Chapter Twenty-One: A Rupture and Thread

(Ryker pov)

"Where is he."

"Ryker, we can't-" Ozpin starts.

"Where is he!" I snarl again as I start to hear the blood in my ears.

"Ryker, we don't know." Ozpin finally gets out. "We just know that he was spotted in Vale and we are doing everything we can to find him and bring him to justice."

I turned to Ironwood, assuming that he would know more than Ozpin since he actually was from Atlas. "How did you find out it was him?"

Ironwood looked at me for a moment before turning to look at Ozpin, the headmaster giving a subtle nod. Ironwood sighed before turning back to me. "We uncovered new security footage. An airdock on the other side of Atlas caught Damien as well as the other White Fang members making their escape to Mantle. His clothes matched one of the White Fang who was caught on camera at the Schnee Office."

My fists clenched and unclenched repeatedly as Ironwood spoke. I had all but given up at the thought of finding out who exactly killed my mom, but to now know that one of the people responsible for my mom's death was someone who was supposed to be her friend. It made it clear that Mom had hidden more than just a sword and a backlog of videos from me.

Just who was Damien to her?

"I'm going to go after him," I say suddenly.

Ironwood clicked his tongue in disapproval. "Told you that telling him was a bad idea Oz."

Ozpin looked at me, his expression unreadable as he took a sip from his mug. "I did not tell you this just for you to go and get yourself into trouble you can't get yourself out of."

"Then why did you tell me?"

"To try and keep you safe. We do not know why Damien has made his way into Vale. He very well could be here for you, or for some other reason. Either way, I want to keep you safe." Ozpin spoke simply.

"Why would he be here for me?"

"You are the human son of a faunus that he both killed and also considered a traitor to the faunus race. Your mom worked for the Schnee Dust Company. This could be a grudge he hasn't let go." Ironwood answered.

"That's a stretch, how would he even know I'm here?" I counter before turning back to Ozpin. "Call me insane, but when have I ever listened to you, and when have you ever been able to make me do something I don't want to do?"

"I would like to think that our relationship is not so strained that you would put yourself in danger to spite me." Ozpin retorted.

I scoff at the notion. "That's the problem, you place too much importance on yourself. I'm going after him for revenge, not because I want to spite you."

Ozpin sighed, his eyes flicking to Ironwood for only a moment before flicking back to me. "Ryker, nearly a year ago you asked me to take a chance on you when you had no right to enter my academy. I am now asking for you to trust me. I know how much your mother's death has affected you. I know what it feels like to want to hunt someone down for taking something from you that you can never get back. I understand your anger."

Ozpin stood from his desk, setting his mug down, and walked out from behind his desk. He approached me and placed a hand on my shoulder. "You will get your opportunity, but let the adults in your life handle this for now and just focus on your schooling. You only just got back from something we thought you wouldn't come back from."

I grit my teeth, pulling away from Ozpin as I gripped my arms with anxiety. "I can't just do nothing Ozpin."

"I'm not asking for you to do nothing. I am asking for you to rely on your support system. You are not alone anymore. This isn't Atlas. You are not alone in some small dingy apartment in Mantle. You are here at Beacon and you have three wonderful Huntresses in training that think the world of you, as well as teachers and a Headmaster who think you have a very bright future."

I release a shaky breath, taking in Ozpins words. He was saying everything right to disarm my anger and the half-cocked plan that was forming in my brain. He was right, I wasn't alone. I had a team that could help. I could overlook the fact that it was obvious that Ozpin had looked into my background quite a bit. For right now, he was right.

"I expect you to keep me updated on this. That or I will do it myself." I say over my shoulder as I start to walk to the elevator I was starting to hate on principal.

"I will personally message you any updates we receive," Ozpin called out as I pressed the button for the elevator. I didn't bother to respond, the conversation was done. I didn't need to stay any longer. I pulled out my scroll as the elevator doors closed and messaged the team. We needed to have a team meeting.

The trip back to the dorm was quiet, just my sneakers clacking against the tile floor. The noise was the only thing keeping my thoughts from spiraling. I hadn't even noticed when a second pair of footsteps joined my own. I only noticed when a finger poked my left arm. My head turned to find a familiar girl looking at me with a small grin.

"Mint?" I say in confusion.

The mint-themed girl grinned as I heard three more pairs of shoes join us. I finally stopped seeing a grey-themed boy, a dark-skinned girl with green hair, and a woman in a red dress.

"We were waiting for you, you were up in Ozpin's for a while." The woman said with a voice that I could only describe as seduction and confidence incarnate.

"You were waiting for me?"

Mint giggled before signing to me. "My teammates wanted to meet my ice cream buddy."

I nodded in understanding. "Oh, well it's nice to meet you, though I don't know any of your names. I'm Ryker." I say offering my hand to the woman.

"Cinder Fall." She purred taking my hand into hers. It felt hot, like obscenely hot.

"Emerald Sustrai," The dark-skinned girl said with a small smile.

"Mercury Black." The guy grunted.

I pulled my hand away, trying to hide my want to shake the heat away. Cinder screamed dangerous to me, but at the same time exuded promises of safety. I couldn't describe it beyond thinking of her as a siren who lures men to their doom.

"You know, your fight with Team CRDL was incredibly impressive. I can see why Ruby speaks so highly of you." Cinder smiled.

I couldn't help the blush that came to my face. "She speaks highly of me?"

"Oh yes, when you were in the hospital me and her had a pretty lengthy conversation, and when you came up she had nothing but nice things to say. When she said you were invincible I thought she was just exaggerating but after watching you fight I believe it."

"I wouldn't say I'm invincible. The three-month coma was proof of that." I reply both Emerald and Mint giggling at my deadpanned tone.

Cinder simply hummed as she waved off my words. "It was to my understanding that you were sick during the time, now that you are better it's obvious that you are leagues above most of your classmates."

I couldn't hold my own bark of laughter at the idea that I was better than any of my friends. Team PNLY was filled with powerhouses and Ruby, Blake, and Weiss were infinitely more experienced at combat than me. I still considered myself bottom of the barrel in the combat department.

"I think my semblance does most of the work."

Cinder smiles like she has been waiting for me to say that. "Oh? I can hardly see how a simply combat booster semblance is what does most of the work."

"What can I say, it's a pretty strong boost." I lie with ease.

Cinder simply continued to smile. "Why don't we trade scroll numbers? It would be fun to hang out sometime soon." She pulled out her scroll and handed it to me to type my number in. I accept it easily and type in my number before returning it to her.

"I think that would be cool, I'll be sure to tell my team that we need to hang out sometime soon." I grin.

Cinder's eyes widened her lips parting slightly. "Oh… I meant more 'just you' come and hang out with me." She asked, her confidence faltering for the first time since we had started talking.

She just wanted me to come and hang out… Wait… Was she asking me out? Oh… Oh!

"I-I guess that would be ok… Y-yeah we could hang out sometime, just you and me." I stammer completely off-guard.

Just like that, her confidence was back. "I think I would like that. I will text you the details tonight. See you later, Ryker." Cinder purred as she turned on her heel and walked away without so much as a second glance. Emerald and Mercury don't bother to say goodbye but Mint gave me a grin and a wave as she ran off to catch up with them.

"What just happened?" I asked myself as I stood alone in the hallway.

I couldn't believe I was just asked out on a date, let alone by someone as attractive as Cinder. Though it felt like it was too good to be true. We had never even met before, and she had only heard of me through Mint and Ruby. So why would she want to ask me out?

That also led me to the fact that I had never been on a date before. I had never had friends before Beacon let alone had someone I could ask out on a date. I just hope my mom had some videos on this that wasn't just cooking tutorials.

I hurried back to the dorm, bursting into the room and slamming the door shut, pressing myself against the door only to find Blake, Ruby, and Weiss all looking at me with confusion.

"You ok, Ryker?" Ruby asked.

"I just got asked out on a date!" I shout.

All three girls stared at me with open mouths, Blake's book even fell from her hands as they all looked at me in shock.

"You what?" Weiss shrieked in anger. Wait… Anger?

"Who?" Blake asked her voice unsteady in the single-word question.

"Did you say yes?" Ruby asked, her eyes filled with hope and… Fear?

"I-I think I did."

Ruby, Blake, and Weiss just stared at me. Each one of them seemed to be reacting negatively. It made no sense, wasn't this a good thing?

Weiss stared me down, her arms crossed before she clicked her tongue and gave a noise of disgust before she tried to push past me. "Whatever, congrats I guess. I'm sure you will be happy. I have to go to the library."

"Wait!" I snap grabbing her by the arm. "My date wasn't what I needed to talk about," I say hurriedly. Weiss looks at me for a moment before pulling out of my grasp.

"Fine… What is it?" She asks before walking back to the Team bed and taking a seat. ]

I took a deep breath, prepping myself for the conversation. "Ozpin found out the identity of one of my mom's killers."

All of their eyes widened at the information, Weiss' entire presence finally relaxing. "W-Who is it? Were they caught?" Ruby finally asked breaking the silence.

"No, he hasn't been caught," I say shaking my head. "It turns out it was a person who I thought was a friend of my mom's, his name is Damien. He's a gecko faunus, and he has been spotted here in Vale."

Blake's eyes narrowed at that information. "I'm guessing you want to go after him?"

"Ozpin basically told me to drop it and let the adults handle it. I refuse to do that but I will ask for all of your help. Damien was in Atlas a year ago, Blake do you know if White Fang typically transfers people to different continents?" I ask.

"Not typically, the White Fang has different chapters with different leaders. It's how they can accomplish so much without having to keep traceable tech like scrolls. For a member to transfer from the Atlas chapter to the Vale chapter can only mean one thing." Blake answered.

"The White Fang in Vale are bolstering their numbers for something." I finished getting a nod out of Blake.

"So what do you expect us to do?" Weiss asked.

"Yeah, I know we have been thwarting the White Fang's plans in the past, but we have no leads on them right now and last time Ozpin told us to drop it or we could face expulsion," Ruby spoke, Weiss nodded in agreement.

"We can't just do nothing!" I argue.

"Ryker, we don't have any leads," Ruby spoke.

"Because we haven't been looking!" I snap back. "Since I woke up we have done nothing to find out anything else about the White Fang. It's like I woke up and that was good enough. Meanwhile, we know Roman Torchwick has been stockpiling Dust and is working with the People who killed my mom!"

"That's not totally true," Blake spoke gaining my attention. Blake smiled before turning to the dorm desk and opening her drawer, her hand reaching in and pulling out a notebook that had tons of loose pieces of paper. She held up the notebook as if it were evidence. "I have been spending a lot of my free time combing through White Fang sightings, police reports, social media mentions, and even chat rooms run by White Fang supporters."

Blake offered me the notebook which I took and flipped through before closing it and looking at Blake. "Blake, I could kiss you right now. You are amazing."

Blake blushed sputtering out incoherent noises. "T-Thanks, Ryker."

"Wait, that's why I keep catching you up at three in the morning? You weren't studying you were doing this?" Weiss asked pointing at the notebook of research angrily.

"Like Ryker said, somebody has to do something. The adults have been useless, and I refuse to let the White Fang hurt anyone else." Blake spoke, her voice harsh and guarded.

Weiss went to respond but Ruby held up a hand, her eyes cast to the ground. "I don't want to fight about this," Ruby spoke, her voice timid as she cast me a shy look. "Ryker… We just got you back. I don't want to lose you again because we go up against something we can't handle. If you hadn't shown up…" Ruby shuddered cutting herself off, her voice sounding more wet and heavy as she spoke, barely holding back tears. "If you hadn't shown up against that Atlesian Paladin, then Blake would have died and I-I-I can't lose any of you again!"

"Ruby," I sigh as our team leader slowly starts to fall apart at the mere thought of one of us getting hurt again.

"Ruby is right, we can't keep doing this. If the White Fang happens to fall in our lap then we will do something but we have got to stop picking fights with people we can't handle. Every time we have fought the White Fang someone has gotten seriously hurt. Last time was just a broken ankle, but what if next time it's not? What if it's not just a coma that you wake up from? What if it's something more permanent, what if one of us winds up dead?" Weiss says pulling Ruby into a hug to try and console her.

I bite my tongue, I had no clue how to get it through to them that we couldn't just let this drop. Blake seemed to have the same issue as she turned on her heel and left the dorm with her notebook in hand, the door slamming shut on her way out.

Why couldn't things be less complicated?

Everything had been awkward the past few days. After our fight, none of us seemed too keen on talking about anything in-depth. We just kind of existed around each other. Ruby and Weiss had been spending more time together, neither of them wanting to talk to me and Blake. Meanwhile, Blake and I had been spending increasing time together looking into the White Fang.

Our team had never been more distant.

I was doing my best to shovel the mud-tasting rice into my mouth. Blake had been grabbing my food for me, Weiss was mad enough that she didn't care if I ate or not, and that left Blake to make sure I ate enough and didn't start backsliding on my eating.

"So… What happened?" Nora piped up.

"Nora!" Ren hissed as Nora shrugged her shoulders.

"Oh come on, It's been five days and they still aren't talking to each other or us. Something happened, I just want to know why." Nora groaned poking Weiss in the shoulder. "C'mon, what happened?"

Poke.

"What happened?"

poke poke.

"Did you get into a fight with Blake about who has the better ass?"

Poke poke poke.

"Did Ryker call you flat again?"

Poke poke poke poke.

"Did you say something insensitive about faunus again?"

"Why do you assume it's my fault?" Weiss finally snapped as she slapped Nora's offending finger away.

"Let's face it, Blake is the most chill out of all of you, and the chances of Ruby being the cause of the fight are slim to none. That leaves you and Ryker, and I'm betting it's you." Nora grinned.

I couldn't hold back the laugh that bubbled out of my throat. This was not the right move because Weiss leveled me with a glare that could kill me. "What are you snickering about? This whole thing is your fault. You and Blake are pushing each other to keep up with this whole nonsense and it's showing in your academic performance. Weiss snapped, the whole of Team PNLY turning to look at me and Blake. They must have finally noticed how pronounced the dark circles under our eyes were and just how tired we were.

"Oh wow, yeah, now that you mention it you both look exhausted," Yang said.

"We are not exhausted, we are just putting in a few extra hours a day into looking for White Fang leads." Blake drawled.

"Oh wow, I guess it was Ryker's fault this time. Sorry, Weiss." Nora chirped.

"How does us looking for a terrorist cell that killed my mom make it my fault? Last I checked, we were supposed to be a team, but half the team is being unsupportive in something we care a lot about." I snip pushing my tray of food away only for Blake to grab the edge of it and pull it right back to me.

"It's not that we don't support you, we just think you are going about this in an unhealthy way." Weiss groaned into her hands.

"We just want you two to slow down a bit," Ruby added.

"It's complacency that gets innocent civilians hurt. It's our job-"

"To school so that we can better help in the future." Weiss interrupted. "Think about it, in both times we have intervened all we have managed to accomplish is get hurt and let the villains get away."

"That's not true, we stopped the White Fang from keeping that Paladin." Blake countered.

"And you got your ankle snapped and I got a concussion all while Roman Torchwick got away along with that Neapolitan-haired girl." Yang countered back.

I opened my mouth to argue further before being interrupted by the sound of someone tapping their foot behind me. I turn to find Professor Goodwitch staring at us, arms crossed looking unimpressed by our conversation.

"I will take a moment to remind Team RSBR that there will be no further engagements with any terrorist groups and that they have already been warned about going off on their own to go and try and tackle things that should be left to certified Hunstman and Huntresses," Goodwhich spoke making me and Blake cringe at being caught so red-handed. "However that is not why I am here, Ms. Schnee."

"Yes, Professor?" Weiss asked.

"Team CFVY was in charge of organizing the Beacon Dance for the Vytal Festival. They however have been taking longer on a mission they were assigned and can no longer fulfill those duties. When asked Ms. Adel named you as a suitable replacement for the organization of the dance. Would you be willing to take on this task?" Professor Goodwitch asked.

Weiss looked stunned before her eyes got a twinkle in them that sent shivers down everyone's spines. "I would be honored. Oh, the amount of planning I will have to do! I have to come up with a theme, budget for supplies, conscript music, come up with a dress code, find the perfect location, and make time to get my own dress." Weiss rambled, her hands searching for her scroll as she pulled it down and started jotting down notes.

Professor Goodwitch watched with what looked like a mix of fascination and horror as Weiss started to mumble to herself. "I believe you are right, that is too much for one person to handle."

Weiss looked up. "Huh?"

"So I think it would be best if I had you partner with someone. Hmmmm…. Ms. Xiao Long, how would you feel helping Ms. Schnee organize the dance?"

"That would be totally kick ass!" Yang cheered before looking like she had just licked a lemon. "Errr, I mean, I would love to." She chuckled.

"What?" Weiss croaked.

Professor Goodwitch nodded seemingly pleased with her choice. "Very well, I will look forward to what you two accomplish together. Have a pleasant rest of your day." She said before spinning on her heel and walking away.

Weiss slumped forward her entire body language screaming distraught. "What just happened?"

Yang grinned reaching across the table to pat Weiss on the top of her head with a grin. "Looks like you and I get to spend a lot of time together, Ice Queen. I look forward to our partnership." Yang laughed.

Weiss sniffed, looking on the verge of tears. "The dance would have been so perfect." She whispered mourning the loss of the dance she would never get to organize by herself.

Ruby patted Weiss on the back, pulling the distraught Heiress into a half hug. I knew Weiss was actually upset when she didn't push Ruby away and instead buried her head into Ruby's neck and mumbled nonsense about how great of a job she would have done.

"Speaking of the dance." Pyrrha piped up. "Who are you all going with?" She asked looking at us.

Weiss took a moment to dry her eyes before sighing, all of her sadness seemingly washing away at that moment. "I have asked Ruby to go with me." She snipped, her eyes daring anyone to say anything about the information.

Wait, what?

"Wait your gay?" Yang asked in awe.

Weiss faltered for a moment before a small squeeze from Ruby's hand gave her the courage to nod. "Y-Yes. I am a lesbian. It is something I have struggled with admitting in the past, but with the help of my therapist I have found the confidence to finally admit it to myself as well as my closest friends."

"Yes! More added to the skittles crew!" Nora cheered.

I choke on my water at the comment. "There's more?" I ask.

"Duh… I'm transgender and demi-sexual, Ren and Yang are openly pansexual, Pyrrha is openly bisexual, Ruby is some sort of ace I just don't know which, and you're you." Nora listed off.

"What the fuck does that mean?" I snap standing from the table.

Noira grinned but kept her mouth shut.

My heart raced as my mind tried to come up with answers as to what Nora was getting at, and the only one I could come back to was one that made me feel like throwing up.

"I'm leaving." Me and Ruby say at the same time. Ruby's exclamation made me pause to see Ruby standing from where she was sitting at the table with tears streaming down her face.

"Oh, Rubes," Yang spoke softly before Ruby turned away from the table and ran out of the cafeteria.

"I shouldn't have said that." Nora grimaced ducking her head and that just made me snap.

"I may not be super knowledgeable about the whole LGBT thing but isn't one of the main things to not out people or make assumptions about them?" I growled the question.

Nora refused to meet my gaze and I just snorted. "Figures." I snip before turning on my heel and stomping out of the cafeteria ignoring Yang who rushed passed me trying to catch up to Ruby.

Today could not get worse.

After the whole cafeteria fiasco, I had gone back to the dorm only to find out that Ruby hadn't stormed off here. A quick message back and forth on my scroll had me learn that Ruby and Yang were out doing sister stuff and that Ruby wanted a little bit of time away from everyone. Further messaging led to me learning that Weiss would be out of the dorm for the remainder of the day as she wanted to start planning the dance, and Blake went into Vale to search for any leads for the White Fang. It left me alone for the remainder of the day, and when left alone to my thoughts, it only led me back to the same question I had been asking myself more and more often.

"What am I doing?" I questioned myself as I found myself standing in the dorm once again alone and once again in Ruby's clothes, I had tried on only a few weeks ago. This was only the second time I had done this, the first felt like a mistake, and this time feeling like even more of a mistake.

I looked at myself in the mirror, trying to find an angle where I could hate how I looked in these clothes, and yet try as I might, the angle couldn't be found. I loved looking like this, in fact, the mere act of wearing the clothes made my chest feel tight with euphoria.

"And you're you."

Nora's voice kept repeating in my head, over and over, taunting me about something she was certain about, and yet I was still guessing and trying to find the words.

I just didn't know what to do, a lot of things made sense to me that never made sense in the past. Now that the door was cracked open, little things that didn't bother me before now feel like little pinpricks on my heart. I didn't understand who I was supposed to be. If Nora could figure it out then why couldn't I? Was it just the clothes? Or was it more?

I sat back on the team bed, staring in the mirror, looking at myself, looking at a girl. "Wish Mom had some answers that could help." I groan before flopping backward. My chest slowly rose and fell as I tried to find the answers that I desperately wanted to come from someone else, someone with more authority, someone who could tell me that I was valid.

The door opens, and I flinch, my entire body stiffening as I sit up in a rush, looking in shock as Yang and Ruby walk into the room. We stare at each other, nobody daring to make a move. Yang's mouth started to open and it snapped me out of my paralysis I dove off the bed and sprinted for the bathroom, Yang and Ruby saying something but I couldn't hear them over the pounding of my heartbeat in my ears. I manage to shut the door and lock it before they can stop me, a heavy thumb pressing against me as I manage to turn the lock. I walk backward till my back presses into the wall and I slowly slide down as the doorknob shaked and jiggles, pounding on the door as Yang and Ruby call out for me.

"Ryker, open the door," Yang called as she continued to jiggle the handle.

"Ryker, we just want to talk," Ruby begged.

My stomach turned as they called out to me, the name I had known my entire life now sounding like poison to my own ears. It didn't make sense, none of this made sense. I pull my knees to my chest as a horrific sound escapes my mouth. I sounded like a dying animal, the sobs now wracking my body echoing off the tile wall of the bathroom.

"That's it, I'm kicking the door down," Yang mumbled before a much heavier thud hit the door. Once, twice, and on the third time the wood splintered as the doorknob ripped through the wood frame of the doorway. Yang and Ruby rushed into the room as they took places on either side of me.

I flinch expecting pain before I'm suddenly wrapped in two sets of arms, a shocked sob escaping my mouth before I suck in air and tried to stifle the sounds pouring out of me. My hands went into repeated sign as I said "Sorry." Over and over as my voice was lost somewhere inside of me.

They don't say anything to me, only hugging me tighter. Ruby pressed her face into my neck and Yang placed her chin on top of my head. We sat like that I felt Ruby pull her scroll out and send a quick message to someone. She must have seen my questioning eyes before she offered me a shy smile. "I uh, told Blake and Weiss to not come back to the dorm for a bit, that me and Yang wanted some more sister time with each other in the dorm."

I nod dumbly. My head buzzing unpleasantly.

We sit there on the cold tile floor of the bathroom, Ruby laying against my shoulder, and Yang rubbing circles into my back.

"So, I will be the one to say it. Why are you wearing my sister's clothes?" Yang asked, her tone light but the question made me flinch like I had been hit.

I open my mouth to try to speak but can't manage to say anything thing. Ruby must have figured out what I needed because she pulled her scroll out and opened it to a notes app before shoving it into my hands.

"She left them out on the floor once, I tripped on them. I don't know why I put them on. I just wanted to see how they felt." I typed, Yang, nodding in understanding.

"Well?" Yang asked, obviously wanting to know what I had learned.

"I like them, they feel nice. They feel better than my normal clothes. So when I had the time alone in the dorm I grabbed them again 'cause I wanted to figure out why they felt good." I type, Yang, gives me a grin as Ruby gives me a look I couldn't quite understand.

"You look pretty," Ruby said softly, her cheeks gaining a rosy tint.

I blush before nodding in agreement.

"Is it just the clothes you like or is this something more?" Yang asked.

I shiver, not knowing what to type. I simply settle with a quick "Idk." and shrug. It was complicated. A part of me knew, but the other part said the first part was overreacting and being crazy. I felt so mixed up. "I feel like I'm not allowed to be anything but a boy."

"Ryker, can I confess something?" Yang spoke, her voice soft and assuring.

I nodded.

"You have never come across to me as a boy. I never said anything because it wasn't my place, but it has been pretty obvious that you weren't comfortable with your gender." Yang spoke, my face scrunching up in confusion. She chuckled a bit before continuing. "Ryker, you refuse to change with the other guys, you wear big baggy hoodies to cover yourself up as much as possible, and you feel more comfortable with women, in fact besides maybe Ren I don't think you have a single male friend, you prefer more feminine colors, you shave religiously, seriously I don't think I have ever seen any stubble on you in the near eight months we have known eachother, and you have refused to get your hair cut. If that doesn't scream egg, then I don't know what to tell you."

I just stared at Yang utterly baffled at the list she had presented. Some of the things I recognized, a few of the others smacked me in the face. Was I that obvious to everyone else? Was… Was I the only one who didn't know?

"I might have just stereotyped the crap out of you, but Ryker, can you honestly tell me that you think you are just a boy, or do you think that maybe you are a trans girl?" Yang asked, both her and Ruby looking at me for a response.

I sigh, setting Ruby's scroll to the side. I didn't know. No. I did know, I was just scared to say it. If I said it, then it would be real and everything would become so much more complicated for me.

"I-" I start to force out, my voice sounding raw and vulnerable even to me. "I don't want to make it real. If I say it, then everything changes, and I don't want to lose anyone because of something I could have just kept to myself."

"Hey," Ruby speaks, her voice taking on the same serious tone that she reserved for fighting. "Ryker you are part of Team RSBR and we will be with you through everything. We don't care if you are a boy or a girl or nonbinary or anything in-between."

"Yeah, and Team PNLY will have your back just like we have Nora's." Yang grinned patting me on the back.

"Thank you, I don't know if I'm ready to say it… Ready to verbalize this but I'm glad that you two could help make this easier." I mumble my face heating up with embarrassment.

"And you don't have to. Just know that we will support you." Yang smiled as she got up off the bathroom floor and offered me a hand. Ruby got up too and offered me a hand as well. I smile reaching out and taking both of their hands, the sisters easily pulling me up off the floor and to my feet.

I stop and look at myself in the mirror, really seeing myself for the first time. When I was looking at myself in Weiss' mirror, I was treating the person I saw in the mirror like she was a completely different person, but now I could see me for me. I could appreciate my slightly rounded face, my full lips, my thick eyelashes, and my thin eyebrows. I could appreciate the slight dusting of freckles on my cheeks and my hazel eyes that looked like a rolling fog. I could appreciate the swell of my hips and my thicker-looking thighs. Even the slight pudge I was rocking in my stomach no longer made me sick, it made me look soft and pretty.

I made for a pretty girl, even if I was more androgynous looking, I looked more fem than masc like this. It sent butterflies all throughout my stomach. The purest kind of euphoria. My stomach sank at the lack of a chest but everything else overpowered that momentary sadness.

Ruby must have noticed me checking myself out, my team leader having a small blush on her face as she looked at me too. "You know, if you want you can keep those. I don't need them, and you kind of are wearing my panties so they are yours now anyway." She shrugged.

My good feelings disappeared as the new feelings of mortification entered my bloodstream. "I'm so sorry." I breathe out, my entire face burning with embarrassment. "I wasn't thinking." I ramble before Ruby giggles waving me off.

"It's fine, Just maybe ask if you wanna borrow my clothes next time. Also don't worry about the panties. It's not because you ruined them or anything, it's just that I'm well…" Ruby stopped before looking at both me and Yang. She seemed to make up her mind, her chest puffing up as she built up the courage to finish whatever she was about to say. "I'm asexual, so I get a little weirded out when it comes to the downstairs area." She explained.

Yang took only a moment before she wrapped up Ruby in a giant hug. "Oh, I'm so proud of my baby sister for trusting me enough to tell me this. I will love you and support you no matter what, and if anyone gives you a hard time I'll break their legs for you."

"Ackkk! Yang! Let me go…. Ew, no kisses, YANG!" Ruby squealed as Yang peppered her face with affectionate smooches.

I giggle as I watch the two roughhouse. I quickly go to my dresser and pull out the clothes I was originally going to wear before all of this started. A pair of sweatpants and a loose shirt. I pause as I hold the shirt in my hands, the fabric scratchy and gross to the touch. Even if the top I was wearing was a little short and revealed my stomach a bit, would Weiss and Blake notice or be able to make the connection? To them, I would just be wearing a shirt that's a tad too small for me.

I grin pushing the gross shirt back into my dresser, kicking off the canvas shoes, and quickly change into the sweatpants in the bathroom. I fold the skirt up but don't take the panties off. I smile as I walk back into the dorm, both Ruby and Yang lying on the team bed watching something on their scrolls. I grab one of Blake's books I hadn't read yet and drop into my bed, settling down to read.

"Hey, Ryker," Yang called out from the team bed.

"Yeah?" I ask looking up from my book.

"Just so you know, most people wouldn't have been chill about the clothes thing, you're lucky it was Ruby who found out. If you did that with anybody besides your team, they would have kicked your ass." Yang spoke sternly.

I cringed for a moment, nodding in understanding. Not that I actually understood. Not the whole wearing someone else's clothes thing, that I got, but the whole being lucky it was from my team comment. Wasn't it just as bad if not worse because it was clothes from one of my teammates?

Yang didn't offer any further comments and went back to watching shows with Ruby. I tried to let the guilt wrapping around my heart go and relax, turning back to the book I grabbed.

I got fairly deep into the book before the sound of the dorm door opening pulled me out of my attention. Both Weiss and Blake filed into the room as they both dumped their book bags in their respective places. Blake gives me an odd look and doesn't say anything but Weiss can't stop staring. I blush nervously, anxiety starting to curl up in my gut as the pale Heiress looks at me with calculating eyes.

"Have you always had that shirt?" Weiss asks.

"Yeah, I just haven't worn it around you yet, I preferred my hoodie but that's gone now," I say, the lie rolling off my tongue quickly.

Weiss looked at me for a moment longer before nodding. "It looks good on you, maybe your fashion sense isn't a total disaster." She said giving me one of her very special 'Weiss compliments'.

I couldn't help but smile at this, the thanks leaving my mouth before I even realized it. Weiss smiled back and dropped into her bed to peak at whatever Yang and Ruby were still watching.

"Scoot over," Blake spoke as she appeared at the side of my bed holding a book she had been working on for the past week. I wordlessly scoot over giving her plenty of space to sit with me. She wordlessly climbs into the bed and leans into me as she gets comfortable. We read our respective books and cuddled up together for the rest of the night. When I was ready to go to bed Blake made no move to leave my bed. I shrugged guessing that Blake wanted to sleep in my bed tonight. I wouldn't complain, she was a good cuddler.

We haven't solved our problems as a team, I had even added a whole new problem that would need to be addressed, but after such an angry few days, it felt like we had reached a truce for a moment. An armistice, if only for a night