"Alright Weiss, this idea of yours. Are you finally going to share now that we're home?" Yang asked, plopping herself onto Weiss's bed.
It had taken a while for Weiss to finally move back into her own home. Though she would have rather stayed with Yang, the longer she stayed there, the more she felt as if she was overusing their hospitality. That, and the promise of only staying there for a week or two was a little overdue.
The two of them had spent the day moving most of Weiss's stuff back into her own room and putting everything away. This had helped Yang more with the use of her new prosthetic along with Weiss using her voice more, little by little.
Weiss had hinted at the idea of doing something special, but for who or what the something special was, still remained a complete mystery. Weiss hadn't the chance to go into a full explanation, but hopefully now that they were once again alone, they could have that chance to talk in private.
Now turning to face Yang as she finished putting away the last piece of laundry, a wide grin plastered on her face. Her hands lifted up excitedly, still in the habit of signing. "Well, I was thinking you could help me out with something special. We could do it today, if you have the time."
Stretching herself out, Yang stated with a grin, "I always have time for you." She paused, a curious look on her face. "Now what's the something special, and do I get to use my cool new arm for it?" She jokingly flexed her prosthetic limb.
Weiss chuckled with an eye roll. "That's questionable." She pointed to Yang's arm in a lighthearted manner as she began to speak. "But I was hoping you could help me… call my sister." Weiss now sounded a little sheepish.
Yang always held the habit of grinning when Weiss spoke, even more so when she could tell there was clear emotion or intent behind her words. It was nice to see Weiss with an expressive voice. "Oh? Call your sister?" Yang questioned, obviously confused as to why Weiss would need help with such an easy task.
Weiss sported a small smile on her face as she seemed to know something, something that Yang was about to hear. Weiss lifted up her hands, now signing. "I wanted to…" She paused, lowering her hands back to her sides. "Talk to her," she finished clearly without the use of her hands.
The notion seemed to immediately click with Yang as she now grinned widely. She stood up from Weiss's bed and nearly picked her up and spun her around, causing Weiss to giggle and flail about. "Of course I'll help you talk to your sister!" Yang answered. She gently placed Weiss down, who was still in a fit of giggles before a look of curiosity overtook Yang again. "Wait, how do I exactly help out with this?"
Now calming herself down, Weiss looked up at Yang. "You're pretty good at rambling." Weiss smirked.
"Heeyyy, no I'm not! Sometimes I've just got a lot of things on my mind that I just can't always keep in so it just all comes out when I'm not really thinking about it. It happens to everyone. Okay, well maybe not ev-" Yang paused, her brows furrowing. "I see your point." Weiss let out another small giggle to which Yang replied with a head shake and a small kiss upon Weiss's forehead.
Back to signing, Weiss began, "You also have the perfect topic if you don't want to completely ramble." She pointed at Yang's arm. "I just need you to talk, keep her distracted, then I'll come in a little later — she'll probably be a bit confused but… it'll just take off from there. I know it will."
Yang crossed her arms and nodded. "Sounds good to me. Are we doing this now?" she asked.
Weiss turned to her desk and seemed to rummage through the cabinets only to pull out a box with a tablet in it. She withdrew the tablet, weighing it in her hands. "I never really used this thing much. My sister bought it for me as a gift, but I thought it would be too big to carry around and too clunky if I wanted to sign." Weiss seemed to stare idly at the tablet that was still in near-perfect condition. "As for right now, we can always try. She usually has time for me." She paused, an uncertain look on her face. "Usually," she reiterated.
She walked it over to Yang and handed it over. "You probably know more about how this thing works than I do. I'm only good with phones." She made a face, looking rather sheepish. "All I remember is that Winter set her number in there for contact as well. So we should be able to facetime her with this."
Yang seemed to look over the tablet, turning it on and messing around with the settings until she had eventually come to Winter's number. "Oh. I think I got it. So… I call her now?" Yang seemed to eye the number, her fingers hovering over the video call button. Weiss responded with a nod and left the room. "Ahh..." was all Yang could get out before the tablet began to ring for Winter.
Shrugging, she went to the desk and propped up the tablet, trying to properly set it up so she wouldn't have to hold it all the time. Before she could get it properly balanced, she heard a voice come through. "Weiss, are you… Yang?" Winter clearly seemed to question, her voice was a little too loud through the tablet's speakers.
"Ack!" Yang seemed to pull back as she had finally steadied the tablet so it wouldn't fall over. "H-hey Winter!" Yang seemed to grin awkwardly.
Winter of course held a confused look about her. "Did you mean to call me?" Winter's eyes seemed to look around the room behind Yang. "Where's Weiss? Is she alright? Are you on her tablet?" From the looks of it, Big Sister Winter Mode had been engaged. Yang's eyes seemed to widen, it had taken her a second to realize this, but it was something she was all too familiar with as well when it came to her own little sister.
"Whoa, whoa." Yang seemed to raise her hands as if to slow down Winter's own worries. She took a deep breath and looked at Winter. "Yes, I meant to call you. Weiss is doing fine, but she went off somewhere before I could stop her. And yes, but it took me a while to prop this thing up so I'm definitely not moving us anywhere because propping this thing up was a pain in my…" she paused, shaking her head.
She definitely was a rambler.
"Well, you get it." She sheepishly grinned at Winter, who held an unusually hard, cold stare. Maybe it was just a Schnee thing. After Yang had stopped speaking, Winter cracked a small smile.
"I see," she simply answered, returning to a normal and hearty tone. "Alright, Yang Xiao Long, how are you doing? I heard you were dating my little sister," she seemed to begin with, Yang could see Winter's eyes narrow but with a certain sort of lightheartedness. Yang could tell what she was doing, it was another big sister thing. She could tell Winter was happy about the situation, but was looking out for her as well. She couldn't blame her if Winter would be a little hard on her. Yang would be the same if Ruby had started dating someone.
Yang nodded. "Well, I'm doing alright. I've gone back to school, and that's been a world of difference. Weiss has helped me get back into classes, she's helped me with a lot of things that I missed. She's also helped me work on being a leftie, which is a lot more difficult than you think... But yeah, we're… dating. I like her a lot, and I promise to treat her right," Yang continued to ramble on.
Little did the two know that Weiss was outside the door with drinks. She didn't want to intrude on the duo just yet. She wanted to hear them both out. She knew they would get along, she just had to hear it, first. But of course, it seemed like Winter was in Big Sister Protective Mode. Though, it seemed like Yang was handling it well, seeing as she wasn't at all intimidated by the older Schnee sibling.
"I expect as much," Winter stated astutely, her eyes narrowing in on the Xiao Long girl. "I see you're using the arm I sent you. How is that coming along?"
Yang lifted her arm in front of the screen, showing it off and moving it in normal manners. "Feels pretty life-like. I mentioned to my friends it'll never be a replacement for the real thing, but it helps a lot with the simple things in life." She looked up at Winter. "I still stand by that statement." She shrugged, putting her arm down. "I have to thank you for the arm. I was surprised by the gesture, didn't know you guys were the Schnees. So, thank you." Yang bowed her head down, it seemed like she was giving a small nod to Winter.
Winter seemed to clear her throat, her big sister barriers were easily torn down, or at least poked at. "It was more for Weiss's sake, is all. She probably would've done the same had she been in my position." A small lie in the beginning that made Weiss smile from behind the door. Winter knew that Weiss had liked Yang, but it wasn't just for Weiss's sake. Weiss could already tell that Winter considered Yang a part of their tiny, inclusive family. A family that could actually function.
Yang nodded. "Well, thank you either way. I owe you a lot." She seemed to scratch at the back of her head.
Winter simply shook her head in response. "You owe me nothing. You've already done enough to repay me." A simple and powerful statement that seemed to shake up Yang in a good way. Winter had seen how much Weiss had grown in that short amount of time of just talking to Weiss at the hospital. Even their texting between each other seemed a little different, a little more livelier and hopeful. That was all that Winter had wanted for Weiss, and if Yang was the main factor for that growth? Winter would've given her more if she could.
Weiss looked down at her feet, her heart was filling up with so much happiness. She smiled to herself from ear to ear, but she knew she had to act nonchalant as soon as she walked in. She took a small sip of her own drink and then took a small, yet silent, deep breath.
"Oh, alright then." Yang seemed to be at a loss for words. "I wonder where Weiss went…" she seemed to mumble, unsure of how to go on. But as soon as she had asked the question, Weiss walked into the room, placing a drink next to Yang. "Speak of the… angel, and she shall appear." Yang chuckled to herself and moved herself out of the seat so Weiss could sit down. Yang took to standing behind Weiss.
"Weiss." Winter seemed to nod. "Is there any reason you had Yang call me?" she immediately questioned.
Weiss seemed to momentarily tense up, as she grabbed her own drink and took a sip from it. She lifted her hands, and with a small smile, she placed them back down. "What? No hello for your little sister?" Her voice was shaky, but happy, as she seemed to tease and joke around with her sister.
Winter seemed to freeze in time, but her head visibly leaned back as she began to blink erratically, unsure of what had just actually happened, but it was clear as day. Her face slowly became red as her hands began to lift up to her face. She covered her mouth, but her tears flowed freely. Light sobs escaped her.
Weiss couldn't help but begin to smile and tear up as well as her own big sister began to sob. She had never seen Winter cry before, had hardly seen her express any definable emotion. Weiss felt light squeezes on her shoulders coming from Yang.
"Weiss," Winter sobbed out happily, "you're speaking. You're actually talking." She began to simultaneously sob and laugh in disbelief as she had taken her hand away from her face. Once more, a mixture of emotion that Weiss had never experienced from her sister.
"Yeah, I kind of am," Weiss chuckled, wiping away her own tears in return. "It's something new I picked up. Yang and everyone else have been helping me." Weiss's voice cracked as she spoke; seeing her sister so vulnerable like this was something else.
"For once, I don't know what to say, other than I'm amazed, and proud, and..." Another weak, yet happy sob escaped Winter as she covered her face fully this time, trying to wipe away all of her tears. Crying was a messy business, and surely it was something the sisters weren't used to. "When did you…?" she seemed to be half-choking on her words, still in disbelief.
"After the accident when you talked to me I just decided maybe it was time to give someone a chance to hear me out." Weiss seemed to shrug, her head tilting upwards as her eyes met Yang's. Yang looked down at her and smiled softly.
Winter wiped away the tears completely, a small smile lifting to her face. Truth be told, she had always wished it would be herself that would be the one that would make Weiss speak again. But that dream had been lost to Winter once the two had moved away from one another. And thankfully, it had been for the better. Winter knew better than to act out on jealousy she considered worthless now. All that mattered was Weiss was talking again.
And it was Yang who had helped her see that she did have a voice. That someone was always willing to listen. Yang just happened to be the person who was in the right place at the right time, all for Weiss.
Nodding her head, Winter's own smile couldn't be stopped. "Weiss, I'm… just so happy I can hear my little sister speak again." Another weak chuckle mixed with a sob forced her to pause. "You deserve to be heard. You always have. I'm just so glad that you're starting to find your voice again."
Yang had been nodding along, keeping quiet as she had watched the two sisters speak to each other for what felt like the first time in forever. Which it basically was. She couldn't help but feel her heart swell with pride and joy. Yes, Yang might've lost an arm… but she had gained so much from just having Weiss by her side. A sense of hope and unity, and a realization of family that she wouldn't change for the world. The two had helped each other grow. Yang was hoping for many more years of that.
Weiss sniffled and nodded. "Yeah, me, too. I feel like I have a lot to catch up on. On just… being heard."
Winter hummed. "And it seems like you have a lot of people willing to listen." She then eyed Yang, who smiled at her. Winter seemed to straighten herself out. "Thank you, Yang. And you, too, Weiss. This was a pleasant surprise."
Yang waved her off. "It was Weiss's idea. She was the one who took initiative to talk and everything," Yang had finally spoken as she seemed to lightly pat Weiss's shoulders.
"And she was my inspiration." Weiss looked up at Yang again, clearly starry eyed.
Yang looked down at her, gently kissing her on the forehead.
Winter just seemed to slyly smile at them, admiring their love for one another. It was something she was secretly overjoyed for. Yang was a good fit for Weiss. A light sniffle escaped Winter. "Well, it was a pleasure talking to you two, but I fear I have work to finish up. Thank you two for everything. And Weiss?"
"Yeah?" Weiss answered.
"I love you."
"I love you too, Winter."
AN: Thank you all who have stuck around and commented, Favorited, or to those of you lurking and sticking with me. I really appreciate you taking your time out to read this story. I'm doing my best on writing the rest of the fic and hope you all will continue to stick around. I'm working on chapter 24 right now.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter as I have envisioned writing this since the very beginning of the fic. I'll warn you now though, chapter 22 and onward will be a bumpy ride.