"Weiss!" Ruby yelled, tackling the heiress as she stepped into their dorm room. "How was Menagerie?!"
"Ruby." Weiss struggled to escape the younger girl's grasp. "What did I tell you about tackling me right when I step into the room?"
"Uhhh, not to do it?" Ruby gave Weiss a massive grin. After a moment, Weiss sighed and hugged the younger girl. Ruby was after all, Weiss' (she never used this term out loud) BFF.
"It was good. Saw Claire and Wave." Weiss pulled her scroll out. "I have pictures!"
"Oh my Oum, let me see!" Ruby squealed. She thought the twins were the most adorable things in the world. Weiss unlocked her scroll and pulled up her photo album, before handing the scroll to Ruby to see. "They're so cute in their onesies!"
"Let me see." Blake sauntered over, peering over Ruby's shoulder. A smile appeared on her face as she took in the twins. "That's adorable."
"Where's Yang?" Weiss looked around the dorm room, not sensing the blonde girl's presence anywhere.
"With her boyfriend." Blake replied, resting her chin on Ruby's shoulder. It was a possessive gesture, to say the least. Maybe Weiss was just overthinking things. "They're on a…'date'."
"Yang has a boyfriend?" Weiss looked confused. "Since when?"
"Oum knows." Ruby said, continuing to scroll through Weiss' photos. "Oh, they look so cute with their parents!"
"That's the last photo, so can you hand it back to me-" Weiss made as if to take the scroll back.
"Huh, who's this Weiss?" Ruby and Blake were looking at the scroll, questioning looks on their face. "I've never seen him before-"
"Give it back!" Weiss swiped the scroll from Ruby's hands.
But it was too late.
"Weiss, was that…?" Ruby and Blake simultaneously turned their gazes to Weiss, who was blushing heavily.
"Um-um." Weiss' eyes darted around the room, trying to find something to distract her teammates with. Finding nothing, she went with the age-old excuse for a quick escape. "I-need-the-bathroom-bye!"
"There's a bathroom right here-" Blake said, but Weiss was already gone and through the door.
Blake and Ruby looked at each other.
"You don't think?"
"Well it would explain why she didn't tell us...?"
The two girls silently agreed that they would not let Yang know what they had just seen.
No doubt Weiss had enough on her plate with that.
"At least he's cute." Ruby said, at a vain attempt at consolation.
Blake swatted Ruby's head, eliciting a giggle from the girl.
The two had grown closer in the past three years, and the exact nature of their relationship was unknown, even to them.
"Empty your mind." Ferris murmured to himself, taking a deep breath. His aura had manifested itself as a scarlet shroud, an indication of his mastery of the technique. "Reinforce, reinforce, reinforce-"
Briiiing
"Damn it!" Ferris cursed, reaching for his scroll and putting it on speaker. "Ferris here."
"Yooooo Ferris." Cassian's voice said. "I have a question."
"...This has something to do with Weiss doesn't it?"
"How'd you guess?"
"You don't normally call me." Ferris sighed and stood up. He was dressed in a pair of white hakama pants and not much else. His weapon, a full body suit with countless spools attached at seemingly random points, lay on the ground next to him. "What do you want to ask?"
"Her boyfriend."
"What about him?" Ferris begun to attach the different parts of his weapon to his upper body. "I can't comment too much, for obvious reasons."
"Do you have any clue why she didn't tell us about him until now?"
"...perhaps." Ferris wondered exactly how he should handle this.
"Are you planning to share?"
"As of this moment...no."
"Oh but you are." Another voice appeared on the line, one that caused Ferris' blood to freeze. "After all, I'm her sister."
"Ms. Schnee?" Ferris cursed internally. This wasn't good. "How nice to hear from you."
"I go by Mrs. Gray now." Winter Gray's voice was level, but even Ferris could sense the intent in her tone. "Now then, what was this about my sister's boyfriend?"
"...Can't you respect your sister's privacy?" Ferris decided to try a different tactic. "I mean, you kept your relationship with Cassian a secret for-"
"Don't try to play games with me Ferris." Winter's voice was harsh. "Now tell me. Who is this boy? Is he a White Fang member? A Faunus? The heir to a rival company?"
"If it was those things-" Ferris sighed. "-I wouldn't be so stressed."
"It's something worse than that?"
"Well, that's a matter of perspective." Ferris pulled up the report that he had compiled on the boy. "I have his personal report right here."
"Background checks out?"
"Nothing out of the ordinary. Normal family, normal childhood. No connections to any major companies or terrorist groups."
"Health?"
"Still waiting on his childhood reports, but his general checkups seem to be in order."
"Previous romantic history?"
"Weiss is his first girlfriend."
"Is he a Faunus?"
"...does that even matter?"
"To some people it might."
"No, he's human."
"...anything abnormal at all?"
"Well he's some sort of child prodigy, so he got into Beacon a year earlier than the rest of his peers-"
"So what's the problem then!?"
"Well you see…" Ferris sighed. "That's the problem."
Weiss walked down the aisle of the grocery department, her scroll displaying a list of ingredients that she needed to buy. Her boyfriend would be returning from his training mission soon and Weiss wanted to have a delicious meal waiting for him.
"Let's see…" Weiss checked the list again. "I need carrots, chicken stock, pork knuckle-"
"Oh hello Weiss!" A familiar voice called. Looking up, Weiss found herself face-to-face with Velvet. "I haven't seen you in an age!"
"Hi Velvet." Weiss greeted the Faunus. Velvet, upon graduating, had immediately returned to Menagerie, where she became a member of their self-defense force. In three years, she had risen to the rank of Vice-Commander, the second highest rank attainable. "I didn't know you were back."
"Yes, well there's a conference of sorts being held here for all the military commanders and I was sent as Menagerie's representative." Velvet laughed and scratched her head. Gone was the shy and scared Faunus, replaced instead with a confident and capable leader. "I have to admit, I'm quite nervous."
"I'm sure it will be fine." Weiss replied, grabbing a tin of chicken stock off the shelf and dropping it into her bag. "Remember, confidence is everything."
"I'll keep that in mind." Velvet grinned. "Any advice from the Schnee heiress is good advice."
"I wouldn't go that far." Weiss looked around for the salt and pepper. "Though I won't deny I haven't had experience."
"I would imagine so." Velvet laughed. "Though, are you planning a special meal or something? Because that's quite a lot of ingredients there."
"Yes." Weiss glanced at the basket. "A friend's getting back from their training trip."
"Oh really?" Velvet paused for a moment, deep in thought. "I didn't realise that fourth years had training trips around now. I thought only first-"
"It's a special assignment. From Ozpin." Weiss quickly interjected.
Velvet blinked, but didn't pursue the point, much to Weiss' relief.
"Well, I'd better be off then." Weiss lied. "Need to prepare dinner!"
"Oh, well nice chatting with you!" Velvet said, giving Weiss a sunny smile. "Thanks for the advice!"
"No problem!" Weiss yelled over her shoulder, darting down the aisle.
Velvet watched until the Schnee heiress disappeared around the corner, before letting out a sigh.
"Weiss, what have you gotten yourself into…?"
To Weiss' surprise, someone was waiting for her outside the supermarket.
"Ms. Schnee." Fenris bowed her head upon seeing Weiss. "I hope you are well."
"Fenris." Weiss nodded at her other bodyguard. "I wasn't aware you were on duty today."
"Ferris told me to come speak with you." Fenris held her hand out. "Here, let me carry your bags."
"Thank you." Weiss handed her bags to Fenris, who carried them effortlessly with one arm. "Now, I assume this is about my boyfriend."
"Yes." Fenris led Weiss to the waiting car, holding the door open for the heiress. "Will you listen?"
"It's not like I have a choice do I?" Weiss sighed, relaxing in her seat. "So, what of him?"
"What's he like?" Fenris asked, sitting opposite her heiress.
"What's he like?" Weiss parroted, not expecting that question. "In what sense?"
"Is he a nice? Funny? Sarcastic? Romantic?" Fenris listed a number of adjectives.
"He's…" Weiss paused. Now that she thought about it, she wasn't quite sure how to describe her boyfriend. "Well, I like him a lot."
"That answers nothing."
"It's hard." Weiss bit her lip. "I really don't know what to say about my relationship. He makes me happy?"
"Have you done it?"
Weiss blinked, unsure if she'd heard correctly. Fenris, taking her silence as meaning she didn't understand, tried again.
"Done the deed? Struck a home run? Dived into the shee-"
"OK, I get it!" Weiss shouted, having enough of the synonyms. "And why would you need to know about that!?"
"I believe we both know why this is important." Fenris glared at Weiss. "So, answer the question."
"I-I refuse to talk about such matters with another!" Weiss shouted, looking angry. "M-my sex life is not up for discussion, understood?"
"Ms. Schnee." Fenris looked Weiss directly in the eye. Unlike Ferris, Fenris did not back down. "I want you to remember that there are legal ramifications behind certain deviant acts. It would be best if you remember this if you choose to pursue this path."
"I am aware Fenris." Weiss replied, her gaze unwavering. "You need not worry about me."
"That's my job I'm afraid." Fenris replied, giving Weiss a terse smile. "Tread carefully Ms. Schnee. I have no wish to interfere in your private affairs, but I will not hesitate to do so should it be required."
The car rolled to a stop as it arrived at the Vale airship port.
"It'd be best if you remember your place, Fenris." Weiss gave the woman one last scathing glare, before exiting the car.
Fenris watched as Weiss trudged to the airship port, shopping bags in hand.
Her expression was unreadable, her thoughts known to none but her.
"Headquarters please." Fenris said to the driver, once Weiss disappeared into the airport.
She needed to meet up with Ferris and plan their next move.
A small look at Fenris. She's very different from her boyfriend, isn't she?