Disclaimer: All characters belong to Rooster Teeth Productions

Edited by ToxicExotic

Warning in the end notes

Chapter 47 - A New Home (Part 1)

Yang Xiao Long

It was with caution that Yang stepped out of the car and looked up at the building in front of her. It was huge. She counted fifty floors, at least, but the rest were so high up that they were indiscernible from each other and started to look like nothing more than a large sheet of glass. Not that what she could see didn't look like a giant sheet of glass anyway. Yang knew what it was instantly.

Founder Towers. Named after the two people who originally settled Vale centuries ago, Salem and Ozma, the Founders Towers were a pair of apartment buildings stood side by side. Only the richest of the rich could afford to live there. Celebrities, millionaires, business tycoons, even diplomats; anyone that lived in Vale who's name carried significant weight sought to live on any of the floors.

When she had asked Weiss for a place to stay, she had never expected this. Maybe helping her afford a small hotel that Yang could eventually pay back, not the most sought after living locale in the entire city. There was no way she could comfortably stay there. People would stare, they would know she didn't belong instantly. So with a shake of her head, she turned back around, only to be stopped by Weiss. The woman had already stepped out of the car and slung her bag over her shoulder, and with a pointed stare, she shut the car door. It was clear Weiss was not going to let her go anywhere.

"Weiss," She hissed, thought the street was pretty dead as it was barely seven in the morning. "I don't belong here."

"Yes, you do," Weiss stated firmly, her blue eyes holding her gaze despite the tried red rings beneath them. "And I have nowhere else for you to stay."

"I told you," she countered. "A small, cheap hotel will be fine and I'll pay you back."

"And I have told you, Yang," Weiss with a hard tone. "You will never be paying me back for anything. And I will never have you feeling obligated to, which you will if I put you up in a hotel. Besides, I have already made these arrangements. Now, are you going to continue to stand there arguing with me in the street? Or are you going to allow me to show you where you'll be staying?"

Though it was phrased as a question, the fact that Weiss walked past her towards the door let her know that it wasn't. Weiss had made up her mind and seeing how she had wanted her help finding a place to live for a bit, then she would have to accept that. So letting out a heavy sigh, she accepted her bag from Hazel with a small nod, and turned to walk towards the door that was being held open by a doorman.

As she walked through, she felt herself look around in awe. The atrium was just as huge as one would expect from looking at the building's exterior, it was so large in fact that someone would be mistaken for thinking they had walked into the ground floor of a global company.

The entire floor was shining, white marble with an exception of a pattern on the centre. It was hard to tell from her current position, but she knew it was a compass with an eye at its centre and a cane that ran through it from north to south. The logo for the two buildings. The two walls were also made of the same marble and on the far side was a large counter. Sat behind it was a man that Yang could tell was in his mid twenties. He was clearly very tall, even though he was sitting, and the tanned skin, large muscles, and short hair gave off a very intimidating presence.

Whether Weiss felt that presence, Yang wouldn't know as the small, snowy-haired girl walked up to the giant with confidence. Knowing she should catch up, she adjusted the duffel bag on her shoulder and made fast steps to catch up. He's going to see that I so do not belong here, she thought to herself as she quickly caught up to her girlfriend.

However, contrary to her thoughts, the man gave a smile as they approached and stood from his chair. Is everything here huge? Yang thought to herself as she was correct in her assessment that he was, in fact, also huge. Not quite the size of Hazel, but still easily seven feet. Although, she had to admit she was wrong about the intimidating part. With a smile on his face, he was actually rather handsome, and exuded an aura of protection rather than intimidation. As she drew closer, she saw his uniform had a security badge with the name Yatsuhashi Daichi printed on it below the symbol of a compass. Clearly they were in Compass Tower, and the one next door was Cane Tower.

"Good morning," He said once they were both close enough, his voice gruff but friendly. "Can I help you with anything?"

"Yes," Weiss said and rifled through her bag. "Weiss Schnee. You were informed I would be coming?"

"Ahh, yes," he said with a polite bow and typed something on the keyboard. "If I could just get two forms of ID from you?"

"Of course," Weiss replied and pulled out some paperwork from her bag and handed it over.

"ID? You're not renting this are you?" Yang whispered into her girlfriends ear as the man typed more stuff on the keyboard and sorted some things out.

"You do not rent these apartments, Yang. You buy them," Yang was very quick to raise her hand in objection as there was no way she was letting Weiss buy a luxury apartment just for her to stay in and sort her head out. However, Weiss cut her off even quicker. "And before you say anything, no I am not buying it either."

"Then wh…"

"All seems to be in order, Miss Schnee," The man said before Yang could finish her sentence. "The apartment owner has authorized two key-cards." Pulling out a set of keys that were attached by wire to his waist, he unlocked a drawer in his desk and pulled out two cards that were roughly the size of a credit card. "Please take care that these are not lost as there is a rather large fine, but if they are then you can report it to us and we will cancel the chips immediately. On behalf of Founders Towers, welcome to the most luxurious living spaces in Vale."

"Thank you."

Accepting both the cards from the man, Weiss gave him a small nod and made her way towards a hallway to the left of the desk. Offering him the same, Yang slowly made her way after her. By the time she caught up, passing what appeared to be a retractable metal gate embedded in the wall, Weiss was already pressing the button on one of the elevators. Yang still wasn't sure about this arrangement, but became even more unsure when she saw Weiss press one of the key-cards against a blank panel and the word Top appeared on the screen.

Once the door was closed, Weiss' hand slipped onto hers and the woman took a step closer, her head coming to a rest against Yang's upper arm. While she was still unsure about staying in such a fancy place, she instantly recognised it as tiredness. It wasn't surprising since she had called her at half past two in the morning, and she had likely been awake for a while afterwards to organise this place. It annoyed her that she was keeping Weiss awake when she knew the woman had a meeting; so letting out a sigh, she slipped her arm around Weiss' shoulders.

"Don't do that," Weiss said immediately, her voice firm despite her eyes still being closed. However, as she pulled her arm away, Weiss' stopped it in its place. "I meant sighing. You are not keeping me awake."

"Yes I am," she counter sadly. "You stayed awake to sort this out for me, even though you have a meeting today, and so far I've just been ungrateful."

"You've been stubborn," Weiss corrected her, a thin arm snaking its way around her waist. "As you tend to be. But I want to help you."

"I know," Yang said with a nod, letting her head fall against the top of Weiss and inhaling the sweet, vanilla scent that drifted from it. "But I'm still not sure about this place. Who lives in this apartment, Weiss?"

"No-one."

"Weis…"

"No-one lives here, Yang," Weiss said with a shake of her head. "It's Winter's."

Taken aback by that answer, Yang lifted her head and looked down at the woman in her arms. Winter may have said she liked her, but she also said she was cautious. Would a cautious person really let someone they were suspicious off stay in there house while they were aw… Wait!

"I thought you said Winter always stayed in hotels when she was here?" Yang asked, the memory coming back to her clear as day.

"She does," Weiss said with a nod, lifting her head up too as the elevator began to slow. "She bought this place when she was younger, but barely used it."

"She bought an apartment that costs a couple million Lien and doesn't use it?"

Before Yang received her answer, the elevator came to a stop and the door opened. She felt her jaw instantly drop at what was in front of her. She had expected it to be luxurious, but this was beyond anything she could have thought.

The living room was massive. The floor was comprised of light, wood tile and a white rug was spread over the middle. Atop the rug sat a large sofa that could easily seat five people, and two smaller chairs were sat on either side of it; all of them facing a enormous television that hung on the wall. As she hadn't yet left the elevator, Yang couldn't quite see what was down there, but one of the walls were open and she believed she saw a few cupboards and guessed it was likely the kitchen. The far wall opposite her however was nothing but glass, and Yang could already tell it overlooked the whole city.

The thing she considered the stupidest however was that there were stairs leading up to a second floor. Again, she couldn't see what the second floor held.

"What! The! Fuck!" She exclaimed slowly as Weiss pulled her into the room and she saw that she was indeed correct that the area she had seen before was a kitchen. "Weiss… I… I can't st…"

"Yes! You can," Weiss said with a raised eyebrow as she span around to face her. "As I said, Winter doesn't use it so it's unoccupied. Plus, the type of people that live in this building all know the value of privacy, so you will have plenty of peace. That means more space to think."

"Space is a bit of an understatement, Yang said, looking around to see a balcony bordering the second floor and what looked to be more chairs.

"She did go a little overboard when she bought it," Weiss chuckled, clearly amused by the bewildered look that Yang knew was on her face. "From what I understand, she bought it before she left for the military. She only ever brought me here once, and she didn't seem too happy to be here."

"So she bought a multi-million Lien apartment, but doesn't like it?"

"I'm pretty sure the reason she bought it was due to the falling out with my father," Weiss replied thoughtfully. "This place likely reminds her that she failed at something. I think its stupid thinking, but she has always hated feeling like she failed."

"And you are su…"

"One hundred percent," Weiss interrupted her and held out one of the cards, thought Yang still didn't take it. Seemingly done with her hesitancy, Weiss rolled her eyes; and when they came back to settle on her, they were noticeably softer. "If you need extra incentive, this place is closer to both Beacon and the STC. Which, with college starting tomorrow, is something I will be able to use to stay over a little more often."

Yang felt her pulse quicken at that revelation. Though the idea of freeloading in, what was likely, the building's most expensive apartment still felt off to her, the promise of Weiss staying over more frequently was definitely appealing. Weighing the two against each other, Yang was easily able to see which she liked most and let out a small, resigned sigh as she stepped forward to place her hands on Weiss' hips.

"You'll really be able to stay more?" she asked quietly, wanting to make sure before she made her choice.

"Not everyday," the heiress elaborated with a smile pulling at her lips. "Probably not even more than once a week, twice if I'm lucky; and I will still be working, but yes. I could maybe stay every Sunday, and even visit during my breaks a few times a week. But that is only if you, you know, stay."

"You are making it very hard to say no right now," Yang hummed as she felt one of Weiss' hands snake itself into her hair.

"So say yes," Weiss whispered, a hint of hope in her voice as the thumb caressed her neck. "It's your choice, but I can't help but want to be a little selfish. Not being there for you during your first meeting with Raven tore me up. I don't want that this time. I want to be here for you as much as I can. So please stay here."

Looking down at her girlfriend, Yang couldn't help but smile at the sincerity in her beautiful blue eyes. She didn't think it was selfish at all, and the mere fact that Weiss thought it could be was the final deciding factor. So pressing her lips against Weiss' and feeling the gorgeous woman pull her in a little deeper, Yang raised a hand from the slim waist and accepted the card that was being pressed into her stomach. Pulling away from the kiss after almost a minute, she gave her a small nod.

"Okay," She smiled, knowing there was no way she could decline now. Not with all the benefits it offered. "I suppose I can deal with this… big, luxurious apartment if it means I get to see you more."

"Good," Weiss said happily with a smug smile before pressing their lips back together for a minute.

"Mmm," Humming once the girl pulled away, Yang took a quick glance around the truly enormous apartment. "Sooo… Have you got time to show me around?"

The groan that escaped the girl wasn't a good sign, and Yang let her head drop know that the odds of it happening where slim.

"I'm sorry," Weiss replied with a sadness to her voice. "I really need to get to the office. But I promise I'll be coming straight back here after I finish."

"I know," Yang breathed, sneaking one last kiss as Weiss stepped backwards towards the elevator and began to rummage through her bag. After a couple seconds, she pulled out another card. "Here."

Looking at the card, Yang was confused more than ever as she had just taken the apartment key from her. To show as much, she squinted at her girlfriend and held up the silver card in her hand only to receive a head shake in return.

"No, this is a card to my private bank ac…"

"No!"

Yang's voice was firm, as was the step she took away from the held out card. That wasn't something she ever wanted, and the apartment was already too much anyway. But just as when Yang tried to decline the apartment, Weiss' face hardened to match the stubbornness that was settling in on Yang. "This card is not leaving with me, Yang."

"Well I'm not taking it either."

The two of them locked eyes, frozen blue meeting hard lilac, and the softness that had invaded the room earlier disappearing as they squared off in a battle of wills. Yang knew Weiss meant what she said about not taking the card with her, but Yang also refused to use it. The money wasn't hers, it was Weiss', and to use it felt like a step too far for her; a step that said she cared about the money, and would use it to get what she wanted. However, Weiss seemed to realise neither would budge too, and let her arm drop. Before entering the elevator, she placed the silver rectangle on a nearby counter.

"The code is 7246," She said firmly and stepped into the small metal room. "Buy whatever you need or want. Food, clothes, a new television, anything. Just please use it."

"I won't," Yang replied adamantly, causing Weiss to pinch her nose as she shook her head and let out a sigh.

"Why did I have to fall for the most stubborn woman in the world?"

Something about the exasperation in the statement made Yang smile, an action that Weiss copied in seconds. Locking eyes again, though this time they were both notably softer, Weiss threw her a grin that made her brilliantly blue eyes twinkle.

"I'll be back around half three," She said with certainty and bit her lip. "I love you."

"I love you too," Yang replied as Weiss pressed the button and the doors began to silently close.

With little more than a final wave, the doors sealed shut and the only evidence that there was even an elevator there was an almost indiscernible crack and a panel next to it. Feeling a little sad that her girlfriend was now gone and she was left in a humongous apartment alone, Yang let out a loud sigh and walked over to a nearby chair to slump down. As she set her duffel bag and the floor, she leaned her head back and stared up at the second floor to see a bunch of closed doors. Leaning her head back further to look down the hallways she had seen earlier and saw a marvellous kitchen. What looked to be another hallways branched off at the end, but Yang couldn't see what was down that one.

Well… She thought to herself, feeling a little hint of eagerness well up within her. Five minutes of resting, and then I guess I should explore a little.

"I'm sorry, Rubes."

The goodbye with Ruby was still fresh in her mind.

Yang hated to say those words. She hated it every time she had said them in the exact same context.

"It's okay, Yang."

Those words still rang in her head. She knew her sister hated that she was leaving again, that the face she had put on was forced, and it was almost enough for Yang to stay. But she knew she couldn't. The morning had proved that, just like the night before, Yang still couldn't look at Tai without seeing a man that only looked like her father. However, despite that feeling, she had given him a hug goodbye. She still cared about him after all.

"Please look after her," Yang requested in a whisper. She knew he would anyway; but with her gone, Ruby would be relying on him even more.

"I will."

The way those words were said rang in her head too. The resignation in her father's voice, the regret that he was the one who made it so Yang couldn't stay. It hurt her. She hated hurting him, hated leaving like Raven and Summer had, but she knew that if she stayed then all that would occur would be arguments.

"I'll text you where I'm staying when Weiss tells me," Yang said, walking back to the door and hearing the slight rumble of Weiss' car outside. "You can visit whenever. As always."

Before Yang had even finished her sentence, Ruby's arms had been wrapped around her and Yang felt her own embrace the girl on instinct. Again she wanted to stay, wanted to do anything that stopped Ruby hurting, but it was the one thing she couldn't do as the fighting would only hurt her anyway. So all she could do stroke the girl hair lightly and wait for it to pass.

"I'll miss you," She whimpered, the noise making Yang's stomach churn.

"I'll miss you too, Ruby," She had replied, tightening her embrace on her sister. "But hey, nothing's gonna change. You ever need me, or wanna stay over, just call."

She'd received a nod to that, and after another couple of seconds, the girl had moved away with a sniffle. The weak smile that Yang gave her did nothing to really cheer the redhead up, and only served to upset Yang a little further at the fact she was leaving her. But she had to suppress that, she had to put her feelings aside and go, otherwise she would never leave; and she would also make Weiss late for work.

So it was with a heavy heart that she turned away from her sister and pulled the door open, daring not to turn back for fear of her resolve breaking, so simply settling for a wave as she left and shut it behind her. It had only taken the short, twenty second walk to the car for tears to roll down her face, but Weiss had been quick to comfort her the moment she entered the vehicle.

During the drive, she had told Weiss about everything that happened. Everything with Tai and Raven, her worries about leaving. It felt good to talk to her after days of sparse conversations, to rest in her girlfriend's arms and spill her tears without judgement.

But those tears had stopped spilling, and now Yang was left with nothing but the silence of her new apartment while she waited for Weiss to return. Her thoughts on the place being big were a massive understatement. From her exploration, she found that the apartment had three living rooms. Three! What kind of apartment needed three living rooms? Each one had its own apparent reason for existing. The upstairs one was the smallest, still far bigger than the one at home, but clearly designed for more comfort. The one at the entryway was the biggest by far and looked out over the business district, well pretty much the whole of Vale honestly; it was clearly designed to make a good first impression to whoever stepped out of the elevator.

The third, however, was immediately Yang's favourite. While larger than the upstairs one, it was nowhere near the gargantuan space of the entry room. The dark brown wooden tiles and grey couches that sat atop a cream rug made the space feel warm, but the thing she loved the most was the window. When she first looked out of it, she knew that it would be the room she spent most of her time in, and had instantly pulled one of the single chairs and a small table to it.

While the other room overlooked the business district, this one overlooked the ocean. Including the island of Patch, the beautifully lush island standing out vibrantly against the water. She still hated the ocean, and the sense of unease that came over her as it gazed at her, but there was something else that made the unease bearable. On the left of the island was a small forest, and jutting out from the dense grove of trees was a cliff. The cliff. She couldn't see the grave, she doubted she would even be able to with binoculars, but at least she could still see her mother's resting place.

She didn't know how long she had been sat there in the exceedingly comfortable chair. She knew it must have taken at least an hour to explore the apartment, as there were so many rooms dedicated to different things. As well as the three living rooms and the beautiful kitchen, that Yang had fallen in love with the second she entered it, there was also a dining room, small personal gym, two offices, four bedrooms, and a small space that lead out to the covered balcony that was so large it had its own pool and hot tub. And that was just downstairs. Upstairs held more rooms, another office, and a wash-room that was almost the size of the room she was currently sitting in. There was only one word for that she could use to describe her new place.

Luxury.

She knew Weiss' family was rich, it was hard not to know, but this was on a whole other level. The apartment was the penthouse of a world renowned luxury building, a quick internet search had shown that the lower apartments went for over ten-million Lien, but she had no idea what the penthouse was worth; though her best guess was at least triple. As she had roamed its many, many, rooms it had dawned on her just how rich her girlfriend was.

Yang wanted a future with Weiss, she knew that much already, and it dawned on her that apartments like this likely were that future. Even if their plans failed, if Weiss couldn't keep the company, the woman had so much money that Yang knew she could buy a place like this and still not dent her private account. Winter had done exactly that after all, and from what Yang knew of their grandfather, he hardly seemed the type to put more away for one grandchild than another.

But despite all that, despite that realisation, she still hadn't even looked at the card Weiss had left. She didn't care about the money. Where many would have taken the card and had fun to their heart's content, and she knew many of Weiss' past partners had, Yang simply didn't care to. The apartment, the financial security, they were benefits for sure; but Weiss was the important thing. How she felt wrapped in her arms, how good it felt to be around her, and how incredibly lucky she considered herself for finding someone that wonderful who could also be strong and stubborn when needed. Those things were far more important than any amount of money that card held.

So when she felt a small buzz from the Scroll, that had been resting in her hand for however long she had spent looking at her former island home, and saw a message from Weiss saying she had just left the office, Yang felt a wide smile stretched itself across her face for the first time since the girl had left for work. At the thought of Weiss getting in her car to come and see her in a private apartment, happiness flooded her previously downcast mind as a single thought shone through.

I can certainly get used to that feeling.

Weiss Schnee

The slight motion of the car coming to a stop pulled Weiss' focus from the folders she was studying. Though there wasn't much paperwork in them, they had managed to hold her attention all day. Ciel had finally uncovered them, Weiss having reached out to her when she realised she couldn't search, catch up at work, prepare for the meeting with Ironwood, and practise her piano playing all at the same time. She had been hesitant to reach out and ask to add more work to the woman's plate, as she undoubtedly had a lot of her own stuff, but Ciel seemed happy enough to help her. And thankfully she did, because it had only taken her two days to manage to dig up the files for the Amitolas.

While most of the paperwork in that folder was about their deaths and the company investigation, which ruled its as an on-site accident caused by worker negligence, it did mention the name of the mine that they worked in. With the name, Weiss easily had tracked down the files for it and was rather confused by what she saw. The mines were in perfect condition. An inspector had even checked on them barely a month prior. However, while the letter of approval was signed and stamped by a woman named Carmine Esclados, something about it felt wrong. A mine that passed with almost full marks should not have fallen within a month without being sabotaged.

Admittedly, Weiss knew sabotage was too far, even for her father. He may be cruel and heartless, but he cared about money. Collapsing a mine would cost the company more than the insurance would pay out. Bribing the inspector to give a false report however, that was definitely something he would do. Bribery was a past time of his. Winter, reporters, council workers, employees, Weiss knew he was very capable of bribing a mine inspector in an attempt to avoid the cost of fixing it.

But she had no proof. After the collapse, another inspector by the name of Bertilak Celadon had mulled over the remains and deemed it to be worker error that caused it. Again, Weiss felt it wasn't quite honest, but knew she would have to dig deeper to uncover anything. That digging would have to be done alone though, as she refused to drag Ciel into what could potentially be a rather large mess.

However, with the folders being able to tell her no more, Weiss let out a sigh and put them to the side, stretching her back while waiting for the car to move again. She felt excitement pulse through her as she remembered what awaited her. An entire night with Yang. No work, no practise, no obligations, just her beautiful girlfriend. Of course the mood probably wouldn't be what she had expected yesterday, with her having left home and now staying in a strange apartment, but Weiss was happy she could at least be there for her this time.

From the sound of it, Tai had finally come clean about what had happened, but the answer had disturbed Yang; though Weiss could easily see why hearing someone you love say they were okay with destroying a life might shake someone. But while she agreed with Yang's decision, she also couldn't help but sympathise with Tai. He had already lost so much due to his mistakes, it was only natural for him to be clinging to the good that came from them. More than anything though, she felt bad for Yang as the whole situation certainly was a mess she didn't deserve in the slightest.

Thankfully, as she thought of Yang crying in the very same seat she was currently sat in, Weiss felt the car begin to move again. It wouldn't be long until she arrived at the towers.

Fifteen minutes later, Weiss was pushing the door to Compass Tower open and walking for the elevator. Receiving a polite nod from the security guard, which Weiss returned with an equally polite smile, she pressed the button to call the elevator and made her way up to the apartment. An admittedly large apartment, even by her standards. With how long it had been since her visit, she'd forgotten just how big it was, though thankfully Yang's profane exclamation spoke for her. With the size and the grandeur compared to what Yang expected, Weiss had been half worried the woman would refuse, but thankfully she had been able to convince her.

The access to her bank account had been one area she knew Yang wouldn't budge on, but she offered anyway. And sure enough, when she stepped out of the elevator, the card was in the exact same place as she left it. Despite knowing it would be, Weiss felt a sigh push past her lips anyway.

Not seeing Yang anywhere in the main room, Weiss decided to look around a little. Given how huge the place was, she decided to first try a place she knew Yang would love. Unfortunately, the kitchen was empty, the marble clean and untouched. The sight made her worry Yang had left for a second, but then she remembered Yang had replied to her earlier text and felt relief rush through her. So knowing she was around somewhere, she pressed on and arrived at a second living room. The head of blonde hair instantly caught her attention and she saw her girlfriend sitting in a chair near the window, the sunlight that streamed through it making Yang's hair look like it was glowing.

Very silently, she crept towards her the woman, placing her bag on the couch as she went, and wrapped her arms around the boxer's muscular shoulders from behind. She tensed for only a second before settling.

"Hey."

"Sorry," she said hummed, her eyes still looking out the window towards the island of Patch in the distance. "Must have been in a world of my own. I didn't hear the elevator coming up."

"I'm pretty sure it's designed that way," Weiss chuckled, placing her chin softly on top of Yang's shining hair. "Are you doing okay?"

"Kinda," Yang sighed longingly, her hand coming up to stroke one of Weiss' arms. "Just remembering how simple things were when I lived there."

Weiss glanced up at the island that sat just off the shore of Vale. She knew that Yang had moved away from it just after Summer's death, so she could see exactly why she was longing for it now. It was the place that held all her good memories from a time when nothing was complex.

"You'll work things out, Yang," Weiss replied gently. "I know you will."

"How can you be sure?" The woman asked, her voice filled with so much self-doubt that it almost hurt Weiss to hear it. "We've fought, and argued, but it's never felt like this before. It's never felt like I don't even know him."

"Because I know what family means to you," Weiss replied firmly, removing her hands and walking around the chair to sit on the woman's lap. "You care so much that you're even giving Raven another chance."

"I don't know," Yang sighed again, Weiss feeling the blonde's arms wrap themselves around her waist and pull her close. "If he slipped up and had a drink, I could deal with it. If he fell into another spiral, I could deal with that too. Those are things I know he can't help. But this, this is something he is okay with. I don't know how to deal with this one."

"You'll figure it out, Yang," Weiss said reassuringly, reaching up to push a stray lock of blonde hair behind the woman's ear. "Because you still want a relationship with him. I know that once you figure things out, you won't have an issue mending these broken bridges."

Yang's jaws moved, but no words came out. Instead the blonde's head fell back against the chair and Weiss snuggled in a little closer, her own head resting comfortably in the space between the brawler's neck and shoulder. Knowing Yang needed to silence to think, Weiss happily gave it to her, selfishly allowing herself to relax into the lavender scent of the woman she loved while she did. The gentle grazing of Yang's fingers on her side turned into firm pressure on her back that threatened to pull a groan from her, but a small peek up showed that the wonderful massage was likely being done absent-mindedly. Unaware or not though, it felt amazing, and the tension from her day at work began to slowly melt away.

The minutes passed in silence, Yang deep in thought and Weiss enjoying the idle ministrations. However, Yang finally let out a sigh and Weiss felt the woman's head rest against the top of her own.

"So how was work?" She breathed, the tone of her voice making it clear she wanted to change the subject.

"Busy, as usual," she replied in an involuntary groan as Yang obviously realised what she was doing and increase the pressure of the massage. "I could have left early if the department head hadn't given me a last minute task for a meeting tomorrow."

"Can't you tell him to shove it?"

"I may be the heiress, but I'm still just an employee there at the moment," Weiss chuckled, the response completely unsurprising her. "Besides, thanks to the work keeping me there, I was still in the office when Ciel gave me something that might help us."

"Really?"

"I think my father may have bribed the people that inspected the mine that Ilia's parents worked in so that he didn't have to spend money fixing it."

"Are you sure?"

Weiss gave a small shake of her head and stifled a yawn.

"No. I don't have any proof yet, just some things don't feel right," she replied. "But if he did for that one, then he probably did for others too. Probably even Roman's estate."

"What are you gonna do if he did?" Yang asked after a second of thought. "Tell the police?"

"I'm not sure," Weiss said honestly. "He has enough power that the charges likely wouldn't stick. I'll find some way to use it though."

Feeling Yang give a small nod of her head, Weiss reached her hand out to take the blonde's free one. It was nice just how comfortable it felt to just sit on the woman's lap. She would have thought it would be awkward, almost babyish and cramped; but it felt nothing like that at all. Her small body seemed to fit into Yang's larger one perfectly, her strong arms easily able to reach around and embrace her. The awkwardness she expected when she'd first done it was completely absent as well; instead the smell of lavender and heat that always emanated from the woman instantly put Weiss' mind at ease.

It felt loving. Like a position Weiss could easily spend days in just relaxing and letting the stress drain away. She hoped Yang liked it just as much as she did, but was fairly confident that the way the bodacious brawler would instantly embrace her and pull her closer meant she did. However, all of that combined with the long day at work and the lack of sleep from arranging the apartment with Winter, Weiss could feel her eyes start to drift shut.

Looking out the window at the beautiful ocean, she saw it turn dark for a split second as her eyes closed. With a jolt she made to sit up, but Yang's arm held her firmly in place.

"Get some rest if you want," the woman said softly, her massage turning to gentle stroking. "You've been awake for most of the night."

"It's not much of a day with you if I'm asleep," Weiss breathed despite her eyes already starting to close again.

"I'm not exactly much fun at the minute," Yang hummed, the thumb of their joined hands softly stroking her palm. "I can clear my head while you get some rest."

"Are you sure?"

Yang gave a small nod.

"Holding my gorgeous, sleeping girlfriend while I look at my beautiful former home? Can't think of a better way to clear my head."

"Okay," Weiss whispered, too tired to argue. "Wake me up in an hour."

As Yang's head gave a small nod of understanding, Weiss lifted her head for a second to place a kiss on her girlfriend's cheek. She never thought she would feel comfortable enough to fall asleep on someone, but it was easy with her. So easy in fact that once her head was back on the blonde's shoulder and nestled into the crook of her neck, Weiss felt herself instantly fade into unconsciousness. Though not before she whispered a quiet 'I love you' to the woman whose arms she was cradled in.

A/N

Hello, welcome to the first upload of 2020 :) I hope you all had a good Christmas and new years. First things first, During the holidays I went back to upload the edits Toxic did for chapters 16-18. They had been done for a while, but... well... I was lazy. However, they should read better now.

Anyways, onto this stuff. As you can see, Yang now has a change of location xD Not much will change regarding the relationships and it will even allow me to do more things regarding friends and family stuff. But the big thing this does is allow me to give more time to Yang and Weiss' relationship. As Weiss said, the apartment is much closer to both her work and Beacon. It also allows me to let Yang figure things out and there may be a few certain issues she faces now. Who knows, maybe even Raven will visit one day. Though I do want to assure you that, even though she is working through things, Yang isn't always going to be the big grump.

Anyways I won't say too much as this is a two-parter. The next chapter (Going up on the 14th of January) is much longer, double the length in fact, and there is another long chapter coming up at 50 too. I hope you are looking forward to them, and the next chapter is one I actually quite like.

Warning

I won't say when it is, but smut is upcoming. This is your warning.

Reviews

crazyringo - Your reply came in straight away and was quite long, so I got you in PMs. But as always, I like to say thank you for all the kind words :)

Zoro50 - That kind of the feeling I am going for, so I'm glad you don't know how to feel about him xD As for making amends, its certainly something he should do, but there is also Raven to think about there. Either way, the is going to be an ongoing story line for Yang for a while so expect this to slowly unravel. I do like to think Tai has grown in many ways, but still has some area left to go; but yes, Weiss as you can see, is definitely going to pick up her pace a little now so that it is fairer on Yang. But I am glad you like my writing :) As I said, there are a couple of issue that will arise and you will see the first in the next chapter.