It was the Saturday morning after her talk with Weiss in the library. Blake was in the dining hall, eating her usual light breakfast, a bagel with cream cheese and tea. The past few days had been... interesting to say the least. Now that she knew about Weiss's attraction to her, it was hard not to notice the changes in Weiss's behavior. Lingering looks, a tendency to sit where she could watch Blake out of the corner of her eye, sitting next to Blake when she could, small things. She shook her head. Her and Weiss were going to have to talk about that, otherwise, other people were going to notice.

Her scroll chimed, a message from Weiss. The day after the library, Weiss had introduced her to an encrypted chat client she used to manage the Deliverance accounts, as she called them. Blake smirked. Weiss's nickname on the chat was MissSnow, so Blake had taken the name of MissShadow. Weiss had criticised it as being a bit too obvious, but Blake had pointed out that hers was even worse. Ready to go down the rabbit hole? the message read.

Down the...? Oh. Weiss was probably talking about bringing her in on the plan. Yes, she sent back.

"Whatcha reading?" Ruby muttered around a mouthful of eggs.

"It's private, Ruby."

"Oooh, Blake's got a boyfriend," Yang teased.

"I do not have a boyfriend!" Blake hissed, then sighed. "It's just a friend from back home I've been talking to again, from before... you know."

"Oooh." Yang took a bite of sausage. "It's good, you having friends besides us. Say hi to them for me."

Another message from Weiss: Meet me at the docking bay at your convenience. It's time for MissShadow and MissSnow to step out. "I'll see you guys later, I'm going into town."

Weiss was waiting at the port. "Hey, Weiss, you heading to Vale?"

"Indeed." Her hand rested on Myrtenaster's hilt. "I need a part that the student workshop doesn't have."

"Mind if I tag along? Mine takes some odd parts too, and I'm looking for a better source than the one I have."

"Alright. The shop I use is a bit far away, but their selection is excellent and they're very good about special orders. They'll even deliver to Beacon for free since we're students. I will warn you that they may be more expensive than the place you're currently using."

Blake winced. She was kind of tight on cash. Still... "Well, it doesn't do to be cheap with our weapons. And I'm willing to pay a bit more if it means getting what I need fast."

"Problem with your current supplier?"

"Three weeks for a freaking retaining pin, three weeks! I had to jury-rig something and baby Gambol Shroud until it arrived."

Weiss blinked. "You named your weapon?"

"Doesn't everyone?"

"It... just seems unlike you." They sat waiting for the airship for a few minutes until Weiss broke the silence. "Mine's named Myrtenaster. I didn't build it, I didn't have the skills when I started training. But I do the maintenance myself, and by the time I'm done here, I'll be able to build something better."

"Same here. It was built for me, a gift."

Blake and Weiss chatted about weapons for a while, until the airship arrived. "Apologies for the delay," the pilot said. "There was a security issue at the dock in Vale, so they had us locked down and we couldn't leave."

"So what's the plan for the day?" Blake muttered as they took their seats.

"First, the weapons shop. I really do need a part, and it made a good excuse for going into town. Then, we disappear. I'll explain that when we get there."

"Oh good. I wasn't kidding about the retaining pin either; it's always wearing out and I'd like some spares if I can get them."

"Sounds like a design flaw. Maybe you could have Ruby look at it? She built Crescent Rose after all, and she's good with weapons."

When they reached the weapon shop (named Bleeding Edge, of all things), Blake showed Gambol Shroud to the shopkeeper and explained the problem. "Yeah, there's not a lot of call for #19 retaining pins. Let me see here...I think a #17 might work just as well, and they're a regular stock item most places."

She frowned. "Is it going to be long enough? It looks shorter."

"Well, take this one with you today and try it. If it doesn't work, give me a call and I'll order you some #19s. Call before noon on Tuesday and I should have them for you by the end of the week. Are you a student at Beacon, like Weiss? We have a student discount, and we'll deliver it to you at no charge."

"Th-thanks," Blake stammered. She wasn't used to service like that.

"Glad to be of service. You're the next generation of Huntsmen after all. It's a pleasure to get you what you need." He leaned forward and lowered his voice. "Not from around here, are you?"

"No, why?"

He flexed his right hand and claws emerged. "I don't know how they treat Faunus where you're from, but here it's better than a lot of places. You don't need to hide." He glanced over at Weiss, who was browsing the magazine rack. "And if that Schnee girl gives you a hard time, or you just need someone to talk to, feel free to drop by and chat."

Blake shook her head. "Weiss knows about me. We're teammates, friends even."

He looked dubious but shrugged. "Just remember, the offer's open."

As they down the street, Blake was watching the people walking by. "Something wrong?" Weiss asked.

"He knew I was a Faunus. If he can figure it out that easily, can I really hide?"

"Well, once I knew about your ears, that bow does move sometimes. Maybe he knew what to look for?"

"Probably, he's a Faunus too."

"Oh, I didn't know." Weiss walked in silence, then, "I suppose you're both lucky, you can hide if you want to. But I wish none of you felt the need."

"Never thought I'd hear that from you."

"After... after that night on the docks, I did some objective research. You were right. Since my father took over, my family's company has engaged in discriminatory treatment of Faunus workers and a lot of shady business deals. Maybe I'm fighting the wrong battles. Maybe I should be trying harder to take over the company, undo the damage he's done. He's not even a Schnee, not really."

"Say what?"

"My father took the Schnee name when he married my mother. His real name is Gelè." Weiss turned to look at Blake. "But I'm not my father, alright? I'm... not like him. I know I still have some of the attitudes that he does about some things, but I'm working to overcome that. I want a world where you and I can be together and nobody cares. That's part of my dream, now."

"Weiss..." Blake looked into Weiss's eyes, searching for, what, exactly? She didn't know. But what she saw there made her stop. Wonder, conviction, love perhaps? Without really thinking about it, Blake bent to kiss Weiss. She felt Weiss wrap her arms around her, leaning into the kiss. When they pulled apart, Weiss was staring at her, awestruck. "Is that a yes?" Weiss whispered, barely loud enough for Blake to hear.

"Yes," Blake whispered back

"Good." Then Weiss grinned an impish grin and, before Blake could stop her, reached up and undid the of the ribbon that made up Blake's bow. "Much better," she purred.

"Weiss!" Blake exclaimed, reaching for the ribbon. Weiss just laughed and danced away, calling, "You'll have to catch me if you want it back!"

Eventually, Weiss relented and returned the ribbon, but Blake didn't put it back on. They wandered arm in arm for a while, just enjoying being together. Blake could feel Weiss's presence next to each other, but it just felt right, comforting maybe. It was good to know there was one soul in the world that knew all her secrets and still cared for her anyway. Eventually, Weiss said "Follow me," in a low tone, then led Blake on a disorienting course that ended up on the steps of a brownstone apartment building. Inside, Weiss nodded at the man behind the front desk, then led Blake up the stairs to an apartment on the third floor.

"And here we are. Here Blake Belladonna and Weiss Schnee disappear and Miss Shadow and Miss Snow step out on errands."

Blake looked around. The one-room apartment held a large vanity with a lot of makeup, some of which looked theatrical, several dressers overflowing with clothes and more racks of dresses and suits. "What's all this? And why the crazy route to get here?"

"Street cameras. I've spotted some of them in the neighborhood and used some... less legitimate sources to find out where others are. And all of this," Weiss made an encompassing gesture, "is for disguises. Here I disappear and reappear as someone else, so I can't be recognized and followed. Same goes for you as well, now. You and I are about the same size, so some of this should fit you. But you'll have to have your own wardrobe here or people will get suspicious. I'll give you the door code, plus my streetcam map."

"You're trusting me with all this?"

"Partners in crime, remember? You already know enough for my father to lock me away forever, what's letting you borrow some clothes?"

"Okay. Let's do this."

Weiss turned and practically skipped away, leading Blake to think she might regret this part of things. It took less than a minute for Weiss to prove her right. The first outfit she came back with was black pantsuit with white trim. The problem was the matching purple top. "Isn't that a little low-cut?"

"If they're busy looking at your breasts, they're not looking at your face."

"Don't tell me you've ever worn this."

"Iworeapaddedbra." Weiss was blushing a magnificent shade of crimson, and Blake found herself wondering just how far down it went.

"Alright, I'll try it on. No promises." Weiss turned around, making Bake roll her eyes. "Weiss, we've been living together in the same dorm room for months. You've seen me in the shower after practice, even."

"It-it's different now."

Something clicked into place in Blake's mind, "Weiss, you've never been with anyone, have you?"

Weiss shook her head. "There were many who were interested in me, but I declined. It would have... complicated things."

Right. The Plan (and Blake winced as she found herself mentally adding the capital letter). Let's see... There was a rustle of clothing and then, "Okay, you can turn around now."

Weiss turned around, then froze. Blake stood there in nothing but her bra and panties, arms spread wide. "Look all you want, Weiss. Some of my scars aren't metaphorical; you might as well get a good look."

Reaching out a hand, Weiss hesitated. She'd seen hints of some of Blake's scars before, but now she could see all of them. "Those... must have hurt."

"I didn't get them all at once. I spent almost three years with the White Fang. Most of these I got before I was partnered with Adam, some after. He and I were sent on some of the most high-risk missions, the most dangerous targets. We were good at what we did, but it left marks." Weiss walked slowly around Blake, mentally cataloging the scars. "And you couldn't heal these with your Aura?"

"I couldn't do anything about the ones I got before my Aura was unlocked. And some wounds scar despite all you can do with your Aura."

"I'm all too familiar with that," Weiss whispered, reaching up to touch the scar across her left eye.

"H-how did you get that?" Blake was getting goosebumps. It was cold in here.

"Oh get dressed, for Dust's sake! I've seen all I need to. For now," Weiss snapped. Blake started to dress and Weiss leaned up against one of the dressers, sighing. "This one I can thank my father for. Shortly before I left for Beacon, an Arma Gigas found its way into the Schnee mansion. I fought it, and it wounded me, but I won. I couldn't heal the wound completely at the time, I was too exhausted from the fight. I thought about having a healer repair it completely, but before I got around to it, I learned that my father had arranged for the Gigas to get loose in the house as one final test before I left for Beacon. If I'd lost, he would have demanded that I attend Atlas or abandon my training completely. So I decided to leave it as-is. Now every time I look in a mirror, I'm reminded of why I'm doing all of this."

Blake paused in the middle of pulling on her top. There were very few people in this world she truly hated. Adam Taurus topped the list, but the more she learned about Weiss's father, the more Jacques Schnee looked fit to challenge him. She set that thought aside and finished putting on the rest of the pantsuit. "Damn. I can't wear my boots in this, and I don't have any other shoes. And I can't wear any of yours, you have such dainty feet."

"Fret not, my partner in crime, for I have planned ahead. A couple of days ago, I checked the size of your boots while you were in the shower. Then I bought half a dozen pairs to match. Something should fit well enough for now."

Blake settled on a pair of ankle boots, wishing she could wear her usual thigh-highs, then grinned wickedly at Weiss. "Okay, I'm good to go. Your turn for dress-up."

Weiss blushed and stepped into the clothing racks. She quickly pulled out jeans, a top, and a vest, setting them down on a cleared space on the vanity. Shrugging out of her bolero and hanging it up, Weiss looked over at Blake. "I'm just going to go with one of my usual outfits, n-nothing fancy."

Blake glanced over at the pile. "I don't think I've ever seen you in pants before."

"I don't like them. I don't like how they feel around my legs, and they get in the way when I'm fighting."

"You just have to get a different cut of pants when you're going to be fighting in them. They need to move differently on you, after all."

Weiss started to undo the zipper on her dress, then stopped, frowning. Ah, maybe she was feeling kind of shy? "Want me to turn around?"

Shaking her head, Weiss pulled the zipper down the rest of the way with a decisive motion, stepping out of the dress and hanging it up with the bolero. "W-Well, what do you think? I know, I'm skinny."

''You're not skinny, 'lithe' or 'toned' is the word I'd use. You're built like a professional gymnast. Which is fair, because that's pretty much what we do, except it's harder because we do it while killing Grimm." Blake gave Weiss an appraising look. "Yep, not skinny, just athletic."

"O-Okay." Blake could see Weiss's hands shaking as she dressed. Was Weiss really not used to genuine compliments? Going over the time she'd known Weiss, Blake could see the pattern. Every time someone complimented Weiss, or thanked her, she got flustered. Blake made a mental note to toss a few more compliments Weiss's way.

She watched as Weiss turned towards the vanity and began applying makeup. Instead of seeking to hide her scar, Weiss was drawing more attention to that side of her face, applying what looked to be an elaborate fake facial tattoo. "Enjoying the view?" Weiss asked as she moved on to her arms.

"Just admiring your butt. Those jeans really show it off; you should wear things like that more often."

Weiss blushed again, but this time the makeup hid a large part of it. "Now, the people we'll be paying a visit to today do and don't care about who we are. They pretend they don't know who we are, but they'll check. So you'll need an alias."

"How about Miss Shadow? That way I don't forget it."

Weiss stopped for a moment, then burst out laughing. "I'm sorry, it's just- Guess what my alias is."

"Miss Snow?" Weiss nodded, and they both lost it for a few minutes. Weiss finished up her makeup and put her hair up in a bun, then turned in place so Blake could see the full result. "How does it look?"

Blake's mouth dropped. "W-well, I'm definitely not looking at Weiss Schnee. I wouldn't recognize you and I live with you. But I will say the lovely and decidedly dangerous-looking Miss Snow looks good enough to eat. You should wear jeans more often. But I like your hair down, not up."

As they shut the door behind them, Blake noticed something missing. "Not taking Myrtenaster? Should I leave Gambol Shroud behind?"

"Bring it if you want, but be prepared to surrender it when asked. And I am armed, just not obviously. Plus there's the hand-to-hand I've been learning from Yang. Remember, "There are no dangerous weapons-'"

"'-just dangerous people,'" they chorused together. Yang was fond of the saying and repeated it often during practice.

Weiss led the way to a nearby office building and they stepped into the elevator. Weiss waved her other scroll at the control panel, and they started going down, below the one basement the directory admitted to. The door opened onto a plain grey room, and an obviously synthetic voice said, "Welcome back, Miss Snow. Weapons, please." A small hatch that hadn't been visible before opened on one wall and Blake placed Gambol Shroud inside. She was surprised to see Weiss unwrap her belt and lay it inside the hatch as well, but Weiss slipped her a wink. Right, hidden weapons.

After passing through a biometric scanner, they stepped into a beautifully appointed wood-paneled office. The man behind the desk stood and extended his hand. "Miss Snow, how lovely to see you again. It has been some time. And who is our new visitor?"

"My apologies for taking so long to visit. Certain factors required a... change in the tempo of my operation. This is Miss Shadow. She's my new partner in the venture at hand. Starting today she will have full access to all accounts. And I do mean full access."

"Full access? Even those rights normally allowed only to the account owner?" Weiss considered for a moment, then shook her head. "No, I don't think the owner privileges will be necessary. She shouldn't need to close the account, although she will need survivor's access, in case of emergencies."

The man sat back down, obviously surprised a little. "Miss Snow, you realize that survivor's privileges only apply in the case of your confirmed, legal death? That in order to authorize Miss Shadow as such, we must acknowledge both your legal identity and hers? We pride ourselves on both the anonymity and security of our operation. This isn't a step we take lightly."

"I am aware, and I don't take this lightly either. Having her able to carry out actions without my being present gives me more options. Plus she's already pointed out one gaping flaw in my agenda: Menagerie."

"Indeed." The man's eyes flickered to Blake's cat ears for a moment, then he continued. "Since Menagerie isn't on the CCT network, it complicates things for us there. But we do have a presence in Menagerie, mostly in Kuo Kuana. Providing full access to your accounts there is difficult, but what we can do is arrange a line of credit there based on a percentage of your overall accounts. If you need more funds than that, it can be arranged, it will just take longer. Or there is the option to transfer all your accounts to Menagerie."

"Let's look into the line of credit option first. I don't foresee immediate extensive operations in Menagerie, so that should suffice."

They made several more visits that day, involving various levels of security. The last one was a rented storage unit that held a change of clothes for Weiss and a duffle bag. "This is my off-campus bug out bag; I've got one hidden on campus too. You'll need one too. This has enough clothes, food, cash, and other supplies to get me anywhere in the kingdom of Vale."

Blake grinned in amazement as Weiss detailed the contents of the bag. "I don't know why I'm still amazed at how thorough you've been with all of this; planning is really your thing. Looks like you've got everything but another Myrtenaster in there."

Weiss smiled and nodded, zipping the bag back up. "This is the last resort, if my father arrives and tries to take me back by force or I get expelled from Beacon or something. One thing I can actually thank my father is my planning skills. All those business management classes he insisted on my taking in addition to my Huntress training are going to bite him in the ass." There was a grim satisfaction in Weiss's voice as she set the bag back on its shelf.

"You should meet my father; once he warmed up to you I think he'd really like you."

Weiss froze as she reached up to pull down the roll-up door to the storage unit. "I-I think I'd like that. I'd like that very much."

When they stepped out of the building housing the storage unit, they were stopped by a small man in a business suite flanked by two large men who might as well have had 'Thug' tattooed on their forehead. "Good afternoon, ladies. Mister Catalan would like a word. He believes you have some property of his."

Weiss gave the three of them an appraising look. "Miss Shadow, do you have any idea what he's talking about?"

"None, Miss Snow. I don't believe I'm familiar with this Mister Catalan, and I certainly don't have any of his property."

"Nor do I." Weiss turned her gaze back to the one who'd done the talking. "Please inform Mister Catalan that he is misinformed. We have no connection to him or his operation, nor any desire to interfere with same."

The man shook his head. "I'm afraid that this conversation is not optional, ladies. A large quantity of Mister Catalan's property went missing, and the last place it was seen was near here. And here we have a young lady we can't identify regularly visiting this facility. So he wonders what you have to do with his missing property."

Blake made a show of looking at her nails while still keeping her eyes on the thugs. "Miss Snow, he's getting tiresome. And I'm getting hungry."

"This has gone on a bit long." Without warning, Weiss kicked the talkative one into one of the goons, making him stumble. Blake whipped out Gambol shroud as she charged the other one, knocking him into a car, then turned to see Weiss shoulder-throwing the first goon into the ground, hard. Weiss sighed and slapped the talker awake. "Now take your friends and run and tell your Mister Catalan that we don't know where his property is and that what we've got going on here is some simple embezzlement that has nothing to do with him. Further interference on his part would be unwise."

They didn't get back to the dorms until late. Ruby still up studying and glared at them both. "Where have you two been? Did you have a date or something?"

Weiss laughed. "No, we ran into each other at the port and decided to go shopping. We didn't buy anything, really, but I did introduce Blake to a new weapons shop."

"Speaking of which," Blake stopped in the middle of pulling off her boots, "Ruby, could you take a look at my weapon? I have a lot of problems with it, and I know you're a real whiz with them. Maybe you could suggest some improvements?"

"Sure." Ruby yawned. "Tomorrow after breakfast, in the workshop? I think I'm ready to call it a night."

After breakfast, Blake followed Ruby to the workshop, Weiss tagging along for no reason Ruby could see. Ruby dismantled Gambol Shroud slowly and carefully, with methodical precision, stopping to ask Blake questions along the way. (The retaining pin had been looking for yesterday was mentioned.) Two hours later, Ruby was done. "Okay, there are some things here that can definitely be improved on. Some of its just parts we can swap out, but the choice of original parts may have been limited given the, um, circumstances in which it was built. But I think a complete rebuild would do you a lot better. I take it you want it to work the same?"

"Give me the list of parts we can just swap out, then. I'll worry about the rebuild later when I have the money."

After lunch, Blake slipped away to the port. The list of parts didn't look that bad, but she wanted to get an idea of the cost. Overall she was happy with Gambol Shroud, really, but it did have some problems. The pistol action jammed more than she liked, and sometimes folding the blade back when switching to pistol mode wasn't as smooth as she'd like. Okay, the pistol portion was really a problem overall as Ruby had pointed out.

Stepping through into Bleeding Edge, Blake showed the list Ruby had given her to the shopkeeper. "Can you give me an estimate on this?"

Looking over the list, he nodded. "Can do. Some of this I have in stock, some is going to be special order. I'll include estimates on how long it will take to get the parts as well."

"Actually," a much longer list was slapped down on the counter. "How about this list? I'd like an estimate on it as well." Blake turned to see Weiss standing there smiling.

"You followed me!"

"Obviously. I also wheedled the parts list for a full rebuild out of Ruby. I know you're tight on money, Blake. And if there's one thing my family's actually useful for, it's money. I don't mind buying you the parts." Weiss stopped for a moment, blushing. "I kind of want to. What else is a rich bitch g-g-g-"

"Girlfriend?" Blake interjected.

"Girlfriend good for?" Weiss finished decisively. "And I'm not trying to buy your affections, Blake, or anything ridiculous like that. I just want you to have the best weapon you can, so you're still around on graduation day." She turned to look at the shopkeeper who was scrupulously studying Weiss's list. "So what do you think of the list?"

"Like the other list, some of this in stock, and some will be special order." He tapped one item on the list. "This, in particular, is going to be hard. They're in high demand, so supplies are scarce. I'll have to do some checking Monday morning before I can give you the estimate." He looked at the two girls with a twinkle in his eye. "So which of you gets the bill?"

Blake started to speak, but Weiss hushed her with a finger on her lips. "I do." She giggled, then put her hand over her mouth in embarrassment. "Imagining my father's reaction if he knew what his money is buying is going to have me giggling all day."

As they left, Blake said, "I'll pay you back, Weiss."

"Nonsense. It's a gift for my g-g-girlfriend, and you don't repay gifts."