Note: I'm not sure where the inspiration for this came from, but it was an itch that really needed scratching.

Whitley learned at a young age that he was alone.

When he was eight, and going to his private elementary school, he had his first encounter with a bully. The exact details about that weren't important, only that apparently his blood didn't protect him from everyone, and he came home bruised and beaten.

He first went to his mother, only to find her already on her second bottle; then he tried his father, who wouldn't even see him. That just left his sisters, but when he approached them for help, they walked right past him, as if he wasn't even there. From then on, it was clear that any problem or obstacle he encountered he would have to overcome himself, and that no help would ever be offered by anyone. Even the help, who would often offer compassion to Winter and Weiss, just treated him like another employer. Whitley was the spare tire, to be tucked away in storage until the driver decided he was needed.

In light of that, Whitley taught himself ways to take care of himself. He leaned how and when he needed to act in front of certain kinds of people, especially his father; some would call it "sucking up", but the young man called it, choosing your battles. After all, Whitley knew he couldn't be strong, so he decided to be smart instead. After all, this wasn't really a family, it was a firm; Jacques lorded over it like it was his company board room, while Willow was more a ghost than an actual presence in the household.

As for Winter and Weiss, well, they made it abundantly clear that while they certainly cared a great deal about each other, those feelings didn't extend to their brother. Winter quickly fell out of contact with him after joining the military, and even on the occasional times she would visit, it would only be to see or train Weiss; Whitley was briefly interested learning how to fight, and utilize the Schnee family Semblance as well, but Winter, as always, seemed completely disinterested in him.

"I do not believe it would suit your skillset," she had said to him before turning and walking away to teach Weiss. Speaking of which, Whitley started seeing less and less of his second sister as time went on, to the point there could be whole days when he would be essentially alone in the house. Then she left for Beacon, and it was in that moment that it became apparent Whitley's only connection to his sisters was blood.

Whitley then came to the only logical conclusion, that he had no real family, only a group of people he happened to share blood with. Whitley made his peace with that, and he learned how to take care of himself in that regard, and he just stopped trying. His sisters weren't ever going to pay him much heed, so they stopped being worth the effort. The same could be said for his mother; she was rarely seen, and when she was, it was always with a drink of varying size in her hand. That of course just left one Jacques Schnee.

Now "love" and "affection" certainly wouldn't be found with his father, Whitley wasn't naive enough to think otherwise, but he long made his peace with that as well, and since Whitley couldn't run away like Winter and Weiss did, he resorted to the only remaining option: play their father's game. He'd spent enough time studying to know the right things to say and do to his father, what he liked to hear, what he wanted out of his children, and what he needed for himself. The best comparison Whitley could think would be an office space; know who you should and shouldn't antagonize, and you'll make it through.

Of course, then Weiss had to come back (for reasons didn't bother pondering at this point), and bring everything crashing down. In an instant, their father was in prison, their family was only a few steps from losing it all, and Whitley had nowhere to go and no idea what to do. Of course, Weiss vanished shortly after that again, and Whitley figured he'd probably see her again in another few months, before she'd leave again. So one could forgive him for being rather surprised when his sister showed up, pointing her sword at his throat, with her and her apparent cohorts glaring at Whitley like he was a Grimm they were hired to slay. In addition to her sister, there was a girl in red, a Faunus woman, and a tall woman with blue hair carrying a scarred, unconscious girl in pink.

"Things are already bad enough after what you did to father, now you want us to harbor fugitives too?" Whitley asked as the group pushed themselves in, "Our family has a reputation."

"That's what you're worried about? Your reputation?" the Faunus demanded. Yes, as a matter of fact, Whitely was worried about that. If their family lost their reputation, they lost quite a bit with it, not that seemed to matter to Weiss, and Whitely doubted that mattered much to Winter either. It did matter to him, because what did he have left when he lost that, where could he go? He doubted Weiss cared about either of those things either, as he sucked in a breath.

"I'm just saying that we've already lost all the house staff, and mother locked herself in her room," Whitley said. He had least some hope that Weiss would show some concern for the woman that birthed them, but Weiss didn't even blink at that.

"Maybe you haven't figured what what's going on, Whitley," she answered, "but we're busying trying to save Atlas." Considering that communications were practically on black out right now, Whitley had practically no idea what was going on. Before he could point that out, however, the girl in red stepped between them, holding up her hands.

"Look, our friend is hurt," she said, gently, "We just need a place to law low while she rests, and then we'll be out of your way." Whitley had to give this girl credit, at least she was making an attempt at being diplomatic. He then looked between them for a second; being honest, it wasn't really like he had any choice here; what was he going to do against four armed, trained Huntresses anyway?

"Fine," he said with a sigh of resignation, before offering, "What do you expect me to do then?" Maybe, if nothing else, he could find someway to help; if nothing else it would make him somewhat productive, and would help take his mind off things. Weiss then looked straight at him, not so much glaring "daggers" as much as she was glaring "swords", before pointing behind her.

"Go to your room."

Those words hit Whitely like a slap in the face, but he wasn't sure why he expected anything else; that was all he was to Weiss after all, a minor obstacle in her road. And knowing there was no point in arguing this, Whitley just walked away, not even looking at anyone, before ascending the stairs to do as commanded.

And with that, Whitley was alone again. Such was his lot in life he supposed.

Note: I don't know if those sympathetic to Whitley are in the majority or minority, but I'm part of that. If RT is planning on expanding his character, I'd hope they do it soon, because considering how much is happening, they may find themselves having to sideline him (yet again). I'm not saying Whitley's rightto act the way he is, but I'd like to believe he's a character with dimension, instead of just another faceless obstacle for the team.

Also, is it me, or did it seem like Weiss completely ignored her mother's plea to not forget about her brother?

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