Weiss woke up alone the next morning. She shouldn't have expected Adam to stay until morning. They were only friends, and she doubted he wanted the others to catch them together. Still, it would've been nice if he stayed.
Fiona visited her first, rolling in an old wheelchair to help her freshen up for the day. It was the first time Weiss got to see what the rest of the room looked like beyond the wall of shower curtains.
It was a small room with three beds separated by shower curtains and metal clothing racks. A single square window showered the room with sunlight. Weiss was the only guest staying in the makeshift medical bay.
"We only use this room for emergencies," Fiona explained as she wheeled her down the narrow hall. "Robyn cleared some extra space upstairs yesterday, but…you remember what happened."
"Is your friend…?"
"Joanna's fine. She's resting upstairs in her private quarters. As for everyone else…we retrieved their bodies before the robots found them."
They didn't speak any further about the death toll of their mission.
After Fiona helped her freshen up, Weiss met a young doctor who inspected and cleaned her injury. Weiss tried not to move during the process, but it was hard to stay still when the cleaning gauze burned the wound.
"Robyn wanted me to thank you for helping us," Fiona said in an attempt to distract her. "She also apologises for not seeing you this morning. Mantle's been a bit crazy lately, but we'll try to send someone later to meet with you."
"Where exactly are we? This doesn't look like the powerplant we saw." Weiss winced when the doctor dabbed a particularly sore spot with the gauze.
"We're stationed on top of an old burger restaurant owned by one of our agents. He let us renovate the living quarters to be more office-like. The powerplant is for the Silver Robins' branch."
"Silver Robins' branch? You mean there's more?"
Fiona simply smiled. "It's a long story. You should rest up a bit first."
After changing her bandages, Weiss managed to get a second-handed t-shirt from Fiona. As much as she liked wearing Adam's stylish blazer, she felt bad for taking his jacket the way she did.
Fiona left her with a small sandwich before attending to other duties. Weiss only took a few bites out before abandoning it on the crude nightstand. She wasn't sure if it was the poison still in her system, but she couldn't stomach anything without feeling sick. Yang, Blake, and Whitely popped into her room not long after.
Blake and Yang sat on one side of her bed while her brother settled on the chair to her left. The smell of coffee from Yang and Whitley's mugs made her feel slightly better about her morning. Her excitement was crushed just as quickly when she was the only one who had to drink herbal tea.
"It's doctor's orders," Yang said when she handed the cup to her. "You can have all the coffee you like after you get better."
"I'm not a child…" she murmured, sipping her bitter tea. At least she could stomach the hot drink better.
"There's nothing wrong with drinking tea," Blake said when she noticed her less-than-stellar reaction to the beverage. "It's a lot better than coffee."
"Sorry, but you're on your own on this one," Yang answered in a heartbeat. "Coffee is obviously the superior choice over leaf water."
"Leaf water? Coffee's just bean water!"
A mischievous glint appeared in Yang's eyes.
"I guess you could say it isn't our…cup of tea." Yang's pun made both Blake and Weiss groan. Whitley covered his mouth and laughed quietly at the joke.
Jaune chose that unfortunate moment to walk in, subjecting them all to another round of Yang's joke. Weiss hid her grin behind her cup, not because she found Yang's tea puns particularly funny, but because it's been so long since Yang cracked a joke.
While she enjoyed her friends' company, Weiss didn't have the energy to take part in their lively conversation. She spent most of her time listening and observing the group.
Taking a backseat to the conversation did have its advantages. Weiss quickly noticed how close Blake and Yang were sitting, their free hands brushing against each other when they thought no one else was looking. Their eyes were practically locked onto each other throughout the morning. Even when they spoke to other people, their attention always drifted back to each other like magnets.
She flashed a knowing smirk in Blake's direction when their eyes met. The blush on her face confirmed everything Weiss needed to know.
It was about time. Weiss was more than happy to sit back and observe them. If Blake could tease her about Adam, then it's only fair she returned the favour.
When they finished their morning beverages, Blake announced she had to help with some volunteer work.
"You know they wouldn't mind if you took the day off," Yang said. "They know how long you've been waiting for Weiss to wake up."
"Yeah, but there's been a lot more people showing up to the clinic lately. I want to help as much as I can."
"Is it safe for you to be working out in the open like this?" Weiss asked. With so many robots still looking for them, it seemed rather dangerous.
"Don't worry, I'm not doing anything risky. I'm only helping Fiona sort out their medical supplies upstairs." Blake beamed.
Was Adam helping as well? Is that why he isn't here yet? Weiss glanced over at Yang and held her tongue.
"I'll see you tonight for dinner," Blake added before heading out. "Take it easy today, Weiss."
Yang offered to walk her upstairs, eagerly grabbing Blake's hand on the way out, while Jaune left to clean their dirty mugs.
That left her alone with Whitely. Although he listened to her friends' conversation, he hadn't spoken a word to anyone.
"Are you feeling okay?" Weiss asked gently. She couldn't tell if he was still upset about the events that took place at the Estate, or if he was shy around her friends.
"I'm fine. Your friends have been really nice to me about Mother."
"Do you miss her?"
"I…" Whitely struggled to come up with an answer.
"I don't know how I feel about it either." She smiled kindly. "I'm glad you had people to comfort you while I was out."
"It wasn't like I was looking for help or anything. They just started talking to me…it was weird."
"That's the kind of people they are."
"I-it's still weird…" His face flushed with embarrassment. "I-I never knew so many people lost moms…"
Weiss wasn't sure if she was meant to hear that last part. She never heard the story of why Yang and Ruby were raised by their dad and uncle alone, but it explained why Whitley took to Yang so soon.
Did Adam also approach Whitley after learning what happened?
She stared at his blazer draped over her lap. He hadn't shown up all morning. At first, she thought he was going to show up later, but now she wondered if he was going to see her at all.
She knew he had reservations about being in the same room as Yang, but she didn't think he'd take it this far. Was the only time she'd be able to see him in the middle of the night?
Weiss perked up when the shower curtain drew back once again. Seeing Adam walk in made her feel more alert than she had all morning. Whitley shot up from the chair, but Adam urged him to stay as he approached Weiss from the opposite side of the bed.
"Where were you?" she asked him at once.
"I was waiting for them to leave." He studied the abandoned sandwich on the nightstand. "Is that yours?"
"I'm not hungry. You don't have to exile yourself around them. I told you–"
"What do you mean you're not hungry?" He ripped off one of his gloves and placed a hand on her forehead. "You need to eat if you want to get better."
"I can't stomach anything other than tea," she decided to answer honestly. While he was trying a bit too hard to change the subject, she still heard the genuine worry in his voice.
"You still need to try. You'll never recover your strength if you starve yourself," he said, pulling his hand back.
Adam turned to Whitely, who tensed at the sudden shift in attention.
"Whitley, can you drop by the kitchen downstairs and ask one of the guys to make a batch of soup for her?"
Whitley stared at Adam, his face completely drained of colour.
"A-aren't they busy running the restaurant?" Whitely flinched as the question left his mouth. Weiss recognised the reaction from anywhere. It was what she used to do whenever she dared to question Father.
The few bites from her stale sandwich sat uncomfortably in her stomach.
"It's alright. Tell them I'll pay them back," Adam answered in a more gentle tone. "If you want to stay here instead, I'll go."
Whitley blinked in surprise at Adam's calm response. He turned his back on him and murmured a soft agreement to get the soup request in.
"Thank you. I appreciate it, kid."
Whitely simply nodded in response.
"Here's your jacket, by the way." Weiss changed the subject for Whitely's sake. "Thanks for letting me borrow it."
He took the blazer right as the shower curtain drew back again. Yang's sunny disposition turned stony once she saw Adam, staring at him with wide, unblinking eyes. For a long moment, neither of them made a move.
"I should go." Adam shrugged on his blazer and made a beeline for the exit.
"Wait–!" Weiss forgot about her nasty injury as she leaned forward to catch his sleeve. She regretted it instantly. It felt like a razor had ripped into her stomach.
Adam returned her side, helping her lean back into her pillow. Her temples throbbed from the pain. Yang lingered nervously behind Whitely.
"I'm going to see if Fiona's still around," Adam said. She clasped onto his sleeves before he could leave her again.
"Come to dinner tonight."
"Weiss, now isn't the time–"
"Please, Adam. Even if it's only for a minute, I want to see you."
He glanced over at Yang. Adam and Yang both flinched like they'd been burnt by the mere act of looking at each other. Guilt clogged her throat when she saw the position her selfish request put them both in.
"I'll see if I have time," he murmured. When he pulled away again, she didn't try to stop him.
It was only once Adam was out of sight that Yang approached closer to the bed to ask how she was feeling.
"I'm sorry, Yang, I wasn't thinking–"
"I get it." Yang smiled, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. "Try not to make sudden movements like that again. We wouldn't want you reopening your wound."
They didn't talk about Adam again when Jaune returned with snacks.
"Hey, mind if I join you guys for lunch?" May popped into the room at noon sharp. She carried a water bottle in one hand and a sandwich in the other.
Yang, Jaune, and Whitley had already finished eating while Weiss was still trying to stomach the soup Whitley brought back. The mere sight of more food left her nauseous.
"How are you feeling today?" May asked, plopping down at the end of Weiss' bed.
"It still hurts, but I'll live."
"I'm impressed. No offence, but I always thought rich girls were more delicate. Although that's pretty ironic coming from me." May snorted before taking a large bite from her lunch.
Weiss shared a look with Yang and Jaune. No one spoke a word while May ate.
"Hey, Whitely, why don't we check out what the guys down at the kitchen are making?" Yang suddenly offered. "I heard they're trying a new recipe and need some taste testers."
May waited until Yang led Whitley out of earshot before speaking up again.
"I'll skip the small talk. What do you know about us so far, Miss Schnee?"
"Please just call me Weiss."
She delved into the research she did on the Silver Robins and voiced her suspicions that they were much more different than how the media portrayed them.
"Your intuition is pretty close to the truth." May beamed, wolfing down the last of her lunch. "What I'm about to tell you has to stay a secret. I don't care how caring your friends in Atlas are, you don't breathe a single word to them. And trust me, we have ways of knowing if you told someone."
"It sounds worse than it actually is," Jaune assured her when he caught the frown on her face. "We were a bit weirded out at first too."
Weiss wasn't a fan of all the secrecy, but if Jaune and the others trusted them, then she was willing to give them a chance too.
"Fine."
"You remember all the news about those business leaks? Well, I was personally insulted they confused our work with the White Fang."
It took a moment for May's comment to sink in.
"This is the most hardcore charity I've ever met," she blurted the first thing that came to mind. May burst out laughing.
"Technically, our public branch, the Silver Robins, had nothing to do with it. Everything we do there is completely legal and clean."
"Wait, but what about all those reports about causing public disturbances?"
May didn't appear offended by her blunt question. She rolled her eyes and took a sip from her water bottle.
"If you classify peaceful protests and handing out free food as public disturbances, then we're pretty damn guilty. We did have a few bad apples here and there, but it's not like we wanted to hurt anyone."
That wasn't how the reports painted them. The photos and articles made it seem like they supported the White Fang.
"It's a shame the media leaves out our name when they do give us positive coverage. Unnamed volunteers my ass!
"Anyway, that's why we separate our public work from our private work. The media would lose their shit if they knew what the rest of us did. The Silver Robins only make up a small fraction of our group. As a whole, we call ourselves Pan's Alliance. Fiona thought it'd be fitting to name ourselves after a Faunus god that wanted peace with Humans."
Pan's Alliance was divided into two branches: a public branch that focused on charity work and social services, and an underground branch that investigated Atlas' most powerful families and Faunus trafficking rings. The public branch was funded by donations, and the private branch was paid out of pocket by Robyn's team and anonymous sponsors.
Weiss understood very quickly why they kept the underground branch under tight wraps.
From company espionage to stealing private documents, it was impressive the lengths Robyn's people were willing to go to take down corrupt organisations.
"We've recently been busy trying to uncover a massive trafficking ring in Mantle," May added as an afterthought. "Adam and Blake have been a huge help. With the shit Jacques has been pulling, we're pretty tight on manpower right now. Your friends showed up at the perfect time."
Weiss wasn't surprised to learn Adam and Blake helped with their underground work. With their experience, they'd fit right into the team.
"The only company we haven't been able to touch is the SDC. Seems Jacques has tightened security over the years, which is a pain in the ass for us."
May quirked her brow at Weiss, like a silent challenge to see how she'd react to the accusation towards Father.
"That's not surprising. Father probably didn't want the White Fang to keep freeing his victims," Weiss said, pretending not to notice May's expression.
May smiled in approval.
"Is Father making things difficult for Mantle?"
"Difficult's one way to describe it. We want to return your brother home for Mantle's sake, but Robyn's willing to compromise a bit longer."
"Thanks for letting him stay," Weiss said sincerely.
"To be honest, you should think of your next steps soon. Robyn only made that compromise because Adam convinced her to change her mind. She's expecting to hear what your next move will be once you've recovered."
Weiss nodded. She didn't want to tell May that she had no idea what they were going to do with those robots on the lookout for them.
"Well, I'd love to stay and chat some more, but I've gotta cover Joanna's baking lesson today." May leapt back up to her feet. "If you have any more burning questions, you can always ask your boyfriend–"
"He's my friend."
"Uh-huh. That's not what Blake's been telling me."
Weiss flushed, mortified at the crazy rumours Blake spread to Robyn's people.
"Hopefully you aren't sick or bedridden the next time I drop by. Seems like you're always recovering from something whenever I see you." May winked. "Tell your boyfriend I said hi."
"He's–"
"Just a friend. Yeah, yeah, shortcake. Whatever you say."
The soup in her hands was cold when May left. Weiss abandoned it on the makeshift nightstand, no longer able to stomach anything else. Everything May revealed left her head dizzy with information.
"So what are we going to do?" she asked Jaune, who hadn't said a thing during the meeting.
"Honestly? I'm as lost as you are. I don't know what Tyrian being in Mantel means, and I don't know what we're up against in Atlas."
"We still need to get in contact with everyone else."
"I've been thinking of ways we could break into Atlas, but something's been bothering me. Do you think Ironwood is being manipulated as well?"
Weiss didn't know how to respond. She never thought of that possibility until he brought it up.
"You think Ironwood's innocent?"
"It wouldn't make sense for Ironwood to sabotage Mantle. If he wants to unite the world with Amity, it's counterproductive to hurt Mantle like this."
"Anything's possible at this point," Weiss reminded him. She never thought Winter could be so close-minded, yet here she was.
"Either way, we need to find a way to prove those robots are targeting us. Ironwood trusts Watts a lot, and it would be our word against Watts', assuming he's the only person guilty right now. We could try video-taping those things attacking us, but I don't want those robots to know where we are. They might not let us go as easily next time."
Jaune cursed under his breath and rested his forehead in his hands. "But if we don't confront those things, how else are we supposed to prove they're out to get us?"
"Mother mentioned something about a military person visiting Father. She made it sound urgent. Maybe we could find something in his office?"
"You want to break into your dad's place?"
Weiss looked down at her lap. Her hands had balled into fists around her bedsheets.
"I don't know. It could mean nothing." She shrugged, forcing her hands to uncurl and relax. After all, why would Watts waste his time with Father? It's not like Father could offer him anything.
"I'm willing to try anything at this point. I'll keep looking into how we can pull off an airship heist without getting shot down."
"You have an unhealthy obsession with stealing Atlas airships." She managed a small smile.
"It's kind of hard to sneak into Atlas without one," Jaune joked. "Let me worry about this. All you need to do is get better. And don't worry about your brother, we're making sure no one tries to take him back home."
"Sorry to trouble you guys. I should be okay after a few more days." She hated having to sit back while all her friends were scrambling to figure out their next steps.
"Take it easy, none of us expect you to bounce back right away. Besides, it's a good chance for me to get some extra training in with Adam."
"You two have been training together?" Weiss asked in surprise. Why didn't anyone tell her about this before?
"I asked him to spar as an excuse to get him out of this room, but it's turned into a new routine. He's a scary teacher, but I'm making progress with him."
"Sounds like you two are getting along."
"Oh yeah. I can't believe I thought he was scary at first. He's pretty cool once you get past the asocial part."
Weiss couldn't help but laugh at Jaune's description. Her chest felt lighter than ever. She wanted more than anything to see Adam again that day. She wanted to tell him how happy she was to see him growing closer to Jaune, and how grateful she was for the effort he put into protecting Whitley.
Weiss hoped he would show up at some point to see her again, but he never made a second appearance.
At dinner, Blake made an off-handed comment about him feeling tired and heading to bed early, but she knew that was a lie. It didn't stop her from glancing at the drawn shower curtains wherever footsteps approached the room.
Yang, despite not having Adam around, was unusually reserved throughout dinner. Blake looked worryingly at her during the meal, only to be met with a forced smile and a half-hearted joke every time.
Weiss went to bed without seeing Adam again. Despite laying in a dark, empty room, she still eyed the drawn shower curtains in hopes he'll visit when no one was around. She waited and waited until her eyes grew too heavy to keep open anymore.
She woke up later that night to the sound of Yang's angry voice.
A bit of an info-dumpy chapter, but hope you didn't mind it too much.
Also, writing this story made me realise I'm as oblivious as Weiss when it comes to romance irl lmao.
If you think she's unusually oblivious, know that I once believed my friend had no interest in me after sending multiple heart emojis and asking me out on a date LOL (but like seriously, it could've just been their way of being friendly). I guess I really wrote what I know xDD
Thanks to Iwr1918, 2 Guest readers, GreenEyesOrigamiDragon, and BrazeRancor for the reviews!
Catch you all next week 33