"Yang, get out of the room. Ruby needs her rest. Come back tomorrow morning and we'll see if she's feeling better." Weiss commanded as she spoke sternly to the devoted older sister. Ruby had gotten a concussion during a battle against an Ursa, as she had been slammed forcefully against a rock formation. She was currently asleep, and her soft breathing was apparently not enough to keep the young leader's girlfriend calm.
"Aw, but Weiss!" Yang exclaimed, plumping Ruby's pillow gently.
Ruby sighed in her sleep.
"Nope, no. I won't take any whining. I'll be back at the dorms tonight around ten. Keep a little dinner around for me, would you? Blake's been stress eating." Weiss was pushing the muscled Huntress out of the room now, though the blonde was digging her heels into the gleaming linoleum.
"But Weiss!"
Yang's yowling was drowned out by a door being shut firmly but quietly.
Weiss sighed, dropping down into the chair next to Ruby's bed. She was exhausted, and her Aura was running on too many cups of coffee and none of Ruby's affection.
Weiss was constantly in the hospital, sitting next to Ruby and kissing her softly before she drifted in and out of sleep. She turned away anyone who wasn't part of team RWBY, and even with Blake and Yang, there was a bit of quarreling on how long they could stay.
Yang had called Weiss a few choice words, and had given the very helpful suggestion to get her "granny panties out of their bunch". Weiss had given Yang the ban of a week for that.
But now, the blonde Huntress was back and ready to be the protective sister she was. Weiss and Yang were getting on each other's nerves, and Blake watched in the corner, amused to no end. The two teammates were horribly loving towards Ruby, and the youngest girl in their team would try to ignore the horrid tension between the blonde and white haired girls.
Now that Yang was gone for the night, Weiss had Ruby all to herself. He was excited to talk quietly and cuddle against her girlfriend's heartbeat even though the nurses had reprimanded her for sharing the cramped bed. She didn't care. She needed to be close, inches and centimeters apart from Ruby, or the warmth she offered would turn Weiss's heart back into the block of ice that it had been before she had met her girlfriend.
Their love was delicate, chaste and new, and Weiss liked it that way. She heaved herself up, and crawled into the warm blankets that Ruby occupied with such grace. Her red streaked hair, though tangled and matted, was spread like a fan onto the creamy white pillow behind her. Pale lips were parted into sighs, and silver eyes fluttered open and looked at Weiss.
"Hey there, Princess." Ruby murmured softly before pressing a gentle kiss into Weiss's soft, sweet-smelling hair.
"Hey, Ruby. How are you feeling?" Weiss whispered, her voice tinged with worry and loving affection.
"I'm holding up for you. We'll be out of here soon, I promise." Ruby said, her voice firm.
"You take your time. Don't you dare rush your recovery, alright? I'll be here for you." Weiss insisted, tilting her chin up to stare into Ruby's sleepy silver eyes.
"Don't worry, snow angel. I won't, I won't." Ruby assured her girlfriend, who sank closer into the bent crook of her shoulder.
"Weiss?"
"Yes, Ruby?"
"I love you."
"I love you more."
The night sank into heavy breaths and the curious sensation of holding one close to your heart. The sympathy that they offered each other kept their hearts beating. Moonlight shone through the open curtain, casting soft shadows onto the bed that they shared.
The sun rose, and Weiss detached herself from the clutches of Ruby's hands. She sat up, gazing at the orange and gold sunrise. Ruby fidgeted next to her, and her quiet breaths made Weiss's heart flutter.
A quiet knock at the door made Weiss jump from the bed onto her bare feet.
"Who is it?" Weiss demanded.
"Blake." The door swung open and the Faunus girl strode in, her footsteps barely able to be heard.
The wide amber eyes locked onto Weiss's disheveled clothes and rumpled hair and a pale mouth curled into a smirk.
"How's she doing?" Blake asked, her voice gentle and quiet.
"She's doing okay. I don't want to wake her up, but you can wait here while I get breakfast." Weiss said, suppressing a large yawn.
Blake nodded, and settled into a chair.
Weiss disappeared around the corner of the door, and her receding footsteps were the cue for Blake to start her mission. In a dark whirlwind of raven wavelets and a slash of Gambol Shroud to sever the curtain from its rods, Blake was on her feet and ready to assist her partner in their plan.
She gave two glances on either side of her to make sure cyan eyes and snow-white hair was nowhere near, and thrust open the window.
In climbed Yang, not even breaking a sweat. Her lavender eyes looked around the room in an urgency. She had a bag filled with cookies looped around her wrist and a storybook that was worn around the edges in the other hand.
The blonde looked fondly down at her sister, whose pale eyelids were closed in a deep, peaceful slumber. She nudged her with a finger and clambered into the bed next to Ruby.
"Just a few more minutes, Weiss. I'm not hungry yet." Ruby slurred in her sleepy morning voice.
"Think again, little sister!" Yang said in an excited whisper, waving Blake outside to keep watch.
"Yang?" Ruby cried, silver eyes popping open in a rush.
"Whoa, slow down there, sis. Don't get too excited." Yang patted Ruby's shoulder with a warm palm.
"I brought you something." Yang placed the ancient looking book onto Ruby's lap, and an incredulous look spread across the younger sister's face.
"You didn't."
"I did! Went back to the old house to find it." Yang declared proudly.
"Lots of good times with this guy." She added.
The storybook, though simple and filled with crude drawings, meant the world to Ruby. In these pages lay the origins of her need and hunger to help people. She adored the leather-bound book, and she flipped through the loved and tenderly handled pages.
Crayon illustrations that Ruby vaguely remembered doodling brought tears to her eyes as she touched the faded pictures. On the very last page, there was a note, scribbled in elegant, slanted cursive.
It read: "My dear daughters, Momma loves you very, very much. Don't forget Momma if she ever has to leave. I love you both very much. – Summer Rose."
Ruby put a hand to her mouth, trying to stifle the sob that threatened to claw its way out of her chest.
"Shh, it's alright." Yang murmured, pulling Ruby into a crushing hug.
Yang pried open the book, one arm still wrapped around Ruby, and began to read.
In a hushed voice, so quiet you could barely hear, Yang began to read aloud.
"Once upon a time, there was a girl who refused to leave the house without her special red hood on." Yang continued on, flipping the pages with ease and her arm tight around Ruby. Ruby curled into her sister, drifting in and out of sleep.
When Yang had finished the story, Blake poked her head in and nodded.
Yang gave her sleeping sister one big hug, and snuck back out the window.
Blake resumed her position in the chair, and waited for Weiss. The white haired girl floated in through the door, a matter of minutes later, and dropped a plate of food in front of the Faunus.
"Eat." Weiss said softly, rushing over to Ruby's side so she could press a soft kiss on her forehead.
"And call Yang. I want to tell her not to sneak in through the window and if she insists on it, then to turn off the webcams I have set up!" Weiss cried, exasperated but casual at the same time.
Blake was shocked, and with trembling fingers, dialed Yang.
As soon as the call connected, Weiss dropped her plate that she was preparing for herself and grabbed the phone.
"Come eat, Yang. I suppose we can talk about your visiting schedule in more depth." Weiss said.
There was no spoken reply.
There was only a loud whooping from the other end.