It was best to isolate the prologue. This chapter is much tamer.

A/N: Timeskip to the present-day.

Chapter 2. Keeping Secrets

Ruby had noticed early on in the forming of their team how Weiss always took extra care of her head.

Yang would often grab her and try to ruffle her hair, to which Weiss' reaction was always adamant, even harsh as she would yell and thrash and lash out until Yang let her go with a puzzled expression on her face.

Once Weiss had stomped into the bathroom in a fluster, Ruby and Blake had both had to console the dejected blonde and inform her that she could not simply go picking up every person she pleased, even if they were her teammates.

"Not everyone is okay with physical affection," Blake had reminded her.

"Yeah," Ruby had added. "And Weiss has never really been one for those kind of things. So it's probably better not to touch her so much."

It was a bit difficult for Ruby, too; she really liked Weiss, and wanted to be close to her. All of her friends back at Signal had been affectionate toward her, particularly her female friends.

Ruby felt an even deeper connection to her team now than she had to those friends, and she wanted to establish some form of physical affection with them. She hugged Blake and Yang all the time, and even on occasion was allowed to scratch the former's ears.

But Weiss never let her near her. Even when Ruby simply placed a hand on her shoulder, Weiss would shake her off immediately.

It made the young leader wonder what she had done wrong. Was she really so clumsy and hazardous to her partner's health that she would not even allow Ruby to touch her?

But before long, she was dissuaded in thinking it was just her that Weiss acted this way toward.

The heiress behaved this way toward Yang as well, she recalled, and if Blake was the type who would ever try to get close to her, Ruby imagined she would face similar results.

But the way Blake looked at Weiss told Ruby she might have known - or at least suspected something - though she never spoke up, nor did Ruby ever ask.

Even during their lectures, Weiss avoided her teammates as much as possible. She always made them leave early to get to classes and hung back in the classroom once lessons were over.

Initially, Ruby had just assumed it was because Weiss was a diligent student who wanted to spend as much time in the educational environment as possible.

But after a while of living with her, Ruby realized that was not the only reason behind Weiss' actions; she headed to classes early and left them late because she wanted to avoid the crowds.

Naturally, students only went to classes on time and left as soon as the bell rang, hence why Weiss always left earlier than usual and left late. She would also wait the longest to get food on the lunch line, until the mass of ravenous students had died down. Weiss hated being jostled in any way, and it kept Ruby up for many nights as she pondered why that could have been.

Of course, she often told herself it was none of her business, but then another part of herself would remind her that Weiss was her teammate and partner now, and argue that it was her business.

She certainly regretted not looking further into it when she still had the chance.

One morning, just when the leaves had started to slip from the branches of trees, team RWBY was dispatched on a Grimm hunt.

It was nothing they had not dealt with before, nothing new. A group of twenty or so Ursai was nothing to such a coordinated team of huntresses-in-training.

Ruby might even had gone so far as to say she was having fun getting to put Crescent Rose to use after a new touch-up, and all three of her teammates were fairing quite well.

Yang was going all-out, whooping and shouting almost gleefully as she smashed her knuckles together before colliding them with the skulls of the Grimm.

Blake used the trees to her advantage, skillfully plunging Gambol Shroud into the spines of whichever Ursa that tried to sneak up on her teammates.

Despite being amongst the trees, Weiss utilized her glyphs expertly, occasionally casting a circle beneath her teammates' boots to give them a burst of a leap.

Everything was going normally, all things considered.

That is, until Blake's warning call came a second too late.

"Weiss! Watch out!"

The Faunus girl herself was already engaged in fighting one of the Ursa with Yang, so she could not spare time to help the heiress.

Ruby cleaved the head off of another of the beasts and spun around instantly to locate her partner when Blake shouted her name. She dashed forward but was too late.

Weiss was struck from her blind side by a massive paw, unable to shield herself. Her petite stature was no match against the brute force of the blow, and it sent her flying.

"Weiss!" Ruby shrieked her name and made a mad dash with her semblance, but was a second too late. She watched Weiss slam into the trunk of a large tree just inches away from her outstretched arms, and Ruby had to close her eyes.

The cry it elicited from her partner was deafening, and terrifying.

Weiss screamed, but it was not something befitting of the brutal impact she had just suffered.

It was something Ruby would have expected from a person being run through with various blades and slowly pulled apart from the inside out.

It was sheer agony, and unspeakable pain.

Ruby's eyes flew back open in terror just from the sound of it, heart pounding fearfully.

Myrtenaster slipped from Weiss' grip as she slumped forward onto her hands and knees, a new tormented cry ripping from her throat. Her hands went up to her head, clutching it as she tried to quell the concussive throbbing.

Ruby retracted her scythe and got down next to her.

"Weiss? Weiss, are you okay? W-Where does it hurt? What's wrong?" Panic tore through her when she saw the expression of absolute agony on her partner's face, and Weiss continued to cry out, palms pressed tightly to her head as her fingernails dug through her hair, as though trying to hold her skull together lest it shatter.

"Weiss-"

It was then Ruby noticed the blood trickling from between her partner's fingers, staining her snow-white hair crimson, leaking more and more by the second.

"Oh my god, Weiss let me help!" Ruby gently grasped her partner's hands and tried to pry them away from the unseen wound.

But the second Weiss felt someone touching her, she wretched herself away from them, inviting another wave of dizziness to crash over her.

"No! Get away! Don't-!" She swayed, forced to let go of her head with one hand to support herself in the grass. Ruby recoiled instantly at the vehemence in her tone, but the blood was still flowing.

"W-Weiss, please! I know it hurts, but you have to let me-"

"NO!" Weiss screeched. "Don't touch me! Don't touch my ears!"

Ruby was about to reach out to her again but stopped, perplexed by her partner's words. She must have been in so much pain she was no longer thinking coherently, and Ruby tried again.

"Weiss, please! You need help! Y-You're bleeding!"

"Ruby!"

The young leader looked up at the sound of her sister's voice. Yang and Blake had defeated the remaining Ursai and now hurried over to them, concern painted clearly on their faces.

"Y-Yang!" Ruby whimpered desperately as the others knelt down beside them. "Y-Yang, sh-she's hurt, she's bleeding, w-what do I do?"

Yang looked her sister over briefly to ensure she was not hurt as well before directing her full attention to the heiress.

"Weiss? Weiss, hey." Her voice was surprisingly soft despite her panic, and Ruby was relieved Yang was here; all she could do was blubber and probably add to Weiss' own uneasiness.

Yang would know what to do. Yang always knew what to do.

Ruby was trembling as she watched her sister try to calm Weiss down. She felt Blake place a reassuring hand over hers in the grass, and Ruby sent her a grateful smile.

Yang had seen the blood in Weiss' hair as well, and knew she would be in danger if they did not do something quickly.

"Weiss, listen to me. You need to let us-"

"No!" She jerked away from Yang's touch, and Ruby had to reach out to catch her and prevent her from falling over. "D-Don't touch me..."

Ruby shared a frightened look with her sister as she noticed the stain of red spreading gradually through Weiss' hair.

Blake had been silent up until then, but Ruby noticed how focused she was as she looked the heiress over, gaze concentrating on the cuts on the top of her head. She moved a bit closer to Weiss and spoke in a calming voice.

"Weiss, what are you afraid of? It's just us. We're not going to hurt you. We just want to help."

There was a weighted moment where no one spoke and her words seemed to sink in. Weiss continued to make pained sounds, shaking almost spastically in Ruby's arms until Blake's words registered in her mind.

Slowly, she reopened her eyes, letting several tears slip free, vision bleary due to the pounding in her skull. But she could see the three of them looking at her with worried eyes, and Ruby was already crying.

Weiss gasped several times as she tried to gather herself, whimpering as she finally lowered her hands. She could smell the blood, and her stomach churned when she saw it coating her palms.

She felt sick. The rustic tang was all too familiar...

The second Weiss removed her hands, Ruby quickly undid her ponytail, trying to be as ginger as possible while also not wasting too much time.

With her hair loose, there was less pressure on whatever cuts she had sustained. The young leader placed one of her palms onto the bloodied section of her partner's head, and Yang did the same.

Ruby was sure to be as gentle as possible as she emitted her aura, letting the flow channel into Weiss' injury and begin to heal it. The blood was still flowing, and she tried to remain calm, struggling to lead her aura to the source of Weiss' pain.

Yang too, was having difficulty healing her teammate, and all Blake could do was keep watching over them, ears alert for sounds of trouble in the forest around them.

Ruby had no idea what could have caused such an injury.

Of course the force of the blow Weiss had taken was devastating, enough to fracture the trunk of the tree behind them. But there were no jutting branches that could have cut her, and the only fathomable option she could think of was if Weiss had pre-existing injuries.

It would have explained a few things about why she was so cautious about letting others near to her, that was for sure.

At last, Ruby relaxed a bit when she noticed the blood flow start to staunch, and before much longer, the blood in Weiss' hair had stopped dripping down. What had already spilled was drying and crusted in her hair, and Ruby cradled her head gently.

Meanwhile, Yang brushed Weiss' bangs away to get a look at her face. She was sweating, still panting slightly and crying quietly.

Blake stood first. "We need to get her to the infirmary."

"You're right." Ruby got up onto one knee and tried to sling Weiss' arm around her shoulders. "Weiss, can you stand?"

But at the mention of medical attention, her partner pulled away from her again.

"No, don't take me there!" she hissed. "They'll just make it worse!"

"Weiss!" Yang put a hand on her shoulder and lifted her chin up to look into her eyes. "That's the opposite of what they're going to do! They're going to help you!"

"No! I don't want to!" Her mist-blue eyes were clearly fearful, and it worried Yang. She was unable to tell if Weiss was delirious from the pain or truly scared.

Ruby bit her lip. "E-Either way, we've got to get you back to Beacon. Can you get up?" she asked again.

Weiss was silent for a moment, weighing their words, coming to the decision that Ruby was correct. She did her best to stand with her leader's support, but it was difficult for the both of them, and Weiss could not manage to advance so much as a step.

"Yang, please-" Ruby looked up at her sister imploringly, and Yang gave a decisive nod. She bent down and carefully scooped Weiss into her arms bridal style, making sure to take care to keep the girl's head against the front of her shoulder, trying to move her as little as possible.

"Just close your eyes," Yang murmured to the heiress. "It'll be better than seeing so much motion. Don't worry, you'll be fine. Just rest for now."

Weiss gave her a withering look before her eyelids fell shut, as if she had no choice in the matter.

"We shouldn't run," Blake commented. "Even if you've healed her wounds for now, it's still possible they could reopen."

"Alright." Ruby nodded, wiping her face on her sleeve. "Then let's get moving."

She and Blake kept themselves vigilant as they walked quickly back through the trees. A few times, Weiss would whimper painfully and Yang would stop to let her adjust to whatever pain was assaulting her.

Yang frowned every time she looked down; Weiss was still sweating a bit, and she felt weak and limp in her arms.

"Shit..." The blonde cursed under her breath before she started to walk again. "Hey princess, don't give up on us, you hear me?"

But after that, Weiss did not make another sound, and they continued frantically back to the school.

By the time they arrived at the infirmary, Weiss had regained consciousness as Ruby explained the situation.

The nurses said she needed to be treated right away, and had Yang lie her down onto one of the beds before asking the rest of them to leave. Ruby wanted to stay, but they insisted she go.

Yang and Blake had just persuaded her to the door when a feeble voice called out after them.

"Wait..." Weiss begged.

Ruby turned back to her instantly.

"Please..." Weiss rasped. "R-Ruby... stay..."

The younger girl's silver eyes pleadingly met with one of the nurse's and the woman gave a swift nod. Ruby dashed back to her partner's side, her gaze determinedly meeting with Blake's and then Yang's.

"I'll take care of her. You guys wait outside."

Yang's lavender eyes held her silver ones before she nodded in understanding. Blake's gaze was unreadable, and Ruby wondered what she was thinking before she turned away.

The nurses brought her a chair and allowed Ruby to sit at Weiss' beside as they worked, and the brunette was surprised when she felt delicate fingers wrapping around hers.

"Weiss?"

Her partner looked up at her with frightened blue eyes, and it made Ruby's stomach flip. What could possibly have Weiss so scared? Surely her injuries were not life-threatening?

"Ruby..." Her voice was thin, eyelashes fluttering under the bright artificial light.

"What is it?" Ruby leaned down a little, trying to keep out of the nurses' ways.

"Please... don't let them... cut my hair..."

Ruby blinked at her, slightly confused. It was an odd request, and she had to wonder where it was stemming from.

The nurse closest to her had heard Weiss' words as well, and Ruby gave her a questioning look. The woman shook her head with a small smile before scurrying off to fetch supplies.

Ruby looked back to Weiss, gently tracing her thumb over the back of her hand, noticing Weiss was still shaking.

"It's okay," she soothed. "There's no reason for them to do that. They won't cut your hair, okay?"

That seemed to bring the heiress some form of solace and she sighed, closing her eyes.

Ruby stayed beside her as two nurses returned with a pail of water, explaining they would need to wash the dried blood from her hair in order to locate the wound and see if there was any new blood flowing.

Weiss kept her eyes closed, holding tightly to Ruby's hand as they worked.

The nurses asked Ruby questions about what had happened, but shared similar thoughts. The way Weiss had hit the tree, any damage should have been done to the back of her head, but the blood was coming from the top.

Ruby guessed her partner's back was in great pain too, considering how hard she had hit such a sturdy surface.

She placed her other hand atop Weiss' as well and let a bit of her aura flow into her again, closing her eyes as she tried to follow the path of the energy to the heiress' back and shoulders.

As Ruby was sharing her aura with Weiss, she could feel things she never would have known otherwise.

She felt Weiss' nervousness, not only about her injury, but there was something else. Was it the fear her hair would be cut? Ruby still had no idea where that was coming from, but it must have been important to Weiss. It almost seemed like Weiss was nervous that a secret of hers would be revealed.

Ruby realized she might have been prying into things that she was better off leaving alone, so instead she focused on something else.

She could feel Weiss' heartbeat as clearly as her own, and Ruby strove to overlap them. Weiss' pulse was fast and hard and scared, and she did her best to slow it, match it to her own, willing her to calm down. Thankfully, it seemed to work to an extent, and her partner let out a long sigh.

As the nurses finished washing her hair out, Ruby made sure to hold tightly to Weiss; it was a good thing her partner's eyes were closed, because the tools the medical personnel brought out made Ruby shiver.

She talked slowly to Weiss about anything and everything, random events and excerpts just to keep her mind off of the situation.

But as she spoke, Ruby heard the nurses' every word:

"We'll have to drug her a bit."

"Make sure there's enough."

A flare of panic flashed through Weiss, and Ruby felt it run strongly within her own body. She immediately met gazes with one of the women.

"What's going on?" she demanded. They may have been trained staff at Beacon, but Ruby was still the leader of her team and Weiss' partner. She wanted to know what they were going to do to her.

The woman met Ruby's stern eyes with softer ones.

"Don't worry. We have to give her a few stitches because her aura alone won't heal the wound completely."

"Stitches?" Ruby gulped and clutched tighter to her partner's hand.

"Yes, unfortunately," came the response. "It appears what happened to her today reopened old wounds that never healed properly. Or, actually, it appears the wounds themselves were made surgically, but whomever made them didn't bother to stitch them back up correctly. The hit she took today was something hard enough to make them bleed again."

Ruby's face was pale as she imagined the pain Weiss must have suffered, what she was still suffering.

"B-But is she gonna be okay?"

The nurse smiled amiably.

"She'll be just fine. Just think of this as a long-overdue mending of her past injuries. But it's going to hurt, no doubt, so we're going to give her anesthetics to make her sleep."

Having made that much clear to the young leader, the nurse scurried off to the other side of the room with her companion to hold a quick discussion.

In the meantime, Ruby ceased the flow of her aura into Weiss. Her eyes were still closed and her forehead was beaded with sweat despite the dampness of her silvery hair. Ruby leaned down and murmured softly to her as she brushed Weiss' bangs out of her face.

"Weiss? They... They're going to have you sleep for a little while, okay? They're not gonna cut your hair or anything. They just need to fix your injuries properly."

Her partner's eyes fluttered open slowly, and she looked undeniably exhausted.

"Make sure there's... enough..."

"Enough?" Ruby repeated.

"Last time they... didn't have enough. It hurt..."

"Last time?" Ruby thought about what the nurse had said, how the wounds on Weiss' head had been made surgically. That meant Weiss had been conscious throughout the entire procedure at the time? Ruby's stomach twisted at the thought. "Y-You mean this has happened to you before?"

Weiss did not give her a direct answer. Instead, she blinked slowly, and her eyes were imploring now.

"Don't go..." she murmured.

Ruby nodded instantly and bent forward to hug her as best she could manage.

"Of course I won't." She kissed Weiss' cheek softly. "I'm gonna be right here with you through it all, and when you wake up, too. I promise."

Weiss gave her a weak smile before she closed her eyes again.

The nurses came back and injected a needle into the girl's arm, and Ruby felt tears welling in her eyes as she watched Weiss go still, her grip slackening in her hands. The younger girl closed her eyes, reaching out to her partner again, trying to recognize her conscious; she needed to make sure Weiss was really asleep before she could allow this to continue. But it seemed she was truly in full slumber now and would not feel any pain.

Ruby reopened her eyes and nodded to the nurses who then went to work.

Ruby stayed there just as she had promised, holding Weiss' hand through it all. She tried not to look at what was being done to her partner – the strong scent of blood was overpowered by even more smells of drugs and medicines.

It was a while before they had finished, but when they had, the tension in the air had died down. They wrapped bandages around Weiss' forehead and over the stitches just to be safe.

Then, they moved Weiss to a new bed, changed her into hospital robes, and hooked an IV drip up to her arm before Ruby was allowed to pull the covers up to shoulders.

She continued to hold Weiss' free hand, listening to the beeping of the machine that matched the rhythm of her heartbeat.

Before long, Blake and Yang were permitted entry again, and the two girls took seats on the other side of the bed as Ruby explained to them what Weiss' situation was.

Again, she noticed how stern Blake's expression in particular was, and she felt the Faunus girl may have an idea of something Ruby was not aware of herself.

But she opted not to inquire, lest she bring up something not worthy of concern.

It was not long afterward when Ruby felt Weiss' fingers twitch slightly in her palm and she straightened up quickly. Her partner made a small sound and shifted a little, and Ruby watched the rise and fall of her chest until her eyes opened slowly.

Ruby moved up closer to her, felt her partner's fingers curl around hers again. It took Weiss a moment to adjust, to remember where she was, and then her eyes found those of her teammates.

"Ruby...?" she rasped.

Her partner spoke up immediately.

"Hi, Weiss. I'm here, just like I promised." She smiled sweetly when their gazes met.

Weiss blinked at her once, twice before her thoughts appeared to rearrange themselves. Her eyes suddenly went wide and a gasp escaped her lips. Ruby felt her try to reach up to her head, and had to hastily tighten her grip on Weiss' hand to keep her still.

"My hair..." she whimpered. "D-Did they-"

"Weiss, Weiss! Calm down!" Ruby soothed. Yang had reached out to hold onto Weiss' wired wrist as well. "They didn't cut your hair. They just patched up your injuries. See?"

To prove her words, Ruby pulled a lock of Weiss' long, alabaster hair over her shoulder. It was still a bit damp from when they had washed it, but it was soft and drying now. Her partner seemed to relax a bit, and her shoulders went slack as she released a sigh.

"Let me up, please."

At Weiss' request, Ruby looked up to her sister. Yang was clearly doubtful about moving the heiress as she was, but Weiss was trying to move on her own anyway.

"Alright, alright," the blonde sighed. "Just take it easy."

She supported Weiss' other side as Ruby helped her sit up, and Blake stood to adjust the pillows behind her to give her something sturdy to lean against. Even after Weiss had settled, Ruby still held onto her hand, rubbing her thumbs over her knuckles.

"Are you okay? Do you feel dizzy? What about your back? I bet that hurts a lot, you hit that tree so hard-" She stopped talking with a wince as she remembered the horrible scene.

But Weiss reassured her quietly.

"No. I'm fine. I'm just glad they didn't cut my hair again..."

Ruby swallowed, and her eyes met both Yang's and Blake's.

"Again?" She did not want to pry if it was something Weiss would rather not talk about, but Ruby's curiosity was eating away at her.

Weiss held her gaze for a long moment before her eyes found Blake's, and she spoke calmly.

"I'm sure you... already know."

The two sisters looked to Blake as well, and she gave a slight nod.

"I wasn't sure at first. Especially... with the way you acted. But I guess that was a farce so no one would ever expect..." She trailed off, and Weiss nodded.

Whatever they were talking about, Ruby was not quite sure she understood, so she turned to look back at the white-haired girl.

"What's Blake talking about?"

Yang hissed at her from the other side. "Ruby-"

"It's fine," Weiss murmured. "I planned to tell you all sooner or later. I guess now would be as appropriate a time as any."

Silence fell about the room until the only sounds were those of the IV machine which quickened, indicating Weiss' nervousness. Ruby still held onto one of her hands, Yang had reached up to rub her shoulders, and Blake touched Weiss' other palm lightly.

Weiss was not sure where to begin, so she just went for the heart of the matter. Gathering all of the courage she could muster, she finally confessed her secret:

"I... used to be a Faunus."

Silence.

Stunned, shocked, disbelieving silence.

Yang's jaw hung open, and her lavender eyes were wide. She flashed a glance to Blake, but her partner was solemn, her own ears clearly flattened in discomfort beneath her bow.

Ruby felt numb, and she recalled what Weiss had shouted when she was delusional from pain:

"Don't touch my ears!"

Ruby was frozen in place, unable to move, and she found it hard to swallow.

Weiss stared blankly into the white sheets on her lap, seeing red in the afterimages once she blinked.

Ruby felt tears welling up and she choked out a sob.

"Weiss...?"

Her partner heaved a sigh before she continued:

"My mother was a Faunus. My father hadn't planned on having a child with her. She was just a mistress, but... when they found out she was pregnant, they needed to go through with my birth. After all, it would tarnish my father's reputation if he disposed of his first and only child."

There were appalled gasps from Yang and Ruby, but Blake was silent, as though she could understand the option all too well. Weiss continued to stare blankly down as she went on.

"So my mother gave birth to me. And naturally, my father was furious when he saw I'd inherited her ears. He... made plans to have them... removed."

By this point, Ruby was crying softly at her side.

Weiss went on.

"But he waited until I was old enough. If they'd done it when I was too young, it would've put my life at risk with the blood loss, and my father couldn't allow that. He sent my mother away when I was very young, and to this day I still don't know what's become of her. As for my ears..."

She fell silent again, and Ruby wanted to tell her she did not have to say any more. But she thought maybe – just maybe – Weiss needed to let it off her chest after so long.

She wiped her tears and continued to listen.

"My father waited until I was older, about five years. I... can still remember that night. He came into my room with three other men and they took me to the basement that was always closed off. They were doctors he had hired for it, but he'd never told me what was happening. The plan was to drug me and when I woke up, my ears would be gone."

She had started to cry now, her voice thin and fragile, and the fingers on her hands and shoulders squeezed tightly.

"But they didn't have enough of the drug, and I was awake for the whole thing. They... They cut my hair, and then they used all these tools and... they took my ears..."

Weiss hunched forward with a gasp, and Ruby could not stay still any longer. She leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Weiss, feeling Yang and even Blake doing the very same. The white-haired girl hiccuped in their gentle embraces, mumbling the rest of her words as she tasted salt.

"At one point, one of them dropped one of his knives on me, a-and my left eye..." She stopped again, and the others understood immediately. "Father had me wear a wig until my hair grew back, so no one would ask questions when I started going to school in public. They made sure... they said they ran tests and that no traces of my Faunus heritage remained after it was over. But there's some kind of sensation that other Faunus can still pick up on if they're close enough..."

At last, she fell silent to her tears.

The other three were crying now too, even Yang.

"That's messed up..." she growled, into Weiss' shoulder. "That's so messed up, it's disgusting..."

Blake's grip on her hand tightened, too.

"I'd always... I'd always thought I sensed it about you. But I told myself it was impossible. Because the Schnee heiress could never be a Faunus. I didn't want to be right..." She carefully had Weiss sit up straight again and sought out her watery eyes.

Blake's throat constricted when she saw the endless sorrow in those eyes. "You... You had... your ears taken... I can't even imagine... god..." She reached up to touch her own ears beneath her bow, as though to ensure they were still attached.

"I'm so sorry, Blake..." Weiss sighed. "After all that time, I... I started to believe what my father forced on me. I needed to despise the Faunus, and I said horrible things to you in particular. I didn't mean to though, I-I didn't even think. I just said things without even-!"

She gasped when Blake suddenly leaned forward and embraced her fully.

Ruby met Yang's eyes over their partners' heads, and though there were tears still streaming down their faces, they smiled.

Weiss stiffened when she felt Blake's arms wrap around her, her face buried in her shoulder.

"B-Blake...?"

"It's fine, Weiss. You don't have to apologize for anything. I knew you never meant those things you said, anyway. I'm just... so sorry things had to turn out that way. I thought some pretty terrible things about you, too."

Blake held her there for a moment, long enough to let them both calm down, and their pulses overlapped. She could feel Weiss' hands tentatively reaching around her waist to keep her close, and before long could feel the heiress' body jolting slightly with quiet sobs.

She held Weiss for a moment longer, letting her cry out her repentance for a crime she never committed. Ruby and Yang each placed a hand on their respective partners' backs, smiling softly.

At last, the two girls parted, but not before Blake brushed her hand over Weiss' cheeks to catch her tears. "It's okay. Remember we're teammates now, Weiss. Everything else about us comes second."

Weiss held her golden gaze a moment and gave a single, comprehensive nod.

With a smile, Blake sat back in her chair beside Yang and folded her hands into her lap.

The atmosphere in the room felt a lot better now, lighter despite the heavy topics discussed.

Ruby tried to smile, but she could not help but notice the forlorn look in her partner's eyes, as if she was still battling some internal demon.

"Weiss?" She took her hand again. "What's wrong?"

The heiress lifted her head slowly, her wired hand moving up to touch the bandages around her forehead.

"It's just... I don't know... what I am," she explained. "When I was younger, my teachers and my father, s-sometimes they'd tell me things about the Faunus until I believed them. I'd forget all about my mother and my ears. They tried to make it so that I never was a Faunus and erase all memories of the first five years of my life. What am I if I was born a Faunus, but lost my ears and any trace to indicate my heritage? They tried to make me so that I was a human, but I'm not. And I'm not a Faunus either. I'm nothing..."

A weighted silence followed her words.

Clearly, they were thoughts that had been haunting Weiss her entire life, if not at the forefront of her mind, then somewhere in the back, dragging at her certainty of who she was.

Ruby shook her head, trying to keep the jumbled thoughts at bay; right now, Weiss needed her. She placed both hands over her partner's now and squeezed until Weiss let her find those mist-blue pools.

"You're not nothing, Weiss. You're the Schnee Dust Company heiress. You're an exceptional huntress and an outstanding student." Her silver eyes shimmered in earnest. "You're our teammate, and you're my partner." Ruby leaned in to hug her again. "You're Weiss, and that's all you need to be."

She held Weiss for a long moment, closing her eyes and gently rubbing her back, threading fingers through her long hair. She could not even begin to imagine her pain, and judging by the tortured expression Blake had made, she could not fathom it either.

How many years had Weiss been forced to endure such torment?

Ruby swore in that moment that if she ever got her hands on Weiss' father, she would give him her strongest punch.

Upon reopening her eyes, she found Yang making a familiar expression and knew their thoughts were identical.

Ruby held Weiss until she stopped shaking, until her heartbeat slowed again and she was calm. But even then, Ruby was finding it hard to let her go; she never wanted Weiss to feel alone with this anymore, and she wanted to convey as much through her embrace.

And Weiss could feel it, the surety of Ruby's words and her touch, the things that held her together right when she was about to fall apart.

It was the first time in a while she had felt safe.

Weiss continued to lean on her leader, let her words sink in until they reached her heart where she could finally believe them.

When they parted, Weiss was finding it hard to speak, but she made sure her eyes conveyed her gratitude. Ruby grinned in response as she sat back.

"Okay? So don't ever think you have to keep all these things inside anymore. We're here for you now, Weiss. We can help you, whether it's talking about things or just being quiet together."

"That's right!"

Weiss looked to her other side as Yang spoke up after being silent for a while.

"Your secret's safe with us, princess. And if anyone ever tries givin' ya trouble about it, I'll sock 'em into next week." She clenched her fists and bumped her knuckles together.

"Thank you, Yang." Weiss offered an appreciative smile which she then turned to Blake and Ruby in turn. "Thank all of you. I don't know where I'd be without such a supportive team."

Ruby beamed at her.

"And we don't know where we'd be without you, Weiss!"

"Certainly nowhere good," Blake commented.

"Probably detention," Yang muttered.

That earned a light chuckle from them all.

Yang stood and put one hand behind her head bashfully. "Hey, so um... I'm kinda feelin' left out on the hugs..."

Weiss sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Come here."

"Awww thanks, princess!" Yang leaned down and wrapped her arms around Weiss, giving a gentle squeeze. Weiss was a bit more delicate at the moment, so it was different from her usual "surprise-attack" hugs, but still tight enough to satisfy the both of them.

When she let Weiss go and the heiress leaned back against the pillows again, she let out a small yawn.

The other three took their cue and stood.

"We'll let you get some rest," Blake said.

"Yeah," Yang agreed. "We'll go and get you some flowers in the meantime!"

"Oooh yeah, that's a great idea!" Ruby clapped excitedly before turning back to her partner. "And Weiss, just..." She found her partner's pretty blue eyes again. "Remember what we said. You don't have to be alone with this. We won't tell anyone, but we're not just going to ignore it either. We're here if you need us, and we're always gonna be here from now on, so..."

She could not quite put into words what she wanted to say and ended up biting her lip.

But Weiss understood. From the things they had told her today, the ways they had held her, she knew they meant everything they did and said in earnest.

Weiss could not believe how fortunate she was to have been assigned to such a wonderful team.

"Thank you. Really. I know I can trust all of you with this. Thank you for being there for me." She met their smiles with one of her own as she let out a long breath. "Now then, I'll be looking forward to the flowers," she chuckled.

Ruby gave a salute and a wide grin as the three of them headed for the door.

"You got it!"

Weiss watched them go, and for the first time in many, many years, she felt she would truly be alright.

A/N: I wrote this so long ago I kinda forgot how serious it was till now ;~; I know it's far-fetched and Weiss isn't actually a Faunus. I just wanted to try writing it~ Still, I hope you enjoyed!

Please review!