RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth, of which I am not a part of.

Sorry that I haven't uploaded within the last 7 days. I've kinda been in a slump because of the lack of Monochrome content recently. DashingIceCream has been moving away from RWBY recently (though she does still occasionally post WeissxBlake pics), WeissColdGlare has been doing a lot more White Rose over the past few days (not really an issue, I'm just not interested in WeissxRuby is all, but obviously I don't get to decide what they draw; plus White Rose Week is coming up in a week or two…) and I'm not letting myself read Donesses's Scars fanfics until I'm done with this fic, so I've had to contend with looking through old fan works for inspiration.

Speaking of Donesses, they contacted me to pretty much give me a slap over the head for last chapter's comment because I'm being too self-deprecating and forgetting that you guys, the audience, will almost certainly be able to enjoy both stories. I guess I'm back on the fence again in terms of that sequel, though I also don't want to start a project I don't think I'll be able to finish.

I don't have a lot of pride in my skills as a writer (this is definitely more of a hobby than something I could even consider making a career out of) so knowing that there are people that enjoy my work anyway is a big part of what drives me on, along with the fact that I feel I owe it to WCG and you guys to finish this, whether or not I actually do owe anybody anything.

Really, my thoughts right now are of self-doubt, jumbled feelings regarding my abilities, questioning myself for how much my fic should or shouldn't follow the canon storyline and acknowledgement that I am ALMOST CERTAINLY OVERTHINKING ALL OF THESE THINGS.

Still, thank you, Donesses. Rock on. I'd also like to make a shout-out to merendinoemiliano, once again, for always leaving such kind comments on my works.

I will be skipping most of Chapter 2 (not the last time I'll be doing something like that, by the way) because I didn't feel like I could add much to it. Though it should be noted that the first scene takes place immediately before Team SSSN's match, not at the exact start of Chapter 3. Again, I'm planning on leaving excluded scenes from the show as they were, but I may reach a point soon where I feel it would be better to have you guys guess what's actually happening off-screen, depending on the path I decide to go.

Volume 3, Chapter 3, 'It's Brawl in the Family'


"Uh, Weiss?"

"Hmmm?"

Weiss looked over at her crush and was shocked to see her face beat red, eyes shifting.

"Could you… uh… are you going to stop doing that… with your hand?"

Arching an eyebrow, the heiress looked up at the hand she was waving. "Is it… not normal to wave at your friends? I mean, Sun and Neptune probably need all the encouragement they can get for this round." A thought crossed her mind, leaving her sputtering. "I-I'm not into Neptune, just so you know. N-NOT THAT THAT HAS ANYTHING to, uh, do with… anything really…"

"N-no. I mean… your… other hand…" Blake was practically shivering at this point.

Blue eyes followed her left arm all the way down to the seat, expecting to find it gripping the armrest. Instead, it seemed she was tracing light patterns along the Faunus girl's thigh.

Huh.

Moving faster than she could ever remember, she pulled her hand back into her own lap, all of her previous focus shattered. Opening her mouth to try and explain herself, all she managed was a couple of high-pitched noises before shutting it to save herself from any more embarrassment than she'd already suffered.

Oum dammit! Even when I'm not thinking about her...

She covered her face with her hands.

What I would do for some sort of distraction right now.

Blake wasn't faring much better. The heat raging through her body was incredibly uncomfortable. Her mind twisted itself as she tried to comprehend whether the action had been an accident or intentional. Either way, she screwed her eyes shut, refusing to open them even when Yang shook her shoulder to yell something about Sage's form, Scarlet's graceful dodging or Sun's liberal use of his gun-chucks.

Eventually, the match ended with a narrow victory for Team SSSN. Neither Blake nor Weiss had paid any attention to the match with their minds on the fritz, but according to their teammates, Neptune had been the only one left standing. He had conquered his phobia of water in an effort to try and save Sage, while his final electrical attack had hit both Scarlet and Sun in order to finish off the rest of Team NDGO's members. It was likely why the red-haired boy was being held back by his leader and wildly kicking at his other teammate.

The brunette didn't particularly care at that point. Right now, all she wanted to do was go back to the dorm room and take a long, COLD shower. And hopefully clear her mind of anything for the next month or so.

'She's here.'

The light whisper from Weiss was all the warning Blake got before the heiress bolted past her, evidently forgetting the events from just a few minutes ago. The Faunus swore at the sensation left on her shoulder where her crush had touched to move past her.

This is getting unbearable.

wait, who's 'she'?


Blake had many reasons to be nervous right now and even the knowledge that she was standing with the rest of her team made her feel no better.

In front of her, emerging from a very fancy-looking airship, was Winter Schnee.

"Winter…" The younger Schnee's voice was filled with respect and adoration.

This woman was a full-fledged huntress. She was reportedly one of the strongest fighters in the entire Atlesian military and one of its highest ranking officers under General Ironwood himself.

She was also a Schnee, which meant that any member of the White Fang knew about her abilities and was constantly (and unreasonably) watching behind their backs on the off-chance the white-haired woman suddenly appeared with a sword through their chests.

And then, of course, there was the fact that she was Weiss's older sister.

THAT would spell trouble for anyone in the heiress's love-life.

A shockingly familiar blue gaze washed over the brunette, who tried with all her might to neither shift nervously nor freeze suddenly under the powerful glower. Part of her thought that Winter could already see straight through her bow, see into her past and history, see her feelings for the woman's own sister and was already plotting how to best skewer her through when the opportunity presented itself.

The lump forming in her throat was painful. Blake briefly wondered if this was the feeling that her novel's characters experienced when they met close family members of their love interest.

At least most of them weren't on such hostile terms with their judge.

While Blake put all of her strength into not shattering to pieces right there and then, Yang stood in utter amazement, lilac eyes shining.

The blonde briefly wondered how much she and the other older sister had in common. Maybe they'd end up sharing stories about their younger siblings.

The thought left her smiling wide, though she toned herself back to a respectable manner. She'd heard far more than enough from her tiny teammate to know not to be too informal when meeting the officer.

Weiss curtsied as her elder sister approached, barely hiding her admiration. "Winter! I'm so happy to see you here!"

Winter's eyes finally fell on Weiss with a small shift in her features and nothing more. "It seems the academy hasn't changed much since I've last come here. If its reputation is still the same as well, then I hope you have been performing at your upmost abilities in your studies, sister."

The formal tone and wording caused the heiress's grin to falter, but she kept her posture and gave a curt nod in response.

"So… these are your… teammates? Friends, perhaps?" Winter inquired, her tone clearly not impressed as she casted her eyes over the group again, Blake doing her best not to flinch when the light-blue gaze reached her, trailing up her hair and tracing along the colored pieces of fabric before returning to Weiss's own.

"That's right! I've had a great time here and it's almost all thanks to them."

The other three girls smiled warmly, Blake once more trying to hold down her blush.

"I see." The officer's face contorted. "Considering the many failures and mistakes you committed during the opening round, as well as their ridiculous outfits, they must be a bunch of miscreants to have affected your performance to such a degree."

Whatever respectful façade Yang had been putting up before fell apart with the words. Ruby immediately put herself between the two, pushing against her elder sister's stomach while flashing a wary smile.

The blonde clenched up her fists, trying to force herself to calm down. This was still Weiss's sister, even if she'd just insulted the very girl, herself, her partner and…

Winter looked down at the cloaked girl with a complete lack of interest. "And this is the girl who supposedly surpassed your abilities to become the leader of your team?"

She gave Ruby a quick once-over.

"Disgraceful."

The brawler's patience ran out, pushing past her younger sister, bringing her crimson-red eyes up to her opponent's level blue gaze as her mane caught fire. The other woman barely reacted to the flaming spectacle.

"WINTER! THAT'S ENOUGH!"

Both girls froze. While Yang's face relaxed as she inhaled sharply, Winter looked completely flabbergasted. Never before had she heard such an authoritative tone used by her younger sister, at least aimed at her. Yet, there Weiss was, practically staring down on her despite the obvious height discrepancy. Flames danced behind her eyes, face pinched in a fierce scowl.

It was as though she was some kind of Ice Queen.

If Blake wasn't currently suffering from the same shock, she might have laughed at the older woman. Indeed, she'd just watched Weiss go from practically worshipping the officer to ordering her down like a commander.

Icy glare notwithstanding, it was actually kind of hot.

The heiress only broke her grimace to seek out her brunette teammate behind her, something flashing through her eyes before calming down and reengaging her sister, her voice lowered back to its original formal tone. "I understand that they may not meet your expectations, but can you at least give them some respect as my friends?"

Winter continued staring before letting out a sigh. "Very well. While I am here on some rather important work, that I can't tell you about…" She narrowed her eyes at Weiss's rising brows, "I do have some free time before I need to be anywhere. Would you kindly mind showing me around the campus? Perhaps you could tell me some stories about your adventures here in Vale. That hopefully didn't involve your…" She paused, reconsidering her choice of words, "…friends."

Blue eyes brightened back up immediately in spite of the growl that Yang let out. Weiss had been expecting the normal questioning routine but the idea of showing herself and Beacon off to her elder sibling was just…

Well, it wasn't amazing, but it was still probably the best thing for this kind of situation.

"Yeah! That sounds… I mean, uh, right this way then." She gestured towards the main building's tower. Her teammates separated to allow the siblings to walk between them, though Yang kept up her blazing glare as Winter walked by.

The heiress spun around and looked over at her partner. "You guys can head back if you want. I'll probably only be an hour or so. See you!"

"Wait! Weiss…"

Blake reached up a hand before stopping herself.

What was she doing?! Weiss obviously wanted to spend time with her sister, so it's not like she should be-

"I'll follow in a moment, Winter. Blake wants to discuss something with me."

Winter's gaze hit the Faunus again, who felt sweat building on her forehead once more under the harsh glower.

"…very well. Don't take too long."

And in a flash, the heiress stood before her once again. Except, it wasn't the same heiress she'd known over the past year. This one looked like she was going to burst with happiness. Nothing had ever caused the white-haired girl to act so expressive. So open about… everything.

It just felt… very unusual. The brunette didn't really know what to think.

Not too sure of herself, Blake decided to start with the first thing she could think of.

"You seemed so… different when you're talking to her." She noted, her amber eyes traveling up and down the heiress's form. "Like, your whole demeanor changes. You don't hold anything back. You just… say whatever's on your mind."

Weiss's cheeks lit up. "Y-yeah. I suppose so. I always looked up to her, so I guess it just feels natural for me to try and tell her how I'm feeling, maybe expecting to impress her." Her smile became a bit crooked. "Though she never really seems to think well of it."

In spite of herself, Blake managed to crack a smile. "It almost seems like she's the only person in your family you can tolerate. Though I don't really see how."

The grin faded when she saw the slight shift in Weiss's posture. The heiress's own smile didn't fall, but the small movements in her face suggested that the brunette's words had hit the wrong note as the heiress turned her back to her, rubbing her arm. "Yeah," she sighed, "I guess she is…"

Amber eyes widening, the Faunus girl shot her hand out to grab her teammate's shoulder, causing the snow-haired girl to jolt in surprise. Before she could turn around, Blake whispered to her.

'Weiss, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that.' She looked down. 'I just… I guess I don't really know what it's like. I haven't seen my parents in years, but they were always so kind to me and everyone else. I… I hope you know that we're always here for you if you need us, so… don't hesitate to say what's on your mind.' She finished, echoing the ideals that her team had managed to give her since their first day together.

After a second, Weiss brought up a hand to grip the one on her shoulder, back still turned to the Faunus. 'I know. It's fine. I do really look up to her, even if she isn't always straightforward with how she cares about me. It reminds me of myself, sometimes.' Her azure eyes flicked back to meet the golden ones. 'And of some other people I know…'

As her teammate found herself lost for words, the heiress turned around fully, a light tint on her cheeks. 'Your parents sound absolutely wonderful, too. I'd love to meet them someday.'

THAT sent Blake's mind flustering. M-M-M-Meeting my… p-parents?!

Weiss shifted her surprisingly soft gaze to her other teammates, both of whom were pretending not to pay attention to the scene playing out in front of them. "Like I said, I'll head back to the dorm later. See you guys."

Running off, she left Blake standing rigid, unable to move. Over the past few minutes, she'd gone through such a wide range of emotions that sent her mind whirling, unable to process much of the information that had come with the experiences.

"Well, she was…" Yang hesitated as her red eyes faded back to lilac, "…pleasant? Brothers, if that's what Weiss will be like in less than a decade, I'd say we lucked out with our Schnee… uh, Remnant to Blake?"

"Huh?"

"Geez, you really fell hard for Weiss, huh?"

Ruby glared at her older sister, before shooting an apologetic glance at her teammate. "Blake, if you need any help, you can always come to us. You know that, right?"

The brunette rubbed her arm.

Maybe… that's right. Maybe keeping things bottled up… wasn't the right way to go.

"…maybe I do need your help."

Lilac eyes blinked, before a huge grin split across the brawler's face.


This… was an absolute disaster.

Weiss stood gaping in shock as her elder sister traded blows with a clearly intoxicated man, standing amongst the masses that had gathered to watch the spectacle.

Oh, how did it come to this?

"HEY, YANG! LOOK! IT'S UNCLE QROW!"

"YEAH, IT IS! GO UNCLE QROW! KICK HER BUTT!"

ah.

Twirling around, she scowled at her partner and teammate, both of whom reared back at the sudden rage permeating off of their friend. After a moment, the heiress redirected her anger back at Qrow, who, she felt, deserved it more. Once they were sure the Ice Queen's focus was back on the fight, the two sisters started cheering over her shoulders.

Arriving right behind them, Blake looked down at the heiress's hand, glancing back up at the white ponytail encompassing her vision and the ribbons tied in it. Catching a glimpse of the gleam in her blue eyes, it seemed that the heiress was completely entranced by the battle, throwing out an occasional insult at the middle-aged man.

'All you gotta do is be more confident, Blake. The direct approach is the most effective. Plus, if you REALLY think she might not like you, it'll be the fastest way to confir- OWWW! RUBY!'

The brunette shook her head, wavy onyx strands dancing around her shoulders as they hitched up. She inhaled silently and, ever so slowly, moved to clutch her hand around Weiss's.

After a moment, Weiss spun around to face her, the look she was giving off etched with surprise. Blake tried not to wince too hard. The shocked orbs that stared down at their intertwined fingers softened slowly, a content smile forming on her lips. She glanced back up at her teammate, all previous irritation gone from her expression before looking back to her sister's fight, even giving her hand a light squeeze.

The Faunus girl somehow managed to keep her legs from turning to jello.

I…

this… this is enough. I feel like I…

I feel like I could stay like this forever.

Soon, the fight came to a standstill after an intervention from General Ironwood and Professor Ozpin. Ruby and Yang used the opportunity to run up to their uncle and nearly tackle him over, both chattering excitedly at him with energy he couldn't hope to match despite his own joy at seeing his nieces.

As the blonde and the redhead rejoined the group, Weiss shook her head, exasperated. "That was… absolutely awful. Your uncle is such a brute."

"Well, I didn't think Winter did very well either, considering ALL THE MISTAKES SHE WAS MAKING." Yang suddenly shouted, grinning mischievously.

After staring daggers at the man as he slouched past, Winter walked up to the group, looking down at her sister as though the other three weren't there.

"Weiss, I'll be discussing something with the general. We can talk later. Do try not to cause too much trouble for your…" That ghosting gaze returned to acknowledge the rest of her team, this time ending with a glare at the blonde. "…friends."

Yang barely reacted, keeping on her award-winning smile until the elder woman turned around, at which she stuck out her tongue at the back of the woman's head before receiving yet another elbow to the gut from Weiss.

"OWWW! Seriously, am I gonna need to buy some sort of body armor if you guys are gonna keep this up?!"

"We'll stop doing it when you stop being such a brute! Though from that fight, I can clearly see that your and Ruby's antics run in your blood."

At that, the blonde scratched the locks at the back of her head. "Actually, Weiss… Only Qrow and I are related, not Ruby; he's just her honorary uncle."

The revelation surprised Weiss. Even though they were so… openly affectionate? Sure, maybe she and her partner came from different households, but the idea of treating someone she wasn't related to like they were was pretty much foreign to the snow-haired girl.

Well, expect maybe Klein…

okay, maybe that does make sense…

"Well, okay; then it still makes sense for you."

She got another stuck-out-tongue as a response. "Well, I can definitely say he's been a better role model than my… uh…"

The brawler cut herself off, looking down at her feet sheepishly.

The rest of her team looked at each other, suddenly worried by their teammate's sudden drop in mood. "You alright, Yang?" Her partner asked, concerned.

She received a guilty smirk. "I'm good, Blakey. Just need to… actually, you know what? Let's go do some practicing. We have the free time anyway, at least until Winter comes back to pick up the ice queen."

She started towards the courtyard, throwing her hand over her shoulder to beckon the rest of her team, who exchanged glances, the air still unsettled.


I don't know if I've said this before, but I feel like I'd be better at writing Winter if she had more than 2 episodes-worth of screen time and was mentioned more often than she actually is in the show.