"Weiss," Winter said as she entered the house, and that was all it took for Weiss to drop her bag by the front door, slam it shut, and run towards her sister. She hugged her fiercely, feeling her rock back a little with the force of Weiss practically tackling her.
"Winter," Weiss breathed, and she couldn't express all of it with one word, she didn't think Winter would understand it all, but then her older sister wrapped her own arms around Weiss, kissed the top of her head and rested her cheek against her, and Weiss thought that maybe, yeah, Winter could understand it. "I've missed you so much," Weiss said, muffled against her chest. Winter pulled away, though they were still close.
"I've... missed you too, Weiss," she said, her smile small, but pronounced. The veneer of her professional distance, the disconnect she usually employed, all but melted away. After all, they had both gotten a rude awakening, that life was a little bit too short to not say what you mean, especially to those that truly mattered. The scar on Weiss' eye was a testament to that.
Weiss beamed. She felt like a kid again, excited to see her sister every break she got from Atlas Academy.
"Ah, welcome back, Weiss," Klein said, rounding into the living room with a tray of tea. Weiss beamed at him in turn. For a moment, it all felt right. Home felt like home. Not Atlas, not Vale, but Klein and Winter. Weiss heart felt full, and she didn't remember the last time she was this happy- probably when she was with Ruby, Yang and Blake. The thought staggered her for a moment, but she recovered.
"How are you, sister?" Winter asked, pulling apart fully and putting her hands behind her back. There was still a small smile gracing her features, Weiss was happy to see. In the back of her mind, she was telling Blake and Yang, 'I told you she was in a good mood!'. Weiss adjusted the hem of her skirt before she spoke.
"I'm doing good, Winter. I'm coping well with my studies," she caught herself, shaking her head slightly. "I've made some good friends here," Weiss caught Winter's eye, and she had to fight not to duck her head.
They took a seat on the couch as Klein served them the tea. He ducked out to excuse himself away from the living room.
"Klein," Weiss stopped him. "Would you stay, please?" she asked. Klein smiled, looking to Winter for approval. Her bright face spoke volumes. He put the tray down on the table and took a seat across the sisters. Weiss couldn't help it. There wasn't much point to him pretending to be anything less than the main father figure in her life. Not for Winter, anyway.
"You seem happier, Weiss," Winter said, taking a tea cup and saucer in her hand, delicate and gentle. Atlas habits died hard, it seemed. Weiss took her own tea with a little less measured grace. "That's good."
"I... am. I'm happy," Weiss couldn't help the mental image of Ruby Rose, her face being the only thing that Weiss saw. She dispelled the image from her mind quickly, to replace it with the thought of laughing with Blake, Yang and Ruby. "It has been an eventful couple of months here," Weiss huffed out a laugh.
"I'm excited to hear about it," Winter said. Weiss bit her bottom lip. God, where would she even start? Forget that, what would she omit? "And I trust you haven't been sacrificing your studies for these friends," Winter said, with a quirk of her brow and a small, knowing smile.
"You know I'm doing just fine, Winter," Weiss rolled her eyes. "I even joined the fencing club. We're going to the qualifiers for the inter-state tournament next week."
"Hm," Winter took a sip from her cup. "They won't stand a chance."
Weiss smirked. From across them, Klein laughed.
"It is good to see you both together again," he said.
"It's good to be together again," Winter took another sip from her cup. "And to have your tea again, Klein," she almost sighed wistfully.
"I will be sure to brew you a thermos for the road, Winter."
"Not too soon, Klein."
Weiss blanched. "How long are you staying?"
"A few days, perhaps longer," she crossed her legs. "General Ironwood has... given me leave, away from work for a while. More specifically, he told me to go home, but, well," she shrugged, a smooth, easy motion that said all she needed to say. It was no secret that Winter hated Schnee Manor almost as much as Weiss did. It was the entire driving force behind her joining the Atlas military as a specialist, to bring her away, far, far away from home.
Kindred spirits, the both of them were. In any case, Weiss was ecstatic. She had anticipated Winter staying only a day or two.
"Where you will be staying?"
Before Winter could answer, Klein cut in. "I must insist you stay here, Winter. We already have an extra guest room."
Winter smiled. "I suppose that settles that. Speaking of," she placed her cup down and stood up. "I'd like to inspect your room now, Weiss."
Weiss put her cup down and leapt up. "Yes!" Weiss exclaimed.
Yes, Weiss was aware that it was a strange tradition. She could hear Blake and Yang in the back of her head questioning her (as a quick side note, she was hearing and talking to Blake, Yang and Ruby too much in her head nowadays- Weiss couldn't decide if that was a good or bad thing). But it was her and Winter's thing.
Ever since Winter had decided to go off to Atlas Academy, she was rarely ever home. When she did come back, she would always surprise Weiss by going into her room for an 'inspection'. Weiss had, after the first couple of times, always kept her room extra neat and tidy in anticipation for her sister's visits. It was their own little shared tradition. A sort of welcome back for Winter.
"I see your room is the same as ever, even after moving entire continents," Winter noted dryly, appraising Weiss' room with a critical eye. Weiss entered the room behind Winter. She shrugged as she let her eyes wander around.
"Ruby- my friend- told me I needed to redecorate," Weiss said. Her stomach started twisting itself into a knot, the thought of Winter interacting with her friends. Winter raised both eyebrows. Weiss fidgeted with her hands behind her back, averting her gaze. "She said the room wasn't very reflective of me," Weiss quickly elaborated.
"Hmm," Winter approached the desk, adjusting the position of the fountain pens that stuck out of it. "This 'Ruby' might be right."
Weiss let out a little breath.
"Tell me about your friends," Winter said, slowly walking the perimeter of her room, occasionally swiping a finger across a surface or adjusting the position of little items. Weiss stood still, fidgeting still with her hands and biting her bottom lip.
"Ruby Rose, her half-sister Yang Xiao-Long, and Blake Belladonna," Weiss rattled off. "They're all in the same class as me. They're good people- I like them," she gave her the quick version. There wasn't enough time to go all into it, although she was sure that they would get into it, eventually. Or a little less than eventually.
"I see," Winter adjusted the corner of Weiss' bed sheet half an inch. "Anything special I should know about them?"
Weiss bit the inside of her cheek to fight back a smile. Oh Winter, if only you knew. She wished she didn't have to spring it out on her. Briefly, the thought flashed in her mind of her sister with the much older, much rougher Qrow Branwen. Curiousity and a sort of sickening fascination filled her mind. She could only imagine her sister's face when she told her. Winter looked at her expectantly. Weiss couldn't fight back her smile, then.
Screw it, she was going to relish this, just a tiny bit.
"Well, the Rose-Xiao-Longs have an... interesting family," Weiss said. Winter furrowed her brow, a memory coming back to her, in bits and pieces. She had heard that name before, Weiss could see her sister try to place where exactly she had heard it. "Their uncle in particular, actually."
"Their uncle...?" Winter mouthed, almost to herself.
"Yes. A Qrow Branwen?"
The recognition hit Winter all at once. She looked at Weiss, mortified. Weiss only crossed her arms and cocked her hip, letting every inch of smugness bleed out from her. Oh, Winter. Dear sister, I know.
"Oh, no," Winter breathed, hiding her face in her hands.
"Oh, yes," Weiss smirked.
"Weiss..." Winter almost groaned, her face turning a delightful shade of pink that Weiss had never seen before. Well. Vale was a good place for first times.
"Win-ter-Schnee," Weiss emphasized each syllable as she moved in closer to her sister to poke at her arm. "You are scandalous. What would father say if he knew you were with an older man?"
"Don't," Winter almost snarled at her, though Weiss wasn't cowed, not in the least. "And I am not with him," she said, turning an even deeper shade of pink as she folded her arms and averted Weiss' gaze.
"Oh?"
"A woman has certain... needs," Winter said.
Oh God.
Weiss didn't know whether to laugh or to gag, so she settled for the former. It was absurd. It was absolutely ridiculous. It was fucking hilarious. Weiss doubled over, cackling madly. Winter tried her best to look indignant, but she couldn't help it, she laughed along too.
To hell with it all, maybe it was Vale that felt like home. Maybe it was something in the air that allowed something like this to happen. Maybe it was something in the water that changed everything about anything Weiss knew about life. Things felt different here. Lighter. Better. Winter and Weiss, laughing their asses off in Vale. Nothing that could ever happen in Atlas, that was for damn sure, so yes, maybe it was something about Vale.
"You've changed, little sister," Winter said, once they both recovered from their laughing fit. Weiss wiped a tear away from her eye and stood up off the couch.
"Is that good?" Weiss asked, a small, hopeful smile on her face. Winter placed a hand on her shoulder.
"It's the best anyone could ever ask for, Weiss."
They stayed there for a while. Weiss basked in the novelty of their new dynamic. No more was Weiss the scared little girl still trying to appease her father, gently being swayed away by Winter. No more was she confused about her position, about her feelings in Atlas. Now she had a name for all of it, a context and experiences away from Atlas, to know fully how she felt. Resentment was only properly viewed through the lens of happier days. She and Winter chatted, catching up on their days away. Winter was, unsurprisingly, vague about the details of her days, but she did elaborate a little on her relationship with Qrow.
It was a little more complicated than what she'd told Weiss, but it was a little less difficult than all that, too. At least, that was what Weiss thought. Then again, she couldn't speak properly on the subject of feelings, romantic or otherwise.
After a while, Weiss started to feel her stomach rumbling.
"Hungry?" Winter asked, catching on. Weiss nodded. "Let's get some dinner then."
Weiss was about to lift off the couch when she paused. She turned to Winter, who looked at her with a quizzical expression on her face.
"Have you ever had McDonald's?" Weiss asked.
She had not. Winter liked it. Klein wrinkled her mustache a little bit, but he acquiesced. Soon after, Winter left Weiss to her own devices, telling her to study, to make sure she didn't fall behind on her studies on her account. Weiss waved her off, but she did have some homework to do. She settled into her work as she sat at her desk.
She didn't remember going to sleep, but she awoke to Klein shifting her off her desk and into her bed. She mumbled a thank you, and felt a warm hand on her forehead, and she drifted off into a deep, comfortable slumber. Weiss Schnee was finally home. It had come to her, as unexpected as it could ever be.
She dreamed softly.