Blake woke a start. She had had one terrible dream after another and didn't feel well rested at all. She sat up, disoriented by her surroundings. She was in a bed, but it wasn't hers. She didn't have gray sheets...
Memories of the night before came flooding back and she remembered where she was. She didn't fall asleep here, she realized. Her eyes darted to the couch. It was empty. She looked to her right, relieved to find that side of the bed still made.
She could hear the faint sound of water running. She glanced up at the bathroom door. He must be taking a shower, she thought, immediately repressing the mental picture forming in her mind before she had a chance to dwell on it.
She slid her legs out from under the blankets. Torchwick had apparently removed her shoes and sat them by the bed along with her weapon. She was thankful that the rest of her attire hadn't been tampered with.
She looked down at the now rust-colored bloodstains on her shirt and remembered how she had fallen asleep. She flushed a little at the thought of Roman Torchwick waking up to find her sleeping so close to him and holding his hand. What was I thinking? she asked herself, embarrassed at the thought of him scooping her up and tucking her in bed.
What time is it!?
She realized she had no idea how long she had slept. She jumped out of the bed, eyes searching for a clock. There wasn't one in sight so she reached for her scroll. Her pocket was empty. She was not happy.
Blake pulled on her boots and started combing the room trying to find it. She would have remembered dropping it. She heard the shower cut off. Torchwick! He must have taken it, she thought angrily.
She needed to know what time it was and she needed to contact her team. She was sure they were awake by now, wondering where she was, what had happened to her and why Torchwick was missing from prison. She ran to the bathroom door and started to pound on it with both fists. She got no reply, so she continued her assault.
"Roman!" She shouted, "Get out here now and give me back my-ahh!" Just as she was about to strike the door again, it swung open and she fell forward. Torchwick caught her as she ran face first into his chest.
"Well, good morning to you, too." he laughed, wrapping his arms around her and grinning mischievously. She looked up at him in surprise. His wet hair was slicked back haphazardly and he looking at her with both bright, emerald green eyes devoid of his ridiculous eyeliner. She was surprised at how young he looked. He's actually kind of handsome, she admitted begrudgingly.
"Is something wrong, Kitten? Or did you just want to get my attention before I had time to throw on a towel?"
Her eyes grew wide as it slowly dawned on her that he was completely naked. She felt her cheeks start to burn and tried to step back. When he didn't let go, she glared at him, her face turning a deeper shade of red. She wanted to claw that amused smirk off his face, but settled for stomping on his foot.
"Ouch!" He cried.
He let her go and lifted his foot up to massage it. Blake got more than an eye full of his anatomy before storming out of the bathroom, slamming the door behind her. She could hear him laughing, but was more irritated at herself for noting that her fleeting thought of him earlier hadn't done him justice.
"Urgh!" Her exasperated sigh just made him laugh louder. Why did I save him, again? she asked herself, crossing her arms and glaring at him though the closed door. She let out another angry sigh and went back to searching the room for her scroll deciding to be as thorough and as thoroughly destructive as possible.
She began by emptying drawers, tossing most of their contents onto the floor. There were only six of them in the safe house, so it didn't take long. She rummaged through the cabinets next, most of which were bare. When she still didn't find what she was looking for, she started in on the bookshelves.
She was halfway through the second shelf when she started paying attention to the books rather than just piling them haphazardly behind her. They all looked like they had been read. Most were historical and pertained to the various conflicts between humans and the Faunus. She stopped tossing them over her shoulder. Some, she realized, were very old and rare, possibly pretty valuable.
Blake looked back at the mess she had made and sighed. I'm being childish, she thought and started putting the books back, worried she had damaged some of them. She picked up a particularly worn book and turned it over in her hands. It was a copy of Third Crusade. She ran her finger down the worn spine. It looked like it had been read several times.
One of the pages was sticking out, no doubt bent up during her tantrum. She opened the book to smooth it out, but it wasn't one of the pages. It was a photograph.
A girl who looked to be around Blake's age sat in the frame on tree stump, holding a book that looked similar to the one the photo had been hidden in. Her expression looked cross, like she was irritated with whoever had snapped the photo. She had piercing blue eyes with slightly feline pupils. Cat ears similar to Blake's poked up through her cropped, messy brown hair.
She flipped the photo over, but found no name or date so she checked through the rest of the pages. Inside the book's cover a brief message had been scrawled out neatly,
To Roman,
Love, Autumn
Blake stared at the photo again, recalling what Ironwood had said to Torchwick. Was this who he was referring to when he said 'her' and did that mean that he-
"Ahem."
She slowly turned to see Torchwick standing behind her. He was wearing only a towel and a not so pleased expression. She had been too deep in thought to notice him come out of the bathroom and wondered how long he'd been standing there.
"Find what you were looking for?" he asked. His flat tone implied he thought she had.
"I was looking for my scroll and I-"
He closed the distance between them in one step, leaning down to meet her height, and narrowing his eyes. He was definitely not pleased. She thought he was going to start yelling at her, but instead his expression changed to disappointment.
"Your scroll is somewhere in the forest," he told her, "couldn't risk it being tracked." She hadn't thought about that.
He held out his hands and raised an eyebrow impatiently. She gave him the book and the photo. He glanced at the picture and his face fell. The image seemed to open some old wounds. The girl in that photo must have meant a lot to him, she thought. He gingerly tucked the picture back inside the book, reached over her head and set it on the shelf. He ran a hand through his damp hair and stared at her. He looked so sad. It made her want to comfort him.
Blake wrapped her arms around his bare torso and hugged him tightly, burying her face in his chest. He was caught off guard, but only for a moment. Relaxing into her embrace, he wrapped an arm around her waist and put his other hand in her hair. He rested his chin on top of her head and gently squeezed her.
They stood like that for several minutes before he slid his hands to her sides and gently pushed her away. Blake released him, but couldn't help but run a finger over the thin white scars that marred his flesh. In the light she saw faint reminders that last night wasn't the first time someone had done this to him. He caught her hand and she pulled it back quickly, looking up to see he had the same grim expression she did.
"Coffee?" He asked her, breaking the silence. She nodded. He walked through the mess and picked a package of coffee filters up off the ground.
"You, uh...gonna clean this up?" He asked, glancing back at her.
"Um.. yeah...sorry..." she said awkwardly, resuming her task of refilling the bookshelves.
"I haven't been here in a while, so I doubt we'll have much in the way of breakfast," he told her, trying to sound somewhat cheerful. After getting the coffee started, he opened the refrigerator and started going through the contents, humming to himself as he checked for expiration dates.
Blake finished restocking the bookshelves and started cleaning up the clutter she had left in the floor. She hoped he wouldn't mind that couldn't quite remember where everything went. She didn't want to ask, so she did the best she could.
Torchwick had moved to the freezer, pulling a few items out and scanning the packaging to see if anything was still edible. He didn't seem to be successful, but there hadn't been much there to begin with.
"Well, dearie, looks like we're out of luck," he told her. He leaned back against the counter and turned the coffee can around to double check its expiration date. "At least the coffee's okay. Hope you like it black."
The remaining clutter was where he was standing, so he moved out of her way and looked through a few cabinets for canned goods. Still unable to find anything satisfactory, he gave up his search and grabbed them each a cup. Humming again, he poured them both some coffee and sat down at the table, watching her replace the contents of the last drawer. She sat down in the empty chair across from him and he passed her one of the cups. She wrapped her hands around the warm mug. The coffee smelled strong, but nice. Torchwick took a deep breath and then let it out slowly.
"Well, Kitten, where do I start?"
He leaned back a little in his chair and crossed one of his legs.
"You could start," she said, flushing a little, "by putting on some pants."
Torchwick sighed, uncrossing his legs with a little more gusto than was necessary, and leaned forward, "Will this do for now?"
While the table had blocked most of her view, Blake had seen enough earlier to fill in the blanks. She rolled her eyes in irritation, but decided he had guaranteed enough modestly to continue. She had a lot of questions and this was her best chance to get answers. No more wasting time, she told herself.
"What happened to you?" she asked, then added carefully, "...And what happened to Autumn?"
Torchwick's playful demeanor ceased abruptly. She knew he had expected that question, but it still seemed to hit him like a truck.
"Right to the chase, Kitty Cat..." was all he said for a moment. He took a sip of his coffee and then gave her the same sad look she had seen before. It made her feel a little bad about prying. Without thinking, she reached across the table towards one of his hands. He stood up before she could touch him.
"If you haven't noticed, I'm not particularly fond of this topic," he told her. Blake had definitely noticed.
"Just pretend you're taunting me," she told him, trying to ease some of the tension he was building, "you seem to be pretty fond of that." He laughed at her comment and seemed to relax a little.
"That's flirting, dearie," he said, winking at her. She had noticed that, too, and decided to use it to her advantage.
"I thought you hated the Faunus," she asked with a smirk, "Or do you just have a thing for cat ears?" She was a little worried that comment may have gone too far, but he took it well.
"You got me," he said. Torchwick's smile was no longer reaching his eyes, but she had succeeded in taking the edge off. He glanced towards the bookshelves, then back to Blake, shaking his head.
"I almost married that girl," he confessed.
"Why didn't you?" she asked, worried she already knew the answer.
"She was murdered." he told her, confirming her suspicions and making her flinch. His smile was definitely gone now and he had started to pace.
"It was the night after I proposed," he continued, "a group of Faunus and a group of Humans just showed up out of nowhere. They beat the hell of me and then they started on her. They told us we were disgracing both our races and that we deserved to be killed for it." He sighed in cynical amusement, "Apparently it's the only thing the two sides can agree on." He paused for a moment and glanced down at his chest.
"I watched a Faunus do this...to Autumn." It looked like it still pained him to say her name. "And then James slit her throat." He started pacing again, "I didn't know it was him at the time, but…" he trailed off for moment before returning to his story. "By the time he started cutting on me, I had checked out. I woke up in a hospital the next day. I was told the police had shown up before they could finish me-l guess someone heard the screaming-but that all the people responsible had gotten away." He paused and sighed again. "No one was ever caught...but that usually happens when an investigation is practically nonexistent." His voice was becoming more bitter than sad, "No one wanted to help get justice for people like us. As you can imagine, I lost quite a bit of faith in our legal system after that." He turned to her with his usual flourish, "So, I decided to start a new life. One that would give everyone a real reason to hate me."
By the time Torchwick had finished, Blake was at a loss for words. She stared at him for a few minutes in silence before she covered her face with her hands and closed her eyes. His words at the rally about humans and the people in charge were true-he hated them just as much as he hated the Faunus. She replayed the conversation he and Ironwood had over in her mind. Some of the General's words had held some truth to them… like why he had become a criminal...and why no one gave a damn about him. Her thoughts went back to Adam and she gasped. If that happened six years ago, it made him and Torchwick pretty close in age...What if he was there? She started to cry.
"Blake?"
Torchwick's voice startled her and she dropped her hands to her lap. She hadn't noticed him pull the other chair up beside her and sit down. He looked confused, but concerned, and wrapped an arm around her to try to comfort her. She leaned into his shoulder and sobbed.
"You know, Kitten," he told her in mock disapproval, "I'm the one with the tragic backstory, shouldn't you be consoling me?"
He's right, she realized, a little embarrassed. She sat up quickly and wiped tears from her eyes.
"Now," he said, dropping his arm a little, but not letting go yet, "what really made you cry?"
She hesitated for a minute, looking down at her coffee. She felt selfish. Torchwick leaned down to get her attention, eyeing her suspiciously. She took a deep breath. He had opened up to her and she refused to deny him the same courtesy, no matter how foolish she felt.
"Adam Taurus," she said, looking at him and trying not to cry again, "I heard his voice in the shop. He was with the group of Faunus that were after you. I...I was his partner when I was in the White Fang...and..."
She choked up for a moment, tears falling down her face despite her efforts to hold them back. Torchwick stared at her intently, waiting for her to finish. He didn't look surprised, though. He seemed to know what she was thinking and it made her feel worse. The arm he had around her squeezed her a little, prompting her to continue. "When I left, I thought he was becoming a monster. I never thought...he might have already been one."
"People aren't always what they seem," he told her, wrapping his other arm around her and pulling her to him. He rubbed her back and waited until she stopped shaking.
When she finally stopped crying again, she felt him start to release her. She wasn't sure why, but she didn't want him to let go. She slid her arms around his waist. He obliged, holding her a little tighter this time.
"You're certainly no exception," Torchwick said softly. He moved one of his hands up to her bow and started to untie it. She closed her eyes as she felt the ribbon slide off. Starting between her Faunus ears, he gently ran his hand through her hair. She smiled against his chest and he repeated the motion a few more times. It still surprised her that he was capable of being so sweet.
Blake almost laughed at herself. In less than a day, Roman Torchwick had gone from trying to kill her to trying to comfort her...and he was doing a surprisingly good job. He seemed to genuinely understand why she was upset. He said the name James earlier, she thought...Ironwood must have meant something to him before what happened. She hugged him a little tighter and took a deep breath trying to sort out her mixed emotions.
"If you want to keep cuddling," he said, shattering the comfortable silence, "might I suggest we move to a more comfortable spot? The couch maybe, or..." he trailed off at his implication. She pushed away from him and scowled.
Way to ruin the moment, she thought, though it was probably for the best-she was getting a little too comfortable with him. He smiled at her in his usual cocky manner. She was concerned at how fast she was considering it endearing rather than annoying.
"Relax," he said, stretching his arms and back, "I can assure you I'm not in a hurry to add any statutory charges to my already impressive criminal record."
Blake felt her cheeks heat up and he smiled even wider. And now it's annoying again, she thought, a little taken aback by his comment. He winked at her and she glared in response.
"You are unbelievable." she told him, turning back to her coffee and trying to rein in her irritatingly colorful imagination. No more reading romance novels, she told herself.
Torchwick shrugged and leaned over the table to pull his own coffee cup towards him.
"Roman," she asked, wanting to change the subject and remembering another of her many questions, "why wasn't your aura protecting you last night and what did you inject yourself with?"
"Ah," he said, pausing to take a sip of his coffee, "The military started working on a serum that repressed aura during the war against the Faunus. The General and his cohorts got ahold of some."
"But it was supposed to have been shut down before the project was completed," she interjected, "and after the war, any weapons designed solely to harm any species that wasn't Grimm were deemed illegal."
"Glad you know some history," he smiled, "but if you haven't figured it out yet, Blake, the military isn't exactly concerned with just Grimm. The research was finished after the war. Luckily, I have a few connections who knew where to get that antidote." He looked proud of himself as he added, "...and I'm a damn good thief. The leaders of the White Fang were pretty pleased with that one."
"I wondered how you convinced them to work with you." She had been extremely curious about that. His speech at the rally had been for recruits, not for the people in charge. They would definitely have needed more convincing.
"Well," he said, thoughtfully, still smiling, "it was more my employer. I hadn't exactly chosen a side until I was propositioned by someone with...similar motives...but, yes, that certainly helped them come to terms with dealing with me." He took another drink of his coffee and sat it down on the table, leaning back to stretch again.
"Who is your employer" she asked.
Torchwick put his elbows on the table and glared at her, "While I'm sure that curiosity is why I owe you my life at the moment, you know I can't answer that question." Of course he would figure that out...
"I-,"
He cut her off again, putting a finger over her mouth to shush her, "Forgive me if this comes off as ungrateful, Kitty Cat, but that topic is off limits." He removed his finger and sat back again, grinning at her a little maliciously. "In case you've forgotten," he added, "I'm still the villain in your story."
He's right, she thought, disappointed. Despite everything that has happened, he's still a criminal and knowing why doesn't erase anything he's done. I shouldn't let this change anything, she thought with a sigh. Tomorrow, things have to go back to the way they were. The realization made her genuinely sad, but she could see why his loyalty to someone with a similar motive would go far beyond honor among thieves. She needed a moment alone to sort things out and process everything that he had told her.
"May I?" she asked, nodding towards the bathroom.
"Of course." he said and went back to his coffee. Either he didn't notice that she was getting overwhelmed or he was trying to give her space. She honestly wasn't sure which at this point. She also wasn't sure how she felt about him. She sat her coffee cup down and retreated to the bathroom.
She closed the door and leaned her head against it, closing her eyes and trying to collect herself. She inhaled deeply and turned around. Letting out a long, calming breath, she opened her eyes.
Looking around the bathroom, she almost laughed out loud. It reminded her of when she and her team had moved into their dorm at Beacon and Weiss had unpacked all her toiletry items. Torchwick's sink looked way too similar. Had he not been so flirtatious with her, she definitely would have questioned him. She shook her head, thankful for a light hearted moment after such a heavy exchange. She used the restroom and washed her hands, laughing again at his rather flamboyant choice of soap.
She forced herself to look up at the mirror and meet her own gaze. She looked tired. Her face was tear streaked and her make up was a mess. At least Roman has plenty of face wash, she thought with a slight smile. That's not the first time I've used his first name, she realized. Her smile faded and she stared at his blood on her shirt. He had used her name for the first time when they were on the train. He already knew about her past and now she knew about his.
Blake stared at her reflection for a moment, deep in thought. Things had changed so quickly and she wasn't sure where to go from here. She still had no idea what time it was. She needed to tell her teammates everything she had learned. She wanted to help make sure Ironwood and the people with him-Adam included-were brought to justice, but if Torchwick really had found a way to get to the General, he would never let her know.
She peeked out of the bathroom door and saw him still seated at the table with his coffee. He was staring at the bookshelf, looking thoughtful, but sad. She realized at that moment, villain or not, she couldn't hate him anymore and there was nothing she could do about it now. She wanted to bring him back from all this, maybe it wasn't too late.
"Roman?" she asked, using his first name on purpose this time, "Can I use your eyeliner?" He looked up and laughed at her timid smile, "Of course, Kitten. Use whatever you'd like."