A/N: Hey! Here's your next chapter! Sorry this one is a bit longer, but stay tuned! 4 more chapters to go.

"So, help me out, Blake. A lot of people across Remnant, Vale in particular, view the White Fang as terrorists. Like activists and zealots willing to kill for what they want-"

She stops cold when my gaze suddenly shifts from a picture of Yang- taken last year during the holidays, resting on my kitchen countertop- to her.

Her eyes dart away from mine, searching for whatever words she's going to come up with next. "I'm not saying that's what I think. Help me understand."

Fair enough. She's not going to get anything useful until she categorizes me from my past. Just like everyone used to categorize Faunus because they have animal traits.

"What would you call the White Fang when you were in it with Adam and everyone else? Mercenaries? Freedom fighters? Soldiers of fortune? Contractors?"

"I'll stop you there." I cross the apartment, gazing out of the sliding glass doors that lead to the balcony. That balcony was one of the reasons I picked this particular apartment.

No, not because of the view. Because of how close to the ground we were. Because of the decorative trees, narrow streets, and darker sidewalks. If I needed to, I could dash out of here and vanish. Without a trace.

I let out a sigh. "Most of the things we did aren't on file or on record anywhere. We've had a lot more influence than you think."

"So enlighten me." She leans forward, elbows on her knees in a position that appears attentive. I've seen that trick used by counselors and shrinks all over the place.

…

"Blake, lean forward a little. Act like you're interested on your little date there." Adam's voice echoed in my earpiece.

I responded to him, low enough that my voice could get lost in the ambient conversation going on in the outdoor cafe around me. My tea cup came up by my mouth as if to sip as I reply, shielding me from anyone who might be out of earshot but able to read lips. "You say that like we're being watched." I brushed a lock of black hair out of my face, and tucked it behind the sunglasses I donned before leaving my charge's home earlier that morning.

Adam gave me a little half-chuckle on the other end. "The only one watching you, my darling, is me." A pause. I didn't say anything, prompting him to continue. "Relax. We're not expecting trouble."

I sipped the bitter liquid, keeping the tea cup there again. "I'd feel a lot safer if we weren't next to this road like sitting ducks. Especially around all of these civilians."

I'd been to this cafe before- it was one that my 'date' loved to frequent. That was another thing that put me on edge. Anyone trying to stay inconspicuous will tell you that patterns make you predictable. Being predictable is what gets you killed.

Clear glass tables and simple metal chairs scattered the curbside area. A waitress asked a family if they're doing okay. Behind me, a car started up with fast, easy cranks. The umbrella beside my table was folded up, unlike some of the other ones. I liked the warm sun against my dark hair and black slacks. But that was not the time to relax.

It was the time to be alert. Focus on as much as I could around me. The scent of coffee flooded the air, effectively cutting off the heightened sense of smell that my Faunus heritage gave me. The movement of cafe staff and gentle flow of civilians on the sidewalk blocked my vision. Under my bow, my cat ears twitched: listening and waiting for any sign of trouble. For the moment, there was none, but my client hadn't hired me to be a companion for his son. He hired me to be his son's bodyguard.

For once, I glanced at the young man sitting across the table from me. He was just a teenager, 18 years old in a month. About my age when my parents said goodbye, and I joined the White Fang.

Two and a half years had passed since that day...

"Enjoying your tea?" He glances up over the book that he's reading. Bright golden eyes. Spiked green hair with the sides trimmed short in a crew cut. A bit larger than average build for his age.

I leaned back in my chair, my hand slipping down against my waist to subtly shift the pistol that I had concealed against my hip. I left my long white coat unfastened in the front, but its folds were more than enough to cover my clench piece and its holster. On the other side were two kydex magazine pouches. I wore them to balance out the weight of the pistol on my belt more than anything. If I ever got into a gunfight out here, in this setting, and needed two extra magazines… something would be very wrong.

"It's good. I've never tried this exact blend before." I pulled the sunglasses off my face and set them down on the table next to the porcelain tea cup.

He smiled, easing forward to rest his elbows on the edge of the table. His face reflected genuine interest, but whether it was in me or the book or the tea, I couldn't tell. "Glad I could recommend it. Also glad that you talk… none of your teammates ever said a word to me."

I looked over my shoulder, and around the cafe again. Out of habit, my cup comes back up to shield my lips. "Well, most of the time when people come to outdoor cafes like this, they talk. A group that isn't talking is a dead giveaway."

"Huh. I never would have thought about that, even with all of the action books I read." His eyes started to fall back down to the pages, eager to keep reading and following along with his story. I'd seen that look before. That book must have been good...

"What's that one about?" I was momentarily intrigued. Books were something him and I had in common, and I didn't even bother to figure out which one he's reading. It was a hardcover with the covering removed, so I couldn't tell what the title was. I set the cup and tray down. This was normal conversation. Not crucial information that I needed to shield.

He starts to grin when I ask. "It's about a man with two souls…"

Recognition dawned in my eyes, and I couldn't help but shoot a smile of my own back at him. "I read that one when I was younger. I won't spoil it."

"Blake. Quit talking to him and do your job." Adam barks at me in my earpiece.

I bring a hand up to mimic scratching my nose as I reply. This time, my hand is the thing shielding my lips. "You heard what I said. Two people who aren't talking are conspicuous."

"That won't matter if someone slips a dose of ricin into his drink while you're busy fantasizing about books."

"I know about poisons, Adam. My last name is Belladonna."

"Get back to work."

"Fine."

The boy... he liked to go by Sage. Sage Ayana. Said that's what his friends called him because of his hair. He cocked an eyebrow at me. He couldn't hear Adam, which probably made it seem like I was talking to myself. "What's going on? Did someone poison me?"

"No, Sage. Nothing you need to worry about." I couldn't help but smile a bit at his reaction to my mention of poison.

He nodded slowly, reaching forward to take another sip of his mug of coffee. It was a personalized mug with the logo of the Atlas Eagles, an ice hockey team. He swirls it, looking into the brown liquid before bringing it to his lips. "I really liked the part where the man's souls started fighting, if you remember it."

I definitely remembered it. It was the climax of the book. "I liked that part, too." Since he was asking me about that, he had to be close to the end of the book.

"I heard that there's a sequel out. I think they called-"

He stopped speaking when I suddenly stood up. I could hear it, but I wasn't sure if he could. The faint squeal of tires. An engine speeding up, with the throttle wide open. And I knew exactly where it was coming from.

After I didn't say anything, he stood, too, just in time for me to grab his forearm and yank him, hard, around the table and past me. I shoved him even farther, and not a moment later an SUV crashed through the decorative fence beside where we had been sitting a moment before.

"Holy hell!" He cried as people scatter away from the SUV. Some dove to the ground. But they were all screaming. Mugs and tea cups crashed to the ground. The odor of burning rubber accented the ugly cacophony of panic.

I felt my eyes narrow to cat slits when I took his wrist and pulled him with me to get away. There was an exit on the other side of the cafe- through the restaurant. Any other vehicles wouldn't be able to follow us. We had a chance to leave without a trace, depending on how many of them there were. But there was no doubt in my mind that they knew which car was ours, and that they were expecting us to head towards it. Being predictable is what gets you killed.

I dashed for the main doors, keeping Sage in tow. He gave me a lot of resistance… but that only meant I pulled him that much harder. Everybody else seemed to trying to get out of the indoor half of the cafe.

As I pushed through the crowd… I saw the look of panic of their faces. I saw mothers and fathers pick up their kids and run. I smelled smoke mixed with the hot white steam of boiling coolant from the truck. For all they knew, everyone around me was just trying to get away from a potential explosion caused by a freak accident, but I knew better.

"Ow… hey!" Sage dug his heels in once we were in the small kitchen towards the back of the cafe. "What's going on?"

The kitchen- if you could even call it a kitchen- was set up in a rectangle. The swinging door was at the corner, with a large sink and drain on the wall beside it. A prep island stood in the center, with stovetops and griddles on the wall opposite the door.

Even the cooks left in a hurry when they heard the crash of the accident. Burners were still on, the smell of overcooked eggs and burnt toast just starting to waft to my nostrils. A plate with a small sandwich sat on the prep island, waiting to go to its table.

I shrugged my coat off, tossing it aside. Getting to my gun would be much quicker now. I kept my eyes trained on the swinging doors to the kitchen even as I replied to him. "That car was meant to take you out, but they never counted on a Faunus hearing it first.."

"But it could've been an accident."

For once, I let my gaze meet his. I saw the flash of fear in his eyes. Maybe from how my human-like amber eyes were still cut into the slits of a cat. "Trucks don't speed up when they're about to run through cafes."

Realization dawned on his face. His eyes go wide as he looks down at his hands. "So… people are trying to kill me? Why?"

"Because of who your parents are and what they've been trying to do for Faunus rights."

"Then what are you doing here?"

His eyes come up to meet mine when I reply. "I'm here to make sure that does not happen."

"What do I do?"

"You stick close to me. Do what I say, and go where I tell you. If something happens to me, you run and get away. Don't pick up my gun and try to fight." My mention of 'something happening to me' was matter-of-fact. No emotion, something that… sometimes piles up after the mission, once the nerves and adrenaline wear off.

Voices. The pounding footsteps of boots outside, on the other side of the door. I placed my hand over his mouth, and the other on the grip of my pistol, ready if anything came through the door at that moment.

A male voice, just on the other side of the door, called out, "Fan the area and check adjacent buildings. I've got the kitchen."

Just one guy. My grip relaxed on my pistol, falling to the knife I kept inside my boot. The matte black metal starkly contrasted the shining pots and pans of the kitchen. I let go of Sage's mouth, putting a finger to my lips as I readied myself beside the door.

The first thing I saw was his gun barrel. Clearing the corner opposite me. He knew what he was doing, but I was better. I rushed forward, grabbing the gun barrel to keep it away from me. He jumped in surprise, and I took that opportunity to spin behind him and rake my blade across his throat.

…

"Wait… you just killed him? Right in front of a teenage boy?"

"Yes. You know what would've happened if I didn't." I'm still standing in the same spot by the glass door of my balcony. I haven't turned to look at the psych since the start of the story.

"Did you feel any remorse doing it? Regret at having to kill another human being?" I hear her shift in her chair, followed by the faint sound of a pen twirling in her fingers.

"No." I purse my lips, remembering the ways that I've had to explain this in the past. I look over my shoulder at her, catching her looking at her notes. "Have you ever been in combat before?"

She blinks once at the question. "Can't say I have… But I've talked to enough soldiers with PTSD from their experiences."

I come back to looking out through the glass. Two hummingbirds come to drink from the feeder that Yang had set up when I first bought the apartment. "Everybody reacts differently. I go numb. Some people call it 'flipping the switch.' You don't think, you just do what you're trained to do. Stream of consciousness." I slightly lower my gaze, my hand coming up so I can examine the White Fang tattoo on my wrist.

I wait, almost expecting the psych to say something, but she stays quiet.

"The best soldiers in my field are the ones with the best instinct and foresight." A pause, as I recall more of what happened that day with Sage. "At the same time, some of the best soldiers are simply the luckiest."

I turn around, watching her set her notes aside and pinch the bridge of her nose. "Blake… do you remember the look on Sage's face when he saw you do it?"

I nod at her. "Yes. Very well, actually."

…

I eased the man's body to the floor, not wanting the thump of him hitting the ground to alert any of his compatriots who could still be in the indoor half of the cafe.

I glanced up at my charge as I stowed my knife in my boot again. His hand was across his mouth, as if he was trying to hold back the urge to vomit. I used to be that way; I'd get queasy whenever I saw trauma. He was just… frozen there. Like a deer in headlights.

"Let's go. We have to keep moving." I rushed over to him and reached for his wrist again. He backed away from me, looking up at me with fear and panic radiating from his eyes.

"Hey." I reached up, much slower this time, to place my hand on his shoulder. He shied away again. "He would've killed us if I didn't."

No response. He just looked down at the specks of blood on my hands. His own were starting to shake.

"Sage, if-"

"Blake. Talk to me." Adam's voice was urgent in my earpiece.

"In the cafe kitchen. We can't make it to the car. We're going to try to make it out through the back alleyway." As I replied to Adam, Sage's eyes flitted back to the dead body on the floor. However, my hand fell to his shoulder, and this time he didn't pull back.

"What? We don't have surveillance back there. You need to push back to the car."

"We wouldn't be able to make it. They already have men inside." I squeeze Sage's shoulder, trying to pull his attention away from the man I just killed. He looks at me again, this time attempting to close the distance between us. He was still scared… but he knew I could get him out.

Adam's next line came more as a snarl. "If anything happens, it's your fault."

I held my breath, a knot in my stomach starting to churn. I felt uneasy. Alone. Adam was angry at my actions, even though I took the right path. But perhaps he was right. If we were in the car right then… Sage would be safer than in the middle of our attackers. Nothing I could do about it then, though.

I took Sage's wrist, and led him through a door on the opposite side of the kitchen. The way to the back alley was through a storeroom, filled with two pallets that could only be holding coffee beans and tea leaves. When we walked in, I shut the lights off. If anyone tried to stop us in there, my Faunus night vision would have given me the advantage.

We weaved the dozen yards through the room before we came to the door leading outward, adjacent to a roll up garage door that I could only assume they would use for offloading supplies. I opened the smaller door slowly, keeping Sage out of the door until I was sure everything was clear.

"We go this way. Stay close." I let go of his wrist, and for once, he responded to me.

"Okay. I'll follow you."

I opened the door all the way, expecting to receive a bullet at any moment. I wasn't the target, though. He was.

The alleyway wasn't very big, but it was wide enough to drive through. On my right was a chainlink fence separating the cafe's property from its adjacent neighbor. My left led to the main street, with a large green dumpster resting on the opposite side from the cafe. I walked outside, and pulled the bow out of my hair. I could hear better with it off.

I stayed close to the wall, looking behind me and above me for any sign of our attackers. Off in the distance, I heard the echo of sirens, but in the city, it would still take at least ten minutes for them for them to get to us.

A vehicle drove by the alleyway, on the street. I specifically remember the color… black. Gloss black. The next thing I knew, tires were squealing. They were coming back.

Headlights glared at me when I saw it turn down the alley. Its engine revved, and it started speeding towards us.

Spikes of adrenaline surged through me, but I had been trained to quell those nerves. It's funny… I remember all of it so specifically, like it was yesterday.

My first thought was Sage. I pushed, practically threw him over to the other side of the street, behind the dumpster. He would be safe from the car there.

Muscle memory guided my hand down to the pistol on my hip. I drew it with record speed, slapped my other hand into a firm hold on the grip, and squeezed the trigger. I didn't aim the first shot, which made a shower of sparks fly up off of the hood. The next shot was deliberate, though. I put the three dots of the gunsight on the driver's head. Pulled the trigger, then dove to my right with as much force and speed as I could manage.

Faunus reflexes prevailed. Even though the SUV started swerving towards me when I dove out of the way, I was faster. It smashed into the wall of the alley.

My heartrate pounded in my ears, and I knew I was breathing faster, my mouth open. But I looked around for Sage, keeping my gun trained on the car.

He wasn't on my side of the dumpster, and the thought flashed through my head as to if he got away or not. Relief washed over me when I saw him looking at me from the other side of the dumpster. He was safe for the moment.

I didn't have any time to rest or catch my breath. The rear door facing me opened, and a woman slightly taller than I was rushed out. I didn't shoot her immediately because I didn't see the pistol she had behind her. In fact, I was focusing on her eyes. They were red. Like garnet gemstones. I was temporarily mesmerized by them, stunned at how deep yet penetrating they were...

I know now that she was a snake Faunus. I never believed the rumors that a cobra's garnet gaze could trap people not prepared for it. But now I do.

Her hand swung up, and that's when I saw the gun. I didn't need to think about it. I saw the threat, and reacted. Pulled the trigger. My pistol went off. She stumbled backwards, but her gun was still pointed at me. I shot again, and this time she dropped it, falling onto her back with both hands clutching her chest.

Behind me, I heard Sage gasp. I glanced back at him, and saw that his cheeks were wet with tears.

I backed up behind the dumpster, pushing him as low as I could to get him out of the line of fire.

"Adam, another one of those cars just tried blowing us away in the alley." My voice was faster than it needed to be, and I knew it. I was getting too flustered, too worked up. Sometimes, adrenaline speeds up the body, but not the mind. I took three deep breaths in succession, willing my heartrate to go down. It would steady my aim, and help me focus. "Where are you?"

"Damn it, Blake. We're on our way to you." He was out of breath, like he was running. "Hang in there."

I didn't respond because I saw shadows on the other side of the crashed car. A door swinging open. Someone's feet as they step outside. Make that two sets of feet. I shot three times at the windows, hoping a bullet or two would find their way through, and I'd get lucky.

They were the lucky ones. I saw one move towards the front of the car, and one towards the back. This was a problem… I only had three rounds left in the current magazine.

Both heads peeked out at the same time, and everything seemed to explode all at once. I shot twice at the man at the front, looking over the hood. Or… maybe it was a woman. I really wasn't paying attention to gender at the time. What I do know is that he or she ducked as soon as I shot, and sparks showered me as their rounds hit the dumpster.

I, too, ducked behind cover and reached to my waist for a fresh magazine. I pressed the release to jettison the mag in the gun, and tried to stab the new one home. My hands… they were shaking. Adrenaline? A bit of fear? I slowed down. I found my mark and jammed the magazine into the grip, hearing the telltale click that meant it was secure.

I leaned out from beside the dumpster, this time only a fraction so that only the guy at the back of the crashed car could have a shot at me. I shot again, maybe three or four times, watching my bullets put jagged holes into the sheet metal of the car. At one point, I blew out the tail light and shattered the pavement with bits of red and white plastic.

I saw his shadow drop down to a knee. Had I wounded him? Did one of the bullets make it through the car?

Tunnel vision. For that moment, all I could think about was that one guy. I didn't notice the other person make their way toward the rear of the car. I didn't know he, she, whatever was there until I had two guns looking at me, and I felt the heat of a round pass right by my cheek and tug at my hair.

I shot, too, but I was so immediately flustered at the near miss that none of them counted for anything. I might as well have been throwing rocks.

You want to know what else I failed to do? Watch my back. I was looking down into the alley, fighting with my attackers, when for all I knew, there could've been ten more behind me to kill myself and Sage.

That fact dawned on me the moment I heard gunfire behind me. Pistols, from the sound of it. Faunus hearing gives you the ability to pick out minute differences in noises like gunshots.

When I looked over my shoulder, I was prepared to see another gun pointed at me. But I couldn't have been more relieved. Adam, my partner, walking up behind me with his pistol drawn. The Lieutenant beside the corner of the building towards the street, poised with his own gun resting against the wall.

I heard both of them shoot, not minding how the rounds were going past me. I relaxed. Kept Sage close. I only heard two more gunshots from my attackers, which were followed by a volley from my two teammates. The slump of bodies falling to the ground echoed through the alleyway shortly after.

"Clear," Adam declared as he walked up to the crashed SUV.

I stood, after setting my pistol on the ground. I put my hand out to Sage to help him up, and once again, I noticed how much my hand was shaking. I was trying to keep still, but my muscles wouldn't obey.

He took it, and I hauled him to his feet. Almost instantly he latched onto me, his arms tightly around my chest. He buried his face into my neck. I felt dampness against my skin after a moment. He was crying.

"Thank you… thank you so much…"

I… didn't know what to do. I never wanted to get close and emotional with the people I was guarding. But… they'd never done this before. I'd never been in a situation even remotely close to this before.

I thought back to what my mom used to do when I cried on her like this. I remembered how soothing her voice was, how warm she felt. What would she do?

One of my hands came up around Sage's shoulders, the other one into his hair, gently carding my fingers through it. "It's okay. You're safe. They can't hurt you."

"I thought I was going to die..." He drew in a breath, more of a sniffle as I squeezed him a little tighter.

"You're okay, though. That's why I'm here." I looked up, seeing the Lieutenant shoot me a look of disapproval. He was walking towards me. My gaze back at him was pleading. Let him be. Sage just needed to come off of the emotions, not get ripped away from the woman who saved his life.

Minutes went by before he calmed down. He pulled away just as Adam emerged from the cafe, carrying the white jacket I discarded in the kitchen. "Blake. Time to go."

Sage willingly pulled away from me when Adam told me that. "You'll be back again, right?"

"I'll try, Sage." I gave him one more gentle squeeze before letting go. Adam handed me my coat, and I slid it on after picking my pistol and magazine off the ground to reholster them. I made no attempt to conceal them this time. I stayed with Adam while the Lieutenant took Sage away, out of the alley. Presumably to his parent's house in the suburbs of Vale.

"What the hell were you thinking, Blake?"

The question caught me off guard. I was watching Sage leave the alley when he asked. "What do you mean?"

He suddenly cornered me against the wall, his face less than a foot away from mine. I could see the anger in his eyes. His hot breath on my cheeks. "If we have to use our weapons, it means something is wrong. You could've made it to the car. Blended in while following the crowd."

"I…" I stuttered. I felt small. Vulnerable, pressed up against the green paint and starting to sweat due to the heat coming off of the wall. "I thought Sage would be safer if-"

My head jerked to the side from the heated sting of an open-handed slap. I cried out, my hand instinctively coming up to my cheek.

Adam was relentless, raising his voice. "Because of that, we have at least five people dead that we are responsible for. You put Sage in more danger by not getting him to the car. That's all on you, Blake. That's not how we operate, and it's very, very bad for our reputation, and the image of the Faunus. We've fought hordes of Grimm before, like when we lost Hawk. This was pathetic."

I couldn't find the words to respond. My breaths were coming quick but short. My hand was still against my cheek, my eyes averted away from him.

"Are you even listening to me?" His hand reeled back again to strike me again, and both of my arms shot out to shield my face from another blow.

…

"Wait… you two were in love? And he just struck you like that?"

I slowly make my way back to my lounge chair and take a seat, leaning backwards but still looking away from her. "It wasn't the first time. When I fell in love with him, he was a natural leader. A man anyone would follow into combat."

"That's not the person you just told me about in the story, though." I feel her gaze on me, looking for any subtle change in body language. Adam is a touchy subject for me, and… concealing emotions can be tough.

I shift in my chair. "He changed over time. It was subtle at first. Things happened, and he let his passion for the Faunus and overbearing care for his teammates warp him. I…I'm not even sure what happened, to be honest." I close my eyes and let out a breath, fighting back all the memories of his abuse.

Her voice drops in volume. "I'm so sorry, Blake..."

My eyes stay closed. "I didn't ask for your sympathy. It's one of the reasons why I ran, and I'm better for it."

I open my eyes in time to see her nod and scribble a note down on her pad of paper. As her sight comes back to me, she gently shakes her flip a small section of hair back over her shoulder. "Anything else you'd like to tell me?"

I think for a moment, then shake my head. "No. Not today."

She smiles at me. "Okay. Then… we'll do our next session tomorrow? You pick the place."

In all honesty, I didn't care where we met up. "How about right here again? At 9 in the morning?"

"Perfect." She stands up, gathering her things into a brown satchel and throwing it over her shoulder. I stand as well, forcing a smile across my face for the moment and shaking her hand. She turns sharply, heading towards the door and brushing a lock of hair from her face. With the open and close of my main apartment door, I'm alone once again.

I let out a long breath, and walk over into my kitchen. The long marble countertop was decorated with little tokens of my significant other. The picture of her from last year. The plastic replica gauntlet from an anime we both liked. A painting from one of those "wine and art" places that we did together. There's more, each little piece bringing back a specific memory of Yang.

Currently, Yang's on a mission to Mistral with the rest of RWBY. I had to stay behind for this psych evaluation… Yang told me that she'd call me at some point tonight whenever she had a moment free. I pull my scroll out of my back pocket and set it on the counter, ready for whenever she called.

From there, I walk over to the end-table with the books stacked, and open the drawer containing my pistol. It's one of many that I own, but its small size makes it the most comfortable to carry day-to-day. Also the easiest to conceal wherever I want to. I slid the holster into my belt, and the pistol just after. I take a moment to look out of the sliding glass door again, and draw the blinds. Even though it's not terribly late, I'm starting to button up the apartment for the night.

I'm about to slide the chain and deadbolt into place when I hear my scroll buzzing on the countertop. I close the distance and answer it, pressing the button to put it on speaker.

"Hey, kitten!" It's Yang. Something about her voice always lightens my mood. For the first time today, I smile genuinely.

"Hi there... How's Mistral?"

"Too small for my liking. And too much activity, even with the mission happening tomorrow." She pauses. I hear the sound of Ruby and Weiss talking in the background, with raised voices to project over… helicopters, maybe? "How'd the psych eval go?"

"It… it's not completely over."

I know that Yang can hear, practically sense, my hesitation. "She asked about the White Fang, didn't she?"

I bring a hand up to pinch the bridge of my nose. Yang helps me relax, and she knows about my past… but that doesn't make the memories any easier to come to grips with. "Yeah. She… she wants to know more about Adam. I told her about Sage. It was tough to talk about..."

Yang's confident, cheery tone dropped half an octave into her serious, 'listen to me' mode. "You're not with them anymore, and you don't have to talk about Adam if you don't want to."

The lump in my throat hardens. "Yeah… I-"

Her voice transitions to calm and soothing. "Shhh… Take tonight for yourself. Go change into your yukata, pour yourself a brandy, and grab a book. Go to bed early tonight if you want." I hear her put the phone down to shout something incoherent to me at Ruby and Weiss. "And finally… pretend I'm there."

I purse my lips and sigh, leaning forward to rest my elbows on the countertop as I start to rub my temples. "I'll try, Yang."

"I know you will, Blake. I'll see you in two days, if we don't get back early. I'll call you tomorrow. I love you."

"I love you too..."

A/N: I'd love to hear your thoughts...