A/N: Congratulations on surviving the slight cliffhanger! You can pretty much always blame fiendish chapter breaks like that on Fiercesomest.

Also, good luck Blake! (Fiercesomest often says this to me when sending a reply. Usually before Weiss does something Weiss-y.)

Hugs,
Defenestrator


"Hmph," the ram Faunus sniffed, shock shifting to indignation as she glared at the snowflake insignia on Weiss's retreating back, "I suppose that's what you get for offering a kindness to a Schnee," she placed a hand on Blake's shoulder, startling the disheartened cat Faunus from her stupor. Blake wondered at the owner's knowing frown until the ram Faunus sighed and said softly, "You can do better, dear."

The words sparked a flash of rebellious anger - Blake didn't want "better," whatever that even was, she had wanted Weiss. But now, thanks to this woman's meddling, that desire had just been pushed dangerously close to the realm of impossibility.

Amber eyes burned above a fierce scowl aimed up at the ram Faunus who shook her horned head in disappointment, patted Blake's shoulder one more time, and headed back to tend to her less confrontational customers, leaving the remaining trio in an awkward silence.

"Sooooo," Neptune drawled, watching as Weiss disappeared out into the crowded street. He glanced sideways at Blake, "You gonna go after her or what?"

Blake whipped her head around to train her scowl on Neptune, "Did you miss what she just said?" she snapped, advancing a step forward when he retreated a step back, "I was... quite mistaken," she spat the words through gritted teeth and dropped her gaze to the floor.

"Pretty sure that wasn't directed at you, but uh..." Had he just witnessed a breakup? A letdown? He was of course too suave to have ever experience either, so this kind of stuff was way out of his area of expertise. Neptune desperately eyed Jaune for help, hoping the blonde swordsman had some idea of what even was going on.

Jaune dropped the bottles of sample shampoo in his haste to catch Blake's shoulders and push her after Weiss, "Go. Go, go, go."

The admittedly rough shove in the right direction was just what she needed, breaking through the immobilizing effect of her self-doubt. Blake stumbled forward and let the momentum keep her going, refusing to look back to avoid losing her nerve.

Her plan was simple: she would apologize to Weiss. Apologize for everything, and offer to forget the whole thing. Then after whatever fallout may happen, she would thank Yang for granting her one wonderful evening and morning with Weiss, and then kill her for everything else.

Considering how quickly she'd come up with it, she felt it was a fairly solid plan.

And yet, the closer she got to catching up to the heiress on the sidewalk, the weaker her confidence became, until finally when she was within arm's reach, all she could muster was a subdued, "Weiss?"

The white-haired girl didn't respond till her even stride brought the two of them around the corner of the glass-walled salon. Once out of sight, she whirled on Blake.

"This is what I meant about working things out. Even in street clothes, between this," Weiss gestured to her white hair, "and this," to her scar, "people are bound to recognize me, and frankly your bow is worthless when it comes to nosy, prying Faunus. The tabloids would have a field day if they got pictures of us, and when that disgusting excuse for news gets to Atlas, I'd-" get pulled out of Beacon? Never see her teammates again?

She choked at the thought. Not to mention the severe consequences of 'tarnishing' the Schnee name. Mastering herself, she crossed her arms, lifting her chin and turning her face away so Blake couldn't see the emotions that played across her features, "I'd have to deal with a lot of trouble."

The outburst startled Blake, but she thought she saw a flash of something like sadness in Weiss's eyes before she turned away.

Trouble. Blake scowled at the word. Of course it would be trouble - she'd known that from the very start, when she first recognized her own infatuation with the Schnee heiress months ago. She thought Weiss had known that too. Hadn't that been part of the inquisition Weiss had given her this morning?

Blake lifted a hand to reach for the heiress's shoulder, "Am I not-" she cut herself off, arm dropping back to her side. She already knew the answer - of course she wasn't worth the trouble. Actions spoke louder than words, and Weiss was being crystal clear with both.

The Faunus's fists clenched to provide some outlet for the volatile war of emotions hiding behind her passive expression. Anger, sadness, disappointment, shame - everything was a jumble and she didn't dare act on a single one of them before she sorted herself out. But even more than that, she needed to figure Weiss out.

For all intents and purposes, the heiress had been stringing her along the entire day without giving her a straight answer, and it was beginning to take its toll. She could take a yes, she could take a no, but she couldn't take much more ambiguity.

"Then... what do you want to do?" Blake tried to keep her voice level as she clarified, "What do you want?"

"To not lose you," Weiss bit the words out, holding her ground, head high, still refusing to look at Blake as she added, "Or Ruby, or Yang."

Amber eyes widened in shock, and Blake leaned sideways in an attempt to catch the ice blue that had been avoiding her this entire conversation. "Weiss, I-" a group of pedestrians coming around the corner made her stop short. She glanced around the area - the wide open street corner where people could randomly pass by at any minute.

Were there really spies from Atlas tailing Weiss at all times? She eyed the group passing by with trepidation, only stepping closer to Weiss once they'd passed and were out of earshot. "I think I understand," she kept her eyes scanning the streets as she leaned sideways to whisper in Weiss's ear, "Then we should probably discuss this somewhere else..."

The heiress pinched the bridge of her nose between her thumb and forefinger, equal parts relieved and exasperated by Blake's somewhat delayed comprehension of the situation. "This doesn't exactly call for cloak and dagger, but yes, moving off of a public street corner would be a good idea."


A cozy coffee shop tucked back away from Main Street was the natural (and most convenient) solution.

The small establishment was one Blake had frequented when she first arrived in the city. As the Faunus stood at the counter to wait for their order, her amber eyes studied the counter's glass case showcasing the cafe's wide assortment of pastries and cakes, then swept over the familiar rustic decor, dominated by red cedar and dark oak. Her gaze then landed on the short, well-worn bookcase right near the entrance, still filled with its continually rotating random offering of titles. A rueful smile pulled at Blake's lips. She wouldn't be perusing those titles today.

"Miss?"

Blake turned to see the barista who had taken her order motioning to two black ceramic mugs with a smile. She regarded the towering brunette for a moment, realizing that with life at Beacon taking up most of her time, she'd been away long enough now that she didn't recognize the staff. She would have remembered a girl as tall as Neptune.

A pang of guilt nagged in the back of Blake's mind at the way she and Weiss had all but deserted Neptune and Jaune at the salon, but the feeling was fleeting. The two's involvement with the closet fiasco was an infraction that warranted their addition to her ever-growing list of people she would probably kill before this day was over.

With a quick shake of her head to rid herself of vengeful thoughts, Blake smiled back at the barista and offered her a quiet murmur of thanks as she took the steaming mugs from the counter and turned to head around the corner.

Even if the staff was new to her, she still remembered her favorite place to sit - a small, square table flush against the back wall, partially obscured by one of the multitude of large indoor potted plants that dotted the interior - far enough from other tables that a discussion could be held in peace, but still close enough to the counter to enjoy the mixed scents of fresh ground coffee and just-baked pastries.

Two plush chairs sat on either side of the low table, one of which was currently occupied by Weiss, looking poised and pensive as she studied one of the paintings along the wall. Blake's steps slowed as she took in the beautiful sight... No - focus, now was not the time to get carried away with how the soft ambient light seemed to make Weiss's entire form glow, or how the dancing flame from the cast iron lantern on the table drew out bright flickers of blue from her eyes, or how the heiress's long tresses fell elegantly over one shoulder in a cascade of liquid silvery white and... Oh Dust.

Fighting back the unruly blush that was threatening to creep across her face, Blake forced herself forward and sat herself down, placing Weiss's mug on the table between them. She managed a half smile for the contemplative heiress as she nudged the drink towards her to catch her attention.

"Your coffee."

"Thank you," Weiss cupped her hands around the drink, appreciating the warmth as she appraised her somewhat flustered teammate.

The shop was an ideal meeting place. It was obvious Blake had been here before, and even more obvious that her feelings towards her were genuine. The clumsiness Weiss had been attributing to the previous night's catnip could certainly stem from anxious, romantic interest. Their chat in the janitor's closet had shed a lot of light on the situation, in that respect.

Ever since then, Weiss had been weighing the odds things had of working out. She hated the influence her father still held over her- even if she'd managed to escape as far as Vale- but she would be stupid to ignore it.

Operating within a carefully calculated region of risk was her specialty, though.

Weiss gripped her mug a little tighter, gaze dropping to the untroubled surface of her drink for a second. She looked back up at Blake, "If we're going to date, I suggest this be our first one."

Blake nearly choked on her sip of tea, but managed to set her mug down without spilling anything before meeting Weiss's gaze. The resolve showing clear as day in the heiress's eyes sparked that same flash of hope, running like a livewire through her veins, but learned caution drove the Faunus forward on a quest for clarification.

"You mean... you're okay with this?" She gestured between them, "With us?" Her voice dropped to just above a whisper and her head dipped forward in kind, "With... me?"

"Are you seriously asking that?" Weiss held up a hand, counting off on her fingers, "You'll notice I haven't murdered you for accosting me in a drugged delirium last night, or for being moodier than usual, or for... well..." she ran out of things she'd been upset with Blake about and took a swallow of her coffee to distract from the fact, "And besides, you're far more competent than anyone who's attempted to court me in the past."

Competent? Dust, that was probably the most unromantic adjective possible. Weiss bit her tongue and tried again, "What I mean is you're..." Intelligent? Gorgeous? How do you say something like that and not sound trite? She gave up, gaze dropping away from Blake's, "I... am very much not opposed. If you mean it, at least. I can't say it will turn out well, and any sort of arrangement we have will have to be... discreet. But I'd be willing to give it a try."

Blake stared openly at Weiss, somehow managing to keep her expression neutral despite the rush of excitement that started to overtake her the second the heiress had started speaking. This was nothing like the romance novels. This was better in every way. Forget the flowery, grandiose declarations of love written in her romance novels. There was something very real about Weiss's... unique choice of compliments. Something altogether endearing.

At long last the anxious Faunus relaxed, finally allowing herself a small sigh of relief. Bearing a genuine smile, she set her tea back down on the table and reached across to place a hand on Weiss's arm, waiting until she caught the heiress's gaze. "Thank you," she breathed, letting every ounce of her unrestrained affection bleed into the simple reply. There were so many things she wanted to say, but they would come in time. For now, she simply gave the cool arm beneath her hand a warm squeeze before drawing back and returning to her mug.

"I think I can handle discreet," she added lightly, closing her eyes to take a sip of her tea as she gently nudged one of Weiss's legs with the tip of her boot under the table. A Faunus with her background was no stranger to secrecy, and a smirk ghosted across her lips at the thought of finally having someone to share the shadows with. Though, the smirk quickly fell away when she began to fully consider the implications of the arrangement she was agreeing to.

Blake's eyes opened and immediately dropped to her tea, narrowing in contemplation. Weiss hadn't gone with her to the cafeteria for breakfast. Was she aware how many people already knew about... them? Obviously the heiress was more than aware of Jaune and Neptune, and probably their own partners... They were going to have to face the sisters eventually... "On that note, what are we going to tell Ruby and Yang?" Blake lifted her gaze back up to rest on Weiss as she spoke, brows furrowing, "...And team JNPR?"

Weiss's hands stayed locked around her mug of coffee. She was very unused to nudges and touches and well nigh any type of physical affection at all, but, well, she could deal with it. For now. Maybe, anyway. She covered her mouth with a fist and cleared her throat, hoping her face wasn't as red as it felt, "We'll tell them to keep their mouths shut and their cameras off. That shouldn't be too difficult for them to understand."


Unbeknownst to the pair in the corner, the super-duper spy crews had joined forces and regrouped at a table on the other side of the shop, cleverly hidden behind an impromptu arrangement of artificial foliage.

"Look she's blushing," Nora whispered from her perch leaning on Pyrrha's back. The hammer-wielder bounced, urging, "Take another picture!"

"Ugh, guys, this is getting really stalker-y. Can we just go home?" Ruby whined, huddled the farthest back behind a particularly bristly fake potted plant.

"I second this." Ren lifted a hand, unable to move much else from his position crushed between Jaune and Neptune as the three of them crouched behind one of the larger, droopier plants.

"Oh relax," Yang waved a hand at the naysayers as she snapped another picture, grinning down at the forever immortalized image of a beet-red Weiss being ogled by a lovey-dovey Blake. "We are gathering priceless artifacts."

"I'm pretty sure the price will be our lives if they find us," Neptune said matter-of-factly, not entirely convinced that the sight before them, which was admittedly incredibly adorable and probably once-in-a-lifetime, was worth the risk.

Pyrrha nodded in agreement, "We probably have enough evidence now to throw them a grand congratulatory celebration, so perhaps we should-" her suggestion was cut off by an incredibly loud, obnoxious cash-register noise that blared from Neptune's scroll. Eyes wide as saucers, the blue-haired blunder went deathly pale at Sun's customized message-notification sound - he had forgotten to put his phone on silent.


Weiss glanced to the unattended register on the counter and then back to Blake, frowning. "... did that register just...?"

Blake frowned as well, eyes trained in a very different direction, currently boring holes into the oddly grouped assortment of potted plants where the sound had come from. "That is not the noise it usually makes."