Author's Note

This fic is dedicated to risefromshadows/shandris for her birthday. Happy birthday Haley!

Sorry it took me so long to actually finish editing this fic . More than a week after your actual birthday. This version is more polished than the version I originally sent you but pretty much still the same as far as the story goes.

The story takes place some undisclosed number of years into the future. Probably at least a decade given the children.

The girl's name was borrowed from Angie (Weissrabbit), Ria being short for Osiria as in an osiria rose which is red and white. I named the boy Tai since Taiyang is sun in Chinese. Neither are particularly important.

Reaching out Weiss pressed the doorbell, the sound it made ringing audibly even from outside Squeezing the hand of the girl next to her comfortingly they waited as the sounds of footsteps from inside approached them. Within seconds the door swung open for them to be greeted by a familiar face. A moment passed without a word being exchanged as greedy eyes drank in each others' appearances.

"Hello Weiss," said Blake smiling softly, being the first to break the silence. "It's nice seeing you again."

"It's been far too long," Weiss agreed returning a smile of her own. Some would say that the passage of time had worn a bit on Blake's appearance, but from the way Weiss's eyes remained locked on her face it seemed to matter little to her.

Amber eyes flickered away from her own. Blake's gaze drifted from her friend's face towards her side and then downwards. Bending down her smile brightened a little. "And hello to you too Ria! It's been a while since I last saw you."

The little girl that had been standing next to Weiss shrunk back a bit at the attention. Letting go of her mother's hand Ria stepped back a little so as to partially hide herself behind Weiss's leg. Nevertheless she returned a tentative little smile at Blake before looking up at her mother for direction. Twisting slightly Weiss looked down and placed a hand on her daughter's head, gently smoothing down the back of her hair soothingly.

"Go on sweetie," said Weiss gently. "You like your Aunt Blake don't you? Why don't you go give her a kiss?"

Ria's gaze lingered for a moment longer before returning her eyes to Blake. Weiss lowered her hand down to her child's back, giving an encouraging motion forward towards Blake who had her cheek presented waiting for a kiss. Shyly she walked forward away from her mother to give Blake a peck on the cheek.

"Hi Auntie Blake," Ria murmured shyly, not quite able to lift her eyes off of the floor.

Grinning at the greeting Blake returned a kiss on her forehead. "Hi." Turning to the side Blake pointed through the house towards the back door. "Your cousin Tai is out in the backyard right now if you want to go play. They're only so much he can do by himself before he gets bored."

When Weiss saw Ria looking back at her again for permission she quickly nodded her assent. "Go ahead dear. Your aunt and I have a lot of boring grown-up talk to do. We have a lot to catch up on."

Still a little hesitant Ria chewed a bit on her lip, not taking her eyes off of her mother. After a moment to make up her mind she nodded and turned, walking towards the backdoor with the eyes of her mother and aunt following after her fondly. As the door swung shut behind her after she stepped out Weiss noted that the smile on Blake's face slipped a bit, turning into a more melancholy expression. It was an emotion she had become rather accustomed to herself.

"She looks just like Ruby." Blake commented quietly.

Weiss felt a pang in her chest.

"Yes," she breathed softly closing her eyes. Two faces flashed in her mind. "More and more with every passing day."

After directing Weiss to the living room Blake had momentarily slipped away into the kitchen to get the tea that she had been preparing just prior to the arrival of her niece and sister-in-law. The momentary breather was something that Blake had actually been rather thankful for. It had been some time since she had seen Weiss and it was stirring up feelings that would probably better remain buried.

With the tray of tea in hand Blake returned to find Weiss still seated where she had left her. With her eyes closed and a rather peaceful expression on her face she had waited patiently for Blake's return. Standing there observing Weiss it was not until the heat from the pot of tea seeped through the tray to her hand that made Blake realize that she was staring, prompting her to continue into the room and set down the tray.

Clink. Weiss opened her eyes.

"As light on your feet as always," said Weiss looking down at the table where Blake had placed the teapot and cups. Weiss's eyes lingered an extra second upon the cup of tea that was hers. Blake ever the one for details had of course already prepared it just the way she liked it.

"Hmm," Blake hummed as she picked up her cup. "Perhaps Miss Schnee you should get out of the boardroom more often. Your senses have grown dull," she teased.

There was a pause.

"Missus," Weiss corrected quietly, reaching for her own cup on the table.

Her jaw tensed momentarily as her eyes flickered. "Yes...missus," Blake agreed with the correction. She hadn't meant anything by it. Merely a slip of the tongue borne from years of habit.

The air of the room though had instantly become awkward as a result of Blake's faux pas. The two of them sat in an uncomfortable silence as they slowly sipped at their tea, a far cry from the previous atmosphere. Even before though there had been a tension between the former teammates that hadn't existed in previous years, it just hadn't been quite as obvious through the temporary elation of seeing a friend for the first time in a while. Though they had never acknowledged it aloud, both parties knew the cause of it.

"So how have you been?" Blake asked Weiss in an attempt to steer the conversation back to something more safe. She almost winced as soon as the words left her mouth. Small talk had never much been her forte.

As pathetic as Blake felt her question was, Weiss seemed almost visibly relieved by the change in topic. "I have been well," she said after lowering her cup. "The company has seen almost record profits this past quarter, and some of the faunus employees we started hiring all those years ago have finally worked their way up into some of the higher positions. It has been doing wonders for public relations."

"Well that's good to hear," said Blake managing a genuine smile. She couldn't say that really cared much for the business side of the company, but hearing of faunus achievements and improved inter-species relations was something she could always approve of. "But I noticed Weiss that you didn't really tell me a single thing about yourself in that. I asked you how you were doing, not your company." A laugh almost escaped Blake's lips at the look on Weiss's face as she blinked owlishly at her.

"Ahh, well, I have been doing well," Weiss repeated rather unhelpfully. That was a quirk of hers that had not quite seemed to have completely gone away over the years. At times she seemed to have a little trouble dissociating Weiss from Schnee, especially after she had taken control of the company and made it her own. "I am in good health."

"That's not quite what I meant and you know it," Blake replied amused.

"Well, what about you?" Weiss huffed at her getting a little defensive. "How exactly have you been doing Blake?"

"Not too bad I suppose," she said placing down her cup of tea. "Still keeping in shape, and I've come across a new book series that's rather enjoyable."

"It's nothing but books with you is it?" Weiss scoffed. The quirk of her lips though ruined any bite that might of have been found in her words. "There's nothing wrong with a bit of reading, but it seems to be all that you do. What is it that has caught your fancy now? Has the author of Ninjas of Love finally started on something new?"

Blake's mouth twisted into a wry grin. She had been quite mortified back in the day when her secret reading material had been found out. Those types of jokes though had long since run their course though. There was only so many times she could be embarrassed about the same thing before she simply couldn't muster up the effort to care any more.

Lifting her gaze from the cup of tea Blake looked back up at Weiss who seemed to be distracted by something else. Stress and worry had taken their toll on Weiss. Blake could visibly see the wear of the years on her friend's features. Regardless, Weiss was still a very beautiful woman, and Blake was of the opinion that anybody who thought differently needed to get their eyes checked.

Having zoned out again Weiss had seemingly either not noticed or not cared about Blake's staring. Finally taking note of the direction Weiss was looking Blake's eyes continued lingering upon the other woman's face for a trace longer than necessary before turning to look out the window as well, where the two kids were playing catch.

"The last time we saw each other was for my cute little nephew's birthday party wasn't it?" Weiss asked lightly, eyes tracing the path of the ball as Tai gently lobbed it towards her daughter.

"It's been a few months," Blake confirmed. She watched with a bit of amusement when Ria fumbled the ball and had to go chasing after it. "And it's just a couple of weeks before my adorable little niece turns five isn't it?"

"Yes..." Weiss's eyes traced the movements of her daughter fondly, and a little sadly. "Ruby would have been so proud to have seen how she has grown..."

Ruby had loved their daughter so much. Blake remembered how the younger woman had had so many worries and concerns leading up to Ria's birth. Nearly every other day she had come over here pestering her and Yang for advice, but in the end she had ended up being a great mother all on her own. Nearly every waking moment had been spent by Ruby doting upon Ria. Blake was sure that Weiss would have been jealous if she hadn't been doing the same as well.

Eyes moving towards her son Blake made a hum of agreement, not quite feeling up to speaking again now that the mood had done a downturn once more. Yang had been quite similar to her sister with regards to Tai. She was sure the same sentiment would have applied.

Placing down her now empty cup of tea Blake noticed that Weiss had finished with her cup as well. Doing her job as the host she grabbed the teapot and quickly refilled their cups. Absently Blake then reached for the milk. Perhaps it was a little stereotypical but the cat faunus rather liked it with her tea. Momentarily slipping her mind was the fact that Weiss also liked milk in this type of tea, and their hands ended up brushing against one another when they both reached for the same thing. Almost instantly they ended up jerking away from one another, as if struck by an electric shock by the mere touch.

"Sorry," said both of them immediately before flinching at the sound of the other's voice.

Awkwardly Blake now sat with her arms crossed, the skin on her hand where she had brushed against Weiss still tingling. Things had almost been going well too, but the semi-comfortable atmosphere from before had been shattered once more. It hurt that the two of them had come to this point, perpetually dancing on egg shells. Something as simple as what had just happened should not have necessitated even the apology let alone how they were treating it now.

Blake missed her friend. Even with Weiss sitting there in front of her now, physically present, that didn't stop the feeling. They had been close once, closer than with any other aside from their own wives. But that was also exactly the problem.

"Mommy! Mommy!"

The sound of a door swinging open on slightly squeaky hinges and the quick pitter-patter of feet on hard floors registered in their minds a second following the voices. Relieved by the distraction, both their heads quickly turned towards the sounds.

The two children appeared in the doorway of the living room with Tai almost dragging Ria behind him. Separating from each other Blake saw Ria dash right to her mother, hands clutching at the fabric of Weiss's dress as she spoke at an unusually excited pace for the girl. Quickly her eyes were drawn back downward towards her own son as Tai began chattering at his own typical mile-a-minute speed.

With the pair of children coming in from outside it had given the two former teammates a temporary reprieve from their rather awkward attempts at conversation. While Weiss spent a bit of time with the kids Blake went to prepare some food. Then of course the four of them shared a rather pleasant lunch together.

The atmosphere from earlier had lingered between the two adults, but it was not something either of the children had managed to notice. They were more than happy to blather on between one another with the occasional bit of participation from one of the two parents when relevant to what was being said. Ria took after Ruby in looks, but had a rather reserved nature more akin to Ruby's younger years than her later ones. Tai though was pure Yang in his boisterousness and managed to draw out enough words from his younger cousin to keep a conversation going.

Lunch couldn't last forever though, and children could only manage to stay still so long. Especially ones like Tai. It wasn't long before he ended up dragging his cousin upstairs to play with the things in his room, leaving Weiss and Blake alone once more. With the children gone the tension in the atmosphere had immediately come back, leaving Weiss feeling rather awkward as she tried to look anywhere except at Blake.

"Four years," said Blake taking the initiative in breaking the silence. It seemed that she was no longer going to waste time beating around the bush. "Four years today since we last saw them. Have you any news?"

"No," Weiss shook her head regretfully, forcefully clamping down upon her emotions as she normally did when it came to this subject. "I still have people looking, but there's nothing new. Nothing at all." But no matter how hard Weiss tried to to keep herself under control anyone halfway observant could see how tense she had become.

Weiss had searched, as time permitted. Between her duties to the company and her daughter that wasn't much time, but she had searched. She of course through her wealth and influence had numerous others under her employ as well with much more time to devote to the cause. But even then, not a thing was found.

"I see..."

It clearly was not what Blake wanted to hear, but realistically she had to have been expecting it. If Weiss had managed to turn up anything, Blake would have been the first to hear. No word from either of the two in four years. No one to have seen either of them in that time either. They couldn't even get confirmation that the two had died. Just nothing.

Weiss had the resources to keep the search going for as long as needed, futile as it may be. Blake though did not quite have the same luxury, and she herself had other responsibilities to attend to that took most of her time. Her son. Yang's son.

That thought sent another lance of guilt through Weiss. Unlike Blake who personally watched over Tai every day, Weiss could afford to leave nannies watching over Ria in her absence whilst she took care of other business. That was not to say that she didn't try to spend as much time as she could with her daughter (and she definitely did a damn sight better of a job than her own father had), but she still felt like Ria deserved more.

"I've missed you," said Blake. The statement was given simply and matter of fact. Behind the words though there was a bit more meaning than what was said.

"I've been busy," Weiss explained looking down at her cup of tea again, still avoiding looking directly at Blake's face. "Between work and taking care of Ria I have had little time." A lie and they both knew it.

"And the search."

"Yes, and the search," echoed Weiss. "Nonetheless, I have missed you as well." That at least was true enough. In more ways than one.

"Why? Why do you still keep looking?" The question was delivered evenly, surprisingly calm for what Blake was asking.

Predictably such a question was met with anger from Weiss who's head quickly snapped up with a fierce scowl upon her lips intending upon laying into her friend. Whatever harsh words of chastisement she was likely intending to say though died on her lips the moment she saw Blake's face.

"It's been four years since Yang and Ruby left on that mission," Blake whispered, a brittle expression on her face. "They went out to go clear out that Grimm infestation, leaving us behind to care for the kids in the meanwhile."

Weiss flinched. The elephant in the room.

"It should have been simple. It should have been fast!" Blake ground out with a bit of heat in her voice, hands clenched in her lap.

It was not like these words were coming from nowhere. It was simply that years of pent up emotions were finally making their way out. Weiss too had felt the frustration and the helplessness of their situation over the years. She could understand where her friend was coming from.

But Blake's shoulders quickly slumped once more. The anger was never quite as much as the sadness or despair. "But it wasn't. A week. Two weeks. Then a month and another. They never came back. We looked and found nothing." Weary yellow eyes met Weiss's own, and Blake's next words were in a defeated tone. "They're probably dead, and you know it."

Weiss opened her mouth to respond to Blake's words, but not a sound came out. Words of denial quickly surfaced in her thoughts, but even to herself they sounded weak. It would be just another lie if she tried to deny Blake's words when those same thoughts had haunted her as well often enough. Until now though, they had never quite been as real as they were now, now that they had been spoken aloud. They had been so much easier to ignore when they had been kept confined within the depths of her mind.

"What would you have me do?" she asked, her voice hoarse. "Would you have me stop? To simply accept that they are dead without trying?"

"You've tried plenty Weiss. Nobody would blame you." Blake's lips twisted into a cruel bitter smile. "And you don't need to accept something for it to be true. We may never have found any bodies, but there was more than enough destruction present at the site, not to mention the four years on top of that." She slumped forward, her hair obscuring her features.

"Listen to yourself Blake!" Weiss pleaded. Her body was tensed together so tightly that she was shaking now. "Have you really given up on them? On Ruby? On Yang?" It unsettled her when Weiss realized that she wasn't quite sure who exactly she was trying to convince.

It was only a few seconds at most, but it felt like much longer while Weiss waited for Blake's reply. She wondered how long her fists had been clenched for. They were squeezing tightly enough to send shakes throughout her whole body.

"...I'm just so tired." Slowly Blake raised her face, showing a thin trail of tears down her cheeks as she looked Weiss dead in the eyes. "Going to sleep every night to a cold bed, waking up alone. It hurts." Her face turned aside, looking down again as if ashamed. "I want to move on...for it to stop hurting. I'd always been good at that. Moving on. But this time I just haven't been able to."

Blake had been trying to convince herself just as much as she had been trying to convince her, Weiss realized. Slowly she moved forward towards Blake who was still shedding silent tears. Tentatively she reached out, encircling Blake in her arms, slowly strengthening her grip when no move was made to push her away. It had been a long time for either of them since they had held or been held by another. Belatedly Weiss realized that there were tears coming from her eyes as well.

It was another minute before Blake spoke. "...Stay with me." And what an outrageous thing it was that she said.

"You know I can't do that." The answer was harder to give than she would have liked.

"Any why not?" If it were not for how close they were it would have been hard to hear either of their words with how softly they were speaking.

Weiss felt Blake's hands upon her shoulders, their arms touching, and gently she was pushed backwards a short distance. In front of her barely more than a few inches away was Blake's face. Weiss found herself mesmerized, almost frozen in place by the proximity.

"You know how I feel, and I know how you feel. Don't deny it."

"Yes," Weiss admitted licking her uncomfortably dry lips. She was perfectly aware of the pair of eyes following that movement more intently than was proper. "...But not as much as them. Never as much them. You know that too."

Blake flinched almost imperceptibly at that, but it would be hard to hide even that small of a movement when they were this close. No other motion was made to move from her position. "No, perhaps not. But given the circumstances...does that really matter?"

Weiss let out a rattling breath. Here with Blake so close to her made Weiss feel things that she had not felt in over four years, not since Ruby had disappeared. The temptation was great, that she could not deny. To simply give up and move on. But slowly Weiss began to shake her head. Taking a hold of Blake's hands Weiss removed them from her shoulders as she moved back.

"I'm...sorry Blake. I can't."

Standing up Weiss slowly cleaned herself off, straightening out her clothes. She was unable to meet Blake's eyes, but she could feel their gaze upon her all the same.

"I'm not...I'm just not ready. To move on," Weiss admitted softly. "Maybe I'm just a coward, but I can't. So long as the possibility exists I have to keep looking for her. Sometimes it's all that keeps me going." I don't know what I would do if I stopped. She bit her tongue on that last part. Evidently from recent events she could at least guess what she would do. And that scared her. It felt like a betrayal.

She knew that Blake wanted to protest. Could almost hear the arguments already in her mind. Blake was smart, and Weiss knew that the reasoning behind her own hesitancy was poor at best. It was more than within Blake's capabilities to convince her if she really wanted to. They both knew it.

"Ria!" Weiss called up the stairs keeping her voice level as best she could. She turned back towards Blake, still not quite meeting her eyes. "We'll be going now."

"It was nice seeing you Weiss," said Blake with that bitter little smile of hers.

The two children came down quickly enough. After a quick exchange of words Ria was next to Weiss in the open doorway pulling on her shoes while Tai stood next to Blake to bid farewells.

"Don't forget, Ria's birthday is coming up soon," said Weiss stopping just outside on the porch. She turned her head back, looking over her shoulder to finally face Blake with her expression once more returned to normal. It was as if nothing had ever happened. "We'll expect to see you there."

"Don't worry," Blake replied just as calmly, a hint of something else lurking below her voice. "We wouldn't miss it for the world."