Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

She stood in a snow-filled clearing, surrounded by evergreens, their boughs weighed down with the same blanket of cold, white mass that covered the ground.  Sounds seemed muffled by the soft landscape as the cold seeped into her flesh, into her bones through the thin clothing she wore. 

There was something wrong. 

She could feel it.  It fought through layers of cotton in her head, screaming at her.

Her stance shifted to a crouch, Gambol Shroud coming to hand in firearm mode as her ears pivoted and narrowed eyes scanned the landscape.  She twisted as she scanned the area, ensuring she covered the entire panorama of the clearing.

Nothing except the trackless snow, the white-shrouded trees.

No sounds.  No Grimm.  No… no tracks.

Wait.  No tracks?

She shook her head, ears drooping.  That makes no sense.  No tracks.  No tracks from me.

The sense of wrongness increased.  There was something here.  She knew it.  Something important.  A threat?  Something else?

A roar filled her ears, which flattened reflexively against the overpowering volume, and she spun to see… a huge Megollath, mere yards from her position, charging at full speed toward her.

Her hands came up immediately into a firing stance, sending volley after volley from her weapon into the Grimm as it bore down on her, tusks poised to fling her fragile form aside, heavy feet to crush her to the earth.  But the rounds did next to nothing against such a massive and armored beast.

Even as she emptied her weapon, her mind rebelled.  Impossible.  This is impossible.  I would have heard it.  She could feel its feet pounding the frozen ground through the snow.  I would have felt it coming.

She tried to activate her semblance, giving her the distraction needed to throw herself to the side, but her thoughts seemed sluggish.  A weight was on her back, a weight that didn’t fit.

She screamed as her vision filled with the black and white bulk of the Grimm, and she felt the crushing weight of its feet upon her, pressing down, robbing her of breath.

She awoke with a pained gasp and a cry…

In her guest quarters at the Schnee Mansion.

Dammit.  This was the third night in a row.  She struggled to get her breath back, and began untangling the bedding that she’d managed to twist around herself, pinning one arm to her side.  Her body felt icy as the sweat-drenched night clothes were exposed to the night air.

Dammit.  What do these people have against keeping a house actually heated?

She finished untangling herself, and peered across the room at her yellow-haired partner, snoring softly.

“Well I’m glad somebody is getting sleep,” she muttered.

Blake Belladonna twisted, swinging her legs around and putting chilled feet into a pair of slippers next to the bed before standing up with a quiet grunt.  Something about the adrenaline from the nightmare kicked her bladder into high gear, demanding immediate action.  That too had been repeated several nights.  And that meant putting on more clothes against the chill of Atlas, and dragging her sleep-deprived ass to the bathroom.

As she took care of personal business, she scrubbed through her hair with one hand, rubbing her face with the other.

“What the hell is this?” She grumbled.  She wracked her brain, trying to understand what she had seen, what she had felt.  It wasn’t a place she had ever been.  She was sure of that.  Nowhere in Menagerie, Vale, or even Mistral had landscape like that.  Only Atlas did, and she had not yet had the opportunity to begin to explore the countryside here.  They had arrived a week ago, at the nominal invitation of General Ironwood.  But in reality the goal had been to support her friend Weiss, in what seemed a never-ending game of threat displays by her father, Jacques Schnee.

That in itself had proved exhausting.  She had never seen or felt anyone engaged in such a battle of cold, calculated, familial incivility wrapped in twelve layers of deniable insults before, but she frankly didn’t know how Weiss and Jaune were able to bear it.

Well, that’s ‘mom and dad’ for you, wise beyond their years, she thought with bitter humor.

She finished her business, and washing her hands, peered at her face in the mirror.  Dark circles under her eyes betraying her sleep deprivation.

She sighed, and moped back to her bed, hoping that sleep would reclaim her without having to spend hours staring at the ceiling again.

She stood in a snow-filled clearing, surrounded by evergreens, their boughs weighed down with the same blanket of cold, white mass that covered the ground.  Sounds seemed muffled by the soft landscape as the cold seeped into her flesh, into her bones through the thin clothing she wore. 

There was something wrong. 

She could feel it.  It fought through layers of cotton in her head, screaming at her.

Her stance shifted to a crouch, Gambol Shroud coming to hand in firearm mode as her ears pivoted and narrowed eyes scanned the landscape.  She twisted as she scanned the area, ensuring she covered the entire panorama of the clearing.

Nothing except the trackless snow, the white-shrouded trees.

No sounds.  No Grimm.  No… no tracks.

Wait.  No tracks?

She shook her head, ears drooping.  That makes no sense.  No tracks.  No tracks from me.

The sense of wrongness increased.  There was something here.  She knew it.  Something important.  A threat?  Something else?

A roar filled her ears, which flattened reflexively against the overpowering volume, and she spun to see… a huge Megollath, mere yards from her position, charging at full speed toward her.

Her hands came up immediately into a firing stance, sending volley after volley from her weapon into the Grimm as it bore down on her, tusks poised to fling her fragile form aside, heavy feet to crush her to the earth.  But the rounds did next to nothing against such a massive and armored beast.

Even as she emptied her weapon, her mind rebelled.  Impossible.  This is impossible.  I would have heard it.  She could feel its feet pounding the frozen ground through the snow.  I would have felt it coming.

She tried to activate her semblance, giving her the distraction needed to throw herself to the side, but her thoughts seemed sluggish.  A weight was on her back, a weight that didn’t fit.

She screamed as she reached back over her shoulder, grasping the warm leather-wrapped handle.  Pulling it up and around, she released Gambol Shroud and added that hand to the swing.  With a feral roar, the broad blade of her weapon met the incoming massive tusk, shearing it cleanly and causing the beast to give an angry, agonizing roar of its own as it jerked its head to her left.

Warmth surging down her arms filled her with sudden energy, and she put it to good use, following through on the stroke, surging to the right and bringing the weapon around with the turn, cleaving across the huge bulk as its inertia drove it past her.

Cleaving an impossibly deep gash the entire length of the beast.  Through white bony armor and black unnatural flesh alike, the blade seemed to melt its way through without slowing.  She barely felt resistance as it wreaked its destruction upon the Grimm.

She spun back, prepared to finish the beast off, scanning the clearing for a second threat, gasping for breath.

To find the Grimm collapsing in a heap on the snow, it’s black flesh evaporating into nothingness.  Leaving no sign of its passage other than the boney armor and disturbed snow.

The clearing was empty.  Empty except for her and the weapon she held at the ready.

The weapon she held…

Her eyes pulled to the right at the thing she held two-handed by the haft.  It was… it was an axe.  A very large, double-headed axe.  The black metal haft, wrapped in black leather, still felt warm beneath her hands.  The blade seemed to drink in the light around it, reflecting nothing back from its flat black surface.  Except for at the very edge of the blade.  The edge shone with an almost white silvery light, and it looked impossibly sharp.

Blake gasped and dropped it into the snow, where it immediately melted its way through the multiple layers of ice and packed snow, quickly sinking out of sight.

Eyes wide, Blake spotted Gambol Shroud to her left, and quickly recovered it, heart hammering in her chest.  She scanned the clearing for the next threat.

And saw nothing except the trackless snow, the white-shrouded trees.

No sounds.  No Grimm.  No… no tracks.

No, no tracks.  Just the trackless snow, and the white shrouded trees.  And, miles to the East, a triple peaked-mountain.  To the north, a glacial wall of jagged ice.

A roar filled her ears, which flattened reflexively against the overpowering volume, and she spun to see… a huge Megollath, mere yards from her position, charging at full speed toward her.  She felt a sudden, familiar weight on her back, and her mouth set in a grim smile as she reached back for the black, leather-wrapped haft.

And she awoke with gasp, and a feeling of loss.

Chapter Text

"Hey 'mom', can I ask you something?" *

Weiss narrowed her eyes at Blake and put down her Scroll, displaying the letter she'd been re-reading for the third time. It was nearly perfect. Just the right mix of deniable criticism of her father's handling of the Schnee Dust Company, in order to judge the Board's reaction. But it could wait a few more days.

"Well 'daughter' you know I always have time for you. What's the question?" Her eyes narrowed. "And you look like you haven't been getting enough sleep. Is there something wrong with the bed?"

"No. Well other than the fact that no one keeps the rooms warm enough at night…"

Weiss's eyes crinkled a little at that, "I'll see if I can impress on Klein that not everyone likes to sleep 'comfortably cool'".

"Thanks. But that's not what I wanted to ask." She fumbled in her pouch, pulling out a folded paper. "Do… does this look familiar?"

Weiss frowned as she took in the scribbled sketch. It wasn't very artistic, Blake wasn't known for her drawing abilities. "Are those supposed to be…"

Blake sighed. "Mountain peaks, Weiss. They are supposed to be mountain peaks."

"Oh, well, we can't all be-," Weiss's eyes widened a little and peered at Blake. "Triple Crown. That's Triple Crown. It's a couple hours north of Mantle, by air. About 4 hours by snowmobile." At Blake's questioning look. "My family has a cabin on the Western slope." Weiss's eyes took on a wistful look. "We used to stay there on the odd weekend when Winter and I were kids. Skiing on the slopes, even in the summer. Ice fishing on the lake in the winter." Her eyes returned back to Blake's. "Why are you asking? Did you see a picture of it and just wondered?"

Blake's eyes had been trying to widen, her breathing quicken, but she pushed it down. "Oh… oh. Yeah. I must have seen a picture, and it just stuck with me. That… mountain is impressive."

"Yes. Yes, it is." Weiss's eyes shifted thoughtfully. "If you want, after all the insanity with my father," her grimace spoke volumes, "and the company are done, I can take us up there."

Blake spoke without thinking, "Any chance I could go sooner?"

Weiss's eyes narrowed, focusing directly on Blake again. "Why? I mean there's no reason you couldn't. That area isn't known for Grimm infestations, we wouldn't use it otherwise."

"I just…" Blake thought quickly. "I feel like I could do well with some time to myself. So much has happened in the last year. It seems… like a place where I could take some time to… think about things."

Weiss guessed, wrongly, what kind of things Blake might want to think about. "Ah. Well. In that case." She pulled out her scroll and tapped for a bit. "I've sent you the directions and the access codes. There's a full communications relay at the cabin, and it was always kept fully stocked." She peered at the faunus with an undecipherable look. "You going to ask Yang to go with you?"

"No… no I think I'll go solo this time. I'd… like to take a few days to sort some things out."

Weiss sighed. Those two were going to be the death of her, she was sure. "Well stay away from the areas marked on the map as prone to avalanches. Stay on the foothills or the flats. And for Gods sakes, call in every day, or Jaune will end up on your doorstep demanding answers."

"I will, I will!"

Weiss tapped out a few more commands. "There, I've made a few more notifications that any patrols should be aware of your location too. Just in case. The snowmobiles have emergency shelters packed in, as well as signal flares if you run into any trouble."

Blake hugged her in relief, to Weiss's slight discomfort. "It's just a cabin, Blake."

"I know, but.. I think this will really help."

Saying goodbye to Yang had been more difficult. The blond brawler was strangely awkward about it, and seemed about to say something several times, but kept stopping, before finally putting on a smile and waving her off.

"Go ahead you goof. Get your head straight. It can wait until you get back."

The ride out was relaxing and uneventful, if cold. She had dressed well for the trip, using the guidance Weiss had sent her. She had packed enough food and water for the trip out, in case something went off. Soon she was enjoying the feel of the machine gliding over soft snow, the hum of the powerful motor between her knees, and the feel of the crisp wind past her.

This really is beautiful. It's a shame it's so damned cold, she laughed, recognizing the irony.

She reached the cabin well before noon.

Cabin. Hah. It was a multistory home, big enough for two or three families, with large insulated windows facing west toward the sunset, overlooking a small, frozen-over lake with a surface like glass.

"Wouldn't be surprised if they paid someone to come out and polish it," she muttered.

The code she was given opened the large door to the garage and she idled the machine into it. It was clear that someone periodically cleared drifted snow from that entrance, as well as the walk-up entrances. Dismounting, she closed the door back and was immediately glad for the increased warmth that lack of wind provided. Going through the side entrance, she punched the code again to enter the actual 'cabin'.

It was gorgeous. She felt a pang of… something. Jealousy? Injustice? At how someone could afford this as a "getaway cabin" while people she knew personally had grown up in little more than a shack, or worse. She sighed. "Get over it, Blake. That's how the world works."

Yeah, but Weiss is trying to make it better. And that matters.

She spent some time consulting her scroll and figuring out the climate controls, and confirmed the larder was well-stocked. Soon she had a roaring fire going on in the fireplace, and claimed one of the second floor bedrooms as hers. She took a minute to connect her scroll to the local net, then used the relay.

Jaune's face appeared. "Hey kiddo!"

"Hey dad."

"I see you made it there in one piece. Everything like Weiss said it would be?"

"Yeah. It's pretty amazing."

"Well don't let it get to your head. Got plenty of books to read?"

Blake laughed and picked one up from the bedside table, waving it at the Scroll. "You know it pops."

Jaune's eyes narrowed. "You make me feel older than I am when you call me that. And that's saying something." Blake just quirked a smile. "Fine, fine. Keep us posted."

After she finished the call, she ate like royalty, and then took advantage of the view from the room's second floor balcony.

The air was crisp but with little breeze now. The triple peaks behind her were just beginning to cast their shadow toward the cabin, as the sun moved west through the sky. She could feel the mountains' bulk behind her like a presence as she looked out upon the sweeping vista before her, past the frozen lake. A sea of evergreens, coated in snow, carpeted rolling landscape that gently sloped down and away from the mountains into the west. To the south, she fancied she could make out the faint traces of civilization in the hazy distance. And to the north-

She stiffened.

To the northwest, from her elevated vantage point, she could just make out the icy cliffs of a glacier.

The cold in the air seemed to invade her body suddenly, settling deep in her stomach. Eyes wide and ears peaked, she slowly absorbed what she was seeing before her. Then she slowly turned back to examine the triple peaks looming above her, and back out. Back to the west, eyes straining to find a specific clearing in the forest. She couldn't see it, but…

"It's just like in the dream," she quietly murmured. "It's… there. I can feel it."

Pulling back from the railing, she slowly backed into the bedroom. Casting her gaze around the room, she felt driven. Reckless. "This is stupid," she repeated to herself at least a half dozen times as she grabbed a minimum of emergency gear, stuffed it into a compartment of the snowmobile, and drove off around the lake and to the west.

Chapter Text

Four hours later, she was cursing herself for an idiot.

The route had been difficult. It didn't have a clear, usable trail like the ride up to the cabin.

She'd had to stop and backtrack several times to find a path through dense woods, or to find a place to safely cross an iced-over stream, or to avoid a rocky outcrop.

Then there had been the stops to try to triangulate. She would find a clearing of some sort. It wouldn't feel right, but she would stop anyway, standing on the seat of the snowmobile, and gazing to the north, and then back to the east. "Not far enough west yet," she would mutter, and drop down, kicking the machine back into gear.

She pushed on past when she should have. The late afternoon was beginning to take hold.

She would have to overnight in the cold. "Idiot. Fucking idiot." She knew there was an emergency pop-tent in the gear, she'd made sure of that. Along with flares, firestarter, a portable heating element for melting snow into drinking water, emergency rations, and a thermal bag, she wouldn't die out here from one night in the rough.

But it was still stupid to rely on those. She could have waited. She could have waited until morning, had time to ride out this far and make it back to the cabin before dark.

"I could have slept in a warm fucking bed!" Visions of that damned fireplace, that she had specifically kindled, taunted her.

She was in a foul mood, and ready to use the last of the light to make a camp, when she broke through into a fifth clearing.

Her mood changed to shock immediately.

In the middle of the clearing was a glow, blue-white, that dazzled her eyes against the dimming daylight that remained. Her eyes drifted to the right, seeing the glacier wall in the distance… to the north. Behind her, the Triple Crown's peaks. And before her… something.

Clamping down on her emotions, trying to calm her racing pulse, she worked cautiously, riding a complete circuit around the perimeter of the clearing, eyes and ears straining for any sign of threat. And finding none.

After that first pass, she slowly spiraled inward, amber eyes bouncing between the glow in the center, and the treeline outward, still unwilling to trust her senses fully. The memory of her dreams continuing to make her question, to doubt.

The machine was within a dozen yards of the center of the clearing before she could make out the source of the glow, and it caused her to stop, frozen in place, for several minutes as the engine idled beneath her. Eyes wide, her thoughts struggled to reconcile what she saw.

It was a person.

There was a… person. Encased in that blue-white light that pulsed gently as the figure inside it rotated, on its side, slowly like game on a roasting spit.

"What the hell…"

She dismounted, barely remembering to set the snowmobile brake, and turned the engine off. Then she heard it. A soft thrum that sounded in time with the slow pulsing light and rotation. Eyes wide and ears alert and trembling, she approached the figure warily.

It was a…young human male. Yes. Definitely a human male. Dark skinned, and human. And male. She could tell this because… well. It had all the appropriate bits. And she knew this because it… he… was completely naked.

She repeated on foot what she had done on the snowmobile. Circling warily around the turning, glowing man. His arms were folded across his chest. His legs straight and together. Eyes closed. She couldn't tell whether he was breathing, but the vibe he gave off was someone in deep sleep. Or unconscious. Or maybe just dead.

"No… no you aren't dead. You don't feel dead."

She realized she was on her third circuit, and stopped.

"Now what?" She cast her eyes around, once more. The darkness had completely fallen, she could barely see the treeline now, especially with the glow from… from… popsicle-man… messing with her night vision. A thought occurred to her, immediately discarded. "There is no way in hell I'm touching the mysterious blue-white glowing thing to see what happens. That's a Ruby or Yang thought, not a Blake Belladonna thought."

Scratch that. That was definitely a Ruby thought. A Yang thought would have been to yell "Yo dude put some clothes on before you freeze your jewels off!"

Eyes darting back and forth, she reached a decision, and bent down, scooping up some snow, forming it into a small ball, and gently pitching it underhanded at the rotating figure.

Only to jump back with a gasp as, with a strange, backward *snap* sound, the blue glow disappeared, and popsicle-man surrendered to gravity, dropping like a stone to the snow below.

And in a cloud of steam, sank immediately out of sight.

"Shit!"

As the obscuring cloud quickly thinned, Blake jumped forward, thinking to pull him out of the resulting hole, only to find that what she thought had been solid ground only inches below the snow, was actually only one of several layers of ice and snow, many of which had apparently collapsed onto him as he dropped through them. There was no way she was digging through that by hand.

She raced back to the snowmobile, extracting out a folding shovel, and bolted back to the hole, digging frantically at one side in a stairstep fashion, trying to make sure she didn't end up buried down there herself in the process.

A quiet and confused moan from deeper in the snow pit answered one question. Well, you are definitely not dead. At least not yet.

The snow and ice layers had melted quickly, and were refreezing at the margins. Slush crept into her clothing as she worked frantically. Seconds turned into minutes until she was almost neck deep in the hole, when she saw feeble movement in the remaining slushy pile. She reached with freezing hands into the mess, and found solid flesh, then an arm, and began pulling.

Popsicle-man made quiet pained noises as she dragged him free of the slush. He was soaking wet, and his fingers and toes were turning what looked like unhealthy colors for someone as dark as he was. His lips had a purple hue. "That can't be good." She felt his check with a hand, but her own were so cold she couldn't tell how cold he really was. She looked at the slope of the pit, and back to the man, and her lips narrowed.

Bolting back to the machine, she grabbed a rope, making a fast harness loop, and returning to the pit she quickly wrapped it around his torso, getting more pitiful noises out of him.

"Look buddy, I'm doing my best here. Just hold on for a little longer." She pushed her exhausted muscles out of the pit one more fucking time, and tied the rope to the back of the snowmobile. Turning it on, she gently applied the throttle until it began moving forward.

It worked, but not perfectly. I should have put something under him to act like a sled. He was out of the hole, but he had snowplowed his head back under the snow in the process. She quickly cleared away the snow and patted his face. "Hey buddy. Wake up."

One eyelid opened, the eyeball below rolling and unfocused. He opened his mouth, but nothing came out but chattering teeth and a questioning look.

"There you are. I'm Blake. I'm going to save your frozen ass. Stay with me, okay?" He made a face, and then his eyelid rolled shut again.

"Shit." She could feel herself getting sluggish too. More from exertion than the cold, though the cold definitely didn't help. She ran back to the snowmobile one final time, grabbing the emergency gear.

The spring-loaded pop tent went up quickly with a snap of the wrist after the safety straps were removed. Then the thermal bag went inside. She threw the heating element inside too, and then grabbed her new acquaintance by the armpits and dragged him inside the shelter, and tried to shove him into the thermal bag. It was… not fun.

"Would have been nice if you'd had on a fucking stitch of clothing that I could use to grab on to!" She grated as she finally managed to get him stuffed into the thermal bag.

She sealed the tent from the inside, and triggered the snow-melter's heating element. It wouldn't be great for heating the tent, it wasn't really designed for that, but it was better than nothing.

She watched for a minute as the man seemed to get gradually worse, instead of better. His movements were getting more sluggish, teeth chattering even worse.

She sighed. "Of course not, Blake. It's a thermal bag. It holds heat in. It doesn't make heat. Popsicle-Man doesn't have any to hold in." She considered throwing the heating element in there with him, and discarded that as extremely dangerous.

Her eyes narrowed, ears drooping, and she picked at a fingernail. "Yeah. Yeah, I know." She muttered, starting to shed clothing. "Yay me, freaking hero."

As she slid her underwear-clad form into the thermal bag next to the man, she hissed. This guy really is a popsicle. It was like someone crammed a giant ice sculpture into her sleeping bag. It was painful how cold he was against her skin.

She gritted her teeth. "You are going to owe me," she hissed, as she curled against him, big-spoon style. Though whether she was talking to the man, or to whatever had led her here, she didn't know.

As the adrenaline wore off, and her companion leached away her warmth, her energy seemed to go with it. Minutes later, the day's exertion did its work, and she gave in to sleep. Her last coherent thought was if I wake up next to a corpse, I'm going to need years of therapy.

Chapter Text

There was something wrong.

She could feel it. It fought through layers of cotton in her head, screaming at her.

Her first inkling was that she was burning up. Her body felt like her veins were on fire. She could feel the perspiration collecting on her forehead. She cracked open an aching eye, and a sloping wall of material swam into focus.

Her second was that she could feel a slow, cycling ache, deep in her hips. She knew what that ache meant, even through… no, because of the feeling of an internal fire that seemed like it wanted to consume her from the inside out.

No. No. Impossible. My cycle shouldn't have kicked in for weeks!

She'd lived with her 'monthly guest' since puberty, and it was regular as clockwork. Hell, even the few times she'd lost track of dates, that first creeping ache would send her to the medicine cabinet for that most wondrous invention of modern faunus pharmacology. A burst of synthetic hormone in pill form, and her body would calm its ass down and let her get on with life.

And she had ample supply. A lovely translucent orange plastic cylinder with blue lid. Perched happily on the sink.

Back at the cabin.

Because she was weeks! Weeks away from having to worry about that particular problem.

Except she wasn't.

What am I going to do? an inner voice cried.

That brought her to the third thing that her overloaded senses rammed through the fever and growing ache. And that was the feeling of another person, very closely entwined with her. For one, there was a rather large warm hand draped across her left breast, cupping it far too familiarly through her bra. A body so close that she could feel its pulse against her. And far, far worse, there was an unmistakable presence pressed firmly against her, very close to some extremely intimate areas. She could feel heat radiating from where their bodies touched through the thin undergarments she wore. Her brain struggled to understand who the person was, and how she could have ended up in such a condition and position.

The sensations continued to build, as memory pieced itself together through the haze. The dreams, the snow, popsicle-man freezing to death, deciding to share body heat to try and save his sorry ass, and now…

They had apparently shifted in their sleep, reversing positions.

And now…

Now, popsicle man was not cold at all, he was very very warm. And he was all up against her business, and she… she was in full-blown heat, completely out of cycle. And she fully suspected it was his fault. She groaned both in frustration and at the growing discomfort. This is not fair. Not fair at all. I saved your life, you asshole.

She lay still, trying to judge what his state was. His breathing was slow and regular with sleep, snoring almost imperceptibly. Is that even possible? To be sound asleep and have that… that thing, just doing whatever it wants down there?

A slow, squeezing cramp, stronger than the last one, brought out a small whimper from her lips, and she felt her body temperature kick up a notch, as panic drove speculation out of her head. Such things have a marvelous ability to focus the attention on the now. No she knew where this was going. She'd heard stories of what happened to faunus with mammalian traits and a defined cycle, who were caught without either an existing partner, or access to a hormonal prophylaxis.

She could feel another slow cramp starting, and she gritted her teeth. And involuntarily shifted her hips, which caused all sorts of feelings to shoot through her. She gasped slightly.

She knew where this train ended. It was a one-way ticket to gradually increasing body temperature, possibly dangerously. Debilitating cycling pain. Gradually overpowering drive to do something about it. To mate. Enough to drive out reason and leave her operating on pure instinct to make it all stop.

In rare instances the poor unfortunate faunus who found themselves in this situation got off lucky, and even in their temporary impairment found a discrete and willing partner. Other times they had to live with the social or physical fallout. Sometimes, they ended up very hurt, either physically or emotionally.

She took a deep breath, ears pinning back, and made the only decision she could through the haze of heat. A decision that she could still make voluntarily. Hopefully one that she wouldn't regret.

She placed her left hand over the male one covering her breast, giving it a squeeze. "H-Hey popsicle-man," her voice cracked. She felt a change in his breathing, fluttering past her left ear, making it twitch. Then stillness. She gave it another squeeze, and felt a surge of…electricity as he squeezed her soft flesh back.

"Hmmmm?" A soft and contented voice rumbled against the back of her head, shifting slightly. She felt his hips move gently and shuddered at the sensations.

His hand shifted, started to caress her.

And then froze. She heard a sharp intake of breath behind her.

"Oh fu-" he started to pull away.

"Wait!" She gasped.

He froze. She could feel his body tensed against her. She searched for words, "You aren't… I… Just wait. Please…."

"Where am I?" He asked, in a very very careful voice.

She shook her head, struggled to decide where to start. The need to explain warring with a rising since of urgency. "What do you remember?" She managed.

There was a quiet sound of swallowing behind her, and he murmured "I remember… being cold. And burning up at the same time."

"Hypothermia. You were dying."

"Is… is that why I'm…" There was a moment of consideration. "Did you take my clothes off? Did we…. have sex?"

"No! No. I found you that way." She felt another cramp building, and forced down a hiss against it. Trying desperately to keep her voice even. "And no we haven't mated." She continued in a quiet voice, gritting her teeth as the pain finally peaked. "Not yet."

Not quietly enough. He coughed slightly. "Excuse me, but did you just say 'not yet'?"

She closed her eyes. "I have… a problem. A serious problem. And at this point, I'm praying that you aren't a murderer or an asshole."

Another pause. Then she felt a chuckle against her back, felt him exhale through his nose against the back of her head. "Nooo… definitely not the first one, and I don't think I'm the second either."

"Good. Something about our… situation, has thrown me off cycle."

He didn't seem to respond to that. She tried more bluntly. "I'm in heat."

"Um… what do you mean? By that. I mean, I think I know what that means, but people don't…"

What the hell was he talking about? It wasn't exactly a secret that some faunus were subject to cycles. Hell, it was even used in slurs by some human-supremacists. It was why there was a thriving medical industry around freeing them from it. Maybe he hasn't noticed, hasn't realized yet that… "I'm a faunus."

"A what?" he sounded legitimately confused.

Frowning further, she pulled forward a little, enough to twist at the waist and neck, hissing quietly at the ache that went through her. Her amber eyes, growing more glazed with her physical state, met his golden-brown ones.

She saw his eyes look at her in confusion, then flick upward and widen. "Holy fuck…" She felt another slow cramp building and ground her teeth, her face betraying her. "Whoah, are you okay?" He moved his hand to her shoulder. "Holy crap you are burning up. Are you sick?"

She gasped a little as the pain started to spin down, granting her a very temporary reprieve, then looked at him with narrowed eyes. "Sick? No, I'm hours into heat, and it hurts."

She shook her head slightly, considered the conversation so far. He wasn't getting it, and she was running out of time.

"Can we start over?" She forced her voice to be even. "My name is Blake. I'm a cat faunus. I am currently in a bad way, and it's going to get worse. And I left my pills at the cabin. I'm about to proposition you, being the only male within Gods-know how many hours travel." She gave a bitter smile. "It's a pleasure to meet you." Or at least I hope it's going to be a relief…

Popsicle-man swallowed, eyes flicked up and locked onto her ears.

She felt a growl rising in her throat. Please tell me you paid attention to some of that. She frowned. "Hey, my eyes are down here."

His eyes widened and locked onto hers, then the words sunk in and he made a sound that might have been a swallowed laugh, then apologized. "Sorry. I'm… I'm sorry. I'm… Hegsih. I'm a… human? I'm very confused, completely naked…" he paused for a few seconds, "and I am about to be propositioned by sexy cat girl, who I apparently got handsy with in my sleep after she saved my life? Um… I'm sorry about that. The hands thing." He blinked at her a few times.

Ah. He's consent-conscious. Good sign. "It's nice to meet you Hegsih." Another slow cramp began to build, causing her to squeeze her eyes shut and making them water. Ninjas of Love never covered this scenario. "I know we don't know each other. Consider this a, returned kindness for saving your life? Will you consent to help out a… faunus in extreme distress?"

His jaw worked as his eyes flicked around the tent like they were trying to find some sort of sanity to latch onto while he absorbed all she had said. Then he looked thoughtful. "Well. Well… Appealing to my chivalry, that's… that's low," he said, but his mouth quirked and he brought his eyes back to hers. "Curse you, foul temptress. I am at your mercy," he added quietly, his eyes reflecting mischief and humor.

Good. Humor she could do… and other things too. Yeah, those too.

Suffice to say, it was intense. It wasn't the most passionate mating she'd ever experienced. She wasn't in love with her temporary partner. It wasn't awkward fumbling either. What it was, was driven. Driven by the intense need to convince a very old, very primitive part of her brain that, despite the fact that she was on a completely different pharmacological regimen to prevent another certain condition, her genes would be passed on to a new generation of faunus.

She was dimly aware, through that drive, that he was making efforts to be considerate, gentle.

It mattered.

For several minutes after, they lay together, nested, feeling each others heartbeats where their bodies touched, hands idly caressing each other. He whispered quiet endearments, and she snuggled back against him, feeling the afterglow, and its powerful wave of released chemicals, wash away the last of her heat-induced fever and pain.

And with that relief, came exhaustion as it combined with the prior evening's toil and insufficient sleep. As her eyelids weighed shut, she reached back to caress the curly hair of the stranger she had just mated with. "Thank you," she whispered.

"You're welcome, bossmang," she heard, as a warm hand caressed her faunus ear gently and sleep claimed her.

Chapter Text

Hegsih woke hours before dawn, the urgent need for a bathroom driving him from the thermal bag, and realized he had a serious problem.

First, it was still freezing outside. Second, he had no clothing.

He cast his eyes about the shelter, trying to figure out how to solve this conundrum before his bladder exploded, and saw something amazing.

A small flap in the floor, with a clear graphic explaining its use, served the exact purpose he needed. As he took care of business, he considered the unreality he was experiencing as he finished.

His memory of… before… was fuzzy. He knew who he was, of course, but remembering was like looking at a photo album or a slightly out of focus home movie. What he remembered vividly was a flash of blue-white light. And then cold. So fucking cold.

And then warmth.

And then heat.

My God. What he had experienced… mating… with Blake had been shocking. He hadn't slept with many women in his young life, but his few experiences had been nothing like that. Not only had he been completely unprepared psychologically going from nearly freezing to death to being… propositioned, the act itself… nothing had prepared him for that. After getting over the initial disbelief, he had intended to take his time, provide her the relief she said she needed while drawing out the experience as long as possible. But instead she had taken control and driven them both relentlessly to completion despite his best efforts.

He sighed and smiled as the memories caused a predictable physical reaction.

And turned to find a pair of amber eyes appraising him.

"Hi there," she said quietly. There was no desire in her gaze, just… consideration.

He had the urge to hide, then shook his head and laughed quietly, scratching his jaw. "Hi yourself." I'm not embarrassed. I have nothing to be embarrassed about. We were going at each other like bunnies a couple hours ago, she's done more than see me naked.

He saw her eyes travel down his form. He stood still under the scrutiny, smiling uncertainly.

He's not…unattractive. Dark curly hair, dark brown skin, golden-brown eyes. Lean build, but there was muscle. His aura… her eyes narrowed. She couldn't sense an aura, and filed that away for later.

She remembered that naked form had felt like against hers, and felt a gentle warmth inside. It wasn't heat again, that fire had been quenched. It wasn't quite desire either.

Her eyes returned to his face. He had a slight smile, and seemed completely shameless about his condition.

It was a kind face, full of patience and a hint of humor.

"Whatcha thinking, Blake?"

What am I thinking? I'm thinking that I've just mated with someone, and what I remember was very very nice, and he's right here in front of me, and now I'm wondering what it would be like to experience that without being driven by mind-bending desperation… and whether that would just make things weirder than they already are.

"I'm… trying to decide the pros and cons of returning a favor," She glanced down at his condition meaningfully and back up to his face, "now that I actually can decide."

His smile widened. It really was a nice smile. "Favor, eh? I, uh, don't think I'm quite in the same condition as you were. I mean, I'm not going to die in the next half hour if I don't mate with someone."

Blake quirked an eyebrow. "You aren't helping your case any."

He paused. Then his face fell in mock horror. "Oh. I mean. Oh. Oh God. The pain. The painnnnnn." He scrunched up his eyes, then cracked one open.

Blake laughed. It was a nice, honest, throaty kind of laugh.

Oh yeah. I'm definitely going to return the favor.

Blake woke again, just after sunrise.

Gods, my whole body aches.

But it was a really, really nice kind of ache. It had been years since she'd felt this… languid. There's a word for the ages. Languid. It rolled off the tongue.

She sighed as memory rolled in like the tide. Memory of many little moments that ran together. She looked at the criminal mastermind that had plundered her body and quirked a smile.

Then she realized what the dim light filtering in through the tent meant, and her smile faded. Yesterday evening had started out a nightmare, and ended up a romantic fantasy that would put the most lascivious scene in Ninjas of Love to shame. But now… now it was time to deal with the real world.

She sighed, slipped out of the thermal bag. Scanning the tent, she began taking stock of the discarded clothing strewn across the shelter floor, and the extra items in her pack, mentally comparing their size, flexibility, and functionality to the still-sleeping human male snoring gently with the satisfied smile of someone who has been well-mated.

Hegsih woke to the smell of a miracle.

"My God. Is that… is that coffee?"

His eyes peeled open, finding Blake, dressed in some sort of form-fitting outfit, hovering over a steaming metal container perched atop a heating element of some sort. She smirked at him. "Ah, so your people do have civilization. Yes, there was a packet in the ration kit. It's instant I'm afraid, and there's no milk."

"Black is best," he smiled. Blake shook her head. Weiss would approve. "Any sugar?" he asked.

Blake's smile widened, "And culture too. No sugar, but there's some honey packets."

"That'll work too. Gimme!"

Blake poured the coffee into two smaller containers, squeezing the small packet of sweetener into it, and watched in appreciation as he worshipped the dark liquid he was provided.  "We have some work to do today. How do you feel?"

"Sore," he grinned, "but otherwise full of vim, vigor, and vitality." His face grew more serious. "What kind of work?"

"Well," Blake's ears shifted, drawing his attention. God that is adorably distracting. He determined to learn to read those little movements. "We have to figure out how to keep you from freezing to death… again. At least long enough to ride the snowmobile back to the cabin. Then I need to call my Team so they know I'm okay. And then," she took a deep breath, "we need to have a long conversation about what we both experienced leading up to today, and what we are going to do about it now."

Hegsih went quiet, contemplating his coffee for a minute. "Yeah. That's a lot to chew on." He took a deep sip and sighed. "So. There's a cabin, huh? And a 'Team'?

"There's a lot of things." She huffed and held onto her upper bicep with the other hand, cocking a hip. "But one thing at a time, please." She nodded to a pile of clothing. "See if you can put together something out of that, that will make sure you don't turn back into popsicle-man on a four hour ride, and won't cut off all the circulation in your arms and legs."

She turned back to packing up everything else in the shelter as he fussed, grumbled, and muttered. Until she heard him make a dissatisfied noise. "I'm done as it gets," he muttered.

She turned and barked a laugh before she could stop herself, covering her mouth. "I'm sorry, you…"

"I look as ridiculous as I feel," he said sourly. "But it's the best we can do, right?" He considered what she was wearing. "Yeah, no way I'm stealing any of that."

"Thank Gods there are no cameras out here. Ruby would be immortalizing this and never let you live it down. Nora… Nora would make… comments." Her face went from amused, to serious, to pensive very fast as her ears drooped.

More names. And a lot of emotions there. The curiosity was eating at him, but he expected her answer would be to wait. "Take more than that to embarrass me."

Blake hmphed at that, and they finished packing the contents of the shelter before exiting into the cold morning air. Outside, Blake watched as Hegsih got his first conscious view of the world. His breath fogged as he turned slowly in a circle.

"Man, this is gorgeous." He pointed north. "Do you see that glacier? And those mountains?"

"Yeah, they are something." She smiled. Definitely something.

"You don't get this mix of biomes back home. Unless it was a steep mountain canyon, you'd have tundra here with a glacier that size so close, not taiga."

"Tundra? Taiga?"

"Oh. Sorry, that's…"

"For later. Right."

Blake bent down, and pulled a couple of cords, and the shelter quickly collapsed into a foldable form. "Wow. That's impressively compact."

"Yeah. Saved your bacon."

Gathering the last of the items, she headed to the snowmobile, catching her companion looking thoughtfully at a deep, graded pit in the snow. He looked back at her. "You pulled me out of that? You're stronger than you look. I'm not light."

Eyes narrowed and ears twitched. "With some help." She nodded toward the rope still tied to the machine. "And I know you aren't light. I almost dislocated a shoulder getting you into the thermal bag."

"Ah. Clever girl." He giggled a bit, which made him look even more ridiculous in his current outfit, and shifted eyes left and right rapidly.

"Uhhh…"

His face darkened. "Ah, bad reference. Dumb reference. Forget it." He mumbled some more under his breath, as he trudged back over to the machine she was fiddling with. He stopped to appraise it.

"That's… an impressive piece of technology." It was sleek, with no visible exhaust. "What kind of engine does it have?"

Blake gave him a look. Then peered at it. "Honestly, I have no idea. I just know 'push button', 'press lever', 'twist handle', 'vroom vroom'."

He chuckled. "Fair enough." She slid onto the seat, and he straddled it behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist automatically as she fired it up. It wasn't nearly as loud as he expected it to be. Somewhere between an electrical whine and a rumbling exhaust sound. She twisted the throttle, and he tightened against her, which did all sorts of interesting things. "Hey… this is nicccee."

Blake turned her head enough to give him one baleful eye. "Settle down, stud. It's going to be a long ride."

"Sure, sure."

Chapter Text

It was a long ride.

Sure, Blake had a track to follow back to the cabin. But she couldn't drive as fast with the extra weight on the machine. And between the two of them, they each were wearing half the clothing they should have been, which caused her to drive slower to keep the wind chill effect down to something bearable. And his clothes really were beyond just uncomfortable. He had to ask her to stop a few times, just so he could get off and walk around and get some circulation back in his legs. The stretchy yoga-type bottoms were flexible, but they weren't that flexible. They ate rations during one of the stops.

Worse than the ride was the growing anxiety that was slowly filling Blake. Oh, not the chewing out she was sure she would get for not calling in earlier. That she could handle. She'd faced the wrath of Weiss, Jaune, and Yang individually and collectively before in much worse situations, and worked through it.

No, it was the questions that were starting to cycle through her brain as reality continued to approach. Questions like… What the fuck am I doing? What was I thinking? Who the hell is this person I've just mated with twice? Is he going to expect more? What am I going to do with him? How in the name of the Brothers do I explain this to my Team?

She'd had hours to chew on these, and the answers kept coming back, Fuck if I know.

And now the cabin was in view around the curve of the lake, and she still didn't have any answers, just a determination to figure them out when she had to.

She heard him whistle past her ear. "That's… that's a cabin?" That got her ears twitching under her hat, and he felt her laugh.

"Yeah," she side-mouthed, "I had the same reaction."

So it's not your cabin. It's your… team's? Team… he guessed she didn't mean sports. His eye was drawn down to the weapon on her hip. It was odd. Some strange combination of firearm and blade that looked unwieldy to his eye. Private Military Contractor? Special forces? He could believe either one. It would explain her self-confidence and survival skills, as well as the weapon. And being out in the wilderness alone. Hopefully she wasn't some sort of crazy prepper. Nah. Surely not.

Hegsih was facing many of the same questions Blake was, but unlike her, his weren't filling him with self-doubt. Probably it had to do with the fact that he was not approaching reality. He was completely out of his element, and probably had come close to dying, and now he was… well he was just taking it one moment at a time. He wasn't sure what he was in for, but he was sure of one thing.

He was looking forward to the next hour of being surprised, with the person in front of him. And the hour after that. And the one after that. She was weird, and kinda moody, and a little scary at times when she narrowed her eyes at him. But he felt she was also kind, and she had a wicked wit that was just below the surface. What did I do to deserve this? He asked himself for the fortieth time. Fuck if I know, was the answer in return.

They were both dealing with nearly frozen noses and toes by the time she slid the machine into the garage, and led him inside the cabin. The cabin that was warm, thank God. "I have to make some calls," Blake said, furiously rubbing her hands together to get some feeling back in them. She nodded toward the stairs. "There's spare clothes in some of the guest rooms."

He nodded and started to head that direction, then stopped and turned back.

"I was thinking about taking a shower. You want me to wait for you?"

She blinked. Wait for you? Oh. Oh….

Do I? "I'm… no. I need to make some calls, and we need to talk before things get any more complicated than they already are. And please, while I'm on the Scroll, make sure you stay out of sight." She looked at him apologetically, hoping he'd understand.

He paused for a minute, eyes shifting in thought. "Fair. Thank you."

Blake frowned, "For what?"

"For being honest instead of telling me what I wanted to hear. I respect that." He gave her a kiss on the cheek, and headed up the stairs.

Blake held her hand to her cheek and felt her face redden. She felt. Warm. Comforted. Valued. The Scroll connected to the network. Terrified. Sick.

30 Unread Messages. Video, Audio, and Text.

Blake sighed. This was going to suckkkk.

.

.

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WHAT THE EVER LOVING FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?

Blake's ears flattened completely as she held the scroll at arms-length against Jaune's angry roar. In the background she could hear Weiss, likely trying to decide whether to add her own wrath to the call or to calm Jaune down.

"I'm sorry! I'm okay! Everything is okay!"

Juan's voice dropped a few decibels. "Do you have any idea how close you were to Weiss calling the patrols to start searching for you, or, Gods forbid, your remains?! Check in often, we said. Often doesn't mean once and then not answering messages or calls for 35 hours and…" Blake heard a soft voice in the background, "43 minutes! After all we've been through-"

"I know! Jaune." Her face was anguished, eyes filming with tears. "I… I went out yesterday afternoon, thinking it would just be a quick trip on the snowmobile, and things got… complicated." She took a breath and went on before he could probe that little evasion. "I realized it was too late to get back before it got dark. This morning, I packed up and headed back as soon it was light. I swear!"

Jaune went still. His eyes were still boring into her through the scroll, but he wasn't yelling any more.

That was almost worse.

"And what took you so long to get back today, then?" He asked in a dangerously quiet voice.

"I- I was worried that I might run into trouble again, so I was more careful on the way back." Again, not a lie, but not the full truth either.

Jaune pulled back from the Scroll, and looked to his left, shaking his head briefly, before turning back to the screen, his voice full of honest concern. "Blake. Are you hurt?"

"No... Jaune, I swear on our family that I am not hurt. Not at all."

He ran his hand over his face and his shoulders slumped before he finished, eyes going back over her face, "You look exhausted."

I look terrified too, I bet.

A finger tapped on his shoulder, and Jaune stood and moved out of the frame, replaced by Weiss. Her hard blue eyes against her pale complexion stared right through Blake as she folded her hands on the desk in front of her.

"You aren't telling us everything," she said quietly.

Blake blinked. The urge to make up something reassuring but evasive ran through her thoughts, then Hegsih's last words came back to her. She turned away from the screen, then back. Took a deep breath and let it out quaveringly. "You're right, Weiss. I'm not telling you everything. I need to finish up here, to decide some things, and then I'll come back and tell you everything. I promise." Her ears drooped. "Will you trust me just a little longer?"

Jaune muttered offscreen something about trying that once already, but Weiss shushed him. She gazed at Blake for several seconds, then pinched the bridge of her nose. "I will." She dropped her hand. "But you need to call Yang. Now. Your Partner is even upset than Jaune, if you can imagine. I'm not sure the grounds can handle much more of her 'stress relief'. Father is already furious about the repair costs." She smiled grimly. "So, it isn't all bad."

"Yes, mom. I will as soon as we hang up."

"And Ruby. You need to call Ruby."

Blake's mouth dropped. "Ruby? She's still in Vale!"

Weiss just rolled her eyes. "Yes. Ruby. Call Ruby. Right after you talk to Yang."

"Yes, mom. I will. And I'll call you back tonight, before I go to bed."

"And in the morning, when you wake up, to make up for the absolute horror I've had to deal with for the last" she glared offscreen "10 hours." Another mutter from offscreen.

"Yes, mom."

"Blake?"

"Yes?"

"We love you. Don't scare us like that again."

"I won't. I'm really sorry."

The call disconnected and she collapsed into the chair.

"That sounded rough."

Blake gasped and looked up to see Hegsih, hair wet and wearing a robe, walking down the stairs. Her ears flopped. "Yeah. It was." Her eyes narrowed. "Did you actually take a shower that fast?"

"Just rinsed off mostly." He rubbed his hair. "And don't change the subject. They really care about you. Is that… your Team? They sound more like your parents." He made it to the bottom of the stairs and stood in front of her.

She scrubbed her face. "It's complicated. But a little like both. We've been through a lot together." She felt him shift, and moved her hands to find he had knelt on the floor near her chair, looking at her with concern. He put a hand on each shoulder. "This is my fault, isn't it?"

"No! I mean, I'm the idiot who went looking for…." A vision? More like a wild Grimm chase.

"Well, at least partly my fault then." He leaned in, and kissed her cheek softly. "I'll finish getting dressed. You call your friends. Let me know when you're done."

She watched him climb back up the stairs, and then called Yang.

The call with Yang was worse in some ways.

She didn't yell like Jaune. She just stared at the scroll with lavender eyes that Blake felt could turn red at any moment. She'd never seen her like this.

It felt like hours before her repeated apologies finally had an effect, and Yang sighed and put her hand on the back of her head. "Don't do it again, Blake," she said quietly.

"I won't."

"I mean it. I love you. I don't want to feel like I might have lost you like that. Understand?"

"I'm sorry. I love you too, Yang. I'll do better."

"Yeah, you better, or I'll break your legs so you can't go anywhere." She smacked a fist into a palm, laughing.

Finally, she called Ruby.

"Blake! You're okay!" The young girl squealed, waving her hands in excitement and relief.

"I'm fine Ruby."

Ruby's eyes went soft and concerned as her hands stilled. "On second thought, you don't look fine. You don't sound fine either."

"At this point, Ruby, I'm exhausted and drained from apologizing to everyone I terrified by doing something totally boneheaded."

Ruby smiled. "Oh. Well that's fine then, I'm an expert at that."

Blake felt a tired smile cross her face. It was impossible to be down for long around Yang's younger sister. "Never change, Ruby."

"Don't plan on it!"

"How did you know I was out of contact?"

Ruby's face fell. "Yang. She called me, raging for like an hour."

"Well that-"

"Four times," she added softly.

"Oh…Sorry."

"It's okay. That's what sisters are here for. I'll talk to Yang."

"Thanks Ruby."

"And that's what friends are here for," Ruby smiled, then paused, her face going carefully blank. "Blake?"

"Yeah?"

"You need to talk to Yang. Like really talk to her. When you get back to Atlas."

"I will."

"Like really really talk to her."

"I will. I promise."

"Great! See you later! She looked to the side. Oh! Pyrrha and Nora say hugs from the crew!" Mumble off camera "And Ren too! Well not the hugs but," she mimicked his voice "give her my warm regards".

Blake laughed through teary eyes. "Thanks Ruby, and crew."

She disconnected the call and set the Scroll down and sighed. Ruby was right. She knew how Yang got. She was going to have to spend hours groveling when she got back, or her partner would spend days answering her in single syllables while insisting that absolutely nothing was wrong.

"I'm done," she called up the stairs."

Hegsih was at the top of the stairs immediately. "Why don't you come on up and take a shower yourself. I think you deserve it after all you've been through." He was wearing some sort of casual wear, a cross between pajamas and exercise clothing. It didn't look bad. He fluffed his hair.

"Yeah. I'll do that."

He met her halfway up the stairs with a gentle hug, which she appreciated. "I'll see if I can cook something to eat," he said, nodding toward the kitchen.

"Thanks."

Chapter Text

When Blake finished her shower, she felt…better. Drained, but better. She put on a change of clothes. Herown clothes, unlike poor Hegsih, and made her way downstairs to find him sheepishly sitting in the dining area with plates of… tuna fish salad sandwiches and glasses of cold water from the tap. She looked a question at him.

"Uh…I… couldn't figure out how to operate the appliances," he volunteered, sheepishly.

"Oh. Well that's fine."

"Sooo I made these." He picked one up. "Bread I can do. And opening cans, apparently. I… you like tuna fish, right?"

Blake gave him an unreadable look. "Hegsih, why… exactly, would you assume I like tuna fish?" Her eyes bore into his, and her ears went alert. "Think carefully before you respond."

He stopped. His dark face showing a wash of several emotions as he opened his mouth, closed it, did it a few more times. Then he saw her right ear twitch. His eyes squinted. "You're screwing with me, aren't you?"

Hers narrowed. "What does that mean?"

"Taking the piss. Pulling my chain. Yanking my dick."

"Ah. Well…" her mouth twitched.

"Listen here, kitty cat."

"Watch it, or I'll toss your ass back out into the snow where I found y-"

Blake suddenly found herself with a face full of tuna fish sandwich, which flopped off and headed for the floor before she intercepted it. "You… you bastard."

He grinned broadly. "I assure you madam, that my parents were duly wedded in the finest Lutheran-Sufi tradition."

"You almost wasted a tuna fish sandwich. If I hadn't caught it…!"

"Whoah, whoah. Claws in please! Ow ow ow!" She snatched her hand back, and looked at where he was rubbing his arm. Multiple red spots marked where she'd dug in.

She'd only meant to be teasing! "Oh! Sorry! I forgot!" Her ears fell. Wait… "So you really don't have aura?"

He blinked. "Aura…like magic crystals?"

"No silly, that's Dust."

"Roll back. How about we start at the beginning. I'm clearly not catching some key points here. So, tell me of your world, Chani."

She gave him a side-eye. She was beginning to recognize these little quips of his as attempts at wit.

"Sorry another bad reference, but better than the last one. But seriously. I have a lot of questions."

"Right. Right. Me too." She eyed the sandwich. "How about we talk while we eat?"

And over the next several hours they satisfied both their hunger and curiosity. The questions and answers ranged far and wide, but a sampling would have sounded like:

Hegsih:

· So you don't have any hydrocarbons at all, but you have this stuff you mine and refine called Dust, and it does basically the same thing plus a ton more. Basically magical fuel?

· And these Grimm, they just wander the countryside fucking things up? And they are HOW big? And you guys just accept this situation?

· Ok wait. Magical Undead Demon Woman, I get that. Wants to destroy the world so she can finally rest. I can totally grok that.

· So this giant Dragon God of Destruction smashed into your moon God knows how long ago, and it just stayed all smashed up? Does gravity not work there?

· Alright. Aura is like a magical soul shield. More than that? I'll take your word for it. And what's a Semblance again?

· Your Team really are like Special Grimm Forces, but with serious Harry Potter vibes. I can see how that would turn you into something like family.

· Wait, you call them mom and dad? Isn't that kinda weird? Oh. Okay yeah I can see that.

· Tell me about your partner, Yang, again? Right. Remind me not to piss her off.

· This Adam guy? He sounded like a real piece of shit.

And Blake:

· None at all? Like zero magic? That sounds horrible.

· What do you mean no one has Aura. People must be dropping dead in droves from the slightest injury. And it all sounds kinda… sad.

· Ok well that's kinda cool. Like a ship actually in space? Yeah, we can't do that at all. Dust doesn't work up there.

· Well, yeah we have a military. Well at least Atlas does, but nothing like that. But we have Huntsmen.

· So you've been working as an apprentice and you volunteer teaching kids at something called a Maker Space? What kind of things do you make?

· No. No I don't think "nuking" Salem would have the effect you think. Ozpin says she just keeps coming back.

· Just humans? No faunus at all? Well that explains a lot…

· What the hell is a furry?

The conversation on both ends was by turns baffling and engrossing. Hegsih considered his personal life pretty boring compared to the world-shattering events she had experienced, but humored Blake anyway.

Which eventually brought them up to the present.

"So… you're telling me that you had some sort of vision quest dream, and it led you to this one specific clearing in an area of the world you'd never seen before, and you found me there floating in the air with a blue glow, instead of this super duper weapon the vision promised you."

"Basically, yeah."

Hegish patted her on the shoulder. "Yeah. You got hosed."

"Yeah."

At some point, they both paused and blinked, realizing that they hadn't actually had dinner. They'd just kept replenishing sandwiches all afternoon, taken quick bathroom breaks, and now they were both more or less talked out. "Hey, Blake," Hegsih reached over and patted her hand.

"Yeah?"

"I'm kind of tired. Why don't you check in with your… team, and we can talk some more upstairs."

Blakes eyes explored his face. There was no leering suggestion there. He wasn't obviously hinting at anything. She sighed. "Yeah. That's a good idea. Better overkill at this point."

When she made it upstairs, his brown form was propped up in the guest bed she'd claimed the prior day, skimming over a book.

One of her books.

She fought down the urge to murder him or flee from the room. Or both. Her expression must have been impressive. Because his eyes widened. "Oh! Sorry, I just figured, books are a good way to understand a culture… I'll" He paused, and shifted to very slow, very deliberate movements. "I'll just set this rightttt back here where I found it."

Blake forced herself to unclench, realizing her fingernails were out, and made an effort to speak evenly... "It's… fine. Just be careful with it."

Hegsih carefully set the book down anyway. "How did the follow up go?"

"Jaune was smug. Weiss was polite. Yang is still angry but playing it off."

"Well, that could be worse, right?"

"Yeah," her ears fell.

He patted the bed in front of him, and sat up, legs crossed. "Let's talk."

Her ears tipped outward, which he was learning meant she wasn't exactly sad or embarrassed, but more conflicted. That is going to be very helpful, until I screw up my interpretation. She warily clambered onto the bed, facing him.

"What did you want to talk about?" She started lamely. He gave her a pointed look. She slumped. "Fine. Yeah. All this."

"Yeah. All this."

"I'm not sure where to start."

He took her hand in his, gently. "How about this. You're stuck with me for the near future, because I can't even figure out how to use the stove," he smiled crookedly, "and I can't imagine trying to explain to anyone who I am and where the hell I came from without your help," A quiet laugh. "And I'm not sure about my marketable skills at the moment, so I'm not fancying homelessness."

Her eyes crinkled. "Of course not, I didn't save you just to kick you back out into the snow, even if you did throw a sandwich at me."

"Of course not. So that leads to the next question. What's our relationship? Are you my benefactor? My friend? Are we casual lovers? Dating? Possible mates?"

Blake blinked. She hadn't expected this kind of blunt frankness. The only people she knew who talked like that were Jaune, once he stopped hiding things, and Ruby when she had half her brain turned off and was hopped up on cookies. She explored Hegsih's face, but saw nothing but openness. No hint of wariness or hope. "You… are a strange man."

He snorted. "I almost died last night. I'm in a strange world at the mercy of a lovely bossmang. It tends to focus the mind and reward being direct."

Blake smiled despite herself.

"But maybe I can make it easier for you than that, even." He squeezed her hand. "Do you already have a romantic partner?"

"Not recently. Nothing more than idle wondering from time to time."

"Ok that keeps at least one option on the table." He put a hand on her face, and she flinched slightly. "Blake, I just got a six hour crash course in Remnant and Blake Belladonna. From what you've told me, your Team in general, and you in particular, have been through some serious, psyche-scarring shit. I'm betting you are still dealing with a lot, though you hide it damn well if you are." Her face paled a little, and he could feel her stiffen against his palm. "So far be it from me to add to that." His face softened. "I'll take whatever you'll give me. What do you want? Do you want a friend? A lover? Have you dreamed of a tall, dark, handsome human to make your life complete?" He hadn't asked that question earlier, but he'd wanted to. Later.

Her thoughts scattered. This was making it easy? "I… I don't know."

He stilled for a few moments. "Ok then, we'll take it easy until you do. Right now, since you don't appear to hate my guts, we're going with provisional friends."

Blake blew out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding. A knot in her stomach loosened.

Hegsih gave a wicked grin, "Exceptionally easy friends, mind you. And I do not promise I won't get handsy in my sleep."

Blake laughed and swatted his hand. "Mind your manners." She looked thoughtful. "That leaves us with the question of… how do I explain this to my Team?"

He cocked his head to the side. "That's not difficult at all. You tell them the truth."

"Wha-"

"You tell them the truth." He peered at her. "The things you told me. Seems to me that bastard, whose name we will not mention again, fucked over your fundamental trust of other people. Every time you'd mention him, your whole speech patterns changed. You got super careful in what you said and how you said it, until you loosened back up."

Blake felt like she'd been slapped, but he continued on, "Worse than that. I don't think you trust yourself. I could hear it in the way you talked about everything you've been through, I'm thinking you downplayed your part." He shook his head and squeezed her hand. "Yesterday I met an amazing, resourceful, and brave woman who traipsed out into the frozen wastes, found me out in the snow, dug me out of a slushy pit, and saved my ass. That's who you are, not the person you've been describing to me in those stories."

"You don't… that's not…"

"You're right, I'm working off incomplete information. I'm probably wrong around the edges. But look me in the eye and tell me, do you trust that Team-Family thing you've got?" He waved his hand at her. "No, let me rephrase that, I know you trust them with your life, do you trust them with your hope?"

Blake tore her eyes from him, and he watched as they shifted back and forth, then came back to his face. "What. The fuck. Are you?"

"I'm just some guy who likes to solve problems and make things better. I don't have a fancy Aura, and I can't summon a Luck Dragon, so I have to be observant and clever to make up for it so I don't get broke." He looked around at his current location. "Or in this world, deaded. And I overthink things."

Blake's ears pivoted outward, then back. She frowned. "You are a dangerous man, Hegsih. You are going to be a problem." She considered what would happen when he met Ruby. Oh Gods.

"Sure. So, it's settled then," he finished. "We are provisionally best buds, maybe a little overly affectionate, and you are going to spill your guts to your Team. The only real question is the timing."

Blake blinked. "I don't remember agreeing to any of that."

"It's called 'without objection'. It's extremely efficient in cutting through indecision."

Extremely dangerous man.

She felt a weight lift from her shoulders.

Terrifyingly so.

"Let me… think about it."

"Gotcha, it's late and we're both mentally and physically wiped out." He pushed down on the bed. "And this is an actual bed. And I'm in clothes that aren't trying to tourniquet my legs off, and I'm not freezing to death. Let's get some real sleep."

He was talking about them both sleeping in the same bed.

Of course he was. Overly affectionate, he'd said. She thought about asking him to take a different room, and the thought made her feel a little sad and lonely.

Oh.

Oh crap.

She sent a quick note on her scroll before she let sleep claim her. A group text to the entire team.

B- Long day, turning in early. Love you all.

J- I see you *can* follow directions. Good job kiddo.

W- Take care of yourself.

Y- I bet. Get some rest.

Drifting off, she was pleased to see that Hegsih had given her ample space, only reaching over to give her shoulder a squeeze before he rolled over away from her. She felt sweet slumber enfold her in its purple cloak.

She only woke once during the night, to find that they had spooned in their sleep. She lay still for a while, pondering the comfort and warmth, the ease she felt. And examining how terrified that made her.

She thought about the conversation that evening, and the source of that fear.

Fucking asshole.

If you'd asked her whether she meant Adam or Hegsih, she would have spit in your face.

Chapter Text

Blake woke the next morning to daylight streaming in through the windows and an empty spot next to her. She could hear noises downstairs. The sound of a certain human clattering around.

Hopefully he isn't breaking anything, the oaf. A gentle smile tugged at her mouth.

She visited the bathroom, and smoothed her hair. Then frowned at herself.

Ah well.

Downstairs, she found Hegsih had been fiddling with a wall-mounted scroll.

"Trying to break the climate control?"

"Eh? Oh no. I was hoping to figure out whether this thing was smart-enabled." That got a questioning look. "Controlled other stuff." He pointed at the screen embedded in the wall. "Like the TV."

"Tee Vee?"

"The…. View screen? Broadcasts?"

"Oh… the CCT Broadcasts. You control that from your…. oh. She looked down at the scroll in her hand."

"I'm starting to see a problem."

"Yeah. Maybe they have some spares around somewhere, you know in case one gets broken. "I'll dig around."

"Thanks. I'm starting to get withdrawal. I need data! My exocortex is broken!"

She shook her head, charmed despite not understanding all the terms. She got the gist. "Oh, you have these back home?"

"Not quite this fancy, but basically yes. I think we have broader coverage, but less computing power."

"Right. Those satellite things in space you talked about." She sighed. "That would have saved me a lot of heartache."

"Yeah, but not nearly as fulfilling." He smirked.

"Lech."

"I prefer shameless." He laughed, then frowned. "Seriously Blake, I'm feeling pretty pathetic, here. At some point, you're going to get tired of babysitting me. I need to be able to learn how things work on my own without breaking your ears with a thousand questions."

"Okay, okay. Think you can rustle up some cold breakfast while I dig around?"

"What no cooking?"

"I see homelessness, fire, and fear in our future."

"Right. No cooking."

She found what she was looking for in a cabinet in what looked like a small office or meeting room, just off the sitting area. Several Scrolls, plugged into chargers. She pulled one out, swiped it, and was greeted by a menu. A few names had accounts already set up. Weiss was one. Lower left was an option for "guest". She clicked.

Password

Gah. Her eyes cast about, and found a sticky piece of paper on the inside wall of the cabinet.

ABC123

Seriously?

She typed it in, and it took.

Yeah. So much for security.

The Scroll's home screen flared to life, listing a plethora of helpful links, including one called "Cabin Systems." She picked around a bit, verifying that it had only limited access to systems that wouldn't, for example, extinguish the fireplace and then turn the fuel on full blast causing massive destruction and an embarrassed Popsicle-Man. Satisfying herself with that, she considered what else he might want.

The net was clearly marked, including a search field. He could figure that out, right?

There was also a spot for message and voice access. But that would require… hmm… can you do that? Just make up a new account? She'd never tried that. Never had to.

She poked around a minute.

Well, what do you know…

"Hegs, can you come here for a minute?"

"Got my hands full!"

"Oh. Sorry." She took the device to him. "I need your retina and thumbs."

"Excuse?"

"I'm setting up a communications account for you, Brownskin." He stilled, and her ears wilted.

"I'm sorry. Did… did I use a slur?"

"No. No that's not…" he smiled. "Dad used to call me that, when I was kid."

"Oh, I won-"

"No, it's okay. You. You're allowed." He eyed the scroll hungrily. "Now, show me this portal to a world of wonder, shining, shimmering, splendid."

She gave him directions and watched as he did the needful. "It wants some basic contact information. What do I put for name and stuff?"

"Hmm.. just…take your own advice. Put your actual info, best you can."

"Oh this is going to be hilarious."

Name: Hegsih Jorgensen

Kingdom:

He pondered, biting his tongue and sticking it out a bit. His most recent home address wouldn't work for that, but at least nominally, his birthplace…

Kingdom: Norway

Well, it was true. They did still have a King, even if it was just ceremonial.

City/Village: Bergen

And so on. When he was done, it created what Blake told him was an all-purpose address.

.

"Okay, now what?"

"Now people can search on your name, or your village of… Bergen?" Her eyes danced. "And find you. And they click whether they want to send a message, or a recording, or a voice call, or a video call."

"Ok, and who pays for all that?"

Blake blinked. Pays? It's the CCT network. "It's… paid for?"

"Ahhh…socialism. I knew it! The Proletarian Utopia!"

"Hegsih…"

"Da Komrade?"

"You're doing it again, and I don't have a YourWorldWebNet or whatever the hell you called it to look up all the stupid references you keep making."

"Well, maybe we'll have to fix that. Can I start a blog? A wiki?"

Blake deformed her face she rubbed it so hard. "I'm going to give your number to Ruby, if you don't stop."

That… sounded like an actual threat.

Speaking of which. "Have you called the crew yet this morning?"

"You are worse than dad."

"Just looking out for you." She gave him a side-eye, but he wasn't grinning. He meant it.

She sighed. "Fine. Right after we eat."

"Great. And then you can send me to my room. I want to be sent to my room. I've got a lot of reading up to do."

The calls went fine. Mostly they just thanked her for checking in, asked how she was doing, and when she was coming back.

"Not yet. Maybe tomorrow? I'm playing this by ear."

They didn't push. Weiss seemed about to say something a couple of times, and bit it back.

When she went upstairs, she found Hegsih thoroughly engrossed.

"How goes the research?"

"This place is fuccckkkeddd uppp."

"Gee, thanks."

"No seriously. You have the makings of a paradise, except for the psychic-soul-sensing murdermonsters roaming the countryside, in seemingly unlimited numbers, attracted to negative emotions which seems like a really shitty thing to do to hum- er, people-anity." He waved his hand, "And then you have these Kingdoms, which are nominally democratic, except when they aren't. And Atlas lording it over everyone. And then there's Menagerie, which should be a Kingdom, but can't get recognition because apparently humans aren't racist here, but they are just as fucking bigoted as they are back home."

"Whoah slow down there chief." She realized he was actually angry about that.

"No. I'm not done. I haven't even started on the absolute shit cherry on the midden pile, the fact that Atlas and practically all the rest of the Kingdoms are dependent on a resource that is monopolized by… wait for it… the asshole who just happens to own the cabin we are staying in."

Blake stepped back, shocked.

"Yeah, kinda hard not to notice the logo everywhere. So much for Power to the Proletariat."

Blake recovered and snapped back. "Ok. Stop. You are seriously freaking me out. How the hell did you figure all that out so fast?"

He paused. "Sorry. Mom says I have an overdeveloped sense of justice. It gets me in trouble sometimes." He took a deep breath. "And like I said, I depend on my exocortex. I'm voracious when it comes to info. And I'm a fast learner, when I have info. I hate not having info. It's like missing part of my brain."

She was impressed despite her concern. This aspect of his personality completely spun her impression of the 'kind but oafish easy-going companion' sideways. But it also rounded him out nicely.

"Ok. What else have you learned?"

He looked at her strangely. And flipped the scroll around so she could see… images of her actual parents. "You...are a princess."

Her ears went straight up, then back. "I'm not!"

"Well, you should be. If Menagerie had the recognition it deserves."

"No. No it doesn't work that way. The Chief is an elected position. Even if we were a Kingdom by definition, I wouldn't inherit. And why am I defending myself to you?"

He blinked. "You're not. I mean I wasn't attacking you. Was I? Oh crap." He took in her pinned-back ears and tense posture. "God I'm sorry Blake, I didn't know that was a sore spot."

She recovered a little. "Yeah. Well it is. But you didn't know that."

He spoke a little more hesitantly. "Is it okay to ask how the daughter of the Chieftain of Menagerie ended up calling the Heiress of the Schnee Dust Company "mom"?

"I told you."

"No. No, let me rephrase the question. How did Weiss Schnee end up not being a self-entitled, self-absorbed, elitist bitch. Or worse?"

Blake folded her arms. "You are way too good at this."

"I can't help it."

"Fine," she Huffed. Her eyes moved up and to the left, looking for the right words. "I think. I think part of it was her sister, Winter. When Winter joined Atlas military and was disinherited, Weiss had the weight of all that fall on her shoulders. But she idolized her sister. Something about that made her decide she cared about being right more than she cared about thinking she was right. It made her… question things. Herself, things she was told. She… well she's a lot like you, I guess. Yeah, she makes assumptions. Just like the rest of us. She has her prejudices. But if you hit her in the face with something that contradicts them…"

"She actually pays attention."

"Yeah. You should have heard the fights we had over the White Fang and Faunus before she knew who and what I really was." She smiled at the memory. "It was something else."

The conversation from there devolved into questions about her family-friends-teammates. Things that weren't on the net, but that he now had more context to know what to ask. Some of the questions clearly upset her, and he was quick to read that and back off. But he clearly wanted to know her friends, to know her.

She appreciated that.

She asked him questions too. About life where he had lived. His family. His work. In addition to being some sort of apprentice, he was helping out at what he called a "Technical School". His mom was from somewhere called Kenya, and his father from Norway. The way he talked about it, that had been a big deal. But he pushed aside a lot of her questions. "If our situation was reversed, I'd go into more detail. But learning about there isn't going to help us here."

Lunchtime came more quickly than she expected. She showed him how to use the appliances, he did not burn the cabin down. Win-win. Another quick message to her Team was sent.

He spent the afternoon splitting his time between insisting on cooking a full-course dinner for the two of them and 'research' as he called it. He even found some candles and demanded she dim the lighting. For ambience, he said.

It really was an excellent meal. Some sort of baked fish. Chalk another one up for Brownskin.

That night, she made her evening call. Weiss answered.

"Hi mom!"

"Blake. Are things… settling?" Her tone was a bit odd.

Blake was able to give a genuine smile. "Yeah. Yeah, I think so."

"So you are ready to talk about matters?"

Blake frowned. "No. I still think... I still think it's better if I wait and do this in person."

Weiss sighed. "Fine. Any updates on when that will be?"

"I think… Probably tomorrow. Yeah. I'll confirm in the morning. But tomorrow sounds about right."

"Fine. That's… fine. See you then."

Wow that was… odd. Blake wondered if it was her pushing her luck on delaying the conversation, or something going on with the Schnee family unrelated to her.

She called Yang next.

"Hey Blake! Wow you look loads better than you did yesterday."

"Thanks partner. I feel a lot better too." That got a smile from the blonde.

"Any thoughts on when you're coming back? I was hoping we could do something relaxing in Mantle once you've 'got your head screwed on straight'. Maybe go see a sparring match together? Catch a movie?"

Blake smiled. "I was talking with Weiss about maybe coming back tomorrow. I'll let you know in the morning for sure. And that would be great."

"Awesome. Woot! Girls' night out!"

Chapter Text

As they prepared for bed, she broached the subject.

"What do you think about returning to civilization tomorrow, after lunch?"

"I dunno. You see, I'm really enjoying some quality time with this girl. And I'm afraid someone else might try to muscle in."

She rolled her eyes and whacked him gently on the shoulder. "You are impossible."

"I'm told that. Story of my life. Hegsih, do'er of the impossible." He smiled with humor, dark skin around his eyes crinkling. "Seriously though, yeah, I'm fine with it. You know best." He reached an arm out, and she leaned into a side-hug. He was warm and comfortable, and she let him draw her down as he lay back. She closed her eyes, content, for just a second.

She opened them what seemed a moment later, and the room was dark and still. She was little-spoon again. And there was a hand… gently cupping her left breast. Another wrapped around her waist. His torso and hips pressed gently against her back as he snored quietly.

Well, this feels familiar. Except of course for… no. Not a twinge. And no intrusive body parts. Not like last time. Blake let her thoughts drift… they drifted into some rapids. She felt some very familiar and insistent stirrings as her body warmed against his. She thought about pushing those feelings away, but instead let the current flow, becoming very warm indeed, enjoying the combination of her fantasizing and the very real subject of that fantasy, pressed against her, all unknowing.

What do you want? Do you want a friend? A lover? Have you dreamed of a tall, dark, handsome human to make your life complete?

What do I want?

Well right now, she wanted… firm body against hers. Lips on her skin. Other things. Other places.

She sighed. She obviously knew what she wanted now. But was that fair to them if she didn't know what she wanted tomorrow?

Overly affectionate friends, he had said. She turned that over in her head. That was an invitation, wasn't it?

Why do I have to always be afraid? What if I just want… intimacy, closeness, without being worried about what might happen weeks or months or year from now?

Why can't I have happiness on my terms?

…

Who says I can't?

She closed her eyes briefly, swallowed, and rolled over to face her bedmate. "Hey popsicle-man," she whispered softly. She caressed his face, enjoying the play of emotions over it as he tried to wake up under her touch. One eye, then the other, cracked open.

Hegsih woke to find luminous amber eyes close to his, and an eloquent look on Blake's face, and smiled. "I would love to," he murmured.

That night was very unlike their previous times. Their first had been dominated by her desperation to obtain relief as quickly as possible. The second, more a desire to return the favor for his prior consideration.

This time, there was a tenderness to it. There was real affection, a desire to understand, to explore, to please. They covered each other in kisses, caresses, touches. They murmured encouragements and gentle corrections. They twined and joined, and moved against and with each other. They experimented, and found what worked and what didn't, at least for now.

It was quiet. It was passionate. It was comforting. It was exquisite.

She was gently kissed awake. She cracked open her amber eyes as he pulled away, smiling softly. "Good morning, Kitty Cat."

She reached up to caress his cheek. "Mmmm. Good morning to you, Brownskin."

His eyes flicked to her nightstand. "I wanted to let you sleep in, but… I thought it was important that we keep promises."

"Oh. Oh! Yes." Yes, that was important. "Let me… let me send a quick message, and then I'll get dressed and call them." She tapped out a group "Good morning!" message, and then stretched. That word again. Languid. Yeah, that definitely fit.

He gazed appreciatively as she stretched, enjoying the sight of her. He sighed. "So, we've graduated to lovers?" Golden-brown eyes met amber.

Trepidation tried to germinate, was stamped out. I can have what I want. "Yes." Eyes held unflinching. "That's what I want."

"Good. Because that was… relationship-altering sex. At least rounds 1 and 2 were. I'm not sure what the hell round 3 was."

She laughed, kissed him, and rolled over to the side of the bed. "Round 3, as you called it, was because we could, and because I wanted to."

"I'll take that." His stomach grumbled. "And I'll make breakfast while you take care of morning stuff."

She had just finished brushing her hair into something manageable when she heard him call from the kitchen, an odd tone to his voice.

She went down the stairs, and found him looking… disturbed but controlled. He held out his scroll to her as she approached.

Mr. 'Jorgensen'.

Be kind to explain to me why, exactly, I should not send an Atlas patrol to our family's cabin *right now* to determine who you really are, how you got inside, and why you are availing yourself of my family's property. You have five minutes.

-Winter Schnee

Blake's face went ghostly, ears pinned hard against her head.

Then she screamed, almost making him drop this borrowed device, as her own scroll began buzzing angrily in her right hand.

It was Weiss that appeared on the screen, but not in their quarters. It was some sort of small, bare room.

"Weiss." Blake whispered, dread overtaking her.

Weiss answered, softly and carefully controlled. "Blake, are you safe?"

"Yes. Why?"

"Who is Hegsih Jorgensen?"

Blake tried to speak, but words wouldn't come out past her suddenly tight throat.

"Blake please. I need to be sure you are safe and well. Do you understand me? There's a man in the cabin, someone no one knows anything about, and we have no idea what's going on."

"Blake it's okay." Hegsih spoke softly. Weiss started at the sound. She looked actually afraid. He lifted the scroll from Blake's boneless hand, turned it toward himself. "Hi Ms. Schnee," he said gently. He could see Blake's hands beginning to shake. "Whoah, one second... Blake sit down... There you go."

He got her into a chair even as he heard the tail end of Weiss making demands. "- right now! Do you understand me?!"

"Sorry, sorry wanted to make sure she wasn't going to fall over or anything first."

"Show me both your hands. This instant."

"Excuse me?"

"I need to see that your hands are empty."

"Oh. Oh right. I'll do better than that." Leaning, he propped the scroll on the table, and stepped back so she could both Blake, who looked like she had been struck by lightning, and his entire upper body. He wiggled his fingers, then tapped Blake gently on the shoulder. "Blake, your Team needs you to focus. You friend needs to know you are okay, and I've got… three minutes to tell Ms. Schnee's older sister that I'm not some criminal stripping the cabin to the floorboards."

Weiss blinked, even as Blake stirred. "Oh. No, you've got a few more minutes than that. I talked to Winter before I called. That's why I called. You have to convince me." She paused. "Blake? Are you well? Convince me that you are well."

Blake took a long, shuddering breath, and let it out, closing her eyes. She opened them, looked at Weiss, then up at the man to her right. Her hand met his and squeezed as she turned back to the screen. She saw Weiss' eyes widen, her scar standing out on her pale skin. "I'm sorry we scared you, Weiss. I really am. I didn't realize-" She swallowed. "We were going to explain in person. We were coming back today."

"We," Weiss said flatly.

Blake nodded. "We."

Weiss was angry. She'd never seen Weiss this angry. "So, all of this. The sketched mountain. The supposed trek in the woods. Making us all crazy with worry. Breaking-" Weiss shook her head, and her voice continued, low and shaking. "This was all for some sort of… tryst?!"

As Weiss's angry words had spilled out, Blake's eyes had grown wider and her face paler. "No! No! It-"

"Ms. Schnee," Hegsih interrupted. "Blake told you the truth. She found me, half dead, out there in the wilderness. That's why she was stuck out there overnight. She was trying to keep me from freezing to death."

Weiss blinked, looked at Blake for confirmation, and got a slow nod. She wrapped her arms around herself and took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and opened them. "I… I see. That is… somewhat better."

"I was coming back, Weiss. Today. I was coming to tell you everything. I didn't realize…"

"- that registering a guest on one of the backup scrolls at the cabin would pop up a flag in the security software Winter had installed?" Blake and Hegsih blinked at each other. "That she would be able to use that same software to browse the guest profile's history?" Jaws dropped. "And that she would then cross-index it to one Hegsih Jorgensen?" She glanced down. "Of the city of Beergeen, Kingdom of Norway? " She looked back up. "Is this some kind prank?"

"No ma'am."

"And would you care to explain how it is that you don't exist? Anywhere?! In any database or system? Mr. Jorgensen of the Kingdom of Norway?"

"I need to sit down."

"Oh, I am sure you do."

"Ms. Schnee-" he began.

"Weiss-" Blake tried to intercede, shaking.

"Oh no, I'm not talking to you yet. I'm talking to tall dark and mysterious."

"Ma'am," Hegsih interrupted in a quiet, matter of fact voice. "you are terrorizing your friend, and she doesn't deserve it."

You would have thought he'd reached through the scroll and slapped Weiss. She looked away and he was sure she was counting to twenty. "I-" the infuriatingly rigid Schnee façade broke, and she turned back to her friend with a pained expression. "I'm sorry, Blake. To be fair, I was terrified first."

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry I didn't realize you could find out like this, or I would have just told you or done something else."

There was a long pause, before Weiss exhaled out through her nose. "Okay. I am convinced you aren't being held hostage, or drugged, or being blackmailed. So, I am now not terrified. And I understand you were trying to do the right thing. So, I am not angry now, either." Her eyes shifted back and forth. "Is this true, you found this man out there? In the forest?"

"Yes. It's true. There's…. a lot more to it. But yes. He was alone, and I ended up having to save him from hypothermia. It was a close thing."

Weiss's attention shifted. "Mr… is that really your name?"

"Yes ma'am. My friends call me Hegsih, or just Hegs."

"That is your actual name…"

"Yes."

She sighed. "Mr… Hegsih. What were you doing alone, in the middle of a forest, in Atlas-controlled territory, hours from civilization?"

"Honestly, besides freezing to death, I have no idea." Weiss's eyes narrowed. "Seriously. As far as I can tell, the only reason for me to be there…" he blinked, and continued softly, "was so Blake could find me."

"Do the others know yet?" Blake interrupted.

"No. No, Winter sent me the message, and I immediately found a private spot to call so as not to alert anyone." She looked to the side. "You need to come back to Atlas. Now."

"Okay. Okay we will."

"Yes. Both of you. I need to… I need to see both of you in the flesh. I'm not convinced this isn't some sort of elaborate trick, or I'm having a mental breakdown."

"Wiess."

"Five. Five hours. Jaune and I will meet you at the Mantle transport hub, at the facility where you obtained the snowmobile." She disconnected abruptly.

Shit.

"Shit."

Hegsih looked at the scroll still in his hands. Considered his search history. "Fuck." He pulled up the messaging app, and started typing furiously.

"What are you doing?!" Blake hissed. Aren't we in enough trouble?"

"Get your stuff packed. I'm messaging Winter."

"You're what?!"

"I believe Weiss, but better honest than sorry. Get moving. You said it's a four hour trip, so we've got 1 hour to clear out." He sniffed. "God, I've got to get a shower in. You too. We smell like… well, each other."

Blake reddened a little. That was good, he mused. The shock was wearing off. "Okay. Right."

"That's my tough girl. You get knocked down, but you get back up again."

"Was that-"

"Yes, and I'm not sorry at all."

Chapter Text

Hello Ms. Schnee,

My fervent apologies. I have spoken with your sister, and I believe she is at least temporarily satisfied that I am here through happenstance and the quick thinking of her Teammate, Blake Belladonna, to whom I am indebted for dragging my frozen carcass out of a slushy would-be grave.

Regarding your questions as to my identity, I'm afraid that I was stupid, or naïve, enough to use my actual information when setting up my online accounts. Yes, I know it makes no sense. No, I can't prove it via text.

I look forward to our eventual meeting, and the grilling that awaits me.

Yours,

Hegsih Jorgensen
Certified Idiot

The response came back minutes later.

Mr. Jorgensen,

I have spoken with my sister. I shall defer further action until things become more clear.

Yours, probationarily

Winter Schnee
Specialist, Atlas Military

PS I accept your self-imposed title.

Well, isn't she a bottle of giggles.

He found Blake in the bathroom, post shower, a towel wrapped around her body and one in her hair, holding up a small, translucent orange pill bottle.

"What's that?"

She shook her head. "Hormone supplement. Tried and true. Keeps the involuntary urges away."

"Ah. And that was here, was it?"

"Yeah," she turned back to him. "I don't regret the end result, but…" She frowned. "I can't help thinking that fate, or the Gods, or something…"

"Is royally messing with you? Yeah. I've been thinking the same thing." He gave her a quick hug. "Finish getting dressed. My turn in the shower."

They were ready in 45 minutes, her meager belongings and his nonexistent ones securely packed in the snowmobile. Borrowed scroll next to hers in a side pocket.

It was a long four hours.

They stopped once for a break, eating in silence, lost in thought for what lay at the end.

The last hour things began to catch Hegsih's attention. That's when they started to see buildings. Vehicles. Other signs of civilization. He craned his neck when a passing air vehicle roared overhead. A.. Bullhead. That was the name. He marveled at the differences and similarities. They could make that, but they couldn't manage an aircraft carrier? A tank? They had humanoid androids, but no drones?

Some of their choices just bewildered him.

As they approached the transport hub on the edge of Mantle, his attention was drawn to the airfield and multiple hangers and vehicle garages. Heavy trucks, Bullheads, what looked like wheeled trams. Some moving, some parked. It was a hive of activity.

There was a welcoming committee.

At the entrance to a garage a trio was gathered. Two women, one taller and one shorter, with white hair and white and gray clothing. Beside them stood a young man with white armor and lanky blonde hair.

He glanced down at the clock mounted on their vehicle. Fifteen minutes early. How long had they been standing there in the chill air?

He felt Blake slow, her body stiffen as they closed the distance. Eyes scanning left and right.

"What are you looking for?"

"Soldiers. Ace Ops. Aliens." She snorted, "Paranoia."

"Ah."

A technician came out as they reached the garage, and waved them to a spot just beside the trio. They halted, dismounting, and grabbed their few bags of personal gear, and the man hopped on and powered it into the building.

Silence.

Blake and Hegsih stood with gear in one hand, uncertainly facing the trio, who waited silently. Winter Schnee had her hands linked behind her back. Jaune Arc's were folded across his chest.

Weiss. Weiss stretched out one hand, palm upward, toward Blake.

Who promptly lost all composure, and fell into a gentle embrace. Hegsih felt his mouth turn down slightly, and stopped it, peering at Winter, who seemed embarrassed by the display of affection. Jaune, however…

Jaune was watching him. The look in that man's blue eyes was… uncanny. Hegsih had the feeling of a man who'd fallen overboard in deep water and was watching flashes of white and huge fins in the depths. This is not a man to fuck with.

Oh well. Here we go.

He cleared his throat and nodded toward Jaune. "Mr. Arc, I presume?" and received a slow nod in reply, but no uncrossing of arms. Alright.

"Specialist Schnee." Another nod. This one less frosty. She seemed slightly intrigued.

He heard the back end of a whispered conversation to his right, and then felt a pressure next to him, as Blake returned to his side, wiping at her face. She looked at the other two, and then at her…lover.

Oh. Her eyes narrowed at the scene, and something inside her stiffened. No. That isn't how this is going to go. Making eye contact with Jaune, she deliberately took one arm, and wrapped it around Hegsih's waist, pulling them closer together.

That got a reaction. Weiss made a small sound, that might have been a gasp. Winter's eyes widened slightly.

He thought Jaune might have murdered him, until Blake glared at him, and Jaune's own hard stare softened into something more quizzical.

Weiss broke the silence. "Well. Why don't we get out of this cold. There's a room upstairs we can use."

"We aren't going back to-" Blake started.

"Not yet." Jaune interrupted. "Not until we know who we are talking to." Oh, that's subtle.

"This way," Winter turned, flipping one hand forward.

In the jungle, the mighty jungle the lion sleeps tonight…

"What are you doing?" Blake hissed at Hegsih.

He blinked. Oh. He'd been humming that out loud, hadn't he. Well. "Sorry."

They filed into a comfortable room. A central table, padded chairs. There was..

"Coffeeeee"

A barking laugh surprised him, as well as the person who did it. The two males locked eyes for a moment, bemused by common cause, before Jaune's hardened again.

This is one fucking angry man, and he's a Huntsman with a capital "H". Gritting his teeth, Hegsih deliberately turned his back on Jaune, attending to the source of all joy. Go ahead. I probably won't survive it. But go ahead. His back itched as he poured three cups, one for him, one for Blake, and one for... "How do you take your coffee, sir."

Silence.

"He takes it black. No sugar," Weiss's voice spoke into the silence. Thank you, Weiss.

There was a low growl and a quiet smack behind him. He turned back, two cups in hand, one to Blake who looked at him with thanks and apology all in one. The other he… placed down in front of the blonde man without making eye contact.

He retrieved his own, and sat down, urging Blake to sit next to him, without waiting for anyone else.

The rest followed.

Silence.

Jaune spoke first. His voice sounded young, but he didn't feel young to Hegish. "I've been informed that I am not in a suitably civil mood to lead this discussion." He glanced to the side pointedly. "So I'm turning it over to Weiss." He glared at Hegsih. "But if I feel like we are being played, here, I will make myself heard."

And felt. Hegsih added silently.

"We understand, Jaune" Blake said quietly and surprisingly calmly. She squeezed his hand below the table.

Weiss stirred, placing her hands on the table in front of her and leaning forward. "Blake, you are in… a relationship… with… Mr. Jorgensen." It wasn't phrased as a question.

Blake nodded, then paused. "Can we. Can we stop with the formalities, Weiss? His name is Hegsih. Or Hegs." She turned to her lover. "And it's Weiss, and Jaune, and-"

"Specialist Winter," the elder Schnee sibling clipped.

"Fine. And Specialist Winter."

Eyes did a complicated dance around the table. Nods were had, some grudgingly.

Weiss, uncharacteristically, rubbed at her scar as if it itched. "I need to understand what has happened here." She took both of them in. "Who you are." A nod to Hegsih, "And above all why?"

Blake cleared her throat, feeling a reassuring squeeze. "Right. Right. It all started over a week ago."

Chapter Text

Blake's explanation made it all the way up to her reaching the cabin and seeing the tell-tale landscape before the first interruption.

"And that's why you brought that sketch to me? And why you looked like you hadn't been getting enough sleep?" Weiss was both surprised and miffed. "Why didn't you just tell me the truth?"

"What, that I was having strange visions about a place I'd never seen? I felt like a lunatic already." She shook her head. "Frankly, I figured I would get there, and find it was all, pardon the language, bullshit, and come back."

Jaune was the one whose expression had changed the most during the first part of the story. He'd gone from silently enraged, to thoughtful, if suspicious.

The next interruption was when she'd found the glowing man.

Winter's eyes narrowed. Jaune's face looked like he'd eaten something that tasted like feces.

Weiss…"You are telling me that, instead of the weapon you saw in the vision, you found…" she gestured to the man next to her.

"Yes. Floating popsicle-man. And yeah, that's what I named him."

"Naked."

"And spinning, glowing, floating. Yes."

"Well, that explains why he's wearing our spare clothing and didn't have his own Scroll," Winter said dryly.

Hegsih had thought Jaune was easing out of his anger, but he could sense it coming back. But when he glanced at the blond man, he wasn't sure that it was about him.

Blake's tale continued, reaching the tent, and the thermal bag, when Jaune interrupted again.

"I do not like where this is going. Not one bit," he growled.

Blake blushed, and even Hegsih had the decency to look embarrassed.

"Shit." He turned to Weiss. "How's your fortune-telling, dear? Because mine is setting off all sorts of alarms."

"I didn't have any choice," Blake hissed.

"Jaune," Winter interrupted with that unnerving calm she had. "Based on the symptoms she described-"

"Oh, I've no doubt he was dying, that she saved his life, but that didn't mean she had to… to." A suspicious glare his direction. "Or was it the other way around?"

"Whoah, whoah. It wasn't like that at all!"

"Then what the hell… Blake doesn't go around sleeping with every guy she meets. Hell, she doesn't sleep with any guy she meets!"

Blake's face was vivid by now. Weiss put a hand on Jaunes' arm, stilling him. Blake tried to speak, and found she just couldn't force the words out.

"Wait a second," Hegsih muttered. "Just a damned second." He bent down, opening up her pack. Her eyes widened as she caught on, then closed, and she nodded.

Hegsih pulled out a small, translucent orange pill bottle and set it down on the table with a soft slap.

"Here's your answer. She left this." He gestured stiffly to the bottle. "At the cabin. Because the calendar didn't add up. It shouldn't have been necessary. But something screwed with her own personal calendar."

Blake's eyes opened, and he could see the relief. That was, well done, Brownskin.

There was silence around the table. Winter had actually pinked a bit in embarrassment. Weiss looked disturbed but thoughtful.

Jaune was still angry, but it was obvious it wasn't at anyone in the room. He glared at the bottle, then turned his head toward the windows, eyes focused on something in the distance, his jaw clenching. Hegsih suspected there were two fists under the table doing the same. The man seemed offended by the entire world.

After a minute, with some coaxing, Jaune calmed down enough that Weiss continued.

"I won't ask any more about what happened that night, then. I can surmise. And based on your behavior now, it was consensual?"

"Yes. Hegsih was… considerate."

"A complete goof." Hegsih added.

"Stop it."

Weiss allowed a small but genuine smile at the exchange, then it faded quickly.

Winter interrupted, "I am… happy that you appear to have found a… companion, Blake. But that doesn't answer my questions." She turned to Hegsih. "Who are you? Where do you come from? Why are you a complete non-entity in every cross index I've tried. Not just name, but prints, scans, facial matching. And believe me, I've put some resources into this." She paused, explaining. "With the past attacks on our family, we can't afford half measures."

Hegish nodded, sympathetically. "This is going to sound unbelievable."

"Try me," Jaune said. His demeanor had shifted visibly. He was leaned forward, arms on the table, his face more relaxed than they had seen so far.

"Okay. Okay I will. I really am originally from a city called Bergen, in a nation called Norway, though I've lived in another nation for most of my life. I defaulted to that because they... well nominally they do have a King, but it's mostly ceremonial. I was trying to stick as close to the truth as possible when Blake set up the Scroll."

Winter made a tch sound. "And where, pray tell, in Remnant is this… Norway."

"It's not. That's the problem." He could see the disbelief in her eyes. "Seriously." He had a burst of inspiration. "Look, you have access to the scroll I borrowed," her face betrayed nothing, "Look at the search history. Look at my level of complete ignorance, the kind of questions I was asking. 'What is Dust?! How does Aura work?! What is the capital of Atlas?! Does that sound like a native of Remnant to you?"

Winter's eyelids twitched as he hit each point. Good. Yeah. Chew on that. He looked back at Weiss, then Jaune who leaned back. Weiss and Jaune shared a look. "Okay," Jaune said, matter of factly.

"What?" Winter stuttered. "I mean. I can see his argument, but there's no basis-"

"I've seen weirder," Jaune said, calmly. "I've lived weirder. Kid is telling the truth."

Hegsih started to relax, felt Blake do the same beside him.

"That's not the only problem, though."

Good feelings gone.

"One," Jaune counted off a finger. "Something is screwing around with our little family again, and the last time that happened, it caused a lot of suffering.-"

"Before we came out on top," Weiss added, her mouth set in a firm line."

"Sure, fine, but the price was steep." Weiss reached over and squeezed his shoulder.

Second." Another finger. "We still don't know why you are here. I don't trust the puppeteer, how can I trust the marionette?"

Hegsih flinched. Then he got angry himself. "I'm no puppet. I am no one's puppet," he growled.

Jaune cocked an eyebrow at that. "Kiddo, we're all someone's puppet, sometimes."

And stop calling me kiddo. You're not that much older than me.

The eyebrow went up another notch as if he'd read Hegsih's thoughts. But Jaune continued. "And third" Another finger. "You appear to have, ahem, taken liberties with our daughter-in-function, and the Belladonna's only daughter-in-fact, without what I would consider a minimum of consideration." To Hegsih's shock, It was Blake who answered with some anger.

"Dad, we told you, it was not exactly voluntary when-"

"Oh, I'm not talking about that time." He looked at the two of them. "Am I?"

Their anger faded a little, replaced by a slight guilt, but she rallied again. "I'm a grown woman, Jaune."

"And I'm ancient, cynical, and entitled to look out for your well-being, and I dare you to take that tone with Ghira and Kali."

That quieted her down. "Well. Yeah. That's going to be a thing."

"Will they care that I'm human?" Hegsih suddenly asked.

Several pairs of eyes blinked, then considered. Wiess spoke first. "Ghira and Kali Belladonna? No. No, they'll care about whether you make their only child happy," Weiss smiled sadly. "They won't care about anything else. Now my father would have had a fit."

"Your father is already having fits over you being engaged to a Huntsman without significant assets to his name." Jaune laughed without humor. "Jacques Schnee isn't a racist, he's a classist. He's an equal opportunity asshole if you're poor." Weiss made a face, and swatted his arm.

Winter just rolled her eyes, before speaking again. "Regardless, I have more questions, about your… alleged world." Weiss gave her a look, which she returned.

"I think that can wait a bit, Jaune inserted quickly. I'm sure Hegs here," using the more familiar version for the first time, he nodded, "is overjoyed to help Atlas with their research in the very near future." Another eyebrow.

"Actually, yes I am." Hegsih said honestly. "I'm fascinated by the differences in military technology, hell technology in general, between the two worlds. For example, the complete replacement of hydrocarbon-based society with Dust-based, the lack of space technology, the apparently tenuous nature of long-range communications. Why-" He felt fingernails dig into his arm and got his eyes out of the clouds and back on the table.

Winter was watching him with eyes like slits, fingers poised on her scroll. Jaune looked like he was about to have some sort of fit. Weiss… was shaking her head sadly.

"I'm sorry, he gets like this every time the subject comes up," Blake observed mournfully.

"Oh, he has got to meet Ruby Rose-"

"Jaune…" Weiss warned.

"Well, it's going to happen. And I want to be there."

Hegsih grimaced and looked an apology at Blake, who only smiled enigmatically.

Weiss cleared her throat. "Winter, if you could excuse us? We need to ask some more personal questions."

Winter hesitated, then considered, "Hegsih, you may have permanent loan of the Scroll. I will reconfigure it to remove the other accounts."

"And ensure it stays monitored," he added. Her face tightened. "It's okay, Specialist Winter. I expect that. Hell, I would do that if our positions were reversed." He stood and offered his hand. "I'm not your enemy. I've learned what is your enemy, and I would help you fight them." She breathed in through her nose, and took his hand briefly, nodded to the rest, and excused herself.

The door closed.

"Like I said. A whole bottle of giggles."

"Excuse me?" Winter's sister rebuked.

"I said that out loud, didn't I?"

Weiss was disapproving, but Jaune had a hint of humor on his face, and Blake was shaking quietly.

"Sorry. It's been a while since I've met someone wound that tightly."

"Winter has…a history with our father and her current responsibilities weigh heavily on her shoulders. I'm sure Blake has told you some things, though hopefully she has been somewhat discrete."

"Yes, mom."

"Which does lead to our remaining question." She looked them over carefully.

"Blake, Hegsih… can I ask the exact nature of your relationship?"

"Lovers," Blake stated, tilting her chin up, daring them to object. "Tentative," Hegsih said at the same time, with a smile. They looked at each other in surprise.

Weiss narrowed her eyes.

Hegsih snorted softly, then became more serious. "Look, I know Blake has been… through some things. We talked about a lot of them." He looked at Weiss, "that really was part of the reason she delayed coming back. It wasn't just bullshit to put off her closest friends," he nodded with satisfaction as Weiss absorbed that. "She considers you two something between adopted parents and big siblings, so I don't see the point in lying to you. I'm completely smitten with her. And it isn't just the ears." But goddam they are something aren't they? "Right now? I'm sure it's at least half infatuation, but she's just… fucking incredible." He squeezed her hand and felt her reciprocate. "She single-handedly hauled my frozen ass out of that hole with brains and muscles combined. I've seen her terrified, but she powers through it. She… she has some serious trauma, and I swear to you, I won't add one more ounce to that."

He turned his eyes to the woman beside him. "I told you, Blake. I'll take whatever you will give me. I'm betting you thought that meant the minimum you would allow." He paused and added more sofly, "It means the other way too."

Blake stared at him, eyes stinging. She felt tears collecting on her cheeks. "You… you damn… guh." She sniffed, snottily. "Dammit."

"I will be dipped in shit."

They blinked, turning back to Jaune.

His face was soft, a slight smile on his lips. Shaking his head slowly, he continued "Baby girl has found a suitor." Blake blushed.

Weiss looked thoughtful.

They wrapped up quickly after that. Weiss excusing herself to make a quick call first as Jaune, Blake, and Hegsih made small talk. The couple were relaxed for the first time since the call back at the cabin. Even more-so in some ways. They stayed within arms-reach, making sure there were small touches. Jaune's face looked like it might start hurting, he was grinning so much.

Chapter Text

The ride back to the Schnee Estate was peaceful.

"I've told father that we have… an additional guest," Weiss spoke slowly. "But for propriety's sake, I have made arrangements for you to have separate rooms."

"That's… that's fine."

"I told Yang the good news. She's very happy for you, Blake. But she's going to be hurt that you didn't confide in her. Very hurt. More than I was. And it's going to be hard to see her… her Partner in a new relationship where it used to be just the two of you. Do you understand?"

Blakes ears drooped. "Yeah. I- I do." She looked at Hegsih, "She was there for me, when we faced Adam, when we put down Cinder. It was always the two of us after the first month of Beacon Academy. She was one of the few people who got me, before Jaune got under my skin."

The blond man laughed. "Yeah, well you made it pretty easy to find your buttons, and pressing them…hooboy."

Blake rolled her eyes and pretended to examine her fingernails, suddenly longer. Hegsih felt a flush of warmth as he imagined them raking his back. Again. She saw him looking and blushed.

"Easy there kids. Get a room."

Weiss touched her arm. "Blake, seriously, take it easy on Yang for a while. She's going to need time to find her footing with this new situation."

When they reached the estate, The butler Klien and Yang were waiting for them at the landing pad.

"Blakey! Yang cried. Blake smiled broadly and rushed to her best friend. Yang's face was tear-streaked. "I'm so so happy for you!" Her face went serious. "But I'm going to kick your ass, you know that right?"

"I know, I know. I'm so sorry, Yang. I-"

"Aww give it a rest or we'll drown everybody with the waterworks. And is this the lucky guy?" She sized him up. "Doesn't look like much of a fighter. Must have other assets. Ow! What?! I was talking about brains ya doofus. Mommm kitty scratched me!" Hegsih found himself laughing along. He had the feeling the blond bombshell, and from what Blake said she really could practically explode on you when she was pissed, was… was trying too hard? Maybe. And maybe I'm just paranoid about coming between two friends.

He hung back, on purpose, to let them have their moment, before Yang stepped up to him with her hand out. He reciprocated slowly, expecting, frankly, her to crush it based on the stories he'd heard. Instead he found a gentle, relaxed grip. Her eyes were kind with a sort of wistfulness. "It's nice to meet you, Blake's boyfriend."

"You too Blake's bestie. She couldn't stop talking about you."

"Ah. Yah. She' talks too much."

"Do not!"

"Anyway, I'm happy for her. I hope I can find someone, some day, that looks at me like she looks at a tuna sandwich."

"Dammit Yang!"

"It's true and you know it!"

Laughing, she let go and the group headed for the house.

The next few weeks were a whirlwind.

Hegsih's days were filled with interviews with Winter and a few handpicked Atlas experts. Frankly, he suspected that they would have locked him up and interrogated him 24-7, if not for Jaune and Weiss. They clearly had influence on Winter and General Ironwood. More than he felt was explained by family ties or just being Huntsmen.

Regardless, it was fascinating. It was overwhelming. It was exhausting. At first, they had grilled him mercilessly, and had been very reticent to answer any of his questions. But as the days went on, they began to show him, if not super secret cutting edge technology, at least the stuff that was publicly available. He oohed and ahhed and asked questions.

Some of his questions shocked them by their ignorance or naivety.

Some of his questions shocked them into shifting their thinking.

He could tell when that happened. For the former, they would get quiet, and then someone would laugh, and start to explain why something worked the way it did ELI5. But the latter, those made him feel like he was actually contributing. There would be that same silence, and then one of them would ask him, very calmly, to repeat the question. And they would look at each other, and then one of them would begin typing furiously in their Scroll, walking away muttering, while the rest continued the conversation.

Winter began to act less like an escort, and more like a compatriot too. That felt good.

The evenings were wonderful. He spent time talking to Weiss and Yang. He even hit up Klien a few times. The man wasn't nearly as stuffy as he first appeared. He tried to talk to Whitley a few times, but the young man seemed to have a five inch wide stick up his ass. Hegs shrugged after his third attempt and let it lie.

He avoided Jacques Schnee the few times the man was at home.

Then there was the Matriarch, Mrs. Willow Schnee. Yee Gods. That woman was a wreck. He'd never seen her without a drink in her hand, and she seemed to look right past him the few times he'd tried to make her acquaintance. He could tell it hurt Weiss too.

"She's a lost cause, kiddo." Jaune had told him. "Locked in her own misery and insulated from the rest of the world through bottle-glass." I've been there too. I know.

"Don't you guys have AA?"

"AA?"

"Alcoholics Anonymous. Twelve steps? First step is admitting you have a problem?"

Jaune shook his head. "See, there's the issue. That first step. She doesn't think she has a problem. She thinks she is a problem."

He filed that away too.

He filed a lot away.

Finally, there was Yang and Blake. The two of them together were like… like. Gah.. black and yellow, they get behind a fellow. No seriously, watching them spar against each other was incredible. They were fast, and the strikes would have put down any mere mortal like… well like him. But watching them spar against another pair, working as a team?

It was like watching a world-class MMA fighter, hopped up on five kinds of performance enhancing drugs, paired up with an Olympic gymnast with a fucking gun / sword / whip thing. And the two of them had the choreography and coordination of a ballet on meth. At Circ du Soliel.

Sometimes the sparring team were some of the so-called Ace Operatives. Basically Atlas' version of Huntsmen, but more militarized. That was a show. And the strikes... Lord, he wouldn't have lasted 15 seconds. The first hit and he'd be missing an arm, or a leg. Or a head. Maybe a torso.

But usually, the sparring partners were Weiss and Jaune. And that was on a whole other level. They knew each other. It was like a well-oiled machine, even in opposition. They knew each other so well, that they didn't hold back, not that he could see. Weiss was an artist, and what she did was paint a portrait of destruction, of forces and counterforces.

Jaune, on the other hand, he fought fucking dirty. He wasn't huge. He didn't have Weiss's abilities, or Yang's striking power, or even Blake's ability to just not be where your hit landed while she nailed you in the back. No, what he had was versatility and sheer bastardization. Everything was a weapon. Everything was an edge. You couldn't let your guard down for a second around him during sparring. I never. Ever. Ever want to actually piss that man off. He realized that what he'd thought was anger before was nothing, because, frankly, he was still breathing.

Blake though. Blake took his breath away. He knew that body, and he watched it flip, and twist, and bounce off the landscape, off opponents, off teammates like some sort of insane murderous happy fun ball. Amber eyes glowed with delight as she fired, slashed, or grappled her way through the opposing team.

It was damn hot.

And more than one evening, he told her so, and reaped the benefits.

True to their promise regarding Yang, they took it easy about Hegsih monopolizing Blake's time and attention, especially at first. More than one night, Blake and he slept in separate beds, in separate rooms. After the first few days, they began sneaking to his room for a quick bout of lovemaking. They revered those hours alone, and he felt like… like this was the real deal. It wasn't perfect. Sleeping single was lonely, but it was enough. And it was so that Yang, Blake's bestie, would see that he wasn't trying to take away her close relationship with her partner.

So why was it that he felt like, sometimes before she noticed him looking, that he'd caught Yang looking like her puppy had gotten run over by a car?

Chapter Text

The third week they had an unexpected visitor.

He was walking down the hallway of the manor, when a high-pitched sound assaulted him, and in a blast of wind and red rose petals, something blew past him almost hard enough to knock him down.

"Sssooooooorrryyy" he heard faintly as it blew past, and into Blake and Yang's room four doors up the hall.

BOOM*

"RUBYYY!" Came the happy cries from both Yang and Blake.

"Blake! Sis!"

Hegsih shook his head. I've been warned. But here we go. He strolled the rest of the way down the hall to the open doorway, to find the three animatedly chattering almost incoherently.

My god that girl can talk fast. Does she breathe?

There was a pause, and suddenly there was a pint-sized teenager right up in his personal space, gazing up at him with very silvery, very large, very soulful eyes.

"You must be Hegsh… Heshg… Uhh…" Her face started to turn red.

"Hi Ruby." He smiled. "You can call me Hegs. It's great to finally meet you."

She stared for another few seconds, then peered back at her friends. "He's got a nice voice."

Blake laughed. "Yeah. Yeah, he does."

She looked at him, and back at Yang, then subjected him to another, long look. He continued smiling softly. "You have a nice voice too." He saw Blake cover her face, and Yang wince.

He looked down at Ruby's belt. "Whoah. Is that Crescent Rose? How's she doing today?"

Ruby's eyes widened, looking down at her belt and back up at him. "How… how did you know she's a… she?"

"I'm a good listener, Ruby Rose." He smiled more broadly. "A very good listener. In fact, I would love nothing more than for you to tell me all about that lady on your hip. How you built her, how she works. Everything."

The girl practically vibrated in place, hands clapping together and silver eyes big as soup plates. "OMGOMGOMGareyouSERIOUS?"

"He's serious," Blake sings-songed. "Better him," said Yang, smirking evilly.

For a second it looked like the red-clad teen might pass out. Then she seemed to remember something. She looked back at Yang, back at him again. "I think. I think I'm going to like you." She seemed almost solemn about the proposition.

"That's good."

"Yeah. Yeah. Um…there's a workshop down in the basement that Klien showed me last time I was here. Wanna check it out? I can show you how she works there!"

He glanced up at Yang, seeking approval. "It's fine. I trust you. And besides. If you were a creeper, Blake would have already killed you. And if you tried anything, Ruby would cut you in half. And what I'd do with your remains." She cracked her knuckles.

He rolled his eyes.

He also believed her.

Somehow, Ruby managed to get him out of "research duty" the next day. He had no idea the strings that a pint-sized, red-tinted comet could pull, but they were powerful stuff. So, he found himself in a basement… workshop? More like a large warehouse with workshop inside. It wasn't actually under the manor, either, but a tunnel led to it from there. He suspected it was under the garages.

There were dozens of machining tools, most dust-driven. Several specialized welding and cutting rigs. Power-packs of various sizes. Hand tools. Some of those he recognized. Utility can be universal. Others he could guess at the function. Others, he had zero clue.

Ruby was a machine all in her own right. A cookie consuming, milk drinking, never slowing down, talking-and-doing machine.

She was practically vibrating, no really vibrating, as she led him to the space. She waved her hands at Mach 1. "Sooooyeahhh watchawannasee first?"

"Well, how about you show me how she works?

The small girl's eyes darted around, and she stepped back several paces, her tongue crept out to the corner of her mouth as she evaluated the ceiling height. "Yeah…"

There was a flash of her right arm, and Crescent Rose was in her hands in firearm mode.

Another blur of red, and she stood, wielding a complex articulated scythe that was at least double her height. How the hell does that even work? "Uh Ruby, honey, do you think you could-"

"Oh! Ohhhh… sorry Hegs, I got so excited I forgot." She blinked a few times. "It's hard to remember all the movements, when I think about them to slow 'em down."

She stood there for several more seconds. Then nodded. "Okay." She collapsed it back in a blur, and then started moving… slowly.

He blinked. No seriously, she was moving really slowly. He watched in awe as one hand held the gun by the trigger guard, curving slowly forward and up, as the gun began spinning around her hand. Her other hand came around and hit a button at the same time, and springs actuated, but she used her off-hand to hold a key component closed, allowing it to open at the same pace she had set.

It was a thing of beauty.

Until she missed a grab, and it launched itself out of her hands… right at him.

"SHIT!" He hit the floor, hard, as he felt a whisper of razor-sharp metal give him a near miss, or a very clean haircut.

"OMGOMGOMGIMSORRYHegs areyou areyou." He could feel her tugging at his sleeve, her voice was getting panicked and hiccoughy.

He took stock for a second before he answered. His face hurt where it had hit the solid floor, but he didn't feel broken. He blinked and raised his head. "Hey… hey kiddo take a deep breath."

She stared at him, and started nodding furiously, gasping for air. "Are… are you. Oh you're bleeding!"

He looked down at himself and didn't see any blood.

"No… your.. your cheek. You're hurt!"

He pulled up to his knees, dabbing at his cheekbone. Ow. That's tender. "Hmmph. That'll teach me for ignoring safety regulations."

Her eyes were still wide. "But it's not healing."

Why would it… ohhh. "Ah. Ruby, I don't have an Aura. Yang calls me a Muggle." He regretted teaching her that term.

Ruby's brows knit. Silver eyes doubting. "But…everyone has a soul."

He rubbed his hair, half expecting to see locks fall off in his hand. "Fair. Fair. Ok sure I have a soul, but my Aura isn't.. What do you call it…?"

"Unlocked?"

"Right. Unlocked. I'm just a normie."

"Oh. That's… does that make you sad?"

He smiled. "Not really. I have a lot of other things going for me."

"Oh? Good. That's good. What kind of things?"

"Well for one thing, I am insatiably curious. And I'm quick on the uptake. And I make an incredible tuna fish salad sandwich." Her eyes danced as she smiled. "And I have an awesome new friend who is unbelievably talented with weapons design." Now she was almost bouncing.

"And I have an incredible girlfriend, who frankly can kick my ass but chooses not to."

Ruby stopped. "Oh. Yeah. That's… true."

Wow. That dampened down fast. He changed the subject.

"Anyway, how about we try again, but without you trying to hold back, and you just explain how Crescent Rose works. I'm… curious."

Four hours later, he was exhausted.

He also knew things he couldn't have imagined about weapons design in general, and Crescent Rose in particular. He knew what every single machine in the room did. He knew what all the tools were for.

The girl was... a force of nature. She didn't stop, and he just soaked it in as fast as he could. Really the only difficulty was reminding her, from time to time, to slow down enough for him to understand what she was explaining or pointing at. The kid was a machinist's dream.

It was almost time for lunch, when she finally stopped. "Mr… Hegs. My face hurts."

He laughed. "Well that's what happens when you don't stop smiling and talking at the same time for 2 hours straight."

She smiled a little wider, then winced. "Ow. Well. Well. It's just that no one has ever actually wanted me to show them all this stuff. I mean they say they do, but they're just being nice. I can tell they get bored after like…"she sighed and continued quietly… "ten minutes. Twenty tops." She looked back up, eyes nearly glowing. "But you really actually really like this stuff! I mean I can tell! You even asked questions!" She paused for a second, and suddenly there was a thud against his chest and a rain of rose petals, slender arms hugged him around the chest and her head nestled under his chin. "Thank you, Hegs. You're… you're the best."

With another burst, she was back standing a few feet away. He couldn't help but grin. "Ruby Rose, you are something else. I've never met anyone like you."

Chapter Text

The rest of the week burned by. He couldn't completely get out of his daily meetings with Specialist Winter and the Mad Scientists, as he had dubbed them, but they seemed content to allow him afternoons off.

Afternoons that Ruby Rose managed to dominate, regardless of whether it was just the two of them, or watching others spar, or even talking in a group. The teenage girl just had this irrepressible bubbliness. Blake told him that she wasn't like this around strangers, and he could sometimes see her realize that she'd been dominating the conversation and try to rein herself in with an apology. But she would forget herself within minutes and be back to asking twenty questions, or babbling happily about something that had caught her attention.

Blake and Weiss often seemed relieved that he was there to be the focus of that attention. Ruby could be… overwhelming.

She also spent a lot of time focusing on her sister, Yang. The two teased each other mercilessly but he could tell there wasn't any malice in it.

On Friday evening, she cornered him after dinner.

"Um... Hegs? I was thinking of doing some maintenance on Crescent Rose. Wanna watch?"

"I'd love that. When?"

"Ohh…" she dug a toe into the floor, "how about now?"

He rolled his eyes. "Sure just a second." He tapped out a quick message.

Ruby wants me to hang with her while she works on Crescent Rose. See you after? - H

The response came quickly.

Sounds good. See you in a few weeks XD -B

He laughed and followed Ruby down and across to the workshop, where she carefully cleared off a workspace, gathered and organized tools, and then gently began unloading, depowering, and disassembling her cherished weapon, chattering animatedly as she performed each step.

It wasn't long before the workspace was a carefully organized span of components, each of which she inspected and in some cases cleaned and polished, explaining along the way what she was doing and why. Hegsih asked questions as the mood took him.

"Have you thought about designing a weapon, Hegs?"

He shook his head, "I don't have Aura, remember? I'd be minced meat in a fight."

Ruby nodded solemnly, but looked thoughtful. "Yeahhh but I've been thinking. You said you have guns where you come from, right? We could make you a rifle. It doesn't even have to be something that changes form."

He hadn't thought about that, but, "I wouldn't object, but really I'd have to think of it like hunting, not fighting. I just can't see myself out there. I'd be more of a distraction than a help. Not to mention I doubt Specialist Winter would allow me anywhere near a fight. Apparently I'm too 'valuable' with all my weird insights."

Ruby nodded again. "But we can still make you one, right? I want to do it. Like as a favor for you."

"That'd be great."

She smiled again, picking up a small cylindrical piece of bright red metal, and running a small brush through it. "Great."

Then her face went pensive, eyes darting around the room for a second. She put the brush and component down on the table carefully, and stepped closer to him. Her voice lowered. "Can I… can I ask you for a favor?"

"Uh… sure. Of course."

She moved closer. "It involves keeping a secret too. You have to promise." Big silver puppy dog eyes gazed at him.

He felt his body stiffen, his face going blank for a moment. "Ruby, secrets, especially involving kids, those can be dangerous things, honey. You know what I'm talking about?" He wasn't sure how to handle this, and wished one of the other adults were around.

Ruby's eyes narrowed. "What do you… oh. OH. Oh Gods. No, not that kind of secret. Hegs, I'm sixteen, not twelve." She stopped, chewed a fingernail. "Ok, I know I do come across as younger than I am, but that's… that's just me I guess."

Hegsih sighed. "Sorry kid. Yeah, I made a bad assumption there. Hope you don't think worse of me."

She recovered. "Nope." She popped the 'p'. "You were just trying to look out for me. Thanks." That solemn look again. "And that's what I'm trying to do, too."

"Oh? Looking out for me?"

"No. Well, kinda. But you have to promise."

"Promise what, Ruby?"

"Promise not to tell Blake!" She squeaked, then looked pale.

"Whoah whoah. Sorry Ruby, that's a no go. I don't keep secrets from Blake. That's a basic rule. You love somebody, you don't keep things from them."

"But…"

"Seriously, that does damage. People get hurt that way too."

"ButTHATSthePROBLEMiAMtryingTOexplain!"

His mouth slammed shut. He looked at the teenager.

She was trying to get something across here, and he wasn't listening. He was lecturing. He took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, Ruby. I'm shutting up now. I'm going to listen."

Ruby blinked. This was not how adults reacted to her. This was not how anyone reacted to her when she got rolling. She waited for him to interrupted again. And he just…didn't. "I… wow. Okay." She waved her hands in front of his face to make sure he was still there.

He squinted at her, and made a zipping motion with his hand across his mouth.

"Oh." She took a deep breath, let it out. "Okay." She squared her shoulders, and then the words just flowed out like water. "I'm worried, Hegs. I'm worried about you, and Blake, and my sister. But I can't tell you why if you are going to just go and tell Blake, because that would hurt Blake. And I love her like she's my sister too and now I find out that you're awesome and that just makes it all even worse and I might have already said too much so Imma shut up now."

She put her hands over her mouth, and then looked at him expectantly. He made an unzipping motion and then tried to catch up with what she had said.

Is she getting at what I think she's getting at? He had the beginnings of a sick feeling in his gut. This was Ruby, though. He'd been warned she sometimes overreacted. He had to be sure.

"Ruby. I promise you that, if you tell me, I won't talk to Blake," her face lit up, "without," her face fell again, "talking to you first to convince you it's the right thing to do. If I can't convince you, then I won't say a word."

Her hands dropped as she chewed on that. "You mean that?" she said in a small voice.

"Cross my heart, hope to die." But kid, I'm a hell of a negotiator.

"Okay. Right. Okay." She leaned in, eyes even with his from where he sat. "Please be kind to my sister." He waited, that cold feeling growing. "She's. She's trying to be happy for Blake. For both of you." The cold feeling spread. "She just." Ruby's eyes were getting glassy. "She waited too long, Hegs. She just… she waited too long." Her voice faded to a whisper, her eyes blinked, tears streaming down as she stared at him. He felt his own eyes stinging, a dull ache in his chest.

He knew exactly what she was saying.

He closed his eyes for a moment, and felt a small hand on his cheek. He opened to see her peering at him sadly. "You. You're a good person."

He felt like an asshole.

He hugged her. And wondered what the fuck he was going to do with this.

After she had recovered, he sat in silence as she carefully reassembled Crescent Rose. About halfway through, his Scroll pinged.

Gonna turn in for the night. Hope you are surviving. - B

He looked at the time. It was nearly midnight.

His chest ached, but he swallowed it down. Yeah, probably a couple more hours. - H

When they finished, Ruby gave him a hug that threatened to crack ribs, and a soft apology, before he went back to his room and sat on the bed.

He felt hollow. He felt a puzzle fitting together. Multiple puzzles. A puzzle he could have easily put together himself, if he hadn't been so blinded by his own damn happiness that he couldn't even see the picture on the box.

The closeness of Yang and Blake, years in the making.

Weiss's insistence that Blake call Yang.

Weiss's reaction when she'd found out about him. Happy, but sad.

Ruby looking at Yang, sadly, before admitting that she liked Hegs.

Yang's reactions that first day back.

Tears of joy my ass.

How quiet Yang got sometimes. How she disappeared quickly when he and Blake were together. She was… She was being eaten from the inside.

Not from jealousy. No, that he would have noticed. She wasn't jealous. She didn't hate him. No, she was beating the shit out of herself. And it wasn't getting better. Now. Now he could see all the pieces, and the picture was clearer.

Ruby knew. Weiss too. Jaune? Maybe, but he handled things differently. He had a way of letting things slide off. Winter? Who knew with Winter.

But with the core group, everyone had known.

Everyone except Blake.

Fuck.

Fuck Fuck Fuckity Fuck.

He was quiet the next morning. Blake kept giving him looks. "You okay? You look rough and you've barely touched your food." He looked at her. She was so beautiful. Her ear tips were slightly drooped in concern. And he could feel... he could feel Ruby's eyes on him. "Yeah, just a little worn out." He heard a snort from somewhere behind him. "Ruby's got some real peak energy when it comes to show and tell."

Blake smiled and squeezed his arm. "I warned you. Maybe you should take a nap after breakfast." There was an invitation there. He heard it under the light tone. He smiled with his face, and almost pulled it off. "Eh... maybe I'll go for a walk, take in some sunlight after being stuck in the basement for hours."

"Want some company?"

Silver eyes. Eyes burning holes in his back.

"I'll be fine. You had sparring planned for this morning, don't ditch it for me."

There was a moment of doubt in those amber eyes, but trust won out. "Okay. Aright. But don't go too far, I may finish early and come looking for you." She gave him a light kiss on the cheek, and he felt like slime.

Shit covered slime.

Chapter Text

The morning burned by quickly.

He really did take that walk. And he thought. He thought about trying to ignore it. Then he thought about what that would do to Yang, and by extension, Blake's little family. He thought about bubbly teenage Ruby, and her damned sad puppy dog eyes. He thought about telling Blake, and the look he would see on her face.

He thought about living without Blake.

No worse, he thought about swapping places with Yang, and he wanted to die because he could imagine how that would feel.

That was the first few hours.

The rest he spent walling all of that shit off. Because he knew. He knew Blake would read him if he was carrying all that close to the surface, and he was not going to lie to her. No, if she figured it out herself, all bets were off, but he wouldn't cheat.

He pulled out his Scroll and stared at it.

He typed in an address, and a short message.

Weiss,

I need you to get Blake out of the house for a few hours, starting after lunch. I need to talk to Yang.

You damned well know why.

-Hegs

Then another one.

Yang,

Hey can you swing by my room? I have a problem and I need your help. It's important, seriously. Say… 1:30?

-Hegs

Then he sat down on a bench and spent half an hour trying to pull himself together.

The answers came while he waited.

First the message from Yang.

Sure thing Hegs. Need something heavy moved? XD

-Y

From Weiss, he got a video call.

Her blue eyes were, telling. "Hegs… I didn't think."

"It's okay, I know how these things go."

"No." Her own eyes were threatening to tear up. "Dammit. We'd been working on Yang for weeks, trying to convince her that she was dragging her feet too long. That Blake would say yes. She just. She just didn't have the nerve."

He shook his head. "No, she didn't have the hope." He gave a look. "That's why you were so upset when she brought little orphan Hegs home." He paused. "I'm not over-reading this am I? This isn't just some crush. Your reactions weren't just fear for Blake, or mistrust for me. You saw this coming."

"That is not fair. That is not fair to you, or to me. I did… I did the best I could. I've spoken with Yang. No one could have known. You..." she swallowed. "You are a good person. You are good for Blake. Dammit she is good for you. It is just…"

"It's just toxic. And you guys are not just a family, you're a team. And I'm Blake's lover, not a team member. I can't replace Yang." Bitterly. "I wouldn't if I could."

Weiss shook her head. "I'm sorry." She took a breath. "What are you going to say to her?"

He laughed, but it was acid in his throat. "I'm not going to say much at all. I'm going to listen. And then she's going to tell Blake."

Weiss's scar stood out as her face paled. "No! That is not going to happen."

"What. You think it's not going to happen anyway? Yang can't get away from this without destroying your family, and she'll be stuck here watching the girl she loves bonding with someone else. Day after day. When will it break? A week from now? A month? Two months? After this poison has spread and turned her into…" He stopped as he realized what he'd been about to say, the name. Willow Schnee. That would have hurt.

He didn't need to speak it. Weiss looked sick.

"No. No, we can figure something out."

"No. Blake will figure something out. This isn't our secret. Secrets!" he hissed. "This is what comes of fucking teenage bullshit angst and drama. A fucking web of oily self-doubt and nested secrets, just waiting for a fucking match. You have all been living like this so long, you've gotten used to it, but it just causes pain.

He'd shocked her. He could tell. Then her shoulders slumped. "I... I will do it. I will get Blake out of the estate. But Hegs." Her face was pleading. "Be careful. Yang would not hurt you a purpose, but this is going to be painful for her  She may lash out."

"I'll be careful."

"Please do, we canno-"

He hung up on her.

Hegs sat on the bed in his room, propped up against the headboard. He'd been staring at the same page in a book for thirty minutes, when the knock came. He shuddered.

"Come on in, Yang. It's unlocked."

The blond brawler strolled in, all smiles and bravado. Her lavender eyes flicked around the room. "Hey there! Heard you needed some muscle."

"Yeah, can you come here for a second? I've got something sketched out for you that I want your opinion on."

Lavender eyes shifted for a second. "Sure." She bounced down on the edge of the bed. He pulled out a piece of paper, and handed it to her.

It wasn't a sketch. It was three short sentences:

I talked to Ruby. And Weiss. I need to you tell me.

"Annnndddd we're done here!" She bounced back up, heading for the door, paper fluttering to the floor in her wake.

He stood up too. "If you leave this room, I'm going straight to Blake," his voice held a quiet threat.

The girl froze. Her hands fisted at her sides. Flexed.

"If you have to hit me, I'll let you. I probably won't survive it, though."

She jerked her head down and to the left slightly, hair hiding her face. "She'd never forgive me if I killed your goofy ass," she whispered. But he heard the pain in her voice.

They stood like that for a full minute. "Yang..."

"What do you want?" She turned back to him, and her eyes were flooded, her face wet. "What the fuck do you want from me?" Her voice was shaking, raw.

"What do you want, Yang?"

"I want…" She gave a fake Yang laugh. "I want to kick your ass for taking my girl."

"No. No, I don't think you do."

"Screw you, Muggle."

"You've been learning the wrong things from me." He paused. "Yang..."

"No."

"Yang…"

"NO!" Her irises flashed red, and her blond hair went big and flamey. He'd seen her do that before, when she was sparring and really into the heat of battle. He swallowed.

He took a breath, and walked slowly toward his funeral.

Yang pulled back her hand, a cold smile on her face, ruined only by her overflowing eyes. "You're gonna get hurt here, Bud."

"Probably so."  He tried to keep his voice even, but it was difficult.  He was almost within arms-reach.  Still moving forward.

Her eyes narrowed and he could see her arm shaking slightly.

"What do you want, Yang?" He said softly as he stepped inside her reach, and put a hand on her shoulder.

…

Yang broke. Not slowly, but all at once.

One second her Semblance was ready to turn Hegs into a brown and red pile of organs on the floor and wall behind him. The next she was on her knees, sobbing uncontrollably.  He fell to his knees beside her.

"I… I… I want her. I want her.. I want her. I want Blake. But I wasn't… I wasn't. Gods Hegs, it hurts. It hurts so much."

"I know. I know it does."

"I…" She sobbed for several more seconds, gasping for breath. "I tried. I really did. But I was scared. And then...it was too late. And I've tried. I know." More uncontrolled sobbing. She looked up at him, lavender eyes full of pain. "I know you're good for her. I can't even fucking hate you."

"No, but you can hate you." His eyes were stinging again. "Bet you're pretty good at it."

Lost lavender eyes stared at his, and she nodded.

He sat down in front of her, and took her tear-streaked face in both hands. "You have to tell her." Her eyes widened and she struggled limply. Yang, who could break him like a twig, couldn't break free of his gentle grip. She tried to shake her head in denial. "Yang. You can't carry this. You can't hide this. It's eating you up, and it's going to come out. And it's going to come out ugly."

"I.. I can't. She'll hate me."

"No. No, she won't do that."

She stilled. Then her face hardened. "No." She inhaled. "Worse. She'll pity me." Yang looked at Hegs. "Why are you doing this?"

"I'm doing this for Blake, and for you, and for Ruby, and Weiss and even that scruffy blond asshole you call dad. And I'm doing it for me. Because I can't keep this from Blake, and if I tell her, it's not going to work." He took a breath. "Besides I swore to Ruby that I wouldn't, and I couldn't survive those puppy dog eyes." He wiped his face and laughed. Yang followed.

"Gods. We're pathetic," she muttered.

"Naw. We are saps. Totally different."

Another long moment. "What's going to happen?" Yang asked in a quiet voice.

He shook his head. "Blake's going to listen. And she's going to hurt. And she's going to make a decision. And... we are going to figure out how to live with that."

Yang stared at him, incredulously. "You're going to give her a choice? What... What if she chooses me?"

"Then I'll figure out how to live with myself."

"You… you won't even fight for her?" She sounded insulted.

"Jesus Yang, how? I love her, desperately. But she's had me in her life for, what, about a month? You've been her companion, partner, confidant, for years. I got fucking lucky.

"You think," realization dawned slowly. "You really think she's going to pick me. Don't you?" He looked away, trying to control his face. This time it was her hand turning him to face her. "You fucking asshole," she breathed.

He swallowed. "I'll figure something out."

"I'm not doing this."

"You don't have a choice!" It wasn't so much a yell, as terror and determination and pain all at once.

Silence. They sat for minutes while he tried to remember how to breathe. She sighed and pulled a strand of hair around. "My hair is wrecked."

"Yeah."

"Gonna take hours to fix this."

"Yeah."

She stood up, unsteadily, and offered him a hand, helping him to his feet as well.

"You're not weak, you know," Yang said. "This. I couldn't have done this."

"Yeah."

"Hey." He finally met her eyes. "I mean that. I have issues with… with talking about my feelings. But I don't lie. No time for it."

"So, you'll talk to her?"

"I… I'll think about it."

He closed his eyes and nodded. He felt wrung out.

Yang put her hand on his shoulder. "How did you know I wasn't going to punch a hole through your chest?"

He smiled grimly. "Calculated risk. Seemed a winner either way."

Yang nodded. She leaned in and kissed him on the cheek, then made her way to the doorway. She paused at the door and turned back, eyes softening. "You really are something, you know that? I wish…" She shook her head. "I'll think about it."

The door closed behind her.

Hegsih sat down on the edge of the bed, and stared at the wall.

Blake Belladonna was a little frustrated.

Weiss had insisted. Insisted, that she needed to accompany her to downtown Mantle for some emergency shopping. They'd spent hours wandering around stores and peering at items, none of which Blake had any clue what to think of. This was Wiess. She had a style. The style was custom, tailored, and white or gray. Maybe, if she was adventurous, there would be an accent color that wasn't monochrome.

After an eternity. Weiss had thrown her hands up. "I give up. Let's… let's go back."

"Okayyy… I mean it's just clothes, right? You have a whole wardrobe-"

"Right!" Weiss realized she'd yelled. "Right. Right. Just clothes." She muttered something under her breath.

She kept muttering on the ride back.

"Weiss, is something-"

"No. Nothing is wrong. We just. Had a bad shopping experience. That's all."

"Alright. Well can't be having those, now can we?" Her ears perked up. "At least we got to eat something?"

"Oh yes. Street tacos. Lovely."

"Weiss are you-"

"I… I have a headache. I'm going to go to my room, take a dozen headache pills, and lay down. I… I suggest you do the same."

"Oh…okay…."

As Wiess staggered off, Blake made her way to her room. She paused in the hall, considering her options. Left, or right? Finally, she sighed. She was kinda grungy. A quick shower and change of clothes first would be nice. She could spend a few minutes with Yang, and then pop over to see her lover. Yeah. That's a plan.

She knocked once perfunctorily as she opened the door, closing it behind her.

To find Yang sitting on her bed staring at her with the strangest look on her face that she'd ever seen.

"Dammit Hegs, answer the call!"

She'd been trying for thirty minutes. First text messages. Then voice calls. He wasn't answering.

She needed to talk to him. Her mouth turned down.

She dialed her sister.

"Winter, do you still have that tracker on Hegs' Scroll?"

Fifteen minutes later, she was in his room, staring at the scroll on his bed. Hegs, though, was nowhere to be seen.

"Damn.  Damn damn damn."

Chapter Text

Blake's world was falling apart.

Yang had stared at her for…she didn't know how long. She'd never seen a look like that on Yang's face.

She'd seen it in a mirror once.

She'd seen it after Adam.

It was someone completely lost.

"Yang?" She went to her, and Yang's arms came up, reaching for her. She grabbed her, and Yang clung to her like she was afraid Blake would die if she let go.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"Yang what? Gods you… you're scaring me. Is someone hurt?" Blakes ears wilted.

"N- Ye... Yes. Yes. Someone... I hurt someone."

"Yang it's okay. Tell me what happened. Who did you hurt?"

Yang pulled her head back, lavender eyes searched. "Everyone," She whispered. She put her hand on Blake's chest. "There. Right there."

Blake blinked, ears tracing emotions, trying to understand.

"I… I have to tell you something. Something that… that hurts. And it's going to hurt. It's going to hurt you too…"

Blakes eyes widened, and her ears pivoted outward. "That's. Okay." She sat down, and pulled Yang down beside her. "I'm ready. I'm here for you."

Yang swallowed. Started to speak. Swallowed again and almost choked. "I- I promised. I promised Hegs, but it's hard dammit."

Blake tensed. "You promised what..."

"I promised. I promised." Yang was sobbing. "I promised him I'd tell you… I love…I love...

"I love you too, Yang."

"No! You don't understand. I was trying! I was trying to work up the nerve. I was trying to find out how to say it." Blake blinked. "And then you left." Unease filtered up from somewhere inside Blake. "You left. And then you… you found…." Yang's eyes were pleading. "You found…"

"Hegs." Blake's ears collapsed. Her shoulders collapsed. Her soul collapsed. "I found Hegs," she whispered. "Oh Yang. Oh Gods. Oh Gods."

Yang dug her fingers into Blake's shoulders. "I'm sorry, I'm so so… I tried. I tried after to just be happy. Just be happy for you!" She sobbed again, just like she had in Hegs' room. "But I'm not strong. It hurts. It hurts so much..."

Blake leaned forward, and took her closest companion, her partner for over two years, into her arms and wept with her.

It was an ugly cry.

Blake didn't yell.

She didn't demand to know why. Why not before. Why now?

She knew. She had been blind, but she knew. She knew Yang. She knew her bravado hid insecurity. She knew how her worry for her little sister ate at her. What losing two moms had done to her sense of trust. She knew what it felt like to curl up next to Yang, feeling protected. She'd even, more than once, thought about how those lavender eyes would have looked, right after a passionate kiss. She felt a pang in her heart, for what might have been had either one of them been a little more confident. A tiny bit more daring.

A moment of weakness, even.

She pulled back, shaking her head. "Yang, what do I do?" She quietly asked her more-than-friend. Her soulmate.

"I don't know." Yang whispered. "I asked Hegs the same question. And he said… he said I had to tell you and let you decide." Blake's eyes darted toward the door. She must have looked angry, because Yang grabbed her arm. "Don't hurt him. Please. He's. He's in a lot of pain already. He... he believes you're going to choose me."

Blake's eyes widened, then narrowed again. "Of course he does. Because he…he pays attention, doesn't he. To every damn word we say. And he gets in your head." She shook hers angrily, then looked back at Yang. "How'd he get into yours?"

"He- he got me angry enough to kill him, and then he just walked up on me like he had a death wish."

Blake laughed sadly, tears dripping from her jaw. "Yeah. Yeah. That's my boy all right." She sniffled.

"I don't want you to lose him." Tear-stained eyes met. "But I want you, Blake. I want you so much it hurts. I want you to love me… the way I see you love him. I want to give you what I saw him give you.

Blake looked at Yang. She felt love and sorrow and want and terror all at once.

Why do I have to always be afraid? What if I just want… intimacy, closeness, without being worried how it's going to play out weeks or months or year from now?

Blake leaned in, and kissed Yang, gently, on each tear-filled eyelid. And then softly she cupped her face and kissed her tear-dampened lips.

"I love you, Yang. I do."

Yang's heart soared and broke at the same time. Then Blake stood up. "What…"

"I…" she looked at Yang, "No, we…. are going to give that man five kinds of hell." She grabbed the blonde's hand, and pulled her off the bed, eyes hard.

Blake Belladonna, Yang in tow, crossed the hall, to find Weiss in Hegs' room, holding his Scroll, looking lost and sad.

"No. No way. He doesn't get out of this like that." Blake's heart was tearing in half, but she….she was a tough girl. That's what he'd said. That's what he'd saw. She looked at terror, and she was terrified, and she damn well pushed through it anyway.

Wiess shook her head.

Blake's eyes narrowed. She grabbed her Scroll and tapped out a quick message, and glared at the thing until it gave her what she wanted.

*ping*

She read the response. "He's in the fucking machining shop."

Hegsih Jorgensen was lost in a world that wasn't his. And about to lose everything.

He'd figure something out.

He'd figured out one thing, and that was exactly how much he had tied himself to Blake. That he'd used her to anchor himself here, to keep the strangeness of this world from reducing him to a pathetic, homesick, terrified waste of oxygen.

He'd figured out that there was no way in hell that he could stay in this house as a fifth wheel.

He'd figured out that even if she chose Yang, which he fully expected, his continued presence would be corrosive. He'd have to talk to Winter, see if he could get lodgings. Maybe he could be housed with the Atlas scientists or something. He could continue to be useful to them. Maybe find a way to live nearby, just not here. Where he'd see them every day.

He'd figure something out, right?

He'd spent a couple hours, figuring things out, while he kept his hands busy piddling with some of the scrap materials Ruby had shown him. Going from machine to machine and not really trying to make anything, just staying busy. At the same time, he kept in mind what Ruby had told him about each one. How dangerous some of them were. How you had to be careful. Which ones had the least margin for carelessness. The fastest to end up in tragedy.

Accidents can happen around machines like this. Tragic accidents.

That's how he'd ended up at the Dust Cutter, watching a thin, red, superheated glow span the horizontal space in front of him. He could feel the heat off it.

A clumsy man could probably take their head clean off before they knew what had happened, with a machine like that.

He tensed when he heard footsteps behind him.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?"

He turned haunted eyes around, dreading what he would see.

And seeing it.

Blake and Yang. Holding hands, fingers tightly intertwined. He felt like he was having a heart attack. "Hey babe. I was… I was just messing around in the machine shop."

Blakes ears tilted. Her glare increased. "Fuck you. You promised me."

"I promised what?" he rasped.

"You promised to tell me the truth. You swore."

Hegs closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and let it out in a shudder. "Look I wasn't-"

He suddenly had arms full of faunus. His heart tore some more. "You can't do this to me," she growled. "You can't…"

"I…" he choked. "I don't know what to do." He clutched at her, like a drowning man. "You've already deci-"

"Shut up. Shut the hell up. Don't say it. Please…" Her voice got quieter and quieter as she spoke, turning it into a mantra as she clung to her… lover. "Please shut up. Please shut up."

Why can't I have happiness on my terms? A small voice insider her cried.

A quiet, high voice spoke softly in the room, breaking through the sounds of three people's misery. "What…what if…"

Three sets of eyes turned toward the young girl in a red cape, moving away from the wall. Silver eyes brimming. Cheeks striped with tears.

"Ruby," he choked. "How long have you been here?"

"Ohh…" her voice trembled. "A while… I wanted… I was making sure you didn't hurt yourself."

Hegsih's eyes closed. He sighed. Good job kiddo.

She walked closer to the trio, eyes flicking between them. "Yang. You love Blake. Right?"

Yang's jaw worked, before she spoke. "Yeah, sis. I love Blake."

"And… and she loves you." It wasn't a question. Ruby turned silver eyes to where Blake and Hegsih clung to each other.

"And Hegs, you love Blake, and she loves you too."

She did that thing again, eyes shifting back and forth.

"Couldn't you just… I mean." She looked down at her feet, for a second. "I don't know how all… that… works. Mating and all. But I love Yang, and I love Blake, and I don't have to choose."

Blake Belladonna felt her eyes widen as she stared at the young girl.

That's not how that works, she started to say. That's different. You can't just...

Who says I can't?

Her eyes dragged back to Hegs.

I can be selfish. "You said… you said." She swallowed thickly. "You said you'd take whatever I would give you."

Hegs searched her face. She saw understanding. His haunted expression slowly smoothed into acceptance. She felt a warmth spread in her chest. She turned back to Yang.

Lavender eyes met amber. Yang nodded, took a deep breath. "I'll take it." She stepped forward.

Who says I can't? She thought, as she was enveloped in love and arms from a strange, dark-skinned man, a brash but insecure blonde woman, and a tearful but giddy teenager, who quietly, unobtrusively, turned off the Dust Cutter before joining in.

Well, you can't be too careful around dangerous machines, can you? Ruby thought.

Chapter Text

"And you're sure this is safe?"

"This area isn't known for serious Grimm infestations. I thought you might like to see your mate in action,"

"Yeah but… they're still Grimm. You know, bad temper, tendency to eviscerate and eat your soul."

Hegs stood with Weiss, next to the Bullhead. Jaune was further back, chatting with the pilot. This was old hat to him.

It still made Hegs nervous.

The small pack of Beowulf could be heard a few hundred yards into the underbrush on the other side of the clearing, past the clump of snow-covered and windswept boulders at the edge. They were probably drawn to the presence of the larger group, but they'd get funneled through the clearing to get there. Weiss has assured him, four times now, that a handful of Beowulf were little more than exercise for their level of Huntsmen skill.

In the center of that clearing, Blake and Yang gave a happy wave to Hegs, then took a fighting stance as the first of the Grimm broke through.

Hegs glanced around nervously at the handful of armed troopers arranged in an arc near him. Here to protect me, he guessed sourly, as he focused on the action in the clearing, where Yang and Blake were beginning their deadly ballet.

He'd thought they had been holding nothing back when he had seen them spar. Now he realized his mistake. Against Grimm, they swirled and danced like two parts of a single whole. Black and yellow blending, separating, rejoining. It was beautiful. It was.. ugh... yin and Yang. God, her sense of humor is already rubbing off on me.

Everywhere they went, they dealt death to the Grimm they encountered. One. Two. Four. And finally all eight Beowulf met their demise, black flesh evaporating and leaving behind the bony remains. It had taken only minutes.

"Whoop!" Yang let out yell of pure joy, and started ambling back toward the Bullhead, a wide grin on her face.

Hegs felt one in response. "Impressive!"

"Nah, that was just a warmup," Yang laughed loudly, as Weiss turned to Hegsih with a good-humored look. Over Weiss' shoulder, he could see-

Blake…

Blake was still in the center of the clearing, ears twitching. Hegs frowned.

Blake stood in the middle of the snow-filled clearing, surrounded by evergreens, their boughs weighed down with the same blanket of cold, white mass that covered the ground. Sounds seemed muffled by the soft landscape as the cold seeped into her flesh, now that the fight had finished.

There was something wrong.

She could feel it. It fought through the waning adrenaline of victory, screaming at her.

Her stance shifted back to a crouch, Gambol Shroud coming back to hand in firearm mode as her ears pivoted and narrowed eyes scanned the landscape. She twisted as she scanned the area, ensuring she covered the entire panorama of the clearing. She heard a query from her right, but ignored it.

Nothing except the disturbed snow, the white-shrouded trees, the snow covered boulders.

The snow covered boulders.

With explosive speed and a roar, the boulder, revealed to be a massive Grimm, burst from its resting place. A Megoliath, roused from Gods-know how long lying dormant under layers of snow. Roused by the sounds, the smells, of the dying Beowulfs.

The roar filled Blake's ears, which flattened reflexively against the overpowering volume, as it bore down on her, mere yards from her position, charging at full speed.

Her hands came back up immediately into a firing stance, sending volley after volley from her weapon into the Grimm as it bore down on her, tusks poised to fling her fragile form aside, heavy feet to crush her to the earth. But the rounds did next to nothing against such a massive and armored beast.

Other firearms begin cracking, the rest joining in as the initial shock passed, but the lightweight weapons they'd brought, expecting to face beowulf, had little effect on this giant beast. Hegs could see Yang, turned and firing, charging to try to intercept it. To save half her soul. He saw Weiss reaching for Myrtenaster. He saw Jaune charging forward, drawing a sword.

The beast was too close. Too fast. Too big.

Even as Blake emptied her weapon, her mind rebelled. Impossible. This is impossible. I would have heard it. She could feel its feet pounding the frozen ground through the snow. I would have felt it coming.

She tried to activate her semblance, giving her the distraction needed to throw herself to the side, but her thoughts seemed sluggish.

From her right, she heard a primal roar from Hegs. "No. NO!"

Blake screamed as her vision filled with the black and white bulk of the Grimm, and she felt… nothing.

Nothing, as a bright, white light burned into her vision, a wall… a sea of blackness parted and passed to either side of her.

She fell to her knees against the glare, with a gasp and a cry, and blinked the afterimages from her sight.

On both sides of her, two separate sheared cliffs of Grimm flesh were dissolving. Bones and boney plates collapsing into piles as it did.

In front of her was a fading white glow, centered on… a very familiar brown-skinned and curly-haired form. Left knee, right foot, and right hand were planted hard to the snow, which sizzled around them, sinking him down slowly. His torso was leaned forward. His left arm outstretched in front of him as if to ward off an attack, to place his fragile body between her and the threat.

She watched in awe as a fine network of white-lit tracings sparked across his bare skin before sputtering out.

"Hegs?" She whispered.

Her lover's body shuddered as his hand fell to support him, and his head hung. "Ugh. Mr. Stark..." He retched slightly, then shook his head. "I don't feel so good." He struggled to pull his feet out of the slushy mess, and twisted back to face her, taking in the destruction around them. "Hey babe. Uh… I feel like throwing up." He smiled sheepishly.

Blake felt her heart start beating again.

A yell came from the right. "Whoo! Hey Loverboy!" He blinked again, and looked at Yang. "Yeah you. Maybe you should. I dunno… put some clothes on... if you're going to fight more Grimm today." Yang was strolling toward him, grinning so widely she looked like her face would split in half.

Realization struck Blake and Hegs at the same time, and he looked down before meeting Blake's gaze.

He stuttered, face darkening. "Bit. Uh... Bit drafty out, is it?"

Blake walked toward him, taking off her coat. "Yeah. A bit, popsicle-man."

There were some whistles and claps from the edge of the clearing. He was sure one of them was Jaune.

"Someone get him his clothes!" Weiss's voice cut through. "And someone. Please. Tell me you got video of that?" Blake heard Jaune say something suggestive. "What? No! For research." Another comment. "Not your kind of research, you creep. Winter will…" Another laughing response, that had several of the other men chuckling. She gave up. Grabbing her ponytail and yanking. "Ahhhhh I'm surrounded by immature idiots." She reached down and grabbed Hegs' clothing from where it had moments before suddenly fallen, completely empty. She folded them neatly and started toward her friends.

In the middle of the clearing, Blake stood with her coat, and her arms, wrapped around her lover, holding him up with his own legs suddenly shaking with exhaustion. Her soul-mate arriving just in time to laugh a "Come on, guys… bring it in." as she added her own hug to the mix.

They would figure something out, Hegs decided as nausea gave way to a comfortable warmth. It just takes thinking outside the box.