Part Twenty-Eight
January third marked the return of school and the dreaded knowledge that holiday's wouldn't be on the weekend for a long time. Ruby was only slightly annoyed, and after the adventure of the ski lodge she was happy to be back in class and picking up where she left off. She and Oscar had the same language class and they were thick as thieves as they remembered how to do conjugations, past participles, and all that vocab. Blake tried to keep up, always half a step behind but determined to do it on her own. In three weeks the semester ended, and that meant midterms.
Blake had told them she was keeping her phone off during school, the stress of having it was too much, and Ruby kept her phone on silent in solidarity. As they wrapped up the bookwork review the teacher announced a quiz on Friday - right after coming back - and while everyone else moaned Ruby and Oscar glanced at each other, nodding in solemn knowledge that they would be the leaders of their next study group.
Oscar got a buzz on his phone, face down on the desk, and he turned it over quickly to glance at it and let it fall back to his desk. Ruby wouldn't have even noticed it except that he was frowning, chewing on the inside of his cheek. "I'll be back," he said, "I have to go to the bathroom."
Ruby didn't think anything of it, continued working with Blake through the conjugations and spot-quizzing her on the vocab. Oscar was gone for awhile but came back, and once the bell rang he grabbed Ruby's hand. He didn't say anything for several seconds, watching the door as people left, before he turned back to Ruby. "I just got a text," he said.
"What text?"
Oscar frowned again, but his hazel eyes were intense. "That guy sent out another picture."
"What?!"
"I went to the office to report it," he said, waving his phone in the direction he had gone, "and I guess a lot of other kids are there to report the same thing. The assembly must have worked, no one wants to have that pic on their phone and get in trouble for it."
"Oh," Ruby said, "that's so good. Everyone's standing up to that Adam guy! This is so sweet I can't wait to tell-oh."
"Yeah," Oscar said. "I… I wasn't sure if I wanted to tell Blake. You and Yang and Weiss know her best, and I wanted to ask."
Ruby nodded as they left the classroom, thinking. "She's going to find out about it anyway, right?" she asked, running a hand through her hair. "Weiss and I are together next period. Let me ask her. We'll let you know at lunch."
"Okay," Oscar said. "Wish me luck, I have science with Winchester next."
"Oh, is he still bothering you?"
"Not nearly like he used to, but I'm not exactly letting my guard down," Oscar said, giving a thumbs up.
Ruby smiled and gave him one in turn.
Weiss in science already knew about the pictures, and Ruby asked what to do.
"If Blake doesn't already know we should be the ones to tell her," Weiss said. "I'll text Yang."
Ruby nodded as they sat down and took notes. After a short lecture was a joint worksheet, and Ruby moved her seat to Weiss to talk a little more. Just as she was sitting down Weiss' phone went off and Ruby saw it was from her sister Winter. Weiss glanced at it and made a face.
"Is your dad being a problem again?"
"That would be putting it mildly," Weiss said, crossing her legs under the desk. "It's really annoying that we can't get free of him, and that Whitley doesn't understand what's being done to him. In a perfect world he'd get arrested and then we'd have much better ground to stand on."
"Professor Ozpin said his divorce was messy," Ruby said. "I don't know all the details, and Uncle Qrow gets a look in his eye whenever it gets brought up. Maybe we can ask him what he did to get custody of Oscar. You can come over today and we can ask them when they get home from work."
"I'm still getting used to your uncle being a teacher now."
"Yeah, it's weird right? For almost as long as I can remember he was at that third shift job and he was trying to stay awake. Now he comes home after us and he has all these stories about his students! I hope our teachers don't have stories like his."
Weiss gave a flat look. "You mean being on our phones all the time? Talking instead of working?"
Ruby gave a nervous laugh and got back to work.
Blake was missing from lunch, and Yang told them she was in guidance. "She found out about the pictures," Yang said. "But it was different, kinda. I mean, she was upset and mortified and all, but she was also mad, I think. She didn't run away, like… she's always ran away after the assault."
Ruby smiled. "I guess she wasn't kidding when she said she was through running away," she said. "Remember? Last week at the ski lodge?"
And Yang smiled, a soft blush blooming on her face. "Yeah…"
Ruby glanced and Weiss, and she saw it too. Those two were sweet. Ruby made her fists. "Okay," she said, "We have to be extra supportive when school gets out - we'll invite her over and she can help us ask Professor Ozpin about divorce!"
"... what?" asked Oscar. "Oh, do you mean how Dad got custody of me from Mom?"
"Yes," Weiss said, making a face. "Winter's lawyer called. Father has decided to be more aggressive for custody since he lost the settlement. It's starting to get ugly. Again."
"Oh. I'm sorry I can't be much help," Oscar said, looking down. "I was a kid and…" He tugged at his turtleneck. "... I'd guess my situation was a little easier to prove…"
Ruby reached out and touched his shoulder. "It's okay," she said, "We understand."
After lunch Ruby's classes were more the same: review what was covered before break, squeeze in one new thing, or announce some kind of assessment as the quarter and semester closed out for midterms. Ruby caught up with Jaune and oogled his new, short haircut, congratulated Ren and Nora for (finally) getting together and spending civics with Blake-wait, what?
"You're here!" Ruby shouted, running up and hugging her. She was convinced Blake would be in guidance or taken home. The fact that she stayed…!
Blake hugged her back before sitting down. Ruby took the desk next to her and shimmied it over to be closer to Blake. The teacher started almost immediately, but Ruby wrote a quick note: Are you okay?
The note came back: Not OK, but not devastated like before. I'm too mad for it to really sink in yet. I know he wants me going home in tears, and I don't want to give him that satisfaction.
Ruby smiled, and she reached over and held Blake's hand as they took their notes.
At the end of the day they all met under the flagpole and got on the bus to head to Oscar's house. Only seniors were allowed on the back of the bus, so they filled out three different seats. Ruby sat with Oscar, Yang and Blake in front of them, and Weiss across the aisle. Oscar and Weiss were in conversation as the other students passed between them, trying to remember what Oscar's custody battle was like, Yang getting her music set up to drown out all the noise on the bus and Blake digging through her backpack to find her book. Ruby noticed Blake glance out the window and stiffen, getting up and opening the window to stick her head out.
"Blake?" Ruby asked, standing up in her seat. "Blake, are you okay?"
"See that car?" Blake asked, pointing. "The black Audi with a chrome grill?"
"... I don't know a lot about cars…"
"I'm trying to read the plate number…"
"Why? What's so important about a car?" Yang asked, looking up from her music.
The bus started, Blake and Ruby jerking slightly before the regained equilibrium. Blake kept her head out until they pulled out of the parking lot. Only then did she sit back down, and she saw Ruby and Yang's concerned looks. "It's probably nothing," she said, "But… Adam drove that kind of car."
"What?" Yang said, voice low.
"Anyone can drive an Audi," Blake said, rubbing her forehead. "I'm probably overthinking it. With the new picture coming out…"
"Hey, it's okay," Yang said, reaching out and touching Blake's shoulder. Ruby leaned back, giving her sister space to work her magic, but she was tense during the bus ride as she texted Dad about going over to Oscar's and what had happened with Blake.
Oscar's (and Uncle Qrow's) house was the last on the route; Professor Ozpin wouldn't show up until four at the earliest, but Uncle Qrow always got home at quarter of, so they had about forty-five minutes to themselves to set up their homework and get started. Oscar went back to the kitchen for snacks, saying something about making cookies the night before, and coming back with a plate of chocolate-chip - Ruby's favorite! Then he disappeared into his dad's (and Uncle Qrow's, and aw, it was so sweet it made Ruby smile every time) room before coming out with a box full of papers.
"I don't know if this will help," he said, putting the box on the coffee table, "but this is Dad's important papers box. He goes through it once a year - last week, actually - and decided what papers are worth keeping. There's letters from my great-grandmother in here, and a diary from my grandfather - the one who had the cane before Dad. He showed me his old mortgage, so there might be something about the divorce here."
"We'll… wait until he gets home," Weiss said, eying the box. "It wouldn't feel right to go through it without him here to explain it."
"Okay."
Right on the dot, Uncle Qrow came home, shrugging out of his jacket and tie immediately. "I swear I'm not cut out for suits," he explained, tossing both into the bedroom and then pulling his button up over his head.
"Ugh, Uncle Qrow! We're teenage girls!"
"Jes-Don't get all hot and bothered. I know I'm a stud but I'm just going to grab a sweatshirt. As if I'd be interested in brats half my age..." After he pulled on his favorite grey sweatshirt with a red hood he pulled a soda out of the fridge to drink. "Okay," he said, "What's with the box?"
"Weiss wanted to ask Professor Ozpin about his divorce," Oscar said, and Ruby watched her uncle's face immediately sour. "See if she can get some ideas on how Winter can get custody."
"You guys don't want to know the details of that mess," Uncle Qrow said, hooking an ankle over his knee. "It'll turn your stomach faster than me stripping for you would."
"Ugh, I didn't need that picture in my head," Yang moaned.
"But what else can we do?" Ruby asked. "Weiss and Winter might lose, and then Weiss has to go back to living with her dad and it would be horrible - especially after all the fighting to get her away! He might do something worse than what he's already done - like that military school!"
"Yeah, can't we just, like, make up something to arrest him?" Yang said. "That would make the case easier, wouldn't it?"
Uncle Qrow leveled a flat look before guzzling his soda again. "Let's get something straight," he said, pointing. "I want Weiss here away from her dad as much as anybody, but I come from stock that doesn't much care about the law," Ruby and Yang both winced, "And believe me when I say that there's a difference between breaking a stupid rule and breaking a bad one. Breaking a stupid rule proves the rule stupid, breaking a bad one turns back on you and bites you in the ass. If you wanna get Jaques-ass Schnee off your back bad enough you'll fake an arrest you might as well hand Weiss over to him on a silver platter, because his lawyers will sniff it out in a heartbeat and break it faster than you can say Schnee."
"We get it," Oscar said quickly, "We're sorry. It's just… I kind of remember custody battles support the mom, but Dad won custody of me and I thought there might be an idea in there that Winter and Weiss haven't thought of."
Uncle Qrow made a face. "It's not a bad thought," he conceded, "But this is the stuff that turned Oz's hair white - some of it at any rate. If he can't bring himself to talk about it, you can't force him to. You got that?"
"Yes," Blake said quickly. "We won't push if it looks like he doesn't want to talk about it."
"Ruby? Yang?"
"Yes, we promise!" Ruby said quickly.
"We get it, geez," Yang said, crossing her arms. "You don't have to triple check us."
"Yeah I do," Uncle Qrow said, "Especially when you're involved."
"! What's that supposed to mean?"
Weiss and Blake chuckled knowingly.
"You know what it means, now get back to your homework while I pull out my grading and start yelling at my kids."
Professor Ozpin didn't arrive until well after four-thirty, almost five. Ruby knew he was home when Oscar looked up and tilted his head to listen. Ruby did, too, and she heard a car. Uncle Qrow was already getting up and Ruby started putting her homework away. "All I have left is math," she said, "and we can do that at home."
"Says you…" Blake muttered, but put her work away as well, all of them packing up and getting ready to talk to Professor Ozpin.
"Good evening," the professor said, coming into the house and pulling at his green scarf. "Your uncle tells me you all have some questions?"
"Yes," Weiss said, taking up the position of spokesperson. "We thought hearing about how you gained custody of Oscar would help me in my situation, but I understand that it might be difficult, so you have the right to say no."
"My, how considerate," Professor Ozpin said, pulling his coat off and putting it away. Uncle Qrow moved to the kitchen. "Well then, let's see what I'm comfortable sharing." He took his seat in his chair, putting his leg up and eyeing the Important Papers Box. "You can put that away Oscar, they don't need to see those documents."
"Okay, Dad." Oscar got up.
Ozpin sat for a long moment, fingering his cane before he retracted it and placed it on his lap. He opened his mouth several times to start, but shut it again. Ruby started to shift in her seat, realizing what Uncle Qrow said about this being a hard topic for him. "One thing you have to understand is the nature of how the divorce started," he said finally. "It was a difficult circumstance, and a strain on everyone involved. Much like Weiss, I had left without any forewarning. Unlike Weiss, I was not a minor, and I got a lawyer immediately. The most important thing about custody is what is best for the child - it's one of the few things we as a society can agree on. Research dictates that having time with both parents are helpful to the growth of a child, and I had to prove that, in Oscar's circumstance, this was not the case."
He paused. Took a breath. Ruby saw Oscar look away, pulling at his turtleneck again, and the professor was worrying his retracted cane. "Oscar's mother was not amenable to the idea of giving up custody and, like Mr. Schnee, said and did a lot of things. In many ways, it was a character assassination by both parties. A lot of ugly, very private facts about what life was like before we moved here, things I felt I had to tell my lawyer and things I did not want dragged out into the open. They were regardless. The mother, by contrast, said anything that she thought would get Oscar back with her, whether it was true or not - and here I find it worthy of note that the people most capable of hurting us are the ones who know us the best."
He looked pointedly to Blake, and Ruby knew exactly what he was referring to, and the idea of someone saying bringing something like that up or worse about the professor made her heart hurt.
"She made a lot of accusations," Professor Ozpin said, "some wild to the point of laughable but some so close to the mark that for a long time I had to research her claims to make sure her words were false, because back then I still believed…"
"You still thought she was human," Uncle Qrow said, stepping out of the kitchen. "Good thing she cured you of that."
"Qrow," the professor said, but Ruby saw a change in his posture - he wasn't sitting as straight, and for a long, long time after admonishing her uncle he didn't say anything, just sat there in silence, staring off with a frown on his face. Ruby looked to Weiss, and she nodded.
"Thank you, professor," Weiss said smoothly. "You've been very helpful. Winter should be on her way home by now, I'll text her that I'm here and have her pick me up."
"Give it another few months and I can take you home," Yang said, putting on a bright smile. "Driver's ed is starting!"
"... No."
"What? I'll be a great driver!"
"We'll believe that when you have your license," Blake said.
Qrow had learned that silence from Oz was a cry for help. Even back when he barely knew his professor, the one day he had slept over because Oz had texted he'd be late, and Oscar had looked so stressed, Qrow saw Oz struggle to give a bare bones explanation of the divorce and then completely shut down. Now he knew that no noise meant discomfort, displeasure, holding in pain.
And Oz was silent throughout supper.
Oscar noticed it, too, kept looking at Qrow, but he shook his head. Kids weren't expected to handle something like this. Hell, Qrow wasn't trained to handle something like this, but he loved his partner, and he was going to do what he could. Oz had several times now come when Qrow was having one of his breakdowns, it was the least he could do.
Oz sat at the table, staring at nothing as he mechanically ate his food. His posture was slouched, almost like Qrow, and every exertion of moving his utensils to eat looked like it took monumental effort. Oscar kept trying to start a conversation, and Oz did reply, but his smiles weren't the same, they were more forced, and Oscar was squirming in his seat.
"I'm sorry," he said finally. "I should never have had them ask you about the divorce."
That seemed to stir Oz, and he looked at his son with more focus. "You don't remember much of it, do you?" he asked.
"No," Oscar confessed. "I remember a lot of people talking to me, and the doctor's exam when I had to show the scars. You…" Oscar frowned, eyes widening slightly as he realized something. "You always were so positive," he said, "You sounded so happy to meet with whoever. You were making it easy for me, weren't you?"
"Yes," Oz admitted, and Qrow saw the light fade a little from his professor's eyes. "The divorce… it was very bad, for a time, and I didn't want you to bear the burden of the accusations that were being tossed around. You had just turned eight, you didn't deserve…" he dropped off again, lost in whatever haze of memories he was reliving.
Qrow and Oscar shared a look. "He should have told me."
"No," Qrow said. "I think he has the right of it. There are some things I've never told Ruby and Yang about when things were really bad for me, telling them would hurt worse than the intervention. Same goes for you."
"I… I always thought it was really easy," Oscar said, looking down at his plate. "I never saw her after we left, Dad made sure of that. He was really quiet when we first moved here, but his hair was going really white by then, and I kinda knew not to ask. Once we got the house he was just so relieved, and every time he took me to city hall to talk to somebody he was always so happy. He told me to answer questions honestly - I remember that. And then one day he just came home and said the divorce was settled."
Qrow nodded, staring at Oz, so lost in his thoughts, oblivious to the world.
"I'll try to talk to him after you go to bed," Qrow said.
"No, I should know how bad the divorce was."
Qrow shook his head. "You might, but your dad isn't gonna tell you. I might not tell you, if it's as bad as this," he gestured to Oz. "But I'll let you know."
Oscar looked between the two men, hazel eyes narrow, but he nodded and got up. "Guess I'm going to bed early," he said, getting his dishes and putting them away.
Qrow snorted but didn't complain either. He put the rest of the dishes away and set up the plates for breakfast the next morning, an organizational quirk he'd had to learn when he moved in. He did some miscellaneous stuff before going back to the kitchen and touching Oz's shoulder.
"Hey," he said softly, "Time for bed."
Oz looked up, and his face was the definition of depression. "... of course," he said, extending his cane and getting up.
Once they were both sitting in bed Qrow siddled over and wrapped an arm around his lover, leaning in and nuzzling his cheekbone. "You gonna talk about it?" he asked softly.
"It… it was very bad."
"Doesn't take a genius to figure that out," Qrow said. "What kind of accusations did she throw around?"
"She never… she never made an accusation, strictly speaking. But she was - is - very charming, and very smooth. She used my disinterest in sex - I didn't know what I was then - and she suggested that if I wasn't interested in her I must have been sleeping with someone else."
"Let me guess," Qrow said. "That friend from Berkley we met? The one with the rack?"
Oz shook his head. "I would have preferred that," he said. "Glynda would have been absolutely irate and given the lawyers a piece of her mind. She was the only one on campus who had a larger vocabulary than mine." He gave half a smile, entertaining the thought for a brief moment before the silence started to stretch out again. Qrow could feel the tension in his partner's shoulders, and he shifted slightly to give them a small rub, anything to relax his lover.
Eventually, Oz gave a small hum, closing his eyes and leaning into the work. It was the first positive noise he'd made, nothing like his deeper hums when he was truly relaxed, but Qrow took it as a victory regardless. It didn't last long.
"She already knew," he said finally, shifting forward and away from the massage. He was hunched again, face turned away. "She already knew about the abuse charges, Ms. Hill said she laughed when they were mentioned. But, over time, she decided to use it and turn it around. Instead of her abusing us, it was I who was the perpetrator. She suggested… if I wasn't interested in her… and Oscar had scars… then…"
It clicked together in Qrow's head as he realized what Oz was struggling to say out loud.
"That fucking bitch!" he shouted, so loud he heard Oscar upstairs jump, but he didn't care. "Are you fucking serious? You love that boy more than your own life! What the fuck kind of psychopath goes around accusing you of fucking-!" He growled, then he roared, throwing a punch at the headboard in some way to expend the flood of energy in his synapses. "Fucking bitch! Fucking-! That is such bullshit! Jesus Christ just when I think I can't hate her more than I already do you tell me shit like this? Holy fuck!" He ran out of swears, eventually, was left panting in rage, and Oz staring at him with wide eyes, leaning back.
"Let's get something straight, Oz," Qrow said, leaning in and pointing a finger. "Nothing that bitch says is worth the oxygen she wastes saying it. She took who you are and turned into some kind of... some kind of… I don't even have fucking words for how messed up that is. Sweet fuck no wonder you never came out to anybody. I fucking hate that bitch!"
Oz blinked, still leaning away, and blinked again. "Forgive me, I'm-" he started to say.
"No," Qrow growled. "You don't need to be forgiven, because you haven't done anything wrong. That bitch should count herself lucky to beg at your feet for all the shit she's pulled, and then I'd kick her in the teeth for thinking she's even worthy of being in your presence. Christ. Fucking Christ I can't believe it."
Oz was still wide eyed, staring. "I'm…" he started to say again. "I'm… not used to such a visceral reaction."
"Yeah?" Qrow said, "Well I'm not sorry for it. Anybody would have that reaction. Any sane person." He took a breath and closed his eyes, exhaling slowly. He was still shaking with anger, but he was starting to realize how he looked. God, he wanted a drink for that little revelation. He took another breath, taking the time to process, and then he took a third breath. "Sorry," he said finally, looking up. "I'm not sorry for getting mad, but I am sorry for scaring you."
"No," Oz said, finally leaning forward. "I'm uncertain if this is appropriate, but I'm rather touched that you got as angry as you did."
Qrow huffed out a laugh, a crooked grin ghosting his features. "Not used to being validated, are you?"
"... Well…"
Qrow leaned in and kissed his partner, hard on the lips, slinking his arms around to hug him. Oz didn't make one of his pleased hums, he wasn't in the mood, and Qrow pulled out of the kiss to hug him tighter. "She's wrong," he said softly. "You gotta know that."
"Yes," Oz said. "Now I do…"
Oscar was never going to learn this, Qrow decided. There was only so much a human body could take, and Oscar was too young to have something like this bouncing around in his head.
He held Oz through the night, guarding his dreams.
When Weiss left school, she frowned heavily at seeing her father. Her friends stood around her, but her father produced a legal document saying that he'd be taking her home. Ruby turned to Weiss and had said they'd text Winter. Winter's response had been that she was required to go with him and that she was working on it.
So Weiss was brought "home" to a home she didn't view as hers anymore.
Her father was clearly pulling out all the stops. He'd had her favorite snacks ready when they arrived, new clothes, a new laptop, other things that Weiss simply saw as an attempt to buy her loyalty. She touched none of them.
But then her father brought her to his bedroom.
"You're mother has missed you," he said with soft caring and all Weiss could hear was oil. He opened the door and Weiss saw her mother, still in bed, with three empty bottles on her nightstand.
This was going to be hard.
Weiss knew what her father was doing. He was trying to manipulate her into staying. And he was using his most effective weapon. Her mother looked up, saw her, and gasped.
"Weiss, is that you?"
"Mother," Weiss greeted, stepping in.
"I'll let the two of you talk," her father said magnanimously, shutting the door behind her.
Weiss closed her eyes and focused on surviving. Her mother was sick. Weiss could only do what she could now, she couldn't keep doing this. That's what her father was counting on: her sense of responsibility.
"Weiss, you're here! Oh, come here!"
"Hello, Mother," Weiss greeted, coming over and giving a hug. Her mother started sobbing, clinging to her.
"You're here! I've missed you!"
Weiss couldn't stop melting into the hug. "I've missed you, Mother." And she did. Her mother understood in a way that others outside the family didn't. Or Weiss had thought they didn't. Professor Ozpin understood. Blake understood. Theirs were different nuances, but they all understood what this sort of life was like. And her mother was the first who did.
Eventually they pulled apart. Her mother smiled, her eyes shimmering, and she reached out to cup Weiss's cheek. "Hello, darling."
"Hey," Weiss said softly. "How are you feeling?"
"Better, with you here," she said softly. "Oh, I must look a mess."
Weiss gave a hollow laugh. "A little."
And her mother gave that soft, self-deprecating smile. "Tell me, how is school going?"
And just like that, it was like Weiss hadn't left, hadn't been away for almost two years, avoiding coming here. Weiss just sat back and talked about school like she would when she was younger and didn't realize how dark the world really was. They talked for over an hour. Her mother stayed in bed, but Weiss did what she always did. She cleaned up. She took away the empty bottles, checked to make sure there weren't any hidden away nearby and in a moment of impulse, she brushed her hair.
"This is a treat," her mother said softly as Weiss kept counting out each stroke of the brush. "You were, what, -five?- the first time you asked to brush my hair."
Weiss smiled. "I'd just seen some sort of period drama, I think. The only thing I remember was the lady saying to always brush one hundred times to ensure healthy hair. You were always brushing my hair. I figured I should do yours as well."
"Those were happier times," her mother said softly. "Why are you here?"
Weiss paused mid stroke. Then continued. "Father had a court order. Winter is probably fighting it now."
"You've left," her mother repeated.
"Yes. What Father is doing here is wrong."
Her mother quietly snorted. "I thought we all simply assumed that at this point…"
Weiss gave a pitiful chuckle. "The custody fight is getting worse…" Weiss sniffed. "We've been fighting so long and he still hasn't agreed to anything."
Her mother held her closely, and Weiss could remember something similar when she was in elementary school. It was familiar and comfortable, and Weiss couldn't afford to fall back into this. That was her father manipulating. She couldn't do this. But she still missed her mother. Missed her from the days before she started drinking so much, missed the mother she had when she was younger, missed the mother who indulged in attempting hair styles, came to every recital and cheered the loudest, blew kisses into her ear. But that was before Weiss had realized the cage she'd been in. She couldn't go back.
She couldn't.
"I have something for you," her mother said softly.
"What?"
Her mother got up, straightened out her nightgown, and went into the dresser. After a few minutes of digging, she came back and gave Weiss… a thumbdrive.
"A thumbdrive?" Weiss asked.
"Your father still has blind spots," she said softly, pulling out her phone.
The apps on her phone were an unorganized mess, but buried in a folder in a folder, her mother opened an app and…
Weiss was looking at the two of them from… Weiss turned and looked to a corner, up on the armoire.
Something cold spilled down her spine. "You put a camera in here?"
"I put them in every room of this house," her mother said, her voice shaking. "For our safety. In case I never needed to…" she looked away. "Everything from the last five years."
Weiss looked down at the thumb drive, wondered what was on it. She dared to hope. Hope that there was something on it that Winter could use. Hope... Then she stuffed it down her blouse and into her bra.
"You're not going to stay, are you?" her mother asked quietly.
"No," Weiss said firmly. Both to herself, to her mother, and to her father. She wouldn't come back to this.
And for the first time in years, Weiss saw her mother smile. It was sad, and bitter, and broken, but it was an honest smile. Tears were flowing again, and her mother looked away to wipe at them.
Weiss looked away to give her the space.
"No matter what happens, Weiss," her mother said softly, "please don't forget about your brother."
Weiss let out a frustrated huff. "We're fighting for his custody as well. Whitley just wants nothing to do with us."
And her mother looked at her so sadly. "Of course not. You both left him. Alone. With us."
With us.
So many things went through Weiss in that moment. Her mother was more with it than Weiss had thought, but also that she understood that she was part of the problem as well, but she didn't seem to change or want to, or couldn't, and what did that say about her father and what did all this mean about Whitley and just what was Whitley going through now? Too many thoughts.
Too many thoughts.
Weiss took a moment to breath. "Do you need to go to Alcoholics Anonymous?" she asked softly. "Yang and Ruby's uncle, he has his five year coin. He's almost at his seven year. Maybe he can help you through…"
But her mother shook her head. "Darling, it's not your job to fix the adults. Your father will use that to keep you here."
"I know, but…"
But this was the first time her mother ever even acknowledged that there was a problem.
Her mother gave another soft smile. "Remember. Remember Whitley. Don't forget him."
"We aren't."
"Good." She handed back the brush. "Seventy-two, if I recall?"
Weiss gave a small, broken smile and started counting again.
Her mother settled in for a nap after that and Weiss went more thoroughly through the room and found two hidden bottles that she took away. The empty bottles were recycled and the full bottles Weiss stared at for a long time. At this point, her inclination was to just dump them down the drain, like Ruby and Yang had done, but she still remembered the story of that intervention that Blake had shouted out in anger.
Ruby had talked to her later about it. She didn't remember most of it, but she did remember that Qrow had been extremely mad for not having any booze. Weiss could dump it. But did she want that to happen with her mother? What if Winter came and took her away? Then her mother's reaction would be in front of Whitley and her father. How would that go?
What should she do? Dump one of them and just let her mother assume she lost it? There would be less alcohol that way. Maybe no blame? But that was Weiss thinking the old way, trying to minimize damages and avoid confrontation.
Did she dump the alcohol or not?
"Go ahead and dump it."
Weiss whirled around. "Whitley!"
Her brother was leaning against the doorway, looking tired. "I just dump it when I find it. I figure that if Father sees how much is spent on it, he'll stop her from buying any."
"She won't get mad at you?"
"She's never mad," Whitley said. "Just sad."
Weiss nodded and started to dump the bottles. Then she let out another sigh. "You shouldn't have to be doing this."
"No," Whitley said. "Mother should realize she's a lazy alcoholic and start fixing herself."
Weiss rolled her eyes. "Alcoholics aren't alcoholics because they want to be," she said. "Maybe someone starts drinking heavily because they're an idiot, but they don't keep drinking because of wanting to."
Whitley just let out a heavy sigh. "I forgot, you know a drunk."
"Recovered alcoholic, technically," Weiss said snippily. "When our health class was talking about addictions, he had a lot to say when we were doing our homework." She shuddered. "Those weren't happy stories. He didn't want us to follow his footsteps."
Whitley blinked, surprised. "Huh, I hadn't thought he did anything like that."
"Qrow has no problem pointing out his mistakes and viciously pointing out the lessons," Weiss replied. "He says we'll make our own mistakes to learn from, but they should always be different from his generation."
"Hn."
"Professor Ozpin's lessons are harder. He doesn't state them so directly. He makes you think around it, then makes you realize it like you knew it all along." Weiss snorted. "I can see why Winter always praised his class."
"She did?"
Weiss nodded, dumping out the second bottle. "You were too young when she went to college. Whenever she came home she always talked about Professor Ozma. She talked a lot about what college life was like, what it was like to live on campus, her study groups, she always had a story." Weiss smiled softly. "I always wanted to be like her."
"I noticed," Whitley said sourly.
Weiss sighed. "Neither of us want you to stay here," she said for the umpteenth time. "Why don't you just pack a bag and join us? You don't have to put up with Father, you don't have to clean up after Mother. You can come and just be a kid."
"And give up my responsibilities?" Whitley scowled. "I'm the heir. I have a lot that I need to keep up with, look after, take care of-"
"You're a kid the same as the rest of us," Weiss interrupted. "I do my responsibilities, I do my homework, do my chores, do what I need to, but I still get to have fun. I don't have do all this… this…" she gestured around the house, "...this extra. I can just talk with my friends, hang out, go for a jog, read, sing, whatever I want. That should be the same for you as well!"
Whitley was still scowling. "I wouldn't have all this 'extra'," he repeated mockingly, "if you had stayed."
Weiss held back the first thing she wanted to retort.
And the second.
"So one of the children of this house needs to be de-angering Father and enabling Mother?" she asked, putting the empty bottles into recycling.
"That's not what I said-"
"It is," Weiss insisted. "If I was still here, you'd still have to de-anger father, but not everyday. I'd probably be doing most of it, like I did before I left, and like Winter did originally. You wouldn't have to clean up after mother, because that was my job. That's why seeing her is so…"
"Difficult?" he said lightly and with the same oil as their father.
"Yes," she hissed. "Difficult. Father knows that and wants me to take over being her nursemaid. I won't do that. I worry so much for her, but I won't come back to this." Weiss stepped over and offered a hand. "Winter, Qrow, Professor Ozpin, Mr. Taiyang, they all say that adults need to take care of their own problems and that it's not up to the children to sort it out. Looking after Mother, monitoring Father's mood, that's not your job. Or my job. That's their job."
"Someone has to do it if they won't," Whitley groused.
"Yes. Not us."
"Then who?"
"Not us," Weiss insisted. "I'm not saying that we don't worry. We do. We want Mother to get better, we want Father to just… just... not anymore. I was just telling Mother to go to an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. She said no, and that's her choice. Not mine, not yours, not Father's, but hers."
"It's the wrong choice."
"Duh, of course it's the wrong choice." Weiss rubbed at her forehead. "We can't make that choice for her. Qrow said he really started getting better when he made the choice for himself instead of just Ruby and Yang. Because up until then he didn't value himself. When he started to value himself and stopped drinking to improve himself, that's when he made the most strides."
Whitley was quiet.
"That's a selfish way of looking at things," he said.
Hand on her hip, Weiss gave a flat glare. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Father says you're being selfish by not coming home," Whitley said. "That you're only thinking of yourself, giving up your responsibilities, and frolicking about to have fun with criminals and sluts."
Oh, Weiss had to clench her jaw tightly for that. "Whitley," she annunciated slowly. "Don't you think I've tried to help Mother? You saw me de-anger Father on any number of occasions. I taught you some of the tricks to avoid his anger. I have put in years doing that and nothing changed. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting something different."
Whitley was still scowling. "And the criminals and the slut?"
Deep breath. "Qrow, Ruby and Yang, and Mr. Taiyang aren't criminals. Are you a drunk for being Mother's son? Am I? It doesn't work like that, Whitley. You know better. And what do you mean by slut?"
"I saw that Belladonna picture on Father's computer."
"What picture?"
"The one where she's half naked and posing for the camera," Whitley said flatly.
"What!"
"You didn't know?" Whitley said flatly. "Father has a picture of that Belladonna girl half naked on his computer."
Weiss's face was slack, shock settling in around her. That Taurus sent the picture to students at school, how the hell did her father get that picture? Oh, if she ever got her hands on that Taurus she was going to rip him to pieces! And her father had seen that picture? Was that why he was pushing the custody so much? Not the fact that he lost the lawsuit?
"You're surprised?" Whitley asked flatly. "Father has a picture of that half naked girl on his computer."
"How? Why? His background checks? Or is it from the internet?" Weiss could feel her mind whirling.
Whitley shrugged, face and voice still flat. "I thought you knew that Father had a picture of a half naked underaged girl on his computer."
Why was Whitley repeating himse- Weiss stood straight, grit her teeth, and composed herself. "I see."
Whitley gave an arrogant smile. "Took you long enough."
Weiss gave a warm smile, regardless, and pulled her little brother into a tight hug. "I'll let Winter know," she whispered.
Whitley shrugged, completely unaffected. "Dinner will be in fifteen minutes. Use all those tips you supposedly taught me to avoid aggravating him."
Weiss smiled.
Author's Notes: Ugly chapter is ugly: oh, the draaaaamaaaa.
Blake first: though Adam sent another picture, the entire reaction around it is 180 different than the first time. This isn't a fix-all for everyone, but after we broke away from That Person and started to put ourselves back together, anger was one of the emotions that bloomed in us, because we finally stopped blaming ourselves and started blaming That Person. It gave us perspective and, in turn, it gives Blake perspective. Her anxiety hasn't gone away by any stretch, but the anger is giving her focus and - moreover - she's finally emotionally healed enough that she recognizes the support structures she has around her. She spends some time in guidance and goes back to class because that's where her friends are and they'll both fill her needs and protect her from the others. Except the entire school has received a lot of interventions - not just the assembly but also individual interventions as well, i.e. everybody had a better understanding of the steaks involved and - if only for self-preservation - handled the situation in a better way.
Next, the Schnees. Willow and Whitely respectively make some plays - Whitley is a little more subtle, but he and Weiss have a very real conversation. Siblings in abusive households have weird dynamics depending on how the abuse spreads. Whitley was the "all good" child, never got in trouble and was the favorite of the house because Winter and Weiss were the buffers to the abuse. With them gone he sees what the house is like and realizes how much of a buffer he had - and is resentful that they left. But Weiss' comment a few chapters ago about being "Whitely" and not "Father" sunk in, and he finally decides he wants something to change.
Willow we played more to Volume 7, but she is very self-aware and she had to do something. She's not as capable in this fic as she seems to be in the show but this is her shining moment.
How did Jacques get a picture? Doesn't matter, though we assumed he was using PIs to get dirt on Winter and Weiss and their friends, but point is they now have a way to end one of the three antagonist arcs. Hold that thought.
But really, for us it's the OzQrow stuff - no surprise there. We finally put the last item in the Checklist of Hell that Oz went through after the accident. The two of us don't have experience with divorce but we have seen the damage they do to students and we knew we wanted the divorce to play as hard as possible. If ever there was a reason for Oz's hair to turn white...:
1. an accident that left him crippled and one girl dead - purportedly at his hand because she saw Oz before the swerve 2. Learning that the Oscar was surviving the same abuse that he was and had his own scars. 3. Planning to escape and keeping it all under wraps until the day of 4. Salem finding him during the escape. 5. Being literally homeless when he made it to New England with Oscar and finding a lawyer to start the divorce and desperate to find a job. 6. Salem turning the divorce five shades of ugly, accusing Oz of the worst and for half a second him believing it because he didn't realize he was on the ace spectrum. 7. Going through all the steps to keep himself safe by living so far from work, changing his last name, and putting the house in Oscar's name instead of his. 8. Having to do so much that he didn't have time or money for physical therapy and leaving him permanently crippled. 9. The divorce and everything else leaving him in debt. 10. Being lonely as hell after it all settled.
And... like this might be just us, but if one of us is having a bad day and the other one gets angry on her behalf... that's really gratifying and validating, and Qrow being angry over the shzt Salem pulled, Oz never experienced that because lawyers gotta lawyer and he didn't have anyone to talk to about what he was going through. It was nice to have someone react like that. Right?
Next chapter: We're almost done with the fic, we should probably start taking care of all our antagonists. You guys guess who gets it first!
