Adult-FanFiction.org : Cartoons

White Noise
By : RWBYRemnants
Category: +M through R > RWBY
Views: 1666 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: RWBY is not mine and I make no money from this fic
Chapter List
- 33
- 34
- 35
WARNING: Unsavoury stories from Winter's past.

=Chapter 34
Luck finally seemed to be on Yang's side. A canceled appointment from another client meant that she could get into counselling the very next day, and finally attend her first session. And this time, with Blake's company, she didn’t back out. She went in, poured her heart out to the kind woman who took notes of everything and gave heartfelt advice. A few tears were shed, but when Yang apologized for them, her counsellor simply smiled, and told her, "For most, if you don't cry on the first session, then you don't need our help."
Blake had sat in the waiting room for that hour, having brought paperwork from her job as something to pass the time. It was an ease on Yang's guilt to know that this afternoon wasn't going to be unpaid or an inconvenience for her best friend. But most of all, she was glad to have her there. To know her friend was still saving her, even now.
Once the hour was up, the two made their way toward the main desk. Yang was still wiping the few stray tears that were present away with a tissue, but her doctor only smiled as she completed the paperwork. "You did really well today. I'll go through this paperwork once I’m home so we can come up with some coping strategies, but for now, remember those deep breathing exercises, alright?"
"Of course. Sorry I never showed last time…"
"Hey, now," Blake told her quietly, soothing up and down her shoulder with her hand. "Already told you, don't worry about that. You're here now and that is what's important."
"Today's just been talking, me learning more about her. Next week, we'll be going over various techniques and the real progress will begin." The doctor smiled, but then looked back to Yang again. "Should you ever want to see another counsellor or if you move out of state…" The doctor began to scribble something on the top of one of Yang's forms, before handing it over to her. "That's the number for our main office. They'll sort everything out from there."
Taking it back as she instinctively leant against Blake again, Yang sniffed once more, wiping away one more tear. "Okay, I'll keep this. Thank you so much."
As they made their way out of the small office building and into the parking lot, Blake watched her friend. She did seem to be doing better; like even though she wasn't back to her old self quite yet, there was significant improvement form the week previous. The phrase "scared straight" came to mind… ironic though it was, given her sexuality.
"So… Cold Stone? I did promise."
"Huh? Oh! Right, yeah." This time, she was actually smiling when she looked back toward Blake. A genuine smile, rather than one that vanished within three seconds. Even if she was still sniffing occasionally. The first session was emotionally draining, mainly consisting of explaining what she thought the problem was, and the underlying causes that upset her the most. Winter was covered, along with many more topics related to her own undealt with issues that had always been there. Of course, it left her nervously laughing. "S-sorry. It was kinda… damn."
"You don't have to explain. One of the things I promised myself was that I wouldn't pry into your therapy; like, that's all you and your business. If you wanna talk about it, that's cool, but if not… also cool." Then she opened the door and plopped down in the driver's seat, buckling up as Yang did the same on the other side.
It wasn't until Blake started the engine that Yang looked up again, and then toward her. At least now, she was really there, and not off orbiting some other planet like a runaway moon. "I'm… sorry it took all this to get me here though. Seriously, I didn't mean to let everybody down."
Only now did Blake's expression look a bit sadder than before. Still, she smiled over at her friend and said in a soft tone, "I know. I know that, I… you're still Yang, and the Yang I know would never hurt anybody unless they earned it. So unless I pissed you off on accident somehow… yeah, obviously you did your best."
"You never did. You never ever hurt me, you've only ever been good to me. And now…" As she tucked the form away in her pocket, she nervously laughed again, smiling to herself. "You literally saved my life, dude."
"Anytime. Literally, if you need me to save your life like, a hundred more times… I'm there."
Once they were out in traffic, Blake decided to try putting their plan into action. After talking it over with Sun, they had agreed that there was nothing wrong with at least attempting to make this happen — even if Yang didn't go for it.
"So… um, I've been thinking about taking a trip down to LA to go to this conference; like, it's totally skippable, but I could make some contacts if I decide to attend. That kind of thing. And I was wondering if maybe you wanted to come with me."
Up until that point, Yang had been idly nodding her head to the song on the radio. Neon Katt's newer single, of all things. But just as the presenter was about to talk about more details of the Beach Fest, she turned back to Blake again, tilting her head.
"LA? You mean like… California, LA?"
"Is there any other LA?" she laughed, but very easily; she was even wary of being too mean in her humor about anything now. They could worry about getting back to kidding each other once Yang was in a better state. "Yeah, I mean, maybe the extra sunshine will help a little. And then we'll be back here in a couple of days, so it's not like a really long vacation or anything."
"Yeah… I guess. I do really like LA this time of year. Especially the bea-" But as soon as that word began to slip out, she stopped it before she could go further, and then looked down. It was like the flip of a switch once she realized the exact timing of going to the beach at that time.
"Um… Nah. I-I just… Wouldn't you rather take Sun? So you and lover boy can have a good romp in the hotel room?"
"Well, I was thinking I could have a romp with you…" But when Yang didn't respond right away, she nudged her with her elbow. "Kidding. I mean, we don't have to keep doing that if it's gonna be weird now, after… what happened."
"I'm more worried about you," Yang admitted earnestly, leaning against the car door as she idly stared out the window a moment. "Like… I don't wanna give off the impression that I'm just using you for sex, because I'm really not and never would."
"I mean…" Blake broke off as she tried to figure out how to phrase things, taking the moment to guide them around the corner toward their intended destination of ice cream. "You could. I was okay with that being what we were doing, if we were. And if it were… something else, that would be okay, too. Because I trust you not to mistreat me."
"I know you do. But I wanna make sure I don't. Like hell am I gonna lose my best friend after all this." She looked back toward her again, smiling gratefully as she nudged Blake right back. "Life saver, great kisser, good in bed… Sun's a lucky man to have you, y'know."
Nodding, Blake spared her a smile before returning her eyes to the road. "I respect that. Again, though, we both know we're on fire between the sheets, so friends-with-benefits is definitely still okay with me if it is with you."
Now Yang was finally reacting to such remarks, rather than the sullen, disinterested look she had been giving for the past two months. She was blushing for one, and looking over with a slight smirk. "Let's see how we feel when we get back then, huh?"
"Definitely," Blake told her with a grin. In the wake of almost losing her friend, literally anything that wasn't a sea of depression felt fantastic. They could worry about those "benefits" later.
However, as they went inside to get their ice cream, an annoying little bug nibbled at the back of her mind. She'd failed in her "mission" to encourage Yang to fly to California. Sure, there were other tactics she could try later, but this first attempt had flopped the minute Yang remembered the Beach Fest. Things were going to get tricky from here on in.
Once back in the car, several calories richer than they had been beforehand, Blake then asked, "So… about that job. No big deal, you getting fired; from what you told me, it was pretty crappy to begin with. Maybe we can get you one as a bouncer again?"
"That's what I was thinking! I mean, I still have Weiss's dad's number. If I couldn't get Winter to give me a reference, I could try him instead behind her back. I dunno why I never tried that before, actually…" She scratched the top of her head in thought, once more leaning against the car door to look out the window. "As much as I don't like him, considering what Weiss has told me, he seems a lot tamer than her. Just shave off the caterpillar ‘stache."
Snorting at the comment about the man’s facial hair, Blake turned down their road. "Well, maybe you should. And I mean… if nothing else, I can probably get you a job in the mailroom at my office. It will be the most boring work you've ever done in your life and pays minimum wage, but it's not nothing, right?"
"If it means company at break time that's not some guy constantly talking about his kid, or a customer asking me when his order's done, I'm fine with that." Although she began to perk up that little bit more when a thought seemed to come up with an idea. "This is totally like some kind of soap opera! I mean, I know we're all already okay with everything, but 'In your free time you're with the boyfriend, but at work you're banging the mail gal in the supply closet' sounds so Daytime TV."
The window was rolled down, so when Blake shouted a little too loudly, "Oh GOD, Yang, you're making me WET!!!" a few of the neighbors might actually have heard her. Probably not, but one never knew. Being as red as a tomato, Yang did manage to glance around just to check there wasn't anybody on the sidewalk, and then back to Blake again. Instead of leaning away against the window, she began to lean toward the driver instead.
"We'll just be photo copying something, except you're gonna be bent over the copier."
Before, she had been kidding. Now, she really was feeling wetter underneath her drab grey pencil skirt. Licking her lips, she kept her eyes on the road as she asked, "With the lid open, right? So the copies will be of you taking me as hard as you can." After all, it was only fair to tease back.
"Duh. Wonder if I can get your 'O-face' copied… hang that on my wall." Yang really was only teasing, although now that subject was coming up, it was seeming like the benefits part of their friendship certainly was going to be in play for longer.
Until they began to pull closer towards the drive, and Yang noticed another car pulled up in front of her bike. As much fun as they could have had coming home to an empty house, seemed Sun was here. Still, shrugging her shoulders, Yang simply made the best of the situation.
"Ah well, looks like lover boy’s gonna give you that O-face instead today. Want me to plug in some headphones and stay in my room?"
"Yeah, I guess so. For now." When Yang shot her a questioning look, she unbuckled her seatbelt and said, "Well, I mean, I've only asked him once before if he was hungry for a Blake sandwich. Maybe it's time I asked him again." As she stepped out of the door, she added casually, "Or a Sun sandwich. Whatever."
Raising her eyebrows as she unbuckled her own belt and opened the door, Yang seemed to look up as if she was questioning that notion. "Or… A Yang sandwich, even. Hell, if anything remotely like it happens, it'll be crazy." Finally getting out of the car and leaving, with a completely red face, she stepped onto the curb, eagerly waiting for Blake to come join her so they could make their way indoors.
But what was awaiting them inside was certainly going to put a damper on those plans. And a potential damper on their whole day.
Sat on the couch was Sun, just as they had been expecting. However, there was another person next to him on the couch; one that reminded Blake distinctly of the pop star she had met before. However, it wasn't quite her; she was taller, and had shorter hair and more severe features compared to Weiss's magazine-worthy ‘baby face’ ones. She was dressed in a suit not unlike the ones her bosses tended to wear, mostly light greys and navy blues. And on her face was the most miserable expression she'd ever seen on a complete stranger.
"Uhhh… who are you?" she couldn't help but demand.
"Okay, I did try to call, I was about to try again b-but-" Sun was fumbling on his words over and over, but as he was doing that, Yang had entered the room. And realized straight away who their mystery guest was. Her eyes widened, and she appeared more scared than anything else.
"Winter."
"Miss Xiao Long." The address was stiff and formal, even compared with how she had usually addressed her. "Well…" Awkwardly, she seemed to decide at the last moment that it was rude for her to remain seated when the two newcomers — the actual residents of that apartment — were standing, so she pushed to her feet and smoothed down her trousers. "When I heard your voicemail, I had to come. It seems there are matters that need to be settled between us."
"I… Um… I-I was… I just…" It seemed it was Yang's turn to fumble her words now as she looked between Winter and her two friends. One of which was turning more and more furious by the minute. And no wonder when she was the one who had to tell Winter the results of her actions. But such open support on her side was giving her that bit more confidence, even if she was nervous with the following line.
"Okay, me drunk-dialing you? T-that's not going to happen again, for a long long time."
"Yes, I… your associate here has been informing me of your progress. Well, partly. He hasn't gone into much detai-"
"Save it," Blake snapped, arms folding over her chest. "You know… you have a lot of nerve coming here after what you pulled. Do you understand that?"
Winter's calm demeanor faltered, but she did her best to pull it back into place. "Right. To business, then. It… seems I may have… misspoken when last we saw each other."
"Misspoken? Or realized there were consequences for what you said?" Blake demanded. But before she even gave her a chance to answer that, she then let out a harsh laugh. "Actually no, lemme ask you this; are you here because you thought she might have been dead, or because Weiss found out?" It was very visible; the color drained from Winter's face. But before she could speak again, Blake followed up with, "Give me one good reason not to call the police and report you for trespassing in my home. You couldn't give me a good one last time, either."
"Please, listen, I…" She took a deep breath. "I came knowing you survived the attempt, as I learned through Weiss. Not that she's speaking to me anymore." Admitting this last cost her something, and it was clear by the way she swayed in her black high heels before continuing. "H-however… oh, I don't really know why I came. I wanted to try, but I don't think it's going to be worth anything to you."
"You just wanted to ease your guilt a little. I get it." Yang nodded her head, finally starting to appear more annoyed than frightened by the exchange. If money wasn't just an object for Winter, she would have maybe considered why she was here more. But then again, Chicago was very much out of the way in Winter's line of work, especially when she should be heading west.
It was this moment when Sun perked up again. There was an advantage of him speaking to her before the other two got there. "She was, uh, just telling me how Weiss still misses you; even if she’s kind of a… cishet, I guess, she can see Weiss is hurting."
"Hurting from what she did to her," Blake corrected slightly. "I mean, are we forgetting that she did this? That without her, none of this would even be an issue?"
Winter's head bowed and she went on, "I understand. I… I'm not welcome here, you don't want to hear what I have to say. I can appreciate that, honestly. But… I want to make things right. There has to be something more I can do for you, other than simply staying out of your way."
"Well there's nothing! Nothing! I'm completely fucked up because of what you did!" Yang shouted, hands curling up into even tighter fists then before. But even as Sun tried to place his hand on her arm to calm her down, she shrugged it off instantly. "No, I'm done sugarcoating this! I was hard enough for anyone to date as it was; chicks with dicks don't tend to be very successful aside from the odd dude that has a fetish and wants a wild night. And now I'm a walking time bomb who needs pills and psychiatric help to keep from offing herself! So why the fuck would Weiss want to date that?!"
"Because she does!" Winter pleaded with her, eyes wide and tearful now. Her composure was slipping, and quite rapidly, at that. "Please, you… I thought I was doing the right thing, you have to see that! It wasn't supposed to lead to- to any of this!"
"But it did," she replied bluntly, expression beginning to soften as she looked down toward the floor instead, growing sadder rather than angrier. The fire had burned out so quickly, whereas the old Yang could have maintained it for ages. "And now, I don't deserve her. She might want the old Yang but I'm not the old Yang; and I'm not gonna be, not for a long time. This current one is a drunken, pothead burnout who can't hold a job. In what world does a fabulous diva deserve that?"
"Believe me, you're wrong! So… so I made an erroneous assumption about your motives, alright? I've never known a- a person like you, I'm sorry! But please don't think she's doesn't care about you, or that I ever wanted anything like-"
"Listen, haven't you done enough?" Blake interrupted her with a voice like a razorblade. "Messing with their lives because you get some kind of sick pleasure out of playing God! You don't care about Yang! You don't even care about Weiss, and she's your own sister!"
That made Winter's expression darken. For the first time since they had entered the apartment, she looked any way other than distraught and apologetic. Those emotions were still there, but there was also the tiniest pinprick of anger.
"You really think that, don't you? Oh, how wrong you are."
"Hey, don't you dare talk to her like that, you old cunt!" Yang snapped.
And within a few more seconds, the three girls were bickering at each other, shouting louder than one another to try and get their points across, but all to no success. All it was gaining was more stress, tears forming in Yang's eyes, and tears even falling from Winter's. And for the other blonde in the room, who bore witness to it all, it was becoming too much – which became obvious when he yelled louder than them all.
"ENOUGH!"
There allowed a brief moment of silence to follow, just to clear the air, before he sighed. And then gestured the following words with his hands. "Don't you guys get the point of all this? Everyone in this room wants the same thing; for Weiss and Yang to be happy. And we're not gonna get there by trying to out-yell each other!"
"But she hurt them!" Blake protested, slightly surprised at her boyfriend even somewhat standing up for Winter. Normally, she would have understood and even appreciated him being impartial, but not when it involved the woman who almost brought about the end of her best friend's life.
"It's done, Blake. And we can't exactly hop in a DeLorean and go back to prevent it. My point is, we need to focus on what's happening now." It clearly hurt Sun to be stuck like this. To be defending the person responsible for the worst thing that had happened to his girlfriend's best friend's life; even if he was just acting as a mediator. Not allowing that to stew any further, however, he began to pace around the room back and forth.
"Things are fucked, with Yang's head, no doubt with Weiss's head, too. We can blame Winter for where we are, or we can take her word that she was trying to fix shit, and now she’s trying to fix what she fixed the wrong way before. Right? Way I see it, this is rock bottom; we can’t fall off the floor. We have nothing to lose by trying."
"Why should we trust her, though?" Blake said, trying to force herself to be more calm and rational despite the pulsing of anger behind her temples. "After what she pulled, I don't even believe she has our best interests at heart; she's just mad that we're mad. Like any little bully who finally gets in trouble for bullying."
"As I said, I can understand how you would see me that way,” Winter whispered. “And… you are right, to a degree. But I promise you that I had no idea my actions were affecting anyone this way. That she…" A quiet sob fell from her mouth before she could cut the rest of it off. "She hates me. She doesn't even think of me as her sister anymore, and after how this turned out, I suppose I deserve that. But if you only-"
"’Oh, woe is me, my sister's girlfriend nearly killed herself because of the shit I pulled and now she won't talk to me,’" Yang mocked, refusing to even look at the sobbing, crying mess that was once Winter. “Like you have it so bad compared to me.”
Which had made Sun roll his eyes. "Guys, you're doing it again! Look, let's focus on the goal; Weiss and Yang, everybody feeling good. Right now, there's so much distance that there's no chance of that happening. So, we need to close the gap. And we need to do it before we no longer know where Weiss is."
"And that's why I'm here!" Winter followed up from him, desperate to get past the topic of her horrible misstep and on to the task at hand. "To make amends, to… do what I can. It's already come so close to being too late once, and I don't think we should risk it again!"
But Blake was already shaking her head, arms still folded tightly against herself. "Sorry, but I still don't trust you. I can't. You might be for real here, or you might be trying to… I don't know, make sure Weiss doesn't get back in contact with Yang. But your transphobic ass chased her off once, and I'm not letting you do it twice. Now, unless Yang wants to hear you out any more than this, I think you should leave. She's already upset enough as it is."
The white-blonde woman looked wholly defeated. Not merely set back or frustrated, but as if she wanted to crawl into bed and stay there for a week or two. Turning to Yang, she said in a very uncharacteristically meek voice, "Please… hear me out, I… we can make this right together, but not if you shut me out now. I… I’ll…" She swallowed hard and whispered, “I’ll beg if you need me to.”
Yang no longer knew what to think. From the amount of unpleasant things she had heard about Winter, and the family in general, Yang was more inclined to reject her offer. And that was without considering how Winter had spoken to Yang in all the time they knew each other. And yet… seeing her so desperate, so upset and lost… it tugged one of Yang's heartstrings in the wrong way. Whether or not she knew what she was saying before was hateful and hurtful wasn't helpful in this situation.
But seeing how she was now reminded her of someone else who was so desperate recently: herself. Would Winter end up in the hospital the very same way she had if she sent her away without hearing her out?
"You've got thirty seconds to explain whatever you and Sunny Jim cooked up together; then it's up to Blake if she calls the police."
"Come with me to LA," she began immediately, looking almost as excited as Weiss had when she first learned Yang had a motorcycle. That was the only time it was clearly visible they were actually related, and not just in possession of vaguely similar faces. "I have a private jet waiting at O'Hare, we can be there in a few hours, and then… then you can talk to her. I've already explained what I did, so she should hear you out. Even before that, I think she would have; my sister is… much more open and accepting. And if you knew how desperately she misses you!"
It was a tempting offer. And definitely much cheaper than heading to LA on her own. But the plan still seemed flawed. Yes, they knew where she would be, but she wasn't exactly going to be available in that time. "She's gonna be performing, she will want to — heck I'D want her to focus more on that. This concert's the biggest thing that's ever happened to her."
"Then just… go to show you support her. And then you can talk to her afterward; I'll pay for the hotel room, I’ll pay for anything, just… try, if you can."
"You can't buy your way out of this one, Schnee," Blake growled offhandedly. The matter seemed quite settled in her mind, but it was Yang's situation to handle; she didn't want to take the reins away from her.
"And how am I supposed to get in?!” Yang growled, running a hand through her hair then grasping a handful of if. The entire situation seemed too hopeless. “I'm not a bodyguard anymore! I don't have all access! Frankly if I can get in that easily I'd be worried for security."
But Sun and Blake knew an advantage they had on their side. And now was the time to announce they'd been thinking of it. "What if we told you Ruby's going?"
A roll of eyes. "And what's her going to a concert gonna do to help me?"
"She has an extra ticket," Blake told her matter-of-factly. "One that could have your name on it, if you decide to at least show you're still her friend. If nothing else."
"And I'd make sure you have no problems," Winter rushed ahead, seeming so close to fending off a possible panic attack. "Not a single one; I'll pave the way for you and her to have a private conversation, either at the event or afterward, or- or the next day! Just say you'll go, and we can… can make this work!"
Seeming to stare out blankly, Yang was deeply considering the options. The plan seemed sound enough, to get to LA and be there for Weiss’s big moment, then talk to her backstage afterward. And Sun had a point that this would be the only time she was guaranteed to be anywhere in the immediate future. It was now or never. Even if it was a long shot. There was nothing to lose.
Then again, what could she do to get Weiss to notice her in the audience? If the crowd was so huge, she'd need some kind of big gesture to get her attention. Something that only her and Weiss shared…
And once she'd figured that out, she began to smile, rolling her eyes. "I guess I'd better get my shit packed then. I have a dumb idea that is just crazy enough to work."

The Schnee private jet was more or less everything one would expect from such a well-known organization. Stocked to the brim with both food and drink from around the world, staffed with an attendant to help with anything they should need, it was as close to staying in a luxury hotel as one could come in the middle of the sky. But Winter had dismissed the woman once she got them all waters – and Sun a bag of Cheetos – asking her to simply make sure the pilot was comfortable and that they would call upon her if needs be.
"Well, just make sure and tell me if you need anything else," she told them in a would-be professional voice after asking for the fourth or fifth time. It was getting hard to keep track.
Yang hadn't particularly said too much on the plane only sat on the large leather seat with the guitar on her lap, occasionally strumming the odd tune quietly. But every time Winter asked about water, or food, or any other feeble little thing, it made Yang strum an incorrect note, and her groan was audible and pointed. Things still weren't looking good between them.
"I swear you were less annoying when you were hounding me for my history…"
Sighing wearily, Winter turned around and remained silent for a few moments, checking something or other on her tablet. Clearly, she had yet to engender any true trust or respect, and could not so easily make up for what she did to Yang with a few meager gestures. That was to be expected, but the manner with which the other three treated her was beginning to grate.
And after a few more wrong notes, Yang finally gave up, rolling her eyes and putting the guitar to one side. On a plane thousands of feet in the air, it was difficult to concentrate. Even if it was the fanciest plane she had ever seen. Thanks to Winter's presence, talking to Blake felt awkward, along with anything else.
Her only possible solace came from sniping comments. "Looking through my Facebook again, I assume?"
"I am not," Winter said through clenched teeth. "I'm actually finding out the weather conditions for our flight and also catching up on correspondence."
"Death threats, then," Blake muttered easily, sipping at her water. "Can't float those out there and forget about them."
Even though she could feel the tension in the air, she continued to push, even smirking toward Blake. "Maybe telling Daddy she picked up the tranny and asking if she can keep her as a pet."
"Yeah," Blake laughed nervously. Though Yang would joke around with that word once in a while, she always felt uncomfortable with “tranny” being said in her presence. Even by the trans woman herself.
"He has no idea,” Winter couldn’t help snapping. “I simply let him know that I had an urgent matter involving something I needed to correct; as I promised you, if you left, I would tell no one. I had no reason to break that promise… and since now I'm dissolving your responsibility to stay away from Weiss, there's no longer any reason to make your… habits more widely known."
That remark only made Yang laugh as she stared back toward her. "Wow, me almost dying and your sister disowning you is still not enough to make you realize this isn't some hobby."
The death comment put Winter on edge, but not in an angry way. "Fine. I'm choosing the wrong words. I don't know the correct ones, alright? Trans woman, yes, I know there's some kind of difference from a crossdresser, but it still doesn't-" She cut herself off, pinching the bridge of her nose. "I am not being insensitive on purpose, I’m merely ignorant."
"Got that right," Blake muttered under her breath.
"That's one word for it. Then there's selfish, bigoted, transphobic…" But as Yang continued to roll off the words, and observed how annoyed this was making Winter, she was starting to smirk to herself. After how Winter spoke to her in their last meeting, calling her an abomination and threatening to ruin her own sister’s life just to spite her, this only seemed fair.
Which was when she decided to switch tactics. "Part of me wonders if you did it because you hate me, or because you hate that Weiss was happy."
"I told you not to speak about that," Winter told her in a flat tone, trying her best to focus on the tablet screen. "And that I was only trying to ensure Weiss's future. Yes, I regret doing it because I didn't fully understand the situation, but at the time-"
"At the time, you split up a happy couple," Blake overrode her. "Not really sure when that's ever the 'best plan' but hey, made sense to you so that was all that mattered, right?"
"Yeah,” Yang chuckled. “It made sense to either get rid of the annoying tranny, or ruin her sister’s life. Both our lives. How’d she take the news that you did this? I bet she's been thanking you over and ove-"
"That is not at all what I've been doing," Winter told her soberly, irritation creeping into her voice after so many hours of keeping it clear. "Not that I would expect for you to understand how hard it is to manage her business affairs, but I am… exhausted from trying to keep up with all the loose ends, to make sure the business doesn't spiral out of control. Just because you were one of the few times I made a bad judgment call doesn't I did it on purpose!"
"Save it," Blake sighed irritably, shifting as if she was going to move to the lavatory and avoid this conversation. "You're so full of yourself. Like any one woman has that much power or pull. Just because you deluded yourself into thinking Weiss can't survive without you doesn't mean sh-"
"No, YOU save it!" Winter shot to her feet and whirled on all three of them - including Sun, who had been largely silent. Her eyes were wild, and she gestured at Blake, since she had been the last to speak. "I’m not the only one who’s ignorant here! You have no idea! My entire life is about making sure nothing bad happens to my little sister! Not just 'I spend a lot of time' on it - ALL of my time! Anytime I'm not sleeping or eating, and even then, I'm usually eating while checking up on Weiss's affairs, sleeping and dreaming about all the things I might have missed! Consequences that could be avoided if I put in more time here, contact the right person! Do you think I wanted to protect her for all these years in the business, only for her to end up as the next Britney, the next Miley – flushing her 'All-American Sweetheart’ image down the toilet because she's irritated by authority?!"
"Yet you threatened to make that happen!" Yang burst out herself, standing to her own feet as she glared right back at Winter, gritting her own teeth. "Remember?! You said to me that you'd out me to the media so she'd suffer! So her reputation would be down shit creek without a paddle! So don't you even think about saying you're a good sister, because you are not!"
"Do you really think I hadn’t already planned to clearly outline you were the one taking advantage of her?! That she wouldn't be the pure one being defiled by your, your…" Pulling at her hair, she managed to shout, "What I thought was your perversion, okay?! I’m trying to accept that things aren't how I saw them, but all I could see was a man who had found a way to put his hands all over my baby sister! And it made me SICK! I had fought so hard to keep that from happening, done so many things I shouldn't have done to preserve her from becoming that kind of casualty of this awful business! And I thought I failed!"
"Don't you dare call Yang a 'man', you bitch!" Blake was firing up. She was on her feet as well, even though she had felt Sun tug at her arm when she pushed to standing. "She's ten times the woman you'll ever be, and you're acting like she's nothing but a- a CREEP! What did you think she was going to-"
"None of you have the slightest CLUE!" Angry tears were falling now as she shouted at the top of her lungs, causing huge, blotchy red areas to rise on her cheeks and neck. "How many wealthy studio heads, top executives, would KILL to have a seventeen-year-old girl with an angelic face all alone in their offices for a few minutes! How many meetings I had to rearrange, cancel, shift, to make sure that never, EVER happened to her! All without sacrificing her chances of rising to the top of the charts, and I have done it! Damn you and your judgment of me, I have done the impossible, what my inept and aloof father could never manage: kept her safe AND pure AND successful! Even if sometimes I had to be the one defiled in her place!"
The instant the last words were out of Winter's mouth, she drew back and slapped a hand over it. Fear burned behind her eyes; real fear, not just a niggling worry over what they would think of her. Terror about that particular secret escaping her inner security vault.
And in her guest’s eyes, a different type of fear. Shock and awe. None could believe what they had just heard, but obviously they'd heard too much, considering the fear that they were seeing back in return as they stared.
“What… did you say?” Sun asked softly.
“Nothing,” Winter attempted, though now she looked as broken and dazed as they had ever seen her. Worse. “All I mean is that… that I only wanted what was best for her, and I don’t want to hear you claiming anything to the contrary. That’s all.”
The room had turned deathly silent for what felt like forever as they simply stared. That was until Yang finally swallowed, and spoke quietly. "Blake, Sun, can you guys leave the room for a minute?"
"Yeah…" Blake glanced at Sun, then went off to find the lavatory, after all, taking her water and boyfriend with her. She didn't meet Winter's eyes again, only glanced at Yang, curious what the blonde was feeling. Clearly what was once anger had begun to melt away, but she waited until they had both closed the door behind them until she moved again.
And even that was to just sit slowly back down, and continue staring out into space. That sentence could have meant anything, as of yet she had no clue. But the sickly feeling in the bottom of her stomach was enough to tell her what it probably was. Then she remembered, the case she had heard about when she first joined the team. That Weiss was having anonymous pictures taken of her from inside her changing rooms and tour bus, yet that fad had suddenly came to a stop with no explanation as to why, and no one bothering her again. A comment or two from Winter before this that implied no one would understand how hard she fought for Weiss’s future.
"You… found out who was taking those photos, at the beginning of my career… didn't you?"
Weaving slightly as she walked, Winter made her way to the minibar and dropped a few cubes of ice into large, clear glass. "He won't be bothering Weiss again. Or any other young starlet. My… father has connections that are quickly becoming my connections. They don't mind making sure unfortunate things happen to unfortunate people."
"Your father knows about this?" Yang asked while she watched Winter pick up a bottle of gin, and then hesitate. Still, she kept going, "And he lets it happen?"
"He knows I dealt with the source of the photos, nothing more." Something like a smile passed over her as she began pouring other dark substances into the glass, mixing them together. "They had… warrants in another country already. Pull a few strings, and off he goes. Extradition."
"And you… had to clean it up. Plus a lot of other things. Um… what kind of strings did you have to pull?"
There wasn't much more she could do. At the beginning of the day, she hated this woman with every fiber of her being, the day previous she was sending her a voice mail about how it was her fault she nearly ended her life. And now, she didn't know what to think. If it were really true, this explained so much of who Winter was, why she acted the way she did. It even explained why, with the limited knowledge she had, she had tried to destroy their relationship.
Explained, not excused. But she still wanted to learn more.
"Oh, that doesn't bother me," she said offhandedly as she finally raised the drink to her mouth and took a long draught. "Even…" Again, fear flickered in her eyes. "I don't mind, as long as it means I can preserve my sister. Even sex; using it as a tool of the trade. It's the worry of anyone finding out the things I've had to do… using that to cast aspersions on Weiss, on my family name. That's what keeps me up at night."
So it was true. There was undeniable truth that her assumption was right. Yet again, she could feel her stomach turning at the thought, at the mental image that unfortunately made its way into her mind. Such a proud, fierce woman, debasing herself behind closed doors because she thought it was the only way to help her sister. But what made this worse? Weiss was completely oblivious. She had no idea what went on behind closed doors while Winter was securing various contracts and concert opportunities, and only thought of her sister as an even more soulless copy of her father. In a way, she still was… but now Yang knew there was a reason she had become so soulless.
And that made her breathe outward, shaking her head as she spoke quietly. "You're an idiot for thinking Weiss would want this career at that kinda price."
"No, I'm a manager. Though I'll admit, sometimes they are the same thing." Another swill and the glass was empty - and Winter went straight to pouring more for herself. "You don't have any reason to believe that I'm sorry for how this turned out. I was just doing what I always do, but… that's no excuse for getting sloppy. For seeing a threat and trying to eradicate it without first figuring out if it was a real threat to begin with."
"Well for one thing, she wouldn’t force you into a situation where… that is the solution. Nobody’d do that." Yang got up to walk to the bar herself. For a moment, it looked as though she was going to grab one of the bottles of beer, but in the end, she skipped past it and went for cola instead. Before pouring it, she pulled out the small bottle of pills from her pocket, resting them on the bar for a moment.
"You could have just asked me who I really was, and asked both of us if we were together. Just done things the nice way instead of sneaking around behind our backs. I'm supposed to look intimidating, yeah, but I'm just… a big fluffy teddy bear if you're nice to me."
"No, you aren't," Winter scoffed harshly. "You've been a thorn in my side since you started working. Sniping at me, taking your little pot shots… still. No excuse for me jumping to conclusions." Her finger nudged the bottle of pills slightly before she reached to freshen her second drink. "Chasing you into that."
"I've been a thorn in your side? Right! Like, I understand why you were so vile to me now, but you could have just talked to me, talked to Weiss. Don’t act like I’m the one who started all this when you’ve been jumping on my back." She allowed that comment to stand in the silence while she filled up the glass to the full, and then took one of the pills from the bottle, toying with it in her fingers a moment. "Especially talk to Weiss… Because I can tell you now, if she knew you had to do all this just to keep her career going, she'd be heartbroken."
"NO." As if the word hadn't been final enough, Winter set her glass down so hard that it cracked down the middle — not that she noticed immediately. Her eyes were completely intent on Yang, mouth set in a hard line.
“’No’, huh? That’s it?”
"Weiss must never know. Not ever; I don't care if you and Blake talk about what a hypocrite I am, or a 'transphobe' or whatever else you want to call me, I don't care. But you can't tell her about any of this, it's… disgusting. Already, I have to look at her and see you on top of her – and that was her choice, something she wanted." Her lip curled, but when she continued, it was clear she wasn't offended by the previous thought, but rather the following. "Putting her through the same thing? Making her think about men she's barely met… with her sister, and when it wasn’t what I wanted, it's… I can't let that happen to her beautifully pure mind. I won't."
Taking the pill into her mouth and swallowing it before the conversation could go on, Yang took a large gulp of her drink to help it the rest of the way down, resting it softly on the bar again. It also gave her a second to think. The situation was one Yang wished she was never in, especially since it involved caring about her worst enemy. But she did. And she couldn't stand that she was so stubborn she'd do nothing about this, and continue to “help” her sister in this same dubious fashion.
Not for much longer. "Fine. I'm not gonna tell her, and it's up to you when you can tell her. But it stops. Now. Because I know for a fact if the only way she could get those contracts signed is by you whoring yourself out or whatever, then she wouldn't want them. God, you know that!"
"I… don't know how to promise that to you." Raising the glass again, she noticed it was broken and sighed, dumping it straight in the trash bin before dragging another over to replace it. When she noticed Yang watching her, she smirked bitterly.
"Haven't you figured out why I'm so determined to get as much alcohol into my mouth while we're discussing this… horrible subject? It's to wash away the memory of their taste." Once the glass was full of booze and ice, she took a swig, then sighed as if it were satisfactory. "Not that I was ever truly forced into it; I made my decisions based on what would have the best possible outcome. Just… the cost of doing business."
"It's wrong," Yang corrected her. But not for the reason Winter would assume. That much was obvious as she went on. "It's wrong for those jerks to trap you in a situation where that's the only option. You shouldn't have to do that, shouldn't be expected to put out for pigs like that. And if you think stepping in to take that… that abuse is the way to get results… what's gonna happen when some other fourteen-year-old 'America's Got Talent' winner doesn’t have a sister of their own to protect them, huh? Those guys will do the exact same thing… and it’ll work this time."
Her shoulder shrugged, though she looked so much less sure of herself than before. "What does that have to do with me? All I care about is Weiss. I'm not out to change the world; just to protect her from how completely horrible it is."
Finishing off the rest of her drink, Yang put the empty glass back down, and shoved away the pack of pills now that she'd taken them. Rather than say anymore, she folded her arms instead. "Well guess what? Since the start of that tour, that's been my job. Bodyguard and all."
"I know." Her fingertip traced a circle in the water the sweat from her other glass had left behind on the countertop. "You… did your job well, I must admit. When I first realized you two had designs on each other, I thought about making you the same offer I made all those other executives and producers, if you would only leave her be, but…" The corner of her mouth lifted slightly. "Isn't it funny? I hated you for tainting my sister, but also knew you wouldn't have gone for my offer. Somehow… gut feeling. I wouldn’t have been enough."
At last, she turned around properly, eyes wet and face a mask of indifference… one as cracked as her first glass. "My sister means the world to me. And she means the world to you, and you to her. I don't understand it yet, or this whole thing about you… being you, but I'm beginning to see what she sees in you."
A slight smile was beginning to appear to one side her lips, yet she couldn't quite bring herself to look back into Winter's eyes just yet, eyes staring out blankly as she thought on that. The more she was hearing Winter talk, the more she was beginning to realize why at first she hated her, and also why now she was so flattered by hearing her words.
"You remind me of me." She shrugged, grabbing another bottle of cola whilst they were still stood by the bar, pouring it into the glass. "Do anything to protect your loved ones even if it means you take the fall. But only problem is, as I just learned the really, really hard way, that's dangerous. I don't wanna wish what I went through on anyone. Even you."
That startled Winter out of her calm state, and she blinked several times. "You… are you worried about me trying to harm myself?" Against both of their expectations, she let out a bark of laughter. "Wow. After all the trouble I've caused you, I'd think you would be happy to see me go."
"When I left that voicemail? Maybe I did. For a little while, when I was looking for someone to blame other than myself for how shitty I felt. Now that I'm thinking rationally…" She could only sigh, only now looking up to meet Winter's eyes with her own. "You really are just another me, trying to do what they think is best. And we both really fucked that up. Maybe you went first, but I haven’t been doing much better lately."
She had no response to that. Tears were rolling down her face freely now, but she couldn't find her voice to speak. Maybe Yang hadn't truly forgiven her, but even just being compared in this way, given some tiny amount of understanding, was far beyond her expectations.
"Hey." She tried to catch her attention again, finally genuinely smiling toward her as she stood upright, holding her arms outward. But all Winter could do was sob harder, shaking where she stood. As if afraid to move any more or she would fall apart completely… which was a distinct possibility.
So instead, Yang was the one who stepped forward, and wrapped her arms around the crying woman. It was still an awkward situation, since Winter hadn't quite begun to trust her, nor had she quite forgiven Winter just yet. But it was a step in the right direction. Clearly Winter needed for someone to be on her side, and someone to vent to. Even if it came accidentally.
"I know you don't know what to think of me… but know that if this goes well this weekend, no matter what comes Weiss's way, I'll protect her with my life. You don't have to do that anymore. Not the way you’ve been doing it, that’s for sure."
"But if I'm n-not protecting Weiss… then who am I?!" That seemed to be all she could ask before she broke down crying into Yang's neck, the sound raw and ugly, halting. The sound of someone who never cried and wasn't really sure how to go about doing so.
"Her sister," she responded instantly, still embracing her tightly even as Winter used her to cry on. She needed this. As much as Yang hated being the one to give it to her, it was the only humane option. "You're her sister, and she loves you. And she would love you more if you showed her how much you cared instead of letting yourself get abused for the sake of her career. Because she cares about you way more than a couple of album deals."
At first, all Winter could do was nod into her neck, sniffling and clutching at the back of her shirt. By this point, it could have been just about anyone on earth and she wouldn't have been able to stop herself using them as an object of comfort. But she wasn't going to forget who it was. A minute or two later, she pulled back, still sobbing but having recovered enough to speak again.
"I can't believe I was s-so unkind to you! I don't deserve your pity, I don't deserve you being nice to m-me, not after what almost- what I almost did! I'm such a st- a stupid whore!"
Instead, she rubbed her shoulder gently, allowing herself to nuzzle lightly against her neck. Taking a deep breath in and sighing, she tried to remain as calm as she could while Winter needed comforting. In truth however, she just wanted to cry. It hurt to see anyone this broken, even her. "You're not. But today's the new leaf, new start. And if I can pull myself out of a pit of self-hate, you can pull yourself outta this."
"You and Weiss have my blessing," she told her very soberly, eyes wider now than they had been thus far. "Not that you n-need it, but I'm also going to do whatever I can- I meant that before, and I mean it now, I… I was already thinking that anybody who would actually have listened to my ridiculous orders on the off chance that it would be what's best for Weiss… that you clearly… I was so wrong."
Her hand came up and pressed against Yang's neck as she looked her in the eyes. "You're in love. Really and honestly… even though I'm still confused about you being a woman but born a man, and all those things. That's…" She shook her head violently. "It’s less important than my sister. You're going to have to teach me as we go along."
Nodding, Yang eventually released her grip around Winter, softly smiling at her instead. She was finally at the stage where Weiss began at; plenty of work to do, but she was willing to learn. Picking up her glass again, she paced toward the chair instead, immediately sitting down and relaxing.
"Then ask away, sister-in-law."
For some reason, that last term, even though it had probably been intended as a joke, made Winter smile at her for the first time since Yang had known her. Watery and broken as before, but a true smile. And it remained in place as she sat herself directly across from the bodyguard and they finally began to do the one thing they never had: talk.

In that time, Blake and Sun had vacated to the spacious bathroom of the plane. Both were stunned by what had just happened. Winter was the cause of all their problems, the reason Yang was even there in the first place. That was all they knew her for. And now there was a true reason – not that they could hear it over the humming of the plane engine.
"Well… now I feel pretty shitty," Sun sighed as he paced around the room.
"I don't," Blake said from her perch on the toilet seat, though her voice was a lot more subdued than it had been before. "I mean, yeah, it sucks that she went through all that… I wish she hadn't. Wish the world worked different ways, but she still interfered with Yang's relationship and… and almost killed her, you know? It's no excuse."
"Never said it was." He gave up his pacing, and instead leant against the wall next to her, deeply sighing and staring upward at nothing. Crossing one leg over the other, he also folded his arms over his chest. "Either way, seems like Yang's not the only one screwed in the head."
Snorting, she leaned back and tried to get comfortable again, as impossible as it was. "We're all probably a little screwed in the head." Then she looked up at him out of the corner of her eye. "Except for you. Out of all of us, you're the one that's solid as a rock, you know?"
Numbly smiling as he looked toward the ground, he uncrossed his legs again, allowing himself to slowly slide down the wall to sit on the ground instead. "You'd think that, but I was just as scared as you were last night."
"That's not really the same. It's not about whether or not you were scared, it's… that you were still there for us. Being awesome." Then she looked down at the tile again. "I'm gonna need you a lot, too."
He spared a moment to give her a soft smile, but then went back to staring outward again. Now they had come to the subject that Sun had been meaning to mention for a while. Especially so in the last two weeks. "I know. And… I know you want this to go well, for Yang’s sake, but I also know you'll miss her a lot if it does."
"Oh, why should I?" Blake said with a would-be amused laugh. "Just… what happens with us. She's here, then she's gone, then she's here, then…" A tight shrug, and Blake started drumming her fingertips against the sink. "I'd be pretty dumb to expect her to want to stay with the rebound chick."
"You're not the rebound chick. You're just… two people who needed each other for two different reasons. Yang needed the company and something to ease the loneliness, and you were in it for the nostalgia – and having someone who can keep up with your sex drive." Somehow, he found himself smirking at that remark, shrugging his shoulders. "It's gonna hurt, but you both knew it was temporary. Doesn't mean you don’t matter, y'know?"
"Yeah…. yeah, I know all that." Her fingertips drummed faster. "I guess. Don't I?"
"Hmm, maybe not." He smiled. This time, he reached up to hold Blake's spare hand instead, holding it in his for a moment. "I know this’ll be super rough for you. It's not every day someone's first ever love just randomly comes back into their lives; of course that's not gonna be easy."
Blake digested that for a few seconds before answering. When she did, her question was, "Do you… think I took advantage of Yang? Please, be honest; I'm too in the middle of this and I can't trust my own instincts like I normally would."
"I…" He hesitated for a moment, looking to one side and visibly scrunched up his expression. This was the subject he was slightly more scared to voice an opinion on. And although he didn't agree with it… "I think you were both vulnerable and both rushed into it without thinking. So even if you did, so did she. Nobody fucked up worse than the other person."
She nodded glumly, staring down at the floor. "Okay. I never tried to, but I was worried that was what happened. So… so that's fair, I guess." Then she cleared her throat and forced a smile. "Now all I have to do is let her go. Again."
"But this time, stay in contact." Sun squeezed her hand lightly, beginning to stroke it with his thumb. "Because she means a lot to you, and you do to her. With or without the sex. You've done a lot to help her out, and I'm sure she appreciates it."
"Yeah, of course; I'm not letting her sneak out of my life completely. Never. I'm just…"
And then, Blake did the thing she had promised she wouldn't do; she started crying. Unlike the girl in the main quarters of the plane, her tears were very quiet and resigned, but that may have had something to do with how very resigned her voice and body language were.
"Just always going to be in love with her. At least a little, even if I'm also in love with you. Isn’t that crazy? I never, ever thought that I could be the kind of person who's fine with dating two people, that I could let that happen, but it's… it's just… true, and I lied to myself, a-and said it was just sex, and… and now there's nothing I can do about losing her."
"Hey hey hey…" He let her hand go to stand again, and leaned in to give her a quick hug, slowly stroking her back to try and calm her down. Even if he knew all along this was the inevitable result of their actions, it still hurt to see her so utterly heart broken. He wasn't exactly going to have no reaction other than 'I told you so'.
"Can't say I know how it feels, but it sounds like it sucks. A lot. But, I guess at the end of the day, it's good to know she’s gonna be on the road to recovery, right? That she’s doing better – you saved her, dude!"
"That's true," Blake sniffled, though she didn't sound cheered by it at the moment. This was the one second she would allow herself to actually feel the pain of loss, petty as it was to her way of thinking. "I'm just… stupid. I know that. You tried to tell me that, and I didn't listen… and I just let myself believe I was going to keep both of you around. Because I'm such hot shit that can have the two hottest blonde Asians in North America, right? UGH, I sound like an idiot."
Sun only hugged her tighter, unable to help but slightly chuckle at that remark. "Hey, least for a while you got to live the dream. One of each gender, ‘n all. I guess… be glad it happened, and look forward to staying friends this time." But as he gradually released her, he shrugged his shoulders. "Who knows? Maybe if this goes well, Weiss and Yang might be up for experimenting. "
"Oh, don't be…" But Blake fell silent. That was about the least likely chain of events she'd ever heard of… but the very idea was making her mind turn into a fog of scattered possibilities. "But I'm not even really bisexual," she reasoned, almost mumbling to herself. "Just… Yang is hot, so- and Weiss has no reason to want to fuck me! Like, are you serious?"
He had been joking, but seeing how Blake was serious about that remark, and very doubtful in herself in regards to other people wanting her, he shrugged his shoulders. "Why not? If she's gay, you're curious and Yang is bi, I can't see why it wouldn't work… other than like, awkward limbs going everywhere, Twister-style."
Blake was rolling her eyes, though blushing through her tear tracks. "Stooooop! No way does some megastar want to bang me when she has Yang in the sack! That's like… trading in a Prada purse for one from Walmart!"
"You really gotta stop that," he said bluntly, pulling her in closer toward him for a moment as he rested his forehead against hers. Unable to help himself, he stole a kiss from her lips. "Downgrading yourself, when you're made of gold. I'm a lucky guy, you know."
"But have you seen Yang?!" When Sun only kept glaring, she finally relaxed into his arms. "Quit being so nice to me. I'm going on and on about this woman I'm attracted to, when I have the hottest boyfriend of all time buttering me up. You deserve better than that."
Sun only shrugged again, once more leaning in to peck her lips. "Yet here I am, cuddling you, spoiling you, getting into the mile-high club with you…."
Her voice dipped lower as she hissed, "We can't do that! Not with Yang and Winter discussing terrible stuff out there!" But then she slid her arms around his neck. "However… nothing wrong with a little of this."
Then her lips pushed in against Sun's; chaste and warm. They would do quite a lot more of that before Yang saw fit to come and retrieve them. Blake needed the solace.
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White Noise	By : RWBYRemnants Category: +M through R > RWBY Views: 1666 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: RWBY is not mine and I make no money from this fic

White Noise