It was an odd feeling watching Amy stroll around inside of her apartment, or to see anyone walk around in it at all. For the past six months these walls had been a place of frigid isolation and calming solitude for Winter. But having the red head gawk, amazed, at every little thing felt nice, and made Winter feel warm.
"Your view is so great!" Amy cheered from Winter's room, her face pushed against the window that looked out onto the snowy outline of the city.
"You think?" Winter asked sheepishly, a blush going up her face at the compliment.
"Duh! My view makes it seem like the city is a thousand miles away on a good day. But lucky me, today all I got to see was a big cloud of snow," Amy joked as she pulled away from the window, dashing out of Winter's room. As she ran, Amy's eyes trailed behind her, sticking to everything they saw for an extra moment or two while they took in all the detail.
Winter toured Amy around the rooms, which shouldn't have taken long considering there were only four and a half, but Amy always lingered and enjoyed herself. She'd looked through all of the movies that Winter had left on her tv stand, gabbing on and on about each of them and what she thought about them.
Before long, the two of them were sitting on Winter's bed talking lightly as Amy worked her magic. They talked softly about this and that as the brushes danced on Winters skin was a lot of laughter in the air from Amy, while Winter only managed a few short giggles before the makeup master, as she liked to be called, chastised her for moving too much.
After her makeup was done, Winter was going to get into her brand new dress, while Amy went to doll herself up with makeup of her own. "Whatever you do, don't let that dress touch your face. Don't want you looking smudged for later tonight," Amy warned with a wink as she disappeared in the bathroom, the old door creaking loudly as it closed.
Winter nervously grabbed the bag off the floor, sighing as she pulled out her new dress. It had been expensive, maybe a bit too much so, but Winter had taken one look at herself at the store and bought it on impulse, which she hoped wouldn't become a trend later on down the line.
She stripped down before she slipped the dress over herself, the dress gliding down her skin like chilled water as it moved and swayed down her body.
As Amy came out of the bathroom, her makeup looking simple yet dazzling, her jaw dropped. "What?" Winter asked, concerned at the sudden reaction.
"Nothing, I just… That dress suits you really well," Amy grinned, "Plus my makeup looks amazing, as promised," Pride beaming off of her face. "Go take a look at yourself!" Amy ordered, walking over and pulling Winter into the bathroom.
"We really have to talk about how much you drag me… Around…" Winter mumbled, her words slowing like molasses before stopping completely as she gazed at the mythical figure standing in front of her.
The dress was a solid light blue with white accents that made her eyes pop and shine like stars, while her hair seemed more like falling snow than ever before. The dress clung to her body in all the right ways down to her hips, where it loosened up a little and gave her some motion. It wasn't loose, showing off the shape of her legs enough to leave some work for the imagination. It only went half way down her legs before it ended, showing off her long, elegant legs like nothing else she'd ever worn.
Her makeup helped bring everything together perfectly, bringing a hint of color to Winter's pale skin. Her eyelashes were long, black, and graceful, and her eye shadow made her look mysterious but also enchanting like some sort of witch. There were also a few hints of sparkles on her skin, making her look even more magical. Her pony tail, spilling down her back, was immaculate and made her look like something out of a fairy tail.
"Wow…" Winter whispered as she swayed slowly, scared if she moved too fast that the reflection would shatter to pieces, and reveal that this would be some kind of fantasy. But no, those eyes shining like blue pearls faithfully followed her every move.
"Yeah, I'd say wow is a pretty good word to use right now. Let's hope that your boy toy has the same reaction," Amy half joked as she looked at Winters reflection with her, satisfied and happy for her friend.
Amy looked at her phone, her eyes growing wide, "Dang, look at how time flies," Amy chuckled as she started pushing Winter out of the bathroom, rushing her to get ready, "If we're late James' never gonna let me live it down! So you don't even show up to the parties on time? Ugh, I can hear him now," Amy complained as she shoved her feet into a set of shoes.
As Winter reached out to open the front door, Amys own hand shot out and grabbed her wrist, "What happened to your nail!" Amy cried, inspecting the damaged nail tip with horror.
"Oh, I chipped it yesterday. It's not a big-"
"Here, take my nail file and work your nails on the way," Amy told her, shoving a long metal nail file that led to a sharp point in her hand. Amy flung the door open after that, storming past Winter, "Come on, we're not gonna be late tonight!" Amy cried like a warrior riding into battle.
They were late. The snow was starting to fall heavier than before as Winter drove, forcing their progress to a crawl. The parking lot was filled to the brim with people by the time they got there, a lot more than Winter figured there'd be, and it made her a little nervous. Someone was even parking right now, just a few spots down from them for Pete's sake!
The banquet hall was a large building, with high walls that led into a small dome at the top of the building. In Front of the building was a small set of freshly shoveled stone steps leading the way inside.
The girls climbed out of the car and ran to the door, their heels sinking in the snow with every step. They opened the door a crack before the wind flung it open with reckless abandon, slamming it into the wall inside the building with a loud crash. Everyone in the hall turned to look at the two girls at once, and all the conversations stopped at once.
There were at least a hundred people standing around in beautiful dresses and suits, most with champagne glasses in hand. They stared and stared while Amy and Winter worked together to get the door closed against the wind, making Winter's pale face heat up. If she hadn't been wearing makeup, she certainly would've been beet red, but she wasn't sure if it would be from exhaustion or embarrassment.
After the door was closed, the girls turned and saw everyone still looking at them. More specifically, they were looking at Winter. She saw everyone's eyes move up and down her body, admiringly, and it made her feel flattered but very nervous.
Then there was the deep sound of a heavy shoe hitting the ground, over and over, before stopping right in front of the girls "Winter, Amy, how good of you to join us," The deep and calming voice of Dr. Ironwood said to them. He had spoken softly, but his voice had carried throughout the entire room like the boom of thunder. It was like someone had turned the keys of a car, the engine of conversation came rushing back louder than ever as everyone turned away, embarrassed.
Dr. Ironwood was looking dashing in his suit, a very fine black suit that went well with his jet black hair and eyes. His posture was as perfect as ever with his hands behind his back, and he looked exactly like she expected. Well, except for the red bow-tie that had small green mistletoe dotted around it.
"Hey, James, how's it going? Did you see the way everyone was staring at Winter? It was crazy!" Amy was trying her best to whisper, so the crowds around them couldn't hear, but she was talking about as loud as everyone else with how excited she was.
"Hopefully not everyone was staring," came a distant voice that sounded oddly familiar. There was the soft clicking of heels coming closer, exactly like Dr. Ironwood had just done. But instead of a tall overwhelming man, there was a small, yet striking woman with blonde hair standing there. She had sharp glasses on that matched her thin grin perfectly, and her tight red dress even more so. She looked familiar, but Winter couldn't-
"Glynda! What're you doing here!" Winter almost shouted out her realization, getting another few looks that weren't exactly for her looks.
Glynda's grin dropped, and she looked curiously at Winter, "I always come to the Christmas party, who'd pass up on an open bar and free food?" She said warily, watching as Winter shook her head.
"No, I mean why are you here? Like, at this event?" Winter hadn't seen Glynda in months, so it was more than a little bit jarring to see the woman here now. It was sort of like seeing a flower in the middle of a desert. It was really cool to see it! But you can't help but wonder how it got there.
"To make sure my dope of a husband actually does his job and talks to everyone instead of just his favorites," Glynda chuckled villainously at what she'd said, but only one part of her sentence actually stuck with the white haired woman.
"Husband? He works here? Who?" Winter stammered, her mind racing but also completely blank as she looked around the room for someone she might recognize.
Glynda started to laugh, but put a hand over her mouth as she watched Winters eyes scramble. Winter didn't even notice how Glynda turned to Dr. Ironwood, who was sulking. "Why the long face, James?" Glynda wondered, her giggles trickling out like water from an old damn that was about to burst open.
"She looked right past me, like I wasn't even an option for you…" The tall man sighed in despair, his head falling slightly as his posture fell for a moment.
"Huh?" faltered Winter, her eyes falling on Dr. Ironwood. Then, her eyes moved to Glynda who had a shimmer in her eyes that Winter had never seen from the woman before. Glynda reached out and lovingly took Dr. Ironwoods hand in her own, softly rubbing her thumb against the back of his hand as her expression grew softer, "It's ok, that just means you married up," She smiled, there wasn't a bite to her words, but there was a nip, which was exactly what he needed apparently.
"So that means you married down? That's something I can live with then," He chuckled lightly as he looked down at the woman, whose mouth was gaping open at him in shock.
"That's the last time I'm ever nice to you," Glynda gasped, but Winter could see the hint of a smile on her face from a mile away.
"So, uh, you two are… A thing?" questioned Winter, her eyes drinking in the look and grin the couple shared before answering.
"Somehow," Glynda said.
"We've been married about ten years, dated for a long time before that," Dr. Ironwood explained happily, but Glynda glared at him.
"I'm sure he knows when we started dating, don't you, hun?" She smiled, probably hoping to watch him struggle.
"We started dating in June, when I was twenty and she was nineteen. I was on leave from the army and met her at the ice cream shop she was working at. We wrote letters almost every day to each other after I left, and the rest is history," As he told the story, Winter could see the warm memories in his eyes and the way his smile seemed to light up talking about it.
Glynda on the other hand seemed to melt at his words, her grin replaced with a dreamy smile as she looked up at her husband. When he finished she looked at her with a pleased expression. She didn't say anything, simply reached up and put her hand against his cheek and pulled his face down a few inches so she could place a quick kiss on his cheek.
"Ok, I'll be nice to you again," She sighed contentedly as she let him go, watching as he rose to his full height once again.
Winters heart floated as she watched the couple share looks, almost like they were communicating with some silent language that nobody else in the room could understand. It made her feel a little jealous if she was being honest.
There was one thing from that story that was bit odd though, "What do you mean you were on leave?" Winter wondered, confused. Dr. Ironwood looked at her like he'd never seen her before.
"You mean you don't know? I figured Amy or someone would've told you by now. I was in the military for a long time before I became a psychologist. I'd like to think I was quite good at it as well," He smiled, glad to share the story.
"No, she most definitely didn't tell me that," Winter said through partly gritted teeth, turning and giving Amy an annoyed glare.
That's when something in the back of Winters mind clicked, and she realized that there was something she needed to share with Dr. Ironwood told her. He was her boss, and had taken her under his wing, and if she was going to put everything on the line, he had a right to know. Who knew, maybe there was a way all this would work out? Or maybe she should think about updating her resume.
"D-Dr. Ironwood, could I talk to you for a second? Privately?" Winter sputtered, her voice sounding about as confident as Jaune when he'd first walked through her doors. Dr. Ironwood looked at her curiously, before nodding with a thin smile.
"Always. We might be awhile, Glynda, you should probably see how Ken is doing, you know, from Vacuo? Ask him about the new office, you know how… detailed, he likes to get," He nodded to her, as she scowled back at him.
"Anything for you, love," She growled, hands on her hips. The evil only lasted a second before she dropped her arms and looked calm again,, "Can you bring me back a drink? I think I'm gonna need it after dealing with him," She asked, her face turning sour thinking about the conversation she was about to undertake.
" One strawberry daiquiri coming right up. Come on, Winter, this way," He turned and started walking into the crowd towards the back of the hall without waiting.
She turned to Amy, who was already deep in conversation with some well dressed man, giggling with a drink in her hand. Amy's eyes left the man for a moment and found Winters, the red headed nodded at her with a smile, turning back to the man who was laughing like a hyena over nothing.
Winter walked away from Glynda, who was smiling at her like she knew something that Winter didn't. Dr. Ironwood was far ahead, but his height left him half a head over everyone around him, so he was pretty easy to follow.
As she followed, she couldn't help it as her eyes danced around the hall for the first time. It was a wide open hall that was softly lit by yellow lights on the wall and a large chandelier hanging in the center of the room. There were maybe twenty large round tables covered in silky white cloths, exactly the same as Winter had always seen at parties like this with her father.
Along one of the walls was a long row of food sitting in sparkling silver containers being served by smiling chefs draped in white. There was fish that looked so fresh it must have been swimming hours ago, steak that looked beautifully pink, fruits, salad, rice, and a rainbow of different foods from all over.
On the other wall was the bar. It was a small station that only had two women running it, but they were really running. The line was about fifteen people long and getting longer by the second, and the bar tenders had to move like dancers around each other to get everyone served quickly. There was also a large wooden dance floor where there were plenty of people flailing around in ways they probably thought were dance moves.
The last thing Winter noticed was how when she would walk by tables with people eating, everyone would drop their forks, stop their conversations, and their eyes would get pulled to her like she was magnetic. Not only men, but women and children too. It made Winter think she was doing something wrong, like maybe she was walking funny or had a stray squirrel crawling around her hair. But it wasn't shock or disgust on their faces, it was awe and wonder. Winter didn't know how to feel about that, all she knew was that she was blushing like mad. Is this what looking like a princess felt like? Winter thought giddily.
Dr. Ironwood led her to the back of the hall where there were a set of doors that led back into the kitchens. He walked right into the kitchens, his charming smile on full display as he walked past cooks on the line who didn't pay him any mind. Winter followed, staying on his heels as best she could as he walked further and further into the kitchen.
He took a left and walked out a door that Winter hadn't even noticed, a cool breeze invading the kitchen as he left the building. Winter stumbled after him, looking over her shoulder expecting someone with a large hat and a rolling pin to come charging over at her screaming in french. But nobody came, so she snuck out the door after her boss.
As soon as she stepped outside, two young men came walking in, the smell of cigarette smoke clinging to their clothes, making her gag. She was standing in a thin alley that was lit by a single street lamp that made everything look colorless in the night. Dr. Ironwood was standing tall, gazing down the alley with a wistful look on his face.
The wind had been biting and frigid when she'd entered the building, but in the alley it was soft and nibbled on her ears in a kind sort of way, making her smile. Winter waited for him to start the conversation, like he always did, before she remembered that she was the one who'd asked him to talk.
"There sure are a lot of people in there," Winter nervously said, it was the first thing that had come to her mind to fill the silence.
"That's one thing I probably should've told you sooner. This isn't exactly an office party, it's more like this is where we say thank you to our donors. Which, as you can see, we're in no shortage of thankfully," He chuckled deeply, turning around to meet her gaze.
"Donors? For what?" Winter questioned. She'd been working with Dr. Ironwood for a long time, but she didn't know about anything that they'd need donors for…
"I suppose you wouldn't know about that yet. Our office mainly does therapy work, but the company also deals with things like social work, homeless shelters, schools, and things like that. Basically, if we can help people, we help. A lot of things like that need donations, which everyone in there is more than happy to do," he explained, pride on his face as he looked at the banquet hall.
"I thought you owned the company?" Winter asked, confused.
"Half of it. The other half belongs to my beautiful wife. Who, I believe you met at her ice cream shop?" He said, already knowing the answer.
"Wow, Glynda really does a lot, doesn't she?"
"Indeed she does. Best business woman I've ever met. It doesn't hurt that she has a heart of pure gold," he chuckled, his eyes glimmering. "Enough about me and this boring party, what did you wanna talk about? Or was the number of guests really all you wanted to know about?"
Winter felt her voice get caught in her throat, and she almost felt herself choke on it. She coughed into her hand, her heart hammering in her chest, "I wanted to know, if I wanted to-"
"Stop." He said suddenly, his voice was level and calm as he held a finger up in the air.
"W-what?" Winter asked, frightened she'd done something wrong before even starting the conversation. Maybe he already knew?
"I'm your boss, but I'm also your mentor, and a friend. So listen when I tell you, always talk in hypotheticals with your boss. That keeps us both safe. Apologies for interrupting, please go on," He dropped his finger, his eyes meeting hers and giving her his full attention.
She coughed again. "So- um, hypothetically, if I started to have… Romantic feelings for my patient's guardian, and… And I wanted to pursue that. Romantically. Would I have to quit my job?" Winter looked down at her hands and saw that they were trembling horribly. She stuck her fingers together, her thumbs twiddling around each other. That helped for a second, until the tremors moved up her arms, and her shoulders were trembling.
Dr. Ironwood started to pace around the alley, his hand on his chin in deep thought. He mumbled near silently to himself, and Winter couldn't make out any of it. This went on for a few minutes, in which time the tremors had spread to Winters knees as well as her shoulders. She thought walking might help, but a part of her didn't want to hit Dr. Ironwood. Another part of her was convinced if she even took a step right now she'd be sick.
He stopped in front of her, facing the alley, and dropped his hand away from his jaw, but he didn't speak yet. He looked over at her, looked her deep in the eyes, and turned back to the alley.
"Hypothetically speaking, there's only really one option. Two if you count you quitting, I'd rather avoid that. The only thing you can really do is give them up as patients. You can still see them if the guardian says it's ok, but you can't counsel them," He explained sadly, but he still looked like he was wracking his brain for another answer.
"Oh… Is- Is that really the only way?" Winter quietly asked, her heart starting to splinter at the idea of losing those girls as patients. The worst part was, they'd never talk to another therapist, no matter how much help they'd get from it.
Dr. Ironwood looked at her, his face was hard, like he was about to say something he shouldn't. "The most important thing is those girls and their well being. But they're special cases, and they've been through a lot… I'd be willing to give you some time to convince them to see another therapist. But after that, you need to stop seeing them professionally. Normally I wouldn't do this, but they need it,"
"This also isn't a long term solution. It's a patch job. Get them comfortable with the idea of therapy, and then hand them off to someone who isn't in danger. Do you get what I'm saying?" He asked, turning to her and staring her down with his hard black eyes. They were warning her.
Winter thought about it, what was she going to do, "I understand. I'll do my best to help them get used to it, and as soon as they can… Well, I guess they'll need someone else," Winter said sadly. She didn't wanna lose them as patients, but if everything went well, then maybe she'd be able to help them a bit closer to home.
Dr. Ironwood looked pleased. He reached out a hand and touched her shoulder, which had apparently stopped shaking while she'd been talking.
"Good. Whatever happens, please be careful and make sure to think of those girls first. They've been through enough, and don't need to lose anyone else. I want you to know, you deserve to be happy, and I wish you luck," he said brightly, lightly pulling her into a one armed hug which she melted into.
She was sure to keep her face smudge free as she leaned in for the hug that warmed her very soul. In an instant, he was leaning away, taking his hand away and putting it behind his back.
For a brief second, Winter wondered how he knew so much about the girls and Qrow without her saying anything. But then again, he was her boss and there was no way he hadn't read their file when he let her have the case.
"Why don't we go back inside? I think a drink sounds very good right about now," He chuckled, gesturing for Winter to head in first.
"Let's go find Amy then, because I promised I'd do a shot with her, might as well get it out of the way" Winter smiled, her hand on the door back inside. But she stopped, and turned to Dr. Ironwood who was looking at her curiously. "Thanks. For everything, not just this. You don't-. Just, thank you… James," Winter quietly said, a blush rising up her face that made her almost miss getting gawked at by the whole banquet hall earlier.
James' mouth was hanging open for a second, but he closed it swiftly, a small smile on his face, "I think that would be good, soon to be, Dr. Schnee,"
Winter beamed as she threw open the door, all of her anxieties were gone. She didn't care about walking through the kitchen anymore. She was going to have some fun with her friends, and then, in a few hours, after she'd had the perfect amount to drink… She'd go to Qrow and tell him how she really felt.
Winter opened the door that led to the ballroom, took two steps, and promptly walked face first into someone who felt like a brick wall. Winter bounced off of him and was stunned for a second, shaking her head to clear her vision of stars, "I'm so sorry about that, here let me-" But her voice vanished as she looked up and saw, "Qrow!"
-Authors note-
This was a bit of a long chapter and I don't think they'll be this long from now on, but there might be. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, as always, please leave a comment if you want or have time, always appreciated! Have a great week, and stay safe!