Weiss excused herself when she learned where Adam was staying, ignoring Winter's suspicious glare. She could deal with Winter's questions later, right now all she wanted was to see him. The dorm designated to him was tucked at the very end of the corridor beside team JNR. Even from down the hall, she still felt her sister's gaze following her every move.
"It's me," she said, knocking on his door.
"Come in."
The dorm room was bigger than the ones they had in Beacon; with a beautiful view of the school courtyard below. Like the rest of the building, the interior was stiff with cold blues and mechanical greys. He was resting on one of the top bunk beds when she came in.
"Sorry, I didn't know you were sleeping," she apologised, closing the door behind her.
"It's fine. I was expecting to see you anyways." He leapt down from the bunk bed.
Butterflies fluttered in her stomach when he brushed her hair aside to get a better look at her face. She didn't know why she was so nervous around him when moments before, she was itching to get back to him.
"Are you okay?" His hand lingered on her face, leaving her skin tingling where he touched her cheek.
"Don't worry, nothing happened. Qrow didn't let me out of his sight. Father couldn't do anything even if he wanted to."
He let out a breath of relief before wrapping his arms around her. The tension in her body relaxed at his touch. She tucked her head beneath his chin, her arms curving around his waist. For the first time since stepping back into Atlas, her mind was silent.
"You have no idea it was like when none of us could reach you. We all thought something had happened," he spoke lowly.
"Thanks for trusting Blake enough to join us. You have no idea how happy I am to see you with them."
"Yeah, well…they were ready to steal an airship to go after you. I wasn't going to let them butcher the job."
"Is that why you agreed to join them? So you can pull off a successful heist?" She giggled.
"It would've been difficult to rescue you if they all landed in prison or dead in the water. I was being efficient."
She couldn't stop laughing at the mental image of her rag-tag group of friends attempting to steal Military equipment under Cordovin's nose. What made it funnier was the possibility of them succeeding with Adam's help.
"I don't see what's so funny." He pulled back, staring down at her with a disapproving frown. "We were all worried sick."
"I know," she said through fits of giggles. "I'm so relieved to see you. I thought you got caught by security."
"I don't know if I should be insulted by your lack of confidence in me."
"It doesn't matter anymore. I have good news!"
She told him about her new license and Ironwood inviting him to help them with low stake missions. Even before hearing his response, Weiss knew he wasn't thrilled to hear about Ironwood's offer. His frown and averted gaze were enough to see his discomfort about the matter.
"I know it's a lot to be fighting alongside Humans so soon, and you don't have to join us on anything. It's just...you're already friendly with Blake and Jaune. I even think Ruby is starting to warm up to you. If you change your mind, I'm sure they'll be happy to have you. If not, I completely understand."
"I think friendly is a bit exaggerated." His voice softened as he turned his attention back to her. "I already know Blake, so it's not weird to talk with her. The other two are only being polite."
"Still, I think you guys would all work nicely together on a mission." She'd also love to fight alongside him again. They made a good team back in Mistral.
"I'll think about it since you seem to care so much."
Weiss wanted to melt into the ground. Was it so obvious that she wanted him around more?
"Y-you don't have to do it for me. I'd rather you stay back than force yourself to join us."
"Relax, I'm not forcing myself to do anything. Your friends are a lot, but they don't seem like bad people. Just give me some time to think about it, alright?"
"Okay." She took a breath. "I'm glad you came here with them. Now I don't have to worry about breaking you out of prison."
"What?" He snorted. "Where did you get that idea from?"
Weiss told him the crazy train of thought she had when Winter left to deal with the stowaways. Her embarrassment grew when he laughed at her plan to break him out of Military custody by herself.
"Do you and your friends want to go to jail? No offence, but you guys come up with the dumbest heists."
"W-what was I supposed to think when Winter happened to find White Fang stowaways?" She blushed. "You had no way of knowing about Atlas' new security measures, and I wasn't going to let you sit in jail. I-it made sense at the time, and I was scared–"
Her words fell apart when he pulled her into a tight bear hug. He tucked his head into the crook of her neck, leaving her knees weak. Weiss expected him to pull back after a moment, but he lingered by her side. The arms wrapped around her left her chest fluttering with warmth.
"Thank you for caring so much," he whispered before letting her go.
Weiss didn't need to look in a mirror to know the heat in her face left her cheeks as red as the rose emblem on his back. She took off his coat and handed it back to him, hoping to cool off some of the warmth.
"Thanks for letting me borrow this."
"And here I thought you'd never give this back," he teased, shrugging it back on. "You looked so comfy wearing it."
"It's a bit big on me, and I already have a jacket to keep me warm."
She straightened her coat and pretended not to notice when his eye trailed over her.
"They got you new clothes as well?"
"I-it's nothing. I wanted something simple and practical."
"It suits you. I know you don't like it when people focus too much on your appearance, but I mean it when I say you look lovely today."
She didn't know what made her smile more, the infectious grin on his face or the warmth of his words.
Ruby knocked on their door, demanding they come out and look at what Jaune did with his hair. Weiss was grateful for the interruption. The dorm was getting too hot for her liking.
Weiss burst out laughing when she saw Jaune's new haircut. She knew why Ruby wanted them to see what Jaune did to himself.
"The video made it look so easy!" Jaune argued. "I'm leaving a dislike on that asshole's tutorial!"
"I don't think it's the video's fault!" Ruby laughed so hard she had tears streaming down her face.
"O-oh yeah? Well, Adam isn't laughing, so hah! I bet it's just a girl thing!"
Adam tensed as the spotlight turned on him. He pulled his hood up and backed further away from the group.
"It's not even that bad, right?"
Weiss wasn't sure if Jaune was trying to convince Adam or himself.
"I'm sure it'll grow back with time," Adam murmured, making Ruby laugh even harder.
"You never even asked for my opinion." Ren frowned.
"You laughed at me when you first saw it too! It doesn't count!" Jaune huffed in frustration. "Is there someone with a Semblance who can make hair grow back faster? This sucks!"
"This is why you need to leave haircuts to the professionals." Yang patted his back sympathetically.
"Leave what to the professionals?" Blake stepped out of her room with a perfectly tailored bobbed cut that rendered Yang completely speechless.
Weiss was sure that would've got them talking again, but Yang turned her back to Blake before either of them could say another word
"Jaune messed up his hair and we're bullying him for it!" Nora announced loudly.
Blake looked over the haircut in question. She tried to hold in her reaction, but that resulted in a loud snort which only made Nora and Ruby fall over laughing.
"This is so unfair!" Jaune patted his short hair feebly. "I'm never trying anything new ever again."
"Please do, this is the best I've ever seen you look," Ruby said between fits of giggles.
"I feel bad for him," Adam said quietly. "It reminds me of the first time I tried to cut my hair."
"Oh, please do tell." Weiss beamed. It was all too amusing to picture him with Jaune's new hairdo.
"No way. I know better than to embarrass myself like that."
"I'll get it out of you someday…or I could ask Blake about it," she said as Blake approached.
"Ask me what?"
"Have you ever seen Adam with bad haircuts before?" Weiss asked before Adam could cut her off.
Blake's snicker told her everything Weiss needed to know.
"Hey! I taught you how to fight. You at least owe me that much to keep your mouth shut."
"You were such an awful barber when you were a kid."
"When I was a kid. I got better at it."
"Uh-huh. Whatever happened to that awful bowl cut you gave to that one girl?"
"I never said anything about being able to cut girls' hair."
As they reminisced on their shared past, relaxing more and more with each memory, a spark of frustration burned in her throat. It wasn't exactly anger, but it did give her the urge to punch the nearest object. The fire burned hotter as she found it impossible to contribute to their conversation. And how could she? Their past together was something she could never be a part of.
Weiss hoped she'd feel better when they headed to the cafeteria for dinner. Perhaps she was simply a bit grumpy from hunger. She wasn't sure why she felt so disappointed when Blake joined them at the end of the table to continue her talk with Adam.
Weiss had forgotten Blake's request to talk to the group until she mentioned it at the end of dinner. What caught everyone off guard was that Blake wanted Adam in on the conversation. Yang was the first to object to the idea.
"We're not discussing anything confidential," Blake argued, unmoved by Yang's direct opposition.
"I don't see why he still has to be there. He's not even part of any of our teams."
"It doesn't matter. I want him to hear this."
Yang's eyes flashed red for a second. Ruby wedged between them and suggested they all hear what Blake had to say before jumping to rash conclusions.
That's how they all ended up squished in the dorm reserved for team RWBY. Adam stood closest to the door, with Weiss standing right beside him. Blake paced feverishly around the dorm, fingers playing with the zippers on her sleeves, as everyone settled into the space.
"So, what's up?" Ruby asked lightly. The kind smile on her face eased some of the tension from Blake's shoulders.
"I want to talk about whether it's right to work with Ironwood like this," Blake began tentatively.
Yang folded her arms. "I thought you said this wasn't confi–"
"It isn't!" Blake cut her off. "I'll be blunt. I don't like how they're dealing with the White Fang. It'll backfire on the Faunus living in Mantle."
"What do you mean?" Adam piped in, sounding a lot more interested in the topic.
Blake vaguely summarised the new security measures placed by Dr Watts and Ironwood.
"Atlas Military hasn't always treated the Faunus community fairly," Blake said to the rest of them. "They're always quick to make arrests first and ask questions later. If anything, these new security measures are landing more innocent Faunus citizens in jail than catching any White Fang agents."
Weiss didn't want to discredit what Blake was saying, but she found it difficult to see Atlas Forces antagonising the Faunus community. Vocal bad apples like Cordovin or lowly officers were likely giving them all a bad reputation. It was the only explanation that could justify Blake's concern. True Huntsmen and Huntresses like Winter wouldn't do anything to hurt innocent civilians.
She once again thought of the wanted posters in Ironwood's office. Weiss wasn't sure why she kept coming back to it, like a puzzle she couldn't quite let go of.
"Isn't this a bit of a…" Jaune struggled to find the right words.
"A what? An overreaction?" Blake challenged him pointedly.
"No! I mean…don't you think we're jumping to the worst possible scenario? This kind of thing would be relevant 80 years ago, but things have changed since then."
"There are still businesses who get away with Faunus slavery. Many members of the White Fang are survivors or relatives of those who escaped slavery," Adam answered bluntly. "Our world isn't all that different from the War."
His words rendered the group silent. Not even Yang tried to refute his accusation.
"But that was made illegal after the War…" Ruby whispered.
"The law doesn't mean anything to people with power. When survivors try to speak up, they're accused of lying or the authorities mysteriously lose the case file and don't contact them again."
"He's right." Blake smiled grimly. "I don't buy that Faunus citizens are fine when missing their suggested curfew. I bet they get into plenty of trouble for acting suspiciously after hours. One call from a paranoid Human is all it takes to land someone in custody."
"H-hold on, we're facing a new situation this time!" Jaune quickly cut in. "Right now, it isn't a bunch of random Military people patrolling Mantle. It's robots designed to protect civilians!"
"How do we know they aren't programmed to target Faunus citizens?" Adam asked.
"Because it doesn't help Ironwood if he creates bad blood with the Faunus community right now," Ruby jumped in. "It'll hurt his mission more than anything.
"Ruby brings up a good point," Jaune said. "There's so much at stake right now. They can't let themselves get blinded by things like that."
"I can also vouch for my sister." Weiss felt the need to speak up and defend Winter's actions. "Even if Ironwood missed something, I trust that Winter will catch his mistake and fix it. There's too much on the line for her to overlook something this big."
"I don't know, guys." Blake looked down, shuffling her feet. "Something still feels…off."
"I understand why you're worried," Ruby consoled. "How about this? Let's stay extra diligent from now on. If something's off, it'll be impossible to hide with so many of us on alert."
Blake chewed on her lower lip as she mulled over Ruby's idea.
"We can give it a shot," she relented. "But the moment I find something off, I'm out."
"I feel like I'm missing some key information in this conversation," Adam interjected.
Ruby smiled apologetically and explained they couldn't give him more context without leaking confidential intel.
"The only thing I can tell you is that we promise no Faunus gets hurt under our watch," Ruby vowed.
"I'm with Ruby on this one," Weiss said. "And I completely trust my sister to make the right decisions. She takes her job seriously and won't let stupid prejudice blind her judgment."
Despite their reassurances, he looked far from convinced.
"Honestly, I don't have faith in the leadership of Atlas Military, but you know your sister better than me. I'll go along with your idea for now," Adam said to Weiss. "But like Blake, I won't be sticking around if we uncover something fishy."
"Don't worry, Winter's a great Huntress. She won't let us down."
The conversation turned to more lighthearted topics after that, with the larger group slowly breaking off to chat amongst themselves.
Blake turned to talk with Jaune about something. Weiss was surprised Blake didn't go straight to Adam given how much they had to catch up on.
"I'm calling it a night," Adam whispered to her.
"Not interested in sticking around?" she asked.
"Crowds aren't my thing."
She wanted him to stay with her for a bit longer, but she kept that comment to herself and wished him a good night instead.
"Hey, I know today was tough for you," he added before leaving. "If you have trouble with nightmares tonight, you can stay with me. My door is always open."
She recalled how close he was when she woke up that morning in his bed. It was the first time she'd ever waken up in someone's arms – let alone a guy's arms. Weiss messed with the collar of her jacket, hoping it'll help release some heat in her face.
"Are you sure about that? I might disturb you in the middle of the night again," she said half-jokingly.
"You're the only exception," he assured her with a gentle smile. "I hope you sleep well tonight."
"You too."
Weiss waited for him to leave before joining Jaune and Blake's conversation. Blake happily welcomed Weiss into their discussion about the best foods in Mistral. She felt horrible for harbouring such inexplicable annoyance with Blake earlier.
It wasn't long before everyone decided to call it a night. After wishing team JNR and Oscar a good night, they attended to their nighttime routines.
Blake left to find something to read while Yang kept to herself in her chosen bunk bed, playing another fighting game on her Scroll.
Weiss had wanted to sleep early until Ruby invaded her bed, insisting she needed to hear about a new gun model she saw in an Argus magazine. Weiss feigned annoyance as Ruby talked her ear off about the new features of the weapon.
Blake returned with a rolled-up newspaper about half an hour later. She didn't bother returning to her bed, choosing instead to sit at one of the work desks to read. Yang leapt down from her bunk just as Blake settled in the office chair.
Ruby and Weiss exchanged a look. Their one-sided discussion on new rifles halted at once.
"Uh, hey," Yang spoke up with an awkward cough.
"H-hi." Blake's ears perked up. "Can I help you with anything?"
Ruby cursed under her breath when Yang glanced at them. They both bowed their heads. Ruby quickly rambled on about some other weapon she knew off the top of her head.
"I wanted to say..." Yang paused for a long moment. Neither was able to look at each other. "I never knew those things happened to the Faunus…I'm sorry that stuff still goes on. It's not fair."
"Yeah. I know…" Blake replied heavily. "Thank you, though…for saying that."
Another long pause passed, filled only by Ruby's lengthy explanation about how a particular gun worked. Weiss wasn't even sure Ruby was making much sense with how frantically she tried to fill the silence.
"How come you never told me all that before?" Yang asked.
"It's hard to talk about what I've seen without discussing…the White Fang."
The air thickened around them. Ruby's chatter faded into the heavy silence.
"Right. I forgot." Yang folded her arms. "You weren't ever going to come clean with that kind of thing anyway. Why am I not surprised?"
"I'm sorry, I-I was scared to tell the truth–"
"I trusted you, Blake! We all trusted you, but you hid that from us – from me! How do I know you're not hiding any more terrible secrets?!"
"Then ask me!" Blake threw the paper down. "I'll tell you everything. No more secrets."
"How do I know you're not lying? You hid so much from me already. How can I be sure you're being honest with me now?"
Blake's expression crumbled into hurt.
"If you don't trust me, then there's nothing else I can say to you." Blake picked up her newspaper and opened it up to a random page.
"Fine!" Yang turned her back on Blake. Weiss didn't miss how quickly she wiped her hand over her eyes. "Good night or whatever."
She didn't bother waiting for a response, retreating to her bunk bed without another word. Weiss heard Blake whispering a soft goodnight to Yang – Weiss doubted Yang was able to catch it.
Their room had gone dark when Ruby finally decided to call it a night. Despite the late hour, Blake continued reading the newspaper, using only the moonlight as a source of light.
"Are you okay, Blake?" Weiss asked her quietly.
"I'm good," she answered, keeping her eyes on the paper. "You should sleep. It must've been a long day for you."
"What about you?"
"I'm doing some light reading before bed. It's been a while since I've had the chance to do that." Blake shrugged. "Don't worry about me. I'll be off to sleep soon."
Weiss knew she was lying. Blake was never all that interested in reading the newspaper before bed. She was trying to dig up dirt on the Military despite their reassurances. Why was she so adamant that the Military was lying?
The wall of Faunus suspects plastered in Ironwood's office crept to the forefront of her mind. Weiss buried herself beneath her blankets and squeezed her eyes shut. She didn't give the wall of faces another thought.
Thanks to BrazeRancor, Unsung Senpai, MajorBrony95, StarStream2005, Iwr1918, and a Guest reader for the reviews!
Take care and catch you next week :)