Live to Lie, Lie to Live

Gwyn woke up to a white ceiling, and pain all across his body. It took a moment for him to remember what had happened, but when he did he couldn't help a grimace from forming on his face.

I almost killed them.

Yang. Weiss. Two girls he respected, and who had forcefully dragged him to lunch. Even so, he would never wish to harm them. Never want them to be hurt, especially by his own hands.

But he had.

A splash of crimson on Weiss's shirt-

Blood. Her blue eyes staring back with confusion, despair, anger.

Panic. PAnic. PANIC.

He could feel it, losing control again. The part of him that wasn't a part of him that was a part of him that wasn't. He needed it, had to have it or else-

"Gwyn!"

A voice. Female. Familiar. Concerned.

No. He had to FIND it NOW or else he'd do something he'd regret again, again, again. "Grail Sanctum. Holy Grail. Salvation. I need-!"

"Here!"

A hand wrapping around his own, and the cool sensation of a round sphere pressed into his palms. Smooth, tranquil.

"Here, Gwyn. Calm down... everything's fine."

He let out a ragged breath and closed his eyes, focusing on the orb in his hand.

Focus.

Calm.

The truth... is nothing more than an amalgamation of experience.

Anchoring his mind to the presence through those words, as he had always done. Rejecting the lies out of hand as nothing more than alternate views on reality.

And the reality was that he was there, in the infirmary, after losing control from seeing one of his 'triggers'. But it wouldn't happen again. That had just been unexpected. Had he prepared, it would not have happened.

Focus.

He was in the infirmary, and someone had given him Grail Sanctum. Ah, that's right. There was someone concerned. He shouldn't worry them any longer.

He opened his eyes to see Pyrrha looking down at him, her green eyes filled with concern. A brief glance around the room showed Ren and Nora were there as well, sitting in a pair of chairs off to the side.

Pyrrha let out a relieved sigh and leaned back. It seemed that she had taken a seat close to the bed, and was watching over him. "Thank Dust... we were worried you wouldn't wake up."

Gwyn smiled. "It will take more than Yang and Miss Schnee to kill me, Pyrrha. I do applaud you for trying though."

Shock. Pyrrha opened her mouth, and her eyes grew wide. Then they narrowed into an obvious expression of anger. Before she could speak, however, Ren cut in.

"That's not very funny, Gwyn."

As Ren was a normally quiet individual, hearing him respond chagrined Gwyn.

"Right. I apologize."

An awkward silence. Not tense, but confused.

Of course Nora was the one to break it.

"So, how was your date, Gwynie? You know, before the whole getting hurt thing."

"Nora."

"Hey! It's a valid question!"

Gwyn's smile that time was genuine, and he shook his head. "It was... interesting. Both Ms. Long and Ms. Schnee are enjoyable company. Headache inducing, for sure, but enjoyable company nonetheless."

Nora grinned, and poked Ren. "See! I told you it was a good idea to let them take Gwyn out for lunch!"

Ren sighed. "I still say that we should have told him first."

Nora and Ren started to argue, and Gwyn turned his attention back on Pyrrha.

She looked amused at their other teammates arguing, but her expression dimmed when she noticed Gwyn looking at her. "...Are you sure you're alright?"

Gwyn sighed. "It will be some time before I am 'alright', Pyrrha. Today was not very... conducive for my health. And while I appreciate the effort to give me a chance to relax, I would have preferred achieving that with my team. I had already intended to treat you all tonight to a restaurant in Vale."

Pyrrha flushed. "...Oh."

Gwyn shook his head, an easy smile on his face. "It's alright, Pyrrha. You couldn't have known what would happen. I couldn't have known what would happen. And I suppose it was about time that I told my team about myself..."

The door to the infirmary opened and Gwyn stopped talking. Headmaster Ozpin, Yang, and Weiss were standing at the doorway. The girls looked sheepish, which Gwyn noted was highly out of character for both of them, while Ozpin looked amused, but it was tempered with a serious gaze.

The Headmaster looked around the room and then smiled at Gwyn. "It's good to see such strong bonds between teammates. But I'm afraid that I must ask all of you save Gwyn to come with me, Team Guinevere. There is an important matter we must discuss."

Pyrrha gave Gwyn a questioning glance. "Should we?"

He nodded. "I'll be fine, Pyrrha."

He turned towards Ozpin. "You're going to tell them?"

The Headmaster nodded. "Indeed... unless you wish to inform them yourself?"

Gwyn looked at Yang and Weiss, both who still were strangely quiet.

"...No," he said. "I don't mind. And I believe I have business of my own to deal with."

That said, the room's occupants shifted, the rest of Team GNVR leaving with Ozpin, and leaving Gwyn alone with Yang and Weiss.

He took a deep breath and ran his hand across Grail Sanctum again, calming his mind.

"...He told you, I presume?"

"Is it true?"

Yang's quiet voice. It was enough to make Gwyn... upset wasn't the right word, but seeing the usually energetic blonde act like that was off-putting.

A crooked smile. "Well, it's not a lie at least."

An awkward silence. What could Gwyn say to them, and what could they say to Gwyn? It was an accident, something they didn't mean to cause. And his past was something he had already come to terms with, even if he couldn't recall it all.

He didn't expect them to say anything else, so he was surprised when Weiss did.

"I'm sorry."

Gwyn blinked. Weiss? Apologizing?

He checked to see if he was still asleep, or dreaming. No... this isn't a dream.

Weiss flushed and looked to the ground when Gwyn tried to meet her gaze.

"...I didn't know your power uses your life like that. And-"

"It's fine." A curt response from Gwyn. "I appreciate the sentiment, but it's unnecessary."

"Unnecessary...?" Weiss narrowed her eyes.

Yang placed a hand on her teammate's shoulder. "Weiss. I think we should give Gwyn some-"

"What do you mean it's unnecessary!? Back then... you used some of your life to save me! Something like that... I..."

"Weiss."

Yang pulled her away. "Let's go. Gwyn needs to rest. Right Gwyn?"

She sent him a cheery smile, an expression more fitting than the morose look she had when she walked in.

Fake.

It was a mask. He knew Yang well enough to tell that much. But she's trying her best.

"Yes. I would enjoy the rest... I'm practically an invalid right now, you know?"

A morbid joke that wasn't completely false. Even then, it made Yang smile.

"Well you better get better fast, Gwyn! You owe me another lunch for the mess today!"

"Yeah, yeah."

A brief exchange, and then he was alone again, Yang pulling Weiss with her.

A/N: Argh. Can't seem to progress at all on this story until this is out of the way. Short update, I know, and definitely doesn't make up for the absence in updates. The next parts should be easier to write though, since I have a vague idea of how they're going to go. It was just this one scene that kept me stuck, so I've decided to just put it here first while I work on the rest.

Sorry. I'll try to do better on the next one.