Yang couldn't help but stare at the way Weiss's hips moved back and forth as he walked up the boarding dock to the ship. Weiss had awoken in seemingly higher spirits that morning, despite the fact that they would be in Atlas in about two days' time. Somehow, Yang's ridiculous plan had restored a light in Weiss again, and brought out an entirely new person that Yang had never expected to see. It still took a little getting used to, but it would be a lie if Yang didn't admit she had never seen the prince more comfortable.

Prince. Yang still couldn't believe how much Weiss had changed in just a 24-hour-period, let alone the past few weeks since they'd stumbled across each other at Raven's camp. If anyone had told her a year ago that Weiss Schnee would be running away from home, presenting as a boy, and sneaking back into Atlas under an entirely new alias, Yang would've shot herself in the foot. A part of her felt bad for misjudging Weiss all those months ago back at the start of their first semester, but now, Yang couldn't be prouder of her teammate. He truly was becoming an extraordinary person.

"You know, you could be a little less subtle."

Yang nearly jumped at the sound of Blake's voice just inches away from her. She blinked away her thoughts, and turned to face her partner, her heart beginning to beat faster the same way it always did, now, whenever Blake was near. Though Yang had since forgiven her teammate for leaving, she couldn't deny that she was still hurt, and still wasn't sure how to be herself around Blake anymore. But she was trying, not just for herself, but for her team. She wanted more than anything to just go back to how they used to be, back before the Fall of Beacon. But they had all changed so much since then, and they all had so much to relearn. It was certainly a trying process.

Blake raised an eyebrow as Yang stood in silence, trying to regain her composure. The noirette nodded toward the boat. "Don't worry, I won't tell him."

"Tell who what?" Yang finally asked, glancing back over her shoulder toward the ship. Weiss had disappeared inside, and was now nowhere in sight.

Her partner smirked. "You were staring at Weiss. I followed your line of vision."

Yang's eyes widened upon deciphering the meaning of Blake's words. She shook her head. "No, that's not what I was doing!" She turned back to Blake. "I mean, yes, I was watching Weiss, but not for the reason you think!"

She sighed. How in the world was she going to talk herself out of this one? While it was true she had been watching Weiss, she had mostly been observing him, trying to decide if the way Weiss walked would give himself away upon entering Atlas. After all, Weiss still carried himself like a Schnee. And as much as Yang had always enjoyed teasing Weiss about his demeanor, something about the way he walked now just didn't seem to fit this new look.

"He needs swag," she mumbled to herself, the idea of Weiss actually possessing the slightest bit of swagger bringing a small smirk to her lips.

Blake glanced back at the boat before furrowing her brows at Yang. "I'm not sure what you're getting at."

Suddenly, Yang grinned. "Hey, do you think Sun would be up for giving Weiss some lessons in swag?"

"Swag?"

"You know, like looking cool!" Yang gestured toward the ship. "You saw the way he was carrying himself, he still comes off too much like a Schnee!"

The other girl just sighed. "Okay, assuming Sun wasn't a giant dork who walks with an eternal slouch—"

"I think you're describing Jaune," Yang interrupted with a grunt.

Blake rolled her eyes with a smile. "—Do you really think Weiss would be willing to let someone change the way he walks?"

Yang shrugged. "He was willing to change his entire appearance and use a fake name."

"Yes, but he also ended up making a huge discovery in that process. I really don't see how simply changing his walk is going to make anyone in Atlas less likely to recognize him."

"Hey, are you two coming? We're about to take off!"

They both turned their attention to the boat, where Ruby was waving out at them from the deck. Blake stepped past Yang and started up the dock. "Well, you do what you want. I think I'm gonna sit this one out."

Yang started after her. "Aww, come on, aren't you a little curious?"

Her partner shook her head. "I think Weiss has been through more than enough in the past day, you should just let this go."

"I'm still going to ask," Yang told her. "We've got two days to kill, I'm going to make the most of it!"

Blake just seemed to ignore her as they entered the ship, but Yang didn't mind as they went their separate ways, Blake going up to the deck with Ruby while Yang started to search inside for Weiss. She checked the dining area, first, but only found Ren and Nora, predictably filling up on a second breakfast. Then, she decided to check the cabins, but couldn't for the life of her remember where she and the rest of her team had been assigned to sleep. It wasn't like they had taken a scheduled cruise, after all. Qrow and Ozpin had managed to reserve the ship at the last moment completely on their own accord, and Ozpin—or rather, Oscar—was left in charge while Qrow flew ahead to Atlas to warn Ironwood of their pending arrival.

After knocking on several different cabin doors, Yang finally found Weiss in the second to last room at the end of the long hall. She entered cautiously, not wanting to disturb him in case she had caught him in the middle of something. But he was just standing in the front of the mirror, something he seemed to be doing a lot since his transformation, adjusting the collar of his new jacket.

Yang appeared behind him, giving him a smile through the mirror. "It looks cooler if you pop it up a bit." She reached up for the collar, a gesture that caused Weiss to flinch, but he quickly settled as Yang flipped up the edges of the collar, leaving them to frame his face. She stepped back, admiring her work. "There, now you look like a certified ladykiller."

Weiss turned around and cocked an eyebrow at Yang. "I hardly have the time to worry about something like that."

"Relax, it was just a joke," Yang huffed. She crossed her arms. "But seriously, you look great. I don't know why you keep fumbling so much."

Her teammate's shoulders seemed to droop at her words, and Weiss walked past Yang toward one of the beds. He sat down, facing away from Yang. "I guess I'm just nervous. Don't get me wrong, I'm incredibly happy for all the help, Yang… But what if it doesn't work? Winter is going to be there at the border. She knows me better than anyone. She's going to know it's me, and I'm not sure I'm ready for her to see me like this."

Yang frowned. "From what I overheard last night, you seemed confident that she would accept you."

Weiss blinked, turning to Yang with a look of disbelief. "You mean you were awake?"

She lifted a hand to the back of her head, not wanting to make Weiss feel uncomfortable. Truthfully, she had woken up midway through Weiss's and Blake's conversation when Ruby had kicked her in the side in her sleep, but upon hearing their exchange, Yang couldn't help but listen in as her heart ached for her teammate. She wanted more than anything for Weiss to be able to feel safe, especially in his own home kingdom, but if what Yang had learned about Weiss's father was true—she had no reason to doubt him—then she knew Weiss would be in for a very difficult homecoming once his father learned of his true identity.

He shook his head. "Never mind, I just…" He folded his hands in his lap, but couldn't seem to sit still as he picked at a loose thread in the trim of his pocket. "I know Winter will accept me; that's not what I'm worried about. It's just… all of this is happening so fast. I know who I am, now, but how am I supposed to explain to her, to my entire family, that I just woke up one day and suddenly came to this realization? They wouldn't even begin to understand."

Yang moved across the room to where Weiss was sitting, and slowly lowered herself beside him. "I can't say I understand what you're going through, either, Weiss," she started, her tone soft, a hint of melancholy as she wished she could just carry her teammate's burdens for even a minute so he wouldn't have to. "But this is the first time I've seen you embrace yourself so fully, that I have to believe this is what's right. Sometimes, there are parts of ourselves we just don't understand yet, so we try to hide them away until we're at a point in our lives when we're ready to accept them. Just because someone else may not understand it, it doesn't make it any less real; it doesn't make you any less… you."

Weiss gave her the smallest smile. "Do you… do you think Winter would like me any less if I wasn't her sister anymore?"

"Why would she?"

"I don't know," he muttered, exhaling sharply. "The men in my family don't exactly have a good track record right now."

Yang laughed. "Well, for one, your brother is still just a kid from what I remember you telling me; there's plenty of time and room for him to grow. And from what I also remember, your grandfather, the true head of the Schnee Company, was a great man who changed a lot of lives. Your father isn't even a Schnee, so I'd hardly say the men in your family have tarnished anything."

Weiss nodded. "I guess you're right."

"Also," Yang continued, lifting a hand to Weiss's shoulder, "if anyone seriously likes you less just because you're not the person they thought you'd be, then they're really not worth your time. You've got people right here who love and care about you just the way you are."

He glanced at Yang with a raised brow. "Even if I don't pop my collar?" He lifted his hands up to the collar of his jacket, and folded the edges back down to their rightful position. "Seriously, it's not very comfortable."

Yang let out a fake groan. "But you looked so cool!"

"Well, it's a good thing being 'cool' isn't the point of this disguise," he just muttered, a look of disappointment in his eyes.

"Wow, you've known me how long, and you still can't tell when I'm just picking on you?" Yang lowered her hand back to her side, and feigned a hurt expression. She glanced at Weiss out of the corners of her eyes. "For the record, I think you always look awesome, with or without the popped collar. Even when you were wearing those prissy little skirts."

Weiss's face flushed, and it was all he could do to elbow Yang in the side. "I was never prissy!"

Yang snorted. "Okay, fine, fruity." She stood up from the bed, and strutted past Weiss, making sure to emphasize her hips as she walked. "What else would you call this kind of walk?"

"Is there a problem with the way I walk?" Weiss inquired with a bite. He pulled Yang back down to the bed, and stood up in her place, stuffing his hands into his pockets. He shot her a challenging look as he adjusted his posture, shrugging his shoulders and taking a few slow, lazy steps.

"Now you just look like an ass," Yang commented, a smile stretching across her lips. But at least I've finally got you trying something different.

Weiss's face was absolutely crimson, now, his icy blues narrowed as he stomped back over to Yang. "Then how do you think I should do it?"

Yang clapped her hands together and pushed up from the bed. "Well, since you asked!" She planted her feet beside Weiss, and turned to face him. "Okay, so stand like you normally would."

"I am."

She glanced him up and down, amused by the way he stuck out his left leg and hip, his right hand resting at an angle on the opposite hip. "Relax your arms and stand up straight."

Weiss rolled his eyes and did as he was told, but seemed to have trouble relaxing his shoulders.

"Alright, hold on a sec." Yang moved in front of Weiss, and placed both of her hands on his shoulders. As soon as she did, though, his shoulders tensed even more underneath her gentle grip, her heart seizing at her teammate's discomfort. She tried to meet Weiss's gaze, but he kept his eyes pointed down toward the floor, something clearly on his mind. Yang released her grip, and frowned. "Weiss, what's wrong? Why are you being difficult?"

His jaw seemed to clench as he turned away. "This is stupid. Why are we even doing this?"

Yang sighed. "Honestly? I just thought it'd be a good idea if you tried to carry yourself differently."

"Why?" Weiss finally glanced up again, his eyes shining with the threat of unshed tears. He visibly swallowed, his lips quivering as he seemed to try to fight the emotions that clearly were warring inside. "Why do I have to do this? Why do I have to change everything about myself just so I can go home again without the fear of being held prisoner by my own father? Why can't I just have a normal family and a normal home, with normal parents who couldn't care less about how I choose to present myself or what career path I follow?"

"Weiss," Yang breathed, raising her hands to his shoulders once more as her heart continued to twist in pain for her teammate. She hadn't realized just how taxing all of this had been on Weiss; ever since yesterday, Yang had thought that her teammate was having fun, that he liked experimenting with the new alias, with the new clothes, with all of Yang's light-hearted teasing. Had she actually been making all of this worse? "I'm sorry, I didn't realize—"

Before she could finish speaking, Weiss threw himself into her embrace, burying his face in her neck as he finally released the tears he'd been holding back. "I just… want everything… to be okay…" he choked between breaths, his grip trembling as he pawed at the back of Yang's jacket.

She let her arms fall in protection around Weiss's torso, hugging him close as he cried. Yang bit her lip as she tried to push back her own guilt, wishing she would have taken Blake's advice to just leave Weiss alone. Her partner had been right; she had been putting too much on Weiss much too fast, and none of this was fair to him. He had made a life-changing decision just the day before, and everyone, including Weiss himself, was still trying to adjust. It wasn't fair that Yang had kept making demands, kept trying to change everything he was already comfortable with. After all, if their plan didn't work, and Weiss was still recognized, all the stress, all the preparation, would be for naught, and Weiss would be just as lost as ever. He needed a break, and more than anything, he just needed his friends.

"I'm so sorry, Weiss," she whispered again into his ear, resting her chin atop his shaggy white locks. "I didn't mean to push you into all of this."

He sniffled, his grip loosening as his breath started to slow. "It's not your fault…" He lifted his head, pulling back from Yang so he could look up into her concerned violet gaze. "I should have spoken up, but I… You were all trying so hard to help me, I didn't want you to think I was being ungrateful…"

Yang gave him a small smile. "I wouldn't have thought that. You should know you can tell me anything, I'm not going to be upset. I just want you to feel safe."

"I do," Weiss assured her. He wiped away some of his tears, and stepped back from Yang. "As scared as I am to return to Atlas, Yang, I do feel safe. I know I've got you, and Ruby, and Blake, and everyone else here to help me if I need it. I know I can count on you… I just…" He drew in a deep breath, holding it for a few moments before steadily letting it out. "I don't want to have to change the way I walk, or talk, or carry myself. I'm comfortable this way, and if someone recognizes me just because of something stupid like that, then oh well. That name, I'll still use it, at least when we're in public, but I still want to be Weiss Schnee, to you and everyone else I care about. That includes my sister. So when we get to Atlas, when we finally see her, I want to tell her the truth. I don't want to lie to her. She's never lied to me, and I trust that she'll understand why I want to keep my identity a secret, at least for now. When it comes time to deal with my father… I'll do that, too. But I'll do it as myself, not as Skye, or Slate, or whatever the heck names you all came up with."

"I understand." Yang moved back to the bed and sat down, glancing up at Weiss timidly. "I'll try not to tease you so much. I didn't realize it was getting on your nerves."

Weiss crossed his arms over his chest, trying his best to give a cocky smile, but it came across more to Yang like an awkward smirk. "So do you really have a problem with the way I walk?"

She shook her head. "Of course not." She leaned back against the bed, propping herself up on her elbows as she held Weiss's gaze. "As long as we're being honest, I've always found it difficult to look away. For a small fry, you've got a lot of power in those long legs of yours."

His face suddenly reddened again, but he didn't appear to be angry this time; if anything, he was flustered. "Didn't you just say you would try to stop teasing me?"

Yang huffed. "I'm not teasing you. I'm being serious." She dropped to the bed the rest of the way, turning her gaze to a random spot on the wall across the room. "But maybe it'd come off better from someone like Neptune."

"Okay, now you're definitely teasing me." Weiss walked around the foot of the bed where Yang was staring, interrupting her distracted stare. He knelt down with purpose, his blue eyes so intense that Yang couldn't bring herself to look away. "Look, Neptune and I aren't a thing. We never were. I thought he cared about me, but the truth is, I was just another girl to him. I just happened to be the only one who ever showed him interest back, and I'm pretty sure that scared him. I highly doubt he'd be interested in me like this, now, anyway."

"So," Yang said, rolling over to her stomach and pushing herself up to match Weiss's height, "does this mean you still like guys?"

Weiss shrugged. "I don't know. He was the only guy I've ever really been interested in, if I'm being honest… and I've never even considered dating a girl. It was definitely out of the question back when I was still trying to live the way my father wanted me to."

She nodded. "That makes sense, I guess. Just don't feel like you have to, now, just because you identify as a dude."

"You really think I care about that anymore?" Weiss challenged. "Honestly, Yang, like I said earlier, I don't have time to think about that kind of stuff anymore. We've got more important things to focus on, like getting this Relic to Atlas, so we can hurry up and come back."

Yang furrowed her eyebrows. "And where, exactly, is 'back'?"

"I don't know." He lifted himself off the floor, and plopped down on the bed beside Yang. "Here. Beacon. Anywhere that's not Atlas… Anywhere Team RWBY goes."

"That sounds like a good plan to me."

Weiss smiled, his first real, genuine smile since his breakdown just a little earlier. His gaze seemed to dance across the room, taking in each piece of furniture and decoration with a purposeful intensity before he turned back to Yang, and slid his hand across the bed to rest upon Yang's. "Thank you, again, for everything."

She returned the smile, words seeming to fail her as she tried to find the right thing to say. What she wanted to say was that it was no problem, that it was just what a good friend or teammate would do, but somehow, they both felt ingenuine, like there was so much more to it than that. Weiss had helped Yang in a way she didn't even know she needed back when they were still at Haven. He had given her hope again after Yang hadn't realized she'd lost it, he'd given her support when Yang had gotten so used to having to support herself. He had given her so much more than her own mother had, than any of her friends had, and Yang felt infinitely indebted to him. But more than that, she was just grateful; grateful to have Weiss at her side, to know that he was safe. Grateful that he trusted her in the way Yang had come to trust him.

No, Weiss, she thought as she turned her hand palm-up to wrap around his, thank you.