-Your Pov-

You stood in front of Summer, and then the weight of her words hung in the air, and then you sighed at her answer and then nodded. Despite your best efforts, a lump formed in your throat, and then you felt tears welling in your eyes. Even now, you see her body twitch as she forces herself to not reach out to wipe them away, and even now you see her silver eyes laced with concern for you. " Are you going to be okay," she asks you eventually, both for the sake of asking and making sure, and partly for the sake of having something to say, the silence between the two of you becoming oppressive as time went on.

" Fine. I'll be fine," you tell her, and then you feel the first of your tears threatening to spill over, and you wiped them away quickly, and then you forced yourself to blink rapidly, and then Summer nodded, understanding. " I'll be fine," you repeat, both for her sake and for yours. You need to keep reminding yourself of that, otherwise you're going to break down in front of her, which is the last thing you want to do.

You turn to leave, and then quickly walk down the hallway, and from the corner of your eye, you see her hesitate a moment, wondering if she should chase you down. Part of you wants her to run, use her Semblance and then tackle you into a hug from behind, and another part of you wants to be left alone. Before you have time to wonder what you want more, you see Tai come over, and then rest his hand on her shoulder, and you break into a run, losing control of your breathing, and then making your way to the dorm you have alone, and then open it.

Closing it behind you, you walk into your bed, and then climb in and see the stuffed animal Summer had given you for a birthday, and then hold onto it, and then tears start streaming down your face, and you don't even care about trying to stop them anymore. Your body shakes up and down with your tears, and then your throat burns with all of the crying you've been doing. Eventually, you run out of tears, and your body racks with dry sobs, and then your eyes feel heavy, and you close them, and sleep, holding onto the stuffed animal, the sadness of your mind letting yourself believe that it's Summer.

In the morning, you wake up and then you look at yourself in the mirror, and see that you're a mess, eyes and nose red, and your eyes puffy. Looking at the pillow, you see that it's soaked with tears, and then you shake your head and sit up, happy to have a dorm to yourself. Rubbing your eyes and face, you get up and then start to get dressed for the day, forcing yourself to take deep breaths in and out to avoid breaking down again.

Heading out to your first period class, you take your usual seat behind Team STRQ. They take the time to greet you one by one, with Summer's greeting lingering for a little bit, with the hidden meaning of asking if you're okay. You find yourself unable to meet her gaze, and then look away and down at your paper and you start doodling something, just to keep your hands busy, and you begin to crack your knuckles one by one. Before anyone can talk to you, the teacher walks into the room, and then begins one of his stories.

He finishes the story, and then you smile. " Now that's a katana," you say, a joke you and Summer came up with ages ago, and something that always made the both of you laugh. However, this time, she doesn't even respond to you saying it, and then Tai repeats the joke, which in it off itself feels wrong, and it feels even worse when Summer laughs when he says it, and not when you do. A cold feeling goes through you, and then you feel something in you snap, and then you get up and leave for the bathroom, and then sit down and break down.

The next day, you find yourself sitting on the edge of a cliff, watching the sunset, one of your favorite places to come with Summer, but she's with Tai on some sort of date. That same feeling is stuck in your chest, and then you feel yourself crying again, despite your best efforts not to. Eventually, you manage to stop and then two birds land in front of you, and turn into your adopted brother and sister, Qrow and Raven. " You okay," she asks you.

" Fine," you lie to her, standing up and wiping away the last of the tears. " We're not here for friends or to fall in love anyways. The only reason any of us are here is to get stronger for the sake of the tribe. I just wish it took me less time to realize my love for her was only a weakness."

Raven nods at your answer, and then Qrow sits down next to you, and then pulls out two flasks and hands one to you. Despite everything you said, you downed the flask, the burning of the feeling of the alcohol as it goes down feeling better as a contrast to the cold in your chest. He smirks a little bit when he sees you drinking, and then the two of you drink in silence.

The days and weeks pass, and then you walk down the halls of Beacon one day, having finally mastered the facade you've been trying to set for yourself. As you think this, a burst of roses appears, and then you're dragged into the corner by Summer. " (y/n)," she says. " We haven't talked at all since I told you I was with Tai. Are you okay?"

" I already told you, I'm fine," you tell her, and then you turn to walk away from her, however she appears in front of your face. You try to walk away from her several times, and each time she uses her Semblance to appear in front of your face, blocking you off from simply walking away from her.

" I'm your friend! I still care about you, even if I don't return the feelings you have for me, I care about you," she says. " So tell me if you're hurting. Quit trying to act tough and hide your wounds!" She says this, and then the facade you built for yourself shatters, and then you break down crying, and she pulls you into a warm hug and begins to rub your back, holding you until your crying stops.

-Timeskip Your Pov-

After graduating from Beacon, you had gone back to the bandit tribe, and then become the leader. Raven had ended up married to Tai, and had a daughter named Yang with him. Qrow had become a huntsman, and grown attached to the family, and Summer was waiting for Tai, still having her feelings for him, even after the breakup.

You sat in your tent, and then sighed and looked at a picture of you dancing with Summer at one of the school dances, and then to your surprise, tears welled in your eyes. In the time since Beacon, you had tried to lock away any feelings you had for her, and yet it never worked. The only thing you wanted was to be held by her and break down while she told you it was going to be okay, and yet you couldn't allow yourself to do that. The tribe needed their leader to be strong.

As you thought this, a red portal opened in front of you, and then Raven stepped through, looking at you surprised. " (y/n)? I came back because the tribe needed a leader. I teleported you to say goodbye. What are you doing here?"

" I've been here since I graduated Beacon," you tell her. " I've been leading it until either you or Qrow came back."

" Why'd you come back," asks Raven, looking at you confused.

" Because this is the only place I matter," you say to her, and then she looks at you. " I couldn't go back to my family. I could have become a huntsman, but just one who fades into the hundreds of names of huntsman there are. Here is the only place I can be."

She gives you a concerned look, and then you shake your head and try to shake away the tears from your eyes, and then the two of you sit in an awkward silence, and then try to formulate plans to lead the bandit tribe together, it giving you something you do to keep your mind and hands busy, once again on the verge of a breakdown, but doing the best you can to keep your facade up.

-Timeskip your Pov-

You and Qrow fought in the room, and then you did the best you could to stay out of the reach of his weapon, while firing blasts from yours. Members of your tribe were fighting with members of the White Fang, while former students from Beacon also battled with their enemies. Raven was in the vault with Vernal and Cinder, and trying to get the Relic, and so Qrow was battling with you, angrily asking you questions, demanding to know why you went back to the tribe after everything the two of you had gone through at Beacon.

" Because the tribe understands that all that matters is power," you tell him. " Feelings? Connections? Everything like that fades away quickly. To deny that is to deny everything I have ever been!"

" Do you believe that yourself," he asks as he kicks you into a pillar. " Or is that the same lie you've been feeding yourself because you would rather turn your back on your bonds than admit that Summer picking Tai hurt you?" You fly for him angrily, and then the two of you resume fighting. " Answer me! She wouldn't have wanted you to do this!"

" I don't care what she would want," you lie. " She's gone because this world is cruel and merciless. If she had hardened her heart, then she would have been able to live on. I intend to change the world so it doesn't swallow up people like her."

" Don't give me that," he growls, beating you down with his scythe. " I know you care about her! You know how I know? Because even after she hurt you, you were always there for her! When she was getting married, I saw you watching from a distance. When she died, I saw you at her funeral! I've seen you asleep at her grave before! You miss her damnit! Swallow your pride and admit it!"

The two of you continue to fight, and then a burst of red petals goes off, and then a girl with red and black and red hair and silver eyes appears in front of you two. Idly, you realize this is the daughter Summer had with Tai. She tells Qrow to let her do this, and then Qrow steps away, clearly confused. Ruby extends a hand to you, and then you see concern for you in her silver eyes, exactly like how her mother's had held once.

" I don't know the full story," she says. " But, it sounds like you were really hurt by my mom getting with my dad. And you're doing this for her? I think if Summer were here....she would tell you to stop trying to be tough and to stop hiding the wounds. That's what she always told Yang and I."

Your eyes widen when she says this to you, and then you remember the time Summer had told you the same thing. Looking at Ruby with her hand outstretched, you see the image of Summer offering you a hand up from the times you had fallen trying to power through your wounds. Without even thinking, you accept her hand up, and then accept her offer to join them, almost breaking down when she says it's what Summer would have wanted.

-Epilogue Your Pov-

You had died in the fight with Salem, taking a hit that had been meant for Ruby. The group had surrounded you with concern, but you simply smiled at them. " I get to see Summer again," you tell them, and then you close your eyes. A few moments pass, and then in a white space, you see the image of the girl you had done all of this for, Summer Rose.

Making your way over to her, she smacks you across the face. " What did I always tell you about hiding your wounds," she asks you, more concern than anger in her. " If you had ever needed me, you could have come to me. I would have made the time for you."

Hearing her say this, and then the pain of her slapping you makes you break down crying, and then she sighs and then pulls you into a tight hug, and then rubs your back. " I love you," you manage to tell her between sobs.

" I love you too," she says, and then she pulls you closer, healing the wounds you had tried to hide.

( eh. I thought this is okay at best. Really just wanted the scene where Summer and Ruby tell him to stop hiding the wound, but let me know what you thought)