"Do you think sorry is going to make me feel better? Do you have any idea what my life has been like since Beacon?!"
Yang's voice jolted whatever sleep remained in her system. Weiss looked in the direction of Yang's voice. Two dark figures standing beyond the semi-transparent shower curtain were lit only by the amber streetlights outside the window. Her breath caught in her throat at the tall, red-haired figure facing Yang.
Did anyone know they were here?
"I know my words mean nothing to you, but you still deserve an apology," Adam said quietly.
"An apology isn't going to bring my fucking arm back. It's gone forever, and nothing you can do will ever change that!"
Adam didn't respond. Weiss curled her fingers around her sheets. Somewhere in the building, a clock ticked like an active bomb.
"I've never moved on from Beacon. I relive it every single night. Every time I see your Semblance or see you, I remember what you did to me.
"I don't care how much Jaune likes training with you or how far you go to protect Weiss. It's never going to undo what you did to me! I'll never forget that night for as long as I live!"
Weiss held her breath when Yang's Semblance flared to life, burning like a furious golden flame. Adam tensed, but his sword remained sheathed by his side.
"I understand…and I'm sorry I put you through all that."
"Bullshit! As if someone like you could understand!" Yang's Semblance flared even brighter. "I've trained my entire life to be a Huntress like my mom. You have no idea how hard I worked to get into Beacon! Being a Huntress means everything to me! And you almost ruined that!
"I almost gave up because you made me too scared to fight again. You took away my courage when I needed it the most! I fucking hate you!"
Yang's Semblance dimmed until darkness bathed the room again.
"I don't understand you one bit," Yang's voice lowered to a weak whisper. "How can you cut off my arm in one instance and then risk your life saving one of my friends the next? I don't get it. W-what did I do to you? Why did it have to be me?"
"It wasn't your fault. You were only trying to help your friends. I have no excuse for what I did. I'm sorry."
"Go to hell! I wish Blake never found you in Argus! I wish you never met Weiss! I wish those awful robots killed you that night!"
The stretch of silence that followed was the longest. Neither made a single sound. The clock ticked louder than ever before. The bomb Weiss envisioned in her head was close to detonation.
"Why did you do it?"
"Because I needed to defend myself when I saw you coming in to attack me."
"So you resorted to cutting my arm off? Are you kidding me?! I was a student! The worst I would've done is break your nose!"
"I didn't know how big of a threat you were to me."
"You expect me to believe that?! Do you think I'm some brain-dead blonde?! How big of a threat can an ordinary student be to you? You-! You're nothing but a fucking liar!"
"I'm being honest. I wasn't sure how dangerous you were, and I wanted to be cautious—"
"Shut up!" Yang slammed her fist into his jaw. He staggered back, catching himself against the wall.
"If you're going to lie, then don't say anything! The other might be stupid enough to fall for your act, but I won't! Nothing you say will ever make me hate you less!"
Yang paced back and forth. Her footsteps clicked on the old wooden floorboards like hammers.
"I want to show you something," Adam said quietly.
Weiss swallowed down a surprised gasp when he took off his eyepatch. Yang stopped dead in her track. Weiss couldn't tell if the silence was because of Yang's shock or outrage.
"I-isn't that–?" Yang sounded ill. She stammered something else, but the words jumbled in an incomprehensible mess.
"I got this when I was enslaved by the SDC. It was the second time I'd ever been branded."
"A…second time?"
He told Yang the whole story behind the brand on his face. He didn't hold back on the details, explaining why Weiss' uncle slaughtered his family and what happened once the last of his cousins passed away.
"I'm not telling you this so you can pity me or excuse what I did," he explained once his story was over. "I'm telling you this so you can get some context behind why I reacted the way I did. I don't want you to think I'd lie to you about why I did it.
"You said I overreacted, and I agree. I only jumped to such drastic measures because I'm used to experiencing the worst of Humans. It doesn't excuse hurting innocent Humans for the crime of a few. I know that now…but it's too late."
Yang didn't respond, but her breathing quickened.
"Do you need to sit down? You look faint." He sounded worried.
"I'm fine," Yang answered at once. "Give me a minute."
Adam waited for her to regain her composure. Even when Yang calmed her breathing, he didn't say a word.
"I always thought you did it because you were a monster," Yang spoke so quietly that Weiss nearly missed it.
"I am a monster." He sighed tiredly. "I ended up hurting someone as badly as he did."
He ran a hand through his hair.
"Yang, I know apologising to you won't ever fix what I did, but you still deserve to hear it. I'm sorry you have to live the rest of your life haunted by my mistake. If I could trade places with you, I would."
It tore her heart to hear Yang breaking down into tears. Adam offered to grab her some tissues, but she refused.
"I-I don't know if I can forgive you," Yang whimpered.
"You don't need to forgive me. I get it. I'll never forgive that man for what he did."
"But I don't want to spend the rest of my fucking life hating you. I want to move on! I want to sleep soundly for once. I'm so tired of it all."
"I-I understand…I'm so sorry." He sounded close to tears.
"Does it ever stop?" Yang sounded desperate at this point. Adam didn't respond as quickly as he did before.
"No. I'm sorry, Yang. I'm really sorry." This time it did sound like he was crying.
The second time Yang broke down, it took even longer for her to recollect herself. At some point, she'd slumped onto the floor and cried into her hands. Adam sat down across from her, never speaking a word.
"You never had intentions of targeting me?" Yang sniffled.
"Never. You were an innocent bystander who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. I'm sorry if it felt like I had it out for you."
"I never thought I'd be having this conversation with you."
"You're treating me with a lot more generosity than I deserve."
"Yeah, I am."
The clock's rhythmic ticking filled the space between them. Weiss counted the seconds rolling by.
"If you want revenge for what I did, then do it. I won't fight back," he added quietly. "I killed the man who branded me, so I get it. I won't breathe a word about whatever you do. I promise."
"Get over yourself. I'm not stupid enough to stoop to your level." Yang scoffed. "I hope you feel guilty for the rest of your life."
"Don't worry, I will."
Silence.
"You know, Blake once said the White Fang was made of misguided people. I don't think I understood what she meant until now," Yang spoke in a calmer tone.
Yang rose to her feet and held out her hand to him. It took him a second to accept her offer to help him up.
"I'm sorry about what that man did to you. No one deserves to be treated like that. Not even you."
"...Thank you."
"You probably know this already, but we aren't going to treat you like an animal or a slave. We see the Faunus as our equals."
"I know, and I'm grateful for that…" he answered quietly. "I hope you know I won't ever hurt innocent Humans again."
"Trust me, if you fuck up this badly again, I'm going to be the first in line to beat the shit out of you." Her callous response managed to make both of them chuckle. "And you shouldn't feel grateful for being treated like a regular person. That's a given."
Weiss could hear the smile on his face when he thanked her again.
"It's getting late…you should head to bed soon," Yang added tiredly. "She's still going to be here when you wake up tomorrow."
"I haven't seen her since all day. I want to see how she's doing."
"She would appreciate it more if you showed up to eat with the rest of us. She missed you a lot tonight."
Weiss hid her head beneath her covers out of embarrassment. She didn't realise her true feelings at dinner were so obvious. It made her dread what other unintended emotions the others had picked up on.
"Would it be okay with you if I'm around more?" Adam asked carefully. "I don't mind if want me to stay away or–"
"We're on the same side now. You don't need my permission to be with anyone," Yang said without missing a beat. "Is that why it's taking so long?"
Adam stared down at the floor. Weiss wished more than anything to see his expression beyond the curtains.
"It's that obvious, huh?"
Yang snorted. "Get some rest. I'm sure Weiss would want you to care for yourself too."
That finally convinced him to comply. They continued to speak in hushed voices when they left, but Weiss couldn't hear what else they were talking about.
The next morning, after a slightly less painful process of changing out her bandages, Adam was the first one to pop in and visit her. His posture was relaxed, and there was a sparkle in his eye. Seeing him like this made her entire day. She voiced her observations to him right away.
"I had a good sleep last night." Was his only explanation to her when he sat at her bedside.
His gaze lingered on her face. Weiss' heart melted at the smile that brightened his entire expression.
"You look stronger today."
"I'm still pretty sore, but at least I have my appetite back."
Weiss curled the ends of her loose hair around her finger, trying to figure out how to word her next question without revealing she knew what happened last night.
"Something on your mind?" he asked.
"Well…I didn't see you last night at dinner," she began carefully. "I was wondering if you'll drop by tonight."
"Did you miss me that much?" he teased.
Her face flooded with warmth. She sputtered out a panicked response. Her embarrassment faded at the sound of his wonderful laugh.
"Don't worry, I'm sticking around for breakfast and dinner from now on. I'm sorry about skipping out on you last night."
"Good. I-I mean it's nice to spend time with all my friends. Not that I don't like spending time with you alone um…y-you know what I mean."
Weiss wasn't ready when he leaned in and captured her in an embrace. It was a tight, affectionate hug which loosened when she winced in pain.
"Is something wrong?" she asked when he showed no signs of letting go.
"No. I'm doing alright," he breathed. "Thank you."
Adam rested his head on her shoulder. Given how closely he held her against his chest, she hoped he couldn't feel how fast her heart was racing. He let her go when the others arrived.
All eyes locked on Yang as she made her way over to Adam, holding out the second coffee cup she had in her hands.
"I figured you would need it today," Yang said, completely disregarding the surprise on Jaune's and Blake's faces. "I don't know how you like your coffee, so I made it the way I usually take it. One cream and no sugar."
"Thank you," he said, accepting the mug. "...That's actually how I like it as well."
She flashed him a polite smile before returning to Blake's side, loudly proclaiming coffee's (obvious) superiority over tea as if nothing extraordinary had taken place.
Big thanks to CMDR Quillon, BrazeRancor, Iwr1918, and 2 Guest readers for the reviews!