Author's Note: Hello friends... I know it's been a long few months and I'm sorry :( I started getting busy over the summer, and then school started to make things worse. But thank you so much to the people who have waited patiently.

Unfortunately, this chapter is not as long as I'd like it to be; but I felt bad for not posting in a while, and I'm working on the second half as much as I can. I've been writing a lot slower lately, but with enough time put aside everyday, it hopefully won't take too long to finish...

Anyways, enjoy!

It was a pretty normal Friday morning. Although no sunshine was washing through the halls from the tall, clear glass windows anymore, thanks to the switch in seasons from fall to winter; it meant the view outside was even prettier. Now, instead of seeing the summery-looking gardens that embellished the campus nicely, the trees had shed their thick foliage, leaving them naked and exposed to the snowflakes, the lukewarm pond was frozen like the floor of a skating rink, and every inch of green was covered in a blanket of snow. Weiss' favorite kind of sight.

Usually, she would've been distracted and would've stopped right in her tracks just to stop and stare at the very beauty of winter. But instead, she only allowed herself to take quick glances, as she was feeling enthusiastic and motivated about going to class; each small peek outside only pushed her forward even more.

As if the skip in her step wasn't obvious enough.

Weiss felt her heart miss a beat when she saw Blake walking towards her on her left, in the opposite direction of where she was heading. Their eyes met, and a grin grew on her lips, her gaze almost lost in Blake's beautiful amber stare. Her wavy black locks was pulled into an expertly tied top knot on her head, a separate braid wrapping around its base. As tightly as the hair seemed to be pulled back, a few naughty strands had escaped the hair tie, and curled perfectly into her cheeks, siding along the bangs that covered over her forehead. Her regular hair bow was in place, covering a secret underneath them. Her face as usual, was made up, not a single portion of her face cakey from her foundation. Highlights accentuated the height of her cheekbones, the line of her cupid's bow, the bridge of her nose. She had paired her notorious black winged cat-liner with a blue smoky eye and vampy red lip, which stole glances from various students passing by from the striking colors.

"Good morning, Blake!" she said cheerfully as they stepped closer.

Blake smiled back, giving a small wave as an amused, plucked eyebrow raised. "'Morning, Weiss."

She beamed wildly like an idiot. Her calm, gentle voice would always make her little heart sing.

It made it even better to know that she'd get to hear more of it in a few hours…

And with that, she sped down the hall happily, knowing she was going to have a good day.

A few hours later, Weiss got what she wanted.

"So you've already finished writing the introduction paragraph, right?" Blake asked.

Weiss nodded, scribbling some extra notes in her notebook. "Yeah, but I think there's still some fine-tuning to be done, so it's still kind of a rough draft." She looked up from the desk to her project partner's face. "And you've started the first development paragraph, right?"

Blake held up a sheet of paper, covered completely in writing, a triumphant smile on her face. "Finished it, actually. I couldn't type it though, the family computer was taken for the night, so i took me a while."

"Aww, that sucks," Weiss replied sadly. "Did it take you long?"

Blake laughed. "Possibly. I started at midnight and finished at 2AM."

"Whoa," Weiss murmured. Then an idea came to her head, and she smirked. "I guess we can say that you bear-ly made it."

Silence.

"What?" Blake asked in a confused tone.

She blinked.

"Oh… wow. Wow, Blake. Wow." Weiss rolled her eyes to the sky. "You really don't get it? Bear-ly? Like, bear and "ly"? Bear? Ursai? Bears look like Ursai?"

The clarity returned to Blake's eyes, and suddenly she seemed to understand it. However, the look on her face was far from impressed. "Weiss, that was terrible."

"And it's pretty terrible that I just wasted a great pun like that on you!" Weiss retorted.

A twinkle of amusement sparked in her gaze. "You're not friends with Yang, are you?"

"How'd you guess?"

She sighed. "'Should've known, her influence was becoming more and more obvious. But let's get back to the main subject here. Enough about these atrocious puns of yours." But the way she spoke made it sound like she was only joking. Weiss' eyes narrowed. If one listened carefully, it almost could've come off as a little… flirty. But Weiss waved the notion away. No need to let her repressed feelings bubble up to the surface again while she was busy working for an important grade in class.

And besides, their current situation was still rather complicated. Considering Weiss had just come out as a lesbian (whether it was true or not, even she still didn't know) for her, as well as Blake suddenly switching genders, ideas about a relationship together seemed practically preposterous. It would just make things even weirder; and it's totally not like they weren't weird enough already.

But what was even more laughable was the fact that Blake's own existence was starting to make her question her own sexual orientation. Just the thought of it brought a goofy smile to Weiss' face.

Biting her lip, she studied the checklist they had created earlier that week and crossed off the newly completed steps. "I think we're off to a good start so far. We just have to finish the second and third development paragraphs, plus the conclusion, find three useful images, create two diagrams for the data we found, and cite all of our sources."

Blake frowned, eyebrows furrowed. A loose bang hung over her eyes, seeming to block a part of her view, and she tucked it behind her ear. "Wow, that's a lot to do… When was this paper due again?"

Weiss' smile melted away. "Uh… next Tuesday."

Blake's eyes widened, the ends of her long, thick lashes softly tapping her brow bones. The lock of hair behind her ear fell out, hanging annoyingly into her face again. "What?!"

Okay, so maybe we're not off to a great start. "It's okay, Blake, we still have 4-in-a-half days to complete the paper. It's not that bad, right?"

"Yeah, but I have homework from other classes," Blake protested, "and I'm sure you do too. We can't write all those paragraphs and figure out the other parts to it that quickly."

Weiss nodded her head in agreement. It was true; they did have other classes to worry about at the same time as Grimm Studies. They could always meet up together after school or something along those lines… Unless…

An odd idea which Weiss probably should have never mentioned pried itself out through her lips.

"Why don't you come to my house?"

Blake quickly turned her head, the stubborn bang landing softly by her temple, giving a better view of her expertly smoked out eyeshadow and effortless cat-eyeliner flick, now wrinkled from her confused expression. Her sudden stiffening made Weiss internally wince. "What did you say?"

She blushed. Had she really just said that? Inviting Blake over to her home after… well, whatever they had been through? That was bound to get complex. And they didn't need it to get any worse. But ignoring her worries, she continued on. "Um… I said, why don't you come to my house?"

There was a profound, but almost cautious, tone to her voice. "Your… house?"

Panic flared in Weiss' belly. "Er, I mean, we can go to your house too, if you want," she said quickly, eyes widening. "I don't mean anything, uh, weird by it… I just figured that it'd be way easier for us to meet up over the weekend and work on it together so we can get it finished by Monday. That way there's no communication issues or anything like that…" Blake was buying this, right?

The beautiful black-haired beauty stared back into Weiss' now-unconfident glance, her fiery amber eyes almost burning through her retinas. There was something about her emotion that seemed unsure of Weiss' suggestion, as if she was doubtful about accepting the proposition. Back in the summer, if Weiss had done the same thing and tried inviting Blake over, it probably would've been considered a bit risky. A boy and a girl hanging out with each other in one of their homes? Everyone always assumed the worse whenever that kind of situation happened. And if Weiss had actually decided to bring her flirty friendship with Blake to next base and ask "him" over for a private rendezvous, news would have travelled quickly from the housekeeper to her mother, and everyone would've been both suspicious and nosy.

But now, since Blake was a she, inviting girls over was an easy task; considering her parents still had no idea she had unexpectedly came out as gay at school. Which, hopefully, Blake didn't care that much about, if the rumors had made it to her. In fact, Weiss was pretty certain that she hardly cared at all: at the library, Blake had been the complete opposite of homophobic, often speaking supportively of LGBT (plus the letters "QIA" for queer, intersex, and asexual individuals) rights whenever the subject happened to come across their conversations.

Unfortunately, if they hadn't met earlier over the summer in different circumstances, this supposedly innocent yet serious hang out session wouldn't be so easily comfortable.

"Okay."

Weiss blinked, promptly returning her back to Earth. "... Okay?"

"Yeah. Can I meet up with you on Saturday, at your place?" she asked.

The casual tone of her voice surprised her. "Uh, sure," she replied. "Um, any specific time?"

Blake paused, sliding her fist under her chin, pondering. "Well shoot, I don't think I'd be able to stay long enough to get things done…" she muttered. "Would it… would it be okay if I spent the night? I hope you have a few spare mattresses or something."

Weiss swallowed, stifling a laugh as she thought of the idea of Blake staying over until the next morning light came. "Oh, trust me, we have more than just a couple spare mattresses," she responded lightly, her hands feeling unnaturally tingly.

The bell rang loudly, its wails echoing through the classroom. Except, this time around, they didn't sound so awful to Weiss. "Awesome," Blake said, beginning to gather her books together. "So, what's your address?"

"I'll send it to you through your scroll." Weiss stuffed some papers into a spare folder and stacked it over her notebook. The two simultaneously stood up from their chairs and headed for the exit to the hall, materials filling their arms.

Just before they left out into the large lunch rush, Blake reached out with a free hand and touched Weiss' arm with her fingertips. Her soft touch sent sharp tingles through her skin. "So, I'll see you around tomorrow at 4PM?"

Weiss smiled. "Most definitely."

Blake grinned, spreading her dark red lips to show a set of gleaming teeth that sparkled in the light. Her heart skipped a beat, her jaw almost dropping involuntarily at the sight of it. Weiss felt like the view was perfect: her glowing face, smoky eyes, cute hair. All that bothered her was that single lock of hair, still balancing calmly on her cheek.

Biting her lip a second time, Weiss shifted the weight of her books in one arm and brought her hand to Blake's cheek, gently brushing the hair away from it and scooping it back behind her ear, fingers grazing her soft painted skin. "Sorry, that was… um, bugging me," Weiss said.

But by then, the beautiful smile had already melted off of Blake's face, leaving a blank, confused stare. And it was like she had remembered: their old meetings back at the library over the summer, sitting on bean bags, their bodies close and their gazes warm, talking back and forth about school and hobbies and life and everything sweet or sorrow in between. Weiss discovering about Blake's secret identity as a Faunus, Blake entrusting her with it. The two kissing passionately on the last day of summer.

It pained Weiss' heart that they couldn't be together again, couldn't fall in love the way she had envisioned it, and wanted it to, months and months ago. And whatever it was, it was thanks to Blake. Blake, who was, despite allowing social interaction, still being dishonest and not telling the whole story, not giving some kind of explanation as to why she was in a new body, no longer acknowledging the dear moments they had shared together.

The hurt in Weiss' gaze must have been even more noticeable, because there was an unmistakable guilt about Blake's glance. She swallowed, looking away to the floor, feeling anxiously at the ear Weiss had just touched. And when she looked up again, Weiss could see her eyes on the edge of watering.

"Call me later, okay?" she murmured. And with the swish of her skirt, she turned on her heels and walked away, leaving Weiss to stand alone and bitter as her peers passed by, indifferent and uncaring, unknowing of the difficult situation at hand.

It was a Saturday morning. Snow littering the gardens and cold wind bustling through the air. Sunshine, rare in the winter, casting its glow over the mansion. The Saturday morning that Blake was coming.

Weiss shuffled nervously about her bedroom, her bare feet rubbing off the designer rug that had been recently vacuumed. Even if she usually never had to tidy her bedroom thanks to the maids in the house, she had made a special effort to try cleaning it up herself: making trips to the large storage closet, breaking out feather dusters and spray bottles, sweeping and mopping the wood floors, spritzing the windows with ammonia… all, of course, with a little help from the maids too.

After having explored the depths of her big closet when thinking of what to wear, she had finally come down to two outfit selections, and had placed them on her giant bed, staring at them tentatively, wondering which to put on. On one side was a beige long-sleeved blouse and a burgundy pleated skirt that she wore to town; on the other was a gray ruffly top and tight black skinny jeans that she wore at home. Both were casual yet cute, simple yet dressy. Mostly appropriate for project-working attire, but still pretty to look at. At least, that's what Weiss was hoping the outfits were going for.

Even if Blake wasn't acting like a guy anymore, she still couldn't help but feel the need to impress her. She'd spent several hours the night before, contemplating which hairstyle would be most attractive, but also most convenient, for the night when Blake came over. She'd tried deciding on whether to have Blake sleep in a guest bedroom or in her own bedroom: and as risky as a situation it was, wasn't that how regular sleepovers worked? But if she slept in her room, they'd have to pull out a spare bed, or a mattress for the floor, or they could share the same bed…

She sighed, knowing better than to get herself anxious over those kinds of things. The message that she had sent Friday evening that contained her house's address had been difficult alone.

She wondered whether her outfit choices were going too casual or too formal, or if they'd be appropriate for the day. The burgundy skirt fluttered above her knees in length, making it easy for her panties to flash. And the gray top was tiny enough that her bra straps would probably slip out from under its teeny straps. Had she been going for smaller clothes on purpose? The thought made her blush.

Weiss picked up each clothing piece, running her fingers over its material, trying to come to some sort of decision. Only a few minutes later did her eyes wander to a different corner of the room, on a certain strapless black dress with a thick gauzy skirt that she picked up over the summer, hanging listlessly off her closet door, holding on from a pair of invisible straps normally tucked inside of it.

Weiss clearly remembered the laughs she had gotten when her friends had seen her buy it on their big, August shopping trip, in which she had wandered into an obscure, hipstery Hot Topic-like store, filled with gothic clothes. Ripped t-shirts, torn jeans, thick petticoats, and avant-garde jackets adorned the walls, somehow managing to entrance her inside. The dress, standing tall and elegant on the model which it gowned, hadn't even been her color: its dark tones clashing strongly with her light blue eyes and snowy white hair. Even Weiss herself hadn't been entirely sure why she had gotten it. Or so she had claimed, at the time.

In reality, the first person she had thought of when seeing it was Blake. At the time, Blake had given off the impression of a dark, emo guy who only dated a specific kind of girl: the kind of girl who wore black, black lacy dresses and grungy Doc Martens boots. His all-black attire the day she met him had left that lasting impression on her since. And even now, Weiss hardly gave off the impression of someone like that. She still liked wearing plain-colored designer clothing with high fashion heels: and she liked mixing white with her black clothes for a bolder statement.

So when she had seen the dress, it had gotten her thinking about Blake. Sure, emo and goth weren't the same kind of style: the only similarity they had was their color scheme. But she hardly knew what emo girls wore, and the gothic dress was the closest she had found to it, while still being somewhat formal. And besides, she had actually kind of liked the dress.

Unfortunately, Weiss had never been able to work up the courage to wear it to the library after purchasing it. As pretty and striking as it was on her, she'd worried too much about Blake's reaction. Would he have liked it? Would he have hated it? Would he have stated his opinion on it? Would he have even cared? The possible trauma behind the situation's various outcomes had been too much for her to handle.

For no apparent reason, Weiss stripped off her camisole and shorts and pulled the dress off the door. She unzipped the back and tugged it up and over her legs, pulling it on to her torso and awkwardly zipping it closed. She stepped to the large full-length mirror that sat by her window, and stared into its glass reflection.

She couldn't help but laugh at herself: her younger self could've never imagined her in such an outrageous dress. Its dark color contrasted sharply against her skin, and she could already see the people staring if she were to wear it in public. The sweetheart neckline was trimmed with satin, with ribbon lacing up the stomach to tie in a bow under the breast cups. Despite the strange style, she admired it on her body. The corseted bodice minimized the size of her waist, although did little for her small chest: the large skirt billowed gently around her thighs, giving the impression of wider hips. She even did a little twirl, feeling the hem lift up and glide in the air in circles like a pinwheel.

Weiss smiled in the mirror, posing side to side, placing her hands on her hips and tossing her long hair back and forth. She knew she had a pair of black heels somewhere that could match with it: and maybe some dark makeup would add extra flair. The thought made her grimace. She was about as good with makeup as Yang was good at silencing her quick pun wit.

She turned to the wall to check the clock, feeling the air move around her legs as the dress did. It was 3:50PM. Blake was probably on the road by now, heading straight for the Schnee manor. Her heart almost caught itself in her throat at the realization of it. Blake. Coming to her house. For an entire night. That was a fantasy she could only have dreamed of a few months ago. Now it was finally happening.

She had to start seriously getting ready. Unzipping the dress, Weiss pulled the gown down her legs and tossing it inside her closet, shutting the door behind her. She spent 10 last seconds contemplating over her outfit options before finally choosing the blouse and skirt. Looking cute and feminine suddenly became a priority. She fastened the skirt to her waist and pulled a pair of black socks to her thighs, in case Blake didn't like the oxblood polish she had painted on her nails the night before, as a last-minute decision. As she was buttoning up her top, the landline telephone by her left end table rang. The blood drained from her face: the maids only called when a visitor had arrived. Or for their chores like doing laundry. But in this case, it could only have been for one reason.

Reluctantly, she padded to the end table and picked up the phone, placing it to her ear and twirling the cord in her fingers. "Y-Yes?" she asked.

"Miss Schnee, there's a guest parked outside the gate," a maid's voice spoke. "Her name is Blake Belladonna, and she claims to be a friend of yours?"

Weiss' eyes widened. She'd arrived 10 minutes early. "Yes, yes, let her in, please," she said quickly. "I-I've was expecting her company. She's the guest I mentioned to you earlier?"

"Of course, miss. Pardon my ignorance, there was a quick staff change earlier... We'll bring her to the front entrance. Shall we take her up to your personal quarters upon entry?"

"No, no... I'll be there at the door," Weiss stammered.

"Very well, miss. I'll see you there." The maid hung up on the other end, probably going out to fetch Blake and take her inside.

Weiss returned the phone to its resting spot and ran out of her bedroom, shutting the door not so quietly and scampering down the hall, running straight past the elevator and bolting towards the giant staircase. She skipped down the steps, rolling her eyes to herself as to why her father had decided to put her room on the fourth floor of the mansion, and why the steps had to be made of slippery marble.

She had arrived on the last set of stairs, being able to see the front door across the big living entrance area, filled with professionally upholstered couches and imported wooden chairs, and she skipped down, trying not to make any sort of misstep that would cause her to trip and fall. And just as she padded across the carpet, her soles warm from friction, she saw the doorknob begin to turn.

Weiss drew in her breath sharply, staring with wide eyes as the door clicked, about to open. She quickly looked down at her clothes to make sure they weren't rumpled, nervously smoothing down her skirt, patting gently at her hair to make sure no baby hairs were sticking up, running a hand over her combed ponytail. It was only when she started feeling at the buttons on her blouse that she realized that she hadn't yet changed out of her black bra: it showed through the light-colored fabric like a shadow through a clear window.

But the panic had registered too late—the door was already open and one of the maids, dressed in a high-collared black shirt & skirt uniform with a clean white apron, entered with a familiar, dark-haired girl behind her.

Just as she had expected, Blake had shown up looking casual. Her black hair had been pinned by the back of her head, a long thick braid resting on the right side of her chest, a black beanie pulled over the top of her head to conceal her ears. She hadn't done her makeup as extravagantly as she usually did for school: in fact, it looked like she wasn't wearing any at all. Her pale face didn't seem to be shaded by any bronzer or blush, her eyebrows weren't colored in, her lips were unpainted, and her eyes weren't lined, or packed with shimmery eyeshadow. However, there was almost a sort of natural beauty to her face that afternoon. No dark circles were under her eyes, her full mouth wasn't chapped, and her eyelashes still fluttered long like a hood over her irises. As for how she was dressed, her outfit reminded Weiss, with a bitter sting, of how she used to dress over the summer. Regardless of the hot weather, Blake had always gone out in black hoodies, black jeans, and black canvas sneakers. But today, she had traded the regular black skinny pair for navy, no longer appearing as dark as she used to.

Weiss exhaled slowly, taking in her appearance almost in awe. Even when she wasn't dressed formally, in the Beacon Academy uniform with pretty makeup and lovely hair, she still looked as beautiful as ever. If she hadn't been so infatuated, Weiss probably would've been green with jealousy: she could never pull off a look so effortless as that. Even if she was an expert at putting on cosmetics and arranging her hair, it would've been so hard to come even close to Blake's beauty. But now she was just the opposite: pink with adoration.

As she entered the room, Blake's jaw dropped lightly, her head tilting side to side to explore the room's grandiosity with her intense amber eyes. She glanced from floor to ceiling, wall to wall, before coming to observe the expensive furniture and the gleaming staircase. The words "welcome to the Schnee Manor, Miss Belladonna," from the maid seemed to have been ignored, lost in translation as she continued to take in the splendor of the mansion. Weiss forced up a small smile. At least impressing Blake with her house had already been covered by the interior designer her parents had hired years back.

Blake finally stopped eyeing the whole room when her gaze came to meet Weiss'. Their eyes locked instantly, and Weiss swallowed a nervous gulp and quickly crossed the room to formally meet her. "Blake," she breathed, coming to a halt a foot away from her. "I'm glad you could make it, I didn't know you'd be here so early…"

She was surprised to see Blake not reply: just stand there and stare at her incredulously. It felt a tad awkward, and Weiss suddenly felt enormously self-conscious. Had her hair frizzed up? Was her skirt a strange length? Did she see the black bra protruding like a broken bone out of her beige blouse? Would she be able to read her mind judging from how badly she was probably blushing? "Um, Blake?" she asked in a small voice, her hands grasping each other.

"Um, Weiss?" Blake repeated. "How come you never told me you were so… rich?" Her voice was mixed with amusement and amazement.

Weiss laughed nervously. "I… forgot?"

To her heart's content, Blake cracked a big smile. "Like, oh my god, Weiss…" She turned around in a circle to admire the room once again, her arms swinging around her. "Like… wow." She pointed to the living area filled with furniture. "Are those all designer brands?"

"Um, yes," Weiss replied, trying to recall any significant names. "My parents are a big fan of the company French Heritage."

She raised an eyebrow. "French Heritage? Sounds pricy." She aimed an index finger at one of the silkily-upholstered arm chairs that lay by one of the far corners of the room with a high end table flanking its side. "How much did that chair cost?"

Weiss felt her face grow blank. "Um... $4,170?"

Blake's jaw dropped farther down that time. "$4,000?!" she demanded, her grin widening. "Do you guys at least have anything practical, like Ikea furniture?"

Weiss blinked. "Pardon?"

Blake snorted, tilting her head in complete disbelief. "Never mind."

Weiss could only imagine the shade of red her cheeks had turned. "So, uh… have you had dinner yet? We can eat now, or I can have the maids bring up a meal while we work, if you like."

Blake laughed, music to Weiss' ears. "I mean, as much as I'd love to try the food your cook makes… you have a cook right?" Weiss nodded. "... We should probably start working on the project." While her eyes still seemed light, they were also focused with a new kind of energy: the energy to be productive.

Weiss smiled, her heart beating vigorously. "O-Of course."

So that was the chapter XD Liked it? Didn't like it? Let me know by leaving a review; I'm always willing to lend an ear for feedback or advice about writing, it helps me out a lot and helps me improve. If you have any questions, you can send me a PM, or just write a review, I'm not very picky...

Thanks a bunch of reading, and have a great day!

(And special thanks to the League of Legends forums for all the bear puns, since I couldn't find any others)