When Blake and Weiss came to the hall that was used for events, it was actually pretty empty.
But Sun and Meridian were there, dressed up also.
"What's going on?" Blake asked.
"You've got this." Meridian patted Sun's shoulder.
That seemed to hype him up a little, and, with more confidence than you'd normally expect, he stepped forward and offered Blake his arm.
"I had the best idea," he said. "I was thinking about something fun we could do while we were stuck on this ship, and then it hit me, like lightning. We should just get married."
"What?" Blake sputtered, for good reason.
"You know how ship captains can marry passengers?" Sun explained. "Well, you know that captain? He remembers us. He said he'd be so stoked to do it."
The captain, who Blake hadn't noticed till now, was standing in the background, and he nodded at her cheerfully.
Weiss tilted her head. "Wait, Sun, did you not run this by her before now?"
"Should I have?" Sun said blankly.
Weiss face palmed.
"We're the two witnesses." Meridian saluted to Blake. "He thought it all out.... I was hoping you'd say yes, since I got myself all up like this."
"Don't pressure her," Weiss hissed. "Let her think. Honestly, what is with you guys and just springing this on us?"
"Well, the element of surprise worked in our favor, Snow Tiger," Meridian said, affectionately patting her head.
"Oh, you're so lucky I know you're kidding," Weiss huffed.
Blake swallowed her surprise.
Of course in a way she'd expected this, just not in this way.
"But my parents--" she began.
"Oh, I already got the go ahead from them. Actually they brought it up." Sun straightened his tie. "I think they're expecting it in a way...and I think it has been a long time, and what are we really waiting for?.... Is that okay? I mean, if you don't want to, just say so now."
"I...but..." Blake rubbed her head. "This isn't quite how I pictured this happening. I thought it would be more of a romantic moment."
"Oh...I thought I was being romantic," Sun said. "I mean, I went to all this trouble, got dressed up, got the captain, had Weiss and Meridian help, and I even managed to get this."
He held out a ring.
"I mean, was I supposed to warn you? 'Cause I didn't think that was the protocol," he said.
["Not Fall in Love with You"--Jeff Williams. I don't know if this was a confirmed BlackSun song or not, but it was released while that was still the main ship, so it's a solid guess. A lot of fans don't even know there was more than one for this pairing.]
Blake began to get a hold of herself.
"I guess it's not really," she said. "I mean, this is unconventional...but then so is our entire relationship..."
"True, they got together when she ditched us because we found out she was in the White Fang," Weiss whispered to Meridian.
"I think I heard that before. That's odd," Meridian said. "But no worse than us, I suppose."
"I think it's a little worse. At least we were just talking," Weiss mused.
"On the other hand, I don't really want this to be in front of a lot of people," Blake reflected suddenly. "Or to make a big deal out of it. I feel weird doing things like that.... Maybe this is for the best.... I mean, you hit me with it so suddenly, I didn't think, but...yeah, what other way is this going to happen?"
"So...it's okay?" Sun said.
Blake finally smiled. "Yeah, it's okay...and yes, I'll marry you.... I didn't say that part yet."
"It's about time someone said it," the captain said. "I remember when you two were here before. I thought you might have a torch, but it's been a long time. You shouldn't keep a lady waiting like that, son."
"Felt a little more like it was the other way around," Sun said.
"Shut up." Blake pretended to shove him.
"Here." Weiss pulled out a bouquet. "It's...fake, but I thought it would at least look good. I mean, you can't get real flowers out at sea, but they look pretty realistic."
"It's fine, Weiss. It's beautiful," Blake assured her.
She and Sun joined hands.
[Fan art found on animesher.com]
The captain went over the ceremony, using a book he must have had for this kind of ceremony, and then they said their vows.
The whole thing took very little time.
Sun looked a bit more nervous once it came to the point but also excited.
The captain finished with the "man and wife" part.
"You may now kiss the bride," he added.
That wasn't in the book, but he must have heard it somewhere.
"Oh," Sun said. "Huh--"
Blake kissed him.
Meridian cheered, and Weiss shushed him.
"I thought someone should." He shrugged.
"Whoa, did we really just do this?" Sun said.
"Yeah, we did," Blake said, blushing.
"Wow, that's so crazy, but, like, so awesome," Sun said. "I'm pumped right now. We should go to the dance hall and throw down."
"Sounds good to me," Meridian said. "I bet I can get them to play some of our dance songs."
"Maybe I can sing one," Weiss suggested.
"That would be nice," Blake agreed.
"You kids have fun," the captain said. "And we'll send you a complimentary gift basket. We do that for things like this."
"Whoa, this is a state of the art cruise," Meridian said. "Weiss, we should have gotten married on a ship instead."
"Yes, in the desert, Meridian," Weiss said.
"But this was part of our honeymoon," Meridian said.
"Was it?" the captain said. "You should have put that on your forms. You can get a complimentary gift also."
"Really? That'd be grand." Meridian was excited.
"Why do you care so much about a perk?" Weiss asked as they walked away.
"Well, I never had any before. I feel like a VIP," Meridian said. "Must be how you used to feel all the time."
Weiss thought about it. "I guess I've never thought about how it would feel if I wasn't used to it. It is special, huh?"
"Heck yeah," Sun said.
"Do you think my parents will mind that they weren't there?" Blake asked.
But when she called them later, they were pretty cool about it.
"We thought something like that might happen after we talked to Sun," Kali explained. "And I didn't think you'd want a big ceremony or anything, so I'm happy as long as you're happy."
"Just make sure he treats you right," Gira said. "Or I'll throw him off a cliff."
"Dad." Blake rolled her eyes. "Sun has always treated me really well. You know that. I'm afraid I haven't always treated him that well, but I'm going to do better."
"One piece of advise, dear," Kali said. "Never hold a grudge or a secret. Your father and I have had our rough moments, but we've always been honest with each other and on each other's side."
"And be willing to consider if you're wrong," Gira added. "Sometimes you're not thinking straight and you need to step back and evaluate it before you try to talk it out. Don't blame your partner for that. Problems happen for all kinds of reasons. You're a team."
"Thanks," Blake said. "Actually that's good advice."
"Put him on," Gira added.
Blake did so.
What Gira told Sun probably freaked him out, even if Gira only half meant it.
"Are you okay?" Blake asked.
"Oh, yeah." Sun twitched his tail nervously. "Your dad is just...your dad. He's cool and all, but he scares me."
"He scares everyone," Blake said. "Ever wonder what would happen if Hazel and him met?"
"That would be like two big bears crossing paths," Sun said. "I hope they'd both be on the same side."
[Was I the only one who wished Gira and Hazel would have fought in Volume 5? That would have been so cool.]
* * *
Weiss let Winter know about the good news when she checked in with her the next evening.
Winter was getting bored of being home, as by now her leave had started. She had already read about 10 books.
Of course she'd been invited to visit Pyrrha, and even Yang had taken pity on her and gotten lunch a few times, but it wasn't enough to fill up all the time.
"Maybe you need another hobby," Weiss said. "So...how is the...well, the baby going?"
"Well, I don't really have any more symptoms," Winter said. "That ended last month. I still can't really tell, but the doctor could hear their heartbeat."
"Do you know if it's a boy or girl yet?" Weiss said.
"Not yet. I don't know when we'll find out. It doesn't really matter." Winter shrugged. "I'm happy either way."
"I'm so excited..." Weiss sighed. "I feel like I can't wait another 6 months."
"Actually almost down to 5 now," Winter said. "They were able to give us a more specific estimate."
"Is Qrow being supportive?" Weiss was worried he would leave Winter to do too much alone.
"He's been very helpful...almost too helpful," Winter said. "I've hardly been able to get my own water. I think he thinks the more he does, the better I'll feel, but it's not necessary.... You know, Mother had been telling me stories of her experience with us every time she visits."
"Really?" Weiss was surprised. "Nothing too crazy?"
"I never realized how much a mother remembers about it," Winter said. "She's told me which of us kicked her the most often, who was the quietest, who weighed the most. I never thought to care about any of this before, but it's all important once it's you. She also said that father wanted a son first. I always suspected that, but it never came up."
"I can believe it," Weiss said.
"She said that it wasn't too difficult for her, so she hopes that it passes on to us," Winter added. "I'm a little relieved. Raven had been telling me more unpleasant stories about her experience. Perhaps it was because she was so young, but she said she freaked out about it and she was very emotional. I can't picture that."
"So you're not noticing any mood swings?" Weiss said.
"I'm not sure I'm to that point yet, but if I fly off the handle, it's not exactly new," Winter said, with more honesty than she would have in Weiss' childhood. "But, Qrow knows how to dodge my attacks."
"I'm glad you can joke about it. I feel like I'd be so stressed out about things going wrong if I were you," Weiss said.
"Honestly I'm trying not to think about that," Winter said.
Weiss paused.
Then she thought, of course with Qrow's Semblance.... Well, Winter didn't let it bother her, and that was great...
Weiss had never really noticed it herself, though Jaune and Nora had told her it worked. Maybe it was mostly in Qrow's head.
And at it's worst, it had never been enough to kill anyone, just small things. So it was nothing to worry about, right?
But then even tripping or dropping something, if you were pregnant, was bad...
But she couldn't worry Winter by saying such things out loud.
Besides, Winter was smart. She'd be okay.
"How are Pyrrha and Nora doing?" she changed the subject.
"Pyrrha is holding up," Winter said. "It's been a bit rougher for her. Nora, you'd never know. Ren seems to be getting more used to the idea. They're still trying to figure out where they're going to live now that they can't live on the base anymore. Not planning for a child."
"Yeah, that does throw a wrench in their plans," Weiss admitted.
"Any news about the smuggling?" Winter was anxious to talk about something more official.
"Not yet. Blake's still in contact with her friend, but they haven't found anything yet," Weiss said. "But maybe when we're in person. Not that we'll get to be that close. We're kind of just guarding the escape route. We'll let you know."
"You'd better."
* * *
Late that night, Winter thought more about that conversation.
She hadn't missed Weiss' hesitation when they got too close to the idea of Qrow's Semblance.
Winter had made up her mind not to fear it so long ago that she had pushed the doubt out of her mind for the most part.
But she knew that not everyone else had. So far nothing had gone wrong. This seemed to her proof that it was not really powerful enough to cause any issues and it was not a curse.
Qrow had got over it mostly, but now and then, his old anxiety about it flared up and he'd have a bad day. He didn't relapse to drinking, and he came out of it sooner, but it happened.
Winter didn't think it was a reason for concern. No one was perfect.
Shine sometimes still counseled them both on the nature of it, and she'd told Winter, via letter, that some things we have to fight our whole lives, but they get weaker.
Winter applied that to her own issues as well as Qrow's. Maybe she'd always have a harder time trusting other people and letting them help her--even now it annoyed her to be helped too much even out of good will...but she could work on it.
She just hoped Qrow kept that same mindset.
She woke up late that night, noticing he wasn't there.
Getting up and putting on her robe, she wandered into the living room.
Qrow was there, sitting in a chair, staring at the window and lost in thought.
He looked up.
Winter could guess what was on his mind without him saying a word.
She walked up and put a hand on his shoulder.
"I just couldn't sleep," Qrow said by way of excuse. "Too many thoughts."
"Are you worried about the baby?" Winter asked.
She knew he was already, but she had to ask anyway.
"Some." Qrow had been having nightmares about it in fact. "And not just that. I'm worried about me."
Winter shook her head silently.
"Not just my Semblance, though that's keeping me up hours too," Qrow said flatly. "But there's also just me. I never thought I'd be a dad. I don't know the first thing about it."
"This is new for me too," Winter said. "I didn't think I'd ever be a mother, not after I joined the military and became a Maiden. I never thought I'd live this long."
"Makes two of us," Qrow said. "I mean for me..."
"For me too, I think, if you were brutally honest," Winter said. "I've sometimes suspected that some of your testiness about that whole affair was that, if I was the Maiden, I'd not live very long."
"Well, most of them didn't," Qrow said slowly. "It was part of what just felt so wrong. Maybe that was part of why I didn't want to let anyone get too close. But you can't stop it. I realize that now. Things are going to happen. It just hurts more to try to stop them."
"Good and bad, Qrow, some things are just going to be," Winter said. "And not all things can be changed. Surely we both know that by now. This is just another one of them. We can't change it, just what we do about it. I'll admit, I'm not sure I know what to do. My role models were not...ideal to say the least."
"I not worried about you," Qrow said frankly. "I know how you are with Weiss, even with Ruby and the other kids. You're the responsible one. It's me.... I was never that good at being a good role model, let alone an authority figure. Even if I got past the other stuff, how would I...?" he said and raised his head. "It's just not something I want to mess up."
"I think that's a good sign," Winter said. "I can tell you, my father never cared if he messed up our lives. I think he tried to, in fact. So long as you're worried about it, I'm not. We won't be perfect, but we intend to do our best. Surely that counts for something."
"I guess I just worry that no matter how hard I try, I won't be able to do it right," Qrow said. "I never expected this, you know. A family, a wife, a life like this. Since I was a kid, I was always going from one place to another, stealing or getting info. That was my life. I never expected it would be different."
"Me neither." Winter tilted her head. "Qrow, both of us are the other's second chance, aren't we? A bit late to the game, but we want to play our best all the more because of that. No time to waste only half trying...and no time to waste giving in to fear."
"But there are real reasons to fear," Qrow said. "Are you really okay with this?" He looked up. "I've been doing well, for a while, but things could get worse.... You would be okay with a risk of accidents to happen all the time?"
Winter gripped his chin to look in his eye.
"I would worry about that anyway," she said. "I'm not quite so fearless that I never worry. I worried about Weiss. But I pushed her to be strong on her own, same as Ruby and Yang. Because we can't change their fates. I can only imagine how much more I would want to protect my own child, but...we both know we can't, not forever. I certainly will try, but if it's not one danger, it's another. The world is dangerous, Qrow. We can't just try to estimate how much more or less it will be. I told you that before we were married. I seem to be doing fine. And you've been doing better.... This is new...but it's not definitely going to make it worse for you."
Qrow looked pretty uncertain.
After all this time, Winter had learned that the things that scared her weren't usually the things that scared him. Sometimes they were...but here she was bolder.
Really, she might have been the bolder out of the two of them, period, but it didn't matter. She was done with shaming people for being afraid, if she ever had done that.
She also had begun to see that you can't always just remind people of their duty or standards when they're upset.... Sometimes they need something else.
She softened a bit and sank to the floor, putting a hand on his knee.
"Maybe sometimes I do think about it," she said slowly. "I suppose because I know that you do and that others do, even if they don't say it. People have all kinds of doubts about us...but we defied the odds this far...and if, God forbid, something does go wrong, it will be difficult, but I will not blame you. There is still no way to be sure of it...at any point. And I will still love you."
She'd gotten better at saying those words. It almost was effortless now...almost.
But this didn't bother Qrow. He was just surprised she said it like that.
He choked up at once.
The mood had softened a little, not so tense, and Winter felt it.
Honestly she had needed to say that as much as he needed to hear it, to quiet her fears after they'd been stirred up by Weiss earlier, remind herself of why she'd agreed to this to begin with.
She moved a bit so that she was sitting on his lap and could reach him better, and Qrow put his arms around her also.
They sat like that for a while.
Finally Qrow said, emotionally, "I just don't want to cause any more problems."
"It's not a problem," Winter insisted. "You know what I think."
"I know." Qrow leaned on her shoulder. "I wish I was that sure..."
"I don't think it's necessary to be sure." Winter hit upon a very true thought. "Just to be willing to try, as far as you can...and...well, I can't do this without you. At least I don't want to try."
Qrow glanced up. "No, I wouldn't make you do that," he said more steadily. "I have my fears about it, but I was part of this. I wouldn't do that to you. But usually people don't want me around when stuff is going to be hard, just the opposite."
"Well, I'm not the usual person, then," Winter said dryly. Secretly she was immensely relieved to hear this. She had been, in spite of herself, afraid deep down, even if she knew better, that Qrow might think it was better to just bow out for the greater good.
Qrow guessed this and felt bad for making her worry about it.
"I know," he said, hugging her tighter. "I'm not going anywhere, okay? I'll be here, backing you up."
Winter had her time to get emotional.
Qrow was calmer now.
The sickening feeling of dread had passed, and his mind was more clear.
After all, he reflected, I got her. How unlucky could I really be? Maybe I do put too much up to Semblances. Bad stuff happens to everyone, doesn't matter who they are. But how many people have it this good first?
He'd been working on thinking this way for years now, of course, but it was more discipline than anything else, but sometimes moments like this happened, and he'd feel his old fears get chipped away at, one piece at a time. One day maybe they'd just fall completely off like some old feathers.
"You know, I know we don't believe in luck anymore," he said.
Winter glanced up.
"But if I did, I'd say it's more in our favor," Qrow said. "I mean...what were the odds we'd end up together and enjoy it this much? With so many friends and family around? They have to be one in a million."
Winter finally smiled faintly. "Maybe you manipulated probability then," she suggested.
Whenever she talked like that, Qrow could never resist kissing her, so he did.
["Last Hope"--Paramore]
[AWWW, I'm just going to melt.
For real, I think it's downplayed in media how important these moments are to married couples. You're more likely to read it in drama-filled romances between people who barely know each other.
But it's really in marriage that you feel this vulnerable with someone and have the chance to have those times of real trust and reassurance.
We're shown the ugly sides of marriage by Hollywood because cynical people think it's funny, but the beautiful sides aren't depicted. I guess they're harder to portray well anyway.
I do love to see two characters who I ship have moments I could believe happening. What else is fan fic for, right?]
* * *
Menagerie was warm all year around, but especially when it was nearly summer.
Weiss and Meridian found the heat negligible after the dry desert--but the humidity?
Weiss didn't like it.
Blake felt right at home, even though her hair got more frizzy because of it--you could hardly tell though.
Sun said it was fine. At least they had bananas.
"And see, right there--" He pointed to the house on the hill. "--that's Blake's house."
Weiss peered at it using binoculars that Meridian had brought.
"Oh, it's...cute," she said.
Blake and Sun exchanged a look.
Of course Weiss' mansion was 8 times the size of Blake's, easy, when it was still standing.
"Whoa, nellie, that's your house?" Meridian had the more appropriate reaction. "Isn't that a picture? And we really can't go inside?"
"Sorry..." Blake said. "You're too famous. Maybe if you weren't, we could pretend you were Faunus and sneak you in, but humans aren't allowed past the harbor here. I mean, not many would want to come anyway."
"But it's really nice," Meridian said. "I don't see why this is so bad. I wish folks would give me my own island to live in with my people."
Blake frowned at him.
"Let me see if I can remember this." Sun put his finger in the air importantly. "It's symbolic of how we're pushed aside. We're given an island and told to make do. Right? And there's nasty desert around it, not nice desert like Vacuo."
"What exactly is a nice desert, mate?" Meridian said skeptically.
"I don't know, but Blake apparently does," Sun said.
Blake realized that both of them might be laughing at her.
"Hey!" she said. "I was serious."
"Love," Meridian said, "I'm all for Faunus equality, but if I had to pick what the worst part of being a Faunus is, I wouldn't pick having your own private island with lush tropical plants where no one's allowed to come and bully you. Don't you think you get a little pedantic at times?"
"But it's not really equality," Blake argued.
"I guess it's like Atlas being a floating city," Weiss said. "We say it's for one thing, but the results aren't...well, the same. But this really doesn't seem so bad to me, anyway. I guess if you don't want to live around humans. I mean, I wouldn't want to live around just Faunus exclusively...not as a Shcnee."
She was probably right to think that was a bad idea.
"Another reason you shouldn't step foot on this island," Blake said. "Not everyone is over that."
"It wasn't as if it was my fault what my father did," Weiss said. "I was always going to try to do something about it if I got the company, and Whitley has. Why can't they just let it go?"
"Revenge, Snow Tiger, it's not smart, but it's nature," Meridian sighed. "But if we stand here on the boat we're all right?"
"They won't come on the boat," Blake said. "Just wait for us. It's docked here for a few days to refuel...and, while I can't believe that our captain friend would knowingly smuggle, maybe he doesn't know everything. If you catch anyone doing anything weird with the cargo, let us know...or on any other ships."
"Will do," Meridian said, but Blake thought he looked more ready to lounge on the deck with a video game on his scroll or do target practice on some large fish.
Weiss nodded though. She loved investigating stuff.
Blake and Sun left the ship.
Unlike the first time, when only a few people had recognized Blake and none of them had bothered to speak to her (probably because they knew about her going off with the White Fang), the last few times they'd come to Menagerie, people had swarmed them.
And this time wasn't much different. A bunch of kids of various ages ran up when thay saw them walking down the marketplace.
And a lot of adults came up to say hello also.
Normally Blake wouldn't mind a little hero worship, but she realized that this would mean no thief here would not know they were there. No way they could search around inconspicuously after this.
Somehow they got through the crush of Faunus and to her house.
"At some point we've gotta meet with the contractor too." She looked up at it.
The rebuilding had made it pretty much the same as before. It looked like home.
Except that it smelled newer inside.
And her mom and dad weren't there with tea.
Some of the servants were there to keep up the garden and clean it. They said hello.
"We always get the VIP treatment here." Sun flopped onto a sofa lounge.
Blake shook her head, smiling fondly. "We're not here to just relax, Sun."
"Oh, come on, we're in paradise, we're newlyweds, and we have days to focus on the business stuff. Can't we just chill?" Sun picked a piece of fruit off the table. The servants had expected their arrival and laid out snacks.
It was tempting...
"Well, maybe after I talk to Illea. She'll be here soon, I'm sure," Blake shrugged.
Illea did arrive not that later, as usual dressed to be less conspicuous so she could blend in.
"Hey." She hugged Blake.
"S'up?" Sun waved at her with both his hand and his tail.
"So...?" Blake asked.
"Always business first," Illea said dryly. "I still haven't found any signs of strange weapons being on the island. I mean, who would you even use them on? It would just get you attention when there's so few of us.... They could be passing them through here, I guess, but there's thousands of crates and containers that pass through this point. I can't check all of them, and without probable cause, neither can the guards here. I told them to watch for anything weird, but for all I know some of them could be in on it. It might be a dead end. I'm sorry, Blake."
Blake sighed. "It was a long shot."
"Though there is one thing." Illea held up her scroll. "I looked at the list of exported and imported materials that you sent me from Argus' records. A lot of the supplies that didn't get delivered did come from Menagerie--and you have no idea what I had to fill out to get the foreman here to tell me that. I had to name drop like crazy too. If I had that badge of yours, this would be easier."
"It's a medal," Blake said. "And I'm not sure people should give us those perks so much because of it, but they do."
"No one wants to mess with us. We defeated Salem," Sun said complacently.
"Yeah...which is why you being here might scare anyone who is involved in this into not doing anything." Illea rubbed her head. "I'm down to bust another conspiracy with you two, but maybe you need to go undercover sometimes."
"That's easy for you to say," Sun said, around a mouthful. "You can do that anytime."
Illea's pigmentation flickered either with annoyance or agreement.
"Well, we are shipping out more coffee and tropical fruit orders from here," she said. "And even some jewelry.... Business sure has gotten better since you made us more famous.... I guess that's something to be glad about.... Anything more cheerful going on with you?"
"Well, Blake and I decided to get hitched while we were on the boat," Sun offered.
Illea glanced from Blake to him strangely.
Blake worried for a second that she'd be uspet, but then she smiled.
"I figured that was going to be soon," she said. "But you didn't invite me? Dang you. And your parents?"
"Actually they were okay," Blake said. "Unless they were lying to make me feel better. But Weiss and Meridian were there."
"Sorry...who are they?" Illea said.
"You remember Weiss," Sun said. "She was in the team when we left."
"Oh...the really white girl?" Illea meant that quite literally.
"She's a little less white now. She's been in the sun too long," Sun said. "She's almost...off white."
"I don't know what that means," Illea said. "And who's Meridian? It doesn't sound familiar."
"He got a medal. He was on our quest. That's how they got together," Blake said. "Oh yeah, they just got married too, so we're sort of on this double pleasure cruise to celebrate. Except that for us it's more business. I need to find a building contractor--"
Sun coughed meaningfully.
"--tomorrow..." Blake finished.
"I know everyone," Illea said. "If you want me to put out a feeler. But why?"
"My parents want to turn our house into a shelter," Blake explained, gesturing around. "And I think it's fine to leave it mostly the way it is, but we need to get the designated purpose changed, right?"
"On Menagerie?" Illea snorted. "Mayne in Atlas. Here, I don't think anyone would care what you did with it."
"Hmm, but if people from Argus are sent here, they might care if it's official," Blake said. "And we've learned the hard way that not making sure of that can lead to people taking advantage of the orphans to get some free labor."
There had been some unsightly incidents with this in the last year or so. They'd caught it early on enough to stop it, but...well, inspections existed for a reason.
"If you want to worry about it, I guess," Illea said. "This is part of that GOP thing your friend started, right? You know, if you want to open that here, we have plenty of people who could be in it. I mean, we help each other out, but after that influx of Faunas from Atlas came in, we're overcrowded."
"I can't believe our house has just been sitting here not being used. It could fit 20 people, easy," Blake said. "Maybe with a few renovations it could fit way more."
"It could fit 100 people if you were willing to have them share rooms," Sun said. "Rich people always think there needs to be one room per person. You ever notice that?"
"Yeah," Illea said. "You know, when I met Blake, she didn't even know people shared rooms with their siblings?"
"Get out," Sun said.
"Oh, yeah, and she thought everyone's home was the size of a palace." Illea smirked.
"I did not think that," Blake argued. "I knew better by then."
"Of course the Belladonnas hardly lived in their house at the time. They were always at rallies, but then they stepped back, and I saw this place. I felt pretty poor," Illea said.
"So true," Sun said. "I mean, I lived in a hovel compared to this."
"But I won't be living in it anymore," Blake said, not liking this turn.
"Sorry," Sun said, apologetic. "It's just funny, that's all."
"I admire you being willing to give this up," Illea said. "Not everyone would. I guess it doesn't matter that you were rich. It's just a joke."
"Though I think you and Weiss could compare notes with your life stories," Sun said. "Funny that you never got along that well--they say like forces repel."
"Weiss isn't rich anymore either," Blake said.
"Technically you're still rich, you just won't live in the house," Illea said.
"Can we stop talking about this?" Blake said flatly.
[People always act like being rich automatically means you're spoiled...and it can for sure. But I don't think I'd want to be stuck in that bubble either. Being well off but not caught up in the social elite circles seems like the optimal place to me.]