Weiss woke up in a makeshift hospital room. The stench of disinfectants burned her nose and churned her stomach. Semi-transparent shower curtains hung from tall clothing racks around her bed, presumably to separate her from other patients in the room. An empty wooden chair, with Adam's black coat draped on the back, stood on her left.

Her jacket was folded on the cardboard box to the left of her bed. Her sword leaned against the wall beside it. A dusty lamp on the box cast a dim yellow light on her surroundings.

Weiss pushed herself up to sit, wincing when a horrible burning ripped across her torso. She cradled her bandaged stomach and waited for the stinging to fade, tears burning her eyes.

The shower curtain across her bed slid back. She blushed. Weiss wasn't expecting to see Adam so soon.

He hurried to her bedside and helped her sit up. Whoever had bandaged her left her only in a sports bra and leggings. Her exposed skin tingled wherever his gentle hands made contact.

Weiss groaned when the simple act of leaning back against her pillow agitated her injury more. She shook her head when he apologised. It wasn't his fault she was in so much pain.

"Do you need anything?" he asked once the pain settled.

Her mouth went dry when his hands remained on her bare shoulders. A part of her grew intensely curious about what his hands felt like beneath those soft gloves–

"S-some water would be nice," she stammered, staring at her lap.

"I'll be right back. Don't move while I'm gone."

Weiss nodded. It wasn't like she was in any shape to go anywhere.

Adam shrugged off his blazer and draped it over her like a blanket, embracing her with his warmth. Her heart drummed so loud she wondered if he could hear it.

"Do you need help putting it on or…?"

"I-I can handle it myself."

She couldn't handle it herself. The incessant stinging in her stomach made even the smallest movements unbearably painful. Adam didn't say anything about her visible distress. Without a word, he helped slip her arms through the sleeves and buttoned the jacket up until she was decent.

"I'll try not to take long." He smiled briefly before leaving her alone again.

She hugged his blazer tighter around herself. It smelled like him, and the warmth it enveloped her with reminded her of the mornings she woke up in his arms. She closed her eyes and let herself relish the moment. This was the closest she's felt to him in a long time.

When he returned, he was followed by her friends and brother. Everyone looked like they had just woken up, wearing old t-shirts and sweatpants. The tips of her ears burned knowing the first thing they likely noticed was Adam's jacket hanging from her smaller frame.

Blake and Jaune were by her bedside first, both greeting her with gentle hugs and voicing their relief at seeing her awake. Yang was reluctant to get close to her at first, warily eyeing Adam's jacket, but she pushed past her apprehension when Blake beckoned her to come closer.

"You idiot." Yang hugged her the tightest. "Don't scare us like that again."

"You would've done the same thing for me." Weiss patted Yang's back reassuringly.

"I would prefer if neither of you got poisoned," Blake said as Yang pulled away.

"Oh gods, Blake, I'm so sorry about what happened in Atlas. I never should've doubted what you said. I was too stubborn and–"

"I know." Blake smiled kindly. "Yang and Jaune told me everything. I'm just happy you're awake."

"How long was I out?"

"A few days."

Weiss thought Blake was trying to mess with her at first, but when no one cracked a smile, Weiss slumped further into her pillow in shock.

Jaune stepped aside for Adam to hand her a glass of water. Yang retreated away from the group when he drew closer. Weiss accepted the cup and downed the drink in one go.

Whitley lingered at the far end of her bed. He played with his hands as he eyed Adam and Blake, who were closest to her. Whenever he opened his mouth to ask them to trade places, he'd snapped his jaw shut at the last minute and look down.

Adam must've noticed the same thing as he stepped aside and invited him to come closer. Whitley jammed his hands in his pockets, murmured a quick thank you, and hurried past him to take his spot.

Weiss felt a pang of disappointment when Adam secluded himself in a dark corner. Yang didn't share in Weiss' sentiment as she returned to the group again, staying closely by Blake's side.

"Um…are you okay?" Whitley's question drew her attention back to him.

"I'm alright now. I'm sorry about worrying you."

"I-I wasn't worried. Just…don't do it again." He stared at his feet and added in a murmur," I don't want to see you hurt like that anymore…"

She smiled and ruffled his hair. Whitley flushed red at the gesture but didn't do anything to swat her hand away.

"Robyn's team did a lot for us," Jaune said after a long pause. "I'm glad they still helped us after so many of them…you know."

"That guy who poisoned me…Isn't he…"

"The henchman Salem sent to get Ruby? Yeah."

Weiss' jaw dropped at his blunt response. Neither Blake nor Yang appeared surprised despite having Adam and Whitley in the room.

"We discussed a lot of things with Adam," Jaune explained. "He doesn't know the full story, but he knows enough to gauge the amount of danger we're in. Blake wanted to tell Robyn as well, but I'm still on the fence about completely trusting her."

"I think it's safe to tell her," Blake insisted. "Adam and I have been working with her for days now. We both agree that she's trustworthy."

"I get that, but it's too risky. Robyn's a third-party none of us know very well. I want to play it safe for the time being. I know it's not fair to talk about this stuff without the others around, but I want everyone here to be on the same page."

Weiss looked at the dark corner where Adam had isolated himself. He met her eyes for a second before looking away. She didn't bother masking her disappointment at his reaction.

Was this how they were going to be from now on? Weiss thought they were on good terms when he risked everything to protect her from Sienna, but now she wasn't so sure.

Maybe he only acted the way he did because he didn't hate her enough to see her dead. Now that she was okay, where did that leave them?

"We can talk more in the morning," Yang suggested. "You need to rest."

"I can't sleep now. Tyrian is still out there and–"

"And he'll still be out there when you wake up. We haven't been sitting on our asses doing nothing this entire time."

"Your only job right now is to rest." Blake gently squeezed Weiss' knee. "You can't fight if you're still hurt, right?"

Weiss huffed in frustration. Blake was right, but it didn't mean she had to like it.

"Fine, but you guys better not keep me in the dark about anything. I want to help as much as I can."

"Only if you promise to stay in bed and rest." Blake laughed.

Blake and Whitely both helped her onto her back again. She tried not to show too much visible discomfort as they moved her, but judging by how pale her brother suddenly looked, she wasn't doing a very good job.

"Don't worry, your sister's a lot tougher than she looks," Yang assured him.

"Is it okay to leave her alone like this?" Whitely asked meekly.

"Tell you what, we can visit Weiss first thing in the morning tomorrow. I can come with you if you'd like."

Yang spoke to him like he was her little brother. Weiss expected Whitley to react badly to the way she addressed him, but he surprised her by agreeing with Yang's idea.

They all wished her a good night one by one before filtering out. Adam kept to himself at the far corner of the space. He ignored her glances and stared down at his shoes. Jaune, one of the last people to leave, was the only one who caught on and asked him what was wrong.

"I'm staying behind to keep an eye on her," Adam said. "Better safe than sorry."

"You've been here for days now. I can take over if you're tired."

"No, that's okay," Adam answered at once. "Don't worry about me. I'm used to late nights."

"If you say so...but take it easy, man. I don't want to see you getting sick." Jaune lightly clapped Adam's shoulder before making his way out.

A tense silence filled the room. Adam took a seat at her bedside without a word. He stared at her, but Weiss couldn't bring herself to meet his gaze. She was caught between the fluttering warmth in her chest and the guilt she harboured for not believing him in Atlas.

"Your brother's really taken to…Yang," Adam noted quietly.

"H-has he now?"

"She's been helping him through some things while you've been out. She's…a lot more compassionate than I thought."

Weiss nodded, not sure what else to add. The silence that followed was even more deafening than the last. She couldn't remember feeling this awkward around him since their early days travelling together. It was her fault they somehow ended up back to square one.

"I'm sorry about what I said and didn't say in Atlas." She finally decided to bite the bullet and get it over with.

"You were right. I idolised my sister too much to see what was happening. I promise I won't make the same mistake again. I was too stubborn to listen to you. I won't blame you if you hate me or–"

Adam kissed her forehead. Everything she wanted to say to him imploded as his lips lingered on her skin. She could hardly think straight, let alone talk.

"I don't hate you," he whispered.

Of all the ways he could show that he cared about her, why did he lean on such romantic gestures? It was like he wanted to tease her untamed feelings for him.

"Jaune told me what happened after we left that night. I'm sorry you had to go through that. We probably could've done things a bit differently."

"You're not mad?" she asked, head still spinning at how close he was.

"I'm not going to hold it against you for choosing family over me. I'm sorry I put you in that position in the first place," he said, pulling back.

"Then why did you ignore me earlier? I thought you were angry."

"I didn't want to keep you from catching up with all your friends."

She furrowed her brows until she remembered Yang had only rejoined the group and stayed when he exiled himself to the corner.

"You're my friend too."

"It's better if I keep my distance."

"I'm not ashamed to associate with you. I–"

"I know, Weiss. Thank you." The tone of his voice told her he didn't want to talk about it anymore.

On any other day she wouldn't have let him off so easily, but tonight she felt more inclined to let it go.

"I'm sorry for letting you down, Adam. I don't know how I can make it up to you."

"It doesn't matter anymore. Mistakes happen. What matters is that you're here now."

His hand cradled the side of her face. She swallowed nervously when his thumb grazed the corner of her lips.

"When I was fighting Sienna…why did you ask me to let you go?" he asked, sounding genuinely upset.

"She was going to break your Aura if you kept enduring those hits."

"I would've been fine."

"She would've killed you if it got to that point. I couldn't let that happen–" The mere act of speaking too loud sent a sharp pain through her stomach.

"You don't get to lecture me about that when you were dying in my arms. I'd rather my Aura break than let her hurt you."

His words lingered in the space hanging between them. Weiss' chest burst with warmth at his response. Knowing he meant every word further excited the butterflies in her stomach.

Gods, she had it bad for him.

"Don't ever ask me to do something like that again, Weiss."

All she could manage was a nod, the words completely mute on her tongue when he leaned in, planting another kiss on her forehead.

Was he always this affectionate towards her, or was she seeing things that weren't there?

"I wasn't sure if you were ever going to wake up," he whispered, resting his forehead on hers. "You wouldn't respond to me when we got here. I thought..."

Adam ran his thumb over her cheek, sending an electric jolt in her chest. Her hands ached to lock behind his neck and pull him down to her mouth.

"You scared me, Weiss."

"W-well…I did agree to hold on a bit longer for you," Weiss joked when she found her voice again. "I didn't want to disappoint you again."

That earned a light chuckle from him. His breath smelled like mint. Did he taste like it too?

"I'd prefer if you avoid any more near-death experiences from now on. You shaved off ten years of my life worrying about you."

"I'll just share some of mine to make up for it," she replied, regretting it as soon as she realised how it sounded.

"I like the sound of that."

Adam kissed her cheek before pulling back. Weiss held back the urge to grab him and close the distance for good.

"Are you sure you're feeling alright?" he asked in a more serious tone. "The night you found us sounded like hell."

"I'll be okay. Everything somehow worked out in the end, so I'm not complaining."

"I'm sorry about what happened to your mom."

Silence.

"Jaune told you, huh?" she asked conversationally, hoping not to make it too awkward for him.

"I saw it on the news. That's why we went to look for your brother."

Right. She'd almost forgotten why they even needed to help Robyn in the first place.

"I'm here if you want to talk about it."

"I'm fine. Seriously, I am. It's not like we were close or anything," Weiss explained despite the tears burning her eyes. Adam didn't say anything when she furiously rubbed her eyes dry.

"I never knew we were the same height. I don't even know what kind of fucking wine she likes. She might as well be a stranger to me."

"She's still your mom."

That single response made the room go quiet. Weiss still didn't feel anything about Mother's passing, yet the lump at the back of her throat grew bigger and bigger until her eyes flooded with tears.

"Am I a bad person for not feeling sad about losing her?"

Weiss didn't complain when he laid down beside her, embracing her. She clenched her teeth against the burning in her torso, turning to hold him more easily. He told her not to move, but she ignored him.

"She died saving my brother's life." Weiss felt the need to tell him. "She apologised to me for being a bad mother. Why did she have to do it then? Why didn't she do it sooner?"

Adam didn't answer her question, choosing instead to rub small circles on her back.

"I told her she was dead to me the last time I visited her."

She didn't know why that was the final straw. Weiss buried her face into his chest and cried for a woman she felt no grief over – she didn't even realise that was possible. He kept his arms around her even once she'd gone silent.

The weight of Mother's passing sunk so deep into her chest it hurt, yet her mind remained blissfully untouched. What was wrong with her?

"I don't think you're a bad person," Adam whispered into her ear. "There's no right way to grieve."

"It's not grief if I don't feel sad about it."

Adam kissed the top of her head, silencing any further thoughts she had about the topic.

"Rest. It's been a long night."

"I'm not tired." That was only half-true. Physically Weiss felt drained, but her mind was more awake than ever before.

"I'll stay here until you fall asleep."

She shouldn't take his offer. Until her stupid affection for him disappears, she shouldn't let herself sleep on the same bed as him. It wasn't going to do her any good in the long run. But spending the night tossing and turning on a makeshift hospital bed didn't sound any better.

"Yeah…staying sounds good."

He turned, clicking the desk lamp off before laying back down again. Weiss tucked her head beneath his chin, resting her hand on his chest. His gentle heartbeat whispered into her ear. A smile tugged at her lips when he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, holding her close. It was even better than the dreams she had about him.

"Were you really here for days?" she asked softly.

"I don't think you understand how much danger you were in. I didn't want to leave you alone like that."

"I'm sorry I caused so much trouble."

"You can make it up to me by going to sleep."

She snorted – regretting it when a jolt of pain made her groan.

"I'm serious, go to sleep." His other hand rested on top of hers, running his thumb over her the back of her fingers. She only wished he'd taken his glove off. "I'll be here if you get nightmares."

"Me too." She closed her eyes. "I'll be right here if you need me."

"I know." He squeezed her hand. "I'm so glad you woke up, Weiss."

Thank you to BrazeRancor, CMDR Quillon, BL4CK 4NG3L, and a Guest reader for the reviews!