"Hmm…looks like that fever is coming back strong tonight."

Weiss wasn't too surprised by Sapphire's verdict. She'd started feeling dizzy and warm right around sunset. At first, she thought the room was simply stuffy. When opening the window further didn't help her temperature, Adam went down to get help. Sapphire berated them for being careless before slamming the window shut and attending to Weiss.

"I thought you said she was better today." Adam frowned.

Although he covered his scar with the black cloth again, Weiss still found her eyes drifting to the left half of his face whenever she looked at him. It was impossible to disregard it when his story was still so fresh in her head.

"It's not unusual for her fever to linger. She'll be fine with a few more days of rest," Sapphire answered. "In the meantime, she'll need to eat before we can give her more medicine."

Weiss' stomach ached at the mere thought of food. She especially wanted to avoid the bitter herbs Sapphire planned to force down her throat.

"I'll be right back. Keep an eye on her and scream if she gets worse."

Sapphire hurried out of the bedroom in a huff. Adam cursed under his breath, collapsing on the chair by her bedside. The room grew so still, she could hear the gentle clanging of dishes from somewhere downstairs.

They hadn't spoken much after their exhausting talk. Weiss spent most of the day resting in bed while Adam quietly kept her company. Sometimes they'd try to make small talk with each other, but it didn't take long for the silence to fall between them like a thick veil.

It still felt odd to be alone with him. She never thought what it would be like to be friends with him again, but she wouldn't have guessed it to be so…awkward. Weiss had hoped it'd be easier to make casual conversation with him again given their past together.

She played with her fingers and searched the room for a clock. Sapphire was taking an eternity getting back to them.

"Hey, I'll be okay. A dumb cold won't get the best of me," she said to break the silence.

"A dumb cold could've killed you." He sighed.

"Could've, but I'm still fighting. All I need to do is stomach more of that awful medicine, right? Sounds easy enough."

Weiss pushed herself up to sit. Adam helped prop her pillow up; this time, she didn't miss the way he visibly winced when using his dominant hand to adjust her backrest.

"What's wrong with your hand?" she asked.

"It's fine. Just a bit sore," he answered at once. Weiss didn't buy his story, not when he was carefully cradling it in his other hand.

"I'm not blind, Adam. I can tell something is wrong. Did…Sapphire do something?"

"No. She doesn't know about it," he assured her. "It was from the fight with Sienna. I sprained my wrist."

"Sprained?" Weiss gasped. "Didn't you carry me here?"

"It's not a big deal." He shrugged.

"This isn't as simple as a small bruise, Adam. Gods, you should've said something. I wouldn't have minded walking if I knew about this."

Even if she had felt uncomfortably dizzy at the time, she'd rather push through it than force him to overexert his wrist.

"You're making a fuss over nothing," Adam insisted. "Besides, you were too weak to travel. It would've taken us forever to get here if I made you walk."

"It isn't nothing. What if you made it worse? How are you going to fight if there's permanent damage?"

"Relax. I didn't ruin my hand by carrying you."

"You don't know that. We should tell Sapphire and get it checked out."

"It's fine. I don't need to see a doctor about something so minor."

"This isn't something you should be so careless about."

"The more she's focused on you the better. It's only a sprain. I'll get better with time."

Weiss didn't get a chance to argue when Sapphire returned with a tray of hot chicken noodle soup and herbal medicine. She wanted to tell Sapphire about Adam's injury, but she had a feeling he wouldn't appreciate her gesture very much.

"You should come down to eat later," Sapphire said to Adam. He tensed when the attention shifted to him. "You haven't had a proper bite in hours. I made enough soup for the both of you tonight."

"Oh…thanks," he spoke to the floor.

"Hurry before it gets cold."

Weiss picked away at her soup once Sapphire left. Adam stayed seated by her bedside, studying the vase of roses.

"Erm…does it hurt?" she asked after forcing down a couple of sips of broth. "Your wrist, I-I mean."

"Don't worry about me. You should finish eating. It's getting late, and you need to rest."

She frowned and studied his right hand. It was impossible to assess the damage when he hid it beneath his long sleeves and dark gloves. Given his refusal to even entertain the idea of getting Sapphire's help, she doubted he'd let her see how bad it was. Was he at least doing something to help it heal?

"You should sleep early tonight too," she said instead. "Um…no offence, but you don't look like you've gotten any sleep."

He turned his attention back down to his injured wrist. He rolled it carefully, stopping whenever he pushed his limits.

"It was hard to sleep when you were so sick." His answer made the blood rush to her face.

Very few people had ever voiced concern for her before, especially in such a blunt manner. Mother didn't even care when Weiss was rushed to the hospital after that night. Hearing genuine worry from Adam of all people solidified that they'd somehow moved on.

"I don't know if I ever thanked you for getting me help." She shyly met his eye, heart racing. "Thank you."

"It was nothing." He rubbed the back of his neck. "You should…be more careful from now on."

"Says the guy with the sprained wrist…"

That earned her a smile from him, but he didn't comment on the matter any further. She finished the rest of her meal in silence.

After dinner, Sapphire checked up on her one last time before ordering her to sleep. Adam isolated himself to the far corner of the room until Sapphire left with all the dirty bowls in hand.

"I'll see you first thing tomorrow," Adam said once they were alone. "If anything happens tonight, just call for help. I'm going to be nearby."

"Is your room close to mine?"

He didn't answer right away. Instead, he flicked off her light and cracked open her window, leaving a fine sliver for the cool air to drift in.

"Keep your window open so I can hear you better–"

"You're sleeping outside?"

Was he not invited to stay inside the house? Weiss didn't think Sapphire would be the type to discriminate considering how she's treated Adam so far.

"Let me talk to Sapphire," Weiss insisted, kicking the covers off. "If she doesn't want you around, then I'm leaving too."

"No. You're in no shape to leave." He rushed to her bedside as she swung her legs over the mattress, blocking her from leaving.

"But–"

"It's fine, Weiss. I chose to stay outside."

Weiss gawked at him. First, the sprained wrist and now this? She wasn't sure if the appropriate response was to scold him or try to change his mind.

"It's not like Sapphire didn't invite me to stay," he elaborated. "It's just better this way."

"That doesn't make any sense. How is it better to sleep out in the cold when you could stay in a warm house instead?"

"Can you please get back into bed first? I don't want you getting any sicker."

For once, she almost wished he wasn't acting so nice to her. At least when he was being rude, she had a good reason to ignore his request. Reluctantly, she laid back down and pulled the covers up.

"I get that Sapphire is a harmless old lady, but it's…hard to stay overnight in some Human's house," Adam elaborated. "It feels like I'm walking into a trap."

Once again, her attention drifted to the cloth hiding his scar as a weight settled in her chest. He tensed and turned the left half of his face away from her. Weiss blushed, looking up at the ceiling as if he hadn't caught her staring.

"I'm used to camping outside anyway. It's not a big deal," he said, retreating into the shadows to better hide his face.

"But what about the Grimm?" She eyed his right hand worryingly.

She knew he was more than capable of protecting himself, but his injury was likely going to slow him down. Or he was going to hurt himself more by fighting without restraint.

But what worried her most was the possible consequences that would follow for making him relive his past. Hearing the details alone left her head spinning, so she couldn't imagine what it was like for him. It didn't feel right to make him face the night by himself.

"You're wasting your breath by worrying about me." He hid the injured hand behind himself and smiled politely. "Get some sleep. I'll see you again tomorrow."

Would she be pushing her boundaries by inviting him to stay with her? It wasn't like they were best friends again. Though they'd agreed to try and make it work between them again, their relationship still felt so fragile. She didn't want to scare him away by coming off too strong.

"If you say so…" She played with the edges of her covers. "Um...good night then…and be careful out there."

"Night."

Weiss woke up by a blinding yellow light. At first, she thought someone had flicked on her lights, but after rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, she saw the light was from outside the window.

It was likely from somewhere downstairs. Perhaps Sapphire had wanted a late-night, snack or needed to grab a quick drink. There were plenty of harmless explanations behind it, but her mind jumped to the worst possible scenarios.

What if the White Fang caught up to them? What if someone was scouting the house? If someone dangerous was nearby, Adam would likely do something to stop them. Or they'd somehow overpowered him with an ambush.

Weiss pulled herself out of bed and tiptoed to the window. Goosebumps trailed up her arms as cold air outside snaked through the crack in her window. She held her breath and peered out.

Yellow rays poured from the windows below her bedroom, carving out a wooden porch overlooking the forest. Amongst the shroud of potted plants and flowers, Adam's red hair popped out from the shadows like a beacon. He sat alone on the top step of the porch, his sword leaning against the railing beside him. The anxiety coiled around her throat slacked at the sight of him.

The creak of a door made him rise to his feet. Weiss backed away as he turned to the house.

"I figured you would come back," Sapphire said. The porch squeaked as she stepped out to join him.

"I didn't mean to intrude," he said curtly. His voice was tense, like the night she heard him speak after a nightmare. Weiss clenched her jaw to keep herself from cursing. "I was about to leave."

"Who said anything about intruding? Young people these days are so quick to assume the worst."

Silence fell between them. Weiss gingerly peered out the window. Adam sat on the steps again, warily eyeing Sapphire as she rested beside him. His sheathed sword was now tightly clutched in his hands.

"I saved dinner for you," Sapphire said, holding out a pink thermos to him. "You left without eating a thing."

"It's fine." He leaned away from the thermos as if it was a bomb.

"Going hungry for the night isn't healthy, young man."

"I can look for my own food."

"There's no need for that nonsense. I have plenty for the three of us."

"Forget it. I don't want to waste Weiss' money on me."

Sapphire sighed, leaving the thermos beside him before making her way back inside. Adam ignored it and stared out into the dark forest. If Sapphire had not been downstairs, Weiss would've joined him. She knew it was a bad idea to leave him alone tonight.

The door creaked open again. This time, Sapphire returned with two bowls in hand. Adam barely spared her a glance as she dropped down beside him.

"You remind me of one of my assistants," Sapphire said. She opened the thermos and poured it into one of the bowls. "She's a stubborn one, just like her father. Once they set their mind on something, there's no changing it."

Sapphire paused to take a long sip of broth.

"I met her when she was a kid. The poor girl was suffering from a nasty lung infection, and her father was too pigheaded to ask for outside help. If his sister-in-law hadn't dragged them over here, she would've passed away.

"I gave him an earful once his daughter was stable. I expect that level of stubbornness from a teenager, not a grown man. Then again, you're all just oversized boys at heart." Sapphire scoffed. "I learned later that he couldn't afford the treatment I was giving his daughter. His in-laws offered to pay for it, but he refused to rely on their charity, as he put it. That idiot planned to take her home early so he wouldn't have to pay for the full treatment.

"I yelled at him, of course. There's a fine line between stubbornness and stupidity. Once he understood how utterly foolish he's been, I asked him to help with some chores as a form of payment instead."

"You didn't charge him anything?" Adam asked incredulously.

"I have plenty of patients who can afford my care. I'm not about to go bankrupt from being lenient to a family who fell on hard times. I'm a caretaker first. Helping people is my main priority."

Sapphire finished the rest of her soup before pouring more out of the thermos. She paused for a moment before emptying the container into the second bowl.

"I'm not going to charge you basic life necessities, Adam. You're my guest. You can always pay me back by helping with some chores, but I'm not expecting you to work. It's only natural you want to stay and look after Weiss instead."

Sapphire finished off the rest of her soup. Adam remained still as a rock, staring out into the dark foliage. From her angle, Weiss couldn't tell how he was taking the whole conversation. Seeing as he hasn't stormed off into the forest, she took that as a good sign.

"That assistant of yours…" Adam said hesitantly. "Is she working to pay off her dad's debt from back then?"

"That debt was paid off when her dad helped with some cooking. She and her friend are helping me because they want to. I wasn't thrilled to have a couple of youngsters handling my stuff at first, but they both proved to be honest and hard-working. I have time to knit again thanks to them." Sapphire chuckled. "It goes to show that everyone could use a little help sometimes. Even a stubborn young man like you.

"No one makes it through this world alone. You'll burn yourself out by trying. I've seen it happen to people far younger than you."

Adam tilted his head up to look at the stars. The hold on his sword slackened, but his weapon remained comfortably in his hands.

"You should finish it while it's warm," Sapphire said, looking at the untouched bowl between them. "If you're vegetarian, I can make something different tomorrow morning."

"Uh…no. It's fine." He reached out to the bowl with his right hand, pausing for a second before sweeping it up with his left.

Adam stared at the soup for a moment before tentatively taking a sip of it. Whatever he had for dinner clearly wasn't enough to satisfy him as he quickly downed his dinner. Though the tension remained stiff in his shoulders, he didn't have any complaints about the soup. A bubbly warmth welled in Weiss' chest watching him accept the help of another Human, albeit hesitantly.

"I uh…appreciate the food." He set the bowl down and folded his arms over his chest, hugging his sword closer to himself. "And...thank you for the...spare cloth."

"I'm glad I could help." Sapphire stacked the dirty bowls together. "You should stay. I can make something extra to go with the soup tomorrow morning. You look like you haven't eaten properly for days."

Adam spared Sapphire a glance before turning his eyes down to his feet. Somewhere nearby, an owl cried out into the still night.

"Is Weiss doing alright?" he asked so quietly Weiss almost missed it. His question prompted her cheeks to burn – she still wasn't used to hearing him so concerned about her.

"Why don't you come in and see? I'll get your room ready in the meantime."

"That's not necessary. I'll sleep–"

"You're not sleeping in that chair again, young man. Napping for a few hours is one thing, but you'll destroy your neck the next morning if you stay there all night," Sapphire snapped. "She's not the only one who deserves a good sleep tonight."

He ran his left hand through his hair. The tightness in his shoulders grew as the seconds ticked by.

"I'd…rather stay out here," he answered softly.

"Figures." Sapphire sighed. "I'll grab you an extra pillow and blanket for you to use."

"That's not necessary–"

"You're not fooling me. I know you're going to come back and sleep on my porch. Don't think I didn't catch you doing that last night. At least let me make the experience more comfortable."

Adam stared at the ground, unmoving.

"If you change your mind, you're always welcome to come in," Sapphire assured him. "Now, why don't you check up on Weiss while I get your things ready?"

Weiss ducked as the both of them got up to their feet. She waited with bated breath until their footsteps disappeared inside the house. Once the door squeaked shut, she dove back into bed, hastily rearranging her sheets to hide that she'd been up.

She curled onto her side and squeezed her eyes shut as her door creaked open. For a moment, the world went silent. Even without opening her eyes, she knew he was staring at her. Her heart drummed so frantically in her chest, its rhythm quickening as the silence dragged on.

The fire in her cheeks warmed as his footsteps approached her. She forced her limbs to stay limp and deepened her breathing, filling her lungs with the scent of pine needles. It took every ounce of willpower to keep herself from turning towards it.

A gasp almost escaped her lips when his bare hand pressed against her forehead. Despite the heat in her face, his hand felt so much warmer.

"Thank gods…" he whispered.

His hand lingered on her for a moment longer before he pulled back. A smile threatened to tug at the corner of her lips when he readjusted her sheets.

Adam stayed in her room for a while longer without another word. He didn't leave her side until Sapphire informed him she laid out the pillow and blanket on the porch for him.

Thank you to Gleaming Onyx, CMDR Quillon, Iwr1918, MadZigness, Eramis8, LiteralWhiteTrash, Able and Table, and two Guest readers for the reviews!

Lemme know what you all think about this chapter and I'll catch you again tomorrow!