Alrighty... New chapter, yh. This is going more in depth with Adam's personality, non-canon. Hope you enjoy.

Chapter 4: The Truth

Adam

I rush to the door, but before I open it, I calm myself, make myself neutral. I have to clear the panic off my face if I'm going to be able to lie about this. I open the door to come face to face with a fist. "What do you want." My tone is masterfully authoritative. It took me years to perfect it, but it was worth all of the time and effort.

The man pulls his fist back and stands at attention. "Um, yeah, uh, Sir!"

I growl a bit, an intimidation technique famous among Faunus. "What is it?"

He basically responds how I predicted. He cowers but pulls himself back together. "Sir, the Schnee is gone from her cell."

I curse inwardly. I might need to get better recruits down here, but if I do, there will be no peace. They'll check my rooms, and that won't end well. Maybe this once I can be thankful that the help is shitty. "Yeah, I know."

He looks taken aback. "You know, sir?" Oh, how I love their confusion and doubt sometimes.

I smile wickedly. "Of course, I know. As soon as the four day mark hit without a word from her father, I had a little fun."

He swallows hard. "Fun, Sir?"

"Yeah, fun. Her screams were delicious." I add a lick of my lips for added effect. These guys really believe that I'm that vicious. Fuck, this really messes with my head.

He stammers. "O-oh, u-u-um, yes, Sir, but wh-where is she?" I pinch the bridge of my nose in frustration. The stooge in front of me just waves his arms in front of him, "No, Sir, I didn't mean to question you. Forgive me!" He bows at me in apology.

I sigh and sneer at him. "Forgiven. Now, get out of my sight." He scurries down the hall, trying to get as far from me as possible. This is going to get around to the rest of the recruits. It'll add to my already savage reputation, but it's actually helpful. The more fear and respect I garner, the less someone will doubt me, and the less doubt, the more obedience. I can't have them get too out of line quite yet, can I?

I close the door and lock it, barring anyone entrance into my domain. I wipe a hand down my face, trying to sort my thoughts. She can be safe here as long as she doesn't leave. No one will come looking now, thank god. I walk over to the bathroom and open the door to see her just fall forward onto her face. I laugh a little. "So, did you have a nice time listening in?"

She stands up quickly and blushes. "Um, yes?"

I laugh more and just shake my head. "So, what did you hear?"

She fidgets with her hands, wringing them nervously. "All of it?"

I raise my eyebrow. "Is that a question or a statement?" She's so much fun to mess with. WHy didn't I think of this before? I could have had hours of entertainment that didn't involve continuous blades those first few days.

She takes a deep breath. "A statement. I heard all of it." Then, her expression changes to one of confusion and concern. "Why did you lie?"

My smile drops. "That's none of your fucking business."

Her voice softens. "But you saved my life."

I sneer at her, a forced one that just doesn't feel right in this situation. "Yeah, don't get used to it, 'k, princess?" I hold my hand out in front of me, palm out, to stop her from saying anything. "Look, it's the middle of the night. Just go to sleep."

She looks at me hesitantly. "Where?"

I resist the urge to facepalm. Gesturing toward the bed, I turn around and take my jacket off and wait for her to comply. "Come on. You're getting by the wall. I can't have you do something stupid, like try to escape." She opens her mouth, probably about to protest. "Do you want to sleep on the cold floor?" That shuts her up, and I smile. She climbs in the bed, under the covers, and I go to grab my only extra blanket I have left. Sliding into the bed, I fling the cover already there her way before laying down and pulling the spare blanket up to my chin. "Go to sleep, Schnee. You're gonna need it." Tomorrow, I have to figure out some stuff, like why I almost broke down when she started to cry earlier.

Weiss

Something warm bumps into me, then it's gone. I crack my eye open to see what was happening to see a very fidgety red head groaning in his sleep. I huff and try to turn over only to have his arms reach out and pull me to him. This is one of the reasons I didn't want to be in the same bed with him. He sleeps like Ruby on missions. Fuck. I wriggle away from him, trying to get out of his arms, but he says something. I listen closer. "Mom, no." Mom? What is going on? "Don't do it. Please, don't leave."

I look up at him, trying to figure out his dream. What is it? "Hey." I whisper it. It's not a good idea to startle someone out of a nightmare. I've learned from years of experience. There's always this line between dreams and reality, and you have to break it before you can truly escape the horrors in your mind. I don't even know his name. God damnit! "Hey." I try again, softly shaking his shoulder.

He just pulls me in tighter. "Don't leave me, please. I can't lose you, too, Blake. Please. no." Blake? I look at him carefully. He said Blake, right? Does he mean Belladonna? Shit, that would make him the fucking leader of the White Fang, if that were the case. Double shit. I'm in his bed. I'm literally being protected by my worst enemy. I move my body around to get a better look at his face. Tears trek their way across his cheeks and over the bridge of his nose. There's a small bit of me that wants to wipe them off his face, but I have to pull myself back. He could kill me tomorrow, and I have to remember that. I can't fall prey to this, to him.

I grit my teeth. "Hey, Adam." I push his shoulder again, but this time, it's much harder and able to jostle him out of the memories. That's what they were. It wasn't a nightmare. It was his memories playing over and over again in his mind, They were pulling him in, and I can't help but feel that pain with him. I know what it feels like to have every despair replay in my head at night. The fear that those dreams and memories bring wrap around you, choke the very life from your eyes, and all you can do is grit your teeth and present a smile to the world, hoping that those around you don't see through it. He does this, it seems, but he doesn't use a smile. No, he uses bloodthirsty intimidation to accomplish his facade. He broadcasts hatred instead of happiness, unending dominance instead of overcompensating arrogance. This side of him would have been left covered if he hadn't insisted on me sleeping beside him. I would never have know, never have felt, but I can't go back now. I can't ignore this nagging insistence inside me, the one telling me that we're so similar, even in our differences. There's no going back, and I'm not entirely sure that I'm disappointed.

His eyelids crack open, revealing some of the most compelling red eyes I've ever seen. "Why are you so close to me?"

I snap out of the mini-trance that he had me under. Huffing, I push away from him. "Excuse me, but you were the one that was prattling on in the middle of the night and pulling me toward you."

He scoffs. "Like I'd ever do that." I look at him incredulously. He's going to sit there and deny with all of the lying ability he has, which seems to be quite a lot if the past is anything to go off of.

I sit up and cross my arms over my chest. "You did. By the way, you talk in your sleep."

This seems to get a genuine reaction out of him. I can see the momentary panic in his eyes before it disappears completely. "What did I say?" He treads carefully, probably not entirely wanting to know what he said.

I hesitate. Should he know? Will it open wounds? I know I never did want to know, but for years, things were rubbed in my face, including fear, humiliation, failure, even my gender. I was never what my father wanted me to be, and he made sure to let me know every second of every day. I clear my throat. "You called for your mom and Blake." I look away, hoping that new tears didn't fall. I can't handle emotions well, not even my own. They're too complex, too raw, for me to process well. I look over to see not a single drop fall from his eye or trail down his cheek. He just has this horribly defeated expression on his face, and for reasons that I've only recently discovered, it tears me apart to see that, to see him filled with such despair. "Adam."

My voice trails off when his head snaps up. "How do you know my name?" He doesn't look all that angry or panicked. It's more of a surprised expression, if anything.

"It's Blake, right? Blake Belladonna, the one you were calling for?" I wring my hands and don't look up. I'm right. I just know it. I've caught glimpses of the sketches in her journal. It's him, Adam, the man right in front of me.

His mouth opens but nothing comes out. Finally, through gritted teeth, he says, "Yeah." It's like his voice is fixing to crack, but he's holding it all back, all of the pain, the suffering, the broken heart he probably has. He doesn't want it to escape.

I nod once before lifting my head to look into his eyes. "I understand."

I don't know if what comes next is good or bad, but he falls into my arms, sobbing. I fear that I've broken him, but then he hugs me tighter, and I understand. He needed the release. He needed to let go of what he had pent up inside of him for these long years, probably just a little more than a year and a half, ever since Blake left. I just let it happen. What's the worst that could happen, right?

A/N: New chapter! Okay, I gotta say that this is progressing well... I actually like it now. It's not just a way to get it out of my head. I'm emotionally invested in their relationship now. Wow, never imagined that. Huh.

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