. The plastic was cracked and held together by tape, but neither of the Rose women wanted to replace it. They had passed this case back and forth for years. Even as music went digital, they held tight to their tradition of burning CDs for each other. The old plastic case they had decorated together was used over and over again as they traded their music. Ruby opened that case and glanced over the sticky note inside. Scrawled underneath a list of songs was a note.

To a new journey and a new chapter - Love you, Summer Rose A.K.A. Best Mom

Ruby grinned and rolled her eyes. Popping the CD out, she pushed it into the stereo that looked out of place in the old car and cranked up the volume. The opening notes of an acoustic guitar blared out as Ruby shifted gears. Pulling out of the driveway, she waved at Summer, Tai, and Yang. They waved back and didn’t stop until the red of the old beamer disappeared from view.

Ruby let out a breath of relief as she pulled away. Shifting her grip on the steering wheel, she turned down the volume of the stereo. A grin spread across her face as the tune grew familiar. Strumming her fingers across the steering wheel, she belted out the lyrics.

“I'm trying to tell you something 'bout my life, maybe give me insight between black and white, and the best thing you ever done for me, is to help me take my life less seriously, it's only life after all, yeeaah,” she yelled into the cool fall air, letting her anxiety fall away as she lost herself in the music. Flexing her fingers, she shook her head like a dog shaking off water, the stress melting from her bones. The past year was a rough one. She loved that Yang was back. Even more, she loved that her sister was going to college with her! It was just that, she had gotten used to the quiet. Yang was loud, protective, and always ready with a joke. Ruby had missed her more than she could put into words when her sister had disappeared for nearly a year. It had been hard, but Ruby had adjusted. Now Yang was back, and she loved it! She just wasn’t adjusting to her sister’s return like she thought she would.

Ruby flicked on the cruise control after merging onto the highway. Pulling her left foot into the seat, she dropped her left arm out the window and let it coast on the air. She had about two hours of driving ahead, so she cranked up the radio and locked her eyes on the road ahead.

She managed to avoid traffic for the most part. The bridge between Patch and the mainland of Vale caused the biggest hiccup, but she was used to it. Instead, she stared across the sparkling blue waves and let her mind wander. Hopefully, her roommate would be awesome. She grinned as all kinds of scenarios flitted through her mind. They could do movie nights, scavenger hunts, or even escape rooms! Anxiety wormed its way up her spine for a moment. What if they didn’t get along? She was a year younger than everyone. Graduating early was great for her transcripts, but not that great for her social life. What if she just ended up being annoying?

Ruby huffed and blew her bangs out of her face. Nope. Absolutely not. She was not going down that train of thought. Her grip tightened on the steering wheel. She would get there a week early, get settled, and learn where all of her classes were. Her roommate was going to be her best friend. She was determined. Shaking her head as if she could dislodge the thoughts threatening her mood, Ruby focused on the music again. 

“How long 'til my soul gets it right, can any human being ever reach that kind of light, I call on the resting soul of Galileo, king of night vision, king of insight!” she yelled out her open window and into the midmorning air. An hour and a half later, the skyline of Vale city spread out in front of her. The spires of Beacon Academy touched the horizon behind it and Ruby grinned at the familiar sight. She turned off the GPS on her phone and let muscle memory guide her through Vale City and towards Beacon. Her mom working at the university meant she knew her way around in a general sense. It didn’t take too long for her to find the admissions building and pick up her parking pass.

Hopping back in her car, she pulled away and towards her dorm. Her new home. She glanced down at her admissions paperwork and cross-referenced it with the dorm name. Ozma Hall. Yup. She was in the right place. Nodding to herself, she slid out of the car and bounced on the balls of her feet for a moment. Right. Time to get moved in. One hand clenched and she shook it vigorously before plowing forward, not giving the anxiety time to take hold. With a grin on her face and a bounce to her step, she barreled through the front doors of the residence hall. A young rabbit faunas with wide brown eyes lept in shock at her entrance but quickly recovered with a warm smile.

“Hi! How’re you going?” she asked.

Ruby smiled back, pushing her sunglasses on top of her head, “Hi! I’m here for early check-in?”

“Oh, right!” the young woman said, “One moment, let me find the paperwork. What’s your name?”

“Ruby Rose.”

Ruby took a moment to look around as the faunas looked through a file cabinet next to her. The light tan desk she leaned against was built into the wall and the dark navy carpet spread across the whole lobby. A few tables, couches, and TVs were spread out behind the reception desk. Probably a study area. Two hallways branched off in opposite directions, each with an elevator next to them. Ruby almost let out a sigh of relief. She wasn’t out of shape per se, but she was not interested in hauling all of her stuff up several flights of stairs.

“Right! Here you are,” the faunas said as she pulled out a file and collected the keys.

Pointing to a spot on the paperwork she said, “This is your room number. I’ll take you there in a moment so we can double-check it for damages. Since you’re here first, you’ll sign to confirm everything is in good condition and your roommate will approve once they get here. If everything looks good, you’ll go ahead and sign here. Then you’ll be all set!”

“Oh! And I’ll be your RA this year. My name is Velvet,” she said with a smile and held out her hand. Ruby grinned and shook it enthusiastically.

“Ruby Rose!” her face fell slightly as she mumbled, “But, you already knew that.”

Velvet laughed and nodded, “Yes well, here’s your key and if you’ll follow me, we’ll check out your room.”

Ruby nodded and shoved her hands in her pockets. She trailed behind Velvet and looked over all of the doors they passed. Each floor seemed to be decorated with a theme.

“You’re one of the first students to check in, so there won’t be a ton of other people here yet. I think there are two students checked in on the floor above yours and all of the RAs are here, but that’s all for now. We’ll be holding a meet and greet later this weekend once everyone has moved in,” Velvet rattled off over her shoulder as she twisted through the hallways and up the stairs of the building. 

Ruby nodded along as Velvet continued talking about all of the events they had planned, “During the first week of classes, we’ll be doing a door decoration! Each floor has a theme. The first floor is going with Nightmare Before Christmas, the second floor is Harry Potter, and we are Grimm Fairytales! I think the fourth floor is historical figures.” Three stories up and a couple twists down hallways later had Velvet gesturing at a generic tan door in front of her.

“Here we are!” she said cheerfully.

“Awesome!” Ruby grinned and paused.

“Ruby?”

“Yeah?”

“You have the key,” Velvet said with a sheepish look.

“Huh? Oh! Right!” Ruby let out a nervous laugh and dug through her pockets for the new room key. Managing to rescue it, she pressed it into the lock and pushed open the door. The room that greeted her was incredibly generic. Thick layers of white paint covered the brick walls. A twin bed was pressed against each side of the room and off-white tile covered the floor. Desks built to survive blunt impact sat at the foot of each bed. There were built-in closets on either side of the door with enough storage space for each roommate.

“Alright, do a once over and let me know if you notice any damage,” Velvet said. Ruby nodded and gave a rough glance, but didn’t notice anything too problematic.

“Looks good to me,” she said with a shrug.

“Go ahead and sign here then,” Velvet said, handing over the paperwork and pen, “And the bathroom is down that way whenever you need it. There are some rolling bins downstairs for moving your stuff.”

Giving a double thumbs up, Ruby grinned, “Thanks Velvet!”

With a smile and a wave, Velvet made her exit. Ruby nodded and glanced across the room once more. Right, time to start moving her stuff in. It was a fairly quick process. Between her deep hatred of multiple trips and lack of stuff, she managed to get everything upstairs in two trips. By the time she was done, it felt incredibly cramped. Her bedsheets, clothes, and computer parts were sprawled across the room. Something had to change. Her fingers traced across the bed frame as she paced until a dip in the construction caught her attention. Examining each end of the bedposts, she realized they were stackable. Bunk beds would certainly free up some space. Rolling her shoulders back, she swept her stuff off of the bed and onto the floor. It took another hour and a lot of straining on her part, but she finally managed to put the bed frame together as a top bunk. She took a few deep breaths and eyed the mattress suspiciously. It was heavy and she was tired. Promising herself a break once she had the mattress in place, she sighed and wrestled it into position next to the bunk beds. Her grip tightened and her muscles strained as she started heaving it upwards. All of her focus was on getting the mattress above her head. Maybe that’s why she didn’t hear the footsteps in the hallway. Maybe it’s why she didn’t hear a key being turned in the doorway. She did hear the door bang into the wall. Ruby shrieked and jumped, losing her grip on the mattress. It came crashing down towards her, pinning her to the floor. Ruby groaned, opening her mouth to protest only for the words to die on her lips. 

A piercing blue gaze met her own and she swallowed before letting out a shaky, “Oh, hi! Sorry, I wasn’t expecting anyone.” The young woman, her roommate she assumed, looked at her with incredulity. Dressed in perfectly fitted white pants, a sleeveless navy blue blouse, and heeled sandals, she looked like the picture of eloquence. The stranger's eyes drifted across the room and her expression shifted to worry and then disappointment. 

Too tired to fully get out from under the mattress, Ruby waved both arms at the stranger in an attempt to salvage the situation and said, “I’m Ruby! Ruby Rose. We’re gonna be best friends!”

Ruby barely managed to keep from cringing at herself. Great line Ruby. Great opening line.

Chapter Text

And then they kissed. The end.

hehehehehehheh

Chapter Text

“I’m not here to make friends,” Weiss said, her tone short and clipped. She ground her teeth together to keep from wincing at the sound of her voice. It was harsh, even for her, but she was exhausted and had just watched her plans for a calm week dissipate out the window. The girl, Ruby, seemed to splutter for a moment, taken aback.

“Right, uh.. Sorry,” Ruby said. Her hand twitched like she was going to scratch the back of her head, but the bed pinning her down stopped her. Come on, come on Ruby! Think of something clever to say!

“The uh, the weather's pretty nice?” if Ruby could smack herself in the face, she would. That may just be one of the stupidest things she’d said. Well, except for opening with “we’re gonna be best friends!”. Weiss simply raised a perfectly manicured eyebrow and hummed in agreement. Her eyes shifted away from Ruby and seemed to survey the chaos with disentrist.

“Velvet didn’t mention you were already here,” Weiss said. She tried to keep her frustration out of her voice. She wasn’t entirely successful.

“Huh, weird. She checked me in,” Ruby said, her brows knitting together in confusion. Weiss thought she didn’t look unlike a puppy. Being upside down probably didn’t help. This Ruby girl didn’t seem to mind that she was pinned under a mattress.

“Do you plan on getting up?” Weiss asked.

“Hmm?” Ruby’s head cocked to the side. Weiss thought she looked a little deranged pinned under the mattress, upside down, and with her head tilted to the side.

Weiss tried not to roll her eyes as she gestured at her roommate, “The mattress? Do you plan on staying like that all day?”

“Oh! Right.. No I don’t,” Ruby said as she finally grabbed onto the mattress and grunted. The damn thing was heavier than it looked. Miss picture of eloquence didn’t move a muscle to help as Ruby shifted the mattress off herself enough to wiggle out from underneath it. Standing up, she shook out her hands and blew the hair out from in front of her face.

When she stood, Weiss barely kept from scowling. Ruby was taller than her. She didn’t like it. It’s not like she wasn’t used to it. Most people were taller than her. It’s why she usually wore heels, but she wasn’t expecting to meet her roommate today. Maybe when the girl wasn’t paying attention, she could switch out her shoes. Ruby didn’t seem to be the type to notice.

“So uh…” Ruby’s voice cut through Weiss’ musings and her gaze sharpened as she waited for her to continue, “What’s your name?”

“Weiss,” she said, holding out her hand.

Ruby grabbed her hand and shook it enthusiastically, her bright smile spreading across her face, “Nice to meet you! I’m Ruby Rose.”

“You already said that.”

“Right, um… you have a last name?” Ruby asked, finally letting go of Weiss’ hand.

“Not one that matters,” Weiss replied, trying to shake the tingling sensation out of her shoulder from it being shaken so hard.

“I see you took it upon yourself to redecorate,” Weiss said, gesturing at the mess of red, black, and clutter spread about the room. She eyed the bunk bed set up nervously. It did not seem very secure and she was not very confident in Ruby’s abilities.

“Oh! Yeah, sorry. I just got here like an hour ago, so I haven’t been able to finish putting away my stuff. I figured bunk beds would save some space though, so I just kind of started putting it together,” Ruby trailed off as she realized she was rambling. So much for being cool. This girl was getting the whole awkward Ruby package and she seemed to be taking it about as well as anyone else did.

“You didn’t think to wait until I arrived so we could discuss the arrangements?” Weiss asked, her tone coming through clipped.

Uh oh. Ruby swallowed and shrugged, “I wasn’t sure when you’d get here and figured it’d probably be fine..” Her sentence drifted off at the end and she tried not to cower under Weiss’ cold gaze.

“Hmm, perhaps we should set up some ground rules then,” Weiss said, “Since you seem to think things will probably be fine. One, you do not make decoration decisions without me. Two, I go to bed at 9:30. Do not wake me up. Thirdly, the weekends are for studying. Do not interrupt me. And finally, do not touch my things. If they are in your way, I can move them, but do not touch them. Is that clear?”

Ruby blinked for a moment as she looked Weiss up and down. Where the hell did she fit that massive stick up her ass?

“Oh, and one final thing,” Weiss said as she finally stepped into the room, “I am not your friend.” Weiss looked up at Ruby, squaring her shoulders. Ruby held back a shiver as it felt like the room dropped a couple degrees. Weiss was small, but she made her presence known. It seemed to fill the room. 

Ruby drummed her fingers across her thigh and nodded, “Sure, okay. I guess that works, but on one condition.” Weiss could have her rules, but Ruby wasn’t willing to give up. This was her room too after all. Weiss’ eyebrow arched and gestured for Ruby to continue. It was suttle, but just demeaning enough that Ruby felt like she needed to make a point. She wasn’t sure what point, but it had to be something.

Wracking her brain she decided, “My sister goes to this college too. We do weekly movie nights. You don’t have to be anyone’s friend. You don’t even have to participate, but it gets hosted here. If you want to be a part of it, you can invite your own friends, if you have them. We’ll be done by 9:30, but it starts at 6. Deal?”

“What’s that supposed to mean, if I have my own friends?” Weiss’ voice came out more shrill than she wanted, but she kept from wincing.

Ruby crossed her arms and gestured at Weiss, “You’ve made it clear you don’t want friends, so I assumed. Screw me.”

“Hmmph,” Ruby wasn’t entirely wrong, but Weiss didn’t want to admit it.

 “Which day of the week?”

“Friday,” Ruby said. She kept from pumping the air in victory, barely. One step at a time. She was getting better at standing up for herself little by little.

An awkward silence spanned the distance between them as Ruby looked anywhere but Weiss and Weiss tried to not glare at Ruby. She was mostly successful. Maybe.

“So..” Weiss said as she gestured towards the mattress still on the floor behind Ruby, “Any other master design ideas?”

Ruby glanced back and brows furrowed as she shook her head, “Uh, not really. I was kind of just making it up as I went.”

“Mmm,” Weiss muttered. Glancing about the room, Weiss started to feel the closeness of everything press in on her. It was a really small space. She didn’t like the original plan being made without her, but bunk beds were sounding more and more like a good idea. If a small childlike part of her was jumping for glee about having bunk beds, that was for her knowledge and her knowledge alone.

“Well,” she finally said, “The room is rather small. Bunk beds could work.”

Ruby grinned and her head shot up from where she had been staring at her hands, “Really?! Oh that’s awesome! Here, help me get the bed up on the top bunk. It’s a little too heavy for me to lift by myself.” Ruby grabbed Weiss’ hand and dragged her towards the mattress not two feet away. Weiss squeaked as she was jolted forward and just managed to keep her balance.

“Ugh! Okay, new rule, don’t touch me,” she said as she jerked her arm away from Ruby.

Ruby winced and gave her a sheepish smile, “Okay, sorry! No touching..” Keeping her distance, Ruby stooped down to pick up the mattress. Weiss did the same and between the two of them, they were able to get the mattress in place. The whole time, Weiss was silent. It was an icy silence. Not quite hostile, but very much not welcoming. This whole roommate thing was going to be a lot harder than she thought it would.

Chapter Text

Ruby stared up at the ceiling. Her computer lights blinked in the darkness, casting an array of designs across it. It had been a long day. After getting the bunkbeds set up, she and Weiss spent a couple hours unpacking. It was…uncomfortable to say the least. Ruby sighed as she turned over on her side. She was trying not to be resentful, but really? She got to school early so that she could have some time to decompress away from people before being forced to live in a 10 by 15 foot room with a stranger. So much for that dream. It’s not like she wasn’t trying to be nice either! No matter how hard she tried though, Weiss was unresponsive. She either ignored Ruby, or scoffed at her. 

Ruby groaned as she rolled onto her back and shoved her pillow over her face. Part of her flickered with worry over Weiss hearing her, but settled back down quickly. Weiss probably wouldn’t hear anything short of a train coming through the wall. It made Ruby shudder as the image of a sleeping Weiss floated through her mind once more. A corpse. Weiss looked like a corpse. She didn’t look like a corpse in the way where someone splayed about with wild hair. No, Weiss laid flat on her back and was rigid enough to convince a mortician that she had been struck with early onset rigor mortis. What kind of maniac slept like that?

Ruby’s arms flopped back down onto the bed, taking the pillow with them. She grumbled a little as she shifted again. Everything felt wrong. Her hair tickled her scalp where it pressed into the mattress. The shirt twisting around her torso and riding up her body tickled the back of her mind like an ever present gnat. Too small to catch and squish, but always in her face. The blankets wrapped around Ruby’s legs as she twisted and turned, trapping her in a sensory nightmare. Growling in frustration, Ruby threw the blankets off and ripped her shirt off. A quiet thwap echoed around the room as the offending garment hit the wall and fell to the floor. She ran her hands through her hair, scratching her scalp to get rid of the itchiness. She was definitely going to have some wild bedhead tomorrow, but she really didn’t care.

Flopping back down onto the bed, Ruby splayed out on her back and tried to breath. In and out. In and out. Reaching out a hand, she blindly snatched up her headphones. Music was already playing and she grabbed her phone to turn up the volume. She didn’t stop until she could feel the notes in her bones and they drowned out her thoughts. Closing her eyes, she let the music wash over her. It was working. Slowly, her muscles started to relax. Her mind drifted and her breathing slowed. Finally, finally she drifted off to sleep.

__________________________

Ruby’s eyes snapped open and her heart thundered about her ribcage. What- why? What was happening? The echoes of a heart wrenching scream wrung in her ears. Ripping her headphones off, Ruby listened in the darkness of her dorm room. The silence stretched on for longer than made her comfortable. Until a whimper drifted up to her. She almost didn’t hear it. She wouldn’t have if she still had her headphones on. Shifting around, Ruby dropped her head over the side of her mattress and looked down at Weiss.

Weiss didn’t look like a corpse anymore. She was scrunched as tightly into a ball as she could get. Her hands covered her face so that Ruby couldn’t see her too well, but Ruby could tell there was a thin sheen of sweat covering her body. Another whimper escaped from Weiss as she twitched.

“Weiss?” Ruby called out softly. She didn’t want to wake Weiss too suddenly. That’d probably make things worse. Unfortunately, it didn’t seem to work. Weiss didn’t move.

“Weiss?” Ruby tried again, increasing her volume just a little bit. There was no answer. Crap. A shudder rippled through Weiss and a soft cry escaped her lips. Her hands shifted just enough so that Ruby could see the tears collecting in a pool on her mattress. Not letting herself overthink things, Ruby dropped down next to Weiss and reached out.

“Weiss?” she called one more time, hoping the closer proximity might wake the sleeping girl. It did not. Sighing, Ruby reached out and gently put her hand on Weiss’ shoulder.

Rubbing it gently, she called again, “Weiss? Come on, wake up. It’s a dream.”

Ruby was expecting for Weiss to be startled. She was not expecting a fist to connect with her face.

“Ow, fuck!” Ruby yelled as she stumbled backward covering her nose. She looked up, expecting Weiss to yell or be her usual angry self. Instead, she was met with icy blue eyes glassed over in fear.

“Um, Weiss? Are you okay?” Ruby took a step forward and Weiss flinched, her hands coming up to cover her face. Ruby held up her hands and stepped back again.

“It’s just me, Ruby,” she said softly, “We’re roommates. We met earlier today. I’m gonna turn on the lights, okay? Can’t really see anything.” Ruby watched Weiss and waited until she saw Weiss give a tiny nod. Flicking on the lights, Ruby glanced in the mirror attached to the back of  their door. Oh great, her nose was bleeding.

“Crap,” she muttered as she looked around on the floor and snatched up the shirt she had thrown earlier. Pressing it to her face she turned back to Weiss. She was blinking in the sudden change of light. Her eyes were less glassy. That was a good start. 

“Hey, um… you okay Weiss?” At the sound of her voice, Weiss locked eyes with Ruby and she was hit by the sudden intensity of Weiss’ stare.

“You’re bleeding,” Weiss said as she glanced at the shirt in Ruby’s hand, “And why aren’t you wearing a shirt?” Ruby glanced down. Oh yeah. She forgot about that part.

Waving a hand at Weiss she shrugged, “I’m wearing a sports bra and I don’t sleep well in shirts.”

Weiss hummed in understanding and sat up. Adjusting her sleep clothes so that they sat on her properly again, Weiss waved a hand at Ruby. She took it as a gesture to step back and did so as Weiss started rummaging through her belongings. Pulling out a tampon, Weiss held it out to Ruby.

“Um… thanks, but I don’t need that right now. Still have a couple weeks to go,” Ruby said as she looked at the tampon.

“For your nose, you dolt. It’ll help with the bleeding,” Weiss said.

“Oh, right…” Ruby said as she took the tampon. Dropping the shirt onto her desk, Ruby unwrapped the tampon and plugged her bleeding nose. She caught her reflection in the mirror again and tried not to giggle. She looked ridiculous. Actually, she looked like Yang after getting into another fight.

“Are you… are you okay?” Weiss’ question pulled Ruby out of her musings and she glanced up.

“Oh, yeah, I’m fine,” Ruby said waving a hand, “Not the first time I’ve been decked in the face.” One of Weiss’ eyebrows disappeared into her bangs as she looked Ruby over again.

“I didn’t think you were the type to get into fights,” she said.

Ruby shook her head and a small smirk pulled at her lips, “Not usually. That’s more my sister’s thing, but I will finish a fight.”

“You say that with such confidence for someone who just got punched,” if Ruby weren’t slightly delirious from lack of sleep and said punch, she would’ve sworn that Weiss had a half smile. That was silly though. Weiss didn’t smile. She made that obvious all day.

“Yeah, well, usually I don’t get hit,” Ruby fired back.

Softening her voice and looking over at Weiss, Ruby asked again, “Are you okay though? It looked like that was a pretty rough dream.”

“I… I’ll be fine. I don’t sleep well in new places and some of my belongings haven’t arrived yet,” Weiss said as she glanced away.

“Well, um.. Is there any way I could help?” Ruby asked.

“Why do you care?” Weiss snapped. Her eyes suddenly went hard and cold. It almost gave Ruby whiplash how quickly Weiss pivoted from joking to throwing up her walls.

“Because.. Well, why shouldn’t I? Something’s bothering you and I don’t like seeing you like that,” Ruby trailed off as her momentary frustration ebbed. Weiss was staring at her. She seemed confused, bewildered even.

“Uh.. Weiss?” Ruby said again, hoping it might catch her attention.

“I…,” Weiss paused for a moment and shook her head, ”Just don’t worry about it. I’ll put up my lights when the rest of my belongings arrive.”

Ruby paused and glanced over at her computer, “If light helps, I can turn on my computer. The monitors will stay on.”

“Just drop it Ruby,” Weiss said, her voice growing cold once more.

“Sure, whatever,” Ruby sighed and turned away from Weiss. Why was Weiss so prickly? She was only trying to help, but you’d think she was trying to rob her blind.

“I’m gonna hit the lights and go back to bed then,” Ruby said as she made her way to the door. She caught the brief look of fear that flashed across Weiss’ face. Thinking quickly, Ruby pivoted away from her bunk after turning the lights off and hit the power on her computer. The two monitors blinked to life, nearly flashbanging her they were so bright. Minimizing the many tabs she had open, she clicked open her spotify.

“What are you doing Ruby?” Weiss asked. Ruby could hear the ice spikes forming in her voice already.

Ruby shrugged, “I sleep better with music and my headphones were starting to hurt my ears. I hope you don’t mind?”

Weiss eyed Ruby up and down. She seemed to be looking for any reason Ruby might be lying, which she was, but Ruby wasn’t going to say that. Her headphones were perfectly comfortable even after wearing them for hours. That’s why she bought them, but she wasn’t going to say that. It’d defeat the point of what she was doing.

“Just don’t play anything too loud,” Weiss grumbled, turning back to her bunk. Ruby’s lip twitched upward in victory, but she tried to keep her focus on her computer. She got the feeling that if Weiss noticed her smiling she’d get another punch to the nose. Speaking of her nose, the bleeding had stopped. She pressed gently to the bridge of her nose and winced. Yeah, that was definitely going to bruise, but she was probably safe to take the tampon out. Pulling on it, the strange sensation made her shudder as she threw the offending item into the garbage.

“Yeugh,” Ruby said as another shudder ran through her. She turned her attention back to her computer and hit play on her Lofi playlist before turning down the volume on her speakers. Making sure her monitors wouldn’t go to sleep overnight, Ruby checked the light level in the room. Dark enough to not interrupt sleep, but light enough to see everything. She nodded in satisfaction and clambered up into her bed. The music was lulling her to sleep, but she fought off its effects. She couldn’t fall asleep yet. She had to wait until she heard it. A soft sigh of relief escaped Ruby’s lips when she heard Weiss’ breathing slow. Leaning over the edge of her bed, Ruby looked down at Weiss. Sure enough, she was fast asleep. She looked peacefully asleep this time though and less like a corpse. She almost looked beautiful when she was so relaxed.. Ruby shook her head. That was stupid. Weiss was cold as ice. There was no breaking through her exterior. Besides, she was here for school and relationships were stupid. Closing her eyes, Ruby forced her attention to focus on the Lofi beats gently spreading across the room. They did their job well and she was lulled quickly back to sleep.