Just read it.

"I think you handled it well." Blake's voice was sincere, though she couldn't help but feel that it would be slightly cliché for both pairs in team RWBY to fall for each other.

"Aw, thanks kitten. I do pride myself on being the best big sister in the world." Blake rolled her eyes, though Yang couldn't see it.

The pair were reclined against a wall on one of Beacon's many rooftops, Blake in Yang's arms as they watched the sun set over Vale. They both enjoyed the proximity, relishing the feeling of simply being close to one-another, almost as if they had melted into one being, with a shared heart and mind.

Blake broke the pleasant silence. "I still find it hard to believe that anyone could fall for Weiss, cold as she is." Yang shrugged.

"It's not that hard to believe, I fell for you didn't I?" Yang's eyes danced in amusement as Blake turned to glare at her.

"Haha, very funny blondie. Maybe I should just-" She was cut off as Yang pulled her in for a searing kiss, and she melted into the contact. After what seemed like hours, they broke apart, cheeks flushed as they gasped for air. Yang gently pecked Blake's nose.

"What were you saying Blake?"

"Never mind." Blake shook her head in exasperation. The Faunus still felt a fluttering sensation in her stomach every time Yang kissed her. Sighing, she turned back around and sank back into her partner's embrace. "How do you think Ruby's doing?"

Yang chuckled. "I'm sure she's doing fine," she planted a kiss on Blake's neck, biting down gently. "I'm not so sure about our ice princess though."

Weiss sat alone in the library trying to study, desperate for any kind of distraction from what she knew was coming, what she knew she eventually would have to deal with. She had her head buried in a textbook, but her brain wasn't processing any of the information it presented. The words lingered fleetingly in her thoughts, before promptly whizzing out through her ears, the impression they left likening to that of a speck of dust on a mountain.

The fact that she knew her partner was coming did nothing to lessen the anxiety, nor gave her any opportunity to prepare for the eventuality. In truth, she had no idea what to say when asked about last night, her feelings were just as unreadable as the text that lay before her. It was as if her conscience had suddenly begun speaking in a different language and had given her brain no time to learn it.

Stop it Weiss. You know that you're overreacting...again.

But are you? What could this do to your partnership? Your team? What if you two can't figure it out? Is it possible to request a transfer to a different team?

No, I can't do that to Blake and Yang, it's not fair. I just have to calm down and talk this through...

"Weiss?"

The sound of the timid vice she had been anticipating snapped her back to reality. Her head slowly raised up from whatever text she had been reading (she now realized that she hadn't even noticed its name) to see her partner standing awkwardly before her. She began as gently as possible. "Ruby I-"

"I have to talk to you." Ruby interrupted her, and Weiss – who would normally be miffed at such an interruption – simply nodded and motioned to the seat beside her.

Ruby sat down hesitantly, refusing to make eye contact with the heiress. "Weiss...last night...why did you kiss me?" She was now speaking in little more than a whisper, and trepidation dripped from every syllable.

Weiss was taken aback at the directness of her question, but before she could respond, Ruby began stumbling.

"I mean...I know you said you'd never kissed anyone, and neither had I. It's just...I don't know if maybe...maybe it was something more than that?" She buried her face in her hands. "You must think I'm so stupid right now."

Weiss gently removed Ruby's hands from her face, and stayed holding onto one as she spoke. "No Ruby, I don't think you're stupid. At least, not any more stupid than I am right now."

Silver met ice-blue as Ruby shot her partner a confused look. "What do you mean by that?"

"Well, ever since it happened, I've been terrified of talking about it. Today, I knew you were coming, but I was so scared of facing you." She chuckled to herself. "I suppose it was more than just a kiss, no matter what I tell myself, but I had no idea what I would do if you didn't feel the same way, so I tried to hide from it."

Ruby shifted nervously. "I hid too. Just less subtly I guess." She rubbed the back of her head. "So...now what?" That was the all-important question here.

Weiss sighed. "I think that we should just wait. Right now, things seem so new and crazy, so let's give it some time to sink in, and see how we feel then, okay?"

Ruby nodded sagely. "I don't think it would be possible to have as perfect a relationship as Blake and Yang do anyway."

"Exactly. No sense in forcing anything if it isn't meant to be." Weiss looked Ruby directly in the eyes. "But no matter where this goes, I promise that I'll never stop being your friend and teammate."

Ruby finally let a smile shine through. "Thanks Weiss. But one question." Weiss looked at her expectantly. "Can I hold your hand?"

Weiss rolled her eyes. "We'll see."

Blake sat alone in her dorm, reclined against her headboard with her nose buried in a book as per usual. Ruby and Weiss still hadn't returned from wherever it was they had gone, and Yang had deemed it prudent to squeeze in one last training session before bed, so Blake now basked in complete solitude.

While normally she would appreciate the time without distractions from over-energetic girlfriends, today, she found that it opened a path for things...less than pleasant. Though she tried to concentrate on the novel in her hands, her thoughts always ended up straying to the White Fang, and more importantly, a certain red-haired bull-Faunus that until recently, had been her sworn enemy.

He's changed. Or at least, so he says. I trust him, but that doesn't change the facts. Someone blew that ship up, and if it wasn't him, odds are it was someone he worked closely with, seeing as they must have been in on the plan.

On the other hand, he might be lying to me, he may not have changed at all...damn it!

She threw down her book in frustration. The man who had haunted her dreams now dominated her waking hours as well, and still she could conjure no answers, only more questions.

"Blake?" A worried voice called out from the doorway, and the Faunus looked up to see the comforting face of her fiery partner. "Are you okay?"

There was no sense in lying to her, not again. "No Yang, I'm not. I'm really not." The brawler immediately dropped her gym bag and plopped herself down beside her girlfriend.

"Well, lucky for you, I'm here. Now what's wrong kitten?" Blake rested her head on the blonde's shoulder, who's hair was still slightly damp from evidently having showered before returning to the dorm.

Blake sighed. "I'm thinking too much."

Yang must have had at least forty-seven applicable jokes running through her head, but thought better of it eventually. "About what?"

Blake shook her head sadly. "It's...hard. I don't know-"

"You're thinking about him, aren't you?" Yang's voice was sympathetic, she knew exactly what Adam was, and what he meant to her partner. At least she thought she did...

Blake just nodded.

Yang gently pulled her partner's chin around to meet her eyes. "You know, once we find wherever it is the White Fang are hiding, there's a good chance he'll be there."

"I know. I'm just not sure I'm ready to face him again." Why can't we just live our lives, without being tied to each other like this?

Yang wrapped an arm around Blake's shoulders and gave a gentle squeeze. "Don't worry, we can beat him."

Blake nodded again. "I know we can. But I don't want to."

Yang looked down incredulously. "Are you serious? After all that he's done to you? After what he did to Vale?" Her frown was unmistakeable, and Blake instantly regretted opening her mouth at all. "He hurt you, and almost killed you! He slaughtered innocent civilians! He's evil!" Something snapped.

"NO HE ISN'T!" Blake was on her feet now, shouting at the blonde. "You don't know him, you've never known him! He didn't kill those people at the docks, and he would never have killed me! You can't judge him like that!"

Yang stared, shocked at the girl's outburst, but instead of try to mend the situation, she chose the one thread that should not be pulled. "Wait, how do you know that he didn't plan the explosion?" Her brow furrowed as suspicion crept into her tone.

Blake didn't care anymore, anger dulling any empathy she may have felt. "I met with him, the night after the explosion. He told me that he never planned for all those people to die. And I believe him, Yang, even if you don't." But Yang had only clued into one important point.

"You met with him? And after all we've been through, you still didn't feel the need to tell me!?" Her voice filled with spite as she plunged the dagger in. "Are you sure that's all you did with him?"

If Yang's lips hadn't just formed those words, if her chest hadn't heaved with the force of expelling them, Blake would not have believe what she had said, what she seemed to imply.

"You...you think that I...?" Tears stung the back of Blake's eyes as the girl sparked in front of her, but she refused to let them fall. "HOW COULD YOU ACCUSE ME OF SOMETHING LIKE THAT, AFTER ALL THAT WE'VE SAID AND DONE! YOU KEEP TELLING ME TO TRUST YOU, BUT HOW CAN I IF YOU DON'T TRUST ME?"

"HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO KNOW WHAT YOU DO? YOU DISAPPEAR SO OFTEN THAT FOR ALL I KNOW, YOU COULD HAVE FOUR OTHER LOVERS!" Yang's eyes flashed scarlet as she screamed back.

Blake froze at the words. "You...?" The tears couldn't be stopped, but she turned away so as to not let Yang see them. I guess it was too good to be true...

She took a long look back at the flaming girl in front of her, and uttered that one word she'd hoped never to have to use again.

"Goodbye"

Tears streamed down her face as she sprinted away, slamming the door behind her.

Yang just stood there, fists clenched and mind racing, before collapsing on her bed and weeping silently to herself as night enveloped the city.