Chapter 9

Velvet held fast the entire way down. Her grip grounded Coco, kept her thoughts from wandering. They separated only long enough to climb into Velvet's car, thankfully an automatic. The underground garage would save her from prying eyes. She had taken a Ryde to the lawyer's office and to the SDC in the hopes that no one would realize it was her. Normally she welcomed attention, but lately...she really did not want anyone to see her today. It was humiliating enough to admit failure, let alone to have it broadcast openly. It no doubt would be sooner or later. These things always had a habit of getting out. Nothing stayed secret in Atlas, especially not one of its most popular rebels failing.

"Babe, stay with me." Velvet cut through Coco's fuzzy thoughts. "We're almost home."

Coco swallowed, nodding, choosing instead to focus on her lover's face. It was beautiful as always. The few lines of stress marring her features served only to make her more attractive. Velvet worked for her success, fought tooth and nail. She dedicated herself to the same fight that drove Coco's eldest friend, the same drive she had fallen in love with twice in her life. She would never have survived without them. She owed them everything, more than she could ever hope to repay, and then some.

They pulled into the parking lot of Velvet's apartment, separating once more to get out of the vehicle. Velvet linked their arms together once more as they walked, lending her endless warmth. Coco wanted to cry, she wanted to crumbled and fall. She was tired, emotionally and physically exhausted. She had barely eaten, hardly slept, and spent every day for the past few months fighting. Now it was over. She had lost, and the only thing keeping her going was the woman beside her, the love of her life. And she had failed her.

"Coco...Coco look at me." Velvet implored. Coco blinked. Looking around she realized they had entered Velvet's apartment. She was seated on Velvet's couch, something soft in her hands - a bunny plushie. When did they get here? "Baby, please, what is this, makeup?" She felt Velvet's fingers wipe beneath her eyes, the heavy concealer coming away easily. "Coco…" Velvet whispered. "You haven't been taking care of yourself."

"No…" Coco admitted, chuckling. "There's been no time." Fresh tears welled in her eyes, a lump forming in her throat. "I don't know where I went wrong Velv. It was going so well...then things just...started going downhill." She sobbed, clutching the plush to her chest.

Velvet pulled Coco to rest on her shoulder, her gently hands running through her partner's hair. "We'll be okay babe, we'll get through this." She tried to soothe. Coco needed to vent. How long had she kept this bottled up? How long had her frustration and grief warred within her, until she could fight no longer? How long had Velvet neglected her mate by allowing her space and privacy. She should have been more forceful, more insistent on seeing her. She was her mate for crying out loud. By rights she should have barged into her office and dragged her home by the collar. But Coco had asked for time, and Velvet was a pushover for her mate's few desires. So rarely did she ask for anything more than her love. She was selfless, just like Weiss.

"I tried so hard Velv, I really did, but I couldn't stop it." Coco rambled. "No one would listen. I don't know why, I don't know what I did wrong."

Velvet grit her teeth as red hot rage welled within her, righteous tears sliding down her cheeks. But she choked her anger down. Priorities needed to be checked. "Coco, baby, you didn't do anything wrong. You did what you always did, what you have always done, your best. Now I don't know what happened to make things go downhill, but I promise you, we will rebuild, together, okay?" She pulled back to meet Coco's teary gaze. "Okay?"

Coco nodded, sniffling. "I'm sorry Bun. I never wanted to put more pressure on you. I wanted...I-I wanted to wait, until things were stable." She wiped her eyes, swallowing. "I wanted to ask you to be my partner." Velvet smiled, Coco echoing it, though tired and strained. "I'm sorry I let you down."

Velvet laughed, shaking her head. She pulled Coco into a long, gentle kiss, breaking it to look into her eyes. "Stupid, you never let me down. I love you, I'll always love you. I don't need or want you to be anything more than yourself. I don't care of you're a millionaire or a pauper. You are Coco Adel, the love of my life, my mate. Nothing will ever change that."

Coco smiled wider at that, placing the plushie aside to pull Velvet into an embrace. Her breath hitched, but she did not cry...much. "Gods I love you, you beautiful, perfect bunny."

"Good, because you're doing my head in." Velvet smirked. "Come on, up and into the shower." She stood, pulling her mate with her. "Wash that crap off while I make some food. Then we're going to bed, got it?"

Coco chuckled, planting a kiss on Velvet's forehead. "Yes ma'am."

Ruby caught the tail end of Sun and Blake's pre-work routine when she arrived at the apartment after work on Thursday. She was not sure for how much longer she could take it. Perhaps she should go out after work - to shop, eat, or just explore the city - to make it more likely that the pair would be done by the time she arrived. At least she would not have to worry about it on Friday. First, she did not expect to come right home, planning to head to Sunrise after work instead. Second, even if she headed straight to the apartment, Sun and Blake started their shift earlier on Fridays, so they would already be gone.

As it turned out, this Friday turned out to be much like the last. Work was hectic, with Weiss sending Ruby all over SDC headquarters to perform various tasks. There was no time to properly rest and barely a moment to sit down, but at least she had a better idea of the building's layout. Ruby was more confident, less rushed, and knew what she was facing. Unfortunately that did not help with the growing pain in her leg. Just like the week before, by the end of the day Ruby was in agony, her old injury screaming. There was only one remedy, and Ruby was happy when she was able to leave for the day.

Still, Ruby felt a pang of misery on Friday afternoon. It had been months since her graduation, but leaving work at the end of the week still felt like leaving her last class. Her ride would pull up, usually Yang, and she would be hit by the realization that there would be no time to relax on the weekend. Her time would be spent working on projects and studying for exams. What little free time she allowed herself was spent with Yang...or on odd occasion, a partner for the night. She so rarely had a day to just be...but now she could. She was an adult. She was working a day job. Weiss did not give homework or assign study material. When she left the office she took no responsibilities with her.

The misery faded the instant Ruby fell into Vulpe's back seat, and she allowed herself a relieved chuckle.

"Good day?" Vulpe asked.

"Done day." Ruby replied.

Vulpe laughed. "I know that feeling. What's the plan?"

"Drink myself into a coma and let my roommates deal with it." Came Ruby's carefree reply.

"Ooh, confident." Vulpe laughed, pulling the car onto the road. "What if they just leave you this time?"

"Future Ruby can deal with that." Ruby grinned. "Present Ruby doesn't give a fuuuuuck."

Blake did not say anything as she handed Ruby her drink. Nor did she comment when she delivered the second, or the third. Ruby had chosen to stick to the booth this time. Sun came by a few times to check on her. Her speech was taking on a slight slur by the two hour mark, and that was when it happened. A flash of ginger in her peripheral. Ruby blinked, slowly turning to search for the source, only to be met by gleaming emerald eyes.

"Heya' there cutie!" The girl yelled, just a little too loud.

Ruby flinched, but smiled dimly. "Hey."

The girl leaned her head on the booth divider, peering up with faux puppy dog eyes. "Is this seat taken?" She glanced down beside Ruby, who followed her gaze lazily.

"I don't think so...you wanna' sit here?" Ruby realized.

The girl beamed a bright smile. "Hell yeah I do cutie!" She yelled over the music. With a single movement she pulled herself over the divider. Ruby had to scooch over a tad to give her room, and even so the girl shuffled closer, almost uncomfortably so. "Whatchya' drinkin'?" She nodded toward the half full glass on the table.

"Huah?" Ruby blurted. "Oh, shtrawberry sunrise...like the club." She leaned down, bumping her straw in the process. She chased it with her lips before a hand held it steady. Ruby smiled gratefully as she drank, following the hand back to the girl's face.

"I'm Neon." She grinned. Gods she was adorable.

"Ruby." She whispered. When Neon giggled she realized her mistake. "Ruby!" She repeated, louder.

"Heya' Ruby, we don't get many humans in here!" Neon noted sweetly.

"I know, it's kinda' why I like it!" Ruby explained.

"Oh, you got a fetish or somethin'?" Neon teased. Another flash of ginger saw a tail poke up from beneath the table, wiggling before her face like a treat. It suddenly clicked - Ruby had seen this Neon before, last week, in the arms of another… "Ooooh, busted!" Neon laughed at Ruby's heavy blush.

"No!" Ruby exclaimed. "No I don't, I-" A finger planted itself on her lips.

Neon leaned into speak into Ruby's ear. "It's okay, I don't mind." Ruby shivered as the purr that followed, warmth shuddering through her body as Neon slid ever closer. Fingers walked across her back to rest upon her shoulder. "I've got to admit...I've got a teeny-weeny bit of a human fetish I...never get to indulge." Neon smirked. Ruby could only stare in awe as those beautiful green eyes turned nearly black. Her glass appeared between them, the straw poking her lips. "Have you ever been with a Faunus before?" Ruby shook her head, opening her mouth to catch the straw and take another long draw. "Aw, that's too bad...and really damn cute. Releasing the straw, Ruby saw Neon tilt the glass until it face her, and with a wink, the Faunus took a sip of her own, shivering as the overly sweet cocktail hit her tongue. "Hmmm...delicious." She set the glass aside, eyes never leaving Ruby's. "I bet you'll taste better...that is…" Ruby jumped as Neon's hand fell to her own, face closing in. She could smell alcohol on the Faunus' breath. "If you can handle me."

Ruby let loose a shuddering breath, a blazing inferno down below. It had been so long, so long since she had last induled in intimacy such as this. Even longer since she felt such unmitigated passion in a single moment. The past week spent listening to vicious love making had taken its toll. No amount of self service could hold a candle to the touch of another, and here was a beautiful girl, a beautiful Faunus, offering to slake her thirst. Eyes lidded, her head tilted, and she met the Faunus in a searing kiss. She tasted so sweet.

Blake was, yet again, having a bad night. Of course every Friday was a bad night. Her patience was at its thinnest. Though the prior week had been relatively smooth, she was still adjusting to the new scents and experiences brought by her new roommate. Ruby had a very distinctive scent, favoring rose scented body care products. Sun claimed it had started as a joke, that a rose should smell like one. Apparently it stuck, because everywhere she walked, roses, roses, and more fucking roses...and yet Blake did not demand she wash it off, because it was not fair. It was her scent, it was Ruby, Ruby Rose. It was not a bad scent, just...distinct, and it was growing on her...when it was not tainted by arousal.

The incident on Monday had certainly affected the younger human. She was not so quick to meet Blake's gaze now. On the rare occasion they saw one another, she blushed readily, and the sharp tang tainting her scent betrayed the reasoning. The girl was lonely, taunted by Blake's amorous activities. The coming weekend would be interesting to say the least.

Ruby had apparently left early tonight, which annoyed Blake for several reasons. The first being she had not been informed. She had gone to restock several bottles, and by the time she came back, Ruby had vanished. She knew the girl had gone back to the apartment. The tracker app Blake had installed on Ruby's scroll told her as much. It had been trivial to plant it - everyone used their birthday as a passcode. She did not even need to observe it. The second was that Ruby had skipped out on her tab. She would be having a very stern word with her the next day. The third was by far the most troublesome. Blake was worried.

Blake was worried about Ruby. Worried about a human. A girl she had barely known for a week, and what little she did know was either irritating or barely notable. And the moment she noticed her absence, panic had gripped Blake's heart. It was a very specific panic, one she had not felt for a long time, and that was what troubled her. There was no logical reason for her to be so concerned. It was Ruby, an adult. Sun trusted her, waving off her sudden leaving as heavy fatigue from work. She was home, Blake knew this, so why the hell did the worry nag her so much?

Blake tried to bury herself in work. The night's droning should have carried away her thoughts. The thudding music, the din of conversation, taking order after order - she should have been on autopilot by now. But Blake felt so alert, hyper aware. Time dragged on, and more than ever Blake felt completely exhausted by the end of the shift. She approached the booth Ruby had occupied, Sun having cleared Ruby's glass beforehand. It still smelled like her. There were other scents of course, many of them familiar, many alien, but Ruby's stood out amongst them all - roses...and arousal.

Blake remained on edge as she drove Sun home. Ruby's scent grew stronger in the elevator, as did the scent of arousal. Had she left to satiate her urges? Was she really that...another familiar scent, more arousal, stronger as the elevator door opened on her floor. Blake strode forward. One of the same scents from Ruby's booth stood out, Faunus, feline…

"That fucking whore." Blake hisses as she withdrew her keys.

"Whoa, that's a bit harsh!" Sun exclaimed in shock.

"Not Ruby!" Blake snarled in response as she flung the door open. She stalked in, the heavy, foreign scent of the intruder thick in the air. Claws extended, she barged Ruby's door open - much to the shock of the room's inhabitants - and turned on the light.

Ruby yelped in pain, curled up clutching her head and clenching her eyes shut. The intruder glared blearily in the sudden light. Her claws were also extended, lips curled in a hiss as she hunched protectively over her mate, until the situation registered.

"Blake!" Neon barely choked before Blake was upon her, digging claws into her arm. She hauled Neon violently out of the bed, slamming her into the wall. She barely registered Ruby scrambling away as she wrapped her arm around Neon's neck and began dragging her out of the room.

"Blake!" Sun yelled as she barged past him.

Blake paid her partner no heed. The intruder beneath her arm struggled to gain footing, to no avail. Blake pulled open the apartment door and tossed Neon into the hallway, years of handling rough patrons and thugs fueling her movements. Neon landed against the opposite wall, nude and shaking, ginger hair loose of her usual pigtails. "Get the fuck away from us and don't come back!" Blake roared down at the cowering girl, before turning and slamming the door shut behind her.

With that, Blake was left alone, a solid, secure door at her back, and a myriad of terrible thoughts and feelings gnawing at her being. It was all made worse by the sudden realization that sobs were echoing down the hall. She clutched and covered her ears to block it out, willing her heart to calm, attempting to remember the breathing exercises her mother had drilled into her when she was training. That only brought more pain to the forefront. She slid down the door to the floor and sat there, tense, breathing heavily. Why was this happening? Why was she this upset? This was insane. She was insane! She should have known her sins would take a toll, but this was too much to bear. More than ever she felt at war with herself. Her heart thudded, her throat clenched, her mind blurred with a flurry of emotion - rage, guilt, and misery, all chasing each other like a macabre cyclone. All the events of the night settled upon her like a shroud of lead, and she felt a sob of her own escape her throat.

This was all Ruby's fault. She would not be feeling this if it were not for her existence. She would be alone with Sun. She would be safe in his arms, calmed by his heartbeat, his scent...was strong. She opened her eyes to find Sun kneeling before, a mixture of anger and worry on his face. Slowly, she let her arms fall, freeing her ears from blockage.

"Blake?" Sun spoke.

"I want her gone." Blake warbled, infuriatingly. She swallowed, scowling. "I want her gone now!"

"Why?" Sun challenged. "Because she had a one night stand?"

"She let that whore into my home!" Blake growled.

"Did you tell her she wasn't allowed here?" Sun asked.

"I said no strangers in the house!" Blake yelled.

"You said no humans in the house." Sun corrected.

Blake snarled. "She let a stranger into my home to fuck!"

"She was drinking!" Sun exclaimed. "It's not like she was thinking clearly."

"This is what I was talking about!" Blake seethed. "Humans are ignorant, blind, trouble!"

"So what, you're gonna' kick her out because she got drunk and got laid?" Sun pressed. "As if we haven't done it? As if we haven't done her?"

"You fucked her in your car." Blake noted. "She waited until I was drunk and I don't remember a fucking thing!"

"Yeah, she did didn't she." Sun smirked. "Sounds like someone else I know. A certain friend of mine, short, black hair, red tips, sobbing her eyes out because she thinks she just witnessed someone she trusts murder a girl?"

"Fucking idiot." Blake scoffed.

"You dragged her out kicking and screaming!" Sun shouted.

"I told her to stay away!" Blake shot back.

"From you, from me, not from Ruby." Sun insisted. "Blake, for crying out loud, I'm being as reasonable as I can by just saying, that was really fucked. Ruby's scared shitless! You do realize we're all she has here right?"

"The SDC takes care of its own, always has, always will." Blake grumbled. "She's human."

"She's family Blake." Sun declared.

"I didn't claim her." Blake refuted.

"Bullshit." Sun countered.

Blake hissed, glaring, claws shaking as they dug into the carpet. Rage bubbled within her, tempered by true, genuine terror. "You're taking her side over mine?"

"Don't change the subject." Sun refocused. "You were panicked as fuck when she went missing. You've been on edge all night, and you just went crazy because someone was banging her without your permission."

"I didn't claim her!" Blake repeated. "If I did that whore wouldn't have touched her."

"Because Neon gives a shit when she's hot for someone." Sun scoffed. "Blake, please, for love of the gods, don't fight me on this. You're angry, yeah, but not at Ruby. You're angry at the situation and want it to go away so you can rest. But if you keep running away from situations you're gonna' rush off a cliff someday, and I can't follow you down."

Blake felt the lump in her throat grow once more, and her eyes stung. She curled up, claws in her hair as she tried to hide from her own emotions. "I hate this Sun. Why do I have to deal with this? Why couldn't I just be normal?" She whimpered.

Sun shifted audibly, his warmth moving to Blake's side. "Because you're Blake. If you were normal, you wouldn't be Blake."

"This is the dumbest fucking soothing I've ever heard from you Sun." Blake grumbled.

"You get what you pay for." Sun grinned.

Despite herself, Blake laughed. "I hate you. You're ruining my life."

"I try my worst." Sun chuckled.

"I don't even have a response for that…" Blake sighed, leaning into the embrace. "Fuck...what do I do Sun?"

"Talk to her, calmly." Sun suggested. "Help her understand what's going on. She's scared. She's hurt and she's lost. She's a world away from her family and we're her only friends. She doesn't feel safe anymore."

"Okay...okay." Blake whispered.

There came a light tapping on the door. "Can I have my scroll?" Neon asked. "Please?"

Author's Note: The pace of posting this story may soon slow due to Life Issues.