"We are now approaching the Vytal Airship Port and will be on the ground in five minutes. Please prepare for landing Ms. Schnee." The captain's voice echoed through the small cabin of the private airship.
Winter Schnee looked out of the airship window. The city of Vytal stretched out below her, a beautiful hodge-podge of buildings and roads. In the distance, she could see Beacon Academy glistening, a light in the rapidly waning sunlight.
"Looking at Beacon?" A gruff voice asked. Seated opposite her was Colonel Cassian Gray, her personal bodyguard and more-than-friend. Exactly how much more...well that was between the two of them. "Perhaps you'll finally get around to seeing your sister this time."
"I don't know if I'll be seeing her this time either Cassian." Winter replied. Her sister, four years her junior, had refused to complete her education in Atlas. In a rebellious move, Weiss had chosen to go to Beacon and become a Huntress, instead of going through Atlas' Military Academy like Winter did. "My father...prefers that I keep my distance from her."
"Hmmph." Cassian's way of showing his disapproval without voicing it. Another of his traits that Winter found both annoying and endearing at the same time. "Well, you're the boss."
The rest of the descent passed in silence, with both Cassian and Winter choosing to silently enjoy each others company. As the airship passed through a few clouds, the landing bay came into view.
"Tch." Winter clicked her tongue in annoyance. She could see paparazzi mulling around the airship terminal. "Don't they have anything better to do?"
"I would imagine anything involving the Schnee family tends to take precedence over everything else." Cassian slid a pair of shades over his eyes, completing his bodyguard look. "Plus, you're the eldest daughter of the Schnee family."
"You mean the eldest daughter who isn't inheriting the company and is rumored to be dating her bodyguard." Cassian's face was stoic, but Winter knew he had winced behind the sunglasses. She immediately regretted saying anything.
"Well…" Cassian scratched his chin, trying to appear unaffected by Winter's harsh comment. "We both know these things tend to be over dramatised in the press…"
"Cassian please. We both know exactly why this is happening." Winter laced her fingers around Cassian's. A show of affection she reserved only for times like this, away from the public eye. "And I don't regret it for a moment. But remember, our relationship is a secret. That's the agreement I had with my father. Let them speculate, let them write their stories, but never give them the truth."
Cassian looked at his lover in the eye, a lover who he would never embrace in public. He could see the love in her eyes, the smile that she reserved only for her beloved.
Regardless of what Winter said, it made Cassian feel like shit knowing that he was the reason that this beautiful girl had given up everything.
He loved her deeply, but he wasn't sure if that truly made up for everything she had lost in order to love him back.
A gentle rocking told the two of them that they had landed. Winter immediately unlaced her fingers from his, her smile switching to a frown. "Let's go Colonel." Winter muttered, her voice devoid of any of the intimacy or emotion she had just showed him. She quickly stood up and walked towards the door.
It always unnerved Cassian at how fast she could change from private Winter to public Winter. Wondering once more how he had ended up with such a troublesome and perfect girlfriend, Cassian re-attached his weapon to his back and grabbed both of their bags.
He had a role to play after all, and he'd be damned if he fucked it up.
The moment Cassian stepped out from the airship, cameras begun to flash.
Underneath his shades, Cassian rolled his eyes. Even though Winter was a good five meters in front of him and acting as if he wasn't even there, Cassian was sure the picture of him walking behind her and carrying her bags would have the words Secret boyfriend?!, The Schnee's gentleman and the like plastered all over them in tomorrow's magazines.
Even the more respected newspapers would probably have an article or two dedicated to discussing the supposed connection between him and Winter not inheriting the Schnee Empire. Cassian remembered when the first few magazines started covering their "supposed" relationship, about six months after they had started dating.
Cassian was seated in his hotel room cleaning his weapon when Winter burst in through their connecting door. She was dressed in a white nightie, which did nothing to cover up her...assets. Her white hair, normally done up in a bun, had been let loose and was flowing down past her shoulders. Her face, normally calm and composed, was flustered and flushed.
"L-look!" Winter stuttered, brandishing a magazine page. This caught Cassian's attention. Winter had never in all their years of knowing each other, stuttered before.
"What is it Winter?" Cassian asked, referring to Winter by her first name. Something he only did in private. "Did the tabloids take candid shots of your butt when you were walking up the stairs again?"
"N-no you fool!" Winter flushed even more at the reminder. The Schnee lawyers had had a field day with that one. "Look!"
Cassian glanced at the magazine cover. He recognised it as being one of the more gaudy tabloids in circulation.
"Winter, why are you reading this? I thought you said this stuff isn't even worth the paper it's printed on."
"I-I read these sometimes to relax alright!" Winter shot back defensively. "But that's not important right now! What's important is this!" Winter held the page right in front of Cassian's face.
Cassian peered at the two-page spread. It was a blown-up photo of Winter walking down the street. He was walking beside her and holding her shopping bags. Winter's head was thrown back in laughter, probably laughing at a joke Cassian had made.
Cassian could tell the photo was taken from a long distance away and probably with a scroll, judging from the quality.
"So?" Cassian looked at Winter. "I don't see-"
"Read the article you poop!"
Cassian skimmed over the article, inwardly wincing at the overuses of adjectives (Cassian wasn't even sure if some of them were actual words) such as 'fantabulos' and 'love-spiring'. "Wow this writing is horrible-"
"Ugh!" Winter smacked Cassian with the magazine. "Do you not realise what they're saying about us?"
"Yeah, so?" Winter's face flushed deeper, but in anger this time.
"It's meant to be a secret!" Winter hissed. "How did they manage to find out we're dating!?" Winter's eyes looked around wildly, as if expecting paparazzi to burst in an any minute.
"Um, they didn't." Sometimes Cassian forgot just how sheltered Winter's upbringing was. "This is a tabloid Winter. Their job is to sensationalise stories and post allegations." Cassian held up the now-crumpled picture of the two of them. "If these were two regular people, this picture be interpreted as being particularly romantic. But since you're a Schnee, suddenly anytime you're seen near someone of the opposite gender they'll immediately assume there is a romantic connection. I mean, remember when they thought you and Duncan were flirting?"
Winter visibly shuddered at the memory, causing Cassian to burst out laughing. After a few seconds, Winter covered her face with her hands.
"B-but this time they're right." Winter's anger had disappeared, replaced with embarrassment. "We actually have a r-romantic relationship."
Cassian went over and gently pulled Winter into a hug. Winter immediately relaxed, her body naturally fitting into his.
"Don't worry about it." Cassian softly whispered, playing with Winter's hair. "Like any tabloid story, this will all blow over in a couple of weeks."
Cassian resisted the urge to laugh darkly. How wrong he had been about that. They'd been dating for over a year, and the tabloids were still going strong. In fact, arguably their supposed relationship was getting even more coverage than before, with every news outlet under the sun trying to cash in on this story.
It didn't help that Winter's younger sister Weiss had been named heir in a public ceremony just three weeks after the story first surfaced. Cassian wondered if the Schnee patriarch had done this on purpose, in order to make his daughter's life more difficult. Cassian wouldn't be surprised.
"Colonel Gray! Colonel Gray!" A Faunus news lady called Cassian's name, shaking him out of his daze. Cassian glanced at the news lady, his eyes widening in horror as he took in her outfit.
While Winter's usual outfit was by no means unflattering (judging by the number of fashion magazines covering her style, almost always with the word sexy in the title.), the news lady was showing more skin than she was covering.
Cassian resisted the urge to comment as he took in her exposed bosom, her long legs, her form hugging shirt...
"Colonel Gray?" The news lady smirked, noticing Cassian's attention on her. "How do you respond to the allegations of Winter Schnee being pregnant with your child?"
That was a new one. Cassian had to admit, he was impressed by the news lady attempt to entrap him. Had he ignored the question or refused to answer, the she could easily spin a somewhat believable story of him being the father of Winter's child and refusing to comment.
"Well." Cassian looked around, as if making sure no one else could hear him. "Can you keep a secret, Miss-?"
"Miss Lana Caramel. Of the Daily Grimoire." Lana's eyes widened. She hadn't expected Cassian to actually answer her. "And I'll make sure to edit out anything you don't want me to say."
"Well you see…" Cassian whispered, causing Lana to lean in closer. Her mic, attached to her shirt, pulled her collar even lower, revealing a lacy white bra. "I have a condition."
"Oh my condolences!" Lana gave Cassian the worse sincere look he'd ever seen. "If I may ask what the condition is..?"
"I can't help but hate nosy reporters who write crap about my boss' life, Ms. Lana Caramel of the Daily Grimoire." Cassian hissed. Lana flinched and stepped back like she had been physically struck. "I'll make sure to pass on your details to the Schnee lawyers. I'm sure they can come up with something to sue you with if you run that story. Defamation maybe?"
"You-!" Lana's eyes flashed with anger. She was about to say something, only to find she couldn't move her throat. Her eyes bulged as she glared daggers at Cassian.
"A good day to you too, Miss Caramel." Cassian shot her a grin, before continuing his walk to the car. "Write carefully."
"What did you say to that reporter?" Winter asked. They had managed to escape the paparazzi at the airship hub, and were currently being transported via car to their hotel. The moment the door closed and the car rolled away, Winter had breathed a sigh of relief and shot Cassian a massive smile.
"Oh, you know." Cassian reclined on his seat. The car was designed so that the inhabitants could sit facing each other. "The usual. We're not dating, she isn't pregnant with my child, she'll sue you for everything you're worth."
"They thought I was pregnant!?" Winter's cheeks turned crimson and she rubbed her tummy. "Why would they think I'm pregnant!?"
"Well according to them, we've been dating for over a year."
"So?! Is it normal to get pregnant after dating for over a year? I mean, we aren't even m-m-" Winter stuttered. Cassian snorted, earning a brutal kick to his shins from Winter.
"Ow!" Cassian yelped, before turning to the driver. "Fred, Winter's being mean to meeee!"
The driver, Fred Lilac, simply smiled into the rear-view mirror. A long time employee of the Schnee family and Winter's personal driver since her youth, Fred was a both a fatherly figure and confidant to the girl. In a way, Winter and Cassian's current relationship was partly due to Fred. When Winter and Cassian used to chat amiably in the back of the car, Fred would secretly take longer routes to allow them more time to bond. When Winter realised her feelings for the boy, Fred was the one who told her to go ahead and confess. (Funnily enough, he had said the same to Cassian, who had developed feelings for Winter at approximately the same time she did for him.)
"Fred, how long until we arrive at the hotel?" Winter asked kindly, ignoring Cassian's insistence that she apologise for injuring him. She always treated Fred with a measure of respect that was noticeably absent when she spoke to her other servants.
"About fifteen minutes ma'am. Unless you'd like me to take the long route-?"
"Cassian?" Winter looked at her beloved.
"You're the bosslady-ow!" Tears sprung from Cassian's eyes as he clutched his shin. "What was that for!?"
"We're in private!" Winter hissed, annoyed. "You don't have to treat me like-like-"
"LIke my boss…?" Cassian offered. Winter nodded, obviously upset. "But you kind of are-ow!"
"I'm also your girlfriend stupid!" Winter crossed her arms. "And in private, that supersedes any other relationship we have!"
"Alright, alright." Cassian raised his hands up in mock surrender. He could tell that she was genuinely mad about this. "I won't call you boss-lady in private."
"Nor mistress, master, ma'am or any other word that indicates I'm superior to you."
"How about Princess?"
"That...I can accept."
Fred smiled as the two lovers snuggled together in the back of the car, all conflict forgotten.
Pressing a button on the steering wheel, Fred watched as a partition dropped between the lovers and him, giving them some much-coveted privacy.
Chuckling to himself, Fred turned off the highway and onto some smaller, and longer, roads.
It wasn't like they were in any particular rush.
After the revelation that Winter Schnee was not how I originally depicted her to be, I decided to write another fic based upon the designs officially released by Roosterteeth. I also decided not to make it some dark story like my other Winter fic. I hope you like this one and please comment what you think!
Ferris