Chapter 14

A/N: Little trivia: The scenes between Qrow and Winter were inspired by a friend of mine. Everything you read in the previous chapter and will read in future ones actually happened in a similar way, with some of my own experiences mixed in.

She put down the little plate with her half-eaten piece of cake. She sighed. "So that was why?"

Qrow did not dare look at her. His eyes were fixed on the floor, arms crossed. "I'm sorry. I should have told you instead of running. But I was scared the same would happen to you."

Her gaze wandered to the window. From their restaurant booth she could see people, couples, walking hand in hand, smiling, talking. "What now?" Her voice carried a bit of fright.

"I am still scared. And I am unsure if this is the right thing."

Her heart sunk, but if she was honest, she expected this answer. "So, that's it?"

For the first time in minutes he looked her in the eyes. "I'm not saying that. Ruby and I talked about that. I guess, I just need some time."

Winter took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves. She felt like crying. But she is still a Schnee, and a Schnee does not cry. At least not in public. "Okay", she breathed out, "I understand. I'll give you time."

"Thank you, Winter."

"But", she added, "I will not wait forever. I am willing to respect you and let you deal with your problems. But they are your problems, not mine, and I will not give up on other possible relationships because you can't make up your mind. I am in love with you, Qrow, believe me, but I am not stupid enough to wait for something that might never happen."

Qrow did not say anything as Winter laid a few bucks on the table for her food and left.

"Are you done yet?", Ruby wined from the seat next to the changing room of the extravagant clothing store Weiss dragged her and Blake into. Well, Ruby was dragged. Blake actually got the idea for visiting the store. Ruby kinda resented her for that now.

Weiss rummaged through the clothes hangers, looking for some maternity clothes for her growing belly. And only the best was good enough. She may be pregnant, but no way in hell will she walk around like a rag. "Done?", her voice sounded from a pile of dresses, "don't be absurd. We've been here for roughly two hours. I haven't even started yet."

"Likewise", Blake chimed in from the rack of pants a few feet behind Weiss, "I could spend hours in here."

Ruby drew her hands over her face and groaned. She turned to a male costumer who happened to observe the scenario and said: "Never go buying clothes with women."

The man could not help but chuckle, earning an angry look from who seemed to be his girlfriend or wife.

"You are one yourself, dumdum", Weiss said.

"So they say."

"So I say. And I know", Weiss argued back, throwing a dress that caught her eye onto the pile on the shopping cart.

"Oh, yeah? You sure about that?"

"I am pretty sure our marriage registry said Miss Schnee and Miss Rose, not Miss Schnee and Ladyboy Rose."

"Wow", Blake said, "that's a bit insensitive."

"Maybe I faked the registry paper", Ruby replied playfully with a grin.

"Don't even joke about that!" And Ruby's grin was gone. "That would mean our entire marriage was invalid. I know you were just messing around, but please, not on that topic."

"Relax, Weissy. Everything is fine. We can call the Standesamt if you want to make sure." She pulled out her scroll and waved it around a bit.

The cat-faunus blinked confused. "What's that about arms?"

Weiss could not stop herself from snorting. "Not 'arm', 'Amt'. The Standesamt."

"It's the registry office here in Atlas that keeps track of personal information of all citizens of Atlas, such as birth, marriage and death. You have to go there to register a marriage. That's the only way to get legally married here", Ruby explained.

"What about church", Blake inquired. "I mean, surely you can marry in church, right?"

"No", Weiss answered, loading another piece of clothing onto her cart, "doesn't mean jack. People often do it because they consider it romantic, but it has no official or legal value. In fact, the people who want a traditional wedding in church have to have visited the Standesamt first."have

"Wow", that was all she could say. Not only what Weiss told her, but how she told it, flabbergasted her. She stated it so coldly, so matter-of-fact, as if she found nothing interesting or desirable in a wedding in a church, with a fancy dress, sparkling brighter than the sun.

"As a tradeoff we have the benefit of same-sex marriage here in Atlas", Ruby added.

"That was not a 'tradeoff', Ruby. The church is practically worthless in Atlas for hundreds of years now, while we got same-sex marriage ten years ago."

"It worked out for you two, didn't it? I mean, you have all rights hetero families have", the cat-faunus asked from between a bunch of coats, sticking her head out like a… well, like a cat.

"It did", Weiss confirmed, "and I am unbelievable grateful for Atlas to give us the opportunity. But still, I find it should have been made legal way sooner. But our politicians are… traditional."

"They are antiquated farts who don't know how this country and the world works", Ruby added.

"That too", Weiss smirked.

"At least they changed something in Atlas. In Patch and Vale it's still illegal. Sure, Yang and I can live in a civil partnership, which allows us to adopt, but still, it would be nice to have one name on the doorbell, you know?"

"Have you thought about moving?"

Blake threw Weiss a puzzled look. "You mean to Atlas?"

"When the mountain won't come to Mohammed, Mohammed must go to the mountain", Ruby chimed in from her chair.

"Weird analogy", Weiss replied, "but fitting. Yeah, move to Atlas."

"Okay, okay", Blake threw into the conversation, "wait a second. Why should we move? I mean, yeah, marriage would be nice, but we have a little house, I have a pretty well-paid job, and we have a beautiful daughter. I am content, honestly."

"Didn't you just say you'd like to get married? Make up your mind", Ruby teased.

"I was talking hypothetical. It would be nice, but it's not a necessity. I am happy with how things are and so is Yang."

"That's what matters", Weiss agreed.

"That's true", the red-head added. She slumped down in her chair a little bit, her butt honestly starting to hurt now. "So, Yang is dealing with the little predator right now, hu?"

"Oh, that's right", Weiss realized, "No wonder it was so quiet. No offence."

Ruby and Blake shared a look, before asking Weiss out of one mouth: "To whom?"

Weiss stopped for a second. "Both of you, I guess. If I did not know Türkis was adopted I could have sworn it was Yang's child by blood. They are both rather… lively."

Blake chuckled involuntarily over Weiss' try to be diplomatic. "They can be annoying. Say it like it is. But I would not have it any other way. You know, at work the only things I hear are the buzzing of computers, the soft ringing of telephones and the clacking of keyboards. I find it refreshing to be able to return to smiles and laughter."

The Roses smiled warmly at the way Blake's voice softened and her eyes began to sparkle.

The shopping spree ended soon™ after; Ruby thanked every God that came to mind for that. Weiss insisted on paying for the content of Blake's shopping cart, with the final value adding up to 15463,98 Lien. Honestly, at least 15100 of that came from Weiss' cart. Blake was stunned when the cashier called out the price, but Ruby assured her that this kind of escapade is normal for her wife.

Back at home Ruby carried twelve full bags of clothes up the stairs into their sleeping room where the walk-in closet was. She needed to make multiple trips for that. She went into the living room afterwards and made herself comfortable on the sofa. Weiss noted that she was sitting for two hours at the store and complained how her butt hurt after that but had not hesitated to jump onto the sofa, but Ruby replied that this was "different". She decided to let it go and asked Blake if she wanted to try the new clothes on they just bought.

"Oh, you just have to try this one on", Weiss said excitedly, holding a black cocktail dress against Blakes slender form. "This will look amazing on you!"

The next minutes to an hour were spent just trying on the clothes bought in the store again. After all, the lighting is different in those stores, and at home, with natural light, one tends to see little details, like how a dress falls around the body, for example.

Blake was currently rummaging through Weiss' closet, looking for fancy and expensive looking clothes to try on, when Weiss asked: "Say, Blake, remember the other day, when we talked with Winter about Qrow?"

Her back turned to the snow-head, Blake picked up a sparkling dress and answered: "I hope they could work out whatever troubled them."

"Me too", she replied, taking a seat at the end of her king-sized bed. "But I wanted to talk about you."

"Me?" With a confused look on her face Blake turned around.

"You were really aggressive towards him. As if he hurt you, not my sister. What was that all about?"

Blake chewed on her lower lip, her shoulders tense. "I'm pretty sure you know the answer."

Yeah. She did. It was obvious, of course, but not asking meant assuming, which is the first step towards prejudice, something Weiss avoided like the plague in her adult years. "Adam", she concluded.

Blake nodded. "And no, I don't want to talk about it."

"That's fine, I won't ask any more questions. But it surprised and scared me honestly to see you so worked up."

A soft smile crawled onto her lips involuntarily. "Thank you for your concern."

"Don't mention it, it's what friends are for, right?"

Blake nodded, now with a toothy grin on her face. "Right."

A/N: Sorry for the long absence. I was really sick the last weeks. I'm now feeling better, way better, so I am back to writing. I will also try to make the chapters longer from now on. I also got some ideas for another story, so stay tuned.