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Adam is finally awake. He must be so greatful; right?

--

"Poor child- he must have lost everything…"

Stop it...

"Look at his face…"

Don't look at me..!

"How sad…"

Shut up shut up shut up!

Adam jolted awake, instinctively moving to sit up. He let out a pained gasp, falling back into the pillows. His body ached all over, the feeling of lightheadedness overcoming him. Where was he? Rolling his head to the side, he glanced around the room; it was small and homey, cluttered with furniture, plants and books.

Adam grimaced, feeling the stitches tug against his skin. He'd clearly been brought here by someone- wherever here was that is. He didn't know what hurt more, his body or his pride. Being bested by Blake and that meathead of a blonde. He snarled silently to himself, nose wrinkling. The patter of footsteps pulled him from his thoughts, eye darting to the door.

Quickly feigning sleep, he let his body relax as the door opened. Soft humming filled the air, along with the clattering of bottles. Adam's body stiffened as he felt the quilt over him be pulled back, a quiet 'hm' coming from the woman,

"You're quite a horrible actor if you want me to believe you're at rest."

His brows furrowed as he slowly opened his eyes, glancing up at the woman. Thick coily hair was pulled back in a loose ponytail, her skin a deep earthy tone littered with pale porcelain spots. Her eyes were something he'd never seen before; an abnormal swirl of pale pinks and yellows, greens and blues. Adam frowned, his eyes narrowing,

"What are you?"

She looked a bit taken back, placing her hand on her hip,

"Why yes; you're very welcome for cleaning your wounds and taking care of you."

He sat up a bit, snarling at her,

"What. Are you?"

Opal stared back at him, knowing he wouldn't be able to keep himself up long,

"I'm human."

As she assumed, he collapsed back on the bed, heavily breaths leaving him,

"I don't need any of your kinds help!" He moved to get up again, only to be pushed back down, "Don't touch me you filthy-"

"Shut up and stay down. You're going to tear your stitches open."

Adam grabbed her wrist, making a sad attempt to dig his nails into her skin,

"I said I don't need your PITY you filthy human!"

She looked at him, deadpanning. She easily removed his hand from her wrist, tossing the quilt back over him,

"It's not pity, it's compassion; that you likely aren't deserving of. Your body is so damaged that your aura is still recovering; if you think that you'll be able to walk right out of here, you're wrong." She headed for the hallway, stopping in front of the door,

"I'll go get you a meal, try not to injure yourself."

Adam huffed angrily, moving to get up as soon as the door closed behind her. His body immediately protested, his arm buckling under his weight yet again. He fell back against the bed, letting out a pained gasp. He hated this. His nails dug into the sheets as he tilted his chin up, grimacing.

The feeling of weakness, helplessness. Adam shifted again, his brow furrowing. He would not be stuck under a human again.

--

"Would you just-"

"Piss off!" He snapped, shoving her hands off of him.

"You need your bandages changed! It's been days!"

Opal let out a sound of frustration, as he turned his head away. She crouched, picking up the slew of items Adam had shoved onto the floor prior. Food, medicine, bits of broken cups and plates; he really was trying to kill himself. She looked back at him after placing everything on a tray, a frown on her face. He really did pale in comparison to what he use to be.

His skin was deathly pale, contrasting the dark bags under his eyes. Beads of sweat dripped down his face from fever, from what she could only assume was from a growing infection around his wounds. She knew he had to be starving, but he wouldn't eat. Sick, but wouldn't take medicine. The only time she could even check his wounds was when he was asleep, and even then a pin drop could wake him.

She placed the tray on the far side of the bedside table, just out of arm's reach for Adam. Opal looked back at him, putting her fingers on her temple,

"Just- at least let me change your bandages."

"I don't need your fucking help!"

She could feel herself fuming, fists clenching,

"Says the man whose bedridden! Stop being such a child!"

Adam sneered at her, turning away. Opal shook her head before grabbing the tray and slamming the door behind her. Heading down to the kitchen, she aggressively slammed the tray against the counter, holding in screams of frustration. Control. He just HAD to be in control no matter what, and it was infuriating.

She stepped out onto the porch, letting out a breath. The cool air was calming; the usually loud bustle of the city miles away. She sat down on the small bench by the door, tilting her head back,

"Mama, Papa, what do I do?" Opal paused, looking down at her feet, "You use to say there is a light in everyone- I don't think he has one."

Closing her eyes, she rubbed her temples, attempting to compose herself. She would not be defeated by his tantrums.

'I am an adult. I'm better than this.' She thought to herself, nodding.

Opal took a deep breath before heading back inside. She felt a bit better than before, moving to the kitchen. Grabbing a tin cup this time, she filled it with water and grabbed the small pill bottle Adam had thrown on the floor earlier. The stairs creaked as she made her way up the floors, before standing in front of the bedroom door.

'Here we go again.' She thought to herself, brows furrowing.

Pushing open the door, she went to speak, only to be greeted with Adam's quick, ragged breaths.

"Oh gods."

She quickly ran to his side, practically dropping the cup on the counter, water sloshing onto the floor. Sweat poured down his brow, his face stuck in an uncomfortable grimace. Opal pulled down the quilt, barely noticing Adam's weak protests as she pulled the bandages away from his wounds. The two wounds were riddled with infection, his body drenched in sweat. Crackling of his aura scattered about, still attempting to recover from his previous battle.

"You need medication- Right now."

Adam huffed, turning his head away from her,

"No."

Opal looked at him in disbelieve, grabbing him by his chin to face her,

"You are -dying- Adam Taurus! Do you want to die?!"

He grabbed her wrist, sneering at her,

"I'd rather die than be in debt to a human."

She'd finally had enough. His difficulty wasn't a nucinese anymore; it was a challenge. She pulled out the correct dose, from the pill bottle looking back at Adam. They locked eyes and she could already see the defiance in his. Opal grabbed his cheeks as he turned his head away, keeping his lips sealed. He weakly grabbed at her arm, blowing air out his nose.

Opal glared at him, snapping at him,

"Are you really going to die in a bed to an infection? You'd rather die than swallow your pride and live?!"

The faunus flinched at her words, his weak grip loosening. She took his moment of hesitation to jam the pills past his teeth, covering his mouth with her hands,

"Just swallow the damn pills! Are you really going to die here after all you've been through!?"

Adam's brows furrowed as he reluctantly swallowed. Opal let go, bracing herself on the side table. She looked back at him, his head turned away from her, as usual. She hesitantly moved to touch his wounds, gaining a slight wince from the faunus, but no resistance. Opal gave him a quizzical look, before heading to the other side of the room to retrieve her medical supplies.

Adam was quiet the entire time; no kicking and swinging, no derogatory comments, just silence. He even cooperated while changing his bandages. Shivers racked his body from fever, the look of exhaustion on his face. He'd run out of fight; he was tired. Opal pulled the quilt back over him, murmuring quietly,

"I'll be back in a moment."

She headed back down to the kitchen, portioning out some soup she'd prepared the day before. With all the food Adam had already thrown on the floor, this would probably be the hardest to clean. She grimaced before placing it on the tray and heading back upstairs. On her way up, she grabbed a spare fleece blanket from the cupboard, bumping the door open with her hip. Adam looked to be asleep, his breathing still slightly ragged, but much more calm.

Opal quietly put the tray down on the table before pulling the quilt down to layer the fleece underneath. She quickly checked his temperature, letting out a small sigh of relief. He was still feverish, but it had gone down significantly. She covered the bowl with a plate, hoping it would trap some amount of heat in, before leaving the room.

Opal headed to her room, exhausted from the day. With having to deal with Adam in addition to her daily chores, she was tired. Making her way to her bed, she fell onto it face first, not even bothering to pull the canopy shut.

--

Opal woke up to sun hitting her eyes. She let out a groan, burying her face in the pillow. This is what she gets for not pulling the canopy drapes shut. She rolled out of bed making a disgruntled noise, as her feet hit the floor. Looking at herself in the mirror, four words came to mind:

"I look like shit." She muttered to herself.

Her hair messier than usual, coils poking out in random directions. She looked worn out- which was getting to be normal due to dealing with a certain faunus. Opal yawned, heading up to check on him. Hopefully the pills had helped his condition a bit; however she knew that he'd have to take them regularly. She cringed at the thought, brows furrowing.

If she had to force feed Adam pills everyday, she didn't know if she could do this. Opal took a deep breath, opening the door. Adam was fast asleep, the back of his head facing her. She looked at the tray she'd left on the end table, quietly lifting the plate. To her surprise, the bowl was empty. Even the pain killers she'd left were gone.

Opal gently placed her hand against his forehead; he felt a bit clammy but other than that, his fever had gone down. She picked up the tray, heading back to the door. Glancing back at him, her eyes met his sole blue one. He stared back at her, but it was different this time. It wasn't disgust or unchecked rage in his eye; it was confusion, a lack of understanding her actions.

She smiled softly before looking away, quietly closing the door behind her. Opal knew any reasonable person would have either left him for dead or turned him into the Atleasian military by now; however she had her reasons, as pointless as it may seem to some.

Adam watched her leave, looking up at the ceiling. He was puzzled, to say the least. A human woman, one that he aggressively opposed at that. He cursed at her, attempted to physically assault her, yet everyday she came back. She clearly knew who he was- so why did she bother caring for him? He didn't trust it. She wanted something; humans always wanted something.

Adam let out a breath, closing his eyes again. He was tired. In hindsight, he needed to gain his strength back. When he was recovered enough, he could leave. His brows furrowed; where would he go? It'd be foolish to go after Blake and her band of misfits again. He didn't even have Wilt and Blush anymore.

The White Fang wanted him as much as the Atleasian military did. Adam shook his head, an attempt to swat the thoughts away. He was tired; so, so tired.