Ilia stepped out onto the patio, needing a respite from the crowds inside. With the death of Professor Lionheart, nobody seemed to know who was in charge of the Mistral Academy right now. So Ghira had gotten permission to house the Faunus militia they'd brought from Menagerie at the Academy for the time being.
Everyone was celebrating and it was really loud and...happy inside. In her mind, Ilia knew that everyone had forgiven her for being part of the White Fang, but in her heart, she was finding it far harder to forgive herself. Some of the things she'd done, especially how she'd helped carry out the attack on Blake's parents... Ilia shook her head. She couldn't change the past, but she could choose her future, one action at a time. And if she spent the rest of her life atoning for what she'd done, that's the way it was. There was blood on her hands, blood she could never wash clean.
A flash of white near the patio railing made Ilia reflexively darken her skin before she realized what— or more precisely, who—it was. Blake's teammate, Weiss, that was her name, was standing there, gazing out into one of the canyons that made up Mistral City.
Ilia fought back her reflexive anger at the Schnee name. From what Blake had said on the journey from Menagerie, Weiss had been Blake's teammate at Beacon and took more after her grandfather that had founded the Schnee Dust Company than her father who had turned it into the travesty it was today.
Okay, time to work on making better choices. Ilia forced her skin back to its normal tone as she walked up to Weiss, leaning on the railing next to her. "It's a nice night. Glad it's a nice calm night."
"Yes." Weiss sighed. "Ilia, right? Blake's friend from the White Fang?"
"Yeah. Although very definitely ex-White Fang at this point. I-I'm done with the hate and violence. Time to, time to make amends."
"I'm glad." Weiss frowned in concentration as she continued. "Don't I... don't I remember you from prep school? We were both a lot younger, then."
Ilia blinked in shock. "I'm surprised you remember me. I was nobody, back in school. Just trying to keep my head down and blend in."
"I'm ashamed to admit this, but I remember you more as an afterthought to some people I didn't really care for. They weren't very nice," Weiss replied.
"Yeah." Now it was Ilia's turn to stare out across the city. "I, um, I pretended to be like them so nobody would suspect I was a F-F"
"Faunus. Which I don't consider a dirty word, not anymore." Weiss lifted her eyes from the city below them to the shattered moon above. "I used to hate the Faunus, and the White Fang, for what they'd done to my family, my father. But between knowing Blake and getting a...more balanced perspective on the world, I don't, not anymore. There are some Faunus who have definitely earned my hatred—" Like Adam, Ilia thought to herself—"but overall, I'm willing to give them a fair chance. Which includes you, if you were wondering. Blake says you've turned your back on the White Fang, and you disarmed the White Fang's bombs. So that puts you on our side, as far as I'm concerned." Weiss looked down to where her hands had a death grip on the patio railing, making herself loosen her grip. "I've learned life is too short to hold onto hate. You just have to let go and move on."
"Good. I'm learning to see humans the same way." Ilia turned her head so she could just see Weiss out of the corner of her eye. "So why are you out here and not in there with everyone? I thought I heard you liked a good party."
"I do, and I like the crowd here better than I like the crowd at most parties I've been to, but..." Weiss's hand drifted down to touch the bloodstain on her dress from when she'd been impaled by Cinder Fall. "Ilia, I almost died today. I'm just... I can't..."
"Hey, it's okay." Ilia laid a hand on Weiss's shoulder. "I get it. You're dealing. Almost dying, it leaves marks, on the body and the soul. Nobody's going to expect you to act like it didn't happen."
Weiss gave a jerky nod, and Ilia could see tears welling in the white-haired girl's eyes. "What's really bothering me is something so cliche it's ridiculous. I just..oh, I can't say it, I don't even want to think about it, it's so silly."
"Nobody's expecting you to-" Ilia began, but Weiss carried on as if she hadn't spoken.
The worst thing about it is, you know that cliché where your life flashes before your eyes? Well, for me it was true. The last thing I saw before everything went black was her face, and the last thought on my mind was that I'd never be able to tell her how I feel, and it's driving me crazy."
Weiss paused for breath, even as Ilia was holding hers. "I mean, it's ridiculous, right? There's no way she could return my feelings, I know that. But still..."
"You feel what you feel, I understand." Ilia glanced over her shoulder to the ballroom inside, where Blake was standing next to her parents, Yang, and Ruby. "I held onto my own crush for a long time, and when it finally came out, it... didn't go well. I'm not saying you should confess to whoever it is, but don't sit on your feelings so long they turn to regret. I did."
"I... I think you're right. One thing my father and I do agree on is that there's a time to act decisively. If I sit on these feelings, they're just going to eat me up inside. Thank you." Weiss took a deep breath and drew herself up straight, nodding at Ilia. "If you'll excuse me." With a decisive air to her steps, she walked through the double doors into the ballroom.
Ilia crossed her arms, watching Weiss go. I wonder who she's after? With my luck, it's Blake. If so, I wish her well. Blake deserves someone wonderful. Wow, Weiss does have really nice legs.
"Yang, can I talk to you for a moment?"
Yang glanced over from where Ruby was telling a story to Blake and her parents. "Sure, Weiss, what's up?"
"In private, please."
Frowning, the blonde brawler followed Weiss out into the hallway and then into a side room. Judging by the table and chairs, it was most likely some sort of conference room. Yang softly shut the door behind her, leaning up against the wall next to it. She watched as Weiss looked out the window on the other side of the room, her eyes following some of the militia as they walked an impromptu security patrol. "Okay, Weiss, what's going on? This seems kinda serious."
"Yang, I almost died today."
"Yeah, I know. But Jaune saved you, and you're probably going to get a wicked scar out of the deal. So next time one of those Atlas high-society girls is going on about how all that she is, you can say, 'I've been impaled and lived, how about you?'" Yang grinned, trying to cheer Weiss up.
"It's not that." Weiss turned around, shaking her head at the smile on her teammate's face. "It's... Yang, the last thought I had before everything went dark was that I'd never tell you how I felt. I didn't even realize it myself until that moment, but... I like you, Yang, as more than a friend."
Silence filled the room as Yang stood there in shock, working through what Weiss had said. "Wait, are you saying you like me, like me? As in a girlfriend kind of way?'
"Yes," Weiss said with a ragged breath. "And I realize I'm not handling this well, but I am not given to expressing my emotions in this way. And I also realize that you don't return my feelings, but I wanted to say it." Weiss turned to leave only to find Yang blocking her way. "Please let me go, I've embarrassed myself enough and would like to be alone."
"Now hold on there, princess, you don't get to say something like that and just walk off like nothing happened. What about me, huh? Don't I get any say in this?"
"Yang, please-"
"Weiss, listen." Yang reached out and pulled Weiss into a hug. "I'm not sure what to think about what you just said, alright? I need... I want to think about this for a bit before I answer you. I'll admit, when I found you in my mom's camp, my heart skipped a beat when you hugged me." Yang took a step back from Weiss, reaching up to wipe a tear from the former heiress's face. "If nothing else, you're my teammate and my friend, and I don't want this to be awkward between us, okay?"
"Okay." A smile crept across Weiss's face as she looked up into Yang's eyes.
"Now come on, let's get back to the party. I hear there's gonna be dancing, and I happen to know for a fact you're a heck of a dancer." Yang took Weiss' hand in hers, bowing down to kiss the back of Weiss's hand. "Would you accompany me to the ball, my lady?"
"I would be delighted."