Chapter 63: Epilogue Part 3

Weiss had a habit of looking immaculate. Even at her worst, she tried to appear as stunning as possible. There was some vanity in the action, Blake was sure, but it wasn't the primary reason Weiss would spend hours in front in the mirror. It was simply that, as a public figure, Weiss didn't have a choice. She had to look as perfect as possible. The gods seemed to have a sense of humor though, because there was nothing stunning about the way Weiss sprawled out on her back in the bedding.

With her mouth hanging open, she snored loudly. Long white hair had been left free to engulf the bed and the woman. Wycliff and Finley stretched out on top of the petite woman, lines of drool glimmering from their mouths. If all of that were not enough, Weiss had long abandoned her scroll, leaving it ignored. The small rectangle kept buzzing incessantly face down in the pile of crumpled paperwork.

Work that had clearly demanded her mate's attention.

Blake smiled at the absurdity of the sight. Careful not to disrupt the relative peace, she wheeled in the breakfast that had been left by the maids only moments before. It was a cold meal today, cereal, fruits, baked goods and jams resting in cute serving dishes. Milk, orange juice, and water rested pleasantly in brightly colored glass containers, each with stoppers on top.

"Weiss…" Blake murmured, her voice just loud enough to reach human ears. "Weiss, answer your scroll."

The sleeping woman muttered incoherently, adjusting her head on the pillow. Weiss began absently curling one of her arms around her sons. It was a heartwarming, and Blake regretted having to wake the woman. Still, like it or not, Weiss had a full day of work she couldn't ignore.

"Weiss." Blake said, this time a little more sharply, as she sat down in the bedding, beginning to remove her sons who were now blinking owlishly at the noise in the room. One day, they would learn to tune out the voices and sounds that surrounded daily life among humans. For now, it was just a blessing that they weren't crying in dismay. "Weiss, you need to wake up." She said, as she placed the boys beside their still napping sister. "Weiss, it's morning."

One exhausted blue eye cracked open with the unmitigated fury. It was a special kind of rage, one that only came from disturbing the woman when she had no desire to be bothered. Blake almost forgot such a look of ire could exist, it was so rarely aimed in her direction anymore. "This had better be good."

"Good or not, your first meeting of the day is in two hours. I believe you also have training with Pyrrha's girls during lunch."

Weiss rubbed her face roughly, trying desperately to clear the fog from her mind. "The meeting is a conference with Coco, I can take it from the home office." She dragged herself out of bed, grunting in dismay when a sharp pain tore through her lower back, her old injury flaring to life. "It's the meeting with Ironwood I'm concerned about. I need to go to HQ for that."

Blake's ears perked. "A meeting with Ironwood?"

Weiss inhaled tiredly, nodding as she searched the paperwork for one of his many invoices. "Something about dust rounds, and Grimm, and oh, who knows what he wants this time." Weiss grumbled with hints of acid in her tone. "You know I tune him out."

The prickly and cold responses made Blake's lips curl in amusement. Weiss was so sleepy, and so fierce when agitated. "Mm." Blake sounded, agreeing as she passed Weiss a silver platter with medicine on it. "Maybe it would be best not to. I think you said something about a prosthetics meeting, but I thought that took place next week."

Weiss took the try. On it rested small paper cup containing a painkiller the woman obviously needed. She didn't hesitate, washing the pill down with an accompanying glass of spring water. "I did say something about that, didn't I? Not that it matters, he always tries to find measures to obtain more ballistics. Sometimes I wonder where all the ammunition goes, and then I recall Ruby's usage in Beacon." Weiss shook her head. "Honestly, if I've said it once, I've said it thousand times. Dust is meant to enhance gun powder, not replace it."

"Ruby would disagree."

"Ruby is a maniac when it comes to mechanical parts." Weiss said with no small amount of exasperation. "If I didn't think she would send the SDC sky high, I would have put her in charge of weapon development years ago. And for the record, I'm not arguing the properties of dust, or that it's an effective replacement for gunpowder in an emergency. I argue that it's a very risky practice to replace gunpowder with red and yellow dust entirely. It should not be common place protocol."

"Hmm, well, that's something to think about later." Blake told her, readying the subject on her mind before speaking. "I'd like for you to be in a position to help me later tonight. It's about time we allowed our cubs full use of their auras. I'd unlock them myself, but, the process is draining."

Weiss took pause, looking at Blake as if the woman had grown a second head. "I don't think you understand what you're asking to do here." Weiss said, cringing at what her wife had just suggested not moments ago. "If you unlock a person's aura, you give them complete access to their semblance."

"Well, yes, but almost all Faunus have access to their aura. How else are they supposed to grow into it?"

"Blake…" Weiss sighed almost affectionately. "Not all children have hereditary semblances as strong as mine. It's hard to control, even harder to master."

"To form a glyph, you have to channel your aura." Blake argued, but that only earned a shake of her mate's head in response.

"What makes you think for a second that my semblance manifested in the form of a glyph?" Weiss didn't want to admit it, but part of her was curious to see if her semblance had been passed down properly. Sadly, she also knew what it would mean for her children if it had. "You're right, glyphs are the customary use of our semblance. It's the most powerful way to utilize them, and in conjunction with dust, the possibilities become staggering…however, they're normally not the first indications of the Schnee semblance."

"What do you mean?"

"What I mean is, you can't be a true successor without the semblance being passed down. Babies can't form glyphs, but they can show other signs."

Blake was quiet for a moment. "I don't see that as a bad thing."

"A Schnee has to unlock their child's aura within their first year. The semblance will ultimately manifest shortly after their aura has been unlocked." Weiss looked down at her hands, her fingers curling into gentle fists in her lap. "There's a lot of weight surrounding that. If you do it too fast, people say that all you care about is having a successful heir. If you put it off too long, then they say you were trying to hide something."

"If it's a normal thing to do in your family, what's the problem?"

It was stupid, and Weiss knew that, but her family would eventually be in the spotlight, like it or not. The tabloids were already running wild. She sighed. "My semblance should be hereditary, but if they all display the semblance, I still need to name my successor."

"Oh." And like that, the penny dropped. Blake's ears drooping a little.

"By all rights, the logical thing to do would be to name Finley as the first born, male." Weiss continued.

Blake nodded, she expected to hear such a thing. "And this is problematic? I'm sensing lingering hesitation…"

Weiss nodded, shoulders slumping. "I feel guilty doing that, because they were born minutes apart. If I don't name a successor, then in the eyes of the public, they'll all be fighting for the title. I don't want it to seem like a competition." She shook herself of her lingering worries, another detail coming to the forefront of her mind. "Even if Finley does have the semblance, there's no guarantee that he'll be able to master it better than his brother or sister."

Blake didn't even try to stop the smirk that tugged at her lips as a laugh slipped passed her lips. "Weiss, sweetheart, I don't think you'll have to worry so deeply about that."

"I'll split the company three ways if I have to-"

"They'll be fine." Blake said, leaning over to silence her wife with a kiss. "I promise. This is one problem you don't need to have an answer."

"You seem so sure about that." Weiss frowned.

"That's because I am." Blake murmured. "Weiss, just consider this a Faunus situation, and try not to think too deeply about it."

It didn't take much to make Sun a happy guy.

He could fully admit that he was a rather simple minded person. A good meal, a roof, something to occupy his time, and he was happy. He had a lot to be at peace about, and even more to weigh down his thoughts. Sun Wukong had found that it was easier to seek the future, rather than living in the past. It help that Ruby understood the darker recesses of his mind without him having to say a word, and that on a level he would never relate, she understood Zhu's tribulations perfectly too.

It was hard not to feel guilty about the picture he had in his wallet. The first photo he had of Zhu and Octavia.

It was the last photo of her that he had taken while she was in good health. Octavia just didn't smile as brightly in the other photos he'd taken over time, and eventually she looked so sickly, he hesitated to take photos at all, only doing so because Octavia insisted. Zhu would never truly remember Octavia. Zhu would never know her scent, and as he looked over his shoulder, he felt a little guilty for that too.

The monkey tailed boy climbed onto Ruby's back, small sounds seeking her attention emitting from his throat. His tail curled around her happily enough. For all the child understood, Ruby might as well have been his real mother. He certainly acted that way. Seemed to fawn over Ruby in a way only a young child ever could.

Sun pushed his guilt aside, Zhu was in good hands, and Ruby loved the boy as if he were her very own. Sun didn't doubt it for a second. He trusted her completely, wholeheartedly. He caved easily under the pressure of Ruby's dreams, which in hindsight, were far greater than his own. He was okay with that. It gave him a focus for the future.

That didn't make his new business suit any less itchy though, and he already hated it. Grumbling, he reminded himself that a man worth his salt, was a man that worked. The suit was just part of his new job. Unfortunately, the reminder didn't serve to ebb the four letter invectives his mind had been coming up with to describe his ire.

He rolled his eyes as he fumbled with his necktie. "Damn thing feels like a noose." He was so annoyed with it, he hadn't even notice Ruby come up beside him.

"I know." Ruby said with her vexation. She shared his hatred of ties well. "Sometimes, I really think they are. Why do you think I hate the security uniforms so much? Scarves, neckties, it doesn't matter, they all suck."

"It's part of the get-up though." He half growled as he tried to wrangle it into place. To be honest, Sun was nervous. His first send off to Vacuo was scheduled for later that afternoon. He would have taken Ruby and Zhu, but there was no time to pack, Weiss had arranged this trip as quickly as possible.

"If it's any consolation, you do look rather handsome."

He took one look at himself and cringed. "Ruby, babe, I look like a jackass."

"You do not." Ruby laughed, as she shook her head at his silliness.

"You keep thinking that." Sun laminated, frowning at the SDC logo plastered to one of his lapels. "Any Faunus would look stupid this thing."

As if the suit wasn't bad enough, walking around with a logo carrying years of prejudice against his own kind was a hard thing to do. The stitching was of perfect quality, and the snowflake cufflinks were that little extra touch, but, he still bit his tongue and held back what he really thought about the way he looked. It was hard not to think of himself as some sort of deranged monkey butler. He was just waiting for the first racists to pass him by saying something disgusting.

Ruby as always, stood as his voice of reason. "It's the standard uniform. Everyone in your department wears them…well, the guys do. The women have this really cute pencil skirt that goes to about mid-thigh." Ruby told him politely, her soft eyes of steel unflinchingly honest. "Actually, if it wasn't so hard to move around in skirts like that, I'd probably use one for missions. Although hunters don't have a mandatory uniform. Could you believe them agreeing to something like that?"

"I can't believe I've agreed to something like this." Sun voiced, somewhat shocked that he was, actually, wearing a full uniform.

"I'll admit, it's not really practical, but, I'm sure there's air-conditioning in that office. Unless somebody broke it again."

"Well tell that kind of thing to Weiss." He said, scowling as he plucked at the silk button down shirt that clung to his chest. "What asshole made shirts that collect static? I even had to add my own tail hole in my pants."

"Don't you always have to add them yourself?" She asked.

He nodded. "That's beside the point."

Ruby could only laugh as he examined his rear end in the merrier, as if to make sure that everything was as it should be. "She did offer to pay a seamstress."

"Wasn't going to have her do that. I can fix my own clothes." He said as he sat down in the bed, letting Ruby maneuver behind him to deal with his unruly hair. "Guys like me don't really have a choice. We have to get good with a needle and thread."

Ruby nodded along, trying to tame his hair into something that looked professional. It was a lost cause though. "Well, this will have to do."

"See, told you. I don't clean up well." He looked at himself in the mirror, the smirk on his face unrelenting. "Never have, probably never will."

"You clean up great, Sun. To me, you look perfect." Ruby said as she wrapped her arms around him. "Though, you'd look more professional if you didn't have that cocky grin plastered across your face."

"I dunno." He said, turning and pulling Ruby into a tight embrace. "I think I got myself plenty of things to be cocky about." His hands trailer lower until they were resting firmly over her butt, giving it a squeeze for good measure.

Ruby pulled away, giving him a somewhat stern look that didn't really hold up for any length of time. "I told you, not in front of Zhu."

Sun flicked a glance over to where the boy was enamored with a crunched up potato chip bag. It was clear he wasn't paying attention in the slightest. "He's not going to care, babe. Trust me."

"I know, but still." Ruby said softly. "He might not know any better, but I do."

It was with great reluctance that he pried himself away from his mate. He would have been more than happy to stick around for a few hours more, but if he did that, he risked being late. "Damn, I'm really doing this, aren't I? Me, Sun Wukong, a paper pusher."

"Yeah, I guess you are." Ruby replied. "Weird, huh?"

"Well, it's a little bit freaky, actually." Sun admitted. "Never thought I'd see the day."

"Maybe this is a bad idea." She felt a pang in her chest. It was strange thinking of Sun as anything besides a hunter. He looked good in the suit, but it just wasn't his style. She thought back to his family, and wished she could see him walking around in one of his ratty old T-shirts again. "Sun, you don't have to do this."

"I do, actually." Sun said as he pulled Ruby close again, his chin resting atop her head. "Ruby, you're my mate now. I know you like to be independent, but I want to be reliable. If I want that, then I have to do what's best, even if it's not my first choice. I don't want to pull you away from Blake and Weiss to live up in the north, but I can't just lay around and be a freeloader either."

Ruby nodded against him. "Then you need to hurry, or you'll miss your flight. Weiss is a huge stickler for punctuality."

"Yeah, I guess I gotta." He wasn't pleased, but he gave Ruby a peck on the cheek. "Never a dull moment, that's for sure. I'll be back Sunday, I promise." The last time he left her, such things couldn't be guaranteed, but he felt confident this time. "After all, what dangers lurk behind an office desk?"

"Weiss with a ballpoint pen." Ruby told him. "Now shoo, or you really will miss your flight."

He smirked at that, amazed at that small twinge of pride he felt that Ruby would be awaiting his return. He hadn't even left, and he was already anticipating it. "You got it, babe, I'll be back soon."

Rainstorms in Vale were hell, and the monsoons in Menagerie were no better, but both of them were nothing compare to an Atlas storm. Thunder-snow was the worst, and Blake hated them. The way the low sounds rolled with rage, the skies clashing amidst a downpour of condensations, some liquid, most not. The ice shattered like sounds of breaking glass, and it was a much more crisp sound than the plutting of raindrops against the house.

Her ears twisted back and forth with worry, senses heighted before she realized her children were watching her intently. Then the lights flickered on and off. The power grid struggling against the forces of nature running wild. Blake felt the panic rise in her chest. It was then, casually as ever, that Ruby had lit one of the fireplaces and invited Blake to join her.

It was an invitation, but more than that, it was a readily prepared excuse for Blake not to be alone. Ruby wasn't afraid of the hellacious weather conditions. Normally she was out wandering around in them. There was no safer place to be at that moment, and maddeningly, Blake jumped at the opportunity.

She eyed Ruby like a hawk as the woman held Bianca in her arms. Ruby seemed to be a natural in almost every way, and there was some small part of Blake's mind that found such a thing unsatisfactory. Ruby could be so gifted with Faunus youngsters. Why did Weiss seem to struggle at every turn?

Blake bit down on the question. She already knew that answer. Once again, she cursed the insipid upbringing that Weiss had been subjected to. Ruby had been nurtured with love and praise, and she returned affection so easily that it was almost idiotic to assume she wouldn't know how to handle a baby. There were certainly plenty of youth, Faunus and human alike, for Ruby to have had the practice.

Weiss had always kept her distance from very young children when and where she could, and Blake had always merely assumed that it was out of respect. Now, she found herself questioning the assumption. It was akin to discomfort, worry mixing with her cold exterior. Weiss always reverted when she didn't know how to handle something. Her actions were exactly what Blake would expect from a woman who lacked the warm upbringing that a child should be subjected to.

"They really are adorable, Blake." Ruby said soft enough not to startle the tiny cub in her arms, looking up at her in quiet study.

"That's kind of you to say." Blake told her, and it was true. "To be honest, I wasn't sure quite what to expect from people."

"You didn't think we'd judge them, did you?"

Blake licked her lips. "…Yes..." She sighed. "Yes, Ruby. I'm scared of exactly that."

In her truest fashion, Ruby seemed confused. "Why?"

Why indeed? There was only one answer, foolish though it was. "They're Faunus." Blake said, and even though his ears were proof enough of that fact, Finley began mouthing on his mother's arm as though playfully attacking it. He muffled tiny little huffs and squeaky growls earnestly, searching for her attention. Her fingertip found the base of his ear, scratching behind it ever so gently in reply.

Ruby digested the simple answer, deciding she still didn't like the explanation. "Call me stupid, but I don't see what the big deal is."

"Every day, they display more and more of their predatory heritage. They have no idea, they're so unassuming." She looked to Ruby. "It won't last. One day, these little gestures will be suppressed. They'll have no choice but to suppress them."

"Maybe, but, I don't think so." Ruby didn't elaborate, though Blake clearly wanted her to. Instead, she was far more interested in the darkening colors reflecting just slightly in both of the young males. "Hey, you know, those two are probably going to have your eyes."

"It's just the way the light's reflecting." Blake murmured. "It's too soon to tell."

"They have eyes that are really shimmery in the firelight." Ruby argued. "Just like yours."

"That's because of the nocturnal vision. Most Faunus have that ability."

"Considering how many times Sun's run into the bathroom door at night, I'm starting to doubt that."

"It doesn't work if you keep your eyes closed." Blake pointed out, earning a chuckle from Ruby in response.

"Even if it is just a Faunus thing, that's still from you, isn't it?" Ruby said dryly. "Last I looked, Weiss didn't have night vision. I'll bet they get your amber eyes too, look how dark the blue is."

Blake sighed at length, changing the topic. "Ruby, about Zhu, he still won't speak, will he?"

"A few one word answers, that's about it."

"Doesn't that bother you?" Blake asked.

Ruby said there for a moment, a thoughtful frown on her features. "No, it never crossed my mind to be bother by it. I was curious, but not bothered."

"Why not?"

"I don't know." Ruby cleared her throat, feeling awkward for giving voice to such a wayward thought. "The thing is, Yang and I, we had to figure a lot of things out on our own. It's just, Yang sees that as a bad thing, and I don't...I've decided I want Zhu to figure things out on his own too."

"It's that simple for you?"

"Pretty much. I won't force it either way." Ruby shrugged. "If he talk, he talks. If not, then he doesn't. That's just the way it'll be."

Blake envied Ruby, truly. There were moments when the younger woman's wisdom truly seemed as though it could never be broken down and tarnished. Even in spite of the cut throat mentality required of a huntress, Ruby was a gentle soul at the heart of it all. It wasn't a surprise, but it was the sort of thing that could leave a glimmer of hope in even the most pessimistic of people.

Then again, it was that selfsame quality that often went by underestimated and so easily forgotten.

The Schnee family semblance wasn't so simple, and Weiss knew she had been a disappointment when it came to her semblance. Even with her discipline to training, her health and her aura were not what they used to be. She would never be as adept as her elder sister, and that was a sin Weiss had eventually come to terms with.

Still, she didn't have the heart to deny Blake's request. With great reluctance, she flared her aura around her eldest child, as was customary in the case of multiples. The flair required to unlock another aura needed to be powerful. It was a draining experience, to say the least. Weiss slumped backwards in Blake's arms once the task was complete, feeling the tension slide out of her like oil upon water.

Weiss didn't have the energy or the aura required to unlock those of her other two children, but Blake's aura was healthy and steadfast. She didn't want to wait, and took the task upon herself to see the deed through. Weiss took the time to enjoy the magnificent feeling of that wispy power against her fingertips. Blake flared it so rarely outside of battle that Weiss had almost forgotten what it looked like.

Then again, there was little use for an aura or semblance such as Blake's outside of combat.

Regardless, Weiss soaked up the strangely intimate feeling. It was like a deep black smoke that dissipated in the air as soon as she caressed it. "Do you think my semblance will show through?" Weiss asked, choking back some of her worry and exhaustion. Her eyes were set on Wycliff as his small form glowed in response to the gentle power resonating through him.

"I don't know." Blake murmured, ears falling flat on her head as watched him close his eyes and fall to sleep. It was to be expected since he was so young, and his aura was so under developed. "I wouldn't even know what to look for." She admitted.

"Neither would I." Weiss said. "To be honest, it was a good thing Winter was born first. For the longest time, I wasn't even sure I had a semblance."

"Everyone has a semblance, Weiss." Blake said, laughing lightly at the thought that Weiss wouldn't have one.

"My father was sure I did too." The white haired woman said. "I'd always ask him how he could be so sure my semblance was the same, but he wouldn't tell me the details."

"How did Winter manifest hers?"

"As the story goes, every time she got upset, she would start shedding her aura in little particles." Weiss still wasn't sure if she believed that, but that did explain the finicky nature of the semblance itself. "I don't know if everyone does that, but I do remember my father being irate whenever I was accused of having dandruff. In his words, a Schnee never has dandruff, ever."

"I take it he's never been on a weeklong mission with only a bar of soap." Blake said with a roll of her eyes, holding back the amused smirk.

"You could say that." Weiss agreed dryly. "Although I'm sure he's only every stayed in the finest accommodations, with the best hygienic supplies available."

"Ah, the lap of luxury. It's not that I don't enjoy top of the line products, but I managed just fine with brands from the corner store." Blake shrugged then as she settled her children into the bedding. "Weiss?"

"Hmm."

"Whatever happens, it'll be alright."

"I know." Weiss breathed. "I just-"

Blake silenced her with a kiss. "No." Blake's voice was hardly there at all. "Don't think so hard about things Weiss." Blake murmured, turning to an angle that allowed her to lean in and press a few kisses to the nape of her mate's neck. Her lips lingered there as she spoke, warm gusts of air tickling Weiss as they passed by. "They'll be fine. Soon enough, they'll be walking, and talking, making a ruckus, and probably driving you crazy. You'll see."

A pragmatist sat at the board room table. Her face was in her hands. She tried to push away the annoyance as it bubbled to the surface. A piece of paper sat in front of her. Simple, perhaps, if it didn't mean so much. In fact it had never meant more to her before, than it did in this very moment.

It meant changes, drastic ones. Upon that paper, the fates of thousands rested between each and every word. She rubbed at her eyes. Trying desperately to come up with the right answer. All it would take was her signature. Just her name, that was it. Two words, and she would revolutionize the very fabric of Atlas as she knew it.

As the people knew it. It was not an easy choice, and, like everything else in her life, she stood at an impasse.

This was what she wanted. It was what she craved. What she had spilled blood for, and begged for. It sat here now, within reach, and for the first time in her life, Blake Belladonna had the power to change Faunus rights forever. She had been in this situation before, countless times. So many in fact, that she could feel the swell of anticipation in the room.

"So then," The eyes in the room seemed to ask her. "Why hesitate? Why are you waiting this time?"

Amber eyes lifted, a simple blink conveying everything she had no words for as she look across the table to her wife. In her arms Finley growled playfully, completely unaware of the future placed in front of him. He was too busy gnawing on his hand to care about the current dilemma.

"Okay," Blake murmured, finding her voice unsteadily. "If we do this, there's no going back. Faunus will be able to buy stock in the SDC. Furthermore, they will be able to take high ranking positions in the company."

"It will also offer five new chairs on the board of directors strictly for Faunus." Weiss replied evenly. "That's only ten percent of the total seats on the board. We're sacrificing numbers with powerhouses. We need activists, Blake, loud ones with a far reach if we have any hope of this working the way we'd like."

"It's still a snowball's chance in hell." Blake said, feeling the tension in her shoulders rise.

"When have the odds ever been in our favor?" Weiss asked.

"Coco..." Blake said then. "Do you think this stands a chance?"

"Yes and no. That's the best plan Weiss and I came up with." Coco said from her place. "I think it will take some getting used to, and I think it will be hard, but I think this stands a chance. I truly do."

"Blake." Ruby cut in from her position standing by the door. "Just go for it. We've got your back, but you've gotta make the jump."

Blake knew it too, but she still didn't make a movement to sign the papers. "If we push this through, we might do some very damaging things to the SDC."

"Yeah, ya might." Yang said from her position behind Coco. "Or you might finally fix things. You never know. If shit really hits the fan though, you know I'll be in the fray. There's no stopping that."

"Don't I know it…" Blake grumbled to herself, still unsure if that was a good thing or not. She swallowed hard. "Weiss, are you completely sure about this?"

"As much as I can be." Weiss told her.

"Are you sure you want to name Finley as your heir?" Blake asked. "All of them have the semblance."

"I…" Weiss took a breath. "He could always decline it, Blake, I'd never force him."

"Yes, but are you sure he's the one you truly want to choose?"

"It's as it should be." Weiss said with great difficulty. "Unless he proves himself unable or unwilling."

Blake nodded, but still her pen froze over the dotted line.

What if it wasn't perfect yet? What if the terminology wasn't as black and white, clear as crystal, as she thought it to be? What then? Would she be the one blamed for every tiny detail she had no control over? She looked around the room. Glancing to the faces she trusted and knew. All of them watching on, waiting for her answer.

Maybe it was just because they felt the waves of anxiety rolling off of her. She couldn't be sure, but with a breath she steeled her resolve. "Okay, it's as ready as it's going to be." Blake said, as she signed her name at the bottom of the paperwork, pushing the paper back to her lover…her wife…and sincerely began to pray that she had made the right decision.

"We'll amend what we have to, I promise." Weiss said as she signed her name at the bottom as well. Hours and hours of doing this, attempt after attempt, and finally they had found a solution. "We can finally make the kind of strides we've been waiting for."

"Yes, I suppose that's true." Blake chastised. "We are reforming this company for the better, but I still stand by what I've said. We've got to be careful."

"We will be." Weiss told her. "Blake, you'll be running this company with me completely. You'll know every detail."

"You know how I feel about that, Weiss." Blake sighed. "I am not leaving our cubs with a nanny."

"Who said anything about a nanny?! You'll take the home office as your personal headquarters. I'll still maintain majority of the paperwork until the cubs go to school." The white haired woman reprimanded. "I'll need you at the board meetings. It'll be hard, but not impossible."

"You are such a workaholic." Blake sighed at length. "I can't believe I agreed to this."

"I think we'll manage just fine." Weiss said slowly. "You're the one that told me not to worry so much, so here I am, not worrying."

"That's because you're too tired to worry, Weiss." Blake said as she got up and made her way across the room to take her son into her arms and to plan a kiss on her mate's cheek. "I'm going to go check on Bianca and Wycliff."

"They're with Sun, but if you feel that you need to, I won't stop you." Weiss spoke hesitantly. "I'm sure they're perfectly alright though."

"I know." Blake nodded. "I'm just getting used to letting them out of my sight still, and even though I trust Sun with my life…I just…I need to see for myself that they're alright."

"Go on then." Weiss said. "I'll join you soon."

Blake agreed, closing the door behind her. She slowly meandered down the hall, her footfalls echoing in the large, empty space. Finley was more than happy to snuggle into her shirt, pawing at it as she walked. She rounded one of the corners and made a beeline for her nesting area. When she got there, she found that Sun had finally met his match.

"Blake…oh thank god." The man greeted with an exasperated squeak in his voice. "Your daughter is a she-devil. Won't let me near her for the life of her, no fear, nothing. Just, well…" He pointed, concluding that to be enough of an explanation.

Of course, her daughter perked up at the sight of her. Taking the previously crabby little girl into her free arm she held both of her cubs expertly. Blake purred deeply as her daughter did the same. "How long has Bianca been growling at you like that?"

"You really don't want to know." He sighed, his thumb pointing over his shoulder to Wycliff. "That kid's just fine though."

Blake let out a laugh as she caught sight of Wycliff napping in the bundle of blankets with Zhu's tail in his clawed grip. "How long has he been like that?"

"Long enough." Sun replied as he collected his own napping child into his arms, the monkey tailed boy sleeping like a log. "I'm going to take this little shrimp back to my room. With any luck he'll stay conked out until lunch."

"Good luck with that. Although, I'd like to get a nap in myself."

"Ah, say no more." Sun said. "I'll catch you later."

Blake's head ached. Her whole body did. She'd been staying up late for weeks dealing with cranky infants, and a wife that had gone back to drowning herself in paperwork full time. Blake looked over at her laptop where she knew hundreds of emails awaited some sort of reply. All of this responsibility weighed her. Blake would never have expected her life to turn out in such a way, but she couldn't be happier, even if she was so desperately overwhelmed.

It was to be expected, she supposed. She gotten married to Weiss Schnee, the figurehead of the strongest dust company in existence. Furthermore, now she was raising the heirs to that company. How was she supposed to juggle all of that?

"Well, shit." She cursed as she looked down to her cubs, one in each arm. Finley in her left, Bianca in her right. "And I suppose you two will start screaming if I put you down with your brother. That's typical, isn't it." She didn't get a reply, she knew those inquiring little stares by now. Therefore, there was only one option. Go with the original plan and lay down as a family, and get some much needed rest.

Blake no sooner situated herself, and her children around her, than her eyes grew heavy and her breathing slowed. Sleep claiming her in its warm, all too comfortable grip. She wasn't sure how long she was sleeping for, before Weiss woke her up with a soft knocking on the door as she entered. The cubs hated being started just as much as their mother.

"Blake?"

"Hmm."

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Weiss."

"Truly?" Weiss came around to sit on the bedding, her fingers running through silky black hair. Blake's ear twitched, and Weiss watched avidly.

Blake's ears folded back as she yawned. "I'm just tired."

"This is why you should let Yang and Yatsuhashi take the cubs while they're here." Weiss told her. "Think about it, a night of uninterrupted sleep."

"I'm fine Weiss, truly."

"I don't believe you. You have raccoon eyes."

"Did you expect anything less?" Blake shrugged as she sat up. "How do you think other mothers manage?"

"Like Velvet." Weiss deadpanned. "She entrusts her children to others so that she can actually take a break."

Blake shook her head. "I'm perfectly able, thank you for worrying though."

Weiss let show a tiny smile. but it faded soon after. "Blake, listen, I miss you. I miss having you to myself. I just want a few hours of alone time, together with you."

"I miss you too, but…" Blake sighed.

Weiss felt her stomach drop sickeningly. "What's wrong?"

"I'm not ready to let them leave my side at night yet." Blake replied. "It's hard enough just leaving them in the afternoon when I'm only a few rooms away, but if you can convince Yang and Ruby to take them for an afternoon, I'll tolerate that. However they don't leave this room, not the cubs, Yang, or Ruby until we return."

"Done." Weiss said, snapping up the chance before Blake could have second thoughts.

"Remember, only a few hours, Weiss." Blake reminded her. "Don't you go planning something grandiose."

"Only a few hours." Weiss agreed. "I promise."

"What about the other thing?" Blake caught a glimpse of something, almost like a smirk, and narrowed her eyes. "Weiss, you're scheming…"

"I know I am." She admitted. "And you are going to love it."

At this Blake simply rolled her eyes and smiled, sighing with exasperated affection. "And I am going to love it…"

AYangThang: I suppose, as they say, that's all folks…

Firstly, I wanted to thank all of you who read, followed, favorited, and reviewed this story. It's been kind of a wild ride, when you think about it.

Anyway, this obviously marks the completion of this story, but not the universe. I just need a bit of time before I'm ready to start posting my other projects. I'm not sure when, exactly, that will be, but it will be sometime later this year. I can promise that for sure. Obviously "I Want Monochrome" will soon find it's way back into the update cycle as well.

My life obligations haven't settled completely back into place the way I'd like, so my time devoted to writing is equally small as a result. That's why my other fictions on my profile haven't been worked with in a while. I will eventually pick those stories back up as well, but, that will likely be after summer break ends and my cousins go back to school.

In any case, I hope you all enjoyed this fiction, and that you will continue to enjoy works in this universe in the future.

Until next time, everyone!