Beacon academy's workshop, a place all students could use anytime they needed to maintain, repair or upgrade their weapons. The smell of steel and gunpowder was filling the air, but the usual clanking of metal against metal was absent. After the incident caused by team RWBY's first mission, the faculty decided to cancel classes for a week so that students could go home, spend time with their families and reassure them that they were alright. Since a one week break was planned after the first year's first mission, the news was very well received by the students. The teachers were also busy helping with the repairs and cleaning of the streets, especially Ms. Goodwitch whose powers were invaluable for this situation. Team RWBY, JNPR and CFVY were asked to stay at Beacon for debriefing due to the part they played in the battle.

Not that the girls of team RWBY would have gone home anyway. Weiss would have to endure the disapproval of her father over her choice to go to Beacon instead of Atlas, Blake did not have a home to go back and the sisters did not want to leave their teammates, especially since their father was on a mission.

For that reason, the members of team RWBY and CFVY were the only ones present in the workshop. Ruby and Coco were at one of the workstation, Coco cleaning weapon parts and Ruby observing her with adoration in her eyes. Blake and Velvet moved away from the rest of the group to talk without be overheard and Weiss, Yang, Fox and Yatsuhashi were all sitting on a bench near their leaders. Fox was on Yang's left and Weiss was seated between Yang and Yatsuhashi. The heiress was in a bad mood and was venting to Yang.

"Remind me, why are we in this smelly, dirty place?"

"Come on princess, you know we're here because Ruby is a massive weapons nerd. Well, you have to admit that a handbag-Gatling gun is pretty awesome."

"I guess. But why are we here?"

Weiss actually remembered quite clearly the conversation that lead them to this situation. After the attack on Vale, team RWBY and CFVY were on the same bullhead going back to Beacon.

"Guys, I think I'm going to need to work on my weapon soon, what about you?" Asked Coco to her teammates. They didn't have the time to do it after coming back from their last mission and cleanup was way overdue. Hearing that, Ruby's eyes gleamed with excitement and she started to bounce around on her seat.

"I guess a little cleaning and sharpening couldn't hurt," said Fox, while Yatsuhashi only nodded in approval.

"Okay, that's—" Coco interrupted herself when she saw the leader of the other team looking like she was about to jump on her. "Is there a problem?"

"PleasecanIwatchyouworkonyourweaponpleasepleaseplease." Ruby couldn't help but stand up and start getting closer to Coco.

"Stop that." Weiss, knowing her leader, had caught her and was struggling to stop her from jumping on Coco.

"Don't worry," said Fox while smirking at his leader "Coco is used to younger girls crushing on her."

"Shut up Fox," said Coco, her face betraying her amusement while Ruby turn as red as her cloak and stopped moving. "I'm sorry, I didn't really catch that," she said, turning to the girl in red.

"I-I just wanted to know if you would be okay with me watching while you work on your weapon." Ruby was trying, without much success, not to fidget too much.

"My sister's a big weapon nerd," said Yang, trying to explain to behavior of her sister.

"That explains the bouncing," said Coco, smiling at Ruby "Yeah, sure. Give me your scroll number and I'll message you when we go."

"Thank you." Ruby was really happy to be able to observe one of their upperclassman working on her weapon. The fact that the weapon was a handbag that transformed into a Gatling gun was only adding to her enjoyment.

A few days later, after the announcement that the classes would be cancelled, Ruby received a message from Coco saying that her and her team were going the workshop later that day.

Weiss saw Ruby's expression go from excitement to worry after reading the message. "What's the problem Ruby?"

"N-Nothing, no problem at all"

"Ruby, you are as good a liar as Yang is a calm and collected person—"

"I heard that." Yang voice rose from her bed, as she was starting the long and tedious process of waking up.

"—so will you please stop doing that and tell me what's wrong so that I can start helping you."

"Ugh, fine. I received a message from Coco saying that she was going to the workshop today and I was nervous because I never spent time by myself with four older students. Happy?" Ruby's tone was a little harsher than she intended, but she didn't like sounding like she was a child afraid of strangers.

"I can come with you if you want." Blake was coming out of the bathroom after showering, wearing only her panties, her wet hair clinging to her skin and a towel on her head, hiding her cat ears. Even with all her teammates knowing about her ears, she was always hiding them, usually with her bow. "I wanted to see Velvet anyway."

"Blake! You should cover yourself." Weiss tried to sound upset, something made harder by the fact that she could not stop herself from looking at Blake's naked body.

"We're all girls, I don't see the problem. And you don't look like you hate it anyway." Blake grinned at the heiress in a way that seemed to mimic her partner. Or at least trying, because seeing Weiss turn away from her thinking that she was reprimanding her made her feel like she'd gone a little far. "It's okay Weiss, I don't mind." Blake smiled gently at her teammate when she glanced at her.

"Maybe we could all go with you." Yang, finally awake, ignored her two teammates. "They seems nice and we might learn a thing or two hanging out with a second year team."

"Okay, I'm in." The idea of being able to learn from —some people might say spy on— a more experienced team seemed to have convinced Weiss to agree with Yang idea.

"Good idea. I'll text Coco to make sure it's okay." Ruby then sent a message to the leader of team CFVY.

Coco had no problem with letting the other members of team RWBY come, knowing that they got along well with Velvet and that they covered for her not being here to organize the dance.

And this was the reason Weiss was here. Ruby was with Coco, Blake with Velvet and Yang seemed liked she got along well with Fox. Weiss tried to talk with Yatsuhashi, but only received monosyllabic answers to her questions, and even all the time spent at high society's parties speaking with vapid, superficial, self-absorbed little twit did not help her holding a conversation with him.

Weiss did not really enjoy the atmosphere of the workshop. The loud sounds, the strong smells and the bustling of students were all reasons for her to come here as little as possible, doing most of Myrtenaster maintenance in her room and asking Ruby to bring back what she might need, her teammate going to the workshop at least twice a week. Even with only team RWBY and team CFVY present, she would rather be in her room.

She decided to leave and as she started walking toward the exit, Blake called to her. "Weiss, could you come here please?"

Blake and Velvet were away from the rest of their teams so that they could not be overheard. Weiss wondered what the two Faunus—no, what her friend wanted.

"Hey Weiss." Velvet was the one that talked first when Weiss was close enough so that they could talk without shouting. "I'm sorry about Yatsuhashi, it's not against you, he just doesn't talk much."

"Don't worry about it, I'm friend with Blake, I'm used to it." Weiss smirked at her teammate, happy to be able to get back at her for earlier.

Blake glared at her for a second, then sighed. "I guess it's not entirely uncalled for." She was happy to hear that Weiss considered her a friend, which helped her take the teasing on stride.

"Was there something you wanted?" Weiss was curious as to why Blake called her and wondered if it had to do with the fact that the two girls did not want to be heard.

"Velvet had something she wanted to ask you." Blake looked at the rabbit Faunus, silently encouraging her.

Velvet took a deep breath, working up the courage to say what she wanted to say. "My hobby is photography and I would like to ask if you'd like to accept to model for me." She was clearly uncomfortable asking something like that to a girl she didn't know that much, but held on and continued talking. "Of course you would have the right to ask me to delete the pictures if you don't like them and—"

"Wait. I have a few questions I'd like to ask and maybe see some of your work before giving my answer. Is there someplace we could go to talk about that?" Weiss' tone was professional, clearly used to this kind of things.

Velvet looked at Blake, who nodded. "We could go to my dorm, I'm just going to tell Coco and Ruby that we're going." Velvet departed in direction of the two leaders.

"So Velvet is into photography. I did not expect that." Weiss wondered if Blake was going to come with them or if she would be alone with Velvet. She hoped she would be there, feeling a little awkward about being alone with Velvet in her room.

"She is pretty picky about her models you know. You're lucky she asked you."

"By the way, are you coming with us or…?"

"I'm coming. She is as comfortable about being alone with you than you are to be alone with her." Even if she kept her usual neutral expression, Weiss could see amusement in Blake's eyes.

Velvet came back from her talk with the two leaders a smile on her face. "Let's go."

They made their way to team CFVY's dorm in silence, Blake being Blake and the other two not thinking of any topics to discuss.

Team CFVY's dorm was only a few corridors away from team RWBY's, and the room was more or less the same, save for the beds—it seemed that team RWBY were the only one that thought that bunk beds held by rope were a good idea—and a door that Weiss was sure did not have an equivalent in her dorm, or in JNPR's.

"What is this door?" asked Weiss.

"It's a walk-in closet that Coco negotiated with Ozpin after a particularly hard mission. It was pretty much necessary given how many clothes she has. That girl could open a store by herself," answered Velvet. "Take a seat." She showed a bed to the two girls.

Blake and Weiss sat side by side on the bed while Velvet took a photo album on one of the desk and then sat in front of them.

"You said you wanted to see my work. Here." Velvet gave the girls the album, which had 'Coco – Safe' written on it. "I'll fill you in on the details while you look through it."

Weiss and Blake opened the album and started to look at the photos. As the title implied, Coco was the only model. She was in different outfits—a lot of different outfits—and different poses in the photos.

Velvet started her explanation. "If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask. First thing first, I'd like to ask you to don't tell people about that. I don't want my hobby to be common knowledge, and only you two and my teammates know." Weiss nodded. She knew how it felt to want to hide some parts of yourself. "Thanks. I'll start about the modeling then. I only take the photos you are comfortable with, if there is an outfit or a pose that you don't like, I don't take the photo. If you don't like the result, I erase it. These photos are mostly for myself, I only show them to other people if you're okay with it." Velvet paused to make sure Blake and Weiss understood. Mostly Weiss, Blake already knew about that.

Once she confirmed it was good, she continued. "I think that's most of it. The studio is a few rooms from here. Do you have any questions?"

"Your photos are really nice." Weiss closed the album, putting it on the bed besides her. "Would I have to bring my own outfits?"

"I think the best would be for me to see what you have and go from there. I can also lend you some of Coco's clothes, but I think most won't fit you since you're…well…"

"You can say it, I'm small. I don't mind." Weiss smiled at her, assuring her it was not a problem. "What about Blake? Is she one of your models?"

Velvet looked at Blake, who answered. "We talked about it but I'm not really confident about modeling alone."

Velvet continued. "We thought she'd be more comfortable modeling with someone she knows well and we decided to ask you. I wasn't sure at first since you're, well, Weiss Schnee but Blake told me it would be okay."

"Is there a problem with my family?" Weiss clenched her fist, not angry against Velvet but the fact that, whatever she did, her name was in the picture. She did not want her name to interfere with her life, not at Beacon, not with her friends.

"No no." Velvet saw that Weiss did not like what she said and tried to correct the misunderstanding. "It's just that you're famous, you sing for charity, this kind of things, and I'm just a Faunus that like to have fun with her camera, I can't pay you or something like that."

"Velvet, I don't care that you are a Faunus." The two Faunus could see that Weiss was being serious, her tone admitting no discussion. "And I have more money than I know what to do with. It's not going to be a problem." Velvet nodded, surprised. Weiss sighed and relaxed a little. "But you are right, my family could be a problem. It would be better if those photos stayed between us. But why me? You said you wanted someone to model with Blake. Why not Yang or Ruby?"

"Because you are you. The way you move, the way you hold yourself, there is something almost… regal about you, like a princess. And Blake said she would rather be with you." Weiss blushed a little at the sudden compliments and turned to Blake.

"You wanted me?"

"Yes." Blake did not intend to be so direct and tried to hide her blunder. "I-I mean, can you imagine Ruby or Yang having the patience to do this?"

"You do have a point." Thinking about it, Weiss had to admit that it seemed almost impossible to have Ruby stay still for that long, except maybe by not giving her sugar for a week and knocking her out, and even that was not a guarantee, and that it would certainly not be thrilling enough for Yang's taste. "Oh, I have one last question. Why is there a 'safe' on the title of the album?"

Velvet cursed herself for not thinking to hide that and blushed a little, not expecting this topic to come so soon. "It's because all the photos I take are not that… wholesome. I-I also take more… risqué photos, from underwear to totally naked." Seeing the two girls becoming red, she added quickly. "Of course it's only if you want, I won't force you or anything."

The room was filled with silence for several second. Velvet hoped that she did not scare the heiress away by telling her that. The first person to break the silence was Weiss. "I'm… actually a little interested. But I'd rather start with more… normal photos."

"So you're in?" Velvet's excitement was palpable.

"Yes." Weiss giggled seeing the older girl beaming like her birthday was coming early. "And you Blake?"

"I'm in." Weiss felt relieved that she would not be alone. She didn't have a problem with Velvet, but she didn't know her that well and felt a little nervous.

"Maybe we could do a first photo shoot this week since we don't have classes." Velvet saw the two girls approve her idea. "You think we could go see what clothes you have so I can start to plan it?"

The younger girls agreed and they started to make their way to team RWBY's dorm when Weiss saw a cheap digital camera in Velvet's hand.

"Is that your camera?" Weiss was surprised that she could make photos of that quality with a camera like that.

"This one? No, I just use it to make quick reference shoot, so that I don't have to bring my professional camera."

The girls arrived at team RWBY's dorm and Velvet started going through Weiss' clothes and taking pictures.

"You have lots of nice clothes Weiss, I'm sure we're going to make great photos with that."

"Thanks, I haven't really got the occasion to wear them lately."

Velvet finish taking pictures of Weiss' clothes and turned to the other Faunus. "Now Blake, your turn."

"I don't really have a lot to show." Blake was a little embarrassed, she only had a few different outfits, nothing quite as extensive as Weiss.

"I see that. Don't worry, I'll find you something to wear. Worse come to worse, I'll shoot you in your underwear." Velvet smile made it clear that she would not have any problem doing that.

The mention of Blake's underwear reminded Weiss of the moment she came out of the shower, her wet hair sticking to her glistening skin, the drops of water flowing on her white breasts—No, bad Weiss, not thinking of your teammates like that. She shook her head, trying to clear her mind.

"Hey Velvet, I don't think I have your scroll number," said Weiss trying to distract herself from her thoughts. The girls exchanged their numbers and Velvet took her leave, telling them that she'll contact them soon.

Yang arrived with Zwei right after Velvet left.

"Hey! Velvet was here? I thought you guys went to her dorm."

"We were, but we came here so I could show her my clothes. She's got a good eye for putting outfits together and I wanted a few advices." Weiss knew that letting Yang know about the real reason Velvet came and her hobby was not a good way to keep it a secret.

"Oh? Are you planning to go on a date with a guy?" Yang grinned at Weiss, feeling that the ice queen going on a date would be a sight to behold.

"Not really no, I just like to dress well." Weiss stayed calm, being used to Yang's attempt to embarrass her. "I'm more into girls anyway."

"Wait, really?" Yang was genuinely surprised, but Weiss thought she could see a little joy on her teammate's face. "But… and Neptune?"

Weiss froze. They never really had the time to talk about the dance with the attack on the CCT tower, Zwei's arrival and their first mission. She knew that there would be a time when she would have to talk about it. Even with team JNPR stealing the show, her friends would want to know how her date with Neptune went. She just hoped it would later rather than sooner. She wasn't proud of what she had done and she had entertained the thought that her teammates would not question her on that.

"Do you have the time for the explanation? Or do you want the short version that make me look like a jerk?" They had the right to now. Even if it changed how they saw her, she had to tell them, but she could at least try and explain why she did it.

"Don't worry, we already know you're a jerk." Yang smiled at the heiress who was not amused. "Just let me make a short call to Ruby." Yang went out of the room with her scroll.

"Are you… going to stay?" Weiss asked Blake, her voice wavering a little.

Blake nodded, feeling that Weiss wanted her to be there. "Is there a problem?"

"It's just that I'm not really sure what you'll think of me after that." Weiss sat on her bed, looking at the floor. Blake sat next her, put her hand on the side of her head, pulled her toward her and started stroking her hair.

"Don't worry, you're not a bad person. I'm sure you've done nothing that—Weiss?" Blake felt Weiss tense up when she started caressing her hair. Blake removed her hand from her teammate, letting her go. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to—"

"No, it's not your fault. I'm not used to… demonstration of affection." Weiss' cheeks were a little red and she had a little smile on her face. "It's not unpleasant."

"Hey, if you need a hug, I'm here." Blake knew Weiss had a rather cold childhood and wanted to be here for her if she needed, as her friend. "And I'm sure Ruby and Yang would not be opposed to the idea."

"Yes, but Ruby would not release me until she fell asleep and Yang would use the occasion to feel me up." The two girls giggled as Yang came back into the room.

"Sorry it took so long. Ruby will be eating lunch with team CFVY, I guess her and Coco get along pretty well." She sat on Blake's bed in front of Weiss. She entered into big sister mode, her expression more serious than usual and having no intention to make fun of what Weiss would say. "So Weiss, what did you want to tell us?"

Weiss took a deep breath and started talking. "I… was more or less always more into girls than boys. When there is a party with rich people, you can be sure the Schnee family is invited. In this kind of parties, the adults negotiate and talk business while the children stay by themselves and have fun. And by fun I mean Champagne, making out and… other things." Weiss' tone got harder for an instant, as if repressing her anger. "My sister stopped going to those events after she went to a few, so as the only daughter of the Schnee family present, I had a lot of attention. After all, I'm pretty, smart, an excellent singer and rich, in a word, prefect." Yang and Blake looked at each other. Weiss could be arrogant, but this time, it sounded more like insults than praise. "The perfect trophy." Weiss' voice was full of hatred. She took a deep breath and continued talking having calmed a little. "Anyway, my father made it clear that I was not to play favorites, but I tended to respond a little more positively to girls than boys, which got back to my father. Honestly, I was afraid. It was at the time when the White Fang started their crusade against our company and my father had been in a sour mood for the better part of the week."

Blake tensed a little at the mention of the White Fang but did not want to interrupt Weiss when she was opening herself to them, a welcome change from her usual façade.

"I begged my sister to come with me." Weiss had a small smile at the memory. "Except that it went really well and Winter made fun of me for days. My father told me that I could love whoever I wanted, that he would have no problem if I brought a girl home, but that I had to let everyone think they had their chances. I stopped going to those parties a short time after, I liked my fencing lessons better. When I came to beacon, I realized that even if people from Vale are mostly okay with it, not everyone is from Vale and I thought that maybe being with a guy would be easier." Weiss started to talk quickly, arriving at the part she was ashamed of. "Neptune was cute and I decided to try and see what I felt being with a guy. The dance was fun, but it was clear that boys don't interest me that way. So yes, I used Neptune as an experiment to confirm that I am gay." That last phrase contained a lot of anger and disgust directed at her actions.

Yang and Blake looked at each other, trying to determine who would speak first. Blake decided to let Yang start. "Weiss, I think you're looking at it the wrong way. Experimenting with your sexuality, trying to find what you like, what you're comfortable with, it's all part of living."

Weiss chuckled at Yang's words. "That… sounds really corny, I hope you realize that."

"Well it works with Ruby." Yang sighed, trying to find a way to express her point of view to the heiress. "I just want to say that you should not feel guilty, it was just… a date that didn't work out." Yang felt frustrated to not be able to express exactly how she saw the situation, more used to deal with the innocent Ruby than the sarcastic Weiss.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I know what you mean." Weiss felt a little bad laughing while Yang was trying to comfort her. "I really appreciate. Thank you Yang."

Yang smiled at Weiss, a little surprised, not being used to Weiss being so honest and open about her feelings. "No problem. If you ever want to talk, I'm here." She looked at Blake. "Anything to add to my magnificent speech?" Blake rolled her eyes at her when Yang realized something. "Wait, where is Zwei? Crap, he must have gotten out of the room when I called Ruby, I have to find him." Yang left the room in a hurry, hoping her dog did not cause any trouble.

Blake turned toward the girl at her side. "I don't have anything to add, I think Yang is right and you should not feel bad about that." Weiss started giggling. "Are you laughing?" Blake was a little hurt that Weiss started laughing while she was trying to comfort her.

Weiss' laugh disappeared immediately. "I'm so sorry, it's just that, if you had told me a year ago that I would open myself like that, and to a Faunus, I would never had believed you. Yet here I am, able to say what I really feel, my friend having adorable cat ears."

Blake blushed at the unexpected compliment. "Th-Thank you. I wouldn't have believed it either." They stayed silent a moment, thinking about a war they never wanted to be a part of. "I think the most surprising is that Weiss Schnee has a thing for Faunus attributes." Blake saw Weiss blush and look away from her, surprised that her teasing was so effective. "Wait, you really have a thing for Faunus attributes?"

"It's just—it's so cute. Don't worry, I know you're not supposed to touch them without consent. Please don't tell Yang, I'll never hear the end of it." Blake was impressed by the speed at which Weiss' mood changed, going from embarrassed to reassuring to pleading.

"Be careful, given your family, it could get interpreted in bad ways."

"I know." Weiss looked sad for a second, then looked at Blake, her cheeks a little red. "Hey, can you… can you hug me?"

Blake took the heiress in her arms, murmuring in her ear. "Any specific reason?"

"I just… like it." Feeling the warmth of another person, feeling that she was not alone was something the heiress had not experienced often. She wanted to enjoy that feeling, if only for a little while.

"Ruby is going to get jealous." Blake giggled at the thought of her leader pouting every time Weiss refused her hugs.

"I don't care, you're more comfortable." Weiss stayed in Blake's arms, enjoying this time when she could relax and stop thinking, if only for a moment, about everything going on in her life.