Part Seventeen
Weiss was sooo glad it was the weekend. After running away (escaping, Professor Ozpin had insisted) Wednesday and needing to stay "home" again Thursday just to let Winter do what she needed, and Friday being an awkward day at school where she felt everyone was staring at her, but it was harder to ignore than usual, well… It was a weekend and she could continue going to normal.
Winter was running around everywhere, had officially sued for custody, and there had been a tense meeting between Winter, the Belladonnas and her father Friday when she was at school. Her father couldn't reach her at school because Ruby and Yang never let her out of their sight and had Mr. Tai on speed-dial if they saw her father outside the school. So they said. Weiss hadn't seen that happen at all yet. Winter had also had quite a few words for Weiss before hugging her close.
Ruby and Yang had stated emphatically that they were coming over this weekend, and Weiss was looking forward to it.
Winter, are you coming over today? she texted her sister.
I am spending today searching for a house. My apartment is clearly no longer adequate.
Weiss chuckled. Very well. Shall I assume tomorrow as well?
Yes. If I find something appropriate, I will take you there tomorrow for your opinions.
I shall look forward to it.
With a smile, Weiss headed downstairs for breakfast. Mr. and Mrs. Belladonna were there, cooking breakfast. Weiss had to admit, even though it was all vegan, it still tasted good. She just missed things like eggs and bacon. She always made an omelette for the weekends, but the fresh baked cinnamon bread that Mrs. Belladonna made was wonderful.
"Blake?" Weiss blinked, a huge smile spreading across her face. "Blake!"
Because Blake was sitting at the counter over oatmeal covered in bananas. Blake looked up, her pale face blanching further. "Weiss? You're up?"
And okay, Weiss had been crying a lot lately, so she didn't really care anymore that she was crying as she came over and hugged Blake around the shoulders tightly. If Ruby and Yang could handle her breaking down when they'd come over Thursday, and Winter could handle Weiss breaking down when she had finally arrived late Wednesday night, and Mr. Tai could handle Weiss breaking down every five seconds, and Mrs. Belladonna could handle Weiss breaking down every two seconds, Weiss figured Blake could handle her breaking down to hug her and sob because oh! it had been so long since she'd seen her. It may have been a week, but it felt like a lifetime.
"I've missed you!" she sobbed. "Are you okay? Ruby and Yang said you were stabbed and drugged, did they arrest the jerk? When are you coming back to school? Does it hurt? I've missed you!"
But Blake was stiff and starting to shake. "Weiss… You…."
"Blake…" Weiss pulled back. "You've never left your room. Are you okay?"
"I… I…" But Blake's eyes were watering.
Weiss laughed through a sob and hugged her again.
"G… G…" Then Blake shoved. "Get away!"
"Blake? What?"
But Blake was running up the stairs and Weiss heard the door slam.
Hurt tingled all along Weiss's skin and her happy tears dissolved into sad tears.
She felt arms wrap around her and she glanced to Mrs. Belladonna. "It's okay, dear," she said softly. "Blake is still hurting."
"But…"
"Shhhh, it's okay."
Weiss was so tired of crying.
Much, much later, Ruby and Yang finally came over and Mr. Tai sat down with the Belladonnas while the siblings came up to join Weiss in the guest room. When she had explained everything, neither were pleased.
"What do you mean she pushed you away?" Yang said, holding her broken arm carefully. "She can't just push us away. We're her friends!"
"This doesn't make any sense," Ruby agreed. "She's never pushed us away."
Weiss huffed, her upset of earlier having turned to anger. "I don't care," she said haughtily. "If she wants to push us away, then fine. She hasn't been there for us in a long time. She's probably sick of us being too 'childish' or whatever. She spent all her time going off to be with her boyfriend, so fine, she can hang out with the seniors, or whatever, and we can just help each other out."
"Weiss," Ruby said softly. "You can't mean that…"
"I do!" she shouted. She turned and screamed at the wall. "I don't care anymore, Blake! If you don't want us in your life, at least have the courage to say so!"
Ruby grabbed her hand. "Weiss, I know you're upset. You have a right to be. But that's not going to help. You and Blake and Yang, you've all been hurt. Hurting each other isn't going to change anything other than making us all miserable."
Weiss scowled, but sat down.
Yang stood. "I'll talk to her."
She could hear them across the hall: Weiss. Ruby. Yang. They were all here, and all she wanted to do was run to them, beg their forgiveness, cry at their feet and say how sorry she was for everything. But Blake knew that she wouldn't be forgiven. She didn't deserve it. She didn't deserve friends as real and warm and fulfilling as them. Not after everything that happened, and she wasn't brave enough to see their scorn, their hatred. She wasn't brave enough to see them turn their backs on her, and so she turned her back on them, hid in her room, tried to pretend they weren't there.
Weiss: "If she wants to push us away, then fine. She hasn't been there for us in a long time. She's probably sick of us being too 'childish' or whatever. She spent all her time going off to be with her boyfriend, so fine, she can hang out with the seniors, or whatever, and we can just help each other out."
Blake felt her eyes water. She deserved this. She deserved this...
"I don't care anymore, Blake!" Weiss shouted from the other side of the wall, "If you don't want us in your life, at least have the courage to say so!"
She flinched, unable to explain what a coward she was. She pulled the blanket over her head.
There was a knock on her door. "Blake?"
Oh god Yang.
Blake couldn't see her, she couldn't stand to see the hurt she caused Yang. Mom said something about a broken arm, and she caused that she could only hurt the people around her she-
"Blake! Say something or I'm breaking down the door!"
There was a sudden, jolting, shuddering pound on the door, violent and scary, and Blake pushed herself to the edge of the bed, afraid, so afraid. The door rattled again, a one-two-three staccato followed by, "Blake, damn it, open the door!"
"Go away!" she cried out, and half of her mind was somewhere else, in Adam's room, in the dark, feeling so funny when they were kissing and her trying to remember the words to say, "No, I'm not ready," but he wouldn't stop he said he'd waited long enough and she tried to make it stop but the pounding didn't stop the door kept rattling and then there was a splintering crunch that sounded like in the alley when a bone was broken and there was a hand on her wrist it was Adam it was Adam he was going to hurt her again and she screamed, screamed to the top of her lungs and tried to get away but the hand on her wrist didn't let go - she tried to twist out of the grip but her side was killing her there had been so much blood and she couldn't figure out why she was still alive and there was a weight on her and she couldn't get it all and all she could do was scream and wail.
Eventually, her mind caught up to herself. Her side was throbbing and hot, the feeling of pulling a stitch, and when she finally thought to look at her surroundings she saw Yang on top of her oh my god it happened again.
"Yang!" she said; she tried to get up but Yang was too heavy, just like that night. "No, no, nonono, please, please, you have to be alright. I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" She tried to slide out from under, but Yang had her pinned. Wait, Yang had her pinned…?
She took in more of her surroundings, saw Yang looking over her, mouth turned into a determined frown. One hand was holding her down and the other-the other was in a cast - palm to halfway up her bicep. Not snapped in half, not covered in blood. Blake struggled to process the picture, out of breath.
Yang was okay…? Yang was okay?
Yang was… okay…
Blake reached out with her free hand, tracing along the cast, the bright yellow casing. "You're… you're okay…"
"Are you back?" Yang asked, every line of her face tense.
Blake gave a fuzzy nod. Everything felt so surreal…
Yang sighed and let go, pulling up to a sitting position. Blake tried to follow; her side on fire and making her hold it out of habit. Yang's eyes snapped immediately to it, and Blake suddenly couldn't bear to have Yang look at her. She pulled her hand away, looking down and to the side, to the wall of her room. "You shouldn't be here," she said, out of energy.
"Yeah, well, neither should you," Yang said. "Hiding isn't going to solve anything."
Blake shook her head. "No," she said. "No, you shouldn't… I can't… I don't want to hurt you again. I've hurt you enough."
"Blake," Yang said, and her voice was so firm. "Blake, look at me."
She did, unable to say no. Not to Yang. In this light her violet eyes looked almost red, the afternoon sun casting her hair in a fiery glow. "Blake, you didn't hurt me," Yang said. "Adam did. Same as he hurt you." Her eyes flicked to Blake's side, to the bandage and the stitches.
"... but it might as well have been me," Blake said, looking down again. "It's what I do. I hurt everyone around me. My parents. Adam. You."
"Okay, first: and I'm repeating myself: you didn't hurt me. Second: any pain you think you caused Adam isn't even on tenth of what he deserved. He needs every bone in his body broken before we actually start hurting him for what he did to you. Third: your parents are scared to death - that's not the same as hurt."
"No, you're not listening. This is my fault," Blake said, knotting her hands together, afraid to look up. "I'm the one that brought Adam into our lives. I'm the one who was being stupid and naive and slutty. I deserve what happened to me. I deserve to have all of you hate me. I hope you all hate me, it's better than me-"
And Yang hugged her, the move sudden and surprising. She wrapped her good arm around Blake's shoulders, and her casted arm snuck along Blake's injured side, resting just above her hip, and Yang just squeezed. Everything about her was warm and soft, Blake could smell her shampoo, and the tears sprung up again.
"Please," she begged. "I'm a coward. All I do is run away. I don't deserve…!"
"Yes," Yang corrected. "You do."
Blake shook her head, even as she dipped it into Yang's shoulder and hugged her back. She took a deep, shuddering breath, and she clung to Yang with all her might.
Ruby and Weiss watched from the door, the two of them holding hands as they watched the entire visceral display. Mrs. Belladonna was with them, further down the hall, ready to intervene. Ruby looked to Weiss, saw her nose was red, one tear sliding down her pale face. Ruby squeezed her hand, and Weiss caught her gaze, shaking her head as she scrubbed at her cheek.
As one they got up and moved down the hall to give Yang and Blake some space, stepping back in Weiss' temporary room. "Are you okay?" Ruby asked.
"... I don't know," Weiss said, sitting on her bed. Ruby joined her. "I'm mad, and I'm tired, and I feel so sorry for Blake. I didn't realize…" she made a vague gesture with her hand. "I have no right to be so upset with my situation."
"Weiss, yes you do," Ruby said. "You and Blake… it's not the same thing. It's like apples and oranges, you can't compare them like that."
"You saw her," Weiss said. "She thought she was back in the dark alley, she thought Yang was Adam… That's what they call a flashback, isn't it? I don't have flashbacks of my father. I'm perfectly coherent at all times, so it's not nearly as bad. What right do I have-"
"Weiss, your dad hit you. He made you feel like you had to be perfect at all times. Do you really think that's any different than what Blake went through?"
"Father didn't assault me."
"Yeah, he did," Ruby said, touching Weiss' knee. "Maybe not in a dark alley with brass knuckles and a knife, but he hit you with his words over and over. Dad always told us, don't stick around people who hurt you with words. That old sticks and stones rhyme we're told when we're kids, 'words will never hurt me' is a lie. They hurt worse than the sticks and stones, Dad says. Uncle Qrow said his parents never raised a hand to him and Aunt Raven, but they met Mom and Dad as broken people. That means you're just as broken as Blake is."
Weiss's entire face was red now, and she scrubbed at her eyes again. "I'm so sick of crying," she said.
"But that's okay, too. It just means your body is handling the hurt in the best way possible."
"Shut up. You're just a child."
But Weiss hugged her anyway, and Ruby hugged her back.
It was the last week of November, and Blake took a deep breath as she got off the bus and stepped in front of the high school. It was her first day back since… well. It was her first day back. It was the short week, only three days before Thanksgiving break. She thought she could handle that. Her parents were willing to wait, but Yang and Weiss insisted that she was ready for this, and now that Weiss was living with her Blake was learning how very insistent she was. Her crisis counselor, provided by one of Mr. Qrow's friends, also said she was ready.
She saw all the other kids, moving and undulating across the curb to the building. She kept her back straight, looking, trying to see who was staring at her, who was judging her, but then a hand was on her shoulder, and Weiss was pressing her to move further to the curb so she could get off the bus.
Weiss' hand didn't leave her shoulder after she stepped off, however, and her blue eyes scanned the crowd, same as Blake.
"Blake! You're here!"
Ruby ran up and jumped to hug Blake - warm and soft, just like her sister, who was coming up from behind.
"It's good to see you," Yang was saying. "You got this. We checked all our schedules - I was able to change my world history class to be with you for both it and science."
Her eyes drifted down to the cast, on for so many more weeks still. Yang had gotten over it, she had to be able to, too.
"Blake!" Ruby said, "Are those cat ears?"
Her hand drifted up to her headband, suddenly self-conscious. "... Yeah?"
"Oh, they're so cute! Where did you get them? Do they come in red? I love red!"
"I don't-"
Yang smiled. "They look good on you," she said, and Blake for some reason found herself flushing.
"I used to wear them all the time," she said, running a hand through her dark hair. "I thought they were cute, but Adam…"
"Say no more," Weiss said. "His opinion is invalid. I for one think you look adorable. What do you have for homeroom?"
"Math."
"Oh, that's with me!" Ruby said, raising her hand as the four of them started to walk to school. "Don't worry, I know you've been doing all the work but if you have any questions I'm happy to help! Then I'll walk you to Science and Yang will take over bodyguard duty!"
"Ruby, it's not bodyguard duty," Weiss corrected sternly. "Don't be a child, we're here to give her emotional support." She leveled a dark glare, and for a second Blake was convinced it was at her, and she tensed, but they had made it into the building and all four of them stuck with her - to the office with her note, to her locker for her stuff, and to her homeroom in math. Blake was nervous again, all she could see was a sea of students, her ears were hypersensitive, listening for someone to say something about her, but Ruby brought her right up to the math teacher, and she offered a gentle smile.
"It's good to see you," the older woman said. "I've missed teaching you."
Blake didn't deserve the kindness, but she managed to smile and nod her head. Her seat was in the back of the room, and Ruby dragged a desk and mashed it up against hers, spreading out her messy notebook and textbook to last night's homework. Blake pulled out her spiral ring notebook where she had been doing her schoolwork, and Ruby casually leaned over and doodled a happy face on it. With the wall on one side and Ruby on the other, Blake found she could breathe.
Math wasn't so bad, and science with Yang was even better, the blond was her lab partner and caught her up on all the new notes from last week that Blake had struggled with. After that was a study hall with all three, and they pulled their desks together to keep her attention as she went over her work. Fourth period was world history with Yang again, they were having some kind of debate and Blake just sat and watched. She was starting to… relax wasn't quite the right word, but nobody was staring at her, she didn't hear any whispers, and nobody was pointing fingers. Maybe it really was all in her head…?
Lunch was… scary. All four grades were there, and Blake knew the upperclassmen knew about Adam and her, and she was almost shaking as she entered the lunch line, a junior and two seniors in front of her. She kept her head down, worrying her hands before taking a tray. She tried to peer out over the cafeteria, but she didn't see a shock of gold or white-blonde hair, and Ruby was always harder to spot. Blake shuffled along the line, taking a banana and a carton of apple juice, and getting a salad. After paying she stepped out of the line and was just… lost.
She couldn't find her friends, she was starting to wonder where she could sit and feel comfortable, she knew just standing there would draw attention and if one of the upperclassmen saw her…
"Hey, Blake right?"
She startled, jumping probably eight feet in the air, but to her left was a junior, brown hair and a simple tee with a bunny printed on it. "... Velvet?" she asked, placing the name.
"It's good to see you," she said. "I feel like you dropped off the map for a while, I was worried you were sick or something."
"Uh… something," Blake said.
The brunette smiled. "Do you have somewhere to sit?"
"Uhm, I was looking for my friends," Blake said, feeling her body fill with tension.
"Okay," Velvet said. "I can wait with you for a while."
The junior stood next to her and Blake looked resolutely at her tray, feeling herself turn beet red and waiting, knowing, the junior was going to ask about Adam and dreading the question how was she going to answer the question what was she going to say how was she had been obsessing over this exact scenario and she could feel her eyes well and damn it she had made it so far into the day without-
"Blake!"
Ruby all but ran into her, arm up and waving, tilting Blake dangerously to the side and forcing her to stagger slightly so she wouldn't tip over. She bumped into Velvet.
"Oh, I' so sorry!" Blake said.
"It's fine," Velvet said, bright smile on her face.
Blake was absolutely convinced the girl in the bunny shirt was going to spread rumors all through the cafeteria for daring to bump into her, she was shaking so bad Ruby had to place her hands on the tray to keep it steady. Ruby guided her to a table, but Blake could hardly eat, couldn't hear Yang and Weiss, lost in her own head. She heard laughter everywhere, talking and shouting and the incomprehensible din just made her more and more convinced they were talking about her, about what she did, how loose she was, what an easy lay, admiring when she was dressed so slutty at those parties with Adam. She was so stupid, there was no way she was ready for this. The giant cafeteria felt claustrophobic, someone laughed walking behind her and it was too much, she got up and ran to the bathroom.
Yang followed her, of course, trapped her in a hug the minute she left the stall, and in a way that was even worse because Blake was acutely aware of the cast, and not matter what Yang said she caused that, and she was still such a coward, she couldn't even face lunch. What was wrong with her?
The bell rang, maybe, Blake wasn't sure, but she heard a swell of noise out in the hall that then faded.
"It's okay," Yang said. "They're gone now."
Blake looked up, her cheeks stained, but Yang offered her a smile.
"... I don't deserve you," she said.
And Yang's smile was a little sad, and she just hugged her closer. "Do you need to go to guidance?"
Blake nodded, unable to handle the idea of going to art alone.
Yang walked her down, sat with her until the guidance counselor could take her, and disappeared to her own class. Blake felt afraid as soon as Yang left, but she forced herself to remember that she was talking to an adult, and adults were smarter than kids, and that guidance was supposed to be a safe space. She forced herself to talk about her anxiety, what happened with Velvet in lunch and how suddenly everything seemed to close in on her. She took up the whole period - not because the conversation lasted that long, but art was the only class that didn't have any of her friends and she Just. Couldn't. Do. It. The counselor understood, wrote her a pass for her last class and called art to explain the situation.
Blake took several deep breaths, recited some mantras her mother offered, tried to calm herself down. She had to try. She had to do her best, move forward like none of this had ever happened.
It did. But she could pretend.
She had to, because Yang and the others deserved so much better.
She washed her face and managed to go to English all by herself. She didn't see Weiss, but she sat down in a corner of the room and pulled out her notebook and the play they were working through. She kept her head down.
"Hey," a boy said, "this is my seat."
Blake snapped to attention, seeing an unfamiliar face. She mumbled an apology and moved to get her stuff. After standing she decided to move to the other corner, but it was already taken. Blake looked around, saw a lot of the seats had been filled while she was getting ready. Assigned seats…?
"There you are!" Weiss said, moving into the room. "I was standing outside waiting for you!"
"Oh…"
"Here, we have assigned seats. You're up front."
Blake shook her head. "I'm really not comfortable sitting in the front," she said. Not with twenty kids sitting behind her. Passing notes. Whispering. Behind her back.
Weiss seemed to understand, nodded and said, "We can trade seats. I sit further in the back. It won't be perfect but I hope it will help."
Blake nodded, took another deep breath as Weiss led her to the fourth row, only one row behind her, but it was smack in the middle, no wall next to her. Blake sat down with her things. She'd already had one break down, she was not going to have another. She took one deep breath after another, tension building in her back as Weiss took a seat in the front and two seats over from her. So far away…
Class started and they were reading through the play aloud. Different people had different roles already assigned, Blake was happy she wasn't expected to read aloud, but they paused to answer questions and Blake didn't have the worksheet they were referencing. She didn't dare raise her hand, focused on writing down as much as she could for later. She kept glancing at Weiss, but the heiress was focused on her own work, having one of the lead roles for the read-aloud.
That was fair, Blake reminded herself. She couldn't rely on her friends for every little thing, she had to get to the point where she could go through a day without a breakdown. She couldn't expect Weiss to keep looking at her like Ruby and Yang had - they were sitting next to her, Weiss wasn't.
As it was, she barely heard anything from the play, locked up in her own head, and when she looked at her notebook she only had half a page of things written down. She sighed as the bell rang, packing her things away and waiting for everyone else to leave before going up to the teacher and explaining she didn't have a copy of the worksheet they were doing. She got an extra copy, and Weiss was at the door, waiting for her.
"Sorry to hold you up," Blake said.
"Don't worry," Weiss said. "You'll get better as you go."
They walked to Blake's locker and she got her things, putting on her coat and tugging her hair out from under it as she shrugged her backpack on. "I didn't get a lot of the work today," she admitted. "I couldn't concentrate."
Weiss frowned but didn't say anything.
"Blaaaaaaaake!"
For the third time that day Ruby ran into her. "How was your day did it go okay you made it to the end of the day so means you made it I'm so happy you made it you had us really worried at lunch but you conquered the day and-"
Yang put her hand on her sister's head, shaking her own. "What's she's trying to say," she translated, "is good job."
"This is perfect! Let's go walk to the middle school - you'll have the entire walk to tell us everything and then we can help you through all the hard stuff and find out who we need to threaten to beat up if someone said something mean! Team Guard Dog! Woof-woof!"
"Ruby, you are such a child."
"Ouch! The return of the Ice Princess!"
"Hey!"
They started their walk, Weiss and Ruby pulling ahead, Yang keeping pace with Blake.
"How was it really?" Yang asked. "We were really worried at lunch."
"I know, and I'm sorry," Blake said.
"Don't be sorry. Just let us help you."
Blake shook her head. "You can't help me forever," she said. "I have to be able to do this on my own. But I'm too stupid. I can't get over… any of this. I still wake up crying, Weiss keeps trying to hug me and it's so sweet but sometimes… You and Ruby and Weiss are doing so much and I'm supposed to be better. I should be over this, and I'm not, and I'm so mad at myself."
"And all of that is okay," Yang said. "We're not asking you to stop, we're asking you to take care of yourself. It took Dad and Uncle Qrow years to put themselves together, you can't expect yourself to be magically better in, what, a month?"
"You are," Blake said, eyes glancing down at the arm. "You shrugged it all off like it was nothing. I kind of envy you."
Yang shook her head. "I haven't shook it off," she said, voice softer. "You can't see it because of the cast, but sometimes my hands start to shake. Sometimes I get really mad for no reason." Her cheeks turned pink. "That, uh, may have been why I broke down your door."
Blake looked away. "You wouldn't have had to if I wasn't such a coward."
"That's a hard argument to make," Yang said, "Considering you just survived your first day back."
"... not much of a success story."
"I don't know. You made it to the end of the day. I'd say that's pretty successful. Tomorrow we see if you can make it through again. And then you get rewarded with a half day."
How did she always…? Blake shook her head. "Yeah," she said. "Okay."
One day at a time.
Weiss sighed. The past month had been… difficult to put it mildly. Winter's fight for custody of her and Whitley was heated and ugly, from what Winter would let slip. Winter had found a house to buy, but the process of buying was taking time, between inspections, lawyers, commissions, and other stuff that Weiss didn't understand. Winter was hoping that they'd be moving in by New Years, but it was more likely to be after the New Year. She was still with the Belladonnas, and that's part of why things were so hard. Blake just hid in her room. Nothing Weiss said or did helped her come out and relax.
She and Ruby and Yang were the emotional support at school. Weiss wanted to help Blake, but the seating chart in their last class kept them apart, and Weiss just kept waiting for Blake to come over or ask for help, but she never did. Weiss could only assume that Blake was keeping up. But on the walk to the middle school for Professor Ozpin and Mr. Qrow to pick them up, Blake would quietly talk about feeling everyone staring at her.
Weiss knew she would stomp whoever had anything bad to say about Blake. She'd seen Blake's flashback, heard her wake up from nightmares. If anyone had a problem, they could go through her.
But…
Weiss was also stressed. With the custody battle being so difficult, Weiss was just so… tired. She had received voicemails from her father that she could almost ignore, but always left her feeling terrible afterwards. But she dutifully saved them for Winter. The worst voicemails were from her mother, sobbing and clearly pleading on her father's behest for her to come home. Those voicemails always left her sobbing. She really needed a friend. But Blake wasn't available, even though they were in the same house.
Weiss tried to remind herself that Blake had also survived trauma, worse trauma that she herself had gone through, but she was just so frustrated. She reminded herself that Blake had a right to wallow in things as long as she needed, but how long was enough? When was Blake going to start remembering that her friends wouldn't hurt her?
She let out a sigh, and continued to take notes. The day was almost over, and she knew she had another voicemail on her phone from her mother. She knew she probably had an afternoon of sobbing ahead of her. When the bell rang, she automatically stepped up by Blake.
Blake just kept looking down at her bag as she packed it.
And Weiss felt awkward. There was a chasm between them. Blake was hurting, Weiss was hurting, they should be able to comfort each other, but nothing seemed to work. "Um, did you understand everything? Any questions?"
"I'm fine," Blake said softly.
Weiss nodded. She didn't know what to say anymore. But she still walked with Blake to her locker, made sure no one bothered her, and together they headed out with the throngs of students. They usually waited at the flagpole for Yang and Ruby, so they stopped there and set their bags down. Yang had said something earlier about needing to check with a teacher, so it would probably be a few minutes.
"So how was your day?" Weiss asked.
"Fine."
Weiss sighed. "What do you want to do this afternoon? Maybe we can study together?" Nice neutral ground that didn't need to get into any of the raw spots they both had.
"Ummm…" Blake didn't really answer. She was pulling out her headphones that had kitty ears on them.
Weiss frowned. Blake was about to hide in her music. Well FINE!
Huffing, she turned enough to lean against the pole. Probably a stupid idea with how cold it was. December snow had arrived the prior weekend, and there were still patches in shadowed areas, and Weiss just shook her head at the irony. Not only was it cold outside, she and Blake were being cold to each other. Weiss just didn't know what else to do.
The buses had left, and Weiss checked her watch. That must be some question that Yang had. She glanced at Blake, but Blake had her phone out and was texting… that looked like Ruby's icon.
Weiss nodded to herself.
"Hello, daughter."
It was like cold water was poured down her spine. Weiss jerked forward, turning around as her eyes widened.
Her father was there. She was alone and he was there! Behind him, in the parking lot was his car, driver in the driver's seat idling the engine. He was in one of his expensive suits and with the white wool overcoat. His white hair, white coat, white suit, it was like a blizzard was in front of her, ready to engulf her.
aloneandhe'sherealoneandhe'sherealoneandhe'sherealoneandhe'shere….
But her spine remained straight. She pushed her shoulders back, and lifted her chin.
And she shook.
"Father," she greeted.
And he offered that smile. The one where he knew he was being extra nice so do what he said.
"Daughter, you've been missed," he held his arms wide like he expected her to come up and hug him. "Come home."
Weiss was trembling and she knew it. Words, words, words, what do I say? aloneandhe'shere….
"No," she spat out. "I will not be going to your home."
"Come now, daughter," he said so gently. "You are a guest with the Belladonnas. You have no other place to go. That messy Xiao Long family won't take you in, you're just a guest where you are now, that's no way to live. Just come home. We can talk."
And he sounded so reasonable. No one listening in would know what that meant if she went home.
A hand grabbed hers and Weiss turned to see Blake, kitty headphones off, glaring.
I'm not alone….
Weiss took a deep breath. And maybe squeezed Blake's hand back with a lot more force than necessary. "I will not be going to your home, Father."
Her father smiled at her and she could feel the condescension radiating from him. He offered a smile he used when he was negotiating with companies he was about to absorb. "You know, your mother misses you greatly."
Weiss actually took a step back, inadvertently pushing something back.
"You know how your mother is when she's upset."
Weiss hissed in a breath.
"She's not been feeling well. She just wants her daughter to come home."
Weiss could feel her eyes watering in the cold air, she was still shaking. She recognized what was going on in a detached way. They had discussed this in therapy. Her father was trying to manipulate her, use her mother as a crowbar to get what he wanted because he knew that Weiss was the one who usually took care of her mother when she was…. Unwell. And as much as she knew it was manipulation, it was working damn it! Because Whitley never looked after her mother, her father certainly didn't, Winter wasn't there anymore, so who else could do it? What choice did Weiss have….
"I…."
"I know your mother has called you," he said, stepping forward. Weiss stepped back, pushing something back again. "She's been crying for weeks now. You know how she is. She misses you. I'm sure you miss her too."
Her mother….
"Stop it."
Weiss turned, wide-eyed to Blake. She was still there? She had been pushing back into Blake?
Her father offered a derisive snort. "Girl, this is a private matter for the family, run along."
But Blake, still clutching Weiss's hand, moved to step in front of her. Blake was also shaking, perhaps worse than Weiss, but she stood tall.
"Weiss is family."
"Blake…"
"She's my sister. I'm her sister."
Her father offered an angry look. "How quaint, daughter. You have a kitten to defend you." Then he looked directly to Weiss. "Hasn't this gone on long enough? Don't you want all this arguing and conflict to end? Don't you want your mother to be happy?"
Weiss clenched her jaw tightly, stayed ramrod straight, and took a deep breath. "You need to leave, Father," she said. "I won't be manipulated by you this time."
God, I actually said that?
"Weiss," he said with such gentleness, even if his eyes were as cold as ever, "that's not you talking, that's your sister. I know you. You would never say such things. The Weiss I know loves her family, will do anything to make her family proud. Valedictorian, extracurricular activities, tutoring. That Weiss I know and love always makes sure the Schnee name is in good standing. The Weiss I know loves her mother and looks after her, mentors her brother, always makes me proud." Her father gave that smile again. "Just come home. It's that simple. No questions asked. Just come home."
"Weiss!"
Weiss blinked, looking over to the school and seeing Ruby and Yang coming down the steps, Ruby waving vigorously. With a teacher!
"Weiss, I'm so glad we caught you," Ruby said. "Did you know your locker is hanging open?"
"No it's not..."
"Yes it is!" Ruby insisted. "We just had to stop one of the seniors from picking around in it!"
"What?"
The teacher gestured. "Come on. It will only take a few minutes."
And her father stepped forward smoothly. "I'm quite certain that teachers such as yourselves or your janitorial staff can handle shutting a locker," he said and Weiss was fairly certain only she could hear the condescension. "I was just speaking with my daughter about-"
The teacher held up a hand and offered a winsome smile. "We need Weiss to check to make sure nothing was taken from her locker. It will just be a moment."
Blake was already tugging her along, Ruby and Yang surrounded her, and the teacher calmly walked along behind her.
"Now see here," her father insisted, "what gives you the right to just barge into a conversation-"
But Weiss couldn't hear any more because the teacher stayed behind to talk to her father and all her friends dragged her into the school, into the office and through to guidance.
And dammnit, she broke down crying again.
"I was so scared," she hissed, trying to hold back the tears and scrubbing them away. But all her friends were around her, hugging her, supporting her.
Even Blake.
"Qrow, don't confront him. That's what he wants."
"I know that, Oz," Qrow said into his phone as he turned onto the street of the high school. "But he just ambushed a child. He can't get away with that."
"And he won't. Miss Belladonna texted that she's recording on her phone, correct? Let that be evidence. If she ends up recording you giving Mr. Schnee a beating, then that will be used against Winter and what she's trying to accomplish."
Qrow let out a heavy sigh.
Moments ago, Blake had sent out a massive text to him, the girls, Winter, Tai, even Oz, saying that Jaque-ass Schnee was there confronting his daughter and that she was recording all of it. Winter had immediately texted that she was calling Robyn Hill, Tai was at work, so were Blake's parents, and Oz was on the highway, still a half hour away. Qrow was the only one who was free to haul ass and get there to get Jaque-ass Schnee the hell away from the kids.
Granted, Qrow knew he was the absolute worst choice for this, because he couldn't stand Schnee and Tai had often had to boot him to keep things civil, but he wasn't going to let that stop him from doing what was right, which was keeping the asshole away from his daughter.
When Qrow had texted that he was on his way, Oz had immediately called him.
"I don't want you in danger or hurt, Qrow," Oz said.
"I'm not in danger, Oz, Weiss is."
"Please. Be careful. I don't want anything to happen to you…"
For the briefest of moments, something cut through Qrow's furious rage as he pulled into the parking lot.
"Oz…"
"We both know that Mr. Schnee will use anything at his disposal. Don't be his qrowbar."
Qrow parked and took a moment to take a deep breath. "We'll need to talk about your terrible sense of humor later."
Oz gave a hollow chuckle. "As long as you're still around and not locked up in some penitentiary to rot away, you can ridicule my piteous attempts at witticism to your heart's content."
"Careful, Oz, you're using your thesaurus again."
"If it gets through to you, I'll consider it a victory."
"If it works, I'll get you a proper prize for your victory."
"No trophies or roses, if you please."
"Outta my price range. You'll have to settle with just me."
"I'll mark the date."
Qrow got out of his car. He could see Jaques-ass Schnee standing by the flagpole at the driveway of the school, which was at the base of some stairs up the tiny hill to the actual building. Anger still roiled within him, but it was tempered for now.
He still wanted to punch Schnee flat on his ass, but he pushed that instinct down.
Oz was right. This was Winter's show, so he had to play by her rules.
So he took a deep breath, stuck his bare hands deep into his pockets and hunched forward against the cold. His coat was thick enough for this weather, and his red scarf trailed along behind him as he walked up to the school. As he walked up, he made a show of being surprised.
"Well, if it isn't Jaques Schnee, slumming it with the commoners," he said with as much oil as Jaques-ass exuded.
Schnee looked over, scowling. "Look at what the birds dragged in."
"Ha ha, like I haven't heard every pun under the sun about my name." Qrow shrugged with a nonchalance he didn't feel. His phone buzzed again, but he ignored it for now. It had been buzzing non-stop since Blake had sent out that text. "Still, it's a surprise to see the high and mighty come down and mingle with us plebeians."
Schnee frowned and tilted his head back to look down his nose.
"I don't associate with criminals."
Qrow shrugged again, holding in his instinctual reaction because Oz was still in his ears. "Never arrested, so keep lying to yourself. I'm just here to pick up my nieces."
"None of your concern," Schnee said, straightening out his already perfect overcoat and gloves, as if to prove something.
Qrow ignored him and leaned against the flagpole. He kept his eyes on Schnee, though it was work not to be obvious about it, and pulled out his phone.
Twelve new texts. Make that fifteen. Twenty, damn, the girls were all trying to text him at once. He opened the app, one eye still keeping an eye on the Jaques-ass, and immediately saw the most recent text was from Oz.
Be safe.
Okay, that was enough to crack a crooked smile. He scrolled through all the texts, mostly the girls yelling at him from wherever they were watching from inside with all caps telling him not to do anything stupid. He rolled his eyes.
Would I do anything stupid?
Yes! came seven immediate responses.
Qrow kept texting back and forth with them, utterly ignoring Schnee even as he watched closely as the man paced back and forth in the cold and checked his watch.
"...how long does it take to close a damn locker..." Schnee muttered.
Of course, Qrow was getting the story from the girls, in a jumble of texts that were all disjointed, but he got the jist: schools were public, but because they dealt with minors, they didn't actually have to allow people in. That's why visitors were always checked in to the main office, if they were even buzzed in. Aside from bus times, when kids were coming in or leaving, the school was always locked and needed to be buzzed in. So when the school had gotten a phone call from Winter they had swiftly arranged for Weiss to come in and the teacher had stayed outside long enough to ensure that Jaques-ass didn't follow and wouldn't get in.
fcking good school, gld we go here
Then Schnee stormed by him, intent on entering.
"Don't bother," Qrow called out after him. "You won't get in."
Schnee whirled around. "What?"
Qrow stuffed his phone back into his pocket, ignored all the buzzing, and offered his own condescending smile. "I pick up my nieces regularly. It's a thing we peasants do. Once the school lets out, they don't have anyone to man the buzzer. Secretaries go home. Did you check your watch? They're probably down to only one secretary for the afternoon shift, and she's probably busy with all the usual paperwork at the end of the day."
"What do you mean I can't go in? I pay for this school."
"So do I. Taxes are good for making schools run. Pity cuts in taxes always ends up meaning cuts in schools," Qrow gave another crooked smile.
"What would you possibly know-"
"Oh, I may not have your education on finances, but I do have experience," Qrow said lightly, still leaning against the flagpole like he didn't have a care in the world. "Experience trumps fancy degrees any day. I've been picking up my nieces for years. I know how after school works. So I don't bother with trying to get buzzed in. I just have a spot that my nieces know to go to and I wait."
Which was technically true. It's just that his usual waiting spot was the middle school.
"You're lying," Schnee said, though he looked doubtful. "You're just a damned criminal. A crook and a cheat."
That bristled, and Qrow wanted to growl back and get into Schnees face about that, but his phone was still vibrating away in his pocket and he had to remember that he wasn't here to get into an altercation. He was here to drive Jaques-ass Schnee away, so he had to be annoying, not pissed off.
"Go ahead and try to get in. No skin off my nose. I don't have to get to any meetings or anything. My shift doesn't start for another few hours."
That actually had Schnee pulling aside the sleeve of his coat to look at his expensive watch.
"Dammit."
Qrow kept his jaw shut as he watched Schnee look back and forth from the school to his waiting car.
"Dammit."
And Schnee went back to his car.
Qrow smiled to himself and watched until the car was out of sight.
Predictably:
"Uncle Qrow!" and he staggered as quite a few girls tackled him.
"Hello to all of you as well," he gave his best roguish smile. "Miss me?"
Weiss was quietly crying around her smile, Blake was shaking like a leaf and hanging close, and Yang and Ruby were wrapped tightly around his middle.
"Nope!" they shouted.
Blake scrolled through the video with Weiss in the back of Mr. Qrow's junker, showing her the video she had taken. Her hands were still shaking, but Weiss was shaking too, and she didn't deserve that. Her friend had pushed and pushed for Blake to be ready for the world, same as Yang and Ruby, and she had to be brave, not broken. Neither of them had let go of each other, and Weiss sent another text to her sister. Ruby was up front and Yang was next to Blake, always a solid presence that Blake cherished.
They retreated home, Blake desperate for the safety of her room, and Mr. Qrow kept his nieces downstairs saying they had to do homework as Blake tugged Weiss upstairs to her room. She closed the door and let out a breath she'd been holding since she'd seen the look in Weiss' eyes at seeing her father.
Blake knew that look: saw it in herself when she woke up from a nightmare about… about Adam. And Weiss… she didn't deserve that, either.
Weiss sat on the rug on the floor, and Blake joined her. "Do you… do you think it will help?" she asked.
"... Yes. Winter said it will be very useful in conjunction with the other strategies she's implementing."
"Good," Blake said, staring at her feet. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and forced herself to look up. "I'm sorry," she said.
Weiss blinked. "For what?" she asked.
Blake worried her lips, working up the nerve. It used to be so easy, to speak her mind and not feel so much anxiety, so much fear. Would she ever get better…? "For not being there," she admitted. "You've been doing so much for me, and you've been going through so much… I don't mean to push you away. I don't mean to hide. It's just… I'm such a coward. All I do is run away, sometimes I feel like it's the only thing I'm good at… and all this time you were fighting your own Adam…"
She had to suck in another breath, feeling hands on her that weren't there, someone cupping her… She shook her head. There weren't enough showers in the world, sometimes. "They're the same," she said, looking down at her hands. "Him and your father. Their eyes… they're the same, and I couldn't… I should have done something so much sooner. I'm sorry."
"You know," Weiss said, "I'm getting really tired of you apologizing."
Blake snapped to attention, Weiss catching her gaze and holding it.
"I've had a lot of time to think for the last few weeks," she said, "And you know what I've decided? I don't care. You called the entire cavalry to get me away from my father. You stood in front of him and said I was your sister even though a leaf was going to knock you over. You recorded everything to make sure there was evidence in case things got ugly."
Weiss reached over and took Blake's hands in hers. "You proved you were my sister today."
Blake hummed in her throat. "If you have a nightmare," she said, "Come to my room. We can sleep together for a while."
"Same goes for you."
"I'm not comfortable enough to ask a question in class, but can I ask you when we get home?"
"I've been waiting for you to do just that."
"Sorry… sometimes you just look so annoyed."
"I am, because you're not asking for help!"
The two of them stared at each other, and then shared a laugh.
"And can I say something?"
"Sure."
"I hate your vegan pulled pork."
Blake laughed. "But you love our vegan brownies."
"Wait, those are vegan?"
"Yeah. We use avocados."
"Excuse me? How is that even possible?"
They laughed again, and everything was right with the world.
Author's Notes: ... I won't call this fluff necessarily, but wow our two girls needed a moment after this chapter.
Something we've become interested in as we get older is how big events like with Adam and Weiss' escape emotionally affect people after the fact - how they pick themselves up and put themselves back together. Weiss has already had a lot of training in putting herself back together, and she can fake being healthy a lot better. By contrast Blake has no functioning idea how to cope and has to come to terms with her own self-hatred first before she can even start to treat herself. Tack on that their both teenagers - and Blake is hyper aware of her social standing, and the two of us suddenly had a chronically absent/tardy student who might not get credit this year because of all her attendance issues.
Weiss however has trouble understanding how Blake can't seem to function and is equal parts empathetic and frustrated, and it pushes her to the pre-therapy thinking that she doesn't really have it that bad. Not compared to someone else. Cue Ruby being the team therapist for her :)
And while none of them are really old enough (freshmen in high school and all) we nod to the Bumblebees of the internet. Technically that's our second favorite ship but it's such a distant second compared to OzQrow. And Yang breaking down Blake's door... sometimes she really takes after her uncle.
Also Qrow. For the first time in the fic he managed to hold in being belligerent to someone he didn't like - all because he had Oz in his ear. Awwwwwww... And was that light flirting we heard on the phone? And Oz PARTICIPATING?
Next chapter: the emotional halfway point of the fic, our HANDS DOWN favorite chapter of the entire story, and a veritable cavalcade of fluff. Must be and OzQrow chapter.
