Chapter 42 - Chronic

"Scars they lie where we can keep them safe..."

"And you're absolutely sure?" Adam's mask stared straight at him.

The hissing of sewage filled his extra pair of ears, coupled with the shoes of the green recruits marching and splashing over it.

Nyx shrugged. "Found the faunus girl pinned to the wall, no one else around it, and this thing. Look familiar?"

He chucked the blood-soaked badge in the shape of a sword, tapping the floor with his boot.

His scroll kept vibrating.

Ugh. Was it too late to put it on total silence?

Weiss could be really persistent - unsurprisingly - as she was his girlfriend. It was probably something in common between the two of them. Something that brought them together like glue. Or a pair of magnets with opposite poles.

"The Resolutionists," Adam said, the badge crunching in his fist.

"The who?" Nyx asked, cracking his neck more out of habit than any real need.

"A cult of humans intent on sacrificing faunus to some dark god." Adam huffed, his breath fogging up the air. "They surfaced decades ago, but they were eventually destroyed. Why return now? Now when we're so close to real change?"

Of course. If there was a White Fang, then there probably was a human equivalent. Something along the lines of doing what the other humans could not do. Or did not have the stomach to do.

Nyx hummed. "Beats me. Nut-jobs don't really need reasons to do what they do, do they?"

"What about the girl?" Adam asked. "The one with the purple hood?"

"Oh, her?" Nyx said, stifling a yawn. "Went home. You know how it is. Green recruits from college don't mix well with disemboweled little girls."

The ghost-ninja perched outside the slums - sitting on a roof and waiting to take him back to Weiss - but Adam did not need to know that.

Adam clicked his tongue. "So it would seem. We'll remember this, Nyx. Our brothers and sisters won't stand for this, and if the humans are so brazen as to attack us here - in the city they proclaim a safe-haven for all - then perhaps it's time for more immediate and drastic measures."

"Like more rallies, you mean?" Nyx asked. "Maybe a boycott?"

"No," Adam replied, shaking his head. "I must convene with the other officers and plan for the road to our future."

"You don't need me to sniff around? Maybe I could stop-"

"Worry about the mission in seven days. Leave this one to me."

Nyx pushed himself off the wall. He loped back the winding maze, water dripping with every step he took.

There was definitely fishy with Adam's almost nonchalance. The Taurus guy should have been more concerned about faunus dying on their own turf. More concerned about the immediate safety of his people - and not dicking around with his plans for the future or something. In fact, it almost seemed like Taurus welcomed the return of the Resolutionists.

Whoever they really were.

Maybe he needed to dig around in Atlas' military database. His new credentials would come in handy - particularly in researching Cinder Fall and whatever the cloak and dagger conspiracy really was brewing in the shadows. And whatever it really was that connected Ozpin's cane to everything else.

There was a storm coming. Maybe the stormy afternoon he and Weiss met foreshadowed it. Well, if their lives were a book. But still, Nexus Shade would be damned if he was going to let whatever it was waiting in the future catch him with his pants down. The mask in his pocket already did that - and look where it got him.

Nex heaved a sigh, staring at the stars as they twinkled. The commercial district was empty, save for the usual patrols making their rounds - apparently Ironwood's idea. "Fuck. It's work as an Atlesian nark, huh?"

"What did Taurus say?" Blake said, landing beside him. Stealthy as ever.

"Something about the Resolutionists. Human cult that targets faunus," Nex said, shrugging as he shoved his hands into his pockets. His left hand brushed his vibrating scroll - and the other, cold and hard porcelain. "Wait, I gotta take this. I think we've had enough lover's quarrel for one day."

Nex placed his scroll to his ear, the cold gnawing at his earlobe. Hopefully, Mt. Weiss already cooled down - even a little. "Hey, Weiss."

The ghost-ninja matched his pace as they crossed the bridge, a frown tugging on her lips.

"Nex," Weiss whispered. Something wet hitched up her throat. Had she been crying - like that one time in the hospital? Fuck. "Why haven't you answered your scroll?"

"I think if I told you now," Nex said, heaving a sigh. "You'll lock me out the room. And tell security to get me."

"Where are you?" Weiss muttered.

"Near the hotel," Nex said, "and coming home. I guess. It's where my heart is, right? Or maybe you meant what you said this morning and you don't..."

He swallowed. The words clogged in his throat. If she meant what she said, then...

Fuck.

Weiss giggled. A short one. And it died as soon as it was born. "I'll wait for you. Blake's there, isn't she?"

"Yep. The ghost-ninja's with me," Nex said, nodding. "She'll be staying in a room next to us, right?"

Weiss hummed. Maybe even smiling. "See you soon, Mr Shade. Don't keep your Miss Schnee waiting."

Nex grinned, even as she hung up. "Wouldn't dream of it."

"So you're going to tell her?" Blake said, running her hand over the railing.

"Maybe," Nex said, licking his dry lips. He pushed his scroll back into his pocket.

Could he though? He really had no precedent when it came to the tell me your deepest and darkest secrets department. Most of the time, he stayed in the make half-assed excuses, lie, and hope everything doesn't go to shit department - and for good reason. Ending up in chains somewhere in an Atlesian prison was every irreputable's nightmare come true.

Maybe Roman Torchwick had a point. And maybe breaking their relationship off was the best option for the both of them. Or maybe running off somewhere never to be seen again. Maybe dig himself a six-foot-deep hole and bury himself in it. Fuck. A lot of maybes. And no answers to any of them. Or maybe there were no answers at all. And the truth was nowhere to be found for the first time.

Pareidolia shrunk into a mewl. No answers to be found with his semblance either. Maybe it was time to go directly to the source.

And ask her.

"You should," Blake said, her lips a thin line. "Nothing kills what you and Weiss have faster than secrets."

Nex kicked a stray rock, watching as it skipped a few times over the street. "Speaking from experience? Maybe an ex lurking in the background?"

"Let's just say that sometimes you don't know people well enough," Blake said, her words almost a whisper. "When it comes down to it - it turns out you never knew them at all." She coughed. "And when that moment comes, and it'll come, you'll find out just how much they really care about you."

The ghost-ninja never said anything more. At least, until they arrived at the glass doors of the hotel, the soft, amber light flitting through its walls. Plush couches, tables, and pretty much everything an average civilian might need from an establishment to stay the night - or a few weeks in their case.

The attendant up front inspected their scrolls. She gave them the keys to their respective rooms a second later. Her eyes lingered on their extra pair of ears, a faint - and polite - smile on her lips.

"Be careful with Taurus," Blake said as they slipped out the elevator. "He's not what he seems to be."

She spun, trotting to her room - just across theirs.

"So, he's not an officer of a highly dangerous terrorist organization?" Nex said, quirking an eyebrow.

"He is," Blake muttered, craning her neck and shooting him a quick glance. "But he's the type of guy who doesn't care about the methods - only the results. At least, not anymore. Well, he used to be... You get the point."

"Huh," Nex said as the ghost-ninja's door slammed shut. "Sounds like my type of guy. Not that I'm any better."

He faced the door to their room, his arm hovering on the terminal. His scroll sat in his hand, waiting for him to grow a pair - just like that one afternoon in the library. Only this time, there was a lot more at stake than just a few hours and a wasted trip. This time, everything was at stake. And for the first time, his cards were laid out on the table.

Well, part of his deck.

"Fuck," Nex mumbled, staring at the blue letters. The air-conditioned breeze seeped through his jacket, chilling the bones of his skeletons. "Nexus Shade. You can infiltrate a terrorist cell without batting an eye, slaughter dozens of Grimm, and survive ten year without parents. As a faunus. In Atlas. You sure as hell can talk to your girlfriend. Argument or not."

And maybe even have the Artificer spell everything out for the - for his Maiden, and see if somehow, just somehow, everything would turn out just like the fairy tales.

The door swung open.

Weiss frowned, already dressed in a white camisole. "So, are you just going to stand there talking to yourself or are you going to come in?"

"Of course I'm coming in," Nex said, padding into their room. "I'm just... working up some courage, I guess."

He stripped off his clothes and left them in the bin, leaving him bare and only in his boxers.

"Is it really that hard to be honest with me?" Weiss said, her hand wrapping around his as she led him to their bed. "Is it that hard to just let me in?"

"Let you in?" Nex said, raising an eyebrow.

They plopped down on the edge of the bed, the cushion bouncing back against their combined weight. She took his hands and pressed them over her warm and smooth lap.

"I know all about your work for Ironwood," Weiss said, staring into his eyes. "I can keep a secret. You don't have to hide it. You don't need to lie to me anymore."

"I know," Nex said, breathing a sigh. Maybe it was better to let her think that, instead of the alternative. But still. "I'm a real piece of shit, aren't I?"

Even now, he was fibbing. Letting her believe he was someone else. Maybe even denying who he really was. But maybe it was exactly what a chronic liar like him would do. Right?

Weiss scowled, her grip tightening. "Don't say that. You're starting to sound like my brother."

"I take it you don't see eye-to-eye then?" Nex asked, managing a tiny smile.

"Whitley never liked Winter or me. Or mom," Weiss mumbled, a yawn slipping through her lips. "I guess it runs in the men in my family."

"Right," Nex said, stroking the ridge of her palm. "Makes me glad I won't be having dinner with them in the foreseeable future. Gods forbid."

"You might want to reconsider that," Weiss said, chuckling as she eased him onto the bed. She pushed into the warm sheets, lying on top of him. Her familiar scent - vanilla and baby blue - suffused his nose. "My father insists on my annual birthday party. It'll be full of important people. You know the type."

"You want me to come," Nex said, grinning. "I get it. You're scared that some guy like Silverstain might flirt with my Weiss-angel."

Weiss huffed as she shuffled closer, their shared warmth wrapping around his bones, more when she slipped a blanket over them. "If it were up to me, Mr Shade, it'd be just the two of us on a beach somewhere. Alone. Sharing some coffee. But my mom wants to meet you, and my father demands that I present you as my..."

She trailed off, her cheeks glowing beet red.

"What?" Nex said, pecking her chin. "It's just a birthday party, right?"

To be fair, the only experience he had with birthday parties was with Mekel. And maybe even Roman and Neo. Three criminals. Not a very good track record there.

"Fiance. We. A couple." Weiss cleared her throat. "You do understand what I'm getting at, right?"

Nex hummed. A few months ago, the question might have stopped his brain in its tracks. "Of course I do. I'm dense. Not stupid. I know how to read a dictionary."

But still. Maybe it was a little too soon. Or maybe it was because he still lacked the balls to cough up the exact truth.

"You're not objecting," Weiss said, her lips twitching. "We can refuse. It's just formality because the heiress of the SDC is finally coming of age..."

"Are you objecting?" Nex asked, running his fingers across her thigh. "To us, I mean. It's not too soon, is it?"

"I don't know. Maybe it is. Maybe I just miss you." Weiss chuckled. "But... You know this kind of thing is pretty common in Atlas, and I want you more than some random bureaucrat who's only in it for my family name." She sighed, her minty breath flush on his neck. "I know we have our disagreements and differences but..."

Weiss Schnee trailed off. Again. Well, to be fair, arranged marriages were probably common in Atlas. Among important people, at least. She herself only got out of her prospective and unwanted beaus about a year ago.

"You know," Nex said, breathing a sigh of his own. "That's the first time you've used a lot of maybes."

"Recent events notwithstanding?" Weiss said, arching an eyebrow. "Kidding aside, I always knew you weren't just an ordinary huntsman-in-training."

Nex swallowed a wad of spit. "How come?"

"I mean, I've been thinking, there has to be a reason why my lab partner was always off running somewhere," Weiss said, her fingers trailing down his elbow. "He always looks so tired in school. Like he never gets enough sleep. That, or he can't get enough sleep. And suddenly, it all makes sense."

"You know I used to train until the crack of dawn everyday, right?" Nex said, shivering. "Plus, I had to do a lot of part-time stuff, and there's my old job as a bartender-"

Weiss giggled as she stroked his hair, her eyes glinting in the darkness. "Which I'm sure are pretty good cover stories for an Atlesian nark or whatever. But you don't need to impress me with your guile. I just want to see you, Nex. Just like how you always saw me."

The air-conditioner hummed - some sort of accompaniment to the rumbling in his chest, his freshly-eaten bagels acting up in his stomach.

Fuck.

Was he really doing this? Leading her on and letting her draw her own flawed conclusions? Half-lies, half-truths, and lies of omission just to save his own skin - and to preserve whatever it was between them? Was it even love, anymore? If all he was going to do was lie between his teeth every time she pried into his past-

"I can't do this anymore," Nex muttered. Fuck it. He might as well draw back the curtain and face his one-woman audience. "Listen-"

"Tell me about your job," Weiss said, pursing her lips. "Infiltrating and investigating the White Fang. Alone. Is it really as dangerous as Blake says?"

Nex sighed, the Artificer's words dying in his chest. There really was no stopping her when she wanted something. And maybe this time, that something was him, despite everything that could get in their way. That was getting in their way. "Nope. Not really. As long as I don't do anything stupid, then I should be fine. So don't worry about me."

"I seriously hope you don't expect me to do that," Weiss said. "I can't help but worry, Nex. I love you. And I don't want to wake up tomorrow and find out you're dead in a ditch somewhere."

"I won't-"

"So you're saying you're immortal?" Weiss asked, fixing him a glare. With her on top of him, pinning him down, there really was no escape. "That you're not going to die if someone like Roman Torchwick shot you in the back?"

Roman would not. His fellow thief still needed the virus as well as a backup plan along the lines of Neopolitan and Project Artificer in case shit hit the toilet. Probably the reason why said Artificer received no calls from Cinder Fall and his double identity was still kept secret, even under threats of immolation. After all, it would be easy enough for Roman to let slip the name of his mysterious hacker. And Nexus Shade would be neck-deep in a metric fuckton of trouble.

But that was definitely not the answer Weiss would want to hear.

"No," Nex said, his lids drooping. "Guess I'm not."

"Exactly," Weiss said. "That's why I'm coming with you."

What?

"Sorry," Nex muttered as she rested her head on his shoulder, her soft lips brushing his neck. "I must've heard wrong."

"You have two pairs of ears, Mr Shade. And you've always been a good listener." Weiss giggled into into the crook of his neck, her voice quivering in his clavicle. "There's no way you didn't hear me right."

"It's dangerous. Stupid. And insane," Nex said, his thumb caressing the small of her back. "Plus, if the White Fang finds the heiress of the SDC on their turf-"

"They won't. I'm sure you'll find some way to disguise me," Weiss said, lifting her head to face him. "It can't be worse than waiting here, not knowing when you'll come back. If you'll come back."

She stared at him - pale blue eyes rimmed with red peering into his. Her lustrous hair lied in shambles, her fringe coiling around her forehead like a pack of snakes. Make-up raced down her cheeks in waves of pink, white, and red. Fuck. She had been crying then. Probably worried sick because he could not answer his scroll. Or maybe it was more along the lines of would not rather than could not.

In hindsight, he was probably avoiding her. Dreading their current conversation, thinking she would be more mad and angry than she actually was - especially since he just joined the revolution. Or... maybe the words she spoke before he left just... hurt. As irrational as it was. But still, instead of starting an argument, she was here talking to him, and she even wanted to come with him - to help him.

"What about your return as a musician?" Nex asked, licking his lips. "You wanted to do some new songs, right?"

"I'm sure we'll manage over a year or so," Weiss said. "I've been thinking of an acoustic album."

"And you want me to play." Nex chuckled. "You're surprisingly devious tonight, Miss Schnee."

"What can I say, Mr Shade?" Weiss said, cupping his cheek - just like the first time they shared a smooch. "My fiance happens to be an Atlesian spy in the kingdom's service."

"And he's a bad influence, isn't he?"

Laughter spilled from his throat - for some reason. Or maybe it was because their conversation was leading not into him being kicked out of the room and having to run away from cops.

"He is," Weiss said, pecking his lips. Her voice joined his laughter. Quiet at first. "But he's also an inspiration. My inspiration."

Nex raised an eyebrow. "An inspiration? Me? You sure you've got the right guy?"

"I'm sure," Weiss whispered. "Are you sure you've got the right girl?"

"Maybe-"

"Maybe?" Weiss fixed him a glare, a smile lifting the corner of her lips.

Nex shook his head. "Nope. I'm sure. I can't imagine having grey hair with anyone else."

Wess giggled, beaming as her fingers drew circles around his chest. "You know it's tradition for all Schnees to have white hair, don't you?"

"If your father is anything to go by..." Nex said, smirking as she snorted and laughed, her voice tinkling in his extra pair of ears. "I want to keep my awesome hair. But I'm impartial to Nexus Schnee, I guess. It doesn't sound that bad."

There were probably worse last names he could take. But still. A question burned at the back of his brain - something even Pareidolia could not answer.

"Does your father dye his crotch?" Nex snickered, a grin stretching his cheeks. "I mean, it's hair, right?"

Weiss pouted, flicking his arm. "That's not a thought I ever want to think about... And now, it's stuck in my head." She mirrored his grin. "Please, Mr Shade. Do something to take my mind off it."

"Should we play some chess?" Nex said, humming. "Checkers? Cards? Just like last night, or-"

Weiss placed a finger on his lips, her other hand slipping off the strap of her camisole. Her pale, creamy shoulder glowed, like it was the first time it ever left the confines of her dress.

"I think we can play something more..." Weiss said, her voice sinking into the back of her throat. "Intimate and immature."

She winked, flashing him a coy smile as she arched her back like a cat. Her lean thighs smothered his crotch. Almost as if it was a pillow.

"Take the rest off for me, Mr Shade?" Weiss whispered.

Nex smiled, his fingers climbing her toned arms and tugging at the other strap. "Since you asked so nicely. How could I refuse?"

The Artificer nudged the back of his head. But he could tell his Maiden all about his secrets in the future. They had it in spades, after all.

A lifetime of it in fact.

Right?

Author's Notes:

By now, it's almost guaranteed that the next time the topic of his past comes up, Nex will do some spilling. Third time's the charm, and it'll probably be Act 2's equivalent of Act 1's big damn kiss.

Savvy readers will notice how our protagonists' respective characters have evolved since the first act, playing off on what they were at the start of the story. Chronic (liar) highlights the natural result and sets up the next chain of events. And, thematically, Act 2 is all about letting people in (sometimes literally) and bridging the gap between worlds (fun, Deathless Blood got it right).

Anyways, read, review (if you've got a minute, humble thanks to people who left reviews), and see you on the next chapter: entitled Salt, wherein Weiss and Nex go on a very long walk through two very different places in Vale, Blake goes on a very long speech, and Nex the Narrator finally gets his game-face on.

P.S. Geez, guys. You literally hard-spoil people with your reviews about characters dying (lol).

P.S.S. Happy Valentine's. As if you couldn't tell this chapter was influenced by the season, amirite? (shrugs) Well, I planned to have a more explosive argument at first, but that would've been OOC just for the sake of more drama (read: wangst), and it would've caused me to roll my eyes in disgust (read: I actually wrote this shit?!), causing me to possibly drop the chapter and start a new draft. It also takes me weeks to write and polish chapters so that would've been a real waste.