V2E2: The Girls are Back in Town
At last, the semester break was coming to an end. Two short weeks, and yet Anon felt like so much had happened. He patted his stomach, once so emaciated that his skeleton printed on his skin, now toned and lightly muscular. He was still quite surprised by his sudden gains.
"Must be the food here." He mused as he reminded himself to thank Blake again for the training.
The Beacon's bullhead stop was veritably swarmed by people, both old and new, as transfer students and students who were returning from the break. Although someone from Remnant might have had difficulties finding people in a crowd, Anon had no such issues. He passed through the swarm of shade-like beings representing people like they were smoke. Unlike last time, he was unfazed by the act.
He pulled out a cigar, lighting it with a new engraved lighter. He added the tobacconist to his list of people he needed to thank again for their time and kindness. He sat on a bench and let the newest wave of students wash by him. However, he kept his eyes peeled for any notable character. The only people that fit the bill were none other than Team SSSN (Season), minus their jovial macaque leader. And if the look on Sage and Neptune's faces were anything to go by, it was clear that they weren't happy with their team captain's stupid idea of getting stowaway on a ship.
"Told you nerds that we should have put a collar on him." Scarlet flippantly told his crew.
"Scar, you do know the implication of collaring a Faunus, right?" Sage asked worriedly.
"It's a manner of speech, Sage." The pirate told the pilgrim with an eye roll. "Get with the program."
"Guys..." Neptune whined. "Can we not? And especially this early?"
"Fine." The pair said simultaneously.
"Besides," Neptune wondered. "I thought you would have gone with him, Scar."
Scarlet gasped in false offence.
"Just because I was born at sea and dream of sailing the Great Blue once more does not mean that-"
"Shut up, Scarlet." His other teammates told him in sync.
Anon chuckled at the interaction as they disappeared from view.
"Scarlet the pirate was born at sea?" He sarcastically drolled. "Who could have seen that one coming?"
The wind blew silently from up high, making him look upward. A large luxury white V-TOL bearing the sigil of the Schnee family flew proudly in the skies like the banners hanging from its tail. Anon kept his eyes on the snowflake as he pulled out his scroll to text Blake.
Me: 'Kitty-03, this is OP, copy?'
LilKitty: 'I hate you.'
'Also what?'
Me: 'We have confirmed visual on Princess-02's personal carrier, over.'
LilKitty: 'I'll take it Weiss is coming?'
He answered her question with a photo of Weiss's bullhead.
LilKitty: 'I'll be over in five minutes, give or take.'
Me: 'Copy, Kitty. Over.'
She sent an exasperated emoji, to which he responded with an upside-down smiley face.
A rapidly approaching rumbling alerted him to another returning friend. As soon as he turned to face the sound, a yellow and black sports motorcycle made a sudden stop in front of him. The tires screeched and the bike stood on its front tire in a reverse wheelie, A mane of golden hair whipping him in the face in slow motion. Anon stood stiffly in shell shock as the bike slammed back down onto its two wheels right at his feet. Yang set down her kick-stand and nonchalantly took off her helmet with a shake of her hair. She smiled at her friend.
"Sup, dude! Guess who saved up and bought this baby!"
Anon didn't answer, still shocked. He vigorously shook his head, regaining his senses, before another thing caught his attention. Ruby sat behind her sister, her entire being bleached of any colours besides white. Her whole body shook as she frothed at the mouth. Anon walked next to her and gently poked her shoulder, sending her to crash on the floor like a bag of bricks. A cute ghost wearing her cloak and hairdo began to flow upward from her mouth.
"Mommy, I don't want to go fast anymooooore." The ghost of Ruby present moaned as it tried to float into the sky.
Anon let out a nasal laugh.
"Yeah, I figured."
Yang crossed her arms.
"Hey! I'm not that bad!"
Anon stopped ghost Ruby from joining her mother just yet by grabbing its tether.
"I think that we have enough proof, to be honest." He lightly kicked Ruby's foot. "Case and point."
"She's exaggerating! I was only going a 100KM per hour!"
Hope looked at her questioningly. Yang slightly cracked under his scrutinous gaze.
"Over the speed limit..." She added sheepishly.
Anon hummed as he pulled the spirit of Ruby downward. Anon looked worriedly at the ghost before gently cradling the traumatized spirit.
"Now, now." He comforted. "You know we'll get sad if you leave us."
The ghost whimpered sadly.
"Iiiiii knooooow..."
"Come along now, I'll get you cookies later."
The ghost nodded cutely.
"Ooooookaaaaay."
The ghost let itself be jammed back down its body's throat. Ruby shot back up with a gasp, breathing rapidly and sweating heavily.
"I..." She panted. "I am never riding with you ever again."
Yang pursed her lower lips in sad disappointment.
"Awwww..."
Anon chuckled before feeling a familiar presence beside him.
"Did I miss anything?" Blake asked.
"...And where the fuck did you come from?" Anon asked as he gave her a sideways glance.
She smiled cheekily.
"Wouldn't you like to know?"
Anon gave her a dirty look.
"Being mysterious is my thing, you know."
"Cry about it."
She walked past him to join her teammates. The sisters lit up at the sight of their feline friend.
"Blake!" They exclaimed in unison.
"Good morning."
Ruby jumped to her feet and gave Blake a hug.
"We missed everyone so much!" The leader explained. "It's so good to see you again!"
Blake was taken aback by Ruby's actions and words. She never really had anyone treat her so warmly before. Well, bar her parent and when her and Adam were in private. She felt Yang join the hug with one arm.
"Missed you too, Kitten," She added with a teasing smile.
Blake rolled her eyes, a warm smile slowly creeping onto her face. She returned the sisters' embrace, glad that her friends were back.
"Welcome back, you two."
The girls let go and started some small talk.
"So, things weren't too boring while we were gone?" Her smile soured slightly. "Well... Apart from Tukson's..."
Blake nodded somberly.
"Yeah..."
She turned to Anon and smiled.
"I have good friends." She rubbed her hands. "I'm mostly over it, now."
Anon bowed forward, holding one of his hands over his heart and the other behind his back.
"Happy to be of service."
She giggled.
"Apart from that, things have been reasonably entertaining."
Yang crossed her arms with a smile.
"Oh? Gimme the deets."
"Well, for one; Ren and Nora are energetic as ever," Blake explained.
"Makes sense."
Blake hesitated before adding a certain detail.
"In more ways than one."
Yang blanked on her partner.
"Say what?"
Anon smirked.
"They're kind of loud in the evening, and that's WITH soundproof walls." He squinted. "I'm betting on Ren being petty and leaving the door partially opened."
Yang's confused frown turned upside down as she understood what he meant.
"I freaking knew it!"
Anon inspected his nail before polishing them in his shirt.
"Yer welcome."
Blake kept telling the pair what they missed while they were gone. Mostly about pranks Nora pulled throughout the break and Ren trying (and failing) to stop her, while she and Anon watched in mild amusement. Other than that, she mostly read and accompanied Anon during his stints in the city.
"What were you doing there?" Ruby asked, curious.
"Curiosity, mostly," He explained. "I don't know much about the place, besides the commercial district and I wanted to explore."
Anon remembered something.
"Speaking of curiosity, how's the baby?"
Yang and Blake petrified in place, the latter's slitted pupil shrinking into blade-like slivers. Ruby smiled giddily.
"She coming on steadily!" She announced proudly and happily. "She's gonna grow into a fine lady with me around!"
"Wicked." Anon praised as he patted his diminutive friend's head. "I know you'll do a wonderful job."
Ruby's face flushed and she smiled at the honest praise, giggling like an idiot.
Yang walked crookedly toward's Hope. Her face was veiled in shadows with her piercing red eyes and menacing smile being the only visible parts. She gripped his shoulder lightly.
"Now, Hope," She said menacingly. "I really like ya and everything... But."
Her grip tightened.
"If you've done anything to my sister, you're future's about to look pretty Grimm."
Anon looked at Yang like she was an idiot.
"We aren't talking about a literal child, Yang."
Yang and Blake blanked before the blonde brawler suddenly let go of his shoulder. Anon swore he heard Blake sigh in relief.
"Oh! Good," She said like she didn't just threaten to feed him to a pack of Beowolves. "What were you talking about then?"
Hope and Ruby exchanged knowing glances before smiling mysteriously.
"You'll see soon enough," He told her.
Ruby danced giddily in place.
"I can't wait! It's gonna be AWESOME!"
Everyone looked up as the smooth sound of a luxury bullhead's engine could be heard close by.
"Looks like Weiss got given the clear to land." Anon attested.
He pulled out his scroll and sent her a quick message.
Me: 'Yo. Which landing pad?'
The girls hung over his shoulder to read, much to his annoyance. It took her a second before answering.
PrettyPrincess: 'LP-12.'
Me: 'Cool, be there in a tick.'
Yang giggled like a schoolgirl.
"Dude, do you have something you want to say?"
Anon gave her a questioning look.
"D'fuck you on about?"
"PrettyPrincess?"
"What? Weiss is, objectively, a beautiful woman," He said without a hint of embarrassment. "Besides, I give all my contacts little pet names. For Weiss, it was either SnowWhite or PrettyPrincess. I briefly considered BitchLasagna but I thought it was kind of mean to her."
Yang pointed to herself.
"What about me?"
Anon smirked teasingly.
"AtomicBimbo."
"WHAT!?" She yelled in outrage.
He showed her his contact and under Yang's portrait was her name and her pet name, which was indeed AtomicBimbo.
"You're an asshole!" She accused, quite peeved.
"That I am!" Anon laughed.
Yang grumbled to herself as the group made their way to welcome back the snow princess.
"What have you guys been up to?" Blake asked the sisters.
"Well, we almost got grounded," Yang said.
"Was it about the docks?"
"Yeah, dad was furious when he heard about what happened. He scolded us about how dangerous it was and how bad things could have gone."
Anon rolled his eyes
"He knows you guys are going to be Huntswomen, right?"
The sisters sighed in unison.
"We told him that, but you know how overprotective dads can be," Yang said without thinking.
"Do my exs' dads count?" Anon hit back nonchalantly.
"Yes?"
"Then, still no."
"Oh..." Yang thought that, for once, she might have to check what she was actually saying.
"Anyways," He changed the subject. "What changed his mind?"
Yang silently moved her arms to the side, framing Ruby in a presenting manner. Ruby smiled cutely, unknowingly proving Yang's point.
"Right, stupid question."
They steered the conversation back to what they've been doing. As it turns out, not much. Occasional sparring to keep sharp but otherwise just chilling in Patch's idyllic countryside. Anon hummed to himself.
A peaceful life in the countryside... Sounds nice.
...
The twelfth landing pad was further removed from the rest, with a very thin crowd to show for it. This didn't bother the three-fourths of the team plus Hope, if anything it was appreciated by both Ruby and Blake.
"Still don't like crowds?" Anon asked the red-cloaked girl.
"I always get lost in a crowd..." She admitted.
"Because you're short?"
"Hey!"
"Well, at least Weiss isn't alone in that department."
Anon swore he heard someone sneeze. He faced the Schnee carrier and lo and behold, Weiss was rubbing her nose as she descended from her pale ride.
"Speak of the small devil."
Weiss seemed to have heard him and shot him a glare, which he returned by innocentlysmilling and waving. As could be expected of her, she lugged an overly large suitcase. The girls went to greet their missing member and welcome her back to Beacon.
"WEISS!" Ruby yelled jubilantly as her Aura flared.
Weiss's eyes widened in horror.
"Don't you dare, you DOLT-" Weiss tried to say.
Too late. Ruby burst into rose petals and tackled her BFF in a hug, much to Weiss's pained dismay. Everything seemed to go as normal, Weiss bitched and moaned at Ruby for dirtying her dress while Yang and Blake helped her up. Ruby was just happy to see her BFF again. While Weiss was obviously annoyed she also seemed... Relieved.
Anon crooked an eyebrow as he stood back, Weiss looked a bit too glad to be back. He expected her to be all tsundere about the team being back together but instead, she looked like she's been lost in a desert and found an oasis. His gut told him that something happened but what? He couldn't tell. Anon shook his head.
I'll ask her about that later, give her time to break back in. I hope I'm wrong.
He rejoined the group as Weiss hastily grabbed her suitcase. She blushed as she opened it, revealing three small gift baskets.
"I... I have brought some s-stuff from Atlas." She revealed shyly before going full tsundere. "D-Don't misinterpret my intentions! It only meant to show my gratitude towards-"
"Yay! Gifts!" Ruby hugged Weiss tightly. "Thanks, Weiss! You're the best!"
Weiss grumbled in embarrassment before trying to play it off.
"Of- Of course I am! Who do think you're talking about!?"
The baskets were wrapped in a clear plastic bag and tied with a coloured ribbon. Each bag held three sets of items, a bag of the recipient's favourite snack, something relating to their hobbies and a personalized Dust canister with appropriately coloured Dust inside.
The red ribboned basket held a sack of cookies labelled "Courtisane Fondante: Chocolate Chip", a booklet and a red and silver bedazzled canister held Schnee branded premium red Dust. Yang glared worriedly at the cookies.
"Aren't those cookies from that one bakery that costs a fortune just to order from?"
"Le Salaupard?" Anon snorted at the name, causing Weiss to side-eye him. "Yes. Why are you asking?"
"...How much?" Yang was afraid to even ask.
Weiss shrugged then pulled her bank account's spending history. Yang balked before frotting at the mouth and collapsing in pure shock. Weiss rolled her eyes.
"Drama queen."
Anon squat down to Yang's level, poking her face.
"Not everyone is filthy rich like you, Weissy."
He grabbed Yang by the shoulders and shook her vigorously to no avail. Weiss scoffed.
"Oh please! It's not that bad!"
Hope looked up at her before his eyes settled on her scroll.
"Sweety," Weiss shivered at the nickname as he kept shaking the little sun dragon. "Those five transactions that I see are more than double what I made in a year of my old job, combined."
Getting impatient with Yang's condition, Anon gave her a swift slap to the face. Yang was startled back to reality, feeling a painful sting on her cheek.
"Ooooow!" She complained as she rubbed her face.
"Finally! Took you long enough."
Blake helped her partner up.
"Was that necessary?" She asked.
"Hey, it worked. It was either that or grabbing her ass again."
Yang held her butt defensively, sneering with a blush.
"Do that again and I'll kick your ass!"
He rolled his eyes.
"You still haven't made due on your previous promise of posterior pounding."
"Oh, I will!" She pointed at him menacingly. "Just you wait, You'll have my boot print on it and you won't even see it coming! Us Xiao-Longs never go back on our promises!"
He smiled teasingly and turned, his ass in full view.
"I'll be waiting."
Yang growled menacingly while Blake looked at Anon questioningly.
"Do I even want to know?"
"Schnee Docks, WF uniform too small, her ass too big." He enumerated. "You do the math."
Blake squinted at him without a word.
"Perv." She turned around with her arms crossed.
"...I mean you aren't wrong but..."
Ruby wasn't paying attention to their conversation, instead, focusing on the booklet inside her basket.
"What's that?" She asked the snow princess, leafing through the small book. It looked like a hand-penned phone book with really pretty and fancy handwriting.
"It's a small notebook that I've filled with the contact information of some of the most reputable and revered huntsman workshops around Remnant," Weiss explained. "I've pulled a few strings and asked them to put you on their shortlist."
Ruby stared at the booklet with stars in her eyes before she dashed to Weiss to hold her in a crushing embrace. Weiss hissed at the painfully thankful hug.
"THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU-" Ruby repeated Ad Nauseum
"I GET IT! NOW LET ME GOT, YOU OVERLY FRIENDLY OAF!"
The other two care packages were similarly over the top. The purple ribboned basket held high-quality fish jerky from Mistralli fishmongers, a signed compilation book from the writer of "Ninjas of Love" and "The Shogun's Secret" and an obsidian and amethyst container of purple Dust. Blake blushed at the sight of the book and looked to her friend with admiration. Weiss gave her a stoic thumbs up as a star twinkled next to her.
Lastly, the yellow ribboned basket held a can of expansive mixed nuts as well as a few packs of organic super-seeds, a jar of "Ox-King" protein powder and a container of yellow dust dressed in fine leather with gold detailing. Yang grinned in excitement.
"Holy crap!" She exclaimed. "I've been trying to get one of those jars for freaking forever!"
"Is it that good shit?" Anon asked.
Her smile widened.
"Yeah, boy! It's that stuff that pumps you up and keeps you going!"
Anon smiled.
"Good to know. Now girls, what do we say when we get gifts?"
"Thanks, Weiss!" The three girls said in unison.
Weiss blushed and played with a lock of her hair.
"You're welcome," She said shyly.
Anon clapped his hands together.
"Awesome..." He paused, then looked at the empty briefcase slightly mischievously. "Where's mine though?"
Weiss deadpanned him.
"You don't have one."
Anon deflated.
"Really?"
"Really," She replied flatly.
Anon closed the gap.
"Reeeeeeally?"
"Really."
He got really close but she didn't budge.
"Reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeally?"
She looked up to match his expecting stare.
"Yes, really."
Anon let out a whimper of disappointment before walking to a bench to sulk. Weiss rolled her eyes as Ruby sat down to console him, gently rubbing his forearm.
"It's ok, Anon. Weiss is just mean with you because she loves you."
Weiss sighed as the other two joined their leader in ribbing on her.
"She's right, dude." Yang chimed in. "It's like that saying about bullying those you love."
Blake gave him a hug from behind, looking directly a the snow princess with a crappy smile.
"I wouldn't put it past her to actually have a gift for you."
Anon looked up with a knowing grin.
"Ya think so?"
All four of them looked to see Weiss facepalming. She dragged her hand across her face with a squeaking noise before rolling her orbs to the sky.
"Fine." She relented. "I'll consider getting you a gift."
Anon slid up to Weiss, wearing the smuggest of smiles.
"I knew you'd turn things around."
She held a finger under his chin.
"If you behave, I'll get you something."
His smile didn't deter.
"You da best, Weissy."
She huffed and turned on her heels, the reddening of her ears betraying her true mood.
"Of course I am!"
Anon laid on his bed while looking out of his room's window, stricken by another bout of sleeplessness. The shattered moon greeted him with its lonely glow as it began its nightly ride across the sky. His gut kept telling him that something was up with Weiss. He groaned to himself.
"Goddammit Weiss. Making me worry about you like that."
He paused.
Wait, what the fuck am I saying?!
He shook his head then sighed.
"I'm probably overthinking this." He thought aloud.
He got up from his bed before taking his wallet and walking out the door.
...
The evening's air was chilly against Hope's skin. His shiver wasn't helped by the ice-cold energy drink in his hand.
I can't sleep anyway, so who cares?
He sipped on his drink as he walked around the deserted halls of Beacon. The once eery feelings he had towards the empty Beacon were replaced with fondness. In a roundabout way, the creepy silence was now rather soothing. The echo of his step helped calm his troubled thoughts.
His walk was interrupted by a bout of deja-vu, as he arrived at the balcony where he and Weiss had their heart to heart. The deja-vu intensified as he noticed the pale silhouette of Team RWBY's snow-white heiress. Weiss looked listlessly at the moon slowly rising in the sky, sighing occasionally. He walked into the balcony, Weiss being completely oblivious to his presence.
"Weiss?" He called out.
Weiss jolted in her seat with a yelp. She swiftly turned around to face an amused Anon.
"Anon?! Don't scare me like that, you dolt!" She exclaimed flusteredly.
Anon smiled softly.
"Sorry." He apologized quietly. "Didn't mean to scare ya."
Weiss was weirded out by his sudden gentleness. He pointed to the seat next to her.
"Mind if I join you?" He asked politely.
She looked back up at the rising moon, thinking.
"Sure..." She said half-heartedly.
Anon sat down and joined her in moon gazing. Despite the silence, Anon could somewhat get a feel of what she was thinking.
"Thinking about home?" He asked suddenly.
She gave him a side-eyed glance.
"Why do you care?" She answered coldly.
"Because you're obviously upset about something, and you weren't like this when the break started."
"How astute..." She muttered angrily.
Anon frowned sadly at the remark, actually feeling hurt.
"Sorry I asked," He said sadly.
Weiss clenched her eyes shut and inhaled through her nose with a pained expression.
"I... I didn't mean to..." She trailed off.
She sighed.
"I'm sorry." She apologized. "It's just... Things are... Frustrating, at home."
"Want to talk about it?"
She didn't answer, instead, looking down at her feet.
"Not really."
Anon hummed before getting up with a grunt.
"Well." He slammed the rest of his drink down the hatch. "When you're ready to talk, my door's open."
Weiss went to say something before simply nodding.
"I..." She hesitated. "I will."
"Good. See you later, Weiss."
And with a wave, he left. Weiss looked at the moon, her heart feeling heavier. She clutched the front of her nightgown.
"Perhaps sooner than expected..."
...
Weiss stood in front of Anon's room, her face flushed.
"Why am I this damned flustered?!" She whisper-yelled to herself. "I'm just going in for a talk, nothing more!"
She shakily went to knock on his door before stopping halfway.
"Why am I nervous?! This-this isn't my first time going into a man's room... At night... Alone..."
She kept overthinking the situation, her mind erring further and further towards the uncouth. She rapidly and frustratedly passed her hands through her hair.
"I knew I shouldn't have read that damned book! Curse you, Blake Belladonna!"
The door opened suddenly, catching Weiss with her metaphorical pants down. Anon eyed his snow-coloured friend with interest.
"I'm guessing you aren't here to do a late evening improv session."
Weiss looked horrified.
"You- you didn't hear anything, have you?"
Anon smirked evilly.
"Course I haven't, Luv," He said with a thick British accent as he moved to let her in. "Come in~."
Red in the face and feeling like an idiot, Weiss swiftly walked through the door before hearing it close.
The room was neater than she expected, with only his bed being in anyways untidy. Weiss noticed that his room was more decorated. The two most prominent things were a map of Remnant and, more interestingly, a large bulletin board adorned with pictures and notes.
The pictures formed a two-branched descending web of connections. Some of the people in the pictures she recognized were Roman Torchwick, Adam Taurus, the Beacon faculty members and strangely enough; General James Ironwood and Specialist Winter Schnee. Strings linked to certain pictures together to show allegiances, if the notes are to be believed. Roman was linked to three people, one was Adam Taurus but it was labelled as "reluctant business partners". Weiss didn't recognize the other two, a girl with two-tone brown and pink hair and eyes and a woman with sinister amber eyes. The two-toned girl was linked to Roman as a "Partner-in-Crime" and the amber-eyed woman was labelled as "Bitch-In-Chief". The amber-eyed woman's photo was dark and hard to make out, only her seemingly glowing orbs were truly visible. She was linked to two more she didn't recognize, the pictures again being too dark. All she could make out of the so-called "lackeys" was that it was a man with a slicked-down hairdo and a woman with a bowl cut. The amber-eyed woman was on a similar level as Ironwood and the beacon faculty. The Beacon faculty and Gen. Ironwood were all linked to Ozpin. Winter was obviously linked to Ironwood. The faculty and Ironwood were "Pawns" and Winter was a "toy soldier".
At the top of one branch was Ozpin, or as was noted, The Pale Wizard-King. The one at the top of the other branch had a darkened photo, but Weiss could make out that it was a woman of very pale complexion. The Pale woman was worryingly described as The Dark Witch-Queen. Weiss didn't know what to make of this, but she knew that if Anon was keeping track of this, it had to be important.
The notes themselves were mostly little comments and questions such as what semblance they have and specific traits. Winter, for example, was described as: Semblance: Schnee family glyphs (Use Weiss as reference but much more developed and controlled), Specialist/E-4 (Not Corporal, can't blame her though, same pay and twice the responsibilities. Probably waiting to become Seargent considering public records), Ice Queen (If the bad luck bird is to be believed), good soldier (shit at improv), Too loyal for her own good (Could be a hindrance if tinman flips), nice body (those fucking pants). That last one was scribbled out with another note next to that one simply saying "Inappropriate, Focus."
Weiss was bewildered by the large board.
"What is all this?"
"Oh, this?" Anon said. "Something me and Blake set up."
"It looks straight out of a detective drama."
"Blame Blake, I insisted on doing this shit using a holographic board for ease of editing." he sneered at the mess of notes and papers. "And here I am, stuck with this mess."
"But why though?"
"Let's just say me and her have been sleuthing around."
He waved his hand around.
"You'll know soon enough." He clapped his hands together. "But, I doubt that you came here to talk about detective work, no?"
He motioned her towards a couch she had never seen before, it looked like a therapist sofa. She snorted at how fitting it was to her situation.
"Where did you get that?" She asked curiously.
"I got it in the mail a few days ago." Weiss gave him a weird look. "Don't ask, I don't know either."
She laid down on it, the sitting angle made her look at the horizon out of the window. She looked at the moon as it slowly approached its zenith.
"Comfy?" He asked.
"Yes," She answered serenely.
"Do you want something to drink?"
"I'll be fine for now, thanks."
"Anytime."
He sat down on the floor next to her, leaning against the sofa.
"As was established before," He spoke lowly in a strange accent that she didn't recognize. It was soothing, however. "Your mood seems to have soured over the break. May I ask what happened?"
She didn't answer immediately. Instead, she immersed herself in the view.
"My home is... A cold place," Weiss recalled. "I can hardly remember a time when I felt any sort of warmth within its walls."
Her eyes were lost in old memories, ones that Anon understood far too well.
"When I arrived, I went to my father's office first."
"To get it over with?" Anon asked, ditching the accent.
"Yes..."
She inhaled sharply through her nose.
"He was... Cold."
She closed her eyes, one of her arms hanging off the side of the couch next to Hope.
"It felt like a blizzard had passed through, but there was neither snow nor ice. Only him and his organized office."
She gnashed her teeth.
"No welcome back, no emotions. Just a glance up from his papers." She recounted. "'Ah, you're back.' he said."
Her hand clenched.
"It was like I barely registered in his mind. He made a passing comment about how glad he was that I saved the dust shipment back at the docks but that was it. He wasn't worried, he wasn't proud. He was glad, but he was glad that the money maker was intact."
Her knuckles turned white and her nails dug into her palm, causing her Aura to glow. Anon took her shaking fist and gently held it against his cheek. Weiss paused before unfurling her fist. Her cold hand was soft and lacked in the calluses typical of someone in a warrior-like profession. The cold turned warm and her pale skin flushed, a detail Anon pretended not to notice.
Despite his playfulness, Anon was inwardly boiling with rage. He knew Jacque was an asshole but even in the show, he acknowledged Weiss's existence. This? This was neglect on a level that the show didn't have. And the way Weiss acted during the confrontation with Blake, there was some abuse somewhere in there as well.
This wasn't something Anon predicted.
More unexpected changes, this is getting annoying.
Anon felt his heart wrench.
"You only exist to him when you're convenient," He muttered venomously.
Weiss blinked emptily.
"Pretty much..."
She turned in her seat, looking over Anon as he sat on the floor. She unconsciously moved her hand away from his face and towards his hand.
"I'm just a convenient tool. I'm not Weiss, his daughter. I'm Miss Schnee, the one who'll take over when he kicks the bucket."
He held her hand tightly.
"I hate him," She admitted bitterly. "I... I wish I had a real father, not... Whatever he is."
He twisted around slowly, holding her in a soft embrace.
"I understand." He simply said.
Weiss didn't fight the warm embrace. Slowly, she brought her arms up and returned the hug. She felt warm. It reminded her of when her sister would soothe her when she had a nightmare as a child. It was nice.
Anon slowly separated from her, taking hold of her hand once more.
"Anything else you want off your chest?"
She sat up against the small backrest, one foot hanging off the couch.
"Winter was still on duty, so I couldn't see her during break."
Anon palmed his face.
"No wonder things were so shit."
"No kidding! Without her, things are just unbearable at home."
Weiss became more like herself as she kept talking.
"She's the only one that gets how bad things are, she's the only one that stood by me and treated me right."
She smiled.
"She's my older sister, and I'm proud to call her that."
Anon felt a small smile creep on his lips.
"Sounds like she's a good one."
Weiss robotically swivelled her head to look at him dirtily.
"Yes, she is. Not that you would notice, you'd probably just stare at her rear!"
Anon pursed his lower lip while nodding.
"Probably." He shrugged cheekily.
She gave him a light slug on the shoulder and they both laughed.
"I hope that I can present her to you all in the near future."
Anon smile mysteriously.
"Oh, I don't doubt we will."
She squinted at him, who just grinned.
"You're an odd one, Anon."
"Gotta be one! Or else, it's Ruby." He chuckled. "And that girl's got more than enough on her shoulders as is."
"Probably."
Anon held his chin.
"What about your brother?"
She scoffed exasperatedly.
"An annoying nuisance. He always sucks up to father and keeps pestering me to feel better about the fact he's not the heir."
Anon cringed.
"Jeez, someone's not liked."
"Considering he's the bastard son of that man and some floozie, I'd say it's deserved."
Anon sat up with his eyes wide open in shock, to Weiss's confusion.
Wait, he's not related to Willow?! That, I don't think I saw that one coming at all!
He laid back against the sofa, rubbing his chin pensively. Weiss was weirded out by his sudden shift.
If he's a bastard, that means he can't become the heir even if Jacque removes Weiss from the line of succession. This means that Weiss's story arc during Volume 4 and 5 are guaranteed to be different! I need more data.
"This is kinda out of the blue," Anon asked suddenly. "But can you tell me about your mom?"
Weiss looked down sadly before mimicking someone drinking from an entire bottle. She shook her head.
"Drunk. Ever since Whitley was born, she's been drinking." Her voice faltered. "A glass or two became a bottle or two. It only got worse when during a spat, father admitted having only married her so that he could take over the company."
Anon got up and sat on the couch with her. Weiss moved to give him space, but also to lean on his shoulder as tears began to trail off her eyes.
"A cold, cruel father. A broken, drunk mother. A self-exiled older sister. A bastard younger brother..." She let out an emotionally painful laugh. "What a family I have..."
Hope looked down at their feet.
"I'm not much better, to be honest." He said.
Weiss looked up at him. he continued.
"My father left us when we were young. Mom... wasn't the same after."
Hope closed his eyes as memories flashed. Memories of his mother's final days.
"She always thought he would come back. She never moved on..." Hope swallowed hard. "Even as she wasted away, she thought he'd come back to make things right."
He opened his eyes as he felt Weiss's hand cup his cheek.
"Her last words... Were about him." his voice broke. "Not my sister, my brother... Not me. Him. My father, whom I don't remember the face of."
Weiss hugged his torso, her warm tear staining his shirt. Anon chuckled sardonically.
"My sister left Sin City as soon as she was able. No goodbye hug, no 'see you later'. She just left." His bitter smile disappeared. "But I can't blame her. Home... wasn't a good place, Sin City even less."
He cradled Weiss's head against his chest as she rubbed his back softly.
"I should have followed her." His mood became sourer. "Then maybe, I could have escaped from my brother."
Weiss looked up at him, wiping away tears from her eyes.
"Escape?" She was afraid of the answer to her next question. "What... What did he do?"
Anon silently lifted his shirt and traced his fingers across his ugly scar. Weiss did the same, looking horrified.
"When I said that he used and abused me then left me for dead," He paused. "I didn't even scratch the surface of what he's done to make my life pure hell."
He smiled sadly.
"A cold, absent father. A broken, dead mother. A self-exiled adoptive sister. A monstrous, bastard of a twin brother."
He turned his smile towards Weiss as he held her cheek.
"What a family I have, don't you think?"
She copied his smile.
"I guess we're birds of a feather then," She held the hand cupping her face. "Right?"
His smile sweetened.
"Yeah."
The pair looked out the window as the moon hung at its zenith, shoulder to shoulder.
And another day passes in this crazy world of theirs.
Anon heard a regular rumble next to him. The princess slept serenely, her head against his shoulder. He kept his smile.
I guess our heart-to-heart tuckered her out, huh.
His smile didn't falter as he laid her flat on the couch in a more comfortable position before taking a spare blanket and pillow from a closet. Before going to bed himself, he gave her forehead a little goodnight kiss.
"Sweet dreams, Weiss," He whispered.
He laid down on his bed, his heart light and mind clear. He closed his eyes and waited for sleep to take him.
I'm glad... I'm glad to be here with all of you.
He cocked an eyebrow.
Is that a kettle I hear?
Unbeknownst to him, Weiss put the blanket over her head and burned a bright red. Hot steam shooting out of her ears.
"Dummy!" She silently screamed.
V2E2: END!
NEXT ON PLAYLIST: V2E3 - PLAY?