CONTENT WARNING
This chapter contains graphic depictions of violence and brief mentions of suicide that may be disturbing to some readers. I've included three dashed (/ / /) to indicate the start and end of the most intense section in this chapter.
Reader discretion is advised.
Weiss woke up in a bedroom that smelled like roses.
The room was small, she estimated it was about half the size of her bedroom in Atlas. Its floral wallpaper looked to have come straight from an antique shop. A wooden chair sat on the right of her bed where a pink-knitted blanket was neatly folded on the seat. It was the same shade as the new nightgown she was wearing. A vase of red and white roses bloomed on a windowsill to her left, their sweet scent carried over by the warm afternoon breeze.
Weiss had no memory of how she ended up here. All she had to draw back on were a series of fuzzy, disjointed flashes of waking up in Adam's arms.
She carefully sat up, happy the world didn't tilt sideways when she wasn't on her back. Her throat was still sore, and the bed was too warm for her liking, but she was leagues better than when she woke up alone in that cave. The door squeaked open as she was testing her legs' strength. An older woman, with a full head of silver hair, gasped and hurried to her side.
"You shouldn't be walking, young lady!"
The woman pushed Weiss back into bed before she could get a single word out. The woman placed her wrinkled hand on top of Weiss' forehead and nodded.
"Still a bit warm, but you're doing much better."
"Erm…"
"You're going to catch another cold sitting up like that. Young people these days! Always so reckless!" The older woman waddled out of the room before returning with a glass of water.
"At least cover yourself with a blanket when you sit up. I'll be damned if you get sick again!" The woman threw the pink afghan over Weiss' shoulders. It smelled of old perfume and a faint hint of pine.
"W-where am I?"
"My house! Now drink!" The woman shoved the glass of water into her hands.
Weiss obeyed the woman's strict instructions. She had a feeling rejecting the offer was not an option.
"You know how to listen to at least." The woman nodded in approval. "People your age tend to be stubborn idiots."
"Thank you?" Weiss wasn't quite sure what to make of the lady.
"Sapphire." The woman introduced herself with a toothy grin. "You're Weiss, correct? Your handsome friend told me all about you."
She choked on her water. "H-handsome friend?"
"Yes! The handsome fellow with red hair! He gave me quite a fright the other day! It's not every day random Faunus men jump out at you in the forest."
"I-I'm sorry, who are you exactly?"
"The best doctor in Orchid Village! Well, technically I'm the only doctor here, but patients don't die under my care if that's what you're worried about. Your friend seems to trust me."
Weiss was less surprised by Adam's dramatic entrance than the fact that he willingly went to a Human doctor for help. She searched the woman for signs of Faunus heritage, but everything pointed to her being a regular Human.
This was either a convoluted fever dream or she woke up in the wrong dimension. There was no other way to explain why Adam would ask a Human for help.
"Now, enough chit-chat. You should be resting for the day! I'll prepare your medicine in the meantime."
"Wait! Where's Adam?"
"It's that time of the day when he goes to sulk in the forest. Honestly, young people these days are so dramatic." Sapphire shrugged. "He'll be back soon."
Somehow Sapphire's response left her with more questions than answers, but it didn't matter. Knowing that she hadn't hallucinated him offering her help was enough.
Time slowed to a crawl as she waited for him to return. Weiss wasn't sure what she wanted to say to him when he confronted her again, but right now, she wanted to see him again.
Her heart leapt up to her throat when she heard Sapphire welcoming someone back to her house.
Weiss sat up, raking her fingers through her loose hair. She was suddenly self-conscious that he'd see her with her hair completely down. Even when they were travelling together, she always put in the effort to ensure her hair was tied up.
She threw the knitted blanket over her shoulders as the door squeaked open. She blushed and looked down at her lap when their eyes met.
A black cloth covered the left side of his face, perfectly hiding that horrible brand from the world.
"Good, you're still looking alive!" Sapphire said, oblivious to the tension between them. "Before you two catch up, Weiss needs medicine."
She shoved a warm cup into Weiss' hands, filled to the brim with black liquid. It looked and smelled like poison.
"Go on!" Sapphire beckoned impatiently. "The medicine isn't going to drink itself!"
After forcing down the most bitter thing she'd ever tasted, Sapphire left Adam with strict instructions to call her if Weiss' condition worsened. Weiss almost wished Sapphire stayed behind. The room fell silent once it was just her and Adam.
Adam slumped into the chair while Weiss took a keen interest in twirling a strand of her hair around her finger.
"Sapphire's uh…interesting," Weiss noted awkwardly.
"She's a bit odd, but she's good," Adam said quietly. "I hope you don't mind me using your money to pay her for all this…I can find a way to pay you back–"
"I'm not mad at you for getting me help." She continued playing with her hair, watching it uncurl and slip between her fingers. "I'm just…surprised you asked a Human for help."
"Yeah…she doesn't mind having me in her home. I didn't expect—" He looked like he wanted to say more but cut himself short.
A strong breeze blew a red rose petal onto her bed covers. The trees outside rustled, filling the forest with a soft hum.
"Weiss, I'm sorry." He spoke so quietly that the ambience of the forest almost drowned out his words.
Adam couldn't meet her eyes. He kept his gaze locked on her bedsheets.
"I didn't mean to attack you after the whole Sienna mess. I was just…" He scratched his head irritably. "It doesn't matter. I fucked up."
For a moment, she could only stare at him. Between his apology and the continued use of her first name, Weiss didn't know what to say.
"Adam, can we talk? About everything?" she breathed.
"Yeah." He hesitated for a moment before untying the black cloth hiding his scar.
Even knowing what was beneath the fabric, nausea churned her stomach at the sight of her family brand scarring his face.
"Can...can you see...?" She swallowed the bile rising in her throat.
"No."
She hugged the knitted blanket closer to herself, but it did little to ward off the chill in the room.
"Who did it?"
"Your uncle. On the night we were caught."
"Was that all he did?" Her hands balled into fists.
He kept his gaze on his lap, his complexion paling as the seconds dragged by. The dusty journal she stumbled across was at the very forefront of her mind. His unspoken pain remained burned into her memory.
"Are you sure you want to know?" he asked.
"I need to know," she insisted. "He hurt you—he hurt my friend. I need to know how it happened."
"Fine. Just...tell me to stop if it gets too much-"
"It's your story, Adam. You should decide how much to share. Not me," she told him firmly. "I'll listen to whatever you have to say."
He didn't say anything at first, adamant to stare at the roses instead.
"Okay." When he answered, his voice was tense. He finally looked at her, taking a deep breath before beginning his tale.
/ / /
They dragged him into a square metal room. Adam had been in the cell once, but all he remembered was the searing pain in his back when he left.
He fought his hardest against the guards holding until a foot collided with his stomach. He clenched his teeth, refusing to give them the satisfaction of hearing him groan. They rammed him into the wall, forcing his hands over his head as rusted shackles bound them in place. He spat at the guards, earning him another fist to the face.
The guards left him without another word, slamming the door shut behind them.
Adam couldn't stop trembling. The room was somehow colder than the deepest levels of the mines. He didn't notice it last time, but maybe it was because he was too little to remember.
He could feel a bruise forming on his throbbing cheek. Given how hard Jacques had punched her, he imagined Weiss' cheek hurt as much as his.
The moment Jacques' fist met her face, his hatred for the man overshadowed whatever Weiss had said to him.
Jacques Schnee was notorious for encouraging his staff to torment sick and injured workers. It was an excuse to call them lazy and torture them. Adam couldn't imagine what punishment he would unleash on Weiss for being friends with a Faunus.
Maybe he'd take it easy on her. But if Jacques cared about his family, then Weiss wouldn't have nursed such a big bruise on her forearm.
A shiver crawled down his back.
Mom was right. He should've cut off ties when he had the chance. At least then, she'd be safe from whatever that monster was going to do to her.
He jumped when the metal door swung open again. That second Schnee man returned. This time, the guards dragged Adam's entire family in with them.
His younger cousins clung to their parents as the Humans forced them all inside. Mom and dad knew exactly what had happened the moment they saw him. They rushed to his side, hugging him and kissing his face.
He pulled desperately against his shackles, wanting more than anything to wrap his arms around them.
"I-I'm sorry. I-I–"
"Shh." Mom ran her fingers through his hair. It was what she did whenever he had nightmares, but tonight his fear was stronger than her comfort. "I love you, sweetheart. No matter what happens, I'll always love you."
"It'll be okay, sport. We'll be right here." Dad held him so tightly it hurt to breathe, but he didn't mind.
His heart dropped when the Schnee man ordered the guards to separate them. As quickly as his parents' warmth surrounded him, those Humans ripped it away.
"Leave them alone! They have nothing to do with this!" he pleaded.
"This has everything to do with them. I believe they purposefully raised a deviant to corrupt my pure, innocent niece."
Adam cursed at him, calling him every horrible word he could think of. None of the Humans spared him a single glance.
The rest of his relatives didn't speak a word. Hardly any of his aunts and uncles looked at him. Even without knowing his full story, they knew this was all his fault.
His little cousins cried harder in their parent's arms. Some asked him why they chained him to the wall, while others were too frightened to even look at him. No one uttered a word of reassurance that they would be okay. They simply held them as they cried.
"It's clear to me now that the Faunus are incompetent at raising respectable children. Pity that the next bloodline is completely useless." Weiss' uncle sneered at Adam's cousins.
"They didn't do anything! I chose to go against their orders! I-it was all me! Y-you can do whatever you want with me!" He fought against his restraints, but no matter how hard he tugged, they kept him pinned to the wall.
"No! Please don't hurt him!" mom pleaded. "Y-you're right. I-I should've disciplined him better. I'm a failure of a mother! Punish me alone and spare my son!"
"And me," dad said, taking mom's hand. "The others didn't know what was going on. It was only us."
"NO! Look at me, you stupid old man, it was all me! They're all innocent!"
The shackles dug painfully into his wrists, but Adam didn't stop fighting against them. That Human needed to see it was his fault. He didn't care if he destroyed his hands in the process.
"So you knew about your son's malicious acts to my niece but chose to keep it from us. Interesting." The Schnee man smirked.
"That's not what they said!"
"I've heard enough." The Schnee held out a hand. One of the guards handed him a small knife.
"Leave them alone! I said it was all my fault!" Adam screamed as loud as his voice would let him, but the Schnee man seemed oblivious to his cries.
"Have you ever wondered how we slaughter cattle, boy?" The Schnee man eyed mom, an evil grin stretched on his face. Dad stepped protectively in front of her.
"Leave her alone! Kill me! I'm the one you want!" Adam's voice hurt from screaming, but no one reacted to him. He might as well have been invisible.
"First, we restrain the animals." With a curt nod from the man, the guards forced Adam's family to their knees.
The younger kids cried and thrashed when the guards ripped them out of their parent's arms, dragging them to the opposite side of the room. The adults trying to fight back faced punches and kicks until they surrendered to their captors.
The guards tore Adam's parent's apart, forcing them to kneel just out of reach of each other. Mom exchanged a look with dad. For the first time in Adam's life, he saw tears welling in her eyes. And it was all because of him.
"LEAVE THEM ALONE!"
"Normally, we stun the livestock, but we're a bit...understaffed at the moment," the cruel man continued. "So, let's skip right over that useless step. Animals don't feel much pain anyway."
"FUCK YOU! Face me, you fucking coward! You're even more spineless than I thought! This is why Jacques Schnee owns the company and not you!"
He knawed his teeth in frustration when the man barely flinched from his insults. Adam was sure the last one would turn the knife rightfully back on him. He continued to insult the man's family, calling the Schnees every name in the book. His words fell on deaf ears.
"Adam." He heard his parents call out to him amid his shouting.
He could scarcely see them from the tears blurring his vision.
"We love you, sweetheart." Mom smiled, despite the tremors in her body.
"Be brave," Dad told him. "We'll be together soon, son. Be brave."
A guard grabbed mom's horns and pulled down, forcing her head back.
The Schnee man approached mom, tracing a finger across her exposed neck. "Finally, we bleed the cows dry."
The knife ripped her throat like wet paper. A red fleshy cavity opened in her neck like a mouth, vomiting blood with each gurgled breath she took. The front of her clothes went dark with blood. The guard holding her head pulled further back, forcing the bloody slit in her neck to open wider.
The ice in his bones kept him rooted in place. By now, the younger kids were all screaming, and the adults begged for mercy. But all Adam could hear was his dad's anguished cries and mom's desperate gasps for air. It was all because of him.
It was all his fault.
"Oh dear, looks like this knife is a bit dull." The horrible man inspected the knife with a frown. "Better try it again, don't you think, little cattle?"
Adam couldn't keep his eyes open when the man plunged the knife into her neck again, sawing through her exposed flesh as he went. Adam begged him to stop, but no matter how loud he screamed, he still heard mom's gurgled whimpers and his dad's cries.
"I'm getting the hang of it!" The man laughed. "Let's practice a bit more!"
Dad tried not to make any noise when the knife met his neck, but Adam still heard his choked gasps for air. His knees caved in beneath him. The shackles restraining him to the wall were the only things keeping him from collapsing.
Mom and dad died because of him. He should've been the one with a knife in his neck. He should be bleeding out on the floor.
It was all his fault.
The slaughter was a conglomerate of horrified screams morphing into alien howls as the man severed his victims' vocal cords. Adam's stomach churned at the pungent stench of copper suffocating the room.
His little cousins' anguished cries were the worse. They continued screaming for help even after the blade lacerated their throats. Their high-pitched wails sounded monstrous. Even after the man finished with them, their dying gasps echoed off the walls like ghosts.
The final cries of his cousins faded into nothingness, leaving him completely alone with the man. A chill crawled down his spine at the sound of footsteps clicking toward him.
He braced himself to suffer the same fate as the rest of his family.
Be brave.
He held onto dad's final word. Whatever happens, he wasn't going to make a sound. He wasn't going to give the man satisfaction to hear him suffer.
"Look at me, little cattle."
When he made no move to respond, a hand grabbed his horn and forced his head back. The surprise jolt made Adam open his eyes, coming face to face with his family's executioner.
Blood spotted the man's face. Out of the corner of his eyes, he caught glimpses of his family. Their eyes and mouths gaped open in permanent terror. Their mutilated necks continued to haemorrhage even after they'd gone silent. Blood turned the entirety of their clothes dark red.
"Your mother made a good point, little cattle. You aren't entirely to blame for your crimes. You're only a child. As an honour to your dear mother, I'll respect her wishes and spare you."
"Fuck you," Adam croaked.
The bloody knife remained clutched in the man's hand. If Adam was stronger, he would wrestle it out of his hand and saw open his neck. He would make the man suffer tenfolds before turning the blade on the guards and finally himself.
"But children must be punished when they do bad things. And you, little cattle, have sullied my poor niece," the man said coldly.
The chamber door opened, and a guard entered with a heated branding iron. The letters SDC glowed in angry amber light.
His right shoulder blade flared in pain at the memory of when they branded him. Mom had helped soothe the worst of the symptoms with ice while dad helped pick up the slack in his work.
The old memories felt like a punch to the gut.
He should've never stayed friends with Weiss. It was his fault his parents died. He's the reason his cousins had to suffer. He's the one who killed his family.
"Since you love fraternizing with my family, why not show your support with pride?" The man exchanged the knife for the branding iron.
"You've already branded me, dumbass."
"Oh, you misunderstand me, little cattle."
The man released his hand from Adam's horn and clasped it around his throat. Adam thought the man was going to strangle him until the left side of his face lit on fire.
The hand on his neck made it difficult to scream, but he couldn't help it. He instinctively fought against the shackles, the hand holding him in place, but he was too weak.
His face, his entire left eye, seared with a soft hiss. The air stunk of burnt meat.
Heat coursed through his veins, melting the cold gripping his body. Something hot awakened in his blood, growing more potent the longer his face burned. He heard people cursing around him, they sounded panicked.
When the hand holding his throat slackened, he retaliated.
The chains binding him snapped with a flood of red light. He latched onto the hand that held his throat and let the power burn the man.
/ / /
Weiss' heart hammered so aggressively that she wondered if Adam could hear it. Whatever Sapphire made her drink threatened to make a second appearance.
She remembered hearing about Uncle's mysterious work accident. He never explained how he burned the entirety of his right arm. Back then, she felt sorry he got hurt so badly. Now, she wished he'd suffered worse.
"After the guards…immobilized me, they locked me in an airship for the rest of the night. I guess attending to your uncle was more important…or they were waiting for me to die from the cold or an infection. They were pretty surprised to see me alive the next morning," he continued, speaking like they were discussing the weather.
"They shipped me to another Mine the very next day. It was a little while later that the White Fang rescued us. Sienna eventually took me in. She said if I worked with her, she would make my life worthwhile. She promised I would avenge my family and help other abused kids."
"Oh gods, Adam." She felt too ashamed to even look at him, let alone talk to him.
"Sienna was the one who pushed the idea that you were in on it. There was a rumour at the time that I was friendly with you, and she thought it was a scheme to make me your personal slave."
Weiss glared down at her lap.
"You believed her?" she breathed.
"If I couldn't trust her, then who could I trust?" he retorted lightly. "But I never forgot what you did for me. You showed me kindness when no one else did. But it's also because I befriended you that it happened.
"And then you just had to crash into my fucking camp and make my life more difficult. It would've been so much easier if you acted like other Humans."
He ran his left hand through his hair. "I-I don't know if this makes any sense."
"You wanted to hate me," Weiss empathized.
"I did. I really did."
But he couldn't. It was something she understood as well. No matter how hard she tried, she never forgot the sense of safety and joy she experienced when he was with her. He was always her beloved friend.
"Adam, I'm so sorry."
"I don't need your pity."
"It's not that. It's-" The tears tightened her throat.
"Get a hold of yourself. You're a mess."
"That's what scares you at night…isn't it?"
He looked up at her in surprise, tensing when their eyes met and turned the left side of his face away. "I-I…yeah. I'm sorry if I ever uh…woke you up. I'm usually better at staying quiet."
Her throat thickened at how faint his voice grew. The more he avoided her eyes the more her gut twisted into knots. He's tried so hard to hide it from her, not knowing how much she already knew about his darkest thoughts. She never should've looked through that journal.
"No, I'm the one who should be apologizing, Adam. I had…some insight beforehand."
Weiss started to tell him about the battered journal she found in Violet's house.
"How much did you read?" he asked before she could delve into the details.
"Just a couple of pages." She flushed with embarrassment. "I-I uh…I read up to the waterfall incident."
Her guilt grew when he lowered his head, staring blankly at the floor. His silence was worse than anything he'd ever said to her. At least when he was insulting her, she knew how he was feeling.
"I'm so sorry! I had no idea it belonged to you. I swear those were the only entries I saw before Violet stopped me."
It was like she hadn't said a thing. His expression remained stiff as a stone. Weiss expected him to walk out. If she was in his position, she'd be upset to learn someone was snooping through her intimate thoughts.
"It's whatever," he said with an exhausted sigh. "It was a long time ago. I'm not the same person anymore."
She looked at him - really looked at him. A dark ring hung beneath his good eye and his hair was tousled. His usually immaculate blazer was now sporting wrinkles. Had he always looked this tired underneath that mask?
Once upon a time, it was easy to dismiss him as another Faunus criminal with no moral compass, but today she saw him for exactly what he was. He was a product of all the abuse her family inflicted on him. And he wasn't the only one
"Adam?" she whispered. He acknowledged her with a curt nod. "Can I give you a hug?"
"What kind of question is that?" he asked quietly.
"C-can I?"
He rubbed the back of his neck. She didn't dare make a sound until he was ready to give her a response.
"Yeah. That's fine."
Kicking her covers off, she hung her legs over the edge of the bed, their knees almost touching. She hesitated – they hadn't hugged since they were little. It felt like crossing a boundary that was never meant for her to break.
She held her breath and closed the distance between them. Weiss wrapped her arms tightly around him as if that alone could ease some of the pain he's endured.
"It's not your fault," she whispered, failing to hold back her tears. "Their deaths weren't your fault."
"Weiss, I know."
"You need to understand, it's not your fault. You must have been so lonely."
That made him tense. She waited for him to push her away, but when he didn't, she continued to speak.
"I'm sorry for the horrible things I said to you back then. The Faunus aren't violent like I insisted they were, they're just people forced into crime because of us. Because we keep taking away everything from them. That's what happened to you, isn't it?"
"I-I'm so sorry," he whispered into her ear. "I never should've hurt you."
"I'm sorry I never believed you," she whimpered. "I'm glad you didn't make it to the waterfall. I'm so glad you're still here, Adam."
She felt his arms rise, hovering around her like he was afraid to touch her. He was trembling. His breathing quickened and his body shook with each breath. Weiss tightened her hold on him, rubbing circles on his back.
"It's okay," she assured him. "You're not alone anymore."
His arms latched around her, pulling her close to him. He buried his face into the crook of her neck, letting out a muffled sob.
It was the first time she'd ever seen him cry.
She tried to whisper comforting words, but it was hard to get her thoughts out when her heart broke at the sound of his cries. She held him as tightly as she could when her words failed her.
Even after they exhausted themselves of tears, they continued to hold each other as they had in the past. The nostalgia left her feeling cold despite the warmth in her chest.
"I never saw you as property, Adam," she whispered. "It didn't matter what you looked like, I only ever saw you as my friend. You meant – you mean a lot to me."
"I know."
"You still deserve to hear it. I'm sorry if you ever felt otherwise."
She wished she could go back in time to tell his younger self this. If she'd done things a bit differently, would the same fractures in their relationship still exist?
"You need to get back into bed. Sapphire's going to kill me if she finds us like this," he said tiredly.
"We wouldn't want to upset her," she agreed with a soft laugh.
After tucking her into bed again, he returned to his seat. On a whim, she reached a hand out toward him. He took her hand into his without hesitation. He was still relying on his left hand.
"I'm sorry for what I did to your school…and your friend," he said before she could ask him about his dominant hand.
"I can't accept Yang's apology for her," she told him bluntly. "I don't know if I can ever forgive you for that. It was so cruel."
"I understand. I wouldn't either."
"Why did you attack us? You had nothing to gain from that."
"I didn't have a choice. Cinder was going to kill my men if I didn't comply. I wasn't going to let another Human claim more Faunus lives...even if it meant giving in to her wishes."
"Do you think Sienna will have to listen to Cinder as well?"
"I don't doubt it. That woman...her powers aren't natural" He glared at the floor.
"You're worried about the White Fang."
"You might not understand, but they're like family. We have to look after each other because no one else will."
He was wrong, she did understand. Every member of her team came from a broken family, but they found strength in each other. In a way, they became a second family.
"We'll give Cinder what she deserves one day," she promised.
White Fang or not, Weiss couldn't stand by and let Cinder's gang cause more unnecessary pain. There was enough of that in the world already.
"You said you were the one who killed my uncle?" She addressed the next question brewing in her head.
"I don't think I can be remorseful about that. He–"
"I know." She squeezed his hand. "I don't blame you for it. He had it coming."
"But we shouldn't have done anything to his wife and kid." He voiced the angry thought burning at the back of her mind.
"Why did you?" A mournful rage ignited at the memory of Lavender's closed casket.
"Revenge. Your family hurt ours for generations. We thought it was only fair."
An eye for an eye.
It was a twisted logic that couldn't ever excuse what they did, but somehow Weiss was able to empathize with it. It left her skin crawling.
"Are you going to keep hurting Humans in the future?"
"I don't know."
Weiss appreciated his honesty, but the answer left a heavy tension between them. She couldn't welcome him back into her life if he continued hunting down Humans for the smallest offences. But completely losing him wasn't an option she liked either.
"Can I ask you something?" She decided to approach this from another angle.
"Anything."
"Did Blake commit similar crimes as you did?"
"Our fighting styles complemented each other, so Sienna partnered us up. Blake went with me in all my missions and vice versa."
Weiss had a feeling she would hear something like that, but it didn't make it any easier for her to process.
"The night you invaded my uncle's home…was it really Blake who killed my aunt?"
"I walked in on her final moments. It was a single shot to the head."
"Was she…was she unarmed?"
"You need to ask Blake for the specifics. I'm not sure how it completely went down. Sorry."
They were more similar than she wanted to believe.
He cut Yang's arm off without hesitation and Blake killed her aunt in cold blood. The only big difference was that Blake tried her best to atone for her sins.
"I want to forgive you, Adam, but I can't if you're going to keep hurting innocent people in the future."
"It's not that simple, Weiss. Humans will never treat us as equals unless we take back our power with force," he argued. "I don't agree with all the decisions Sienna makes, but she's the reason we have access to basic resources that's been denied to us for centuries."
"It's not equality, it's blackmail." She looked him straight in the eyes. "I remember what I saw in Azaleas. Is that the world you want to live in? A world where people fear you?"
"Being nice to someone isn't going to change anything. Not everyone will respond like the people you met on your journey."
"But what you're doing is causing more pain and fear. You're only giving them more excuses to hate you."
"Humans and Faunus can't get along without force on our part. We don't have a choice."
"We made it work. And I've gotten along fine with some of the Faunus I've met. It's not easy, but it's possible, Adam."
"You're different from the others."
"What about that farmer's kid? He didn't agree with his father's bigotry."
"That doesn't prove anything. Anyone can say they support us, but no one is willing to do anything to help us."
"You don't know if that applies to him. You never even met him. There's also Sapphire, she agreed to help you. You even said that she welcomes you into her home."
"That's because she's getting money out of this. Plus, you're a Human. I doubt she'd be so generous if I was her patient."
"How do you know? You can't go around saying things like this without any proof. You've been making accusations about these people based on what? The fact that they're Human?"
"It's not an unreasonable assumption to make. Humans tend to act and think the same."
"It's completely unfair. Not all Humans want to hurt the Faunus, but you'll never know that if you condemn every Human you meet. Have you ever tried to get along with another Human? People tend to respond better when they aren't threatened."
"I hate to burst your bubble, but being peaceful hasn't done shit for us. Before Sienna took over, we got treated like criminals for protesting. My people couldn't even speak up without getting assaulted! At least now, Humans know not to fuck with us."
"You can't possibly believe tearing apart Human families will lead to a good outcome!"
"Do you expect me to roll over and let Humans do whatever they want? Because that's exactly what'll happen if we choose to be pacifists. It's how they treated us before Sienna took over! We were easy targets!"
"I'm not asking you to let them walk all over you–"
"Then what do you want me to do?! How are you going to make things better?!"
"I don't know, okay?!"
She hadn't considered how corrupt Humans would take advantage of peaceful methods. She could almost sympathize with Sienna's more questionable tactics.
Weiss knew the fight for Faunus rights was going to be hard but not this hard.
"I wasn't lying when I told you I'd be fighting for Faunus equality," she said more calmly. "I'll admit, I don't have a clear solution like Sienna, but that doesn't mean I'm not trying to find the right answer.
"The only thing I know for sure is that killing and violence aren't the only answer. It'll only prove those bigots right about the Faunus. And what about the innocent families that get caught in the middle? You of all people should know what that does to the surviving victims. Do you honestly want to put innocent people through that kind of pain?"
It was cruel to add that last part, but that at least seemed to get to him. He didn't look at her for the longest time, his eye fixed on a random point in the room.
"I don't want to sit back and do nothing," he said in a near whisper.
"I'm not saying you should do nothing. All I'm saying is that you shouldn't kill every Human who's a bit ignorant or related to someone corrupt. We can't decide who our family is.
"...You might meet some nice Humans if you're willing to give them a chance first. And it's always possible for people to change…look at me for example. If we were all evil, then we wouldn't be having this conversation, and Sapphire never would've agreed to help you.
"I know not every Human will want to accept the Faunus, but it's also naive to say no one is willing to support your people."
She wasn't expecting him to agree with her. Weiss knew it was a lot to ask of him, but she couldn't forgive him if he showed no signs of change. She couldn't call herself a Huntress otherwise.
"I'm not going to force you to do something you don't want to," she added when he kept quiet. "If you're set on supporting the White Fang, fine. It's not my job to change you. And you don't owe me anything."
The silence that followed was heavier than anything she'd experienced before. It hung between them like deadweight, balanced by the fragile remains of their relationship. Weiss stared at the ceiling, bracing herself to see him leave for the final time.
"...You can't deny that Sienna's made progress, Weiss," he said. She sighed in relief at his willingness to keep going. "So what if it's less peaceful? If it creates a world where the Faunus are treated as equals, then it's worth it."
"It's no different from when Cinder blackmailed you. The only reason you collaborated with her was out of fear for your people. It wasn't because you wanted to fight as equals or because you respected Humans. I bet you still hated her during that time. Is that the future you want? Do you want people to treat you well because they're scared of you? In that reality, people will still hate the Faunus, Adam."
More silence. She wasn't sure how much more of this she could take.
"...You honestly think it's possible to change things without using Sienna's methods?"
"I do."
"And what if we run into someone like your uncle? There's a reason why doing things legally doesn't always work. Will you still try and stop me then?"
Weiss wasn't sure how to answer him. If it was Winter, she would've made no room to compromise. She should follow her sister's lead, Winter always had a strong moral compass, but when she remembered the camp of Faunus traffickers, it made her blood boil. They'd still be trafficking more victims if nothing had happened to them. Weiss was sure of it.
"If there comes a time where we need to use underhanded methods…I'll fight by your side," she promised. "But that's for worst-case scenarios only. I definitely won't be taking any lives unless I'm forced to."
He squeezed her hand. She wasn't sure if this was a good sign or if this was some final goodbye gesture.
"I think you're fighting a losing battle with unrealistic expectations…" He let out a long tired sigh. "...But I also see what you mean about the whole Cinder thing."
Weiss held her breath. She didn't want to jump to conclusions and disappoint herself, but her heart was already racing in anticipation.
"I'm not making any promises…but I'll think about it some more…"
"Of course," she breathed. It wasn't the answer she was looking for, but it was something. "Thank you. I appreciate it a lot."
"You're honestly a horrible influence."
She snorted. There was some truth behind his complaint, but she didn't care when the Adam she knew was still here.
"I don't know if it's my place to say this…" Weiss ran her thumb over the back of his fingers. "But to me, your life is worth a lot more than revenge."
Another gentle breeze fluttered in from the window, sending two more rose petals down on her bed.
"...And I think you're too soft for this world." He lowered his head, but she still caught the small private smile on his face.
Adam moved his hand to her cheek, his thumb brushing against the white scar his sword left. Weiss shivered, she didn't know if it was from her lingering fever or his gentle touch.
"That was from me. Wasn't it?" he asked.
She nodded.
"I'm sorry."
"We were in an intense fight. Stuff like this happens."
"I won't let there be a second time. You'll never see me draw my sword against you like that again. I promise."
"I'll hold you to it."
"What about your other one?" he asked, referring to the slender mark slicing down her left eye. "You didn't have it as a kid."
"Father…t-the night we got caught he–"
Shattered glass.
Fractured mirror.
Red staining her clothes.
Red covering her floor.
Red staining her vision.
Red.
Red.
Red.
Red.
Red.
Red.
The entire world turned red.
For a terrifying moment, she forgot how to breathe.
His warm hand found its way back to hers, pulling her from the memories threatening to drown her.
Father wasn't here to hurt her. No matter how much the memories insisted he was around the corner, there was only her and Adam.
She closed her eyes, focusing on the feel of his hand around hers. His hold on her was so firm. It was nothing like when they were kids – when she could still fit his bony hands in her palms. That small, fragile boy was gone.
If Father tried to lay his hands on them again, Adam would be able to fight back. With him here, she was safe.
"You don't need to tell me if you're not ready," he assured her.
"Y-you told me everything i-it's only fair." she stammered.
"I didn't tell you to learn about your darkest memories." He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. "Relax, you don't owe me anything either."
"But I do! I'm so sorry that I ended up believing all those awful things. Even though I should've known it was false, I still fell for it! I-!"
"You're making an effort to help us now, right?" he interrupted her gently.
"I'll never stop," she vowed. "I won't stop fighting until the Faunus are treated as equals."
"Then that's all that matters." He smiled. "I forgive you."
Weiss couldn't stop the waterworks from hearing his response. The fire that's been burning in her heart for years finally fizzled out, leaving her chest feeling lighter than ever before.
"Uh...do you want...?" He looked sheepishly at her before averting his eyes to the side. "You want...a hug?"
"That sounds nice," she whimpered.
She tackled him into another tight embrace when he moved to sit on the mattress. His touch melted the fractured memories like ice, leaving her in a safe blanket of warmth.
"I'm so sorry for what I said about your dad that night," he whispered. "It was out of line. I never should've said it when I knew what kind of scumbag your old man is."
"It's alright. We both said a lot of stupid things that night." She rested her head against his chest. "I never should've said I wanted you dead at Beacon. I'm so sorry. Even if I was mad, I had no right to say something so cruel."
"I meant it when I said it takes more than that to offend me." He rubbed her back assuringly. "I was never upset about that, Weiss."
"But I knew about how you felt about...dying! I had no excuse! I–"
"Relax. I promise that kind of stuff is in the past now."
It still didn't make it right. She considered herself lucky to be able to hold him like this again despite it all.
"We're never going to be able to go back to the way things were…are we? To when we were kids I mean."
"No. We're not..."
She nodded, fingers curling into his blazer. It was a bitter pill to swallow. Their innocent friendship ended the night her uncle destroyed Adam's family.
Still, Weiss didn't have the strength to let him go. She couldn't accept the prospect of losing him after finally having him between her arms again. It was selfish but she still wanted him in her life. Even if they could only have a fraction of what they once shared, it was enough.
"Adam?" She was grateful their hug hid the embarrassed flush on her cheeks. "I know things can never be the same as back then, but do you think we could still…I don't know…be friends again?"
She held him tighter as if this would be the last time she could ever do it again.
"I understand if you don't want to, though. Whatever you want I'll go with it," she added.
Another gentle breeze danced into the room, raising goosebumps in her arms. As if sensing her chill, he held her closer.
"I want to try."
A different kind of warmth ignited in her chest, leaving her with a sense of giddiness that made her light as a balloon.
"We'll take it one step at a time then," she promised.
"Yeah. I'd like that."
"I miss you so much, Adam." She closed her eyes and snuggled closer to him.
"I miss you too, Weiss."
–
Small rant: I stumbled across a post detailing CRWBY's commentary about Adam's scar during my research for this chapter. It made me genuinely upset to read their "explanation" behind it.
I've heard of character assassination, but this is just kicking a rotting corpse.
To be fair, I'm not sure how reliable that post was (idk how to track down the creators' commentary), but if the claims are accurate then I am shocked someone could make such a poor justification for it. Other terrible implications come with it but I don't have time to pick it apart. _
Question: what would you do if you were in Weiss' position here? Would you forgive and try to move on? Or would this relationship be an unsalvagable thing?
There's no right answer imo, which is why writing this chapter was so difficult.
Speaking for myself, I'm a petty motherfucker so I'd hold a grudge for a looong time before I'm willing to move on.
Thank you to CMDR Quillon, LiteralWhiteTrash (your sense of humour is brilliant btw, anyone who says otherwise is just jealous~), a Guest reader, EmperorCookies, Gleaming Onyx, and TheMaTheMyTheLe for the reviews!
It's funny that EmperorCookies mentioned a split perspective. I have considered making a small companion piece because I do have an idea of everything that goes down when Adam separates from Weiss (it's just a bunch of angst fuel lmao). Only reason it doesn't exist is because I'm burnt out from writing for so long.
Lemme know what you all think about this week's stuff and take care!