The steady buzz of a scroll was the first thing Olivia felt as she awoke, followed quickly by the unmistakable sensation of another body laying atop her own. Olivia blinked her eyes open, letting out a pleasant sigh upon realizing it was Weiss's body, warm skin cuddled against her and combined weight pressing her deep into the soft cushions of the couch below.

Weiss's head rested just beneath Olivia's, a faint smile adorning her lips and her arms wrapped around either side of the faunus's chest. The heiress's hair lay in a weaving mess across her back, top bun long since undone during the previous night's festivities. The rest of their limbs were tangled, each having moved into the most comfortable position they could muster while sleeping in the confined quarters of the private library room.

'Oh right, we're in the library…'

The thought came slowly at first, merely an acknowledgement, lacking any of the ramifications that statement entailed. Olivia's scroll buzzed on top of the nearby table again, alerting her of another message that had been received. Weiss stirred at the sound, shifting atop the faunus's body and serving to help wake her that little bit more from her groggy stupor.

Olivia's eyes blinked open rapidly, staring into the lights above.

'We're… we're still in the library!'

"Weiss! Weiss, wake up!" Olivia spoke urgently, raising her arms to grasp the heiress by the shoulders and shake her gently. Weiss groaned and turned her head, sleepily cracking her eyes open to see Olivia's face mere inches away.

"Olivia?" Still half asleep herself, Weiss smiled dimly, closing her eyes to bury herself deeper into the faunus's chest. "What a pleasant surprise…"

Olivia stifled a smile to instead focus on the situation at hand, "Yeah, but the next surprise won't be if one of the librarians finds us like this!"

Weiss cracked her eyes open with a frown, staring at Olivia for a few moments while the gears turned in her head. She craned her neck to look around the room, expression growing slack as understanding brought a white sheen of sweat to her already pale skin.

"We have to get out of here!" Weiss jumped up in a rush, pushing off Olivia to begin frantically snatching her clothes from the floor. She began hastily putting them back on, grabbing Olivia's as well to throw them to her on the couch.

Olivia couldn't help but quietly laugh for a moment, watching Weiss hop on one foot while struggling with her clothes. The faunus stood up from the couch and followed suit, stopping only long enough to check the messages she'd received and the time on her scroll.

"Thirty minutes until Port's class. Ruby's been blowing up my message box, asking me where we are." Another vibration sounded, this time from Weiss's pocket. Olivia grinned, "Yours too, I'd bet."

Weiss's head popped up from the neckline of her shirt, the final piece of clothing she needed before turning her attention to her tangled mess of hair. Olivia was glad for her own curls and merely brushed her fingers through it, hoping it would at least be passable upon casual inspection.

"Be there soon," Olivia sent the message off to Ruby before sitting back down to put on her socks and shoes.

Weiss finished by putting a pin in her hair, the silver crown piece haphazardly holding the bundled mess of locks together. She turned this way and that, failing to get an eye on her own appearance before looking to Olivia for help. "How is it?" A note of panic remained in her voice, wide eyes occasionally darting towards the locked door standing between themselves and the library beyond.

While Weiss had most definitely done her best without a mirror at hand, her hair was far from the pristine state she typically kept it in. Olivia waved her over with a small smile, trying to sound reassuring for her girlfriend. "Let me fix it for you."

Weiss was quick to oblige, stepping closer and turning away to kneel on the floor in front of where Olivia sat. She began running her fingers gently through the heiress's hair, tugging on the small knots that had formed and working them out one by one, doing her best to ease Weiss's nerves in the process.

"Relax, Princess. They won't have any reason to suspect us unless we give them one," Olivia assured her. "I've done plenty of infiltration missions in the past. The key is confidence. People don't question you if you look like you know what you're doing."

Weiss scoffed, "The question isn't what we were doing, but who. Why on Remnant would we be in the library this early on a Friday morning? Even I'm not that studious."

Olivia quirked an eyebrow, though Weiss couldn't see it. "You sure?"

"I appreciate my free time as much as anyone else," Weiss spoke defensively, arms now folded across her chest. Despite her usual airs, Olivia couldn't help but notice the way she subconsciously leaned back into the faunus's touch, enjoying the feeling of slender fingers combing through her hair.

Still hoping to help ease her nerves, Olivia continued her treatment. Her fingers ran gently through the heiress's locks, seeking the most minor of tangles as an excuse to delay them further. To Olivia's delight, the stiffness in Weiss's shoulders seemed to lessen with every stroke, tension draining from her body and a nearly inaudible sigh occasionally escaping her lips.

"So, did you want to go out again after classes? We've tried high class gourmet, now I wouldn't mind slumming it for a change."

"Slumming it?" Weiss asked cautiously.

Olivia smirked, "That's just code for a quick bite to eat and something fun to do. Like… I don't know… Bowling, maybe? That's a thing normal people do, right?"

Weiss laughed, a beautiful sound only interrupted by the ringtone of her scroll. She shook her head in amusement, pulling out the offending device as she spoke, "I can't imagine you actually having fun with that, but…" Weiss shrugged, "I've never been."

Pausing in their conversation, Weiss raised her scroll to look at the caller ID and frowned, not recognizing the number. She gave a small shrug, then opened it, speaking again once the call had been connected.

"Hello? Who is this?" Weiss asked.

"Is this Miss Schnee? Weiss Schnee?"

Weiss raised an eyebrow at the unfamiliar voice. She spared a glance with Olivia before replying. "It is."

"Good morning, Miss Schnee! I'm a representative with the Vale News Network. We were hoping to get in touch with you for an interview after your daring rescue last night! We'd love to have you on for one of our segments, to talk about your experience and your courage in the face of unspeakable odds!"

Weiss frowned, hesitating to reply while considering the proposition. "For what purpose? What are you hoping to accomplish with an interview? Better ratings? I'm not really interested in taking on the limelight just to fatten your executive's pockets."

The man on the other end laughed briefly, "No, no! Not at all, Miss Schnee. To tell you the truth, we think an interview with you might help to… quell some of the current unrest in the city. If people were to hear about a Schnee saving a faunus… Things might just go back to some semblance of normalcy. I think we can all agree that would be for the best, don't you?"

Weiss's eyes widened, staring at Olivia while a smile crept on to her lips. It was a perfect opportunity. The chance she'd been looking for to ease her aching heart, and give back to those that had been affected most by the White Fang's attacks. "That sounds fantastic! What time should I be there?"

Olivia could practically hear the smile breaking out across the man's face when he spoke next, "As soon as you're available, after classes, of course! Our station is down on the corner of Sullivan and Third. I trust you won't have any issues finding it?"

"I don't believe I will. Is there anything I should do to prepare?"

The man made a small 'hmm' sound, taking a moment to think. "The girl that assisted you... Is there any chance you could bring her along? We have no way of contacting her since it was only your number that was left with the police."

Weiss suppressed a laugh, seeing the look of absolute horror on Olivia's face. Regardless, she was already shaking her head in response. "That won't be possible. My recounting of events will have to suffice."

"That's unfortunate, but I'm sure it will be more than enough! Thank you, Miss Schnee. We look forward to working with you!"

"You as well. See you then!"

Weiss breathed a heavy sigh as she closed her scroll, staring at its now collapsed form for several long seconds before a beaming smile broke out across her face. She looked back up into Olivia's eyes to see the proud smile reflected back, both sharing in the collective euphoria of the moment.

"I can't believe it! I'll finally be able to help!" Weiss cheered.

"When have you ever not?" Olivia grinned smugly. She nodded towards the scroll still in Weiss's hands, "I'll come along, if only to be there for uh… moral support. I can't be seen on camera for obvious reasons, but I sure as hell want to be there for you. As well as I'm able to, anyway."

Weiss smiled dotingly, "Just having you there will be enough."

Olivia nodded her assent, then stood up from the couch and offered out a hand to the heiress. Weiss accepted it and was pulled to her feet, both sharing in a momentary embrace before turning back to the task at hand.

"You ready to get out of here? Just follow my lead. Eyes forward, back straight, expression neutral. No one's going to suspect a thing unless you give them a reason to, Princess. All we have to do is walk out with our heads held high and our pride intact. Simple."

"You make it sound so easy…" Weiss sighed, a dusting of pink already coloring her cheeks. She stared at the door with trepidation, a mild shiver running down her spine.

"It will be. Trust me." Olivia stepped forward to place her hand on the door, waiting for a signal from Weiss to tell her when she was ready.

After a few deep breaths and with her eyes flickering between Olivia and the door, Weiss finally nodded.

Olivia cracked it open and walked out into the carpeted interior, making it the first few feet as if she didn't have a care in the world. She stopped abruptly only a moment later, a pair of souls suddenly within range of her sixth sense.

"Ah, Miss Mandevilla. Miss Schnee. A word, if you please?"

Olivia stared into the face of their demise, her heart growing cold.

"Y-Yes sir, Professor Ozpin…"

/

/

Sorry for the hiatus, but I've been… indisposed. Depression is a real bitch. I finally have access to medication and it seems to be doing the trick, even if it's slower than I would have liked. I'm still trying to acclimate and get back into things, so I decided to keep this chapter brief. Hopefully this gradual incline keeps on track. I'd love to get back into the full swing of things soon, but have a ton of IRL issues that take precedence.

Thank you for your patience and, as always, thanks for reading,

- Sybaen