Against All Odds (ch5)

EARLY RELEASE FOR HIGHER-PLEDGING PATRONS!

Yes, Adam, everyone's favorite. Let's see how Blake (and her parents) will deal with him.

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.

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												Chapter 5. Introduction

Blake couldn't stop her jaw from hanging open from the shock of it all. But at the same time, claws of trepidation curled around her heart, making her stomach twist.

At the very least, the open door was shielding Weiss from Adam's line of sight, and Blake made certain to keep her hidden. Very subtly, she put her arm to the side, motioning for Weiss to get behind her and stay there. All of the joy and excitement Blake had been relishing until now was shot down in a single second at the sight of him, sitting there casually at her family dinner table, as though nothing had happened...

Blake was so fixated on Adam, on the rat that had invaded her home, that she'd nearly forgotten about her parents for a moment. Her mother and father stood on either side of the door, their eyes still wide with surprise. They'd been calling out her name all this time, but Blake had been drowning them out.

"Blake!" her mother cried again. "Honey, please tell us! To what do we owe this wonderful surprise visit?"

"And who is your friend?" Her father sounded mildly suspicious as he looked Weiss over.

Blake peered up at him with a silent plea in her eyes. She wasn't about to let Adam see Weiss, let alone hear her name.

Blake longed to run into her parents' arms and hug them both, but she couldn't afford to leave Weiss where she was if it meant Adam might be able to see her. So she stayed put, keeping her arm out to the side, gradually coaxing Weiss out of sight behind the open door.

"M-Mom... Dad..." Her voice was thin, but despite the stammer, there was an ounce of venom in it. "Wh-What... What is he doing here...?"

Her mother's ears flicked in confusion as she tilted her head.

"Blake? What's the matter? He's just-"

"I don't think that's any way to talk to your own partner." Adam's low, eerily collected voice cut Kali off. He put down the tea cup her parents had no doubt offered him upon his arrival, and stood as he turned to face them.

Evidently, he wasn't keen on removing his mask, because it was still there, covering his eyes, three telling slash marks, across the white.

As he started to approach, Blake stiffened, longing to call out to her parents and beg them to come outside, to get away from him. But her father wasn't about to back down.

"And I don't think that's any way you should talk to my daughter," he growled, squaring his shoulders. Something told Blake he'd never liked Adam to begin with, and they'd probably only invited him in to be polite. But other than that...

"Mom... Dad... do you... not know...?"

They both looked back to her, her mother curious, her father calculating.

"What exactly..." Ghira rumbled, turning his sights back on Adam. "Do we not know?"

Blake looked back and forth between her parents, then flashed a glance to Adam. Through the mask he was staring right at her, and it made her heart seize.

Weiss had been quiet all this time, puzzled as to what was happening, but Blake's earlier revelation of her uninvited guest's name was more than enough. Weiss knew who he was, and she knew how horrifying this must be for Blake.

So she offered her silent support in the only way she could think to without revealing herself, and squeezed Blake's hand.

Blake felt it like a warm breeze amidst a snowstorm. It gave her just the ounce of courage she needed. As she squeezed Weiss' hand in return, she sent a cold glare in Adam's direction.

"Why are you here? What do you want?"

He didn't falter in spite of her fierce gaze. She couldn't be sure because of the mask, but she knew it was entirely possible that he wasn't even looking directly at her.

"Blake, my dear..."

As he spoke, Blake noted her father's fists clench just a little, which made the sickening feeling in her stomach unravel on the spot. Depending on what her father heard about Adam here, he might end up as a throe rug.

Adam went on, his voice smug and confident.

"I'd heard you were on your way home. Word got back to me. And I'd just wanted to welcome you back. Give you a little surprise. Is that so wrong of me, darling?" He smiled, revealing his teeth. "In fact, I was planning on asking your parents... for their blessing."

"What?!" Blake shrieked and snarled at the same time, staggering back a step.

This revelation came as a shock to her parents as well, because she noticed them both gasp. Ghira narrowed his eyes at Adam, his fists getting ever tighter.

"You'd better stop playing games, boy."

"No games at all, Chief. I'm every bit as serious as you are."

Kali whirled around to stare wide-eyed at her daughter.

"Blake! What in the world is going on?"

Clearly, they couldn't even be excited about their own daughter's surprise trip home. Blake was furious at Adam for showing up here, waltzing into her house as though everything was fine between them.

Now, Blake was resolved, knowing she'd get some satisfaction out of telling them the truth. If Adam thought he was going to scare her into silence, he was wrong. Perhaps a past version of herself might've conformed to him.

But as she was now...

She opened the hand that was around Weiss', allowing their fingers to entwine. Blake lifted her gaze to those of her parents.

"Mom... Dad... Adam is not my partner anymore. Haven't you heard what he – what the White Fang – have been doing? All over Vale?"

There was a small warning snarl on Adam's part, but Blake ignored him. Her father looked back to him with narrowed eyes.

"No. Do tell, Blake. What exactly has he been doing?"

Adam growled again.

"Blake-"

"Silence!" Ghira thundered. "And let my daughter speak."

Adam had no choice but to obey. Blake could feel his eyes boring into her, but she wasn't about to be intimidated by him. Not now, not anymore.

"Mom, Dad... Adam's branch of the White Fang... are not upholding the laws they once agreed upon. There are no more peaceful rallies and protests. They lie, they steal-!"

Her voice had been starting to rise up, but she brought it back down as she remembered what Weiss had told her before.

"They've even killed people..."

All at once, Weiss let out a small sob, Kali gasped in horror, and Ghira rounded on Adam with a roar.

"Is this true? Explain yourself!"

"Sir," Adam said calmly. "I assure you she's exaggerating-"

"Like hell I am!" Blake snapped. "I was by your side for years! I know better than anyone what you did – what you're still doing! That's why I left in the first place! Because I couldn't bear to see you hurt anyone else! That is not what the White Fang stands for, Adam!"

Before she knew it, the tears were dripping down her cheeks. Her mother couldn't stand still any longer. She hurried to Blake's side and wrapped her arms around her daughter's shoulders, pulling her close.

"Oh, my baby girl... We never knew... We never..."

Blake choked back another sob, but she didn't waver this time when Adam began making excuses.

"She's lying! She never-"

"Enough!" Ghira's shout rattled the house as he rounded on Adam. He began storming towards him, and Blake didn't miss it when Adam braced a hand on his sword.

"Dad!"

Ghira paused just a few yards away from his guest, also having noticed where Adam's hand had gone. The man let out a low, threatening chuckle.

"Oh, so that's how you aim to play, is it? Everything's Blake has said is true, isn't it?"

Adam's only response was silence. Ghira laughed again.

"Good. It's probably best you don't say anything. If I hear you speak another word, I might get more angry than I'll be able to handle." He took another step forward, until he was looming over Adam. "Get out. And should I ever see you around here again, or hear that you've been near Blake, I'll deal with you myself. And don't think this is over. I'll be calling a meeting soon, and we're going to discuss your division. In detail. And based on our conclusions, I can expect you'll be shut down and cut off."

Blake could tell, even from this distance, that Adam was seething. But not even he was foolish enough to pick a fight with the chief and his wife and daughter in their own house.

So Adam had no choice but to slink away without a word. Ghira walked behind him, guiding him to the door. Kali clutched Blake's free arm and eased her back. Consequently, this meant Blake was guiding Weiss back as well, which pulled her into view now.

As Adam passed them by, it felt like time froze for just a split second.

Blake could sense the fury wafting off of him, a vengeful energy that ensured she hadn't seen the last of him. Her parents' presence ensured he didn't say a word to her as he passed by.

But as he glimpsed the white hair and blue dress of the girl behind her, he couldn't stay silent.

"You..." His voice dropped into that of a low growl, and he almost laughed. "You traitor. Bringing someone like her here. I don't know if you're more brainless or spineless."

"Silence!" Ghira snapped. But Adam ignored him.

"You think you can change the world, Blake? Think you can make everything better? You're a bigger fool than I thought, my dear. That mindset will be the death of you. And I can promise you that."

"Get out!" Her father bellowed one last curse at Adam before shoving him away. Adam barely stumbled before he turned back to Blake one last time.

"I'll see you again, my dear."

And with that, he turned toward the forest, and vanished into the shadows.

All of Blake's family watched him go, and eventually, the tension in the air dissipated. At last, Blake let out a long sigh, and her shoulders slumped. Her mother didn't waste a second in pulling her into another fervent hug.

"Oh, Blake... we had no idea..."

"It's okay, Mom. It's okay." She sighed into her mother's hair and draped her free arm around her shoulders. A moment later, she pulled back to look up at her father.

"Blake," he said softly. "Welcome home." He stepped forward to place a hand on her back.

Both his hand and her mother's made her feel safe, and her tears came to a halt. Kali wiped her cheeks for her and kissed the bridge of her nose.

"I'm so sorry," she said again. "If we'd known what Adam had done... we never would have let him in... I'm sure your father is going to address this at his next meeting."

"Absolutely," he affirmed. "I've been lenient with that boy's branch for a while now. Evidently, all that I've been hearing about his practices have been lies. I'll see to it that we put a stop to him. That's a promise."

"Thanks, Dad..." Blake took a moment to breathe, now finally able to relish her parents' presence. Now, it was starting to feel like home again.

But another squeeze on her hand caused her to realize there was still something she needed to do.

Blake stepped back from her parents and straightened herself up just as her mother asked of her,

"Now Blake, who is this you've brought along?"

"Oh! We beg your pardon," Ghira said to Weiss. "We don't always have... issues like this happening around here."

Weiss dipped her head politely to each of them as Blake coaxed her forward. A smile formed on the Faunus girls lips as she introduced her.

"Mom, Dad... this is Weiss."

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A/N: Adam asking to marry Blake was... a detail from the customer that made me flinch, but it was so satisfactory that they wanted Adam to be chased off immediately afterward. Thank goodness! Thank Ghira!