Against All Odds (ch6)

EARLY RELEASE FOR ALL MY PATRONS! THANK YOU SO MUCH!

Thanks for keeping up if you're still reading this one!

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.

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													Chapter 6. Step By Step

The sound of Weiss' name hung on the air for a silent moment.

Blake watched her parents' expressions carefully, trying to discern a reaction before it happened. Her father was more disbelieving than anything, while her mother was more confused.

"Weiss?" Kali tried for herself. "That's a lovely name. Weiss...?"

"Schnee," Blake finished matter-of-factly. "Weiss Schnee."

Another moment of silence. Blake could tell that hadn't been the last name they'd been wanting to hear.

She felt Weiss tug on her hand again and looked back to her. Her blue eyes were ridden with guilt, and her voice was nothing more than a whisper.

"Blake... I should go-"

"No," she murmured. "It's okay. Please..."

Trust me.

Her eyes must've said the rest, because Weiss took a deep breath, but dipped her head.

Blake hated to see her like this - ashamed, embarrassed, and scared, simply for being who she was. Blake had lived many years of her life feeling that way. The path to equality between humans and Faunus didn't begin by making them feel the same awful oppression. Especially not someone like Weiss.

Blake turned back to her parents, still keeping Weiss partially behind her in a defensive stance. Kali looked to Ghira who remained silent, then back to her daughter.

"Blake..." Her ears flicked at a slanted angle as her eyes flashed to Weiss, and then back to her own daughter. "And why is it you've... brought her with you?"

Obviously her mother was unsettled, but just trying to cover it with politeness. Whereas, her father was much more blunt.

"Blake, people like her are the reason Adam's division is probably acting out. She shouldn't be here. Not when her people are the ones who put us on this island in the first place."

"You sound just like Adam," Blake whimpered. "Both of you. Mom, Dad, please. Just... hear what she has to say. What we have to say."

She made sure not to place all of that pressure on Weiss alone. Blake willingly took half for herself.

She waited and watched her parents again. Blake knew they were wary and, at times, overly-protective. But she also knew they trusted her.

Unlike some people – human and Faunus alike – her parents were open-minded and willing to accept change. Even one as drastic as their only daughter bringing the Schnee heiress back home with her.

Therefore, with Blake's reassurance fresh on their minds, her parents invited them inside. But not before Kali pulled her daughter in for another hug.

"We're so glad you're home, dear."

Blake's ears twitched, and she stiffened at the sudden contact. But she quickly relaxed in her mother's arms and returned the hug entirely.

"Thanks, Mom."

The four of them made their way inside, Weiss keeping close to Blake as they went. The heiress was almost uncharacteristically quiet, but her eyes were as attentive and observant as ever.

Of course, she'd been surprised by the size of Blake's house from the outside. But from the inside, it looked even larger, almost like her own mansion in some regards.

As they walked to the dining room, Weiss tugged on Blake's sleeve to get her attention.

"So I'm dating a princess, am I?"

Blake smiled.

"I could say the same."

"It's heiress, actually."

Her comment had Blake all but bursting into laughter, and Weiss let out a few giggles as well.

But both of them fell silent again when Ghira cast a curious gaze at them. It wasn't mean or suspicious, but more curious than anything else. He was still trying to figure out what was going on between them.

Blake got her bearings as she took her spot at the low-sitting table and prepared to explain everything. Kali brought over a tea kettle and laid out four cups. As she set Weiss' down, she made eye contact with the girl for the first time.

"I, ah, I hope black tea is all right?"

Weiss presented her with her most pleasant, though not overdone, smile.

"That's perfect. Thank you."

As Blake's parents got settled, Weiss sat close to her teammate, but rather than curling her legs, she sat on her knees with her back straight and poise perfect.

When everyone was ready, they didn't hesitate to start. Blake took in a deep breath and steeled herself.

"Mom... Dad... I want to tell you why people like Adam are wrong in what they're doing, and for the wrong reasons. I've brought Weiss here because... because there is a future where humans and Faunus can live together as equals. And I think she can convince you of that. She convinced me, that's for sure."

Blake finished, then gave Weiss a nod. It was the heiress' turn to draw in a deep breath, then exhale.

"Hello. My name... is Weiss Schnee..."

She led the conversation from there.

Blake sat readily at her side, listening to everything she had to say.

Weiss told Blake's parents the same things she'd told Blake herself; the story of her grandfather and how he'd once run the Schnee Dust Company, as opposed to how her father was running it now. She didn't tell it in a way that suggested she was seeking sympathy, but rather, she spoke with righteous intent, to let them know she supported her grandfather's ways, and rejected the practices of her father.

She told about her own lapse in judgement, how for several years, she'd actually started to believe in what her father had been proclaiming. She explained about her misguidance, how she'd once come to believe that the terms "Faunus" and "White Fang" were interchangeable.

And she talked about how Blake had opened her eyes to the truth.

Blake fidgeted a little as Weiss spoke about her, praising her to her parents and explaining to them how being Blake's teammate and friend had changed her views.

"And we've come here today... so I could explain all of this to you. So you'd know that... that there are good humans out there, and that we're willing to change. Even... someone like me."

She looked to Ghira, then to Kali, and finally to Blake. Her eyes asked the question: 'Did I do all right?'

Blake didn't think about her response. She just leaned in and pecked Weiss' cheek.

That had everyone gasping.

Weiss stiffened, and her eyes went wide.

"B-Blake-"

But Blake knew what she was doing.

"It's okay." She reached into Weiss' lap and squeezed her hand, then lifted her gaze to her parents. "I planned on telling them everything from the start. Everything."

She didn't waver. She didn't so much as blink.

Her parents were speechless, understandably so, but Blake had faith in them. After hearing everything Weiss had just said, and seeing everything Adam had done before that...

Her mother was the first to break the heavy silence, and she did it with a smile on her lips and tears in her eyes.

"Oh... Blake... this is..." She looked to her husband, who merely nodded. Her ears perked up tall as she finished. "This is wonderful!" She sidled around the corner of the table and pulled her daughter into another embrace. "I almost can't believe it..."

"I'll say," her father uttered. "Our daughter – my daughter..." he said, patting his chieftain's badge. "...in a relationship with the Schnee heiress? It's... unheard of. Unfathomable. And yet... here you are."

Blake met his eyes from over her mother's shoulder and nodded.

"Yeah. Here we are."

She gave a little shrug, indicating she and Weiss had said all they'd needed to say.

Now it was his turn to talk.

"And to think..." he muttered with a hint of a snarl. "That boy had just come here to ask us for his blessing. So he could get closer to me and disrupt our way of doing things within the Fang. Lying cur. I'll have a detailed discussion about his division at the next meeting. We'll put a stop to him."

He then turned to look at Weiss directly. She didn't flinch.

"And..." he went on. "I think it would be... a bit chaotic to tell all of Remnant, or even all of Menagerie about your relationship. But I think it could benefit in just being made known to the branch leaders for now. I can convince them it's genuine, and I can't think of a better example of forging trust and bonds between humans and Faunus."

He looked back to Blake now. "I'd like to tell them everything you've just told me, but I'd like your opinion on the matter first. Both of you." He turned his gaze back unto Weiss again.

The heiress dipped her head in consideration. As Kali moved back and released her daughter, Blake leaned close to Weiss.

"What do you say?" she asked her. "It'll only be my parents and the branch leaders who know for now. We can keep it quiet from the rest of the world for as long as we can."

"Though, my father's already caught wind of it," Weiss reminded her. "And I presume many other people have, too. It's going to be known worldwide soon enough. I think the branch leaders of the White Fang have every right to know before the general public."

To Blake's surprise, her father actually cracked a smile.

"Well said."

Weiss actually blushed a little, and Blake had to bite back a chuckle.

They'd done what they'd come here to do, and it had gone just as Blake had anticipated it would. Not even Adam's unannounced presence had hindered them in fulfilling their objective.

Blake let out a sigh of relief.

"Thanks, Mom. Thanks, Dad."

"Don't thank us, dear," Kali smiled. "I'd go so far as to say it's us who should be thanking you two."

"Agreed," Ghira grunted.

At last, the final bit of tension in the air faded away, and they began to relish the feeling of accomplishment. Blake took a sip of her tea and encouraged Weiss to do the same to help calm her down. Blake was just putting her cup down when her mother leaned in again.

"Oh, and don't you worry your pretty little ears," she said, kissing Blake's temple. "Your father and I never intended to give that boy our blessing. We only invited him in because it was the polite thing to do. We had to do something nice before we rejected his request, right?"

"Thank goodness..." Blake sighed.

After that, the conversations between the four of them became much lighter.

Blake asked her parents about how things were going at home and in the more respectable branches of the White Fang. In turn, she and Weiss told them about what they'd been studying and learning at Beacon.

They chatted for hours, until Kali excused herself and started making supper for four, leaving the girls to talk with her husband for a while.

They enjoyed a meal together.

For Blake, it was nostalgic, eating at the same table she'd sat at as a child, beside her parents, surrounded by all these familiar sights and scents.

But it was even more wonderful to have Weiss there beside her.

It was clear to her that Weiss was doing her best to adjust to everything. She obviously wasn't used to having meals this way. Blake imagined dinnertime at the Schnee mansion was cold and quiet, with most of the words coming from her father's mouth.

But the atmosphere here was just the opposite. Pleasant, welcoming, warm.

Blake enjoyed it twice as much just because Weiss was there with her, laughing and smiling.

Eventually, the sun started going down. Blake offered to clean the dishes, and Weiss immediately volunteered to help her to show her gratitude for their hospitality.

In the meantime, Blake's parents moved their luggage into Blake's bedroom.

After the girls got ready for bed and put on their sleep clothes, Blake wished her parents goodnight, and invited Weiss to follow her.

"Are you sure?" Weiss hesitated. "Maybe I should... sleep elsewhere?"

But Blake took her hands and kissed her cheek.

"I insist."

Her bedroom was simple, small, just like she remembered it. There was only a desk, a dresser, several bookshelves, and a bed big enough for them both.

Blake led Weiss to the bed and sat down beside her, relishing the feeling of being back here after so long. Weiss was admiring the room as well.

"So this is where you grew up..."

Blake nodded, then leaned in to brush her nose against Weiss'.

She kissed her softly, in the privacy of her own room, something she never once expected she'd do – with anyone – let alone Weiss Schnee.

They curled up together that night - not as huntresses, not as star-crossed lovers - but simply as two girls in love.

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A/N: If only canon had gone this way... Gosh, I want Weiss and Blake to be better friends at the very least.

But I can't tell you how glad I was to be able to make the 'it's heiress, actually' joke fit so perfectly into this.