-Emma Pov-

I look around the party and then smile when I see for the most part everybody having fun, even the normally angry or brooding members of my team, Zion and Jason look like they're enjoying themselves, and this might be the record for the longest he's gone without getting into a fight with someone, which is good. As I think this, I keep looking around the room, trying to find Alesha to see if she's enjoying this party. To my surprise, she's sitting in the corner sadly, gazing over at Jason, with his two sisters, and then I walk over to her. " You okay," I ask concerned, and then I hear her sniffle.

" Yeah, I'm fine," she says, which I can tell is a lie. " I just saw him with Ruby and Yang, and I remembered spending time with my sister, and then I remember how much I miss her, how much I miss everyone in my family." She sniffles again, and then looks like she's on the verge of tears. Not wanting her to cry, I offer my hand, and then the two of us walk onto the roof to have a moment of privacy.

" You don't have to tell me anything you don't want to, but I think it might help Alesha," I offer. I see her hesitate for a few moments, and so I look away, not wanting to make her feel pressured in agreeing to anything. Every so often, I hear her sniffle, and then I feel a tap on my shoulder, and then I look over to see Alesha, looking like she's on the verge of tears again. I'm about to say she doesn't have to say anything if she isn't ready, but as if she knows I'm about to say that, she gives a slight shake of her head.

" When I was younger, I grew up with two loving parents, and my little sister," she says after a long silence to collect her thoughts. " It was my sister's dream to become a huntress, and it was mine to become a blacksmith. One day I came home with my report card, and my parents were so proud. And then someone, I don't know who broke into the house. My sister and I hid in the closet, and there were gunshots, my parents had been killed. My sister and I lived alone, living off the money we had gotten from our parents, until one day I found out my sister had cancer. It was too late to cure it and I became a huntress for her."

My eyes widen with sympathy, especially when her eyes fill with tears. I reach forward and hug her tight, and she breaks down into tears. Gently, I hold her close to me, and then I extend my wings around her and hold her close to me. I gently stroke her hair and rub her back, not wanting her to cry anymore, and promising myself silently that this time, it's my turn to protect her and make her safe.

-Zion Pov-

I sit in the corner of the room with Kay, and the two of us smoke. We don't talk much, except to play the game where we insult others, and even that grows stale after a few hours of it, and this party shows no sign of slowing down. And so, Kay and I resign to sitting in silence, which at least with her isn't awkward. Eventually, the silence gets to be too much for Kay, and then she turns to me. " Hey, Zion. I know my reasons for it, but why are you so cynical."

" My father was a drunk, an abusive drunk to both me and my mother," I admit after a moment. I don't know why but I feel like I can tell Kay this, and it feels good to get some of this off my chest. " And I don't know how long that had gone on. But, my mother had given up fighting by the time I was born. Night after night, he would beat the shit out of both of us. When my mom gave birth to my little brother, I finally had enough of his abuse, and killed him. I figured out a long time ago that in this world it's better to me an asshole than someone seen as weak."

She nods when I say this, and gets a far-off look in her eye, like she's remembering something she doesn't want to remember. " Your turn," I tell her, and she snaps out of her daze and then turns to me. " You asked me why I'm this way, so now it's your turn to tell me." She nods, and then I watch her take a few moments to collect her thoughts.

" I had a twin brother named Josu. The two of us were born in Atlas, and had a happy life for the most part. Eventually though, we went to school, where the two of us were bullied almost everyday and for no reason. Our parents did the best they could to help, but the school either didn't believe them, or told us to handle it ourselves. I unlocked my Semblance, and so became strong enough to protect myself, but my brother....he committed suicide because of the bullying. I learned a long time ago it's better to be seen as an asshole than a weakling," she says, and then I nod.

Kay doesn't look sad when she says this, rather like it's something she tried to make peace with a long time ago, and she almost looks angry at the world for being the way it is, which is a sentiment I can agree with. I'm not normally the most comfortable with emotions, but I feel like I can understand Kay, and I enjoy my time around her. Taking a deep breath, I wrap my arms around her and pull her into a hug. It's been a long time sine I was hugged or hugged someone, but she just hugs me back, and then I hold her close.

-Hercules Pov-

I smile as I sit with Nora in Ren in the corner of the room, and Nora and I arm-wrestle as Ren watches to make sure no one breaks one of the rules. The two of us go all out, and to my surprise, neither of us can budge each other. I had noticed this when we arm-wrestled on the airship, but this is impressive to me how strong she is, and then I'm glad I had invited her to be my partner in the tag tournament.

" I watch all your fights on TV, and I'm your biggest fan," she says, and I somehow don't doubt it, and then she starts to apply a little more force. " If you weren't at least this impressive, then I'd have broken your legs." I have no idea if she's joking or not, but then I chuckle, and we go back to arm-wrestling. She thinks for a few moments, and then she looks up at me. " Hey Hercules? I know you have a lot of fans asking you this, but what's your personal life like?"

Eventually, I barely manage to win the arm-wrestling contest, and she sighs in defeat, and then she looks at me, wondering if I'm going to explain my personal life. " You can't tell anyone what I'm about to tell you," I tell them, and then Nora nods and swears on her love for pancakes she's not going to tell anyone, which makes me smile, and then she waits, surprisingly patiently, and then I sigh.

" My parents were gone a lot. Work or something or other, I got tired of dealing with their excuses over the years. I had an older sister who took care of me for years, and then she passed away of natural causes. I was alone then for most of my childhood until I made it as a fighter. And my manager became like a second older sister to me, and people finally started paying attention to me. And then my fame turned away the people who I was closest to," I admit after a long silence, and then she looks at me kindly.

" Boop," she says, poking my nose, and then I smile a little bit when she does this. I think she can tell that I'm a little sad, and then she jumps so she can hug my chest. " If you feel sad, then here come the hugs!" She says this, and then she hugs me close and I smile before wrapping my arms around here, feeling safe and wanted. And I don't mean wanted for my money or for my fame. But genuinely wanted, which makes me smile and I hold her close as she hugs me happily, and then I smile. 

" Thanks Nora," I say, and then she smiles and even hugs me tighter. I can tell she doesn't want to let go, and I don't want her to.

-Jason Pov-

I smile when I sit on the couch with my two sisters, and then I beat them easily at MVC2, and then even Weiss plays every so often and I beat her at it. The only one who's actually good at this game is Karen, but she drops out after a little bit to play a different game with Ruby, and then the two of them smile and laugh happily. Yang rage quits after a little bit, leaving just me and Weiss to play this game, which means I win at it every time.

Still, I can't help but notice how happy she is just to be playing the game, and I have to resist the urge to smile. Eventually, she gives up trying to beat me, and then just watches me play for a little bit, and we sit in comfortable silence, and then she turns to me. " Jason? If we're going to be working together, I think we should know a little bit about each other," she says, and then I nod as I keep playing, asking her what she wants to know about me. " Well, what about your childhood?"

" Didn't have much of one. My birth mom walked out on me and Yang, and then our step-mom never really loved me. She never said it, but she also never had to. We all knew Ruby was her favorite, and then Yang, and then me. I grew up being told I was too much like my birth mother, which I always thought was bullshit since I never met the woman," I admit after a long moment. " What about you Weiss?"

" Everyone assumes my childhood would be easy, that I was born with a silver spoon in my mouth," she says, and I look over at her. " And, I am lucky for the money I grew up with, and I never went without. But, I was also always in the shadow of my older sister Winter, and I grew up with a mother who had become a recluse, and an emotionally abusive father."

She says this, and suddenly, I feel like shit since I always made so many jokes about how she was here on daddy's money, and so many other things like that. Weiss looks saddened when she mentions this, and then I sigh in sympathy. I know what it's like to grow up in the shadow of someone. On impulse, I wrap my arms around her in a hug.

The way she reacts is like it's her first time being hugged, which after a moment I realize it may well be. Signing again when I realize this, I'm about to let go, and then she pulls me even closer. A small smile appears on my face, and then she hugs me back, and a small blush appears on my face. " Don't let go," she asks in a small childlike voice, and then I realize again that I don't want to let go, and so I just hold her close.

( let me know what you thought)