"Take a seat at booth five, please."
Blake doesn't say anything as she passes the guard and makes her way to booth five. She keeps her eyes forward and her face blank as she walks, ignoring the people already there. She takes the seat between the dividers, a single line scroll hanging on the divider to her left. The security glass that bisects the room offers a view of a metal door in front of her, a red light glowing above it.
Blake keeps her ears flat against her head beneath her beanie, but even then she could make out tibbits of the conversations going on around her. She could hear the emotions in those voices: anger, fear, hope, dread. She ignores them. She came here with a purpose and she would not allow herself to be distracted.
The light above the door turns green and it opens. A security guard who looks to young to be working in a prison steps through and Blake's breath catches.
Adam's hair is shorter than it was the last time she saw him; his black horns more pronounced against the red locks under the fluorescent lights. Other than that, he looked much the same. Broad shoulders stretched the orange jumpsuit he wears and across his chest the word 'PRISONER' is stamped onto the fabric, followed by a series of numbers and letters. Dark eyes find her immediately and Blake has to suppress the cold shiver that runs down her spine.
Adam stumbles forward suddenly and then rights himself, his body going rigid under the jumpsuit. What Blake sees in his eyes is more familiar than it should have been and for a second she thinks Adam will attack the guard that shoved him. But the look lasts less than a second and is gone as fast as it came. Blake can still see it though, burning just beneath the surface of his eyes. He steps forward and takes the seat across from her, two inches of security glass the only thing separating them.
Neither makes a move at first, both watching the other, each studying a face they hadn't seen in more than a month. Adam is the first to break the standoff, his shoulder slump and he takes the scroll off the divider next to him. He presses it to his ear and waits for Blake to do the same. She pauses for a moment though, leaning back in her chair with her arms crossed and giving him a cool stare. After a minute, she takes the scroll down from her side and holds it up to her ear so she can hear.
"Hey Blake, how are you? I was getting worried since I haven't seen you since the trial."
His voice isn't the way she remember it. Before, it always seemed full of energy, like he was ready to take on the world no matter how hard it tried to push him down. Now though, it felt...empty. Like it was resigned to never being heard.
"I've been...busy, Adam. Real busy."
"Yeah," he said, "I guess you would be after everything that happened.
They fall back into that awkward silence, both knowing something needed to be said but neither certain on how to say it.
"How's, uh, hows everyone else doing? Is Summer taking-"
"They're leaving."
A pregnant pause follows as Adam's brows furrow and he looks down, confusion clouding his eyes. He blinks several times before he looks back up.
"What-what do you mean they're leaving? Where are they going?"
"To Vale."
"Why? What happened?"
"What happened, Adam? YOU happened. After what you said, after your outburst, how could they possibly stay here?"
"But that had nothing to do with them. Why would they have to-"
If it wasn't for the glass separating them, Adam was certain that Blake would have strangled him.
"Nothing to do with them?!"
It took every ounce of control that Blake had to not jump to her feet then and there. Out of the corner of her eye she could see a guard shift on his feet, his eyes looking in their direction. She takes a deep breath and remembers the promise she made herself before she came here. That she would not let her emotions take control of her again. So she waits until the anger fades and ignores the eyes on her. When she is certain that she won't have another outburst she speaks, her voice cool and slightly detached.
"They stood up for you, Adam. Whenever someone condemned you, insulted you, they always defended you. Always. But after what you did? How could they possibly stay? Taiyang had to resign from the school, no one will do business with Summer, and Weiss and I are the only two people in Patch that will talk with Ruby and Yang. They're pariahs now. No one wants them here anymore. So they're going to Vale-"
"Blake, I am so sorry. I never meant for any of this to happen. I-"
"-and I'm going with them."
Adam stops mid-sentence, his body freezing as he processes what Blake said. Blake has to wait a few minutes before Adam finally speaks.
"What?"
"Summer offered to take me with them. I said yes. We're leaving after I'm done here."
"Why would you go with them?"
"What else can I do? You're going to be here for TEN years, everyone else is leaving; I'd be alone in a town that hates my brother and, by proxy, me."
Blake can hear the subtle desperation that starts to creep into Adam's voice, "What about Weiss?"
"She's leaving too. She only stayed in Patch this long because of Yang." Blake laughs bitterly, "Her father was more than happy to buy her a place in Vale."
Blake watches as Adam's jaw clenches and unclenches, his knuckles turning white as he balls his fist tighter and tighter. Then, suddenly, the tension leaves, he looks down, and Adam looks more broken than Blake has ever seen him.
"Adam…"
"You should go."
She doesn't say anything. She just looks at him with an odd mix of sadness and anger.
"You shouldn't...you shouldn't have to stay here because of me. You-" he swallows hard and Blake feels a sudden pain in her chest, "You deserve to be happy. With them. With her."
Adam finally looks up and for the first time since the riot Blake recognizes the person sitting across from her. She sees the man that raised her since she was six years old, who tucked her into bed, who combed her hair while singing along with her, who went out of his way to make sure that she was always happy and safe.
Blake sees her brother and it breaks her heart.
Tears prick at her eyes and she has to fight to hold them in. A few defy her, though, and start a slow trek down the sides of her face. Adam reaches up, instinctively, to brush them away but stops when he remembers where they are and what was separating them. Instead, he presses his hand against the glass, spreading his fingers like he did when she was younger, when the world was a brighter place. Blake does the same, mirroring his hand with her own.
Adam stares at their hands for a few seconds before lowering his back down. He takes a deep breath and finds his sister's eyes.
"You'll be fine, Blake. You're strong, you're smart, and you have the best family in the world by your side."
Blake's lips tilt up in a sad smile.
"It'll be missing someone."
Adam laughs, "Please, like you need this old bull helping you. You always did fine without me."
He looks over her shoulder at the clock on the wall.
"I think our time is up. Make sure to say hi to everyone for me. Tell them I'm sorry about how it all turned out. That I didn't want it to end this way."
"I will."
"And if you don't ask Ruby out on a date in five years, I'll break out of prison and lock you two in broom closet."
Blake glares and peaks in a stern voice, "Adam."
"Or maybe I'll get Yang to do it instead."
He smiles then, the same smile he had whenever Blake came home with an 'A' on her test. It was the proud smile of a parent that was watching their child take their own steps in the world. The kind that knew they weren't needed anymore.
"I love you, Blake, and I'll always be proud of you. Remember that, ok?"
Blake nods and wipes the dried tears from her face. The young guard from before walks over and puts a hand on Adam's shoulder, signaling that their time was over. He almost looks sorry for interrupting.
"This isn't our last goodbye, Blake. We will see each other again. Ok?"
"Ok."
The two share one last smile before they hang up their scrolls. Adam is led back to the metal door and Blake walks back the way she came. She stops before she leaves the room and looks back in time to see her brother looking at her. He waves and she waves back even as a sinking feeling settles in her stomach. A feeling that this would be the last time that she saw her brother.
That this really was their last goodbye.
Author's note: Howdy and Hello!
To all you who believed me when I said this would be out on Sunday: way to go; your faith has paid off! To everyone else: You had a valid reason to doubt.
I'm actually kinda surprised at how easy it was to write this. Probably just a fluke. Speaking of flukes, did anyone catch discrepancy in this chapter? If you did, ten potato points for you.
Anywho..
Thank you all so very much for reading/reviewing/faving. Let me know what you think down below. I thrive on your words of disapproval.
Until the next time! (x2)
P.S Does anyone know who to set up one of those pole thingermagigs? I want to see how many of you would be interested in a side story of sorts. Please P.M. me if you do. Thanks!
P.S.S: For those wondering what Adam's outburst was, the omake down below offers Adam's point of view during the incident. Warning: it might be a bit emotional. Not sure what that means but you can decide for yourself.
P.S.S.S I did check for errors in the omake (and I caught a few) but I riled myself up before writing it and I'm still a little on edge so I might have missed one or two.
Response to last chapters reviews:
AndyH: It was centered around Blake and how Ruby interacts with her on a daily basis. Probably should have mentioned that before. I think I was trying to show why Ladybug is my go to ship for RWBY. Because Blake doesn't HAVE to open up or show all these things that she hides deep down. Ruby wouldn't press for anything that isn't offered and she would go out of her way to make sure that Blake was alright. She'd understand that Blake has secrets and wouldn't feel the need to pry. They make, to me at least, the perfect match. That or I was out of my mind sick and just put words together. The world may never know.
IShipYouNot: ...I burst into a fit of giggles every time I read your screen name. Also, thank you.
NarfoOnTheNet: Dentures are for the weak.
Omake:
"You beat him to death!"
"I didn't mean to!"
"You attacked him. You tackled him to the ground in the pouring rain and you pummeled his head with your bare hands until his face was to badly disfigured that it took two days to id his body!"
"I didn't mean to go that far!"
"Didn't you though, Mr. Taurus? Here he was, just another ignorant human, begging for it by hurling insults and throwing a rock. Just like all the rest of them. And for that, he deserved to die, didn't he, Adam? Didn't he?!"
"They all do!"
Rage, white-hot and boiling, pours through him. It roars in his ears and drowns out the gasps from the packed court room. He doesn't care. For the first time in ten years the dam inside him is broken and there is nothing that can stop the flood.
"Year after year you treat us like we're nothing but animals. You blame us for your problems, you demand that we follow your laws, your rules, and when we ask to be made equals you spit in our faces and say we should be happy with our lot in life! Well, if you want to treat us like beasts then that's how we'll act!"
Soft murmurs spread through the court and the judge has to hammer the gavel.
But the voices would not be silenced.
"No more will we ask to be treated as equals, we will demand it. No more will we ask for respect, we will take it! For years we have played the roles of your domesticated pets, but now?! Now we'll show you our claws and we'll show you our fangs!"
The faunus in the gallery are standing, shouting, cheering; the judge is calling for order, and Adam stares the prosecutor in the eye. In a low voice that seems to cut through noise to every ear in the court room he says, "And if you stand in our way, you can join that human in the morgue."
The gallery erupts, chaos and disorder reigning as the guards descend.
Adam sits back in his chair, he didn't realize he was standing, and he watches as the guards start to drag the disruptive faunus from the room. Slowly, the anger inside him drains away, leaving a cold hollow in his chest. He looks to the defendants desk and sees Taiyang looking at him, disappointment clear in those lilac eyes. Adam's words echo in his head and their meaning starts to finally sink in. The hollow in his chest grows colder as the realization of what he did, what he said, registers and he quickly scans the crowd, looking for familiar gold. Instead, all he sees are the effects of his words and a blur of black disappearing through the door.
Adam leans back into the chair and stares at the door as a lone question pushes its way to the forefront of his mind.
What have I done?