"What in the world is my sister thinking?"

"I doubt she was, depending on her company."

"Are you implying my sister was provoked into writing this?"

Glynda let out a small laugh. "I'm implying that some people among our fold agitate your sister to no end, and when they do, she tends to lose sight of her temper. Opinionated though she may be, I'd wager she wouldn't have been quite so volatile, if she were in a better mood."

Weiss was hardly soothed by the thought of that. "Then she should focus on her own concerns. Not you and I."

Though, she couldn't quite blame Winter, either.

Glynda and Weiss were both public figures, both of them headstrong and capable. They were both women, which brought them under scrutiny, and they were huntresses, a highly questionable profession as of late. After all, not all hunters chose to be people that worked for the good of others. Some were greedy, dangerous people, who slaughtered Grimm because they had a taste for blood, not because it aided the people.

Even Weiss had take note of all the added social pressure they received. Furthermore, it was a difficult thing to be in such a complex and closeted relationship.

Compounding this, Glynda was not the easiest person to get along with when it came to work. She would always hold a much higher position of authority than team RWBY. Her word was almost the same as Ozpin's, and so it stood as law. Weiss was more than willing to compromise, given Glynda's several years of expertise. However, the same could not be said for everyone else. As such, there was a small divide between Weiss and her teammates when it came to mission related endeavors.

Out of her entire family only Winter knew, and didn't approve at all. The eldest of the Schnee siblings abhorred the idea. Concern for Weiss's happiness superseded Winter's retorts, but it didn't stop her from sending promises of retribution if ever Weiss was mistreated.

Weiss crumpled up one such letter and deposited it in the trash before sitting back down at the table for supper. "You don't have to entertain my sister's ludicrously bad temper, no matter what the cause."

"I'm used to it." Glynda said passively, pouring more sparkling cider for the both of them. "Besides, she's merely making a show of how annoyed she is. Honestly, I can't say I blame her."

"I don't like the way she speaks to you."

"Perhaps not, but she means well." Glynda murmured, even she found their budding relationship difficult.

Weiss scowled in a manner that was very much a carbon copy of her older sibling's expression when her feathers had been ruffled. Though Glynda would never dare admit it, she found such an expression cute. Perhaps it was because Weiss was younger, and her features were more delicate. Or maybe it was because she used the aggravated look more willingly than Winter ever did. Either way, Glynda always found herself amused by it.

"I'm afraid you'll have to elaborate." Weiss said, lifting her glass to her lips.

"Very well." Glynda smirked, tenting her fingers to rest her chin there. "Romance for the sake of a cause is a fickle thing, and Winter knows that. Times are difficult, and comfort for those such as ourselves comes rarely. She suspects that our relationship has something to do with our circumstances."

"So she's being a pain in the behind, so what? That's hardly an excuse."

"In many cases, romances such as those do not last." Glynda warned carefully. "Say we meet our goal and defeat Salem…an impossibly, but for the sake of argument, there would be nothing left…the one foundation upon which our union was built would crumble. It happens far too often among hunters and the military alike."

At this Weiss took a breath, her features softening. "That's incredibly offensive."

"Perhaps, but the slight falls onto me personally." Glynda righted herself, and went back to her meal. "It has little to do with you. I wouldn't concern yourself with it."

Weiss frowned at that, suddenly not very hungry anymore. With all of the poise and careful control beaten into her at a young age, she set down her knife and fork. "I am going to be concerned. Telling me not to worry will only force me to worry more. Ruby's right when she says there's no use tip-toeing around large issues."

Glynda took a breath. "Weiss, there are only two things a solitary huntress must concern herself with. Her safety, and her reputation. Everything else will come with time and effort."

"Didn't you have a team, same as everyone else?"

Glynda shrugged. "In my youth, I valued other things. As a result, I may have cultivated quite the long list of regrets. Needless to say, the emotional scars are still apparent to this day." Glynda sipped at her drink again, knowing that stalling was out of the question. "Our inner circle speaks rather openly, Winter is aware of my past. I'm sure she sees it as a threat to your wellbeing."

Weiss only offered a weak smile. "Saying it like that makes it sound like you're somehow robbing me of my innocence."

Glynda didn't ease the accusation. Instead, she sunk herself deeper into it. "In her eyes, perhaps I am."

"Never mind my sister, Glynda. What about you? Do you think that way…that you've somehow corrupted me?"

It took some time for the older woman to reply, but when she did, her words were soft and a bit uneasy. "Haven't I? Haven't we all, in some way or another?"

"If Yang dodged a question like that, you'd have her cleaning the arena floor with a tooth brush."

"What I'm saying, is that dire circumstances brought us to seek this relationship. If Beacon had not fallen and you had spent your time here, you would have graduated. Likely, you would have taken a different path. My influence on you would have been minimal. As such, Winter may have a point. This…whatever this truly is between you and I, may in fact be out of line."

"In that case, she may not be wrong." Weiss agreed. "However, even if it is out of line, that's for you and I to worry about, not Winter."

"She will be coming to Vale, have thought about what you might say to her?" Glynda pressed gently, wondering what Weiss was truly thinking. "I'm sure she'll have plenty of inquiries on the subject, and to that end, she will seek answers."

"There were only two paths to begin with. My future had always been streamlined in such a way. The first of which would have included being my father's prized little puppet, and that outcome needs no explanation."

"And the latter?"

"I don't know." Weiss replied just as softly. "Mind you prior to Beacon faltering, I never thought for a moment that such a thing was even remotely possible…so, under that stipulation, I was prepared to settle in Vale. If my father wanted to make my goals impossible, I always assumed I'd rely on my team. I could bide my time, gain popularity, and go back to Atlas when the time was right…assuming that there was even a right time to go back at that point."

"There seem to be many assumptions in your planning."

"It was my own blindness, I should have known better." Weiss waved the matter off entirely. "Either way, neither of those things happened. I'm not completely sure what's right anymore. My team has changed, my outlook most certainly has too, and what's left of my conviction may not be enough to appease my sister…I realize that…in the wake of disasters such as these, being so unsure about everything might be distasteful, but, it is what it is."

Glynda felt a pang in her chest at that. "In our line of work, distasteful or not, uncertainty is to be expected. What you must remember is that you are not alone." Although it was probably the wrong thing to encourage, Glynda found herself unable to care about the repercussions. "I am also by your side. I have no intention of casting you aside, Weiss, no matter what anyone else may assume."

AYangThang: I was woken up from my slumber, and cannot fall back to sleep, so I thought I'd post up the next chapter. Hope you liked it. Back when I wrote this chapter, I was still trying to get a good feel for these two as a couple...what minor disagreements would be like, things of that nature, so I hope it was enjoyable.