Author's note: Here we go with arc 2, this time its going to be bigger, better and for the time being fluffier. Have no fear though action and adventure are on the horizon. So without further ado, chapter 12.

The door to her apartment opened with a soft click. The unlocking of the heavy duty lock was something that brought an overwhelming feeling of happiness and security to Weiss, it reminded her of home. At last she was home, after the months away she was happy that it was still in immaculate condition. She walked through her home, absorbing the wonderful clean smell, the beautiful stainless white couch, the wonderfully modern stainless steel kitchen. She went upstairs to put Myrtenaster away and to get out of her ruined clothes. Her apartment was large, she wouldn't have said so a few years ago but after experiencing Yang and Ruby's she got a feeling for just how extravagant it was. Her room was outfitted with a king sized bed, a large walk in wardrobe and a glamorous en suite. Weiss let out a small squeak as she approached the shower, catching herself off guard. That was a little too Ruby for my tastes, oh whatever its time for a shower. Weiss disrobed and entered the shower, eager for the relaxing escape of hot water and soap. The shower was Weiss' quiet place; she would think, relax, vent and most importantly keep her personal hygiene up. Her first shower in what seemed like years nearly brought Weiss to tears of happiness, the warm water washing away the apprehension she had about the upcoming weeks, if not months. Upon returning to Vale team RWBY had been greeted by startling news, as well as an even more startling mission. Thankfully they still had a week to recover, they would definitely need it. Weiss' shower was interrupted by a loud ringing, Weiss pinching her temple as she dried off and got into a robe. The doorbell went off continuously for the minute it took Weiss to get down to the door. Peeking through the doors peephole she spied a slightly frustrated Ruby. Weiss unlocked the door and swung it open.

Ruby kept pressing the doorbell, and yet every time she failed to hear the buzzing on the other side. Must be broken maybe I should try knocking. Ruby knocked on the door with one hand while the other kept hitting the doorbell. Eventually the door swung open and there stood a robe clad Weiss, oh no she doesn't look happy. "H-hey Weiss, um did I catch you at a bad time. Oh I thought you should know that I think your doorbells broken", Ruby awkwardly rubbing the back of her neck whilst trying to hide her now red cheeks. "What are you doing here, I was trying to have a nice peaceful shower before bed, and no the doorbell isn't broken, trust me. You probably can't here it because this apartment is soundproofed"

"Well that explains that, sorry for interrupting your, shower…" Ruby desperately trying to not look too closely at Weiss' loose bathrobe. Weiss noticed and covered herself more properly, "the question remains, what are you doing here at this hour?" Ruby shrugged

"Well I was kinda hoping that you would let me stay over. Yang and Blake are kinda… occupying the apartment"

"What do you mean, 'occupying the apartment'?" Weiss growing increasingly frustrated. Ruby continued to blush, trying desperately to avoid saying the obvious. "You know… they are like together and stuff, and they are being, you know, very together back at the apartment". Weiss eyes grew wide as she finally took the meaning, "oh, well then, I guess you could come in then", she moved aside to let the now hyperactively happy girl bounce into her apartment. "Hold on a sec I just need to grab something", Ruby disappearing behind the doorway for a second. Weiss tapping her foot impatiently as Ruby returned with a small briefcase in tow. "Um, why do you have a suitcase I thought you were just crashing here for the night?"

"Yeah, Yang told me it might take a few days before it would be safe to come back", Ruby oohing and ahing at Weiss' apartment as she laid her bag down. "I don't exactly have the money for a nice hotel so I thought I would stay with my amazing girlfriend". Weiss stunned for a second by this comment, girlfriend? I guess I am, or we are girlfriends. "Uh yeah… anything for my…girlfriend", Weiss trying out the word, it felt awkward yet surprisingly comforting. Ruby beamed in response grabbing some clothes from her suitcase, "do you have a place I could change into something a bit more casual?" the red clad huntress wearing a version of her usual skirt and corset.

"Oh course, there is a downstairs bathroom" Weiss gesturing to door off to the side of the apartment. Ruby skipped happily over and began changing inside. Weiss simply slumped down on the couch, turning on the large flat screen TV, the news was still the same as when she had last checked, repeatedly running stories involving the new defence protocols that were being set up. She suddenly realised that she was still in her bathrobe and quickly rushed upstairs. When she came back down, now wearing her pyjamas, she saw that Ruby had taken control of the TV and was watching some show about weapon construction. She had changed into a pair of shorts and a baggy red jumper. "We are not watching this drivel Ruby", Weiss strolling up to sit beside Ruby on the couch. "Oh come on Weiss they just started talking about the new battery powered rotors"

"I don't know what that is and I really don't care; now please hand over the remote" Weiss held out her hand indignantly awaiting the remote. Ruby gave in and passed the remote over, crossing her arms in protest. Weiss flicked back to the news, which caused an audibly groan from Ruby, "seriously all it is is boring defence stuff, we are going to be hearing enough about that when we go back to work"

"I think it is good to keep updated, especially since we are going to be playing a big part" She looked at the grumpy dark haired girl, trying to elicit more information from her. "How did the meeting with Ozpin go?"

"Uh you know, it went okay, just got some orders and stuff"

"Like?"

"We probably shouldn't worry about it it's not a big deal. Hey let's do something fun, you can be a little boring sometimes", Ruby covered up her obvious nervousness with another mischievous grin.

"I'm not boring Ruby I'm just very serious, I have to be to counteract your lack of seriousness"

"Boring!" Ruby pinned Weiss down, tilting her head as she kissed her. Weiss gave in, forgetting her questions and instead focusing on the lithe body pressed against hers. "See, not so boring now" Weiss challenging Ruby, Ruby only smiled. "That's the fun princess I love".

The two continued their session for some time, ignoring the admittedly boring news as it played out. Eventually settling in and laying back on the couch, watching some mindless Spruce Willis movie. "Hey Ruby I have an important meeting with Winter tomorrow, you could tag along if you want", Weiss got no response, "Ruby?" Looking down she saw the younger girl fast asleep, leaning against her shoulder. Weiss sighed and laid her down on the couch, grabbing a fleece blanket and draping it over her. Turning off the lights and the TV, Weiss retired to her bed. Unable to keep the grin form her face as she fell asleep dreaming of the woman downstairs.

Weiss was the first to wake the next morning, greeted by Ruby's sleeping form on the couch as she went to prepare some coffee. Guessing Ruby's preference for coffee Weiss added several sugars and a lot of milk. While waiting for the coffee to brew Weiss decided to play some music, as she usually did in the mornings to motivate her. Today was Melton Johns, a personal favourite of Weiss'. AS she hummed along to the tune she noticed stirring coming from the couch, "Morning Ruby"

"uh, um… awake, oh morning Weiss". Ruby stretched and stomped over to the kitchen, "what's on the menu?" Ruby asked herself, opening the pantry to find healthy muesli and other such non sugary goodness. With head cast down Ruby moved back to the couch, her disappointment obvious to Weiss. Weiss finished making the coffee and moved over to give Ruby hers, the downtrodden huntress taking a sip. "Oh how did you remember how I liked my coffee"

"I took a wild guess". The two enjoyed a small breakfast while switching haphazardly through the TV channels. The soft melodic music still playing in the background, drowning out whatever nonsense came on. Eventually it was time for Weiss to get ready and head out to meet Winter, "Ruby I tried asking you last night, but you were asleep. I have a meeting with Winter this morning and was wondering if you wanted to tag along"

"Oh sure sounds like fun, haven't seen Winter in years". Weiss remembered the last time the two had met, Ruby and Winter had got along swimmingly, at Weiss' expense. Both had a lot of embarrassing stories that the other didn't know about. As much as Weiss didn't want to go through the roasting that would no doubt occur, she did want her to at least meet her girlfriend. "If you want to come you should try and wear something nice, we are going to leave in about thirty minutes so go get ready". Ruby sprung off the couch and into the downstairs bathroom.

Ruby sat in the shower and hummed a soft lullaby that she remembered. She was excited to see Winter, they were on good grounds and both enjoyed a bit of playful teasing when it came to Weiss. She was more excited for being able to formally introduce her and Weiss' relationship.

Weiss chose a formal suit for the occasion, whilst outward appearances would dictate that the meeting was a simple family gathering, Weiss had much more planned. She had a feeling that Winter would have picked up on that too, she was after all a Schnee. She could see through and work with the complex interactions of business and politics. Weiss somewhat dreaded the meeting though, Winter was her younger sister, they had always been competitive or forced to be competitive by their father. Weiss was to be the heir to the company, the leader who would continue the company in her father's vision; she was to be a weapon at Weiss' disposal. This had made the relationship tenuous at times, she had often been used as something to motivate Weiss, threats of the company falling to her instead of Weiss were common. So Weiss had distanced herself from Winter, and as such it had been a very lonely upbringing for the both of them. It wasn't until years later that Weiss would see that her sister had suffered similar treatment under the hand of their father, forced to accept that she was the second daughter, one that would not inherit the company. She was to be wed like a medieval bride to help support the company, she was just another tool. So after their fathers passing a few years ago, Weiss had tried to show Winter kindness. She had even given her a chance at control of the company, as Weiss was needed on the frontier for the expansion program.

Checking her outfit in the mirror Weiss was pleased, the white suit was in perfect condition. She was ready, so she headed downstairs to see how Ruby was progressing. Knowing her partner she would probably be wearing her usual attire, even with the warning that it was a more formal event. She was shocked to see that Ruby had in fact packed something more formal. The black skirt ended at her knees, the red blouse sleeveless yet well fitting. Doing a twirl for Weiss Ruby did her beam. "Whatcha think pretty snazzy right"

"I'm pleasantly surprised". Weiss gave her girlfriend a peck on the cheek as a reward before proceeding to the door. Ruby skipped along beside her as they made their way out of the apartment. Reluctantly holding Ruby's hand they made their way down to the street. There they hailed a taxi and headed towards the designated meeting place that Winter had arranged.

It was a short trip, Ruby spending the time expressing just how excited she was about the whole scenario. Weiss tried to share her girlfriend's enthusiasm, but the butterfly's in her stomach and her extreme nervousness kept her in check.

The meeting place as a large café near the Schnee corporate building; it was a place that Weiss had used on several occasions as a meeting place. Winter had apparently continued that tradition. Weiss led Ruby inside having to guide her through the busy midmorning crowd. She spied her sister sitting on the terrace of the café, having secured a secluded table. Winter stood as Weiss came towards the table, "Weiss, so good to see you" her formal tone betraying no real emotion. Whilst the two had begun to patch things up, they still fell into the more ceremonial tone and mood. "Winter it's good to see you too, I'm sure you remember my partner Ruby" Ruby waved

"Hey Winter long time no see, you really have grown up a lot, you look a lot like Weiss". Winter chuckled diplomatically, "long time indeed, you seen to have grown as well, you're now much taller than my sister". So it begins, thought Weiss, the first jab had been sent. Ruby giggled, "yeah although Weiss has always been my little princess" Ruby squeezing Weiss into a hung and giving her a smooch on the cheek. Winter's eyebrows shot up at this, eyes questioning Weiss intently. Weiss glared back, Winter threw her hands up in defeat and sat. Whilst they had never been very close they had always been able to communicate efficiently, something that was necessary when under the strict rules of their father. They all sat and looked over the menu, Weiss and Winter ordering some tea whilst Ruby ordered a large chocolate chip cookie, Weiss forcing her to drink tea with them.

Idle chat passed the time until the orders came, Winter feigning interest in the huntresses adventures, Weiss feigning interests in the goings on of the company that she escaped. "Annnd then I get injured and so did Weiss, and then we had wine on a hill, and then Weiss confessed her undying love for me". Ruby glancing to see Weiss' startled reaction to her telling of the story, Weiss shot up and gave Ruby a playful slap, "Ruby!" Ruby faking serious injury form the slap. Winter resumed the questioning glare at Weiss, Weiss let out a displeased groan, "yes what Ruby unceremoniously stated is more or less true, we are a couple". Winter shared a laugh with Ruby, "I always had you pinned for a lesbian, especially after all those incidents with the dates father set you up on". Winter seemed genuinely pleased, Weiss thought it was probably because her suspicions had been right, or it could be genuine affection for her sister. They continued the idle chatter for a while, finishing off the tea. Eventually an awkward silence came over the three, the food finished and idle chatter having led down all possible avenues. Weiss knew it was time; let's just get this over with. "So, Winter, I assume you realised that I did not come here just for chat. I assume you are caught up on current events"

"Yes of course, the failed expansion and the threat of the growing Grimm numbers. I have guessed you require me to continue leadership of the company while you continue your huntress work"

"Yes, I need you to continue to manage the company. From what I have seen you have done an exceptional job. I am quite proud of you", this comment eliciting a smile from her sister. Weiss paused, trying to find the right words, "Winter, I know our childhood was interesting. We had to deal with a lot of pressure and expectations. You were always more prepared for this kind of life though, and it shows in your performance. I set out to make the company better for everyone, and help the Faunus workers, and I did that. Now other people need me, and I need to dedicate more time to them". Weiss breathed a side of relief, finishing her long winded speech by gazing intently at Ruby, who had the sparkle of tears in her silver eyes. Ruby took her hand, Weiss returning to face Winter, "Winter I'm transferring the company to you, take care of it". Winter was completely stunned; she had expected the continuation of her management while Weiss dealt with the defence operation. "I never thought…I never thought it would be possible"
"Well, it is possible; I got bored of it anyway. Now don't think you can go back to Father's way of thinking, I will be watching so don't screw things up. Anyway, the relevant documents will be on your desk by Monday".

The three shared an emotional hug before departing. Weiss felt genuinely happy, she hadn't seen her sister so happy in a long, long time. Ruby clung to her arm, she hadn't seen her this happy in a while either.

The cab ride home was quiet. Ruby only asked a single question, "did you mean what you said back there?"

"I did Ruby, I want to be able to spend time with you, and you're going to need me for the upcoming missions". Ruby burrowed in closer to Weiss

"I'm always going to need you".