Chapter Text
She had only been here so long before Weiss realised her unadultered and pure contempt, nar say hate, of winter. No, not her sister, but the damned inexcusable snow covered feckless waste of time which was the season of winter.
Atlas, while cold, inhospitable in many respects, and utterly filled with the disgusting white snow, had a system for dealing with the season. Some would say they were the masters of it, one could only tolerate the mind numbing slob of the chill before doing something about it, Weiss supposed.
Vale was quite different, it was almost as if they were surprised the colder months were coming. The snap of cold and blizzard in snow the other evening was initially met with the awe and spectacle of all absurdist weather conditions in the city.
When she awoke in the morning thereafter, their four tea mugs still out and upon the kitchen island she may add, the news upon the TV was something horrendous.
She remembered it still! The utter fury in her mind as she watched the local weatherman laughing and smiling about a week of negative eighteen and with continued snowfall. Smiled?! This would render the whole of the city’s infrastructure to a crawl for weeks and you had the audacity to smile?
Such an intense anger had inched its way through her mind that in watching the news she barely recognized the other trio join her in the kitchen, make food and coffee, consume both, and then leave; though she did blink when Ruby kissed her goodbye.
The weekend petered on then, Blake had texted her about meeting up but the pair of them had all so utterly refuted the idea when they saw the barest flakes of more snow coming down.
“It’s so bizarre.” Weiss had said, her room’s computer monitor showing off her dark-haired friend, Blake was wearing a soft sort of smile in response to the Schnee’s posturing. “I just cannot believe the city would not even make an effort, we only just got our street ploughed and there’s more snow coming.”
Blake laughed a little as she shrugged. “They aren’t used to this sort of snow, Weiss.” Shaking her head as she adjusted her camera to more fully get herself into the shot. “I assume you think Atlas would have already cleaned most of this up by now?”
“And the sidewalks.” Weiss muttered, slumping back in her desk chair as she crossed her arms; doing her best to ignore how Blake smirked at the pout she now wore. “It’s utterly ridiculous to think that so much of the roads are now just virtually inaccessible.”
“Yep.” Blake scoffed, an obvious half serious agreement to her. “Well, better get used to it, I can’t imagine the uni or any of the profs cancel classes just because of a little snow.”
Another twinge of disgust forced its way through the Schnee, forcing her body to movement as she sat up again. “Surely you cannot be serious?” Weiss laughed, shaking her head, “In what world do they live where this is something acceptable to commute in.”
“You could always just not go?” Blake shunted her breath, shaking her head. “Hold on, any day but the middle of the week.” She sighed with an exhausted look on her. “We have the midterm for political cultures on one of those days.”
Immediately Weiss’ shoulders dropped, how had that slipped her mind? “Right, right.” She grunted, on her computer’s second monitor she was already pulling up the study sheet for the class. “I forgot about that.”
“Oh?” Blake laughed, her voice cutting out just slightly by her microphone. “Was someone finally getting distracted so late into the term by things…” Weiss’ focus shifted back to Blake as her friend narrowed herself on the monitor, “… Rose related?”
Instantly Weiss scoffed, “Yes, obviously.” She quaked with a sarcastic dribble. “Between her, and my sister moving out to move in with her sister,” she made a point to clearly punctuate the difference with a low curled voice, “I have had little time to focus on some idiotic midterm for a class which has mandatory attendance.”
“The midterm is also forty percent.” Blake reminded her, the Schnee rolling her eyes in response.
“I’m not concerned with the exam, Blake.” Weiss said, allowing herself then a moment to sigh and fall back in her seat again. Hands and arms tiredly folding over her middle as she did. “I am still racking my head over this whole Winter moving out thing.”
She laughed a little, “I honestly have the study guide open on my other monitor and all I can make out from it is the class, my head is still all,” Weiss fumed a little as she hunched herself forward with a harsh sigh. “Spinning.”
“I’ll add that to my Schnee dictionary.” Blake cordially snarked, shaking her head side to side as she narrowed on her camera. “‘Spinning’, being completely and utterly confused about loving someone.”
“Their apartment doesn’t even have three bathrooms!” Weiss exclaimed, flicking her hands up and coming fully to her desk. Clasping the sides of her knife-shaped hands into the furnishing as she belted more, “Any guest has to use the main bathroom, which also has a shower-bath in it? This is absurd.”
Weiss glanced up just in time to watch her friend roll her eyes. “I am going to be amazed if your body will even allow you to set foot on the same property as Ruby and Yang’s apartment.” Blake snarked with a wave of her hands in the air, “It’d be like a daemon walking on holy ground or something, all of that upper class posh just burns away.”
“You’re so unfunny, you know that.” Weiss spat in return, glaring at her friend as Blake laughed behind her hand. “And I don’t think you have even tried going there either, you’re still in that town house with your parents.”
“Well they actually just left.” Blake clicked her tongue in charming reply, “They’re going back to Menagerie for a while to wait out the cold and look after some things back there.” Weiss felt her scorn descend as she watched Blake’s brows flick up and down. “Which now that I think about it…”
“Oh please.” Weiss scoffed, once more crossing her arms as she leaned over with a wag of her head. “You’ve already thought up a guest list of people to invite over, don’t give me the crap of just thinking about this.”
Her friend shrugged, making Weiss smile, before she scoffed. “You know me too well.” Blake then lowered herself back to her keyboard, “And by the way, I have been to Yang’s, dunce.”
“Don’t call me dunce, nit.” Weiss said with an all too planned speed. Then sighing with a shake of her head again.
“Why don’t you come over today then, pack a kit, and then come Monday you can just go right to campus from here.” Blake snarked, wagging her head back and forth. “Since you’re oh so afraid of the snow apparently.”
“I’m not afraid of it,” she pestered quickly, “it's just not safe to be driving around in too much of it.” Glaring in response as Blake merely raised her hand like a puppet and smacked along to what the Schnee was saying. “And it’s only a week out from Winter moving out, I’m…” she sighed, “I’m gonna miss her.”
“Well I am gonna invite Yang and Ruby over anyway.” Blake said in a curt reply, her phone already in her hand, making Weiss sit up in her chair; the dark-haired girl flicking her attention back to Weiss then. “And isn’t your sister probably gonna hook up with her own girlfriend this weekend anyway, not saying that you and yours crashed their original date… butttttt….”
“Oh shut up.” Weiss rolled her eyes, “fine, fine!” Shaking her hands with a bite, “I’ll pack up and head over, should I grab anything on the way?”
“Snowshoes?” Blake said without looking up from her phone, “Or maybe a spine, the white stuff outside is very scary.”
Weiss could not have moved faster to close and end her call. Leaving her with a few blank windows and the study sheet in the corner of her eye. Which is where her eyes landed first, she was confident enough in the midterm to not all too be concerned with it, it was just something which sat on her mind like a task she had to do while she was too concerned about everything seemingly else happening in her life.
With a groan and huff, she pressed herself up from her desk and found her deep blue gym bag.
Winter was down in the kitchen, slouching over the island on her laptop, by the time Weiss had packed, showered, and come downstairs.
“Hello, sister.” Weiss said, crisply walking past the back of her sister and going for their fridge.
“Weiss.” The older Schnee said in something of a detached greeting, making Weiss pause as she opened the fridge and then glance back to her.
Blinking a little, Weiss watched as her sister continued to scroll along and type into her computer. “Busy?” She asked absently, going back to the fridge and pulling an iced coffee bottle from it.
“No.” Winter said with a little too much speed, hissing at herself and then pressing her hands into her face, “Yes.” Sighing before she pressed her hips into the island and drew herself to stand. “Just making sure the weather is not going to effect me getting out of the house, the movers pressed back some dates on me.”
It took effort but Weiss managed to hide her satisfaction with a brief hum of dissonance. “Oh, that’s too bad.” Shaking her head as she closed the fridge and walked closer to her sister.
“Mhm.” The older muttered before dragging her hands down so as to have her right covering her mouth completely as she crossed her left over her front. “It looks like things will take a few more days just because the city needs to clear some of the roads by the apartment and here before they can do anything.” She huffed, then flicked her hand from her face with a small wave. “Well, I suppose it just means I could cut down on some things to take with me and donate away a few more.”
The thought of Winter donating anything made her skin crawl, Weiss already knew well enough that Winter was not going to be taking her bed or the furniture the house had come with; it was the other things. Cabinets, shelving, Winter had said they were to decommission the venerable office she had constructed in her room here and make a new one in Cinder’s apartment when she moved in.
“I don’t see why.” Weiss said, a little hint of snideness in her tone.
“Well they can’t move a full desk from the upstairs out into their truck in four feet of snow I suppose.” Winter huffed.
“I mean.” She said with a rapidness to her tone, “Why you don’t simply leave it here, maybe I could take over some of the things you have.” Winter smirked as she watched her sister continue. “I could always use more storage and your office chair is ergonomic which I could definitely use.”
“Weiss, if you want to pick my room clean before I leave, go right ahead.” Weiss flinched a little as Winter’s hand touched her upper arm. “I am still only a phone call away if you actually want to see me.” She laughed, though it only proved to make Weiss’ expression drop an inch more.
The elder sister’s eyes flicked then to the jacket Weiss wore and the bag slung over her shoulder, noticeably brimming with things. “Off for the day?” She asked, raising a brow solemnly in the process. “A little early for you to be heading to the gym.”
“Blake’s invited me over to go over some things for a midterm this week.” Weiss said, her hands folding over her bag. “And…” the word strained on her tongue, looking up into her sister’s face as she relented. “And Ruby and her sister will be there, I think I just need a minute to decompress.”
“The five hundred lien dinner was not enough?” Winter asked, chiding slightly as Weiss pinkened a smidge. “Good then, you won’t be home alone.” Winter nodded, turning and closing her laptop.
“Indeed, the others will keep me comp-.” Weiss stopped herself, “Hold on, are you going out?”
Winter turned back to her, Weiss watching as her sister threw over herself a more fit for the cold jacket and affixed it to herself. “Cinder and I are going to a pub for lunch, perhaps a movie afterward.” She chuckled, fanning herself lightly. “I plan on staying the night there, I don’t necessarily want to be driving around in these poorer conditions in the evening air.”
“Ah.” Weiss nodded, straightening a touch as she nodded. “I plan to do the same at the Belladonna’s residence, they have the space for us two…” she paused, making sure to choose her words delicately, “Pairs.”
”Good then.” Winter nodded, noticeably taking a breath. “I was partially concerned you would invite yourself and Miss Rose along again.”
“You invited us,” Weiss said.
“You know what I mean.” Waving her hand slightly, Winter tucked her hand into her pant pocket and retrieved her phone. “Also, I know you’re smart.” She said, swiping through her phone for a moment before she allowed herself to focus on Weiss. “But please actually do some studying,” she stressed the limited form of the word, “I understand there is a lot going on but you needn’t be so fixated on me to jeopardise your academics.”
“Try not to drink too much.” Weiss replied in earnest, watching as Winter rolled her eyes and walked down the hall towards the entryway. “You know what so much sugar can do to one’s figure.”
“Hilarious.” Winter scoffed, the Schnee’s meeting in the hall again as they fought to throw their boots on. “I was going to say the same exact thing to you, Weiss.” Winter smirked as Weiss scowled, the younger near racing her for the garage door.
Weiss slapped the open button for the automatic door, the cold of the outdoor’s slipping in through the widening opening. Turning on her heel between her and her sister’s cars. ”Try and make sure Cinder’s lipstick doesn’t get all over your face again then.” Leaning with a smiling bite to her, “The last thing I want to do when you leave is wash all of your bed sheets free of countless little marks.”
“Please,” retorting with a stagnant shake of her head, “you have never done any sort of washing in your life.” Fishing her keys from her pocket with a strident smile, Weiss doing the same.
Though as the pair of cars beeped, and their vision swung to the opened garage, the pair of Schnee’s froze.
Snow collapsed inward on the now opened door, two feet of the white now laying on its side and collapsing in on them.
“Ah, right.” Weiss muttered, her bag moving to the roof of her car. “Shovelling.”
“Damnit.” Winter sighed, slouching as she smirked, moving to the side of the garage and retrieving the dusty, old, pair of snow shovels. Her sister coming over quickly and grabbing one.
“Shovel my side first,” Weiss said with a gesture, “I have a party to attend.”
“Fat chance.” Winter replied, pointing with her shovel’s head to her own. “I have a date with a fiery woman.”
“I’ll finish mine first then.” Weiss scoffed, digging into the embankment of snow, huffing and heaving against it.
“You absolutely will not.” Laughing, Winter stuffed her own shovel into another mound, huffing and puffing to shove and mash the snow aside.