#amischnee

Scratch that; she was not used to having anyone else in her room, period. Back in Atlas, she had a gigantic room all to herself. For a few months at Beacon she had the luxury of sharing a room with close friends, but since she arrived in Mistral she once again had an entire room to herself.

Nothing had prepared her to find one of their newest recruits sound asleep in her bed.

“Excuse me?” she said softly, afraid to touch the girl who looked very, very unconscious. She remembered briefly that she had seen this girl with Blake and her team from Menagerie; she was probably a Faunus, but Weiss couldn’t tell what kind right off the bat.

She was really pretty, too. She had cute little freckles all over face, big eyes that were closed in slumber, and messy auburn hair  that had been neatly tied back in a ponytail the first time Weiss had seen her.

Blushing and trying to distract herself from her thoughts, Weiss raised her voice a little. “Excuse me? You’re in my bed. How did you even get in here?”

Ilia’s eyes fluttered open, immediately squinting in confusion. After arriving in Mistral and fighting a long and chaotic battle, the girl had followed Blake and her friends back to a hotel and collapsed in the first bed she had seen. She hadn’t expected the bed to actually belong to someone, much less a beautiful girl she remembered seeing briefly at the battle last night.

She quickly sat up, brushing her tangled hair back from her face and trying to stop her freckles from flushing a deep pink as her sleepy brain tried to process the girl in front of her. She had snow white hair tied in a sideways ponytail, icy blue eyes, and a beautiful silvery blue dress with a sapphire choker. 

White hair and icy blue eyes... just like the Schnees, Ilia’s worst enemy. It was probably a coincidence, but it made Ilia’s heart skip a beat.

“I’m so sorry,” she mumbled hastily. “I didn’t think these beds were assigned to anyone, I just crashed here after the battle. I can move, though.” Asking Blake to stay in her room might be awkward because of their recent history, but maybe there was another empty bed somewhere or a couch Ilia could crash on.

Weiss sighed. This stranger looked so worn and exhausted, she doubted she could make it out the door. “It’s alright, you can sleep there tonight. I think some of Blake’s allies brought some sleeping bags that I could borrow.” 

She wouldn’t usually give up the comfort of a bed in favor of sleeping bags, especially to a complete stranger, but she felt sorry for how exhausted her new companion was. And she looked awfully comfortable, too. And cute, and... god dammit, Weiss.

She lingered by the doorway for a minute, her hand on the doorknob but not quite moving to leave, as Ilia processed her words through her tired haze. She wanted some excuse to stay a little longer, even though she should probably let the poor girl get back to sleep. The thought crossed her mind that she should probably introduce herself. “I’m Weiss, by the way,” she announced before quickly realizing what a bad idea that was if this girl really was a Faunus.

Weiss Schnee. Ilia’s heart dropped like a stone. She hadn’t believed it, because she hadn’t seen the Schnee insignia during her few brief glimpses of Weiss or on the front of her outfit - but here she was, a Schnee, being nice to her. Probably because she thought she was a human.

To Ilia’s surprise, Weiss faltered and moved back towards the bed, hovering a few feet away from Ilia. 

“I’m sorry,” she said softly. “I know you’re probably a Faunus, and you have good reason to hate my family. The things my father has done... the things his company has done... they’re terrible. There’s nothing I can really say to make it up to you, just please know I’m not my father. I’m here, fighting alongside you, because I want to protect people - human and Faunus. I’m more than just my name.”

Ilia didn’t know how to feel. Her brain was still fuzzy, and here she was in a Schnee’s bed, with the heiress apologizing to her personally. She was so used to hate, to violence, that she didn’t know how to respond. She didn’t even know humans like Weiss existed.

Weiss seemed to understand. She backed away, moving once again to the doorway. “I’ll let you rest for tonight,” she said softly. “But tomorrow, I’ll want my bed back. And I know you might need some time to get used to things, but I hope that we can get along.”

Ilia leaned back, covering her eyes with her arm. Two things kept echoing in her mind, swirling around like a storm in her thoughts.

“I want to protect people - human and Faunus. I’m more than just my name.”

“‘You’re just going to forgive her? After everything she’s done?’ ‘I am.’“