-Your Pov-

You slowly try to get up, but then as you do, your father kicks you in the rib again. You go flying, and then smash into the wall. Slumping to the floor, he makes his way over to you, and picks you up with one hands. He's been at this for some time, and you don't know how this started. The pain is so great that you don't remember what you did wrong to make this happen. All you want is to make this stop. You've tried apologizing for it countless times, but your father is too angry to here it. Every time you think you've gotten used to the tempo and force behind his beating, the pace changes and the pain returns in full, sometimes worse than the last time.

Your mother makes her way over to him, a nervous look in her eyes. She reaches over and places a hand on your fathers shoulder. " I think he's had enough," she says nervously. This makes your father glare, and then he spins to backhand her. She reels back, and then terror sets into her eye and she apologizes to your father, and then he turns back to you, and resumes the beating. An unknown amount of time, he drops you and then walks off, and then your mother follows with him, rubbing her sore jaw.

As you try to get up, your arms give out on you, and you're left lying on the floor. This is hardly the first time this has happened to you, and so you don't bother crying or feeling sorry for yourself. Instead, you take a moment to rest and then you shakily rise to your feet, and then walk into your room, and then collapse onto your bed. You listen to a conversation between your mother and father downstairs, but you're too tired to make anything out.

Footsteps can be heard up the stairs. You force yourself to sit up, not wanting to show any signs of weakness. When they open the door, the two of them look at you, calmly and kindly. Your father sits on the bed next to you, and reaches out an arm around you. " I'm sorry. I didn't mean for that to last as long as it did. I only wanted to teach you a lesson, but I got carried away."

" Your father and I both want the very best for you, and this is part of it," says your mother. " You're not going to be a child forever, and so this is something we have to do to make sure you reach your potential." She sounds like she means it, not just because she was hit by your father earlier.

" We don't like doing this, but we're going to have to from here on out whenever you get out of line," your father tells you, and you shudder at the thought of that, but you know there's nothing you can do about it, and so you just nod. " I hope you understand," says your father.

" I do," you lie, not knowing why he's doing this, but also knowing you can't make any difference regardless. He pats you on the shoulder, and then stands up to leave the room with your mother. You sit there in your mind, trembling at the thought of when they'll do this again

-Timeskip your pov-

" I'm not angry, I'm just disappointed," says your father as you lay on the floor, coughing up your own blood, and struggling to get back up. He's been at this for awhile, and then he picks you up by the collar. " You're a smart boy, and you should be doing better than a C on tests."

" I did the best I could," you protest weakly, and then you try to take it back when you see the anger take root in his eyes, and then he headbutts your nose. Blood erupts from you, and then he tosses you to the ground.

" You need to do better. You're my only son, so I want you to be doing better. I love you, that's why I do this," he says, and then walks off. You manage to get to your feet, and then you walk off and go back to your room before you collapse and pass out. When you wake up, you sit on the bed, and bury your head in your hands, and then begin to let out a few sobs.

For some time, the beatings have been getting more and more frequent, and as you get older, they get worse and worse. Things that used to merit a short lecture ended up becoming a beating which could last for up to hours. Sometimes, your mother would even join in on the beatings, and you had seen your father hitting her. Each and every time, they told you it was because they loved each other, which begins to put questions in your mind.

Is that how people show that they love each other?

-Timeskip your pov-

" I only do this because I love you," says Steph as she lets go of you, and then lets you drop to the ground. For some time, she also has become abusive to you. However, this time she bends down and the offers you her hand. You nervously reach out for it, and then she helps you up. " I just don't like it when you talk to other girls," she says.

She sounds calm when she says this, and then she even offers a smile at you. You manage to give a small smile back, and then she reaches out and then wipes away some blood from your nose. " I may have been too rough this time," she says. " It isn't your fault that other girls notice you."

Eventually, she then smiles and then a hand on your shoulder. " I have to go train with the rest of my team for the Vytal Festival okay? But you've been a really good boyfriend lately, so when I get back, you and I can figure something out for a date." With that, she leaves you, and you lie on the bed in pain.

You replay the words of what she said, and what your parents had always said to you. It's all starting to make more sense in your mind. If people love each other, they hurt each other as a reminder of that. Your parents had hurt you because they wanted you to reach higher levels of your potential. And Steph was hurting you because she didn't want you to leave her for the other girls.

This was just a form of love like all the rest. Just because it was painful didn't mean it wasn't true. Steph and your parents both loved you, and they hurt you to prove it to yourself. So when Steph came back to go on a date with you, you knew that this was how true love worked. You hurt your partner to prove it to them.

-Blake Pov-

I curl into the ball to shield myself from the blows from Adam. At this point, it's better if his kicks break my arms instead of beating in my chest. Tears fall from my eyes, but I do my best to hold in all the sobs and all the crying. The sounds of them only seem to excite Adam more, and so I do my best to just bear it.

Eventually, he's had enough and sends me flying with one last kick. He takes the moment to calm his breathing, and then nurse his bruised knuckles. When he calms down, he comes over to me, and picks me up and cradles me. " I'm so sorry Blake," he says. " But you know why I have to do this to you."

I sit in silence, and this makes him angry. He wants me to say why he does it, to hear it from my voice, as if it makes it better. Adam wants to hear from me that I understand why he beats me, so it frees part of his mind from grief. I refuse to give him the answer this time, but then I feel his fingers dig into the bruises on my shoulder, and so I give him the answer he wants. " You only do this because you love me. You do this because you want the best for me."

This makes Adam smile, and then he lets go of me. He says a few more things, and then sets me down gently to leave the room. I curl back up into the ball again, and then sob to myself. Why didn't I leave when my parents had? Instead, I had stayed and this is what had been happening to me because of it.

Groaning, I force myself to sit up and then rise to my feet, my aura already slowly starting to heal me. Adam is always careful not to hurt me too badly, always careful to do just enough for me to be able to recover and then be able to assist on missions soon after. But, something inside of me finally clicks when I fall over after walking a few feet. I'm going to die if I stay here, either at the hands of the people we fight, or at the hands of Adam, one of our leaders. I need to leave the White Fang, and get as far away as I can.

-Your Pov-

You sit in the ballroom, and then do your best to read from a book, and tune out the conversations all around you. Next to you is a girl with black hair, and amber eyes. She introduced herself to you as Blake Belladonna, and invited you to read next to her for the rest of the night, since you had been in an area with poor lighting.

As the two of you sit and read in silence, you consider making conversation with her, but then decide you don't want to break the silence with her, since she seems like that might irritate you. However, you feel safer with her than you have anywhere else. Recently, Steph has been getting worse and worse to you, and you were always worried you were going to do something wrong and get hurt. With Blake, you just felt safe, even though you had just met her.

However, the facade ends when Steph comes over to the two of you, with a sickeningly sweet smile. She offers her hand, and you hesitate before knowing things will be worse. And so you take her hand, and she helps you up. " There you are (y/n)," she says, squeezing your hand hard enough it starts to hurt. " I've been looking all over for you."

She says some pleasantries, and then walks off with you, and finds a secluded area to be in for her to beat you. When she finishes, the two of you walk back into the ballroom, and then fall asleep for the night.

-Timeskip Blake Pov-

I sit with (y/n), and the two of us read together, and every so often have a bit of a conversation. I've been spending a lot more time with him since the school year started, and he's easily my best friend and the person I'm closest to. He even knows that I'm a faunas, making him the only person other than my team who knows that. I feel like I can trust him with everything, even the fact I used to be part of the White Fang. In fact, he had calmly listened to me, before pulling me into a hug, and telling me that he admired me for being able to leave my past behind.

When Steph comes to pick him up, I notice his reluctance when she approaches. When she holds out her hand to him, his hand shakes a little bit before taking it. Steph makes it quick, but she squeezes his hand, and I feel him let out a sharp hiss of pain. The two of them exchange cutesy nicknames, before saying goodbye.

Sighing, I know that Steph is abusing him. He exhibits all of the telltale signs of it, signs I can recognize easily because of Adam. I want so badly to help him, but I don't know how. If I tell him, I don't know if he'll appreciate it. If I approach Steph, she'll deny it, and odds are things will only get worse for (y/n). I don't want to make an accusation to the teachers without any proof of it, and so I feel powerless.

When I sit in my dorm, there's eventually a knock, and Ruby goes to get it. We're greeted by the sight of (y/n) sniffling, and with tears falling from his eyes. " Can I talk to Blake alone," he asks, and the three of them nod before leaving to give us so privacy. I invite (y/n) in, and then the two of us sit down on my bed together.

" Steph broke up with me," he says, and I don't know how to feel about it. On the one hand, it means she won't be hurting him anymore. But on the other hand, it's hard for me to see (y/n) this saddened. Clearly, he had had feelings for Steph on some level.

" I'm so sorry," I tell him eventually, and then the two of us hug, until he cries out everything he has left, and then he falls asleep. Picking him up, I carry him back to his dorm, and set him down on the bed. On an impulse, I bend down at plant a kiss on his forehead. " I love you," I tell him, before turning to leave.

-Timeskip your pov-

Ever since you broke up with Steph, you and Blake have been spending a lot more time together. The truth was, you had been in love with her for sometime. You had lost the spark you had with Steph, and felt your feelings for Blake growing. But, you had been far too scared to breakup and leave Steph, worried about what would happen to you or Oum forbid Blake. Luckily for you, Steph had been called into the office to talk with Ozpin, and then she had broken up with you. It hurt on some level for whatever reason, but you were happier than you had ever been.

And you had only gotten happier when Blake had decided to confess the feelings she had to you. You were surprised when she had told you she had had feelings for you, and had for awhile. But, it made you so happy to hear. It had been the happiest you had ever been in your life. The two of you had started a relationship, and it was perfect. The best part is that she hadn't hit you yet.

Except right now, Blake was pissed at you. She was yelling, and you were doing your best not to cower in fear. Blake was one of the best fighters you knew, and could cripple you if she wanted to. Seeing her normally bored amber eyes harden with anger scared you, and you backed away from her, and then backed into the wall.

" I'm sorry. Blake. You're right. I should have asked before I started to pet your ears. I just....I'm sorry. If you want to hit me, I'm ready," you told her, and then her eyes instantly soften. She takes a step closer to you, and then pulls you into a hug.

" Why would I ever hit you," she asks, and then she begins to stroke your back as you lose control of your breathing. " I love you."

" That's why you'd hit me," you tell her, confused. " That's why my parents and Steph would always say when they hit me." She begins to continue stroking your back, and then pulls way and touches your foreheads together.

" No sweetie," she says. " I had a partner who told me the same thing, and I believed it as well. But, he was wrong. And Steph was wrong, and your parents were wrong. I love you so much, and I would never do anything to purposely hurt you."

" I don't want to hurt you either," you tell her. " But, what if I annoy you again? What if this happens again?"

" I'm never going to hurt you. I promise you this," she says. " You and I may fight, and argue, and yell and scream at each other. But I will never lay a hand on you to do anything other than comfort you and love you."

" Thank you," you whisper, before your voice gives out on you. She smiles softly when you say this, and then cradles you in her arms.

" I love you," she says, and for the first time, you feel safe when someone says this, instead of worried about being hurt again.

( let me know what you thought. it was a toss-up if i wanted to use Yang or Blake for this. Let me know if you wanna see a similar story with Yang)