There were holes in her memory. Slight glimpses of something she wasn't entirely sure of, but had a growing suspicion that something was going on. Ever since Weiss Schnee had left the hospital many moons ago there was a bubbling feeling in the pit of her stomach that yelled 'Danger!' every time she had left the house. And now that feeling had peaked into what almost felt like a volcano ready and raring to blow at any moment.
Now that wasn't to say she didn't feel safe around her loving and doting girlfriend, Yang Xiao Long, but the feeling only grew more intense when the two were outside. Maybe she was paranoid. Or her imagination running wild. But Weiss Schnee could not ignore the fact that every time she had left the house there was a strange car at the corner of her street.
A black car. Tinted windows. She didn't dare approach the car for fear of the uncertain. All she could do was fast walk to Yang's house as days passed. She was lucky if she was picked up. But even then, the car had seemingly followed at a distance. Even sometimes appearing outside of Yang's house at a distance.
This was not coincidental.
Yang, too had begun to notice Weiss's strange and nervous behavior as they had been walking back to Weiss's house one evening. Weiss had begun the habit of checking over her shoulder a little too often, or even shifty eyes that raced side to side to check every hidden corner or shadow. This had been going on for the past few days and now, and Yang was totally concerned as this had begun out of nowhere.
Not to mention the growing quietness of Weiss had returned after finally having found her voice and becoming a chatterbox after the talk with Winter. Yang could not ignore the sudden growth in regression.
"Weiss?" Yang seemed to call out to her girlfriend. Again, Weiss was in a different headspace as her eyes cautiously looked back and forth - a quick turn of the head as she seemed to be gawking down the street. "Remnant to Weiss, are you okay?" Yang called out again, finally pulling Weiss out of whatever she had been doing.
Yang placed her hands on her shoulders and stopped her right in her tracks. Weiss slightly jumped at the sudden contact, but it was through no fault of Yang's. "Weiss, what is going on?" Yang's voice filled with concern. The change in her loving and newly talkative girlfriend was now once again concerning.
Weiss had begun to open her mouth, but as she did, she noticed a car in the distance driving up to them, so she decided against speaking, and returned to using sign language. "I think I'm being stalked. Or followed." The car passed by, but thankfully, it wasn't the car.
Yang stood up a little straighter and didn't dare look around. In a low, quiet, whisper she asked, "What do you mean?"
Weiss scrunched her face, she knew it wasn't her imagination. That there was something going on, and the only person she could truly trust with her voice was Yang. In a very low whisper, Weiss replied, "Someone is watching me." Weiss truly felt and looked paranoid, she pulled Yang along with her, ushering them to keep moving. "Every time I leave my house, I see a parked black car that hasn't been there before. Even when I leave your place, I see it. Same car, model, and plate number."
Yang seemed to sputter. "W-what? How long has this been going on? Why haven't I noticed?" She looked behind her; so far, the coast had been clear. There was no reason for Yang not to believe her. They walked normally, though Yang had now begun to walk with such a swagger that she wanted people to believe she was force to be reckoned with.
Weiss scratched the back of her neck, feeling a cold chill run down her spine. "I don't like this," she muttered lowly, catching the attention of the high-alert Yang. "Can we just go back to your house?"
Yang nodded, grabbing her girlfriend's hand, and the duo turned around. Yang, however, continued her swagger-filled walk.
"I hate to overstay my welcome," Weiss admitted, knowing that she had spent far too much time at Yang's house.
"Weiss," Yang's voice was gentle and utterly calming for the situation. "You're a part of my family now, got it? You're free to stay as long as you like. You have clothing there and if we need to get anything from your place I can ask my dad to tag along." She paused, considering the situation. "You don't mind if we tell my dad, do we?"
Weiss merely scrunched her face up, whispering, "I don't want to make a big deal of this. What if this is just my imagination? Can this just be between us for now, please?"
Yang nodded. "I've got you. But, Weiss, if we do see someone for sure following you then you know I have no other choice than to tell someone."
"Alright." Weiss meagerly nodded, her gaze lowering to her feet as she walked in sync with her girlfriend. She couldn't think of any reason as to why someone would follow her. She hadn't done anything criminally worthy of that sort of attention. Any inkling or notion of some strange agenda that someone had had crossed her mind - but why would it be her, Weiss Schnee, that would be targeted?
Weiss had hit the highest point in her life, so she thought - and now it seemed as if someone or something was willing to take that away from her.
Or maybe this was something she had been doing to herself. Her small inner demons had returned, possibly making herself go mad. Things couldn't stay good, at least not for…
"Weiss!" she tugged Weiss out of the way for a little kid to go whooshing past on his bicycle. "Watch where you're going, kid!" Yang hollered at him. Weiss gasped back into reality, unsure of what had just happened. "Hey, are you okay?" Yang seemed to wave her back to that moment in time.
Weiss seemed to blink a little erratically with a small nod. She looked up at Yang, clearly concerned. "Yang, I'm not… crazy, am I?"
"What?" Yang furrowed her brows. "Weiss, you have a legitimate concern and if you've seen this car following you for multiple days at a time, then I believe you. I will always believe you." Her voice struck Weiss with a seriousness that she hadn't felt in a long time. "I will protect you from anyone at any cost. You have me. I'm not letting anything happen to you." Yang placed a small kiss on Weiss's forehead to reassure her.
A rush of relief overtook Weiss, she could always count on Yang to quell her demonly and self-threatening thoughts. Something she was grateful for.
"Thank you, Yang." Weiss shyly smiled at her, a small blush flooding her cheeks.
Yang chuckled with delight and pulled the two along back to Yang's house where they holed up for the rest of the day. The rest of the day had proven uneventful in stalkerish terms.
With the next day at hand, Weiss and Yang had returned to school, with business as usual. As the school day ended, Weiss and Yang had taken the bus this day to return to Yang's house.
Just as Weiss had thought her fears had been for nothing, it was when Weiss had spotted the vehicle, parked just a few houses down from Yang's own house as they approached. She had nearly sprinted right inside of Yang's house with Yang not too far behind calling after her.
"Weiss?!" Yang had followed Weiss into her own room, Weiss seemed to be peeking out of the window. "What is it?!"
Weiss merely grabbed Yang by the hand and pulled her toward the window. "There," she seemed to shakily whisper. "That's the car."
Yang peered through the window and eyed a black vehicle with tinted windows, an overly expensive vehicle too lavish for Yang's side of the neighborhood. It was hard to miss as it was entirely out of place, sans the color of the mysterious car. Yang left the window in a huff and rushed out of the room.
"Yang?! Where are you going?!" Weiss seemed to be the one calling after her now.
"To confront whoever the hell is harassing you." Yang seemed to be headstrong in the notion as she had just managed to get to the front door, opening it and seeing the car approach the house.
"No! We don't know wh—they're coming. Yang, please close the door.I don't like this." A panic seemed to arise in Weiss, her voice shook with fear, something it hadn't done in years.
Yang seemed to gulp, hearing Weiss's voice. It seemed far too late to turn back now as the car stopped in the driveway of Yang's household.
"H-Hey! Who the hell do you think you are? This is private property! My dad's inside with a gun!" Yang's voice boomed at the approaching vehicle, unsure if they had heard her threat or not. Even if it had been a lie. Though, this didn't sway whoever was inside of it.
"Yang…" Weiss seemed to plead, hiding behind her.
The car's engine cut off and a rather large man exited the vehicle, adorned with shades and a suit that probably cost more than Yang's house. He seemed to pull on his gloves, preparing them for something. His hand reached inside of his suit and shuffled about.
"Weiss Schnee?" the man called out, looking beyond Yang.
Yang and Weiss froze in time. This did not bode well.
But Yang snapped out of it.
"You won't get near her," Yang growled.
The man's brows furrowed as he pulled out a note. "Your father has requested your presence back in Atlas." He approached Yang and Weiss, Yang took a strong stance in front of Weiss who was trembling behind her.
Weiss's heart dropped. Those words struck more fear into her than anything else she could've ever imagined.
"And what if she doesn't want to go to Atlas?!" Yang hissed.
"She has no choice. Her father bought over custody from Willow. And as law states, she's only seventeen. Not a legal adult. This note should explain everything." The man handed Yang the note.
"How did you even find her? Us? And why does he want her?!" Yang scoffed.
"I'm a Private Investigator hired by the richest man in all of Atlas. I'm good at what I do and I had the pleasure of confirming that Weiss Schnee does in fact have a voice. And now he wants her back at home, by his side," he simply stated, his mission seemed to have been over, and any information that they wanted was answered. It wasn't like those questions could change Weiss's fate.
"And what if she doesn't go? What if I stop him? You?" Yang stood up against the taller man, her courage seamlessly unwavering.
"Not the wisest idea, Yang Xiao Long of Raven Branwen and Taiyang Xiao Long. Sister, Ruby Rose, sixteen, attending Signal Academy - born of the now deceased Summer Rose. You'd be doing your girlfriend a favor if you stay out of the way and stick to what you know. Jacques is a powerful man and requested that I get Weiss back soon and as painlessly as possible. But it'd be terrible if your working father just so happened to get into an accident himself."
Both Yang and Weiss went wide-eyed. Yang seemed stunned. But it was Weiss's turn to step in between the larger man, she felt a trembling in her entire being as she did so. There was no way out of this, and she definitely wasn't going to let Yang supposedly die for her. "So what now?" Weiss simply muttered, her voice weak, and if anything, fading back into nothingness.
"Wait, what?!" Yang seemed to place a heavy hand on her shoulder and turned her around. "Weiss, you can't be serious… you can't…"
Weiss simply lowered her face and shook her head, turning back around to face the larger man.
"I'll give you till tomorrow to pack the rest of your necessities. The rest of whatever you need here can be bought back in Atlas. We leave at eight in the morning." He simply nodded, and turned his back, not allowing for a second thought or gesture. He left as diligently as he had arrived, and drove off.
Weiss stood there, defeated. Was this really it for her? After everything she had been through and grown through, would she really be heading back to Atlas only for her past to once again catch up to her?
She felt a tightness overtake her as Yang had wrapped her arms around her, not wanting to let go of something she had worked so hard for. Weiss didn't want this, either, but there was truly no telling what or how far Jacques would go to get what he wanted.
"Yang, I'm so sorry," Weiss whispered, voice trembling, as her thoughts raced with what was to come.
"It's not your fault. None of this is your fault and I just wish there was some way you could stay," Yang seemed to sob in frustration, tears streaming down her cheeks.
Weiss sighed and turned around, shoving her head into Yang's chest and ultimately pushing them backwards toward the inside of the house. Yang took the hint and dragged them both inside, back to the safety net of Yang's room.
The two of them plopped onto Yang's bed, nestled into one another not wanting to let go. Not sure of where to go. Or what to do. Yang continued to sob, but Weiss had no tears left to cry as she scolded herself.
She should've known better. That sooner or later her father would ruin this for her. Like he had ruined everything else in the past. Just for once she had thought things would go her way, but in the end… well, she would never win. Not on her own.
All Weiss could do now was comfort Yang as there was going to be no comfort left to find for Weiss, she would take this moment as it would probably be one of their last.
Minutes passed, but it was hard to tell just how long they had been laying there. Ruby was still gone. Tai was still at work. And Yang's broken sobs turned into light breathing, but with stagnant frustration behind the breaths. Weiss had remained in the same position she had when they had first plopped onto the bed, laying with her head on Yang's chest. Wanting to feel her heartbeat.
The only thing that mattered right now before everything would essentially go to shit.
Weiss let out a hearty sigh.
"So, is this it?" Yang finally broke the silence.
Weiss immediately propped herself up, facing Yang who was positioned below her.
"If you think we're breaking up because of this, Yang Xiao Long, then I have some very strong words for you." Weiss seemed to glare at her girlfriend.
Yang's eyes were puffy and red. "I just… I'm sorry. I thought I could do more for you. Be more for you. And I know you're not leaving me on your own volition, it's just that… I can never seem to do anything about it. About those who leave me. I don't want to lose you, Weiss." A small, unavoidable tear rolled down Yang's face, who seemed too preoccupied with staring at the wall then to look Weiss straight in the face.
Weiss shook her head and gently grabbed Yang's face, moving her head so that she would make eye contact with her. But Weiss simply leaned in, kissing her intensely on the lips, where Yang's left hand met with Weiss's own face to deepen the kiss.
"I promise you, you're not going to lose me," Weiss whispered as she pulled away from the kiss. "I'll do whatever it takes to get back to you."
Yang propped herself up, pulling herself out from underneath Weiss. "Weiss, if there's one more thing you can promise me…?"
"And that is?"
"Don't lose your voice. Whatever you do, just know that someone's listening, that I'm listening," Yang seemed to plead.
Weiss softly smiled. "Yeah, I'll try not to… but first I think I have to tell you something. Something that you should've known long ago."
"About what?" Yang asked, trying to rub away the sadness from her eyes.
"I want to tell you the story of how I lost my voice."
A/N:
Sorry this took so long to get out!
Y'all have no idea how nerve-wracking putting out this chapter is for me. It's that chapter that took me like three? four? months to finish and I could not for the life of me feel confident about it. Apologies if the writing seems iffy. Thankfully, I always have Eli to help me out. (Y'all make sure to thank him too.)
I really hope you enjoy it. There will be nothing but angst in the next few chapters.