Chapter VII: Formalities, part two.

Having left the infirmary, Weiss and Ruby wandered aimlessy around the campus for a while, eventually making their way to the dining hall. There, after some time spent on idle chatter over their breakfast, they were joined by Yang and Blake, who proceeded to tell them about the visit to their old dorm room that they had paid on their way to the cafeteria.

"So, you say we could use our old room until we're ready to go home?" Ruby asked her sister once Yang had finished her report. She pondered for a bit, taking a sip of hot chocolate from her mug. "Well, I suppose we could ask Ozpin if he'd allow that." The idea of staying in their old dorm for the next few days certainly appealed to her, even if their room was now somewhat demolished and had a sizable hole punched clear through the floor.

"I guess we could? We would have to clean it up a little and cope with the fact that the heaters don't work, but we should be fine. And, to be honest, I'd like that." Yang's right hand disappeared within her blonde mane as she nervously scratched her neck, as if she was a bit embarassed by her own sentimentality. "I don't mind sleeping with dad and others in the ballroom, but..."

"...it would be nice to spend at least one night in our old dorm," Blake finished.

Ruby nodded solemnly, her drink left forgotten in her hand as she absentmindedly gazed through the window. "Yeah..."

The door of the elevator opened and the four members of team RWBY walked into a bright, spacious and somewhat empty room with the ceiling made of glass. As they strolled in, slowly approaching the two waiting for them professors, the soft, monotonous melody of a huge clockwork mechanism overhead muffled their steps.

"Good morning, girls," professor Goodwitch responded politely to their chorus of greetings, pushing herself away from the desk she had been leaning against and standing next to Ozpin. Then, she glanced towards the hour hand of the giant clock ticking behind her; while it was sluggishly nearing the midway point between eleven and twelve, it was still not quite there. "You're here a bit early, but that shouldn't be a problem. Please, take seats." She pointed towards the four chairs standing in front of the headmaster's desk.

Once everyone had seated themselves, Ruby spoke to professor Ozpin. "So... we have decided. All four of us would like to continue studying at Beacon, if you'll have us."

The headmaster smiled good-naturedly. "I'll tell you the same thing I've told miss Schnee not that long ago: the doors of Beacon will always remain open for you, and we'd be honoured to have your team enrolled as our students again." After saying that, the man looked at professor Goodwitch, who in turn took it as her cue to speak.

"Normally, any student wishing to return to Beacon that hasn't continued their education at another Huntsman Academy would be reinstated as a student of the same grade they were in before the Vytal Tournament Incident. Then, they would be expected to take the final exams of their respective grade in order to be promoted." The woman paused for a moment, fixing glasses on her nose and glancing at her colleague before carrying on. "In your case, however, professor Ozpin and I decided that we are willing to make an exception."

"Meaning?"

"You'd be promoted to the third grade instead," professor Goodwitch explained. "While skipping grades is certainly not something that could be handled by just any student, we are confident in your abilities. I have to admit, while I had my reservations about admitting miss Rose to Beacon Academy two years early, she proved herself to be very capable, becoming one of the top students in most of your classes by the time of your second semester. Having the accomplishments of your team in mind, we feel it is not unreasonable on our part to put similiar faith in all four of you." While her words seemed genuine, Weiss could tell that the professor had some mixed feelings about this proposition.

"I'm glad that you think so highly of us, but... I'd prefer not to skip grades, if none of my teammates has anything against it," Ruby spoke softly, casting troubled glances at her friends and observing their reactions. She appreciated the opportunity that was given to them, but at the same time she couldn't help but dislike the idea. It was not just because she vividly remembered how she had been working her ass off in order to catch up with everyone in academics and to 'become one of the top students in most of their classes'; she simply felt that by doing so she'd give up on regaining something precious to her. Letting her gaze fall onto her lap, she continued speaking, her voice quiet but steady and clear. "Past two years have been, well, hard on us. What's gone is gone and nothing is gonna change that, that's true... but, even if our lives won't be the same as they were before, I think we all could use some time. To recover. And to simply enjoy being students while we still can."

Ozpin and Glynda just looked at each other, visibly saddened.

"We understand," the headmaster said eventually, nodding, then turned to adress the rest of the team. "Do all of you stand by that decision?"

Blake's and Yang's eyes met for a brief moment as the two held a wordless conversation. "Yes," they replied in unison, looking back at Ozpin.

In Weiss' case, that small, careerist part of her being was tempted to take up on the offer, but her heart agreed with her leader's sentiments. "Yes."

"Very well. Now, could you fill out these forms, please?"

Once all the documents had been filled and handed back to professor Goodwitch, the woman spent a while to check if everything was in order; finding them satisfactory, she passed them to Ozpin and looked at the four girls in front of her. "As of this day, team RWBY, led by Ruby Rose, is officially proclaimed as reactivated, while all of its members are reinstated as students of Beacon Academy." After this declaration, she dropped her formal attitude and slowly a small, somewhat fond smile appeared on her lips. "Welcome back, girls."

"Ruby, there are matters that professor Goodwitch and I would like to discuss with you as the leader of the team. The rest of you is dismissed."

Having one more thing to say before leaving, Yang raised her hand. "Professor?"

"Yes?"

"You see... we would like to stay in our old dorm until we leave for Patch." A wide grin appeared on Yang's face at the sight of the baffled expression of both professors. "And yeah, we know that the dorms haven't been renovated yet; it's not a problem."

Bemused, Glynda looked at Ozpin. "Well... there's no risk that the building will collapse..."

Apparently not needing the woman to say anything more, the headmaster turned to Yang with a small smirk of his own. "You are free to use your old room for the time being, then. Access code should be the same as it used to be. I trust you remember it?"

"Yeah, we should be good. Thank you, professor." Yang stood up from her chair and, after affectionately ruffling her sister's hair, headed towards the exit along with Weiss and Blake. "See ya back in the dorm, Ru."

Before any of the girls could enter the elevator, however, they had been stopped by the headmaster's voice. "One last thing before the three of you go." Having gotten their attention, Ozpin promptly continued, either not noticing the displeased look his colleague was giving him or simply choosing to ignore it. "While you certainly have played the part, none of you has been formally introduced into the Circle. I think it's high time to finally address that issue. Please, meet us here in two days, at eleven in the evening."

For a while the four girls just looked at each other, none of them saying a thing; eventually, they gave Ozpin their nods of acknowledgment and Blake, Weiss and Yang silently left the room, leaving their leader alone with the two professors.

Once the trio left the CCT Tower, Weiss excused herself, saying that she wanted to do something and that she'd meet with the rest of the team soon back in their dorm. And so, Yang and Blake continued on without her, taking their belongings from the campground in the ballroom – where they had been staying for the past two nights - and carrying them all the way to the their former dorm.

About a quarter of an hour had passed since they had got there and for the time being it was still just the two of them in the room, resting on the sorry remains of Yang's old bed and idly listening to some relaxing tunes on shared earphones. Blake was lying in her girlfriend's lap, her eyes closed, while Yang was reading news on her Scroll. Eventually, the blonde grew tired of the idleness and texted Ruby; waiting for her sister's response, she ended up reading the conversation the two of them had had the day before, back when they had separated after returning to Beacon from their visit at the cliffs.

[Yesterday, 7:13PM] Ru: How's Blake?

[Yesterday, 7:15PM] Me: still shaken a bit. ugh I fkd up

[Yesterday, 7:15PM] Ru: Well it's been a while since the last time she reacted that way

[Yesterday, 7:16PM] Me: maybe, but I still should've known better

[Yesterday, 7:16PM] Me: I'm literally the worst gf

[Yesterday, 7:16PM] Ru: Pretty sure Blake would disagree

Ruby was not wrong, and Yang knew it. Still, it did not change the fact that the blonde felt terrible with the knowledge that her stupid lack of forethought had caused her loved one so much grief.

[Yesterday, 7:19PM] Ru: How does she feel in general? Physically, I mena

[Yesterday, 7:19PM] Ru: Mean*

[Yesterday, 7:20PM] Me: she doesn't feel that bad, but has trouble concentrating and keeps forgetting what she just said or that she did put sugar in her tea

[Yesterday, 7:21PM] Me: also doesn't remember anything that happened some time before she was hit

[Yesterday, 7:21PM] Me: she woke up on the airship on our way back home, but has no memory of it either

[Yesterday, 7:21PM] Me: concussion sure is fun

[Yesterday, 7:21PM] Ru: So she doesn't remember... you know?

[Yesterday, 7:22PM] Me: nope. Lucky girl

[Yesterday, 7:23PM] Ru: And you haven't told her?

[Yesterday, 7:23PM] Me: I kinda wish I could forget too

[Yesterday, 7:23PM] Me: no. Not yet anyway

[Yesterday, 7:24PM] Me: you think I should?

[Yesterday, 7:27PM] Ru: Dunno. Ask her.

The blonde felt as if these three words were taunting her, even though she was sure her sister didn't mean them to. On one hand she understood that Blake had a right to know what had happened, but on the other... a part of her was glad that the girl didn't have to live with these memories. That, and she really was not looking forward to tell her this story.

Blake, who just glanced up from blonde's lap, did not fail to notice the change in Yang's mood. "What's with that frown?" she asked, pulling the earphone out of her human ear.

Their eyes met for a brief moment, but Yang was quick to avert her gaze and go back to looking at her Scroll. "Oh, nothing. I just wonder where the heck is Ruby," she replied, scratching the wing of her nose. Even though it was not a complete lie, she still felt bad about it.

"Probably still talking with Ozpin. Have you texted her?"

"Yup." Just after Yang had said that, the device in her hand buzzed as a new message appeared on the screen; 'omw', her sister wrote.

"Ruby?"

"Yeah. She's on her way." For a while the blonde just stared blankly at her Scroll, using it as an excuse not to look her partner in the eye. She knew Blake was watching her, worried, patiently waiting for an honest answer Yang knew the girl deserved. Sighing, she threw a last glance at one of Ruby's messages from yesterday. Ask her, huh? Well then, here goes nothing. "Hey, Blake?"

"Mm?"

"Do you, uh... want to know what exactly happened... you-know-when?"

"...Yes."

"Are you sure...? You might be better off having no knowledge of it," she warned, then, looking away, she let out a chuckle completely devoid of amusement. "I sure would like to forget a thing or two."

Blake sat up and turned to face her girlfriend. "Yeah, I... I'm sure, Yang. I was about to ask you to tell me everything once my head goes back to normal. I know that it might be easier for me not knowing, but... I was there, for crying out loud, and not remembering any of it pisses me off. Even more so when I see you thrash around in your sleep." She raised her hand to touch her lover's face, gently tracing the outline of Yang's cheekbone with her thumb and gazing into lilac eyes that finally stopped avoiding her own. "You and Ruby shouldn't shoulder these memories alone. So, if you're okay with telling me... let me help you."

"I'll tell you, then. Whenever you're ready."

"Good. Now, let's not worry about anything for now," Blake said, smiling softly.

Yang smirked. "Happy thoughts, huh?"

The black-haired girl leaned closer and wrapped her arms around Yang's neck, playful sparks gleaming in her amber eyes before she closed them shut. "Happy thoughts," she murmured an affirmation, right before placing a deep, loving kiss on her beloved's lips.

Yang, not wasting a single moment, gladly kissed Blake back, resting her hands just above girl's hips and slowly lowering herself onto the mattress, gently pulling her girlfriend down with her. Before long, they were already lost in their small, private world of love and shared bliss, too preoccupied with each other to notice or care about anything else... that is, until some faulty plank could no longer support their combined weight and broke under the pressure, causing Blake's face to smash into Yang's and snapping the two women back to reality.

Clutching her hand to her mouth, teary-eyed Blake rolled off her girlfriend. "Guess that's what we get for making out on a bed that's already been falling apart," she mumbled after making sure that all of her teeth were in place. "Are you alright?"

Yang sat up, rubbing her lips. "'Alright' ain't the word I'd use, but sure, let's go with that."

The other girl also tried to get up, but as soon as she attempted to do so, another loud crack was heard and Blake crashed back down, landing on the mattress with a surprised yelp.

The two looked at each other, only to burst into laughter once their initial bewilderment had passed.

"Hi, Rubes."

Ruby leaned her back against the door of the dorm and closed it shut, her head hitting the wooden surface with a soft thud. "Ugh, I hate formalities," she groaned, then glanced at the visibly amused couple sitting at the very edge of Yang's old bed. Choosing to ignore the slightly disheveled state both her sister and Blake were in, she looked around the room, quickly noticing that her partner was not present. "Where's Weiss?"

Yang shrugged. "Dunno. After we left the Tower she told us she had something to do and that she'd meet us here soon."

Nodding in acknowledgment, Ruby threw another sweeping glance at her surroundings. "So... excluding carrying all of our stuff here, you two haven't even started with cleaning up the room yet?"

"Nope. We wouldn't want you to miss out on all that fun," Yang replied, her shit-eating grin only growing in size as she saw her sister slump down the door with a feigned sob. Then, taking notice of the look of a disappointed puppy Ruby was giving her in retaliation, she grabbed a nearby pillow and tossed it right at the younger girl's face.

Much to the blonde's chagrin, Ruby quite effortlessly managed to catch that improvised projectile. Snickering, she clutched it to her stomach, her slim frame shaking with mirth as she defiantly stared right back at Yang.

"So, what took you so long?"

Ruby huffed, blowing a stray lock of hair off her nose. "Eh, mostly it was just professor Goodwitch giving me the rundown of the things I need to keep in mind next year. Nothing that would interest you, really... save for one thing, I guess." She released the pillow from her hold and let it fall onto her lap. "Long story short, they think we have one hell of a head start on other second-years, so we'll be receiving special treatment in some of our classes."

"Which classes? And what kind of 'special treatment' did she have in mind?" Blake questioned.

"We talked mostly about her sparring class, but she also mentioned Grimm Studies and a few others. And they're not sure yet; for the most part it was just a heads up," Ruby stated. "Glynda has some ideas, like not matching us against any other second years – at least not one-on-one – but it's still pretty much up in the air at the moment."

Yang's face lit up. "Grimm Studies, huh? Do you think Port will give us a free pass?", she asked her girlfriend.

"Sadly, no," Blake responded, laughing. "At best he might allow us to take the exam early, but... well, you know him – he wouldn't want us to miss his lectures. It's more likely that he'll just give us more advanced material to study."

Not willing to abandon her hope just yet, Yang turned her questioning gaze towards her sister. Much to her dismay, the silver-eyed girl just snickered, gesturing with her head in Blake's direction. "What she said."

Having her bubble burst, Yang pouted in disappointment. For a brief moment she looked as if she was about to throw herself onto the bed she and Blake were still sitting on, but she changed her mind in the last moment.

"A'ight." Ruby cracked her neck and got up from the floor, then walked a few steps forward. "The sooner we'll start, the sooner we'll finish," she said, standing with her hands on her hips as she assessed the mess that surrounded her. After taking a better look at the state their old beds were in, she frowned, having a sneaking suspicion she'd regret attempting to sleep on any on them. "Well... I thiiiink it'd be best if we just took the mattresses and placed 'em on the ground. Blake's is pretty much ripped to shreds, but, seeing that you two sleep together most of the time anyways, it doesn't really matter." Crossing her arms under her chest, she looked at the blonde brawler. "Yang, would you help me take bed frames apart?"

Yang popped her knuckles and stood up, wearing a grin ever-so-slightly vengeful. "With pleasure."

Blake, in meanwhile, raised her eyebrows, surprised by what she had read from Ruby's posture and the tone of the voice the girl had used while mentioning their usual sleeping arrangements. 'Was that... envy?'

Whatever it had been that had seemed to be off about the silver-eyed huntress had quickly disappeared, not manifesting itself again as the trio worked on cleaning up the room. Before long, Weiss had shown up, bolstering their joint effort with a fourth pair of hands and the lunch brought from the caffeteria. Within the next three hours, they were done; not really having anything better to do, they opted to wander to and fro around the Beacon, then, when sun hung low over the horizon, Ruby, Blake and Yang accompanied Weiss to the landing zone, where they waved off the heiress as she boarded the airship that would take her to the city.

After the craft had taken off, Yang nudged her sister with her elbow. "Ya think she'll be okay?"

"Dunno. I sure hope so," Ruby replied, visibly concerned, then blinked a few times in surprise after something wet had landed on her cheek. Looking up at the gray clouds that had rolled in from the south, she turned the palm of her left hand towards the sky. Sure enough, pretty soon she could feel more cold, watery needles pricking at her skin. "Aaand she didn't take an umbrella. Not like she needs one, I guess..."

Heavy drops of cool, autumn rain crashed all around the heiress as she stopped in front of a small, cozy-looking restaurant on the west end of the Residential District of Vale. Shielded from the downpour by a simple repulsion glyph hovering over her head, she just stood there, staring at the entrance with uncertainty present in her posture and eyes. Having seen through a window a glimpse of a large man clad in a suit with the Schnee emblem embroidered on his tie, Weiss was quite sure that it was the right place; what she was not sure, however, was that whether she truly wanted to go in.

She sighed, exasperated by her own indecisiveness. Then, coming to a conclusion that remaining out in the rain and worrying too much was not going to give her anything but a headache, she closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, then poised herself and pressed onward, towards the entrance.

"She has changed after our father's death, Weiss," Winter had said when the two of them had spoken some time ago. "And I believe I am beginning to see in her the woman I remember from my early childhood."

"We shall see about that change, Winter," Weiss whispered under her breath and went inside, dismissing her glyph as she entered.

The heiress liked it in there - a myriad enticing smells hung in the air while the soft melody of a few hushed voices mixed with quietly playing music, soothing Weiss' nerves. The interior itself was warm and inviting, with the ever-present wood and dim lighting establishing a pleasant, calming atmosphere. 'A perfect place for a date,' Weiss thought offhandedly, looking around with genuine interest in her eyes as she ventured deeper into the restaurant.

Eventually, with a small help of one of the bodyguards, she found the person she had been searching for – the tall, elegantly dressed woman with white hair tied up into an off-center bun and pale blue eyes shining behind eyeglasses, sitting all by herself at one of the secluded tables, currently engrossed by whatever it was she was reading at her tablet-sized Scroll.

Her mother, Willow Schnee.

"Good evening, Mother."

The woman's eyes snapped to look at Weiss, widening in surprise. "Weiss! You actually came!" the woman exclaimed excitedly and stood up, energetically approaching the heiress and opening her arms, as if inviting a hug.

Weiss, in turn, crossed hers, which – alongside a single arched eyebrow - quickly deflated the older woman's enthusiasm. "May I ask what is the reason you wanted to meet with me?" the heiress asked, looking upwards in order to meet the other woman's gaze, cursing internally the genes that had caused her to be almost a head shorter than her parent.

Her mother, who had been nervously fiddling with her wristwatch since she realized she had gotten carried away, seemed to be genuinely hurt by that question. "I simply wished to talk with my daughter. Is that really so suspicious?" Although Weiss restrained herself and did not voice her thoughts, her expression was an answer clear enough for Willow not to need her daughter to say 'yes' aloud. Giving the young heiress a look both pleading and desperate, the woman gestured towards the free chair. "Please, Weiss. Sit with me."

Weiss sighed and complied begrudgingly, taking the offered seat. Then, hoping that by doing so she would make it clear to the other woman that striking up the conversation would be left entirely up to Willow, she picked up a menu from the table and began browsing it, regardless of the fact that she didn't really feel like ordering anything.

She was unwilling to start the discussion not out of malice – it was simply the fact that there was nothing she wished to speak of with the woman in front of her.

A long while of awkward silence passed and Willow had grown restless, now painfully aware that she didn't really know what to talk about with her child. And so, having neither a choice nor an idea how to start the conversation, Weiss' mother began with the thing that was likely the first one that came to her mind. "About your injuries... how do you feel? Do you need anything?"

"I'm fine," Weiss replied curtly, not sparing her mother a single glance over the booklet. "I appreciate your concern, but it is unnecessary. Should I need any assistance, I'm more than certain I could count on my teammates to take good care of me."

Willow rested her chin on top of her clasped hands, corners of her lips slightly elevated. Despite Weiss' dismissiveness, she appeared to be quite pleased with the response, perhaps sensing that she was finally getting somewhere. "You and your team seem to be really close," she noticed.

That caused Weiss to finally look her mother in the eye. "We are. They're like a family to me, and I know I can trust them with my life."

Willow's smile faltered for a brief moment after she had heard the word 'family'; while she recovered quickly, her expression lost some of its sincerity. "That's... good to hear. Maybe you could tell me a bit about them?"

Weiss did not reply straightaway, just watching the other woman for a few moments warily, as if searching for something. In the end, the heiress let out a tired sigh and laid the menu down on the table, then, apparently finding no harm in humoring her mother for a bit, she relaxed and put her chin on her hand, pondering where to start her tale.

Following Weiss' departure, the remaining trio hurriedly retreated to the dining hall, where they ate their late dinner while waiting for the downpour to subside. About an hour had passed by the time they ultimately decided that staying there any longer was not going to change anything; in the end, they headed to their dorm despite the poor weather, running under the dark, rainy sky.

Blake dozed off not long after they had arrived at their room; wanting to let their friend to nap in peace, Ruby and Yang left the dorm and seated themselves right outside the door, where they spent the next few hours, waiting for the last member of their team to return and killing time watching movies on Ruby's Scroll.

Once the credits of their second show had rolled, Ruby decided she'd ask her sister about something that was on her mind since she had noticed some resemblance between one of the characters from the action flick they had just seen and a certain person they knew. "So, uh... where's Raven? I haven't seen her around."

"Gone, as usual. And good fucking riddance," Yang scoffed, her voice dripping with disdain, body tensing and eyes flaring red for a heartbeat before returning to their usual, lilac hue. "She came to talk with me before she left. Wanted me to go with her, probably to help her rebuild her tribe. Even allowed me to take Blake with me if I wanted, and if she was willing." She huffed in mock amusement, then glanced at Ruby with a clearly forced smirk. "Didn't even mention neither you nor Weiss, though. Probably saw the two of you as a lost cause, or somethin'."

"Well, I guess I'm flattered," Ruby deadpanned.

The blonde snorted with laughter at that. "Yeah, you should be," she agreed eagerly, her words completely devoid of sarcasm. "In any case, I told her that she can go and fuck herself. She has never considered me her daughter until I proved myself strong, so I see no reason to consider her my family, either."

"It sucks."

Yang let out a silent chuckle, pulled by Ruby into a sideways hug. "That Raven is a bitch? Yeah, kinda. But hey, it's probably for the better - thanks to her leaving me and dad I've got to have both the best mom and the best lil' sis in the whole of Remnant," she said half in earnest, half in jest, getting a soft coo out of Ruby. "I'm not even sad, you know? Disappointed, if anything, but I'm not sure the word applies if I actually expected her to pull off something like that. But, well, guess it doesn't matter. I wanted answers, I got answers. Now I can leave her behind me." With a low sigh, she produced the Scroll from one of her pockets and briefly glanced at its screen, checking if she had any notifications, then once again turned her gaze towards her younger sibling. "'Nuff about Raven. How does our Princess feel?"

Ruby smiled wryly. "Worse than she lets on."

"Weiss too, huh?" the blonde asked in quiet voice, giving her younger sibling a long, meaningful look before turning her lilac eyes towards the end of the corridor. "Speak of the devil..."

The familiar staccato clicks of high heels carried from afar, echoing in the empty halls of the dorm building and announcing someone's approach. Soon enough, none other but the heiress herself turned the corner, slowing her walking pace once she noticed Ruby and her sister, seemingly a bit surprised to see the two of them sitting on the floor outside the dorm.

"Hi. What are you doing out here?"

"Talking. And waiting for you, I guess." Ruby grinned, seeing Weiss' eyeroll. "Blake fell asleep and we didn't want to disturb her, so we went outside."

Acknowledging Ruby's answer, the heiress kicked her shoes off her feet and seated herself on the floor right next to her leader, careful not to irritate the still healing wound on her abdomen.

"So, how was your evening, Weiss? Tiring?"

"You've got no idea," the heiress breathed out, leaning her back against the wall and closing her eyelids.

"Well, perhaps a shower would do you some good," Yang suggested. "It's getting late, anyway."

"I'll wait for a bit, I think. Maybe until tomorrow morning. Taking a shower in my state is a bit tricky and, to be honest, I'm too tired now to bother."

Reminded of her own past experiences, the brawler drew a sharp breath, wincing while she did so. "Riiiight, gotta be careful around the wound. Well then, suit yourself. Ru?"

"Go ahead. I'll stay with Weiss for now."

Yang got up from the ground and proceeded to unlock the door. "I wonder if Blake is still aslee..." She fell silent mid-sentence after she took a peek inside their dorm, slack-jawed, freezing in place for a second before snorting with laughter and barging in. "Hey, bad Kitty! Gimme that book!"

The door closed shut behind the blonde, separating Ruby and Weiss from whatever was happening inside the room. The two glanced at each other, exchanging confused looks, then burst into giggles.

"It wasn't that bad, you know?" Weiss spoke up after a while of silence that had fallen once they had stopped laughing. "Meeting my mother, I mean. Immensely awkward, that's for sure, but also surprisingly... civil. There was no blackmail, no patronizing, no belittling me, no trying to manipulate me into doing something I don't want to; even the restaurant we met at was not overly ostentatious. Not quite what I grew to expect from the members of my family, save for Winter, perhaps. We spoke of SDC for a while, but she kept it rather brief. For the most part she wanted to know how I am, whether or not I need anything, that sort of things... she was also awfully curious about our team. Especially you."

Ruby looked at her white-haired partner through her eyelashes, grinning. "Oooh? And what did you tell her?" she questioned, playfully bumping the heiress with her shoulder.

Ignoring the feeling of her cheeks heating up, Weiss managed to keep a straight face. "What I deemed appropriate to tell her. Meaning not that much." Now that she had said that out aloud, however, she realized that she indeed might have gotten a bit carried away when she had been talking about her team, telling her mother more than she had initially intended to. "Still, she appeared to be genuinely interested in what I had to say about the three of you." 'She also seemed younger than I remembered her, somehow...' she added in her mind, but never voiced her thoughts.

"So... do you think that she really just wanted to speak with you?"

Weiss scowled. "I think that miss Willow Schnee is for some reason trying to win me over. I don't know what got into her, but if she thinks that now is the right time for her to go back to acting like a mother, then she also should be made aware that she is over ten years too late," she drawled, clenching her hands into fists.

The silver-eyed girl took a deep breath, all too aware that she was about to say something her partner was not going to like. "Well, late or not, at least she seems to be trying... And I think you should give her a chance."

While Weiss did not say a single word in response, the look Ruby was given carried a clear message: 'Carry on. And choose your words carefully, Ruby Rose, for you tread on a very thin ice'.

Ruby rubbed the back of her neck, pondering for a while how to proceed. "Look, Weiss... I think I can imagine how you feel. If one day my mom showed up on my doorstep... honestly, I'm not even sure whether I'd cry, scream at her or just shoot her on the spot - all I know is that I'd be confused, bitter and angry, quite possibly more so than I've ever been before. 'Where was she all that time when I needed her? How could she allow me, or dad, or Yang, to think that she has died?'" she confided with her gaze downcast, weakening Weiss' glare with each word she spoke. "But, ultimately, it'd be an opportunity to regain something precious in life. Perhaps it wouldn't work out in the end, like it hasn't in Yang's case. Perhaps the wound would happen to be too deep to heal, the differences too big to cross. But maybe - just maybe - it would be okay. Only if we tried." She sighed and turned to face her partner, placing her hand on Weiss' thigh. "It is your choice, though. And I'm gonna stand by you no matter what you choose."

Weiss was not sure whether comparing her own situation to Ruby's was valid, but... she understood what the girl tried to convey. For a while she simply stared where she felt the warmth of her partner's touch, saying nothing, then, slowly, a soft smile crept onto her lips, her pale hand gently grasping Ruby's. "She invited us – our team, that is – to the New Year's Eve celebration ball held at Schnee manor," she let on after a few moments, if a bit grudgingly.

"You sure don't sound too thrilled."

The heiress snorted. "How could I? If it's going to be anything like the events Jacques organized, then it's rather safe to assume that most of the guests will be the kind of people I'd rather stay away from. Last time I've attended one of those parties, I got so incensed that I accidentally summoned a Boarbatusk in the middle of a room filled with guests."

"You accidentally summoned..." Ruby stared at the other girl, eyes wide and mouth hanging open. "Wow. How come?"

Weiss' fixed her gaze on the floor, visibly embarrassed. "Yeah, not my proudest moment. I was on the edge long before that damned party. Surrounded by clueless fools caring about nothing but themselves that even had the audacity to say that 'Vale had it coming' while attending a charity event supposed to raise funds to help the aforementioned Kingdom... I just snapped. I didn't even mean to summon anything, it... it just happened," she explained, rubbing the side of her neck. "Good thing that Ironwood was there to take care of the situation before it spun out of control."

Ruby was impressed, if in all the bad ways. "Well... damn. I guess I can see why you wouldn't want to go."

"It probably wouldn't be that bad if the three of you were with me, but I don't..."

The younger girl butted in before Weiss could finish her thought. "I can go. And I'm pretty sure Yang and Blake wouldn't mind it, either."

Weiss arched her brows, surprised and somewhat moved by Ruby's eagerness, but pretty soon the expression of her initial bewilderment turned into a slightly mischievous grin. "Oh? I thought you were not too keen on such events? You know – elegant clothes, dancing and so on? If memory serves, you do not remember our ball at Beacon too fondly," she teased.

"Yeah, well... blame those stupid lady stilts I was wearing, and the fact I can't dance. Aaand let's not forget that I also failed to stop the baddies that night," the ravenette listed her complains, pouting. Then, she gave the heiress a sideways look, with the softest of playful smiles dancing on her lips, and added quietly: "But hey, I did not mind the pretty dress. Not too much, anyway."

"Good, because it really suited you," Weiss stated, chuckling under her breath. "But please, stop it with your 'I can't dance'. It's bullshit, and I'm about to prove it to you one of these days," she promised, looking at Ruby with a smug, mischievous smirk that ultimately turned into a wide grin after she had heard the other girl's nervous laughter. She closed her eyes and relaxed, resting her head atop her partner's shoulder. "Thanks, Ruby. I'll consider what you've said."

"You're welcome," a soft murmur replied her.

Not long after that, the door of the dorm opened and the other half of the team walked out of the room, carrying their towels and nightwear in their arms. Blake and Yang watched their teammates for a short while, quickly assuming the two had fallen asleep – their eyes closed, with Weiss' head on top of her partner's shoulder and Ruby's leaning against the other's scalp – but they were proven wrong once they noticed a single silver iris shining under a half-lifted eyelid.

Seeing that Ruby paid them no mind, the couple walked down the corridor, heading to one of the few renovated bathrooms. When they were about to turn the corner, Blake stopped, looking back at the two girls sitting on the floor.

"What's up?"

Blake glanced towards Yang with a bright smile on her face. "Nothing," she hummed cheerfully, strolling nonchalantly past her girlfriend and around the corner, giving the blonde no other choice but to follow.

Sleep came easily to Yang and Blake that night, but not everyone in the room was as lucky as the couple bundled together on a single mattress. Both Weiss and Ruby tossed and turned for a long time, somehow finding no position they deemed comfortable despite multiple attempts; in their shared misery, they chatted for a bit, but, before long, they stopped out of fear of waking up their teammates.

And so, knowing no reason nor remedy, they waited amongst the darkness and silence, curled under their blankets in search of warmth and staring at the familiar walls until the weariness had finally overcome them. Even when their consciousness began to slowly drift away, however, they could not shake off the annoyingly vague feeling that something was amiss.

Author's Note:

And heeere it is, FINALLY. I was seriously beginning to get sick of this chapter.

I don't know why, but writing this one was a pain; even now, after many adjustments, I'm still not quite sure how I feel about it. Oh well... I just hope I won't have as many problems with the next chapter as I had with this one.