Note: Before we start, let me clarify what I meant in my Weiss x Reader when I said I would not write abusive stories. All I meant was that the relationship between the title characters will not involve abuse, and that it would be a backstory element only. However, in this the reader will be abused. However, it will not be by Barbara, so it still fits the rules.

- Barbara's Pov-

(y/n) walks into the Rooster Teeth building, and finds his way to his office. He probably is gonna do a ' let's play' or online battles for Storm 4. He's been playing that game a lot recently, and mentioned being picked to be a player in the E-Sports league for it. That's not the issue. He seems to have limped into work. (y/n)'s clumsy sure, but I always worry when I find him hurt.

I would go to check on it, but I have to record some lines for RWBY right now. Afterwards though, I make a note to make sure that he's okay. I go into the studio, and read the lines off the script. I have to admit, that the fans of RWBY are in for a real treat. The next couple of episodes are going to be a doozy. When I get the go ahead, I remember to go see (y/n).

His office is pretty big, and he sits slumped in a bean bag. A bowl of popcorn is next to him, and on his right is a can of Mountain Dew. The TV is on, and I was right in my prediction earlier. He's playing Storm 4, and explaining something about the lore of Naruto. I understand every third word, but his passion still makes me smile.

Not wanting to disturb him, I wait until he pauses the game and the recording. He looks over and smiles at me.  " Oh hey Barb," he says happily. " What's up?"

I ask why he was limping into work, and his smile never fades. " Oh, I fell down the stairs this morning," he says with a chuckle. " Landed right on my hip. I didn't have any painkillers handy, so I just have to work through it."

" Oof, sounds painful," I say. " You really do need to be more careful. Ever since we were kids, you've been so clumsy. I mean seriously."

His laugh fills the room. " Yeah, but I managed to make it through 27 years of this life," he retorts. " So, I can't be all that clumsy."

I give a laugh of my own in return. " Yeah, but still can't trust you with exact-o knifes." He sighs as I say that, which prompts further laughing on my part.

-Flashback to sixteen year old Barbara and Reader-

I wait at the library for (y/n). We have a tough quiz coming up in Spanish, and he promised to help me study. He's running a little bit late, but I can't fault him. There's been some roadwork recently, which causes traffic buildup. Eventually, he makes it and my eyes widen.

His wrist has a horizontal cut on it that looks pretty recent. Blood trickles at a decent pace from it. He opens his mouth to explain, but I pull him into a hug. " (y/n)...please don't do that to yourself."

" Barb, not that I don't love being hugged by you, but this isn't what it looks like," he says. Curious, I let go of him, and tell him to explain. " I was using an exact-o knife to cut excess pieces off a model, and it slipped and cut my wrist. That's all."

After he told me that, I couldn't help but laugh. " Oh. Well, I feel dumb. Let's get that cleaned. But seriously be more careful. You could get seriously hurt doing that, even by accident."

- Present Day Still Barbara Pov-

I remember that moment, and (y/n) sighs again. " When are you gonna let that go?" I put a finger to my chin and pretend to think. After a while, I snap my fingers as if a revelation came to me. " Never!"

He shakes his head and chuckles. " I gotta finish recording this pretty soon. Margaret wants to go on a date for lunch, so I don't wanna be late."

Margaret is the girl he's dating right now. I've met her once or twice, but I didn't really like her. She seemed kinda high maintenance and bitchy. When she was with (y/n) she would put him down, and was really rude to him. I wanted them to break up since (y/n) could do so much better. And yet, I didn't know how he'd take it if  I told him this.

" Okay. Well, I just wanted to make sure you were okay," I tell him. " But, I guess you're just clumsy as always. Have a great lunch with Margaret."

(y/n) thanks me, and I go to let him finish recording. Half an hour later, he comes out of his office. He finds Burnie, and tells him that he's taking his lunch break. Burnie gives him the go-ahead and (y/n) goes and drives off.

- Your Pov-

You were really scared to go on this date with Margaret. She had been hitting you and beating you for sometime now, and always threatened to do worse if you told anyone. At first, she had been an amazing girlfriend, but things had quickly spiraled out of control. The only reason you hadn't left her is because you were scared of what she'd do.

You make it to her house, and knock on the door. She opens up, and invites you in with fake happiness just in case anyone drives by. However, once you come in, she smacks you in the face. " You're late." You look at the clock, and you are indeed late from the agreed time. Only by a minute, but that's enough for her.

" I'm sorry," you mutter, and she smacks you again. " You'd better be," she says angrily. She storms off into the kitchen and gestures for you to follow.

" Did anyone notice you were hurt," she asks. You nod.

" Barbara did, but I told her I just fell down the stairs. She knows I'm clumsy, so she didn't think anything of it." Margaret seems to accept your answer, except for one part.

" I don't like it when you talk with Barbara," she tells you.

This is the one topic you stand up to her on. " For the millionth time, I don't have feelings for her," you say. " She's my best friend. We grew up together. Of course I talk to her."

Almost instantly, you regret saying this. She punches you in the nose, and you stagger back. In a second, she's on you, throwing punches and kicks at your chest. This goes on, before she gets off of you and leaves you on the floor. Tears enter your eyes, just like every time she beats you.

" Oh don't cry (y/n)" she says. " I only do this because I love you. God knows no one else could."

Eventually, you have to go back to work. You put a tissue in your nose to stop the bleeding, and force yourself to walk normally. You enter Rooster Teeth, and go back to your office and start recording the next part of your ' let's-play' series.

Despite everything, your job here is a silver lining. You just come in, and play video games all day. Sure, there are deadlines but you consider this the best job on the planet. Burnie is easily the the best boss you've had, and all your coworkers are friendly.

Leaving your office for the day, you're stopped by Barbara. " What's with the bloody nose," she asks.

" Oh uh, you know. I sometimes get nosebleeds in extreme temperatures. With winter and everything, the cold has been getting ridiculous," you tell her. She looks at you, before nodding and saying goodnight.

- Barbara Pov-

I sit with Micheal and Lindsey after work, with a nagging feeling growing in my gut. " Hey guys, have you noticed (y/n)'s getting hurt a lot lately," I ask, doing my best to keep my voice neutral.

" No kidding," says Micheal. " I knew he was clumsy, but that doesn't explain everything. Something else has to be up."

Lindsey nods and agrees, " I don't want to jump to any conclusions, but a lot of his injuries have been after he got with Margaret."

At the thought of (y/n) getting hurt by Margaret, I wince. The thought of him getting hurt at all has always messed with me. He's such a nice an innocent guy with a big heart. (y/n)'d probably have trouble hurting a fly.

" Yeah," says Micheal. " I don't wanna say she's abusive or anything since that's a big accusation. But Lindsey and I went on a double date with them. She isn't exactly the nicest to (y/n)."

This gets my interest. I thought I was the only one at Rooster Teeth who had noticed that. " What do you mean?"

He thinks about it for a second. " Well, she kept putting him down and saying he didn't have a real job. She also made a lot of jokes at his expense. Granted, we do the same thing. It just...felt different when she made the jokes ya know?"

I know exactly what he means. I make fun of (y/n) and volley insults with him all the time, but always in a joking way. If I can tell a joke hurts him, I don't make it again and I always know when to stop. I've also always been defensive of him when other people would insult him.

" I think we should do something," says Lindsey. " He'd do the same for any of us. He's always been there."

- Flashback to senior year Barbara and Reader her pov-

I can't believe my date to prom canceled on me last minute. It would have been one thing if he had given me warning, but to just bail. I'll still go without him, but it sucks. I'd had a crush for sometime, and had been so shocked when he asked me to the prom.

There's a knock on the door, and I hear either mom or dad answer it. " Oh (y/n)," says Dad. " What a surprise. Are you here to take Barbara to prom?"

" Yeah. I heard her date bailed on her, so I figured. If she doesn't wanna go with me, I'll just go home." He chuckles. " I wasn't gonna go actually. Until I heard no one was going with the most beautiful girl in school. Wanted to prove to everyone I was smarter than every other guy at the school."

I ended up going to prom with him, and having a great time. He was a perfect gentleman, and made me feel like the only girl at the dance. It was because of that I was glad that my original date canceled on me. If he hadn't, I wouldn't have had the chance to go with (y/n).

- Present day, Barbara Pov-

" I have a theory," says Lindsey. " What if he likes you, but figures you don't like him? So he got with Margaret."

" That'd make sense," adds Micheal. " I mean, the two of you have known each other for sometime and are always together. The two of you always have a good time, just laughing and chilling. To be honest, the two of you would be cute together."

Before I can answer, I get a text. I fish my phone out of my pocket, and open it to a text from (y/n). All it says is, " help me."

I show the text to them, and their eyes widen. Together, we drive down to his house. I pull out my spare key and open the door. Just in time to see Margaret kick him in the chest. Tears well in his eyes, and its clear this has been going on for sometime.

Lindsey distracts Margaret, and Micheal calls the police. I walk over to (y/n) and pull him into a hug. He sobs into my chest, and I rub his back. " It's okay (y/n). I'm here. I won't let her hurt you anymore."

- Timeskip still Barbara pov-

Months pass, and (y/n) still hasn't talked a lot about the experience to anyone other than me. He still calls me crying sometimes after a nightmare, and I always go to help him. It breaks my heart just how much he's been hurt, and so much of it right under my nose. If only I could've helped him.

He gives permission to talk about it on a podcast to help spread notice about domestic abuse, and while its emotional, Micheal, Lindsey and I all talk about it. We do our best to keep the mood light, while still addressing the gravity of the situation.

The podcast is about to end, and I speak up. " I just want to say that (y/n) and I have known each other for a really long time. He's probably my best friend in the world. He has such a big heart, and if he considers you someone important to him, there isn't anything on this earth he won't do for you."

I pause to take a drink of water before continuing. " So, if he gives you his affections and in return you hurt him, in any way. Then fuck you," I say flicking off the camera, daring anyone else in the world to hurt (y/n).

With that, the podcast ends, and I find (y/n) on the verge of tears. I pull him into a hug, and I rest my chin on his head. I hold him for awhile, before kissing him on the forehead. " Um, Barbara," he says. " Did you mean what you said?"

" Of course sweetheart," I tell him. " Every word of it."

I hold him, and he speaks up again. " I love you Barbara. I only got with Margaret because I thought I didn't have a shot with you, and I stayed with her because I was scared."

" I love you too (y/n)," I tell him. " It took me awhile to realize it. I'm sorry for making you wait. But, you're safe now.