+++
As I stepped out of the bullhead and onto the landing pad of my house, my hands grasping a woven bag filled with my special purchases. I was met with the biting cold of Atlas. Then by my mother who gave me a big hug followed by a round on endless questions. When I answered them to her satisfaction, she turned her attention to my father and the two promptly played a little bit of tonsil hockey.
I ignored them as I took another step. Just as I welcomed the welcome chill of Atlas, I felt a force latch onto my leg.
I looked down and found myself staring into the eyes of Whitley Schnee, his arms wrapped around my legs, his ice-blue eyes wide and excited.
"Brother!" he yelled excitedly. I smiled as my hand ruffled his hair, eliciting a childish giggle from the boy. I inwardly danced at how bloody adorable the youngest Schnee sibling was. There and then, I swore to make sure that Whitley won't grow up to be the dickhead he was in canon and keep him the pure little innocent angel he was.
"Hello Whitley." I greeted affectionately. "Have you been good?" He nodded enthusiastically, a wide smile plastered on his face. "Have you eaten your vegetables while I was away?" I then added, my own eyes twinkling mischievously.
"Yep!" he chirped. I smiled as I gave him a head-pat. Whitley had an abhorrent hatred for vegetables, even more so than any normal child. Klein had told me that the boy would spend hours not eating unless given food he liked.
I was well aware that Whitley looked up to me. How that came to be, I did not know. But I was going to be the best damn big bro figure for the kid even if we weren't related so I cooked up a scheme with Weiss to get him to eat his damn greens. The two of us ate more vegetables than normal within the sight of Whitley, sure enough, he began to mimic his big bro and big sis.
To hear that he ate his damn greens without me present was simply satisfying.
Such effort must be rewarded.
"Whitley. I have a gift for you." I announced, causing the little boy to shake in excitement. I reached for the considerably large box of baked goodies inside the bag and whipped it out dramatically.
"For you." I declared as I handed it over to him.
Blue eyes ran through the metallic cover. Said cover was of a green field with dozens of cute animals in various states of happiness. I thought it was cute. "Open it." I motioned Whitley. His hands unclasped the cover off to reveal dozens of cookies of different shapes and flavors. The sweet smell of baked goods filled our nostrils as we leaned in closer to sniff it.
He looked up at me. "Is this all for me?" he asked with a faint whisper.
I gave him another head pat. "All for you."
He closed the box and pulled it into his hands. A pure, innocent, and joyful smile appeared on his face. The only smile that the children could ever pull off.
"Ahem." a voice harrumphed, grabbing both our attention.
We both turned to see Weiss standing a few meters from us, arms crossed. Beside her was Klein holding a yellow box. I patted Whitley and told him to enjoy his cookies. THe excitable boy ran off back into the house with his prize. With him off, I strode towards Weiss.
"I'm back." I greeted her. "Did you miss me?"
"You took too long." she sniped. "And no, I did not miss you at all! Not one bi-"
I cut her off as I crossed the distance between us and gave her a headpat. "I missed you too, Princess." I said cheekily. Her cheeks reddened at my cheeky tone and at the hand now patting her head.
"You're a dolt." she sighed, recognizing that I would tease her more if she put up any more wild reactions and thus decided to play along. From behind, I could see Klein holding back laughter.
"I have a gift for you." I announced as I reached for-
I stopped just as I was about to pull it out. Weiss narrowed her eyes at me as she saw the smirk that I wore. "Close your eyes." I instructed her. Without protest, she did so.
I was both elated and mildly disappointed that she didn't put up a fuss.
Putting my thoughts aside, I opened the small box and took out the necklace that was tucked inside. Gently, I wrapped the silver chain around her neck. She stifled when she felt my hands touch her but did not say a word of protest. After a few more moments of ensuring the necklace was good on her, I pulled back.
"All done." I announced. Slowly, she opened her eyes.
+++
Weiss gasped when she saw the ice-blue crystal that hung around her neck. The white-haired girl reached out to touch the crystal and felt its rough edges. It was the size of a walnut, neither too big to be too garish nor was it too small to be insignificant.
"It's a pretty thing." she heard Alex say. "Just like you."
Weiss felt her cheeks redden even more at her friends' compliment. Did he really have to say it like that? And why was she so bothered when he'd say it? Klein would say she was pretty all the time yet she did not feel bothered by it!
"S-Shut up, you d-dolt!" she stammered out. The boy responded by giving her another head pat. She tried to slap away his hand but faltered when he began to pat her.
"It looks good on you." observed Alex, his tone now honest and factual. Weiss beamed at his praise. She did not mind it when Alex would praise her. The only time when she would be bothered was when he would do it teasingly. And Weiss did not like it when she was teased.
"Of course!" exclaimed Weiss as she brought her hands to her hips. "I make everything look good." she added haughtily. It was not an empty statement. It was a matter of fact.
For a few minutes, the two stood doing nothing but to enjoy each other's company.
Alex, a proud smile on his face as he regarded the young girl in front of him. He was glad that she was able to get her mind out of the gutter despite all the outright traumatic events that had happened to her. He then promised himself to ensure her happiness as a friend...within reason of course.
Weiss, a cheeky smirk on her face, as she contemplated the boy in front of her. His absence had made her reflect on what Alex had done for her. Even when she was unfair and unkind, he never left her side, he never doubted her, assumed the worst of her and listened to her. She was glad to have him as a friend.
And friendship like that needed to be rewarded.
"Alex. I have a gift for you." she announced. She mentally smirked when she saw the surprised look on his face.
"Really? What am I going to get?" he asked excitedly.
"Close your eyes." she commanded. He looked at her, confused. Then, realization hit him.
"I see. Using my own words against me, hm?" said Alexander.
"Close your eyes you, nitwit!" she huffed indignantly. Her friend chuckled as he did so, making Weiss grumble as she turned to Klein. She opened the box he held in his hands and brought out a scarf she had knitted the day before he arrived. She tested it out on herself and found it both comfortable and warm. It was also special as she had also knitted her family's emblem at one end of the scarf.
She strode towards him and slowly wrapped the scarf around him. Alex moved to speak but she shushed him. After a minute of putting the scarf around him, she was done.
"You can open your eyes now." she declared. The boy did so slowly and smiled when he saw the red fabric. He ran his hand through the material, letting off a sigh as he felt the soft wool.
"Well?" she said nervously. He turned to her, a smirk on his face.
"I think it's wonderful..." Her heart leaped for joy at his praise.
He fixed her a look.
"Just like you~!" he then added teasingly.
"D-Dolt! Dimwit! I-I-Idiot!" screeched Weiss, her face redder than before as she assaulted Alex with a flurry of punches. Alexander retaliated by blocking the Schnee girl's punches...with tickles.
Laughter filled the Friedlich manor as the two youths began to chase one another. On their faces, bright happy smiles.
+++
Winter sighed as she took a step into her dorm.
Today had been a rough day. Her partner had bested her, bested her, during their sparring. She liked to believe that she was as humble as a Valean shepherd but after that incident, she could not deny the fact that she was rather prideful.
But instead of some other person she knew of that had black hair and was currently in the hospital, she was not going to beat down her teammates for her own failures. She was going to go and improve herself and be worthy of her pride.
She collapsed on her bed, her muscles in bliss as the warm and welcome clo-
She stood up straight as she heard a knock on the door.
"Miss Schnee? A package for you. From a 'A.Friedlich." a light voice said on the other side.
She gasped. Alexander sent her something? What was it about? Was it about Weiss? Had she done something? Had sh-
'No.' she thought to herself, forcing her panicked mind to calm down. She just over thinking things again. If Alex saw her now, there was no doubt that the boy would snap sense back into her.
Despite his young age, Winter was surprised that the boy proved rather mature when it came to things. He had noticed, despite their sparse conversations, that she had problems and had become her unofficial confessor.
She took deep breaths, her anxiety slowly fizzling away.
"You are Winter Schnee, Ice Queen." Alex had told her. "The Ice Queen does not fall to quick assumptions nor allows herself to be overwhelmed. She holds herself together until the other is finished. When that happens, she unleashes the blizzard."
Calmly, she approached the door and pulled it open. Outside stood another Atlesian student. From the armband she wore, Winter pegged her as the one in charge of distributing mail for the week.
"Miss Schnee. A package for you." the girl repeated as she took a brown folder and handed it towards Winter. She accepted it and signed the form the mail carrier had her sign. The girl gave her a salute, excused herself, and went off to distribute more mail.
Winter closed the door behind her and tore open the package.
Down came a small Velvet-box along with two pieces of parchment. She knelt to pick up the first one and...gasped.
It was a picture of her, Whitley, Alex, and Weiss during happier times. They were all on a snowboard heading down a hill, bright smiles on their faces. Nostalgia filled her as she took in every detail in the picture and tried to recall what had happened on that day. Her eyes widened when she saw writing at the lower left corner of the picture.
"Winter, Weiss, Whitley, and Alex. Friends 4ever!"
She recalled that she disliked the usage of 4 as a word but Weiss and Alex had badgered her into accepting it.
She gingerly placed the picture on her desk and recovered the box and the last remaining parchment. She flipped it over and found that it was a note.
"Dear Winter.
I brought you a little something from a trip my father and I did in Menagerie. When I saw it, I could not help but think of how it would fit you. I hope you don't mind my little gift. The picture was also another freebie that was added by me as another little gift to keep you company. Atlas is cold after all. I do doubt that the frost will have a great affect you as you are the Ice Queen after all but it never hurts to have a little warmth.
I hope that you have a wonderful time at the Academy. Know that Weiss and I are rooting out for you.
Your friend, Alexander."
She smiled as she read the letter. So Alex had brought her a gift. 'What could it be?' she thought to herself as she opened the velvet box and found...starlight.
A pair of earrings greeted her. It had silver-steel piercings that glittered when light struck it and its pearls seemed to glow when basked it light. Inside the box was a another rolled up note. She took it and read it aloud.
"The prettiest pearls on the sea for the prettiest lady I have seen."
Winter half-scoffed and half-giggled at his jab. For one, the line was rather cheesy. Secondly, if the boy thought that he could win her over then he was surely mistaken. Maybe when he was older...
She stopped her train of thought as she took the ear rings. Such thoughts were unwelcome and inappropriate at their current ages.
Winter stood from her chair and examined herself with the dorm's mirror. She performed a couple of poses to get a full look of the earrings and sure enough, the earrings did rather fit her. It accentuated her sharp looks and made her look rather regal.
"A fitting gift for the Ice Queen." she murmured, her eyes straying towards the picture that Alex sent her.
She took note of the joy that was present on each of their faces...and smiled.
+++
A/N: One last fluffy time before we dive into the glorious business of making killy stuff. In the meantime, I'm still trying to figure out how the hell Atlas's military works and how to model a offensive force against the grimm
