Weiss didn't sleep well that night. Instead of being able to rest properly, she found herself tossing and turning and trying her absolute best to ignore the way that her heart was still pounding so hard in her chest that she could feel it. It felt like there was a roar of an engine that was still rushing through her body. If she closed her eyes, she might have even been able to smell gasoline.

The night before had been strange, by the end of it. Weiss had come in expecting to just chew Blake out but...

Blake's apology had been so sincere. She'd been so patient with Weiss, and that was really what Weiss could ask for. Their conversation had seemed to drone on for hours, and for Weiss it had felt like a relief. She'd found catharsis, and Blake was a good listener.

Weiss didn't really know what she'd been looking for, after all. Mostly she'd wanted to let out some of her frustration and vent to someone that knew the full story. Or most of it, at the least.

And now Weiss wasn't able to stop thinking about the night before. The time spent at the waterfront with Blake had been pleasant, it had been comforting even. The fact that Blake had decided to drive her home had also been a surprise.

And on the back of that motorcycle with her hair down... Weiss had felt free, for a little bit. As soon as she'd gotten away from the restaurant and the wealth, that had happened.

There was a knock at the door, and Weiss looked over at the clock to see what time it was. Nearly eight. She'd managed to sleep in a little bit later than she would have normally. Because of that Weiss, was sure that this was going to be Klein at the door waiting for her.

"Who is it?" Weiss called, waiting for a response.

"Just Klein with your breakfast, dear." The soft voice called through the door. "May I come in?"

"You may." Weiss replied as she climbed out of bed and pulled a sweater on over her pajamas.

The door opened after a moment and Klein made his way in, pushing the door with his body as he approached her. "Good morning, Miss Schnee." He said, smiling softly at her as he closed the door behind him. "Are you feeling alright?"

"I'm fine." Weiss said, doing her best to be reassuring. "What's for breakfast?"

"Crepes." Klein said, setting the tray down on the small table beside Weiss' bed. "I do hope that's to your liking?"

"With strawberries?"

"And hazelnut spread, as well as the powdered sugar on top." Klein said, taking a seat in the lone chair in the room. So he wasn't just there to drop off her breakfast, Weiss thought as she watched the man. That was interesting. However, it did tell her that he knew that she'd been late getting back in the night before. "Just like you like."

"Thank you, Klein." Weiss said, turning to grab at the silver tray and move it a little bit closer to her. "Is there something that you wanted to discuss?"

"A few things," He said calmly, smiling gently. "I was wondering where you were last night and I wanted to discuss your itinerary for today with you."

"Oh?" Weiss asked, turning her head just slightly to face Klein more directly now. "My itinerary?"

"Of course." Klein replied. "I was asked to retrieve your sister from the airport and I wanted to ask you whether or not you wanted to come along with me."

Weiss smiled and felt herself relax a little bit over it. She hadn't been expecting to hear anything from Winter at all, much less to hear about her arriving in the city. Weiss figured that her sister wasn't going to be allowed to stay at the manor, but that wasn't such a problem, was it? After all, Winter was living on free range these days, if she wanted to do something she could just do it.

It wasn't like she was still locked into their father's rules after so long.

"I would love to." Weiss said finally. "Thank you, Klein."

"I'll be sure to get you before we leave." He said finally, softening up as he watched Weiss cut into the side of her crepe with her fork. "Now, will you tell me where you were last night?"

Weiss thought fast. Despite the fact that Klein knew about Blake, Weiss didn't think that there was really a good way to approach the topic with him. There was no way to explain that she'd had dinner with the other woman the night before, or that it had been odd and pleasant all at once. The privacy of the manner meant a lot more than it should have, and that was something that Weiss was going to have spinning around in the back of her mind for a very long time.

"I... had dinner with someone." She said finally, looking away from Klein. He was going to be able to figure out whether or not she was lying, and Weiss knew that that made all of her efforts pointless, but she still felt like she needed to do or say something. "That's all."

"I see." Klein responded, raising a mischievous eyebrow. Already, he was able to see right through her. "And who would the lucky person be?"

Weiss felt a slight wave of relief. "Just someone that I went to school with." Weiss finally said, relaxing just slightly. "I'm sorry that I didn't tell anyone about it?'

"I wouldn't expect for you to." Klein answered, all too relaxed and all too calm. Weiss felt like she shouldn't have felt like she was made of glass over that, but Klein was giving her space. "And you got home without too much trouble?"

Weiss' memory snapped back to the night before and Blake's motorcycle, and how nice it had felt to be pressed up against the other woman. The wind in her hair and the cool night air. Blake's black hair.

She let out a quiet sigh. "They were able to bring me home." Weiss finally explained, glad that Klein wasn't choosing to pry too much. Weiss was certain that at that point Klein had managed to figure out everything that was going on, but he wasn't saying anything about it. "I hope I didn't make you worry."

"You're an adult, Weiss." Klein answered. "I'm just glad that you're fine."

Weiss looked down at her plate, and she began to feel the curl of guilt beginning to grow and wrap its way around her. Eventually what had gone on the night before was going to come to light, Weiss was sure of it. And she wasn't going to stop being afraid of what would happen once someone found out that she had been out with a woman that had more or less become public enemy number one to certain members of SchneeCorp.

"Thank you, Klein." Weiss said finally, relaxing slightly and letting herself relax against her headboard. "You won't judge me for sneaking out?"

Klein stared her down, his gaze much more intense than it strictly needed to be. There was clearly something stirring in the back of his mind, and Weiss wasn't able to get past the fact that she felt like she was under a microscope with him. "I think that you know what you're doing, Weiss." He said finally, his voice all too calm. "Eat your breakfast and try to be ready for one or so. I'll come and get you when it's time to go to the airport."

"Right." Weiss said, looking down at her plate. She was going to have a few hours before it was time to go, but for now she could try and enjoy herself to the best of her ability. "Thank you, Klein."

The man stood up and stretched just slightly before turning and beginning on the way over towards the door to her room. Weiss watched as Klein stopped, his hand hovering over the doorknob but him not letting himself continue onward. Klein turned to face her, his voice all too serious.

"You're sure that these are things you want to do, Weiss?" He was still on the topic of the night before, that much was clear. Weiss wished that she knew how to read into it. "Because if you spent your evening with who I think you did..."

Weiss blinked and felt her stomach flip. "Who do you think that I spent the evening with?"

"I think that you spent your night with someone, and that it wasn't a dinner. A reporter, perhaps?"

"You're talking about Blake Belladonna." Weiss answered, raising an eyebrow and staring the man down as he watched him closely. "Aren't you?"

"I am." Klein finally said, his voice dropping in volume and him beginning to smile just slightly. "Will you confirm it or deny it?"

And really, that was the moment of truth. Weiss knew that no matter what she was going to be able to rely on Klein to keep the secrets for her. He was good like that, and he had never gone ahead and broken her trust before. Even with pressure from her father, Klein had never done anything to put Weiss in a compromising position.

"Yes." Weiss finally said, keeping her tone cool and letting herself channel Blake for a moment. Blake, who never seemed to get overly emotional, Blake who always managed to keep a level head through everything. Blake, with her motorcycle and her calm, and her way of talking that somehow managed to feel like someone was trying to rip her apart. "I was with Blake Belladonna."

"And was it just a dinner?"

Weiss thought back to the night before, and she felt the sudden urge to over examine everything that the two of them had discussed the night before because that was what made the most sense for her to do. Everything that she and Blake had done, every word that the two of them had said to each other.

It had never been about the meal. It had been a mere business meeting that had managed to cross a few lines before the end of it all. And Weiss was comfortable in that fact. It was a role that she wasn't going to let herself ignore so easily.

"No." She said finally. "Blake just offered to bring me home once it was all over instead of having me call you to get me."

Klein nodded slowly, his expression softening as he smiled. "Of course." He said finally. "I'll see you at two, Weiss." He said finally as he slipped out the door because it was for the best to leave Weiss to her own devices.

Weiss knew that there had to be something that she could do to make herself useful or at the very least bring herself some entertainment. With the bulk of her day now planned out, Weiss decided that the best she could do was sit down, have her breakfast, and prepare for a day of seeing her sister.

Whatever that might end up entailing. If Weiss knew what it would mean, then she would have gladly played along with whatever Winter might end up wanting. There was at least a part of her that was expecting to be dragged down to the hospital so that they could check in on their father, and after that Weiss wasn't sure. It was probably going to depend on how long Winter was allowed to be around their father.

Something in the back of Weiss' mind suggested to her that she should do her best to reach out to Blake and see whether or not Winter would be willing to interview. Weiss didn't know exactly why that particular idea came to her, but that didn't make her opposed to it by any means. It was just strange and unfamiliar.

The morning ticked by easily enough, and Weiss took her time getting dressed. She was about to head out of her room so that she could get herself a drink of water when she heard the sound of her phone going off with a quiet ding. The sound was enough to make her heart jump in her chest, and Weiss stopped at the door with her hand hovering over it.

Maybe, Weiss thought, that was going to be news from the hospital or from her brother or mother. Maybe it would be Coco or Neptune looking to check in on her to see how she was doing. Maybe it could be...

Weiss didn't let herself follow up on the thought. Instead, she stepped away from the door and made her way over to the bedside table where she'd left her phone behind. She picked it up carefully and turned it over so that he could take a look at the message that was being displayed.

Blake.

She knew that she shouldn't have clicked on the message and went along to find out what it was all about, but Weiss wasn't able to help herself when it came down to it.

The message that the reporter had sent her was short, just an assurance that she'd gotten home safe and that she was glad to have spent the night together. Weiss felt her heart tighten in her chest just slightly, unsure of what to respond with. Oh, the night had been so nice once the difficult business had been over with, but now wasn't the time that she should have been talking to Blake.

But she couldn't leave her hanging, could she?

Weiss grimaced and hesitated, trying to figure out what to say before finally settling on a fairly generic response. A thanks for the time and for the ride home. That would suffice.

The phone landed on Weiss' bed as she made her way out of the room and went down to the kitchen. It was 1:30. She could come back up to get the phone just before it was time to leave. For now, all that Weiss really wanted was the chance to relax away from those worries.

It was going to be a good day, Weiss reminded herself. She and Klein were going to go and get Winter, and then they would probably go out for dinner after once everything was said and done. They'd go to the hospital long enough to prove that they'd gone, and then the rest of the day was going to belong to Weiss and her older sister.

Maybe if she got lucky she was going to be able to go to Winter's hotel and even spend the night there. That would be so nice. Being around the mansion was far from comfortable, even when she'd grown up there.

Klein was already in the kitchen, talking to a few of the other members of the kitchen staff when Weiss finally arrived. She paused, because normally she wouldn't have made an approach when there were others in the kitchen, but in that moment she wanted to see Klein.

Weiss knocked her knuckles against the door frame in the same way that she always would.

Klein picked his head up and looked over at her, smiling. "Miss Schnee!" he called, and when Weiss offered her empty tray he took it without a single question about it. "Is everything quite alright?"

"It is." Weiss answered, smiling up at the man. "I just wanted to make sure that you got your tray back."

"Of course." Klein answered, moving it over to the sink so that he could set everything down so that it could be cleaned up later on. "I suppose that you're ready to head out for the day if you've come down here?"

It was a coded message, and Weiss didn't let herself smile too much because it was for the best that Weiss was able to keep secrets between herself and Klein. It was a known factor between herself and Klein that they needed to keep things secrets from the other members of the staff. Klein would never tell on her, but the others wouldn't give that luxury. They were known to talk.

"I am." Weiss said finally, standing up tall and smiling. "I expect that it's going to be a long one."

"Of course." Klein answered. "I wouldn't want to keep you, Miss Schnee. If you need a ride, then you know that you are free to ask me to drive you along."

And that was the thing that Weiss needed to here. That was the ultimate affirmation that the two of them were going to be able to make this all work. The cover was established, and that was the single most important thing that she had.

"I'll keep that in mind." Weiss said, turning and stepping back into the doorway so that she could finally make her exit. "Thank you, Klein."

"Of course, Miss Schnee."

With that she left, making a beeline up to her room so that she could get her phone. It was going to be only a little while longer before she was finally going to be able leave for the day. Once that was done, then Weis would be able to make anything else work from there.

The wait that passed before Weiss could be confident in what she was doing was short. All that she had to do was dress herself, get her phone (and Weiss made a point to ignore any messages, if only because this was about going to see Winter and anything else shouldn't have been a priority in that time.)

Nearly ten minutes after she'd finished speaking to Klein Weiss finally went back down to the kitchen to request his skills. He was able to smile and get out, and then the two of them were out of the Schnee manor and on their way to the airport.

Weiss felt a little bit like she'd managed to be holding her breath the entire time before Klein finally spoke and broke through the quiet.

"I suspect she'll be glad to see you," He said, creating idle conversation for the sake of doing so. Weiss was glad that Klein was taking that sort of initiative. Despite everything, Weiss couldn't quite find it in herself to start.

"I hope so." Weiss replied with a quiet sigh before turning her head to look over at the butler properly. He was sitting there in the front seat, attentive to the road as ever and looking mostly disinterested with it. But Weiss figured that she couldn't go expecting for him to be able to focus on her entirely. "It's been so long since..."

"I know, Weiss." Klein said, keeping his voice as gentle as he could manage. "I suppose that I should let you know that I haven't made her aware of your presence."

And if there was absolutely anything about this that was interesting, Weiss figured it was that. Why wouldn't Klein tell Winter that sort of thing? Normally it wasn't something that he would have just glazed over or ignored. Sure, Klein had other things to be focused on and worrying about, but for Weiss the prospect of seeing Winter without being a known factor was a little bit worrying.

Surprises had the potential to be a pain more than it did anything else.

"Oh." Weiss said, shifting slightly and stretching to try and making herself more comfortable in her seat. "Are you sure that this is a good idea?"

"I'm positive." Klein replied. "I don't think that you should be worrying about this too much, Weiss. It'll go well, for now just try and relax until we finally get to the airport."

Weiss let out a quiet sigh, because while that really wasn't what she wanted to hear, it was more or less the fat that she had no choice but to resign herself to. "Yes, Klein." She said finally, leaning into her seat and letting her gaze drift out the window where the city was passing them by.

After that, Weiss found that it was easy enough to fall into her own thoughts. She would check her phone once in awhile, but didn't find much there. Blake hadn't sent her any replies by the looks of things, and Weiss was glad for that. The absolute last thing that she needed was for the reporter to create more for her to worry about.

Quiet was going to be an absolute blessing later on, Weiss was sure of it.

The two of them finally pulled up in front of the airport, and Weiss hated that it was something that felt so painfully familiar. Normally she would have gone ahead and she would have begun preparing herself so that she could get out and head inside. After that, she would normally have been taking a ride out of the city and everything would have been fine.

She would be free.

Weiss hated how much that made her heart ache when she thought about it. Instead of flying back to Vale where her freedom from her family was, she found herself here, craning her neck and looking for her older sister.

When Weiss didn't see any sign of Winter outside, she sighed heavily and looked back over at Klein, who was parking their car and getting ready to get out for himself. "Do you know when she'll be arriving?"

"It should be a few minutes." Klein said, adjusting his coat and climbing out of the car. Weiss frowned and joined him, even though all logic and everything that she'd ever done strictly dictated that she shouldn't have been doing anything like that. She should have been listening to old rule that had been passed down by her mother and father both (although these things mostly tended to come from her father) and she should have stayed seated in the car and out of the view. "I can assure you that it won't be too long."

"I know." Weiss sighed. It wasn't the time of year where they had to be worrying about flights getting cancelled or delayed constantly. If something was wrong, it had nothing to do with weather. And if that was the case, Weiss was certain that Winter would have called Klein ahead of time to alert the man to that fact. "I just don't like the wait."

Klein gave her a sympathetic look, the one that Weiss had learned often translated to "I'll be sure to get you hot chocolate later." But he said nothing, and that was for the better. Klein leaned back against the car, and Weiss joined him soon enough.

The two of them didn't talk all that much while they waited, and Weiss very much preferred it that way. Even though Weiss was spending so much of her time around with Blake, the prospect of photographers and people looking out to learn about her were something that Weiss couldn't stand. The public view was just something that she didn't like to deal with.

Finally, after several minutes of just standing there outside, the door to the airport opened, with a family streaming out, and they were followed by a couple of people. Weiss craned her neck, searching for her sister and when she finally caught sight of Winter's long white hair in it all her heart jumped in her chest.

If she were anywhere but Atlas, Weiss would have been able to call out to her. She would have been able to do something to get Winter's attention.

But Atlas wasn't like the rest of the world. It was a city that demanded propriety, especially when her family practically owned half of it.

Winter looked up from her phone, her expression serious and Weiss watched as her gaze fell on Klein, and then on Weiss. Nothing could have possibly made Weiss feel happier about it than the way that her older sister's expression turned into a bright smile and the way that her sister began to approach them just a little bit faster.

"Winter!" Weiss called quietly when Winter was finally within a few feet of her. A part of her wanted to jump straight to questions so that she could find out what her sister was up to normally, but Weiss also expected that Winter wasn't going to actually go ahead and tell her anything.

"Weiss." Winter greeted her, opening her arms up so that Weiss could step into her touch and pull her in close. Being able to be close to her sister like that was such a relief, and Weiss couldn't exactly think of many times where she'd ever felt happier to be with a member of her family.

But of course, when it came to Winter, it had been a very long time since they had been together.

"I missed you." Weiss said, smiling softly as she squeezed her older sister just slightly before stepping away from her and giving Winter some space. "I'm sorry that I didn't tell you that I was coming."

"It's fine." Winter replied, stepping away but still keeping her hands on Weiss' shoulders as she looked her up and down. Weiss figured that Winter was just taking the chance to size her up and figure out how much had changed since their last time being in direct contact with each other. "Do the others know?"

"No." Weiss admitted, sighing. "Klein-"

"I have only told your sister about your presence." The driver spoke up, standing up as tall as he could and with his hands laced together behind his back as was proper. "I figured that you wouldn't want to cause too much of a commission with your family."

Winter nodded slowly and smiled. "That's correct." She said finally with a too heavy sigh. "Thank you, Klein. I'll forever be in your debt."

"I expected as much." Klein said as he stepped in towards Winter and offered her his hands. She understood what he wanted, stepping in for a hug for him before the two of them transferred it into a very clean trade off of contact and Winter's luggage. Klein made his way to the back of the car, and Weiss just was content to stand there side by side with Winter for a moment. Klein, however, decided to keep on talking. "I don't know that you'll want to go to the hospital to see how your father is doing-"

"I would rather not." Winter admitted, frowning. "As much as it hurts and how bad as it is, I don't think that I want to risk being there if he might wake up."

"We understand." Weiss said, blinking. Really, there wasn't anything else that she could have expected from this. The situation wasn't a great one, but it was what it was. "I'm just so glad to be able to see you."

"I'm glad to be here too." Winter admitted as the two of them finally began to climb into the car so that they could get going for the day. "It's been... stressful at work with everything taken into consideration. The general arrived with me but he was sure to assure me that he would be fine in the city..."

"Of course." Weiss said, shifting slightly and feeling honestly rather surprised by the fact that Winter's line of work had been brought up at all. Normally it was a topic that they wouldn't even begin to imagine touching, and things were honestly better off that way. The chance to open Winter up for trouble was never something that they really relished in. "I'm glad to have you here."

"I wish that I'd known you were coming in." Winter said, turning so that she could face Weiss much more directly after that. "I would have tried to get away sooner if I had."

And just like that, they were away from that topic and they were back onto things that Weiss could actually address and deal with. "It's okay." She said finally, sighing and knitting her fingers together in her lap. "To be truthful, I haven't really seen all that many people here in Atlas, and mother and Whitley have been..." She paused, because what word was there that she could really use to explain the situation? All that she could really do is try and explain that their family had been keeping their distance from her as much as they could have.

And Weiss didn't want to get into what that could mean. There were too many troubling implications, too many things that she needed to worry about when it came to her family. "They've been distant." She said finally, looking up into her sister's eyes properly. "I've been in to see father a few times but he's never been awake while I was there."

Winter was staring at her, and Weiss knew that was something that she probably should have expected on some level. There was truly no delicate way to approach any of it, and Weiss was sure that Winter knew that just as well as she did. She looked forward to the front seat at Klein, who said nothing but nodded to give his confirmation that what Weiss was saying was in fact correct.

The woman nodded in understanding before locking her gaze back onto Weiss. "I wish that I could honestly say that I was surprised."

"Me too." Weiss admitted, trying not to let herself sound anywhere near as bitter as she felt. "It's been pretty lonely here."

"I'm sorry." Winter said, reaching over and placing a gentle hand on Weiss' knee. Loving and comforting, just as always. "How have you been handling it?"

Weiss froze up, trying to find a good way to explain the situation that she had managed to find herself in ever since this had started. She could claim that she had friends in the city, but Weiss was also sure that Winter was going to be able to see right past it. Weiss had left Atlas partially because it had been too hard to get away from their family name and between them that was no secret.

She supposed that it wouldn't have been too bad of an idea to claim that she'd made new friends. Perhaps that was believable? Or maybe she should have just told her sister the truth about the fact that she was spending her time with a reporter that had formerly made their lives very difficult.

And the future of how that was going to go was still something that remained very much up in the air, and Weiss was all too aware of that fact.

But she needed to say something- out of everything, Weiss was confident in that fact.

So she took a deep breath and allowed herself to speak up. "I've been spending a lot of time on my own, I'm afraid." She began, keeping her voice down like she needed to hide what she was saying from someone despite the fact that nobody was there that could overhear her and turn it into a threat of some sort. "A lot of time alone in my room."

Winter raised an eyebrow, staring Weiss down, and that didn't manage to make her feel any better about it. It seemed like her sister was already able to see through what she had claimed, and Weiss really didn't like that fact.

Weiss wanted to squirm away from the others so that they didn't have any way to pry into her matters any deeper, but she allowed herself to speak up. "I mean, I have some friends here in the city and so I've been able to spend time with them. A lot of going out for dinner."

From the front seat of the car, Klein snorted in amusement, and Weiss felt her face beginning to get hot. "That's one way to say it, I suppose." The man said with a soft smile. He was teasing her, and Weiss balled her hands up in her laps and tried to stay calm.

Weiss knew that her face went completely red at the comment though. She knew that she couldn't do anything to avoid her awkwardness or the topic. Regardless of what had been going on between herself and Blake, she had absolutely no way of getting past all of it. She was embarrassed and nervous, and how was she supposed to be able to talk at all.

The woman shot an almost panicked look to her sister and then back to Klein, her mouth dropping open as she did everything in her power to collect her thoughts and find a way to talk to them. That's all that she needed to do. Definitely not think about the fact that she could feel her phone vibrating against her leg.

Probably with a message from Blake.

"It wasn't-" Weiss began to protest, leaning forward just slightly despite the fact that she knew that it wasn't going to be able to make her situation any less conspicuous. The blush wasn't going away. "It was just a dinner between... friends."

Friends really wasn't a word that Weiss thought that she would have used to refer to Blake normally, but for the time being it could fit. That said, she didn't think that Winter and Klein were going to be able to ignore her at all.

"Of course, Weiss." Klein said, staring forward at the road. "Whatever you say, my dear."

Weiss looked over at Winter, and while Winter looked a little bit curious but didn't seem to want to go ahead and ask the question about it at all. "I'm telling the truth." Weiss said, hoping that her sister would listen to her. "The two of us just went out and we had dinner because it felt right."

"I believe you." Winter said finally, smiling at Weiss with a look that Weiss could have absolutely described as being 'knowing' if she wanted to. "If you insist that it was just a dinner, then I have no reason to doubt you about it."

"Thank you, Winter." Weiss sighed, turning away and looking out the window to try and figure out what she should do next and what she should bring up. A thought came to her, and she finally looked over at her sister again. "Where will you be staying while you're here in Atlas?"

"I've been booked at a hotel." Winter said matter of factly. "It's on the opposite end of the city from the manor, but I don't think that's such a bad thing."

"Oh." Weiss said, feeling a little bit dejected, if only because she didn't really have a way to get around when she was in Atlas aside from getting Klein to drive her. It didn't make for the best look, and it was all too easy for people to look at her and get the wrong idea about what she was doing. Especially when Klein was usually needed around the manor when Weiss wanted to be out on the town. "I don't think that's so bad either."

"It's not." Winter said with a quiet sigh. "I'm sure that you and I will be able to find plenty of time to spent together while we're both here."

"How long will you be staying?" Weiss asked, blinking up at her older sister. "I think I'm going to be here for as long as I need to be. Until we know what's going on with the company and father at least."

Winter seemed to hesitate, and Weiss looked over at her older sister to see that Winter had decided to look out her own window. A part of Weiss was sure that Winter missed being able to spend her time in Atlas. Regardless of what had happened to their family, at the end of the day, it was still *home.*

Weiss liked to think that Winter thought of the city in the same way, at least on some small level.

"I'll only be in Atlas for the week by the looks of things." Winter finally responded, sighing and picking up a hand so that she could brush her white hair out of her face. "I'm sure that's not what you wanted to hear."

"It isn't." Weiss said with a quiet sigh. "But I can't pretend that I was expecting much more than that. I'm just glad that you're here, really."

"I feel the same way." Winter admitted finally, with a gentle smile that Weiss couldn't ignore. It made her feel like there was a certain sort of warmth building up in her chest. For now, she was just going to have to cling to her sister's presence and when it all fell apart, Weiss would be ready for it.

The rest of the drive across Atlas didn't take too long, and Klein was happy to escort them both into the hotel that Winter had booked the night in. Soon enough they were checking in and in Winter's room that would be serving as her home for the night.

Klein left Weiss and Winter alone, heading back to the mansion for the rest of the night.

And Weiss was just glad to have her time with her sister for as long as she could get it.

Even if it meant that she was spending a lot of time ignoring her phone in her pocket.


A few days had managed to pass since Blake had last heard from Weiss Schnee in a business capacity. As she understood it, the heiress' older sister was in the city now, and without anything to report on with regards to Jacques Schnee, they hadn't had many reasons to talk.

It made things frustrating, and left her feeling a little bit more than annoyed with the situation, but Blake was getting by.

Sometimes no news was the best news. It meant that she got to take some time off.

In Blake's case, time off meant that she was able to spend her time at the mall with some of her friends and away from work.

"Blake!" Yang called at her side, trying to catch her attention while the two of them stood in line for coffee. "Earth to Blake."

Blake peeled her eyes away from the magazine rack that stood at their side to look back over at Yang. "What?"

"Just trying to get your attention." Yang said with a shrug as she stretched her arms over her head. "And you know, get you off of thinking about work."

This was something that was a little too common in her life for Blake's liking, but at the same time, she appreciated it. Yang was there to keep her honest, and had never really failed her in the past.

"Right." Blake sighed, turning slightly so that she could face Yang now. "What's going on?"

"Nothing." Yang answered as the two of them stepped up to the front of the line so that they could make their orders. "I just wanted to know how up you were for a movie or something like that later. You, me, Ruby, whoever else we decide to invite along."

It wasn't a terrible suggestion, Blake thought as she took the moment so that she could evaluate her feelings on it all. Going out with friends was never such a bad idea, and usually she wouldn't be called away for work.

"It doesn't sound terri-" Blake cut herself off so that she could place her coffee order, and once it was all over and done with, she and Yang were about to head to one of the tables when the door to the coffee shop opened.

When Blake first saw the two white bobs of hair, her first instinct had told her that it was just a couple of people with some particularly convincing dye jobs.

She knew that Yang saw her do a double take, and the way that Yang tried to catch her attention when she realized that she'd once again lost Blake's attention said everything that needed to be said.

"Blake?" Yang called. "What's-"

Blake swallowed and didn't look over at Yang for a moment as it registered to her that she was looking at not one of the daughters of Jacques Schnee, but two of them.

And Weiss didn't seem to have even the slightest idea as to the fact that she was present.

Blake swallowed and looked back over at Yang. "I need to do something." She said quickly as she pushed herself away from the table. "Sorry."

"Blake, don't you-"

This was going to be something that she would regret later, Blake was sure of it, but she also didn't think that she actually cared about it all that much. She sighed and stood up tall as she walked over to where Weiss was standing side by side with her sister.

"Weiss." Blake said, bringing up her voice just enough to catch the heiress' attention.

Almost immediately, Weiss' eyes snapped over to her.

Blake watched as Weiss looked back at her sister, hesitating for a long moment before beginning on her way over towards where Blake was standing.