Author's Note: This story is basically an expanded and (much) longer version of On Sisters and Girlfriends. However, the two stories don't take place in the same continuity. I guess you could say they're in neighboring alternate universes. There's no need to go read On Sisters and Girlfriends before you read this story, but if you like one you'll probably like the other.

I should also mention that this story doesn't sync up with canon perfectly. I'll definitely be using major events that happened in canon to further the story, but I'll also be skipping a lot of them too. I guess the best I can say is this story follows canon except where it doesn't.

This story was written while Volume 4 was airing.

This is the Teen and Up version of the story. The Mature version has been posted to Archive of Our Own.

Chapter 1: The World According to Yang Xiao Long

The last rays of sunshine had vanished behind the horizon over the kingdom of Vale, but despite the late hour, the city was still buzzing with activity. Lights glowed in windows, dust-fueled cars rumbled down the streets, and pedestrians crowded the walkways.

Weiss was watching the endless procession of people with her arms crossed and a scowl on her face. She was waiting outside a storefront. Yang had just stepped inside to inquire about Blake for what must have been the hundredth time today. Chasing down a fugitive was not how Weiss had planned on spending her Saturday, especially not with the end of semester exams looming. Today would have been put to much better use studying. Unfortunately, Yang and Ruby were having none of that. From the moment they'd woken up this morning they'd been scouring Vale in their search for Blake, and they'd dragged Weiss along with them.

Weiss rubbed the back of her neck, trying to ease some of the tension that was building there. She still couldn't believe that an agent of the White Fang had gotten so frighteningly close to her. She hadn't suspected Blake one bit. In fact, until yesterday she'd held Blake in high esteem. Blake's intelligence and skill were worthy of respect, and her quiet, thoughtful nature had been so refreshing when compared to a certain pair of exuberant sisters. Unfortunately, the events of yesterday had proven that Blake was nothing more than a dirty scoundrel like the rest of her ilk.

Weiss supposed that nothing was keeping her from giving up on this pointless search and returning to Beacon on her own, but she knew that neither Ruby nor Yang would look favorably on her abandoning their so-called teammate. It was to the sisters' credit that they were so forgiving, but it was also incredibly foolish of them. They had no idea how dangerous the White Fang could be.

Yang finally wandered out of the store with a worried look on her face. She said, "No one's seen Blake here either."

Weiss didn't say anything. She was hardly surprised, and she'd given up feigning interest in finding Blake hours ago.

"You know," Yang said, eyeing Weiss. "This would go a lot faster if you'd help out."

"I'm not going to waste my effort," Weiss said. "Not when what we should be doing is notifying the police."

"Notifying them about what?" Yang asked, sounding upset. "What exactly is your problem with Blake anyway?"

"How can you even ask me that?" Weiss said. "She's a member of the White Fang!"

"We don't know that for sure," Yang said.

"Don't be so naïve. Of course we do!" Weiss said. "Who knows what her purpose for infiltrating Beacon was."

Yang looked at Weiss incredulously. "Infiltrating? Really?"

"Yes really!" Weiss said. "Are you not worried about this?"

"Of course I'm worried," Yang said. "But I'm worried for Blake, not about her."

"She betrayed us all!" Weiss said.

"How?" Yang asked. "By running away when you were throwing accusations at her?"

"Hmph," Weiss said. "I hardly accused her of anything."

"Not directly, I guess, but you sure are now," Yang said. "Blake's my partner. And she's my friend. She's not what you're making her out to be. I know her."

"Do you?" Weiss asked, pointedly. "Did you even know she was a faunus?"

"Nope," Yang said. "What does that matter?"

Weiss let out a frustrated sound. She turned and took a few steps away. It seemed there was no reasoning with Yang, not when she was being so willfully ignorant. Honestly, Weiss didn't even know why she cared if Yang accepted the truth or not, but she felt it was high time that Yang saw the world for the way it was.

Weiss turned back around to try to explain things to Yang only to find herself caught in Yang's gaze. The intense look on Yang's face momentarily rendered Weiss speechless. She didn't think she'd ever seen Yang look so serious before.

Yang said, "That's what this is about, isn't it? Your problem with Blake is that she's a faunus."

Weiss scowled. "Don't talk to me in that sort of tone, Xiao Long."

"Ooh. Feisty," Yang said without a hint of humor in her voice. "Why so defensive, Princess?"

Weiss glared at Yang. "Don't call me that," she said.

"Call you what? Princess?"

"Yes. That."

"Why not? Isn't daddy's money paying your way through Beacon?"

Weiss's eyes twitched, but she managed to keep her cool. "If you must know, I have a full academic scholarship. I didn't buy my way into Beacon."

"Maybe not," Yang said. "But you're still wearing a four thousand Lien St. Blanc jacket and Christoph Roz's latest perfume."

Weiss was completely taken aback, not because Yang's remark had been particularly cutting, but because it was completely accurate. Wasn't Yang just a poor girl from some backwater island? Weiss asked, "How did you know that?"

Yang put her hands on her hips. She grinned smugly. "See what happens when you make assumptions about people?"

"I…" Weiss said.

A serious look crossed Yang's face again. "I know you said the White Fang have been targeting your family, and I'm not going to pretend to know what that's like. But Blake's been your teammate and your friend. She knew you were a Schnee from the very beginning, but she still got along with you. The second you found out she's a faunus…. I don't know. I guess I thought you were better than that."

"You…!" Weiss started, but words failed her. Yang's anger she could take, but the disappointment in Yang's eyes was another story. She said, "You might have a point."

"Why do you even care that Blake's a faunus anyway?" Yang asked.

Weiss supposed that was a fair question. It was true that Blake being a faunus had felt like as much of a betrayal as her being a member of the White Fang. However, when Weiss tried to come up with a logical reason why, she simply couldn't. It wasn't something that she'd ever thought about before.

"I'm not sure," Weiss admitted.

"I guess that's a start," Yang said.

Suddenly a flash of light illuminated the evening sky, accompanied by the low rumble of a distant explosion. Weiss turned her head and saw a fireball rising into the air in the direction of the docks.

"What was that?" Weiss asked.

"Bet you it's Blake!" Yang said. "Come on!"

"Wait, Yang. Don't…" Weiss started, but it was too late. Yang had already taken off in the direction of the docks.

Weiss sighed in exasperation. Yang's tendency to charge headlong into things was going to get her into trouble someday. After a moment's debate, Weiss started chasing after Yang. On the off-chance that Yang was right, and the explosion did somehow lead them to Blake, Weiss wanted to be there. Yang had made some good points, but Weiss knew that Yang was wrong. She had to be. If Yang was right, the implications would be unsettling.

Most of the pedestrians in front of Weiss and Yang had stopped to crane their heads at the explosion that had lit up the night. Yang dodged and weaved between the gawking bystanders and then ducked into an alley ahead. A moment later, Weiss saw her pop up on the rooftop above.

Not wanting to lose track of Yang, Weiss summoned a series of white glyphs. She leaped her way up them and gracefully landed on the roof next to Yang.

"This way!" Yang said.

Free from the obstacles down on the streets, Yang and Weiss jumped from building to building and hurriedly made their way to the docks. They paused at the edge of a rooftop when they got there and found themselves looking down at a fight.

Yang had been right. Blake was indeed in the middle of all the commotion down below. The White Fang were there too, but to Weiss's utter confusion, Blake appeared to be fighting against them.

"Let's get in there and help Blake out!" Yang said.

Weiss held a hand up in front of Yang to stop her. Yang looked annoyed at first, but when she saw the baffled look on Weiss's face, her eyes lit up with comprehension and she stayed put.

Weiss's mind raced to make sense of what she was seeing. Her first thought was that the whole thing was being staged to deceive her. Unfortunately, that didn't make any sense. The fight had clearly started before she'd gotten there, and there was no way the White Fang could have known she'd be anywhere in the vicinity tonight. She was forced to come to the unbelievable conclusion that Blake, a faunus, disagreed with the White Fang strongly enough to physically fight against them.

A nauseating feeling took hold in the pit of Weiss's stomach. Everything she been taught her whole life told her that she should despise Blake. But if Blake wasn't part of the White Fang, then the only basis for that hate was because Blake was a faunus. But what kind of reason was that? Blake had lived and fought beside her. She'd worked as hard as any of them to earn her place at Beacon. What was so different about the Blake of yesterday and the Blake down there fighting the White Fang?

Weiss slowly realized that Yang might have been right after all, and that thought frightened her more than anything.

By the time the fight had ended, both Ruby and the police had shown up on the scene. Ruby was with Blake now, and the police were rounding up the defeated and unconscious White Fang operatives. Weiss and Yang had come down from the roof, but Weiss had been reluctant to reveal herself to Blake. Even now she was peering at Blake from a distance, hiding behind the corner of one of the massive shipping containers that littered the docks.

Yang was standing right beside Weiss, casually leaning against the container. She said, "Don't you think you should go talk to her?"

"What would I even say?" Weiss asked.

"How about, 'I'm sorry'?"

"It's not that simple."

"Why not?"

Again, Weiss didn't have an immediate answer to Yang's question, and it was really starting to get on her nerves. Weiss resigned herself to the fact that sooner or later she'd have to speak to Blake again. It was probably for the best that she get it over with. She stood up straight, put on her best look of confidence, and left her hiding spot. Yang followed behind her.

Weiss made a beeline for where Blake and Ruby were standing. It was Ruby who noticed Weiss first. She jogged up to meet her and said, "Weiss! It's not what you think!"

Ruby started babbling something about Blake, but Weiss wasn't listening. She walked right past Ruby until she was face-to-face with Blake. She was dismayed to see the apprehension on Blake's face, but she couldn't really blame Blake for it.

It was Blake who spoke first. "Weiss! I want you to know that I'm no longer associated with the White Fang. Back when I was—"

"Stop," Weiss said. "Do you have any idea how long we've been searching for you? Twelve hours. That means I've had twelve hours to think about this. And in that twelve hours, I've decided…"

Weiss paused. She actually had no idea what she was about to say. From the looks on everyone's faces, neither did they. Weiss opened her mouth to speak and heard herself say, "…I don't care."

There was a moment of silence as everyone process what Weiss had just said, including Weiss herself. A confused but happy smile spread on Blake's lips, and Ruby's face lit up like she might burst from joy.

Weiss, however, was left more baffled than ever. Her head spun as doubt and relief warred inside of her. This morning she'd known what was what, but now everything was completely out of control. Weiss stole a glance at Yang, trying to find some sort of emotional anchor, but the beaming smile that Yang was giving her was anything but. It filled Weiss with a warm sensation that sent her world flying even more off-kilter.

Ruby shouted, "Yeah! Team RWBY is back together!"

Weiss decided to focus on one thing at a time. Ruby was right, the team was back together. That was what was important at the moment. She could sort everything else out later. At least, Weiss dearly hoped she could.

Weiss's confusion had not resolved itself by the time the reunited Team RWBY had returned to Beacon. Weiss had excused herself from the group as quickly as she could and set about aimlessly wandering the campus. She'd eventually ended up on the roof of one of the dormitory buildings. She had no idea what had compelled her to venture up there. It had just seemed like the thing to do.

Weiss was gazing up into the night sky from her vantage point. The shattered moon shone brightly against a backdrop of twinkling stars. The moon had entered its mended phase only a few days ago. The slightly jagged lines of its eastern edge were the only indication that it was anything less than perfect and whole. It was only a matter of time, however, before it waned again and exposed its broken face to the world below.

Weiss had known, before she'd even enrolled, that attending Beacon would be a challenge, but she would never have predicted what form that challenge would take. From almost the moment she'd set foot on campus, every preconceived notion she'd had about the world and how it worked had been challenged. It had been difficult for her, but she'd thought she'd finally found her footing. However, the past fourteen hours had changed everything yet again.

Three particular facts were stuck running through Weiss's head on an endless loop. Blake was a faunus. Blake was a member of the White Fang—a former member, Weiss corrected herself. And Blake was her friend. There was no way that all of these things could be true. It just wasn't possible.

Weiss doubted she was going to find any answers tonight, and it was getting late. She supposed that she should return to her room and get ready for bed. The only problem was that Blake would be there. Weiss's attempts to act normally around Blake on the trip back to the school had failed miserably. As much as she wanted to, she just couldn't pretend that nothing had happened. She really wished there was some way she could avoid all the awkwardness that was bound to plague her around Blake for the foreseeable future, but it seemed inescapable.

Suddenly, a voice from behind said, "There you are!"

Weiss turned and saw Yang standing there. She sighed internally. Of course Yang would be the one to find her up here. She asked, "What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you," Yang said.

"Me? Shouldn't you be more worried about Blake right now?" Weiss asked.

"Naw. She's fine," Yang said. "Besides, Ruby's with her."

Yang walked over next to Weiss and sat down on the ledge of the roof. Weiss expected Yang to say more, but Yang just sat there, quietly looking up into the sky.

Weiss looked Yang over. She was still surprised how much Yang's disappointment from earlier had hurt. As a Schnee, Weiss had been subject to much more precise and vicious verbal attacks her whole life. She'd grown a thick skin to defend herself from such barbs as a matter of course. But Yang had cut through it like it wasn't even there, and Weiss had no idea how or why.

When it came down to it, Yang was almost as confusing to Weiss as Blake was. Weiss's relationship with Yang had veered back and forth between hostile and friendly all semester, but ultimately, Yang had proven herself to be a steadfast teammate, even if she had a penchant for being infuriating.

Unfortunately, right now Yang was once again demonstrating her ability to get under Weiss's skin, this time with her complete and utter silence. Weiss knew that Yang was doing it on purpose. Beside the fact that Yang was not a quiet person by nature, the slight hint of a smirk on Yang's face was a dead giveaway. Just because Weiss knew what Yang was doing, however, didn't make it any less effective.

"Well?" Weiss finally demanded.

"Well what?" Yang asked innocently.

Weiss rolled her eyes. "You very well know what, Xiao Long."

"Oh, so I'm back to being Xiao Long again?"

"You are when you're being deliberately obtuse."

Yang laughed. "Maybe I'm just trying to sneakily get you to talk to me about whatever's bothering you."

"You're about as sneaky as a goliath, you oaf," Weiss said.

"Maybe," Yang said. "But I am going to get you to talk to me about what's wrong."

"Nothing is wrong!" Weiss insisted.

"Please," Yang said. "I know a brooding look when I see one. Blake's my partner after all."

Weiss crossed her arms. "Even if something was wrong, I'm perfectly capable of handling a little brooding by myself."

Yang shrugged her shoulders. "If you say so. But I'd bet you'd feel a whole lot better if you talked to someone about it."

Weiss did not look pleased. Yang was making a habit of being right today, and Weiss didn't care for it. However, that didn't change the fact that she really could use someone to talk to. The problem was that she didn't know if Yang was that person. Weiss liked Yang, despite the fact that they had almost nothing in common. She just wasn't sure if Yang liked her.

"Yang?" Weiss asked. "Did you really think I was coasting on my father's money here at Beacon?"

"No one who loves homework as much as you do is coasting on anything," Yang said. "I was just trying to make a point."

"I see," Weiss said.

"And that jacket looks great on you, by the way," Yang said. "I love your fashion sense."

"Uh…thanks," Weiss said. She felt herself blushing at the compliment.

Weiss paused, trying to figure out what to say next. Eventually, she decided that the direct approach would be best. This was Yang after all. Weiss asked, "We're friends, aren't we Yang?"

"Well yeah, of course," Yang said. "Why are you even asking?"

"We didn't exactly get along when we first met," Weiss said.

"That's because you were being mean to Ruby."

"That's…that's true," Weiss said. "And you weren't exactly pleased with me today while we were looking for Blake."

"Of course I wasn't," Yang said. "But just because I was mad at you doesn't mean we're not friends."

"I see," Weiss said. Her eyes drifted down to the space next to where Yang was sitting. It was hardly proper etiquette to sit with one's legs dangling off a ledge, and the roof was no doubt filthy, but there was something about the idea that was inviting.

Weiss finally relented to her irrational desire and took a seat next to Yang. A small grin crossed Yang's face. She scooted closer to Weiss until they bumped shoulders. Weiss jumped slightly at the unexpected contact, but she resisted the urge to move away. There was nothing so scandalous about friends touching shoulders, and the physical contact was soothing in a way that Weiss hadn't expected.

Yang asked, "So are you going to tell me what's got you so down?"

Weiss lowered her head. "It's Blake," she said.

"What about Blake?" Yang asked.

"She was a member of the White Fang," Weiss said.

"Yeah, I know. We've been through that," Yang said. "I thought you said you didn't care."

"I don't," Weiss said. "But maybe I should. I wasn't speaking metaphorically when I told you that the White Fang are at war with my family."

"So what," Yang said. "Blake's not White Fang. And she's your friend."

"Is she though?" Weiss asked.

"Yeah. She is," Yang said.

"How can you be so sure?" Weiss asked. "I really meant all those things I said to her about the faunus yesterday."

"Do you still mean them?" Yang asked.

Weiss wasn't sure how to answer that question. A few hours ago she would've said yes, but now things weren't so clear. Certainly, none of what she'd said applied to someone like Blake, but what made Blake so different from other faunus? Weiss had a terrible feeling that the only reason she considered Blake an exception was because she'd actually gotten to know her.

"Yang? Do you think I'm a good person?" Weiss asked.

"Yup," Yang said.

"But…how do you know?"

"Easy. Because you asked."

Yang logic sounded so inane, but Weiss couldn't bring herself to argue against it. The world seemed like such a straightforward place in Yang's eyes. Weiss didn't really believe that things were as simple as Yang made them out to be, but it was nice to pretend.

"I've been told things my whole life," Weiss said. "About the faunus. About the White Fang. About people in general. My father was very clear to me about how the world works. Even if I never liked what he said, I never had cause to doubt it."

"What about now?" Yang asked.

"Now I'm not so sure," Weiss said.

"Well the summer break is coming up," Yang said. "Maybe you should talk to your dad about it."

"I doubt that would help."

"You never know until you try."

Weiss looked around the campus. The lights in the windows of the buildings around her were slowly flicking off one-by-one. It was well past the time that she liked to be in bed by. She decided that she shouldn't delay her return to Team RWBY's dorm room much longer.

"Yang?" Weiss asked. "Do you think Blake and Ruby will forgive me for all those things I said?"

"I wouldn't worry about it. Blake's not going to hold a grudge," Yang said. "And you're already bonded to Ruby for life."

"I am?" Weiss asked.

Yang chuckled. "Yup. Ruby's never going to let you get away now. That means you're stuck with me too."

Weiss thought about that for a moment, and then said, "I suppose that's not so bad."

The twinkle in Yang's eyes instantly made Weiss regret her words. Yang said, "Awww. Looks like we've finally melted the Ice Queen's heart."

"I take it back," Weiss said sarcastically.

"Just wait until I tell Ruby that we're all going to be BFFs!"

"You'll do nothing of the sort!"

"Admit it. You love having us as friends." Yang said. She snagged her arm around Weiss's shoulders.

Weiss bristled at Yang's touch, and a wave of panic shot through her. She immediately shrugged off Yang's arm and shot to her feet.

Yang looked confused. "Uh…Weiss? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine!" Weiss said a little too quickly.

Weiss's panic rapidly gave way to embarrassment. She could see the questions in Yang's eyes, but she wasn't prepared to answer them. There had already been quite enough soul-searching for one night.

Weiss calmly said, "I'm fine. It's late. We should go back to our room."

Yang still looked confused, but she stood and said, "Alright."

Weiss took a few steps away. Then she turned around and said, "You were right, Yang. I do feel better. Thank you for coming to find me."

Yang gave Weiss a big smile. "Anytime. That's what friends are for."

Author's Note: Ugh. Writing Weiss before her early character development is hard. Not difficult mind you, just hard.

In case it isn't already apparent, this story is going to be a slow burn. There's no instant gratification to be found here. I'm definitely going somewhere with this. It's just going to take a while to get there.

And now something for the astronomy nerds out there. Yes I know that for an earth-moon like orbital system it would be extremely unusual to have a moon that's not tidally locked to its parent planet, but visual evidence from the show suggests that this is the case with Remnant's moon. How? Why? I don't know. Maybe a wizard did it.

As always, I welcome constructive criticism. Please feel free to leave a review. And if you like what you've read, taking the time to favorite and/or follow really helps me out. You can also find me on tumblr (electronicyarn) if you want to send me a message or be notified of updates.