For as long as Weiss could remember, she had always admired her older sister Winter. Always collected and even grudgingly respected by their father, Winter was a role model for Weiss in more ways than one. With most of her time spent exclusively around her relatives, Winter was the only female company Weiss had ever known. The maids at the manor were always impeccably polite, but kept their distance from the 'young lady'. All this had caused certain complications as Weiss grew up.
Weiss was still studying even though it was late at night. Her light was on, but her curtains were drawn. She hadn't been concentrating on reading her textbook for the last few minutes. Her notes were likewise untouched. The only sounds in her room were the ticking of a clock and Weiss' pen repeatedly tapping on the tabletop. The private tutor her father had hired would expect a report from Weiss on the subject, but she had no idea where to start. Weiss usually had a pretty good idea on what she was expected to write in her reports, but this particular one was tempting her into rebellion.
The clock hands showed quarter to midnight. The staff was probably already asleep, but Weiss was sure that both Winter and her father were both still awake and working. Weiss couldn't just go to sleep so early.
She stood up from the table and shut the biology textbook. A peek through the curtains revealed snow silently falling outside her window. Weiss stared outside for some time, her breath condensing on the cold glass. She couldn't see her own reflection in the foggy window, but she knew that she was frowning. Weiss decided to go practice her fencing to tire herself out. She turned around and left the room.
As expected the manor was deserted; Weiss' footsteps echoing in the empty corridors. There was light leaking out from under the door to the fencing hall. Winter was probably training in there. Weiss slowed down when approaching the door, walking as quietly as possible. She gingerly put her hand onto the door handle. Winter wouldn't like to be disturbed. Weiss took a deep breath and slowly opened the door. The perfectly oiled hinges did not make the slightest sound. As expected, Winter was inside, furiously attacking a training automaton which was completely unable to keep up with her attacks.
Weiss' breath caught in her throat at the sight. The harsh illumination of the fencing hall's ceiling lights did nothing to diminish how… captivating Winter looked. Her usually calm and collected face was red from exertion and shone with sweat. Stray hair were flying all around her face as she moved. The fencing uniform hugged Winter's form perfectly and Weiss' gaze unconsciously followed Winter's curves.
The sight made Weiss' face warm up. It was the influence of the textbook she was reading, Weiss was sure about that. If it wasn't for it, she wouldn't be this entranced by the sight. She felt her heartbeat accelerate. She wanted to calm herself down, but she didn't have any idea of what was going on with her.
With one last hit, Winter disabled the training automaton and only then saw Weiss standing by the still open door. "Oh, Weiss," she said, "I didn't know you were still awake."
Weiss fled.
She was breathing heavily when she arrived in her room and slammed the door behind her. This wasn't possible. The textbook said something completely different. She walked over to her table and opened it again. Sure, there it was. Her symptoms were definitely sexual attraction, but according to the textbook, that only occurred between men and women in preparation for reproduction. She ran her finger along the text to make sure she wasn't misreading anything. She frowned. The page in her hand felt strange. When she examined the unnumbered page more closely, she discovered that the page was carefully glued to the following one without a single crease making the alteration easy to discover. Her tutor handed her this textbook. Would he have a reason to hide something from her?
For the moment, this new mystery gave direction to Weiss. The manor had a library. It was rarely used, but father made sure to keep it stocked with all the newest books as a point of pride and vanity. It would be deserted at night.
It only took Weiss a moment to reach the library and find another copy of her textbook. The book still smelled new. Weiss leafed through until she reached the chapter that was assigned to her. She was right, the pages in her copy were glued together. The chapter continue to describe variations in human sexuality. Attraction between women was one of them. This calmed Weiss a little. Now that she knew what was happening to her, she could think about it properly. It made perfect sense for her to be attracted to Winter. She was mature and beautiful. Weiss thought about telling Winter, but the thought of Winter reacting badly immediately quashed the thought.
Weiss replaced the book on the shelf and returned to her book. She was thinking about Winter all the time and the symptoms from before returned. It was clear that she wasn't going to do any more work tonight.
She switched off her light and started undressing. The small lamp by her bed provided more than sufficient light for that. When she undressed completely, Weiss stood in front of her large full-body mirror and studied her own reflection. The sight wasn't exactly familiar. She never examined her body much simply because she had little interest in it before. Now, however, it seemed vital. All warmth from her skin had been driven away by the chilly night air. Weiss ran her eyes all over her reflection. Her skin was a bit too pale, but otherwise she could say that the girl in the mirror was moderately attractive. She ran fingers over her body. Her skin was smooth without anything to mar it, a result of daily beauty regimen done for… who exactly? Until now, there was no one Winter wanted to appear beautiful for and she hadn't paid much attention to her appearance until now. Was it just unconscious vanity or a habit that had become second nature? The movement of her fingers stopped when Weiss reached the curve of her breasts.
Weiss was aware that it was a sensitive area, but until now it was something on the edge of her mind. Instead of awareness and knowledge, detached and intellectual, she now understood from instinct and experience. She made her fingers move close to the center of her breast, the feeling intensifying until she reached the very tip. An involuntary sigh escaped her lips and the sound made her stop. The girl in the mirror had a flushed face now.
What was she even doing? Weiss turned around to put on her nightgown. The feeling of the soft fabric sliding over her skin was exquisite. Forcing herself to ignore it, Weiss got into her bed and switched off her bedside light. The sudden darkness gave her imagination free reign. The girl in the mirror appeared in front of her eyes, only she seemed more mature and had Winter's face. Weiss tried to ignore her and turned around. In the dark, she felt hypersensitive and the sliding fabric made her let out another involuntary sound. The girl in the mirror moved together with Weiss, always staying in her eyesight, Weiss tried closing her eyes, but the girl was under her eyelids.
There was no way she would be able to sleep like that. She had to get herself under control before she did something utterly foolish like running over to Winter's room in her nightgown and telling her everything while tearing the nightgown off. Everyone in the manor was asleep and the servants never entered her room without announcing themselves. It was probably safe. Weiss sighed in frustration, but it seemed that if she wanted to sleep tonight, she had no choice. She lifted her gown up to allow herself easy access and moved her hand down her body. The girl in the mirror smiled at this and watched as Weiss's fingers moved to quell the fire inside her.
What seemed to be a momentary lapse of good sense had now become a fact of Weiss' daily life. At first, she found it difficult to face Winter, but with each passing day she was becoming more and more skilled at hiding her feelings. Father would be proud of that part at least.
The family breakfast was usually a tense affair even when her father in a good mood. There was no telling when news of another terrorist attack, raided shipment, or a strike would come. That's why Weiss set down her teacup when Winter suddenly spoke up.
"I have applied for Atlas Academy and was accepted," she said, "I plan on joining the army in the future."
Father looked up from his barely touched meal. "I hope you do not expect my approval," he said.
Winter shook her head. "No, but it's something you should know about."
"You realize this means that you forfeit your place as my heir," said father. It wasn't a question.
"I was never interested in running the company," said Winter.
"Do as you will," said father, "Weiss is more than ready to take your place."
Even though Weiss was following the conversation breathlessly, she at first did not realize the praise father had given her. Her mind was filled with only one thought: Winter was leaving. Winter was distant, but she was always a constant in Weiss' life just like father. And there was of course more…
Weiss realized that Winter was looking at her. Was she expected to say something? She looked at father, but he had returned to his meal. Strange, Weiss thought he'd rage against Winter's decision, but he had taken it more calmly than he had taken minor business upsets. In the end, she did not say anything. It was father's policy that children were to be seen and not heard.
No one seemed inclined to say anything. The rest of the meal passed in the usual uncomfortable silence.
Weiss was restless that night. Winter had occupied her evening and night thoughts with regularity, but it was different today. Winter's impeding absence was something Weiss wasn't prepared to handle. If there was anything she could do to stop her, Weiss would do it in an instant. Now it made sense why Winter was always training, much more than father's wishes about self-defense required.
She remembered the sight of Winter training that had started it all. Soon, there would be no more chances to see anything like that ever again. Weiss already had her nightgown on, but she got herself out of bed and walked through the cold corridors of the manor to the training room.
Her hopes have been correct. Winter was still busy with demolishing training automatons. Would she really need more training where she was already as strong as this? It was years ahead of the best Weiss could see herself doing. Weiss closed the door behind her to prevent the cold air in the corridors from coming in.
The slight noise of the door closing made Winter stop and look towards Weiss. "Weiss, why are you here?" she said in her usual level tone.
"I…" Weiss paused. Why was she here? "I wanted to see you," she finished eventually.
"So much that you couldn't get dressed?" asked Winter while walking over to where Weiss was standing.
"You're going to leave soon," said Weiss, "I didn't want to waste any time."
"Silly," said Winter, "I'll find the time to say goodbye to you, I promise."
Weiss shook her head furiously. "No! That's not what I want. There would be others then. I wanted to see you alone."
"Alone?" said Winter with an almost imperceptible smile. She was so close to Weiss now.
"Yes. Alone," said Weiss and took a deep breath. This was it. It was all or nothing now.
She took a single step forward. Her hands took hold of Winter's in hope of slowing her down for at least a moment. She had to stand on tiptoes. Finally, Weiss gave Winter a kiss on the lips.
It only lasted a second, but it made Weiss' heart beat ten times faster. Other than that, there was nothing. Winter did not act surprised or annoyed or anything. She just continued watching Weiss with the same slight smile.
Weiss could stand the silence no longer. "I love you, Winter," she said before giving her another kiss.
Winter still didn't struggle. Was this some sort of a trick? Was this Winter just some sort of super advanced android? Or did Winter just not take this seriously? Was this all just a foolish idea from a baby sister to her?
Anger welled up inside of Weiss. She pushed Winter against the wall of the training hall. Weiss released Winter's hands and instead moved to unzip Winter's training suit that so closely hugged the lines of Winter's body. "I'm serious," she said.
The sound of the zipper being undone seemed to have waken Winter up. By this point, Weiss was almost sure her words meant nothing and that she needed action. "Weiss," said Winter, "Do you realize what you're doing?"
"I am not a child," said Weiss aware that there was no way of saying that without sounding childish.
With the zipper undone, it was easy to make the suit slide down Winter's body. Except for her underwear Winter wore nothing under it. Weiss swallowed. She had fantasized about this many times before, but now that almost nude Winter was in front of her, Weiss realized she had little idea of what to actually do.
Winter leaned down to whisper into Weiss' ear. "I hope you're ready for the consequences then, grown-up," she said and kissed Weiss' ear.
A shiver ran through Weiss' entire body, followed by another one when Winter's hands lifted up Weiss' nightgown to remove it. Undressing someone else without their help was difficult, Weiss realized. So Winter was playing along the whole time?
Weiss was cold now that the nightgown dropped to the floor. Her pride was hurt and she was angry with Winter for injuring it. Winter looked warm. She pressed herself against her, feeling the heat coming from Winter's skin. Her lips were kissing everywhere Weiss could comfortably reach, mostly around the bra and Winter's collarbone. Her hands were fumbling with Winter's bra clasp. It seemed like an eternity until the bra finally fell to the floor.
Winter had no such difficulty, since Weiss was nude under her nightgown. The cold on her bare skin made Weiss shiver, but at this point, she no longer cared.
Weiss refused to stop kissing Winter everywhere she could reach even as Winter was shepherding her through the deserted corridors to her own room. She only stopped when Winter pushed her down on the bed.
Something was wrong. Weiss could notice that even through the usual haze over her mind that was there every time she woke up. She didn't have any clothes on underneath the blanket. It wasn't even her own blanket or her own room for the matter. She looked around and saw Winter sleeping in the bed next to her. Winter's bare shoulder was peeking from under the blanket, showing that she was nude as well. There was a slight smile on her calm sleeping face.
Weiss remembered everything. What had seemed like a dream in the darkness of the night was real under the rays of sunlight shining through a gap in the curtains. Winter's breath was steady and the longer Weiss observed her, the more she wanted to kiss her and gain confirmation that what had happened was really real. She leaned in and hesitated for a moment. She was so close that she could feel Winter's breath on her own skin. From up close, the curve of Winter's lips looked irresistibly inviting. Weiss took the invitation.
The sensation was just as soft as she remembered. Winter's eyes opened and the sisters were looking each other in the eyes. Neither of them made any movement for the moment. The memory of her own nudity came back to Weiss and she retreated, hurriedly gathering up the blanket to cover herself up. What had seemed natural in the night was embarrassing during the day.
Winter's smile widened. "Good morning, Weiss," she said.
"G-Good morning," Weiss stammered.
"I hope you're not planning on leaving," said Winter with a mischievous undertone in her voice.
"Uh, no?" said Weiss. How did she ever find the courage to do all that she did last night? Winter's presence was overwhelming here in her own room. Weiss had wrapped the entire blanket around herself leaving Winter completely exposed, but Winter didn't seem to pay it any mind. Weiss, on the other hand, did. Compared to harsh electric light, sunlight made Winter's perfect skin positively glow and Weiss couldn't tear her eyes away.
Winter got up on the bed and drew Weiss into a tight embrace. "Are you shy, Weiss?" she asked as her lips found Weiss' ear. Weiss shivered as Winter continued kissing her lower and lower: her cheek, her lips, her neck, her collarbone, her breasts… She sighed in pleasure when Winter softly bit into the sensitive flesh.
"I told you that you should be ready for the consequences," said Winter, "I'll be leaving soon and we have so much we have to try together."
Winter's lips continued their downwards journey over Weiss' body and Weiss' body slackened and fell backwards onto the soft bed when they reached their goal. She uttered a moan she couldn't even imagine herself making a mere day ago. She hoped that she was ready.