Weiss left the building with the two girls next to her. She let out a soft sigh. She never liked places like this. You always came there because something bad happened. While this wasn't some big public hospital but just a private clinic, it still left bad taste in her mouth.

While she was letting the wind wash over her face and cleanse her off such feelings, a black haired girl appeared in front of her. That made Weiss jump and stumble backwards against the door, yelping in surprise.

"Blake! For crying out loud, don't do that. I know we're close to medical care but I'd rather not face a heart attack at such young age." Weiss stomped her feet in annoyance. It was always something. Hyperactive Ruby, brutish Yang, and sneaky Blake.

The older faunus smiled sheepishly and rubbed her neck. "Sorry, I just was worried." She then crouched next to the girls, both that were being quite confused by the exchange between the older girls. "How was the doctor trip?" Blake smiled at the two sisters.

"We've been good! We got a praise even!" It was of course Pearl that spoke for both of them, although Sapphire added in her approval of the story with her energetic nodding. They both looked to Weiss as if she was the final evidence of them indeed acquiring the praise.

The Schnee let out a chuckle. "That's true, the doctor did praise them for being well behaved. And he said nothing is wrong with them. Although we could get them some diet supplements just to make sure. And he asked me to bring them in a month if we could." The heiress smiled.

Blake frowned at that, nodding as she digested the information. She stood up and looked around. "I guess we can head back...home, No?" Before the older faunus could start walking, Weiss interrupted her.

"Actually? Why...Why Not go on for a walk? Maybe get the girls some icecream? I mean its a nice day, its still early. And they earned a reward." Weiss ruffled both girls hair, to which they both giggled and shook their heads to try and escape the ruffles.

"Weiss? I'm not sure you're aware but that might be dangerous. So its better if we just head home. We can get some icecream in a box or something. Now come on." The older catgirl nodded towards the general direction of the apartment that was now home for the two younger girls.

"Blake, you don't mean to keep them caged for the rest of their lives, right? If anyone would look for them, I'm sure they would already find them, or at least you'd already know that, with how paranoid you are." It was Weiss time to frown.

"Caged? Caged?! Weiss, I saved them from cages. And now I'm trying to protect them from a fate you can't even imagine. Maybe you don't get it, but the worst that might happen isn't their dad cutting off their credit cards or grounding them. But taking them back to hell on Remnant." Blake clenched her jaw as her bow twitched, her ears most likely trying to mimic her current emotional state, yet due to being all tied up, could only wiggle.

"Blake what the dust are you on right now? I simply wish for the girls to have some fresh air. You freed them, and I wish for them to be that. Be free. And how dare you bring my family into this you..." She stopped. Something didn't feel right. Weiss looked down and saw that both girls were looking between them in fear, as the older one hugged her younger sibling.

The Schnee looked up at Blake, which looked back at her. She also noticed. Both of them looked to the side awkwardly.

"Do as you want, Blake." Was the only thing that Weiss said before heading off in the opposite direction of where the apartment was. She had to give up this round. Swallow her pride for the sake of girls. Arguing in front of them would only upset them further. Make them think that once more their good luck would pitter out because she argued with Blake.

Weiss decided to just walk through the streets of Vale. No real direction, as she tried to calm down. She understood what point Blake was trying to make. She would kill anyone who tried to hurt the two girls. But keeping them caged wasn't an option. It was as if nothing changed. What is freedom that you can't taste?

The Schnee knew about this too much. How everyone always claimed for her to be rich, and when you have money you can do whatever. Bunch of ...lies, Not to degrade to Yang language. The more money you have, the more careful you need to be. The more control you need. And it wasn't her money, so it was Weiss that was being controlled.

It hurt her. What Blake said. Not because of what she said, but because it was her that said it. Maybe this is what Weiss was to Blake. A credit card with her dads money on it. Maybe she just tolerated her, first for the sake of team, now for the sake of girls. Perhaps she was right, maybe Weiss didn't deserve to be accepted by either her or the two girls. She just bought herself into their hearts.

The Schnee could feel tears gather in her eyes. How easy it was to crumble her mask. She quickened her pace, she wanted for her legs to start hurting. She wanted to forget about all these stupid emotions. She should just leave them alone. Pay for their apartment. Maybe Blake was right about all this. Maybe she was the real danger for the girls.

She stopped at the entrance to one of the backalleys. She moved into it and rested her back against the wall. Her arms moved to hug herself, as she slowly slid down the wall into a sitting position. She could no longer hold her tears. She was useless. She was a walking wallet, a throw away pawn for her father, a pointless idealist with a stupid dream.

She sat there, sobbing and letting her tears trail down her face, up until her eyes went dry. She felt sick. But she forgot something important. And it wasn't about her, so she had to force herself to stop being a mess. Although this could wait a bit. She needed some time, to regain herself. But she had to do it.

oooOOOooo

Blake sighed as she lead the girls through the streets. She messed up again. She once more threw a tantrum and hurt someone by it. While she was grateful for any help she received whenever she was in need, its why she preferred to work alone, to deal with her issues alone up until there was no other choice. Its because she always hurt people close to her.

Through the entire walk the two younger girls remained quiet. Sapphire because she always was that way, and Pearl due to...well, They understood that something bad happened. That there was some sort of tension. They didn't fully grasp what was it about, but they knew it would be better not to ask about it, at least not now.

She shook her head, it didn't matter. Not now. She would clear everything with Weiss later. For now she had to focus on the girls. As they entered the apartment they stayed at, she moved towards the small kitchen corner. Tea would help her mind clear a bit. She prepared herself a cup, and reached to make some for the two younger girls.

The small cups Weiss bought with her big shopping trip. This made Blake sigh. Now everything in here will remind her of the Schnee. This whole place served as one big reminder of the white haired girl. She shook her head as she finished with the tea making, soon to sit on the small couch, letting another sigh, this time one of relief.

She was joined by the two younger girls. They looked at each other as if communicating in some telepathic way, before Pearl decided to be the voice of their collective mind. "Will Aunt Weiss leave us?"

Blake blinked at that. Would she? "No, Pearl, of course not. It was...a Misunderstanding. We'll apologize to each other when she's here next time, I promise everything will be fine." She put on a fake smile as she moved her hands to pet both pair of the younger girls animal ears, trying to find a way to distract them.

"Aunt Weiss loves you girls too much to just abandon you. So don't worry, alright?" The two girls looked at each other once more.

"Do you love aunt Weiss?" Pearl tilted her head curiously. Now that was a bomb that the older faunus didn't expect. She put on a forced grin, which was dangerously close to just clenching her teeth. She couldn't overreact. She couldn't.

"W-Why would you ask such a question, Pearl?" What kind of question was this, and so sudden. Did Weiss tell them something last night?

"I heard when aunt Weiss told you about wanting to make family for us. And when you're a family, you love each other, yes?" Oh dust, they meant it like this. Like family. Blake rested her hand against her own forehead. She had to remember these are small kids. They wouldn't fully grasp the concept of love.

"Yeah, we love each other. We're friends, and friends do love each other. There...are Many forms of love. But we both love you girls. And we are friends, so we love each other." Blake decided to try and explain it to them. Although she wasn't sure if they understood. It was always hard to read their expressions. She saw them look at each other, before giving a nod up to her. Good enough.

She was horrible at this. Weiss was so much better at handling the girls. She could make them safe, get food to them, provide necessary things but...but She just wasn't that great at handling this social stuff.

oooOOOooo

Blake yawned as she checked her scroll. It was getting late, at least for the girls. Though she was exhausted by today. Mostly due to her day being ruined by her morning fight with Weiss. "Alright girls, I think its time to sleep." She stood up and stretched, peeking at both of them looking up at her disappointedly.

She chuckled. "Tomorrow is also a day, now come on. We need to prepare you two to go to bed." She lead the girls towards the small bathroom. Everything went smoothly up until the actual bed portion of the evening.

"Aunt Blake?" Pearl looked between the two catgirls.

"Yes? Something wrong? I didn't forget about anything, did I?" Blake tilted her head.

"Could you sing? Like aunt Weiss did. Sapphire is afraid of nightmares, and aunt Weiss had such a pretty voice. Please?" Blake blinked at that. She bit her lower lip. She couldn't sing. While Yang would chuckle at that, Blake in fact did inherit her vocal abilities from an actual cat. And that meant it was bad.

"I-I don't really sing Pearl. I'm sorry. Is there...anything Else I could do to help Sapphire?" the older faunus looked between the two girls. Then she heard it. Someone was opening the door.

Something was wrong, did Weiss sell them out? Impossible. Which meant that someone assaulted her. They found them, by finding Weiss. "Girls, stay here, and be quiet. If you hear me yelling, hide." That made the girls sit up, Pearl hugging her younger sister. "Everything will be fine, don't worry. I won't let anyone hurt you girls."

She moved quietly. She heard someone enter, but nothing beyond that. She reached for her weapon and slowly opened the door and entered the main part of the apartment. She was ready to fight whoever would invade them...only To meet a white looking disaster.

"W-Weiss?" Here was the Schnee heiress. Her outfit no longer snow white, her hair no longer tidy, no longer having that distinct ponytail. Her face no longer having that stoic presence. She looked miserable.

"Hey." The white haired girl offered a short greeting, before raising a small paper. "I forgot to give you the prescription from the doctor. But I guess its a bit too late today. Sorry." The Schnee hanged her head as her hand lowered.

Blake quickly moved towards the other girl, her arms moving to wrap them around the white haired girl, as she pulled her into a hug. "Weiss, what happened?" She asked quietly. To see her broken like this. It made Blake's heart ache with pain.

"Just...realization, Blake. Of how worthless I am." It sounded so weak. So defeated.

Blake moved the other girl away and grabbed her arms. "Weiss? Weiss, look at me." Once she saw that the Schnee continued to keep her head low, she clenched her teeth and placed both her hands on the other girls cheeks. She forced the heiress to look at her.

Blake had to keep herself from letting go. Her blue eyes looked so hollow. Did she spent her entire day tormenting herself over their morning argument? She took a deep breath. "Weiss, You're not worthless. Why would you think that?" She had to be careful. While Blake wanted to yell at this girl to stop being stupid, she had to be careful. Unlike their blonde friend, the cat faunus had her moments of clarity. And thank dust for that.

"Because I am, Blake. I'm a nobody. Even my father doesn't believe I'll accomplish anything. Why do you think he allowed me to be here? He knows I won't make anything of my pitiful goal." Blake felt the white haired girl shrug lightly. It was so subtle her eyes didn't even catch the movement.

"Weiss, come on. So what? You're still a great fighter, You'll be a huntress. You're our friend, mine, Ruby's and Yang's. And most important? Just look what you gave two girls you didn't even know. How can you say that you're worthless." This pained Blake. If anyone said that about Weiss, she would slap them. It didn't matter if it was her friend, or Weiss father, or anyone. She would never let anyone say that this girl was worthless. She was her friend. A friend that she cared for. That she trusted.

"I'm a credit card. I don't even use my own money. I just take it from my dad. Blake I appreciate your kind words, but that's the reality. Now I know its their bed time. I'm sorry for disturbing you and them." Blake could feel the small paper bag being pushed into her hand. She took it. No point in ruining something that was bought for the girls.

Weiss moved to grab the doors handle, opening the door slowly ... Only for Blake's hand to push against the door and slamming it back shut. The Schnee didn't try to move again. She simply waited. She had no more strength to fight.

"Weiss, in this house there are two girls. Two girls that were dead worried you wouldn't come back. That you would abandon them. How happy they were that you wanted to give them family. Two girls that are afraid to go to bed because of nightmares. They asked me if I could sing. Like you do. If you're telling me...If You're telling yourself that you're worthless, go tell the same to those two girls that in a span of few days grew emotionally dependent on you." Blake had to keep herself calm. She was angry. She was pissed.

"You'll either go tell them that yourself. Or you'll stop being stupid. If you rather not be stupid anymore, we can go to the girls, and tell them that everything is fine. And later we can discuss this like adults. If you rather tell them you're worthless, go on. Then I'll let you go. But not before you face them yourself and tell them that you want to abandon them."

The only sound was the doorhandle that vibrated due to the white haired girl hand shaking. It felt as if time have stopped otherwise. The to girls not looking at one another. Just standing there, each deep in their own thoughts.

"Alright..." It was Weiss that broke the silence. "I'll...just Let me...I Mean I don't want them to see me like this."

Blake took a deep breath and nodded. "Yeah, alright. They...propably Heard all of this anyway. Pearl has a good sense of hearing. But I'll tell them You came."

And as they were about to turn around, each of them having destination in mind, they saw the younger girl standing in the doors of the bedroom. Her cheeks were tainted with tears, and for the first time her neutral expression was twisted in sadness, which reflected in her blue eyes.

"Sapphire?" Both Blake and wanted to move closer to calm the girl, but were petrified by what happened next.

The younger girl spoke, her voice soft and shaken by her fear and sorrow.

"Please dun leave us."

Authors Note:

So this chapter was weird to write. Mostly because I wasn't really inspired. I knew what I wanted to write, but I just wasn't sure how I want to go about it. Then I got upset by something. Something random that I would never think that would upset me. It sneaked up on me. It passed of course, and as by writing this its nothing more then a past memory.

But it was my inspiration for this chapter. How little things can trigger you. Either make you blow up, or start snowballing in your brain into a much bigger issue.

So it was weird to write this entire chapter with just that in mind. But while I struggled to write this chapter before that? Once that occurred, and once I decided to forge it into motivation to sit down and finally write this chapter up, it worked like a charm.

Anyway, Hope you all enjoyed this chapter.