The fun continues!

Disclaimer: As I mentioned at the end of the previous chapter, I'll be making up a few details about these two as I go along. Don't expect certain things to stay true to canon.

…

… …

She normally hated dressing up like this, but tonight was a special occasion. She was on a date.

Glynda wore a black sleeveless dress with slashes of scarlet red down the sides, as well as matching heels (despite the fact that she personally wanted high-heels outlawed). Her sandy blonde hair was tied in it's usual bun, but with much more attention paid to how it looked. She also opted to forgo her glasses, wearing contacts instead. In short, she looked nice.

As the waiter made his way to her already-reserved table, Glynda plastered on a smile that said I'm-in-public-so-I-have-to-be-polite. Inside, however, she was wishing hateful things on her boss.

Less than a week earlier, Ozpin had called her into his office to share a… website he'd found. While that was odd all by itself, the subject of the site caused the woman to lift one eyebrow high enough to hit the office ceiling.

It was a dating site.

More specifically, a blind date matchup site.

Even as she took her seat, Glynda had no idea why she had bothered to go through with this nuttery. Apparently all you had to do was enter your name and scroll number, then answer a few simple questions. The site itself randomly matched up two users and gave them identical times and places to meet up. Glynda had been sent to a rather nice restaurant in uptown Vale.

Still, at least she wasn't at work. The teacher absently bit into the free bread rolls left for her on the table.

As the minutes ticked by, Glynda thought about her potential date. Most likely it would be someone she didn't know, but there was always a chance it would be someone she did know. She wouldn't put it past most of the teaching staff at Beacon to have registered with this site by now. Professor Port might just sit across from her before long!

If that happened… Ruby Rose would meet her match in the 'fast escapes' department.

…

… …

One hour later, the bread was gone. And so was Glynda's patience.

Her scroll beeped with a message just moments before she stood up to leave – it was a cancellation notification.

She'd officially been ditched. On her first real date.

"…"

Growling low enough that she didn't scare anybody, Glynda stood on shaky legs and made for the door. Her face was a bit hot from the blood rushing up to it, but other than that all she felt was rage. She silently vowed to hire someone to hack that website, find out who the sumbitch was that left her high and dry, and kick him so hard that he could no longer breathe from having his throat clogged by his-

BUMP. "Whoa! Easy, there…!"

Too late. Glynda landed on her backside with all the grace of a felled tree. And about as much noise.

A white-gloved hand appeared before her, along with a smooth voice, "Are you alright there, miss…?"

The poor woman was sure her face was aflame with how hot it felt right then, but she nodded, "I'll live… just without my dignity…"

She didn't dare lift her face and reveal how embarrassed she was at that moment, so she settled for getting a look at the white slacks and black leather shoes of the person she bumped into. Whoever he was, at least he was having a better night than her…

"Oh! Glynda… is that you? I hardly recognized you without the glasses…"

Suddenly that voice was lighter and more familiar. A voice the teacher knew fairly well. Finally getting the courage to look up, Glynda beheld her new acquaintance.

A tailor-cut jacket perfectly matched the white slacks, along with a sky-blue scarf just under the neckline. Brilliant white hair tied into an intricate braid that sat over her right shoulder, complimented by eyes the color of a snow-filled sky.

At least Winter wasn't drunk this time.

"And what, may I ask, brings you all the way out here?" Glynda asked as the Atlesian specialist helped her to her feet – only to catch her as the balance tipped the other way suddenly. One of the teacher's heels had broken in the fall. "Terrific," she muttered sourly.

"High heels aren't for everybody," Winter said with a grin. "You were on your way out, right? Me, too. Shall we?"

Sighing deeply, Glynda removed both heels and walked out in stocking feet. Winter was right next to her, offering a hand if the older woman needed a bit of help. Glynda could walk alright, but her hip was a bit sore from the fall.

They finally made it outside, flopping down on a bench just past the front door. Glynda tried to reach down and rub her feet, but bending in her dress was tougher than she expected. Instead she sat back against the building and let out a groan of pure frustration.

"Do I even want to know?" Winter asked casually from next to her.

Rather than talk about it, Glynda reached into her purse and pulled out her scroll to show the younger woman the cancellation message.

Winter read the screen with a stunned look, then reached into her pocket to pull her own scroll out – which displayed an identical image. Same website, even.

Green eyes and light-blue eyes met, a sense of understanding passing between the two abandoned women.

Both put their scrolls away and sighed again, this time in perfect unison. They glanced at each other and giggled.

Glynda said, "Well I don't know about you, but I came out to have a good time. Since it seems you are no longer busy… Winter Schnee, would you care to keep me company tonight?"

The white-haired woman considered her answer for about 2 seconds, then smiled warmly and said, "I would love to."

…

… …

"So… how did you find the site?"

"Would you believe General Ironwood showed it to me…?"

"I actually would."

"He said I should consider it a reward for my service so far. I suspect he was simply saying what he was told to say."

"Sounds a lot like what Professor Ozpin said…"

"I smell a conspiracy."

"And I smell a bacon cheeseburger. And I didn't get to eat earlier. In here, come on."

"Um, Glynda? You okay?"

"I will be… once I get some grease and fat into me…"

"Hoo-boy…"

…

… …

*belch* "Woooo… that really hit the spot!"

"I've never seen someone eat two double cheeseburgers in under five minutes… I'm impressed and concerned at the same time."

"It's called stress eating, back off."

"…You were really looking forward to your date, huh?"

"Weren't you?"

"Touché…"

"Still, nothing wrong with this. The whole point of going out on a date is to enjoy yourself and enjoy your company. I'm doing both right now, so I win."

"That makes two of us."

"Hmm. You know, I don't know too much about you… other than your family name."

"That's all most of the world knows. Or wants to know."

"So tell me, then. Who is 'Winter Schnee' …?"

"Making me tell my life story after eating Garlic Bomb fries? You're evil…"

"Hey, you picked 'em."

"True, true… Well… not much to tell, really. I'm 23 years old and I plan on staying in the Atlas Military until I die. That's about it."

"No plans on settling down? No… potential husband?"

"Absolutely not. First of all, any man I show interest in has to be brave enough to see through my stern face – you know what I mean – but after that, they have to endure my Father and his… tests."

"That sounds slightly illegal…"

"As a Schnee, I can only accept a husband of the highest quality. They must pass a rigorous DNA test to be sure they don't pass on some… unwanted traits to my future children."

"As horrible as that seems, it sounds exactly like something that man would do."

"Indeed. And you should see the 'list' he already has waiting for both me and Weiss. Bleah…"

"I just ate two cheeseburgers, don't forget… and I intend to keep 'em."

"Fair enough. I suppose the only important quality I would look for is someone who's older than me. I don't want to find myself tending to a child, or a newly-grown adult who can't handle themselves in a battle. My ideal number would be at least 10-15 years older than I am…"

"That's a pretty big age gap you're looking at."

"My hand, my rules."

"If your Father heard that, he'd probably burst a blood vessel."

"Oh don't I wish sometimes… … … but don't tell anyone I said that."

"My lips are sealed."

"So what about you? All I know is that you work under Ozpin as a secretary and sometimes as a combat instructor. So… who is 'Glynda Goodwitch' …?"

"Merely a woman who forgot to be a woman before she grew up to be a professional."

"That's …that's deep."

"I didn't have as many rules to live under as you do, but most of my problems were self-wrought. I just… didn't want to do anything fun. I wanted to study. I wanted to be the best there was."

"…"

"All that aside, I don't have much else to say, either. I suppose my ideal would be… … …hmm… … … I guess I have a weakness for blue eyes…"

"…"

"…"

"I see. Well, they're locking the place up… where to now?"

"Anywhere but back home…"

"As you wish."

"Oh, and Winter? In case you were wondering, I'm actually 37."

"…"

"…"

"Is it… is it getting warmer out here?"

…

… …

At this late hour, there weren't many places still open. Much to Glynda's dismay, one of those places was a bar.

Oh, excuse me – a tavern.

True, it looked nicer than the dive she'd found Winter sloshed in last time (which seemed like a lifetime ago, now), but it was still a bar at the core. Alcohol flowed more freely than water in places like this.

And of course, that meant Glynda would have a few hecklers quite soon…

Poof!

Right on cue, little devil Glynda appeared on one shoulder. Her velvety red outfit and devil horns still looked like normal, as did her unbearably smug expression. She squeaked, "Not bad, not bad… another date with the titty titan! It seems I've taught you well, Gigantor…"

Glynda very nearly started talking back to her, but quickly remembered they were in public. Confused glares were not something she needed right now. Instead she hissed under her breath, "Go away, you…"

"Hell, naw! I'm not missing the action this time, bitch!"

The barkeep, a tall man with a beard and short-cropped hair, took their order. Glynda simply asked for a hard lemonade – surely that wouldn't do too much damage, right?

Winter ordered a Sex On The Beach.

Devil Glynda started guffawing so hard that it was a wonder no one else heard the racket.

It was at that moment that Glynda noticed an absence from her other shoulder – angel Glynda was nowhere to be found.

As soon as the thought came to her head, Glynda witnessed a poof of white smoke from her empty shoulder. Angel Glynda appeared there… in a bathrobe, sitting in a tiny recliner and reading a tiny magazine.

Devil Glynda flew into a helium-fueled rage, squawking, "Are you shitting me?!" as she rapidly flew over and started a tiny catfight.

Big Glynda very nearly slammed her head down on the bar.

"You okay?" Winter asked from the stool next to her. She had removed her jacket, revealing a nice shirt underneath. And unlike both the jacket and her usual uniform, this shirt did nothing to hide her… assets.

Glynda nodded as her drink arrived, taking a sip. And trying not to stare. The bite of the lemon helped distract her.

The tiny versions of herself continued their fight as they tumbled down onto the bar surface. Winter did not bother looking over as she sipped her beverage, but she wouldn't have seen anything anyway. Those two were just figments of Glynda's imagination.

And she'd been seeing them every time she got so much as a whiff of alcohol, all her life. Every. Single. Time. In truth, they were annoying… yet she was becoming a bit fond of them by this point.

Still lost in her thoughts, Glynda swigged her lemonade in one last gulp. She winced as she tasted the harder stuff that had settled at the bottom.

Both tiny versions of Glynda suddenly jumped back like they'd been shot. They looked around in a daze, unsure of what just happened.

As the pieces fell together, Big Glynda got an evil grin over her face.

Both tiny Glyndas gulped hard.

…

… …

"Wow, Glynda… Considering how you found me last time, this is… a bit embarrassing."

"Dunno whatchur… … … talkin' abou… … …"

"Seriously… why did you suddenly order five whiskeys?"

"Makin' um… DANCE, baby! ! Woo… ooo…"

"Now I see what she had to put up with…"

…

… …

Glynda woke up with a splitting headache some time later, though she had no clue where she was. Or what time it was.

All she could tell was that she was in a bed… somewhere. She could also tell that she was no longer wearing her black and red dress, though how and why it was gone was a secondary matter.

Where did Winter go?

As she sat up in the bed, Glynda blinked as she looked down and found herself in a fluffy white bath robe. There was a fancy scrollwork capital 'S' on the chest. She also noticed a distinctly white color scheme to the room she was in.

All of a sudden she felt like she knew where she was.

At that moment, the door opened to admit Winter into the room. She carried a tray of what looked like breakfast foods. And a smile. "Sleeping beauty has arisen at last. Good morning, Glynda."

"…How long was I out?"

"All night."

"Oh… that's not so bad…"

"And all the next day. And the next night."

"… … …Oh."

The white-haired woman set the tray down on a side table, then turned back to the blonde woman and kindly said, "Not to worry. I stayed by your side the whole time and helped you detox. You'll be fine."

"I'll need to get back to work soon," Glynda mused as she munched a piece of toast. "I'm sure Ozpin is wondering about me…"

"Heh… this is a switch. Last time you helped me… and this time I helped you. I called him yesterday to tell he you would be out awhile."

"Ah… I suppose I should thank you, then."

Without thinking too much, Glynda walked forward and grabbed Winter's face in both of her hands, and kissed her.

The strange thing was, just after their first little drunken encounter, they had done much much more than just kiss… but neither of them remembered anything of those events.

That being said, with both of them being fully conscious this time, Glynda at least found the kiss to be rather… enjoyable. Maybe it was the lingering effect of her drinks, but she almost thought Winter Schnee had a minty aftertaste.

She could get used to that.

Once finished, the younger woman stumbled back a bit and breathlessly said, "Well… I see… you've recovered enough… hoo… I, uh… I'll just go and… make sure your dress is ready… to take back with you…" and stumbled out of the room with a fierce blush.

Funny… before this point, Glynda had never given any serious thought to the idea of getting together with another woman. She had always considered herself more asexual than anything else – she preferred to have no one at all – yet now she found herself with new feelings. And she liked these feelings.

There was no doubt in her mind that Winter was an attractive woman, in many respects. Sharp mind, fantastic body, and those gorgeous blue eyes…

Glynda Goodwitch, secretary to Ozpin and sometimes combat instructor of Beacon Academy, leaned back against the door and sighed. The smile on her face was quite unbecoming for someone of her station, but she could have cared less at that point.

Because she finally knew what love felt like. And she really liked it.

…

Just on the other side of the door, Winter didn't like these new feelings. They were strange and uncomfortable.

She, too, had leaned back against that same door and sighed, but her heart was troubled. New thoughts had been plaguing the young woman ever since a few days ago. Ever since Glynda told her that she was only 37.

Something changed about the older woman in that moment. It felt like Winter finally …saw her. Really saw the teacher for who she was.

And she was beautiful.

Winter had never wanted a lover. Not at first, anyway. She didn't even want friends if she was being honest. That one time she met Weiss' team during the Vytal Festival stirred only the slightest feelings of jealousy, but she didn't bother to nurture them. Better to let things like that go.

But Glynda was different. Strong, confident, and all-out gorgeous, the older woman was everything Winter would have called 'ideal.' The fact that her age was just beginning to catch up with her was not a bad thing – Winter always felt that age brought it's own form of …charm. Likely just her personal tastes. She'd been serving under General Ironwood too long, probably.

As Winter stood back up to fetch Glynda's dress (which looked absolutely stunning on her, by the way), she noted her current state: her heart was pounding hard, and there was a strange tightness in her chest area.

The taste of that kiss… the lingering sensation of Glynda's lips on her own… had left her as woozy as too many shots of whiskey.

If this was what love felt like… it was a wonder anyone could function on a day-to-day basis.

But it wasn't so bad.

As she made her way down the hall, Winter Schnee – Specialist of the Atlesian Military, eldest daughter of the Schnee family, and professional soldier – grinned like an idiot and touched her lips. The woman practically skipped the rest of the way down the hall.

She was in love. Most definitely.

…

… …

"Jimmy…"

"Qrow…"

"How'd that date of yours turn out?"

"I… had other matters to attend to. I didn't go…"

"Oh-ho… so the mighty General found an enemy he couldn't face…?"

"And what about you? Didn't you also have a date to attend?"

"Nah, I hate commitments. 'Sides, I'd rather admire beauty from afar."

"Spoken like a true lecher…"

"Don't knock it if you haven't tried it."

"Don't you think your… date… might not appreciate being stood up like that?"

"I could say the same to you."

"I'm already taking steps to compensate whoever it was that I left alone, but it's not easy. That site protects its user identities rather closely…"

"With your luck, it was probably Goodwitch…"

"Luck, huh? I would bet a lot of lien that you stood up Specialist Schnee…"

"Hah! Don't even joke like that! Me and Ice Queen? Hardly…"

"Hmm…"

*sigh*

*sigh*

"Well… better luck next time, I suppose."

"I need a drink…"

"Do you ever not need a drink?"

"Uhhh… yes. And no. I think."

"Hmm… Maybe I'll join you this time."

"Aww… is the big bad General feeling a bit lonely…?"

"…"

"…Sorry, that was uncalled for. Tell ya what, I know this great dive bar just on the edge of town…"

… …

…

Author's Note: And that's a wrap! (Look, a Christmas pun!)

I don't know why, but in my head these two actually work together. Writing this chapter took me all of two days… once I sat down and got to work, anyway. I plan to keep these chapters as fluffy as possible.

As an important note, updates for Winterspell will be few and far between. I won't abandon it… but I have other things to work on in the meantime.

Later!

^u^