NOTE: OK, so here's a chapter I've had on the back burner for a long time. This is going to be probably the heaviest chapter I've ever written, and I legit went back on forth over how much to include or if I should even write this at all. I promise, super mega ultra promise, this is the darkest things are going to get for a while. The absolute rock bottom. There is light coming up ahead, we just have to fight for it.

That being said... WARNING: THE FOLLOWING CHAPTER CONTAINS DISCUSSIONS OF GROOMING AND SEXUAL ABUSE OF A MINOR. NOTHING IS SHOWN BUT IT IS TALKED ABOUT IN SOME NON-GRAPHIC LEVEL OF DETAIL, SO READER DISCRETION IS ADVISED. THE SECTION OCCURS CLOSER TO THE END OF THE CHAPTER, AND I HAVE MARKED THE BEGINNING AND ENDING OF THE SECOND WITH BOLDED SENTENCES SO YOU CAN SKIP OVER IT IF YOU WANT.

Everyone got that? Good, because it's probably the only time I'm ever going to do that. Again, seriously, it's heavy, so look for the bolded sentences if you want to skip past them. Thank you for reading.

"Ruby, I want to talk."

Ruby wasn't sure why Weiss had stopped her. They were returning from Yang's therapy session, and everything seemed to be going fine. Yang was fist-pumping and nearly skipping a few steps ahead of them. Blake was—well, sulking, but that was usual for her. They were just about to re-enter their dorm room when Weiss grabbed Ruby by the arm and pulled her away. I just need to borrow her, she said to her teammates. Ruby had difficulty hiding her frustration.

"Weiss, we really need to get back to—"

"No. Come."

Sunday was maybe the one day the students of Atlas Academy had to rest. For most of the students, attendance at religious ceremonies was mandatory, which meant that in these early mornings, the Beacon Academy students had the hall to themselves. Ozpin had negotiated them the relaxation time, perhaps the one decent thing he ever did for them. Ruby recognized their steps as the path they took going to the mess hall, though she didn't say anything as Weiss led her. On her way there, she spotted Nora, Ren, Fox, Velvet, and Yatsu walking in the opposite direction. She wondered if they had any plans together, and for just a moment, she wished she could go back to an ignorant, simpler life.

The mess hall was empty save for a few stragglers, which meant Weiss had no trouble finding an empty table in the corner. She guided Ruby down to the cold, metal seat, and forcibly placed her into it. She held up her index finger and spoke succinctly.

"I'll be right back. Don't go anywhere."

Weiss vanished from view, and Ruby was left to herself for a few minutes. She held her arms close to her sides, silver eyes nervously darting around her. Were there cameras watching her? Other professors? It seemed like there was a new threat around every corner. She had to be vigilant. Sitting here, all alone, she never felt more exposed. Atlas may not have been as claustrophobic as that damned, dingy basement, but its expansive walls were no less oppressive. She tried to pass the time by looking at her Scroll, but couldn't find it. She must have left it in her room. That was risky. Who knew what someone might try to do if they found it?

Reappearing suddenly behind her girlfriend, Weiss caused Ruby to jump when she spoke again.

"You need this."

She placed a cardboard cup in front of Ruby, and once she recovered from her shock, Ruby looked long and hard at it, as if it was some foreign object. She saw a mountain of whipped cream and a hefty drizzle of chocolate syrup. A plastic spoon pierced the pillowy cloud and revealed a frothing, brown liquid beneath. Ruby's fingers cautiously laced around the cup.

"Is this hot chocolate?"

"Yes. Drink it."

"Where did you get hot chocolate in Atlas Academy?"

"I have my ways. Drink."

Ruby awkwardly looked away. "I'm… not thirsty."

Weiss narrowed her gaze. "Drink the fucking chocolate, Ruby."

Ruby stared at the chocolate in silence. It looked overly sweet; of course, Weiss knew that was exactly her choice. She still wasn't sure how Weiss managed to conjure up something so warm and inviting, something that conjured memories of snow days and crackling fireplaces. Atlas was the furthest thing she could think of from those comforting memories, but the thin air and the heavy winds stirred her thirst. She took the spoon and carved out a little nook from the whipped cream, which was just starting to melt into the cup. She brought the cup to her lips and, careful not to dip her nose into the whipped cream, sipped her gifted drink. The chocolate had a strange, artificial aftertaste that fizzled on her tongue, and she could detect bits of the powder that hadn't fully dissolved into the hot water. Of course, it wasn't real hot chocolate. But she had to admit, whether it was her childhood memories or simply being starved of any real food for so long… it tasted pretty amazing.

Weiss noticed the ghost of a smile on Ruby's lips as she put the cup back down on the table. Ruby cleared her throat. "That… that was good."

"Of course, it is. I know you," Weiss said confidently. "Now, are you feeling better?"

Ruby didn't recall ever saying she felt bad, but she nodded regardless. "Yeah. Thank you."

"You're welcome," Weiss said, before crossing her arms and getting to down to business. "Ruby… you've been acting irritable lately."

Ruby seemed taken aback. "Irritable?"

"And paranoid. And snippy," Weiss added. "I wanted to bring your attention to it because I don't think you've noticed."

"I mean… maybe," Ruby said suggestively. She had been more on edge, but she didn't think it was bad enough to warrant an intervention. Weiss spoke more forcefully.

"No. Not maybe. You told Blake to shut up. You were weird with Noetal, and with Yang. You still haven't told us all the details about your two visions. You've just been acting very… not like you. And… it's worrying me."

"Weiss, you shouldn't be worried," Ruby tried to insist, but Weiss cut her off.

"Yes. I should," the ex-heiress protested. She never raised her voice, nor showed any anger, but her words were sharp enough to cut through Ruby's deflections. "Ruby, a week ago, you almost died. You were kidnapped and tortured and watched someone that you knew die in front of you. I'm not a therapist, but I know how that can mess you up. And then you add in Sienna and her threats, and these visions, and everything else that's been happening already, and well…" Weiss sighed, losing the words. She tried to re-find herself. "I can't have you losing yourself. Not just for our sake, but for yours. I don't want you to hurt yourself."

Ruby's fingers gripped the cup more tightly. "Hurt myself? What do you think is going to happen?"

"I have no idea," Weiss admitted. "And honestly, that scares me. Yang and Blake kept their problems bottled up for months, and that explosion when they finally came out was horrible." She saw Ruby open her mouth to protest and immediately followed up. "And I know you aren't like them. I know you won't try to hurt me or anything. But Ruby, I see what you're trying to do: juggle all of these problems at once, outplay everyone, and carry all the weight because you don't trust anyone else to carry it for you. I get that. But I can't see you collapse like that. I just can't."

Weiss's words struck Ruby hard, and the young team leader had to sit and gather her thoughts. Okay, maybe it was true that she had been a bit paranoid, and maybe she hadn't been as open with her teammates as she could have been. Could Weiss really blame her? Could anyone blame her? She took a deep breath, trying to clear her frustrations.

"I'm scared, Weiss," she admitted. "It feels like every single time that we get ahead, or it looks like we are finally in the clear, something new comes along and tries to drag us back down. It's not just Sienna or Ironwood. It's… it's everything. It feels like everyone in the world is out to get us all the time, and if I get distracted just for a second, I'll get blindsided by something I never saw coming."

"Like Sienna?"

"Yeah," Ruby said, venting. "It's so annoying. We finally get the public on our side. We have protection from Ironwood. And this random lady I never met comes and blackmails us, and I can't do anything about it. All because Blake had to attend some stupid debate thing that she loves."

"But Blake didn't do anything wrong," Weiss starkly reminded her. "She only agreed to show up at that panel because she wanted to help. And it's not her fault that Sienna is being a pain."

"I know, but…" Ruby grunted. "It's just, why can't we ever get a break? Why does everyone always want everything from us?"

"I know it sucks. But what I'm trying to say is you don't have to handle it alone."

"But I'm team leader," Ruby cried. "I'm the one who is supposed to think everything through. I'm supposed to be the rational one. I was always the rational one. When Yang was causing trouble out in bars, I was setting a good example in my classes. I'm the one who fought back when Ozpin wanted us to surrender. All of these expectations are on me. And if I slip up, even once, if I fail to be perfect even once, then everyone I love dies. It's… it's unfair how I need to be perfect constantly… how I need to think ten steps ahead of everyone." She shuddered, trying to keep herself steady. "And now you're mad at me… and it just… I just hate it…"

Ruby's brow furrowed. She seemed ashamed of herself. "Do you… do you think I'm a failure, Weiss?"

Weiss sighed, and she gently took Ruby's hand into her own before her girlfriend could become too emotional. Ruby sniffled, but Weiss refused to see her cry. She softened her tone, trying to speak to Ruby's heart.

"Ruby… I love you. You are, genuinely, the smartest, bravest, most caring person I have met in my whole life. You are also sixteen years old. You have been beaten, and bloodied, and traumatized, and threatened more than most people in their lifetimes. You are literally being put in an impossible scenario, one that I wouldn't ask of anybody. The thing that I have always admired about you, Ruby, isn't that you're perfect. I'm not asking you to be perfect, and if anyone is, they're foolish. I admire you because no matter how hard everything gets, you have always tried your hardest to do the right thing, whether it's risking your life or saving someone else's. You saw the best in me when I saw nothing of myself. You need to see the best in yourself, and let that Ruby come through again."

"But I—"

"But you are trying as hard as you can to keep the people close to you safe," Weiss explained. "But your problem is that you are trying so hard to protect us that you aren't letting us take any of that weight off of your shoulders. You're letting your fears get the best of you, and I don't want to see you become a worse version of yourself. I want to be there for you to lean on. That's what being a good girlfriend is supposed to mean. So, that's what I'm asking of you. Not to protect me, but to trust me. To trust all of us. Please. For you."

Ruby bowed her head. It was hard not to feel the guilt come rushing through her. She was starved of sleep and brought to her limits, but those weren't excuses. She had gone back on her word. It was Team RWBY against the world, and somewhere in the chaos and the paranoia, she had supplemented her team with herself. Weiss had just the right way of speaking to her to guide her back on the right track. She knew how to work her way through her heart—and her stomach, for that matter. She sighed, brushing some loose strands out of her face and adjusting her glasses.

"I… I have been a bit irritable lately, haven't I?"

Weiss smiled softly. "Yeah."

"And I shouldn't have snapped at Blake when I did. Or questioned Noetal."

"Probably not. I mean, maybe Noetal shouldn't be trusted, I don't know, but you could have handled that more gracefully. Blake definitely didn't deserve it though."

"Yeah. I guess you're right." Ruby's brow furrowed. "Wait, did you just defend Blake's honor against me?"

"And you are never going to tell her."

"I just need to borrow her," Weiss said. Yang watched as Ruby's surprised face vanished from view as the door shut behind them. She was left to her own imagination. It was often hard to imagine Ruby doing anything romantic with anybody. She had always been such a shy, anxious mess of a girl that Yang assumed she would always sputter and burn out if anyone tried to make a move on her. The fact she was able to maintain a stable relationship with Weiss Schnee of all people was more evidence that Yang knew absolutely nothing about the world. What the two of them would go off to do was pure speculation. Atlas Academy wasn't exactly the best place to have a sexual tryst. If this was her and Blake, the two of them would be off to have sex in the shower, though again, the mere suggestion of Ruby being interested in sex was like reading an alien language.

Speaking of Blake…

Blake had immediately walked to her bed, saying nothing as she threw herself under the covers. Was she seriously going back to sleep? It was like ten in the morning. Watching Blake shuffle tiredly under her covers, Yang felt some guilt come over her. Having been finally cleared for duty, her mind had been equally cleansed of animosity, and she decided it would be appropriate to say something to her ex-lover.

"Hey, Blake?"

"Hmmmm," Blake mumbled under her covers.

"Sorry I got kinda testy back there," Yang said humbly. "I shouldn't have snapped at you. It was wrong of me to pressure you into something. So, I'm sorry for that."

Blake stayed quiet for a few seconds, then, without moving a muscle, she responded.

"Cool."

Yang's positivity faded. A slow, burbling frustration took its place.

"Cool?" she said bluntly. "That's it?"

"Thanks. I guess," Blake added. "I'm gonna go back to sleep now."

Yang frowned. Seriously? After everything the two of them had been through together, that was the most she was going to receive. Yang angrily approached Blake's bed, and without warning, pulled back the covers, revealing Blake to the sunlight. The Shadow Girl hissed and scrunched her nose, unwilling to lift her head from her pillow.

"Girl. What the fuck."

"Hey, can you and I talk for a second?"

"We just talked. Talking done. Sleep now." Blake rolled over to her side to escape Yang's judgment, but Yang grabbed her by the shoulder and rotated her back.

"I'm serious. I need to talk to you," Yang insisted. Blake groaned, pushing herself upright on one of her elbows.

"What? What do you want to talk about?" Blake asked impatiently. "You apologized, I agreed you should apologize, I accepted it… it's done. Let's not dwell on it."

"It's not that," Yang said, frustrated. "It's… Look, do you remember the promise we made to each other? The one after we fought the Grimm. We said that even though we shouldn't date, we should still try to be friends. We were willing to be close to each other and try to make things work. That's what we said. Remember that? Well, it feels like we have barely talked to each other since then. I can't even remember the last time we were alone in a room together and just… talked to each other about something. Everything has just been Grimm this, Atlas that, argument whatever. Like, it feels like we barely know each other anymore."

Blake rolled her eyes. "Sorry I broke my promise, I guess. Not the first time that happened. I'd suggest you get used to it."

"No, don't make a joke out of this," Yang snapped. "Blake, we are still teammates. We should have some kind of relationship together. At the very least, it's fucking practical for the good of our team. I want to be able to have a conversation with you without you immediately trying to shut it down."

Blake narrowed her gaze and sneered. Whatever tiredness was on her face had disappeared. "Okay, you're mad at me because I'm not being a good enough friend to you? Is that it?"

"Yes. Exactly."

"Okay, then, here's a question," Blake asked sharply. "Why haven't you ever asked me to, I don't know, hang out with you?"

Yang's cheeks darkened, and she awkwardly crossed her arms. "I was… I was trying to give you space."

"Oh, space!" Blake said sarcastically. "Like you are literally giving me right now!" Yang stepped back from the bed, but Blake followed her, climbing to her feet and keeping Yang within arm's reach. "Here's a suggestion: if you want to be my friend so badly, put the effort in! You're supposed to be the outgoing one! I'm literally right here, every single day, doing nothing. Ask me to watch a movie, or train together, or chill, or do something. Don't just stand there and expect things from me without me knowing, and then get mad that I didn't meet those expectations."

"Look, I'm sorry," Yang said quickly. "I didn't want to start an argument with you."

"But you wanted to start a confrontation," Blake challenged her. "If you want to confront somebody but not argue with them, that just means you aren't expecting them to fight back. You were trying to lecture me, and God, I don't need more fucking people lecturing me." Blake shoved her way past Yang, and marched to her closet. She wasn't looking to put anything on, just keep her hands busy so she didn't do anything she would regret. Yang stood back, feeling like more of a fuck-up than usual. She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Okay, hold on. Can we… can we start this over?" Yang waited for Blake to respond, but she merely hovered by the closet door, not willing to acknowledge her. "Okay, fine, yes. I haven't been putting in the work to maintain a good friendship these past few months. I can acknowledge that. I've just been so busy trying to figure myself out, and then there was all this pressure with being famous and Ironwood… maybe I was scared to try to start being friends with you again. Okay? I can admit that. I was scared, knowing how badly we fucked things up the first time, trying to build that bridge again. I can take the blame for that. But that doesn't mean I don't want to be your friend, and it also doesn't mean that you shouldn't have been putting in the effort yourself. We both screwed this up."

"So, it's still my fault," Blake huffed. "Not a great apology, gonna be honest."

"Well… yeah!" Yang said, exasperated. "Friendships are mutual! We have to both try, or what's the fucking point? You have been… I mean, you have been completely closed off these past few months! I feel like more than usual."

"Closed off—what the hell are you talking about?" Blake said, finally spinning around out of pure disbelief. "I have been more open than I have ever fucking been to any of you. I tell you guys everything. I give my all to this team, and that's not enough for you?"

"It doesn't count when you can't tell me the shit that matters," Yang stated. "Blake, you are fucking hurting. Do you think I don't notice that? You are hurting really, really fucking badly, and it's coming out in this self-loathing, and this martyr complex—"

"Oh, fuck off."

"Don't act like I'm wrong on this!" Yang shouted. "You are self-sabotaging all over the place. You fucking spilled to Team CFVY that you're a goddamn terrorist, you actively throw yourself at Goodwitch trying to get killed, you sit around in silence all day, fucking moping everywhere. Like… holy shit, you need therapy. That's not an insult. Legitimately, you need to fucking talk to someone about this! But you wouldn't even do that! Noetal was willing to give you a private session, and you wouldn't meet her halfway. Like, I get why you don't want to talk about this shit while I'm in the room. Fine. Privacy. Whatever. But at least talk to her."

"You know I hate therapy," Blake countered. "I can't stand that shit."

"It doesn't have to be literal therapy!" Yang pleaded. "But it has to be something. You have to do something to try to fix this, because it fucking sucks to see you like this. You're like this lingering, penance-fueled shell of yourself. I want you to get help before you seriously hurt yourself."

Blake scowled, throwing up her arms. "Why do you care? Seriously, why do you give a shit about how I deal with my problems. I don't go around telling you how to fix your fucking mental health. I let you deal with that shit on your own time, so why are you bothering me?"

"Because I care!" Yang screamed, the hurt bleeding through her words. "Do you think I want to be mad at you? I'm only this mad at you because I care about you. You are someone who is very important to me. Can't you see that? If I didn't care about you at all, if I was really fucking angry at you, I wouldn't give a shit if you self-sabotaged. But I can't just sit here and do nothing as you fucking eat yourself alive. I can't just be passive. I—"

Yang stopped herself short, realizing her mistake. Unfortunately, Blake caught it.

"You what?" she asked expectantly. Yang didn't answer. She pushed again. "What?"

Yang was frozen, caught like a deer in headlights. Blake looked closely at her, reading her, feeling her. The truth wasn't coming out willingly, but Blake was intent on finding it. And she did—in the way, Yang's knees buckled, in that slightly-averted gaze, in the soft blush on her cheeks. It dawned on her with horror, and resentment, and maybe, somewhere inside, a yearning. Blake's features softened, and her arms hung loose by her sides.

"Oh my god…"

Yang let out a deep breath. "Blake, listen."

"No. No, no," Blake shook her head furiously. "You cannot still be in love with me."

"It's complicated."

"We can't do this!" Blake said passionately, the old specter of a flame pulling out terrible feelings. "Not again! Absolutely under no circumstances can we be together."

"I know that!" Yang pleaded, heartbroken.

"Then, you need to do something about that!" Blake said helplessly. "I can't help you. Don't fucking put that shit on me."

"Blake, look, I loved you," Yang explained desperately. "I really fucking loved you. And yeah, I know it was disastrous, and I know we aren't right for each other, but… you can't just expect those feelings to go away all at once. I need time to come to terms with that. And look, I'm sorry if any of this is uncomfortable for you. I didn't mean for any of that. And you know what? Fine. Maybe part of the reason I didn't reach out more was I didn't fully trust myself. Maybe I was waiting for these feelings to go away before I tried again, and it wasn't working, so I was mad. But screw that, okay? That's… that's not what any of this is about. No matter what I feel, even if we can't date, I still want you to feel safe with me."

Something about that word caused Blake's face to go pale. "S-Safe?"

"Yes," Yang tried to say. "I still want to be someone you can rely on to talk about things. I want to be that person for you. I'm… I'm not asking for anything sexual behind it. I just want to be closer to you. I want—"

"Stop." Blake became intense and Yang silent. "You really want me to feel safe with you? Guess what—I did feel safe with you. I felt very safe with you. I wouldn't have fucked you if I didn't feel safe. And then you know what happened? You lost your fucking mind!"

"You know how sorry I am—"

"No, shut up! Shut. Up." Blake marched forward, but Yang could see there was something different about her. She was trembling. Her voice was on the urge of breaking. In seemingly a matter of seconds, something had her rattled in a way Yang had never seen before. "You know what? I don't fucking care how sorry you are! I don't give a shit that it's some fucking medical condition! I literally don't fucking care. Do you have any fucking idea how hard it is for me to feel safe with anybody? Huh? When I have had Huntress come into my fucking house, my fucking room, and fucking kill my dad in front of me? Is that fucking safe?"

"Hey, Blake, easy…"

"Easy? Fuck—fuck you!" Blake stormed around the room, grabbing a nearby blanket and throwing it off the bed. "Why the fuck is it that every time something goes well for me, somehow someone always fucks it up, and then I get blamed. Fucking Sienna, for no fucking reason… and Ruby somehow thinking that's my fault? Like I asked for her to blackmail me? That fucking bitch…"

"Blake, seriously, you should sit down."

Yang took a step closer, but Blake extended her claws and forced them in Yang's direction, causing the dragon to backpedal.

"Don't fucking patronize me."

"Blake… Belle—"

"And don't fucking call me that!" Blake said. Her cheeks were running hot from tears. "Why do you think you can call me that? No one calls me that! I am so sick of you acting like you know me, like you ever knew anything about the person I was or what I have gone through, like you can call me that name like it's a fucking medal!"

"O-Okay, okay. I'm sorry," Yang said. She tried to approach Blake cautiously, but Blake was having none of it, swiping at her every time she tried to move. She was crying openly, and in her opposite hand, Yang noticed that there was blood dripping out of her palm. She cut herself with her own claws. "Can I get you a bandage or something? Your hand—"

"I know about my hand," Blake shouted. That was a lie; when she looked down, the pain suddenly hit her, and she hissed, shaking away the blood. "Motherfucker…"

"I'll go get something." Yang moved toward the door, but Blake stopped her.

"I'll just… fucking Aura-heal it, all right?" Blake muttered. "Let's not… let's not make a big deal out of this…"

"Sure. Whatever you want," Yang said calmly. "D-Do you want to sit? Do you want some privacy?"

"I don't know!" Blake cried. "I'm just so fucking angry."

"Angry at me?"

"Angry at everyone," Blake shouted, losing power behind her words. "Everyone is just fucking taking things from me, and I don't… I don't know what to do about it. I-I can't stop them from using me, and I'm just… I'm trying to do the right thing. I'm really fucking trying, so why doesn't anybody see that? Why are they just still trying to take and take and take… and I… I don't want to feel this way again… I don't like feeling unsafe… and I… I don't…"

Blake hugged herself closely. Her shoulders rocked with heavy sobs. Yang had never seen Blake break down before. She heard of one instance, after she and Weiss had a terrible fight, where Blake let herself be this vulnerable. In every other moment of struggle, Blake was always able to power through with a sarcastic quip or a fiery roar. She didn't break down like this when talking about her father, or when talking about Ilia, or when dealing with Goodwitch, but something was dragging this out of her, some entirely new form of evil Yang couldn't quite understand.

She did the only thing she knew how to do. She opened up her arms, and without any further prompting, Blake walked into her embrace. She held Blake in her arms, gently brushing her dark hair through her fingertips. Blake sobbed into her shoulder, trying to nestle as tightly as she could against her. Her bleeding palm held firm against Yang's back, but Yang didn't mind. Anything for a friend.

Blake sniffled, sinking deeper. "Of all the fucking memories… I had to relive that."

Yang continued to pet her. "It's okay. Whatever it is, it's okay."

"No. No, it's not."

"You don't have to tell me, I mean," Yang promised. "Okay? I'm sorry for pushing you. I never wanted to hurt you."

"A lot of people have said they didn't want to hurt me, Yang," Blake whispered. "At a certain point, you don't know what to trust."

"Well… I trust you. You might not believe that, but I'd trust you with my life, even if you didn't trust yours to me. I know how hard you've had it."

"You don't know everything."

"And that's fine. I don't need to. You can tell me when you're ready. Or don't. Seriously. It's okay. Whatever you are comfortable with."

Blake sniffled again, wiping her eyes with Yang's soft hair. Comfortable—she didn't really understand the meaning of the word anymore. She hadn't felt comfortable in her skin since the day she was transformed to look Human. She hadn't once felt comfortable in Atlas. Even now, being held by someone that too cared so much about, she still had flashes of those awful memories: Yin breaking free, threatening her, kissing her under that bloody mask. For every good memory the two of them shared together, there was a twisted one waiting in its shadow. But maybe, memories were all they were. Running from them wasn't helping her. The past week since she relived those moments, she had barely felt alive.

And Yang was warm. Familiar. The good kind.

"Can I… can I cuddle with you?"

Yang was surprised by the request, but she would give anything to make Blake happy. She released her only long enough to crawl onto her bed, laying flat on her back in its center. Blake wiped away more tears with her forearm before she grabbed the discarded blanket and pulled it around her. She gently crawled into bed beside Yang and curled up into her: one leg overlapping, her arms wrapped snugly around Yang's chest, and her head nestled into the crook of her neck. Yang held her softly, stroking her side absentmindedly. They used to cuddle like that after sex, and even in those moments, it wasn't lost on Yang that Blake was usually more loving. There was nothing romantic at all about this. The two sat in silence, waiting for the inevitable. Blake took as long as she needed to calm her breath.

"Can you promise me something?" Blake asked. "Whatever I tell you, you can't think any differently of me. I don't ever want you to view me as lesser than I am now."

"Of course," Yang promised. "I'm not gonna judge you at all, whatever it is."

"You know Adam, right?"

Yang nodded. "Yeah. Of course."

Blake sighed. "I always felt safe with Adam. We could be doing anything together, literally fighting in a war, and I would feel safe with him. I had only really felt that with Ilia before, but even that was strained. Same with you. It always felt like something was lying there under the surface. But not with Adam. I trusted Adam in a way I don't think I ever trusted anyone before. He got me, you know? We perfectly fit together. I loved him so… so much. And he was gentle with me. He knew how… inexperienced I was with things. But he was gentle, and kind, and he… he treated me like a person, a really mature, thoughtful person. That was so special."

Blake shifted in Yang's grasp. "You know we slept together… right?"

Yang awkwardly nodded. "I mean, I kind of figured."

"You know how everyone thinks their first time is supposed to be magical? Mine wasn't. He wasn't," Blake explained. "But it felt normal. Does that make any sense? After a lifetime of feeling like I had no one who understood me and nowhere I belonged, being with him made me feel like I belonged somewhere. That mattered so much more than anything else. And that's what it was like dating him… most of the time. Like I belonged. I never felt that with anyone else. I still haven't felt that."

Yang thought the comment would hurt, but it passed right over her. Blake was trusting her, in her arms right now. Nothing else mattered.

Blake stammered slightly. "When I… slept with Ilia, I didn't want him to find out. I didn't want to hurt him. I had never hurt him before, and he had never hurt me. That was our one promise to each other that was more important than anything. When he finally confronted me about it, I remembered how angry he was. I had never seen any of that side of him before. You know, he was… it was almost like he was a different person. I thought when he told me I couldn't speak to Ilia again, that was too far. It felt cruel. But he had never wronged me before, and I owed so much to him. Of course, I was willing to do that to him. But, it… it wasn't enough. He actually wanted more than that. A lot more…"

Blake tensed up. Yang could feel her chest heaving on top of hers. She sensed what was coming, and wished it wasn't true.

"He wanted… things," Blake stated. "Sex things. Things I wasn't comfortable with… with people I wasn't comfortable with. Things that hurt. And I… I gave them to him. I did whatever he asked of me, because I loved him, and I owed him that. He told me that I had deserved whatever punishment he came up with, because used my body to hurt him. And you know… I believed him. But it… it was bad, Yang. Like… really bad."

Yang pulled her in more closely. "Oh my god. I'm so sorry…"

"It was endless," Blake said, the disgust rolling off her tongue. "Just constant, new bullshit. And it was… it was never normal. I never felt safe with him once. If I told him that something was too much, he wouldn't listen to me. He didn't give a shit. It was like… the person I fell in love with was never even there."

"I had no idea," Yang said softly. "That's awful. And he knew you didn't want to do it, right? Like, he knew it was ra—"

"Don't. Fucking, just… don't."

"Blake—"

"I don't like thinking of it like that, okay?" Blake said pathetically. "It wasn't like that at all."

"I mean, it sounds like that," Yang pointed out. "Like… holy shit. That's actively malicious shit, isn't it? The dude clearly understood what he was doing to you."

"Of course, he did."

"Fuck," Yang muttered. "Why the fuck would a sixteen-year-old even come up with that shit?"

Blake was silent, and Yang's heart skipped a beat.

"Blake?"

Wait a second.

"Blake… Adam was sixteen when this happened, right? Same as you?"

Blake shut her eyes. "Well…"

Oh no.

"Blake, please."

"When we started dating," Blake confessed, "I was fourteen, and he might have been…" Blake shuddered. "Twenty-one?"

Yang's heart shattered. She sat up straight, unable to think straight. Blake clung to her, as if trying to pull her back down to earth.

"Oh, fuck. Fuck, Blake," Yang stuttered. "That is really bad."

"I know, I know."

"No, I mean, that is super fucking bad."

"Look, it wasn't like that," Blake swore. "I… I was mature for my age, and he never treated me like anything other than an equal. He saw me for me, it wasn't…"

"Wasn't it?" Yang asked hopelessly. "I'm pretty sure that's not how it works."

Blake knew Yang was right. Of course, she was fucking right. But admitting anything else was far too difficult for her, and whatever half-hearted explanations came out of her mouth only deepened Yang's abject horror. "Look, I was in control of it, okay? That's what he promised me, and I believed him. If you had seen him in the best light, you would get that. I'm not his fucking victim. Like, I know that. You promised me that you wouldn't think of me any differently, all right? That's what you said, and I see you fucking judging me and him and it's just… okay, it was different. I swear. He wouldn't hurt me like that. He said he wouldn't hurt me."

Blake didn't know when the tears returned, but she felt them soon streaming down her face as Yang just watched her in horrified silence.

"He promised he wouldn't hurt me…" Blake whimpered. "I gave him everything. No matter what he wanted, I gave it to him. And whenever I thought he was done… he just wanted more. I asked him when I had finally made it up to him, and he refused to tell me. Why couldn't he just tell me when it would be finished? You know how much I hate owing people anything. I was so tired, and I… I was scared. I was becoming scared of him, but he was all I had left. I couldn't go anywhere else. I… I needed that. And he loved that. And he loved me. And he…" Blake had lost track of her thoughts, and the worst of her memories, the trauma that was forcefully shoved back into her nearest thoughts were rearing their ugly head once more. She struggled to speak, furiously wiping away tears from her bright red face. "He wanted me to call him Daddy. Like… like what the fuck, Yang? He knew what my father meant to me, and I… I don't understand if he thought it was funny… or he thought… thought maybe he could replace him… but I… I just don't…"

Blake collapsed back into Yang's arms, and it took everything Yang had to stay strong. She struggled to keep Blake, every one of her sobs like an earthquake. Blake's arms limply wrapped around Yang's legs, trying to grasp onto anything to keep her tethered. Yang ran her fingers through Blake's hair, trying in vain to soothe her.

"And… and I still love him…" Blake admitted tearfully. "After everything he did… I love him, and I miss him. I didn't want to hurt him. What the fuck is wrong with me?"

That—Yang was quick to answer. "Nothing is wrong with you, Blake. I don't have the answers, but I know that nothing is wrong with you. That's the most important thing."

"I shouldn't… I shouldn't…"

"It doesn't matter if you shouldn't. You do," Yang said, finally releasing her own tears. "Emotions fucking suck sometimes, and it doesn't make sense why we feel the way that we do about people. But I am so, so, so sorry that you are going through this. I wish I could do more, but I… I don't know what to do."

Blake knew that wasn't true. She tightened her hug. "You can hold me."

Yang smiled sadly. "Yeah. I guess." For the moment, that might have been the most she was capable of.

Yang lost track of the time. The entire room had become eerily still, all life drained from it. It may have been minutes or hours, but Blake was still in Yang's arms when there was a knock on the door, and Ruby quietly re-entered.

"Blake? You still in here. I—" She stopped when she saw the state of her teammates, hovering by the doorway. "Oh, sorry. Am I interrupting something?"

Yes, Yang was going to respond, but Blake cut her off.

"No. It's fine." She suddenly sat up and brushed away whatever tears were lingering behind.

"I can leave if you want to talk later."

"Just get on with it, Ruby," Blake huffed. Despite Ruby's meek posture, she was certain she had come here to scold her for something. Because, naturally, the day had to get worse. Ruby's footsteps were timid as she made her way over to her bed, and to somewhat of a surprise, she actually sat down on its edge, closer than Blake thought she would get. Ruby herself wasn't quite sure what she missed—she doubted Blake and Yang were being intimate, given both still had their clothes on and weren't completely insane. She tried to stay focused on the task in front of her, despite Blake's bitter glare.

"I just wanted to let you know…" she said awkwardly. "I'm really sorry for how I acted toward you this past week."

Blake's features softened, and her red eyes seemed lifeless as she took in Ruby's apology. Huh. Didn't see that one coming.

"You're sorry?" Blake said, not quite believing it.

"Yeah. To both of you, but mostly you, Blake," Ruby confessed. "This past week has obviously been very stressful for all of us, and I completely let it overwhelm me. I know that sounds like an excuse, but it's not one. Or at least it shouldn't be, I guess. Obviously, this new Sienna thing has thrown us a curveball, but I haven't been supportive like I should have been. I let my attitude get the best of me. And worst of all, I unfairly took out my frustrations on you."

Blake was stunned. A genuine apology? Now? This wasn't how things were supposed to work for Team RWBY. These problems were supposed to simmer for months and then explode in a terrible firecracker of pain and misery. Ruby shouldn't be trying to make things better. That was… responsible. And kind. Words that did often describe her team leader, but not her usual circumstances.

"So… you aren't mad at me for Sienna using me as blackmail?" Blake asked, needing to triple-check.

Ruby bowed her head, tired. "Blake, when I agreed to give you a second chance, I didn't do it because I thought you were a totally new person. And I definitely didn't do it because I thought it would erase your past. I wanted you to have a chance to make things right because I saw how sorry you were, and I knew that you wanted to make things better. I just wanted you to try, and you have been. I've been seeing it all the time, how you will make sacrifices for this team. You only got confronted by Sienna because I was trying to find answers about my mom, and I never properly thanked you for putting yourself in that position for me. And, you know, maybe you are going to fail spectacularly. But I decided to trust you based on your effort, not your results, and getting mad at you for something totally out of your control isn't fair to you. You deserve to be a part of this team, no matter what anyone else thinks."

She gently reached forward, placing her hand on Blake's arm. She spoke as true as she could muster. "Look, I know this all sucks, what we're going through. I'll be honest: I don't have a plan to get out of this right now. But I'm not going to give up. I don't care what it takes, or what we have to do, but I promise that we are going to make it through this. Okay? I'm not giving up on any of us. I don't want you to either."

Blake stared at Ruby for a long moment, not responding. Ruby thought she might have said something horribly wrong. She seemingly walked on a very personal interaction between Blake and her sister, so she didn't really know what to expect. What she got was maybe her least anticipated response—Blake lunging forward and pulling her into a hug. Blake squeezed her tightly, and Ruby, arms squished by her sides, let out a small gasp.

"Oh. Hug. We are hugging now."

Blake patted Ruby on the back, leaning into her ear. "Thank you," she whispered. "I needed to hear that."

"Um… no problem," Ruby said. "I must have really missed something."

"I'll tell you some other time," Blake mumbled. "After a very long therapy session."

From just outside the hall, Weiss peered in through the crack in the dormitory door. That went infinitely better than she had hoped, knowing how volatile Blake could be. Ruby was the best of them. She just needed a little reminder of that. She would give them a minute or two before she re-entered, just to keep Blake's blood pressure from rising.

Yet, though their tensions had eased, the danger would remain. Sienna Khan would come with her demands before the month's end. Failing to appease her would spell catastrophe. However, one thing was for sure: when Sienna Khan came for them, she would face the united front of Team RWBY.

And no one had stopped them yet.