The dawn heralded a golden flecked morning. Sunny with a light breeze that blew lazy clouds across the pastel blue sky. The dew covered leaves glinted like jewels in the suns warm rays. Even Weiss, with her lofty standards, had agreed that it would indeed be a pleasant day. Not a single spectator of this marvelous morning would have suspected that the lingering clouds would converge and break into a powerful storm, and when they finally did so in the late afternoon, none could escape the torrential downpour. But, The clouds had yet to break, and all seemed well in the golden flecked morning heralded by the dawn.
Ruby skipped along the edge of the sidewalk. Her arms were outstretched for balance as she navigated the narrow lip between the sidewalk and the street, an expression that bordered between a furtive grin and deep concentration on her face. Weiss walked briskly alongside her wearing a juxtaposing scowl. Whether the scowl was a result of the bag of Ruby's dirty laundry that she clutched reluctantly in her hands, or the sheer inconvenience of having to accompany Ruby on a weekend tromp to the Laundromat, could not be said. For Weiss, both were equally viable as a source for her displeasure.
"Why do I have to hold YOUR bag of dirty clothes. Isn't it bad enough that I have to accompany you on this ridiculous trip. I am not some errand horse, I am the heiress to the schnee family dust company."
"Shhh, Weiss just a second," the redheaded youth held up a finger "I need concentrate on my balance."
"Take your bag back Ruby! I dont want to hold it anymore-"
"My balance."
"Catch or don't catch, It's not my problem." Weis shrugged and underhandedly tossed the bag of Ruby's laundry at her.
"Weiss no!" A look of panic and dismay flashed across Ruby's face as she twisted her body at an odd angle to catch the bag, while still keeping her feet planted. However the twirl was too much for her spine to handle, and like a tree in a gale she toppled to the ground in almost comical slow motion. Lunging forward with the practice ease of a trained fencer, Weiss easily caught Ruby before the girl smashed on the ground.
"Predictable as ever you dolt. You need to be more careful or you are going to hurt yourself and it would be an inconvenience to drag your body to the nurses office."
"You made me lose the game Weiss," Ruby's face scrunched up as she pouted.
"Like I said, It's not my problem," she shrugged in apathetic reply.
"Well thank you for catching me teamy, but you can probably let go of me now."
"Oh, sorry I did not mean to linger." Weiss blushed as she pushed Ruby away quickly but not unkindly. "Wait just one minute. I wont apologies to you. You should be apologizing to me, dunce!" She pointed a accusatory finger in Ruby's face.
"You were the one who threw the bag. Please don't point at me like that Weissy," she hid her face but Weiss could still see how ruby red the girls ears had become, and was taken aback by Ruby's sudden bashfulness. Usually the girl was much more argumentative and childish. Well, she was still childish but her unusual reaction made Weiss feel just a little bit uncomfortable in a way that she could not quite understand. They stood awkwardly for a moment, neither one of them wanting to look at each other for reasons that neither of them could put their finger on. Ruby eventually broke the silence.
"Ahh Weiss. You made me drop my clothes in the dirt! Is that the kind of thing that 'the best teamate' would do?" Ruby dashed forward to frantically stuff her clothes back into the bag, as if their remaining on the ground any longer would somehow ruin them.
"They were already dirty anyways. Hey, what on earth is this monstrosity?" Weiss nudged a mass of gray fabric on the ground with her foot.
"Oh this is my wolfie onsie." Ruby picked up the footy pajamas and hoisted them into the air for Weiss to see.
"I have never even seen you wear those," the white haired girl cocked an eyebrow.
"Well, I have worn them. Just not very much since I came to beacon."
"Hah, are you embarrassed by your childish pajamas?"
"Am not!" Ruby flung her hands to her sides in a display of pouting defiance.
"Well I would be if I were you, that thing is more of a costume than an actual piece of clothing. Pfftt, worse than Juane's pajamas." Weiss crossed her arms at her chest and nodded smugly. "I would not be caught dead wearing... " she paused to let the disdain her next words sink in, " wearing something like that."
"I thought they were cool." Ruby mumbled quietly as she stuffed the getup back into her bag along with her pair of sweats and worn out spaghetti strap shirt.
"You would, now come on it will be dark in a few hours lets get this over with." The girls were only a few minutes away from the Laundromat on the edge of campus. Normally they would have just used the washer that was located near their dorms, but all of the machine were completely occupied. Apparently the entirety of team JNPR had the same idea, and crammed all of their clothing into the small washers on a Sunday afternoon, the last opportunity before school on Monday.
Weiss had ofcourse washed her clothes immediately after dirtying them so that she had a surplus of sparkling clean outfits. However Ruby had a tendency to procrastinate, and with the washing of her clothes there was no exception. The biggest surprise is that the spunky, redheaded team captain has managed to convince her frosty, coarse and easily agitated teammate to join her endeavor. The quest to wash Ruby's pajamas at the Laundromat just on the edge of campus.
Weiss herself was not even sure why she had agreed to go along. Perhaps she actually was starting to enjoy Ruby's company, but that was an absolutely preposterous idea after all and Weiss dismissed it immediately.
She blinked suddenly as she realized that she had been staring at the back of Ruby's head for the past few minutes as they walked. It was a nice shade of red, no one could deny that, and Weiss had always liked red. She looked down at the collar of her jacket. When she had put in the order for the jacket years ago, she had absolutely insisted that the tailor accent the stark whites with bright reds. Red was a color that, to Weiss, always seemed so beautiful and full of energy. Yet at the same time certain hues could be aggravating to look at if they were too prominent. In that way the color red itself was like the girl that marched before her with her shoulders slumped, still dejected from the previous scolding. Yes, red was a beautiful color just like... Weiss suddenly shook her head and tore her gaze away as her pale skin turned a red as bright as her jacket's collar lining.
"Hey, dolt. I am sorry I dropped your stuff on the floor."Ruby turned back to face Weiss in response.
"Yea whatever its fine," she said with a bite to her tone.
"Petulant child! Accept my apology," Weiss suddenly shouted as she stomped her foot angrily.
"I said it was fine." Ruby yelled back.
"Uhhg! You brat."
"You are the brat, I said it was fine."
"Dont even talk to me right now."
"What is your problem Weiss," Ruby clutched her bag angrily. "You are in an even worse mood than normal."
"I said to stop talking to me."
"Fine, anything you say snow princess," Ruby flung her hands up in irritation almost spilling her bag for the second time today.
During their argument the couple, or rather, the pair of teammates had not noticed the gathering of clouds and the darkening of the sky. They could not however, ignore the droplets of rain that slowly started to spatter on the paving stones and splash before them. Without a word the two of them sped up their pace in an attempt to make it to the Laundromat before the rain started coming down inevitably harder. But the passing storm was ferocious as well as relentless. Within a mater of minutes from when the first few drops of rain had hit the ground, the clouds poured powerfully on the few unfortunate pedestrians below. The water poured and poured like a crying toddler who had just lost his favorite toy and both Weiss and Ruby were understandably soaked.
"Ruby we need to get to cover now. There is an empty lecture hall to the right."
"But the laundry.."
"We will never make it you dolt, come on," Weiss abruptly grabbed Ruby's sleeves and pulled her down a narrow pathway flanked with shrubs and towards an weathered old yellow building hidden behind a clump of trees with low hanging leaves that made them give the impression of a shaggy dog.
"I didn't know this building was even back here." Ruby stared wide eyed up at the structure.
"Ofcourse you wouldn't, its the advanced mathematics hall."
"Oh," Ruby replied absentmindedly.
"Uhhgg, this overhang is not going to be sufficient to shield us from the rain, its far too windy," Weiss bent forward and slipped a hairpin from her hair with practiced elegance. A strand of silver hair fell in front of her face as she slid the hairpin into the keyhole of the door.
"Weiss what are you doing..."
"Shush, I need to concentrate," the pale girl delicately prodded at the tumblers of the lock. The task was made admittedly more difficult as she began to shiver and shake from the cold weather, but after a few short moments a click punctuated by a happy "Ah hah," rang out through the constant pitter-patter of dancing rain.
"Weiss how did you do that, "Ruby stood, still dazed. "That was actually really cool."
"Don't ask," Weiss replied briskly as she grabbed Ruby's sleeve again and pulled her into the building, letting the door slide shut with a click behind her.
The two girls stumbled through the dark lecture hall. Knocking into desks and chairs as they went, a certain red cape wearing girl bumping clumsily into things considerably more than her counterpart.
"This is such a waste of my time," Weiss huffed irritated. "I am just glad I finished all my class work early. Well stop just standing their you dolt, find us a light somewhere. The powers probably cut off because its a Sunday, but there should be an emergency lamp or something somewhere."
"Uhm, yea sure," Ruby began rummaging throughout the classroom until she found an old kerosene lamp in a back cabinet along with a box of matches that was nearly depleted. "Here you go Weiss," she presented her light offering to Weiss.
"Why are you being so weird," the silver haired girl struck a match and lit the lantern.
"What do you mean."
"You are being all weird, did you hit your head on something. You look ever more clueless than usual.
"You are just imagining it, I am perfectly fine. A normal girl with normal knees, and not weird at all," she jumped up and sat her rain soaked rump on a wooden desk. "That was pretty cool what you did Weiss, with the lock I mean."
"It is just another skill I picked up. I see you aren't mad at me anymore."
"You were the one who...never mind," Ruby hugged herself as she began to shiver. "Burrr its cold in here, these wet clothes arnt helping either. Maybe we should hang them over a fire or something."
"What?" Weiss interjected. We dont exactly have a campfire now do we?" Ruby held up the kerosene lamp. "Oh dont be silly that thing is not big enough to dry us, and on top of that, I am not going to sit here in my underwear. Absolutely no."
"Well I have these, they arnt wet. The baggie kept them dry," Ruby held up her bag of laundry.
"You think I am about to go and wear your dirty clothes! Absolutely no," Weiss began to pace back and forth, leaving a trail of water as the rain dripped off her trembling form.
"Well you said yourself that you've never even seen me wear this one," Ruby rummaged in the bag for a bit and pulled out the wolf themed onsie pajamas. "Iv only worn them a few times since my last wash. Perfectly clean"
"Thanks but no thanks," a trace of disgust tinged Weiss's voice.
"Suit yourself, its here if you want it," she folded the pajamas and placed them on a nearby desk, patting them once in an attempt to make them seem more inviting. "I myself am going to get comfy, no telling how long this storm will last," without hesitation Ruby began unbuttoning her shirt.
"Hey! Wait, at least warn me first, have you no shame."
"I told you I was going to do it..." she continued to disrobe, unperturbed.
"No class, I swear," Weiss averted her eyes and turned away from her friend.
"And you say that I am being weird?. Come on Weiss, I'v changed with you before Weiss."
"This is different," Weiss could hear various articles of clothing falling to the floor with the wet slapping sound that wet clothes always made when they hit the hard ground. For some reason this made Weiss uncomfortable yet again.
True enough, she had changed in the presence of her teammates, it was an unavoidable occurrence, but this was somehow different. Maybe it was because the two of them were alone in a secluded room. A room that just so happened to be romantically lit by single kerosene lantern. A room where there was absolutely no chance of them being interrupted or distracted by anything other than each others company. A room where there would be nothing to look at other than Ruby's lovely hair, Weiss absently wondered if Ruby's eyes were as pretty as her hair was, and what about her lips how did those... She shook her head suddenly. No, no certainly not. The rain always made people feel unusual. The rain indeed.
"Okay, you can turn around now snow princess."
"What did you just call me," Weiss whirled around to face the girl who was now clad in her signature pair of wolf print jammie pants and black spaghetti strap top.
"Oh, nothing. Just something we sometimes say ...Er nothing."
"Yes, nothing."
"Nothing."
"Nothing."
"So... How about that weather."
"Ruby you dolt," Weiss spun around and stormed off to the far side of the room, just in time to hide her small smile. Ruby sat with a frown.
Ruby couldn't shake the feeling that she had messed up with Weiss, again. No mater what she did, it always seemed to upset the cold hearted girl. It got rather frustrating at times. Although the pair had made leaps and bounds to improve their friendship, Weiss had always been a bit cold towards her team leader. The past few days had been particularly bad. Ruby had been catching her teammate glaring at her in class, and whenever Ruby tried to smile back Weiss would look away quickly, red faced. Ruby could only assume the red was from anger, but what could be making Weiss so mad that it turned her so red.
Come to think of it, Ruby had not seen Weiss that red before. Not even when she had exploded on the first day of school, and if that didn't make Weiss furious enough to turn her red, than what possibly could? Oh well, Ruby didn't want to over think that, it was probably just Weiss being Weiss. Maybe she had been stubbing her toe a lot lately, that would certainly make Ruby red faced with rage. Or maybe she was just hungry, now that she thought about it Ruby felt hungry herself.
It was really a pity that Weiss was always so mean to the girl. Because despite her standoffishness, Ruby really did still like the girl. And although Ruby was aware that her own antics could at times be a little much, Weiss always tolerated them and was always there to catch her when she fell, although with considerable grumbling and angry words. Even if the girl herself didn't want to believe it, Weiss was a good friend. Ruby's first real friend at Beacon academy. The pair had shared plenty of arguments and run ins, almost too many, but they had also shared plenty of genuine moments of camaraderie. If it was late enough, at that hour past grumpiness that you reach when your body surpasses the hours of exhaustion, she could even get Weiss to laugh at her jokes. Although to be fair, everyone gets punchy when they are awake for long enough.
Ruby sat near the lantern mulling things over. A tap on her head pulled her abruptly out of her deep reflection.
"Hey, Ruby earth to Ruby. Are you still alive?"
"Huh? Yeah, im here. What's up Weissy.
"Weissy? That's a new one." she raised a silver eyebrow.
"What's up Weiss I mean."
"Do you have any other dry clothes?"
"Oh, no I just have these Pj's and the onesie," Ruby just noticed that the girls shivering had only increased and she held herself tightly, teeth chattering. "Are you cold?"
"Ofcoruse I am cold you fool!"
"I thought you were used to the cold weather."
"Its different when you are wet and cold at the same time."
"Yeah, you are probably going to catch a cold."
"Thank you, Ruby. Your obvious observations are more than appreciated."
"You're welcome."
"It was sarcasm."
"Oh."
"Yes, 'oh'."
"You're welcome."
"Uhhhgg!" Weiss fumed frustrated. "Where did you put the onsie.
"I set it on the table for you remember. Are you actually going to wear it Weiss?" The soaked girl glared back in response.
Rolling her eyes, the girl finally gave in, "Turn around so I can change." Ruby cracked a grin as she spun around to give Weiss her privacy.
"Yes ma'am." The noise of wet clothes against hard surfaces once again sounded out through the room as Weiss delicately laid out her dress on the nearby table to dry.
Weiss suddenly spoke out, "Okay I am done changing now." Ruby turned around to see Weiss donned in her fuzzy wolf onsie. The thing was a dark gray, almost black, and was fuzzy to the touch. Subtle red embroidered designs run up and down its length, and a pair of pointed ears peaked out from the whisker laden hood.
"Shut your mouth," Weiss snapped.
"I havent said anything yet though."
"Shhhhh."
"Weiss you look really really cute in that."
"I thought I made it clear that I dont want to hear it!" Weiss felt her ears, the real pair, grow red hot. She somehow felt naked in this outfit. It was designed to be loose on the inside and had plenty of room to move around in, a feature that Weiss promptly added to the growing list of things that made her feel uncomfortable.
"Weiss are you mad again."
"What do you mean."
"Well your face gets all red whenever you get mad." Ruby twiddled her thumbs together nervously. "Oh no, you are getting even madder. Your face is getting redder and redder."
"Is not!"
"Mmmhmm."
"Liar."
"Want me to find a mirror."
"Firstly, you cant find a mirror in an abandoned class and secondly I dont want to see how ridiculous I look in this."
"Trust me Weiss you look super super cute, I just want to squeeze you."
"Squeeze me and I will make skewer you like a pig."
"If I squeeze you, will you make a cute squeaky noise," a hungry look suddenly entered the redhead's eyes and a single tiny fang protruded visibly from her mouth.
"Ruby, I am warning you do not do it," Weiss stepped back a look of fear in he eyes as Ruby crouched ready do pounce. "Ruby do not!" However unfortunately for Weiss, the girl was past negotiating with.
Ruby Sprang forward towards Weiss making grabbing motions with her hands. Weiss had expected as much and was prepared to flee. Jumping back Weiss narrowly avoided the girls advance.
"Weissy you should know by now that I'm fast," with a flurry of rose petals the red haired girl blazed forward with speeds that were almost too fast to follow. However, unfortunately for Ruby, Weiss was a very clever girl and knew that she would not be able to outmaneuver her opponent. Sidestepping behind a cluster of chairs, Weiss smiled smugly and was rewarded seconds later with a tremendous crash as Ruby collided with the stacked chairs and careened off in a tangle of limbs and furniture.
"Oh, Ruby. You should know by now that I know that you are fast, and know how to counter that."
"Well played Weiss, well played," the girl groaned. "However, you should also know that by know I should know that you know that I am fast and that I also would know how to counter you countering me, you know?"
"That makes no sense. Byaa!" Weiss suddenly jumped back startled as Ruby pounced without hesitation towards her again, but this time jumping over the barricade of chairs that Weiss had set up.
"Gotcha now, come to mama," the girls toppled to the floor in a sprawl.
"Ruby I swear! Don't you dare."
"Dare what?" an amused look played across Ruby's face as she sat with her friend pinned beneath her. "You mean this?" Ruby leaned forward, wrapping her arms around a still struggling Weiss and squeezed. To everyone's surprise Weiss did in fact make a noise.
A tiny raspy squeak rang out in the room. The sound itself was not loud, but to Weiss it sounded like train crash ushering in the doom of her reputation. Ruby sat in stunned silence, nothing but the sound of the rain beating on the rooftops in the aftermath.
"W...Weiss I am so sorry. I didnt think it would actually...I didnt think you would actually," Ruby looked left and right before whispering her next words, "I didnt think you would squeak."
"Ruby, get off of me," Weiss's eyes stared blankly at the roof.
"Im so so sorry."
"Ruby, get off of me now." Ruby scrambled off her friend, or maybe ex-friend, as fast as she could. Weiss remained stony faced as she pulled herself up delicately and slowly walked to the corner of the room, sitting down and hiding her face in the wolf onsie. The soft fabric wolf ears flopped forward as Weiss pulled the hood down over her face. The goofy stitched smile on the wolf face rendered completely inappropriate to the mood of the room.
Ruby let out a long defeated sigh and curled up on the floor amongst the toppled chairs and misplaced desks. The flickering lantern spread it feeble fingers through the room as the sun set and the rain still poured. Seconds ticked by, then minutes, Ruby lost count after the first few dozen.
Ruby felt exceptionally miserable as time continued to pass. Not only was it tremendously boring, to sit in the dark alone, she was also cold, and had completely given up on even trying to feel comfortable on the thinly carpeted floor of hardwood. Worst of all though, Weiss still sat quietly in the shadowy corner. Ruby couldn't shake the feeling that she had really messed up this time, and perhaps damaged the fragile friendship that the two had been slowly cultivated the course of the year. After what felt like hours, Ruby finally burst out despite herself.
"Do you think we will be stuck in here all night."
A sniff from the corner of the room was the only reply from the corner that Weiss resided.
"Do you think there will be a search party out for us, I bet Yang is worried we haven't gotten back."
Another sniff in reply.
"Weiss I really am sorry, you know I never would have tried to embarrass you like that, not if I knew it would really hurt you."
"Sniffle."
Ruby asked sadly "Do you hate me now Weiss?"
"These clothes smell like you." Ruby's heart jumped at Weiss's surprisingly calm voice.
"What?"
"Nothing. If we are going to be here all night we should make plans to at least be somewhat comfortable. I am not about to spend my night crumpled on the floor like some kind of pauper.
"Comfy!" Ruby jumped up enthusiastically. Weiss rolled her eyes and despite her best efforts could not hide the small grin she wore.
"There should be some emergency fire blankets, in the crisis kit, go check, and stop bouncing around like that you dolt." Ruby laced her fingers together behind her back and smiled as she skipped off to perform her task, like a giddy little girl. "I swear you are the biggest moron I know."
In a matter of minutes the girls had set up a makeshift mattress behind the lecture podium. The mismatched pile of doilies, tablecloths, and dusty blankets was far more comfortable than either of them would have predicted, and just wide enough for both of them to have a space on, albeit a little cramped. After Weiss had concluded her lecture on how folding the blankets would make them more comfortable, a point that Ruby decided was best not to argue at that point in time, the two girls lay respectively on their corners of the crude mattress. Ruby lay sprawled comfortably, glad to finally be on anything other than the floor and Weiss sat carefully hugging her legs, with her knees pulled up to her chin.
"Hey Weiss, want to tell spooky ghost stories?" Ruby chimed in excitedly.
"Childish."
Ruby frowned and slumped her shoulders, "But yang and I always used to tell stories at sleepovers."
"Do I look like Yang to you?"
"No," the redhead sighed, "Do you really not like the pajamas. I thought they were cool when I bought them, but I guess you were right they are a bit childish."
"They're growing on me."
"So you like them! You can have them if you want to. You wear them much better than I do anyways."
Weiss smiled, "I appreciate the offer but I think you would look better in them than I do anyways. I couldn't go around wearing something like this anyways, I still have my image to uphold.
"Weiss your smile is really pretty. I want to make you smile all the time, just like that." Weiss was taken aback by Ruby's sudden proclamation.
"I was not smiling. I was laughing at how absurd you are," Weiss silently thanked the dim lighting for hiding her intense blush.
"I will happily be absurd if it means I get to see that smile more often. Smile smile smile," Ruby put her fingers under her lips and pulled them back to show a ridiculous toothy grin.
"Uhgggg," Weiss rolled her eyes. "Didn't you say something about telling stories or something?" Weiss figuratively patted herself on the back for her masterfully crafted segway, anything would do to change the topic to something less...uncomfortable.
"Oh really! I have a whole bunch of stories. Scary ones, funny ones, intense dramas, rousing romances, and ones with gut wrenching action."
"I think funny stories will suffice, and please tone down your enthusiasm, you are going to give me cardiac arrest."
Ruby began without hesitation. "So once upon a time there was he old man, wait no, she was a middle aged lady, and she was cursed from birth to look like a walrus. Whenever she went to her job at the supermarket, wait no it was the butchers, whenever she went to her job at the butchers she would have to..." The girls talked on and on, swapping stories late into the night. Weiss must have been tired because she even laughed at several of Ruby's punch lines, despite their predictably horrible delivery.
As the wick of the lantern burned down and the light grew dimmer, Ruby found herself slumped against Weiss's shoulder. "And..and then," the sleepy girl muttered, "they all exploded and died."
"Shhh, shhhh, shhh. That is enough Ruby," Weiss pet the girls head gently.
"But Weeeiiiisss," she struggled to keep her drooping eyelids aloft, "I haven't finished my story yet."
"You can tell me in the morning," Weiss whispered as she gently lay Ruby down on the blankets. The poor girl was all tuckered out, a little too much excitement, Weiss thought. Now that she thought about it, Weiss herself felt very very tired. She stretched her arms up high and yawned before resting her head down on a folded napkins that she would use for a pillow. Weiss absently cursed the rain for sending her to bed without a toothbrush, but the evening had been nice enough even despite that.
Weiss felt something, a liberating feeling that she had not felt in a long time, it was content. Even Weiss would admit that she had been particularly on edge lately. These sudden irritations had been stemming from none other than her young team leader. Something about Ruby's face made Weiss want to both punch it and stare at it whenever she saw it. Weiss had been catching herself staring at Ruby's hair, her eyes, and even her lips, When she SHOULD be being attention to the class. But all of those feelings did not seem to bother Weiss in the here and now. She just felt strangely happy and comfortable, a sensation that paradoxically put her on edge and made her uncomfortable.
Weiss extinguished the lantern before rolling over once again to face Ruby, the girl appeared to already be fast asleep. The pale moonlight cut through a break in the clouds and shined weakly in the room, just enough light to make out the girls features. Weiss couldn't help but stare. It was entrancing, and despite her exhaustion, she could not tear her eyes away from the girl to sleep.
A thought began to well up in Weiss's mind. An idea that in normal circumstances she never would have even considered, but in her sleep deprived state of mind it engulfed her. What started as an idea became an obsession as Weiss mulled it over in her mind repeatedly. It was a simple thing, would not take more than a few short movements to accomplish. It would not be hard at all, the easiest thing in the world in fact. Weiss knew she might not get another shot at this. With a small nod to herself Weiss steeled her resolve. Leaning forward, the girl brushed her lips lightly against those of her sleeping companion. It was only a moment, but for once Weiss felt comfortable.
A sudden grumbling sound rang out in sending a jolt of electric fear down Weiss's spine. Her heart skipped a beat and proceeded to beat so loud and fast that the girl could feel it in her ears. A terrifying scene played out before Weiss's very eyes. Her face was still close to Ruby's, their noses nearly touching and Ruby had begun to open her eyes and look at her.
"Ruby!"
"MMMM, Weeeeiiss," the girl said sleepily as she rubbed her half open eyelids. "Im so hungry."
"I was not doing anything," Weiss pleaded frantically.
"What? Weiss what's going on."
"Did you see it, did you see!"
"See what?" Ruby said perplexedly. Weiss let out a visible sigh of relief.
"Nothing, nothing at all."
"Oh...okay," Ruby declared, still confused.
"I'm sorry we do not have any food," Weiss intoned after an awkward pause.
"I guess that's alright. You owe me a big breakfast tomorrow morning though."
"No, you owe ME a big breakfast tomorrow morning."
"Whatever you want snow princess."
Weiss harrumphed in reply, and Ruby closed her eyes once again. Despite her rapid heart rate acceleration, Weiss was able to quickly make herself calm once again. The girl fidgeted and pawed at the mattress like a cat. This was certainly not the comfy mattress she was used to.
"Weiss just relax," Ruby suddenly slid forward, eyes still closed, and wrapped her arms around Weiss's tummy. The hug surprised Weiss. Her first reaction was to push the girl away, but Ruby was just so darn warm. The warmth of the girls hug engulfed Weiss. It felt like finally taking a warm shower after being out in the cold for a very long time. After a moments hesitation Weiss huged the girl back, closing her eyes and relaxing. However Ruby still had one more thing to do before she slept. Stretching slowly up so that her face was level with Weiss's, Ruby puckered her lips and kissed her teammate gently on the cheek.
"Payback," Ruby softly whispered. Even through the loud sounds of the pouring rain and lashing wind, even though the rested on a mattress which was about as comfortable to sleep on as a bookshelf, even though the room was cold and dark, the girls slept better than they had in months.
The storm broke all kinds of weather records for that year. 'The strongest gale in decades', it had been dubbed. Although Beacon Academy had only received a small fraction of the storms intensity, due to its local protections, fallen branches and bits of broken glass from a few unfortunate window panes still littered the zigzag pathways of the academy courtyard.
Just as Ruby had expected, her sister Yang had made herself sick with worry for her. Yang had spent the night restrained to prevent her from barreling out into the storm to search and risk hurting herself. As soon as the storm cleared in the late morning, Yang had organized a search party compromised of the rest of team RWBY along with the entirety of team JNPR, as well as a few random classmates that they could all round up. The posse searched for nearly an hour before finally checking the advanced mathematics building on the far side of campus.
Weiss lay entangled in Ruby's embrace. In her sleep, the RWBY team leader had buried her face in Weiss's flat fuzzy-onsie clad chest. The very picture of elegance, Weiss was sprawled out on the mattress, her hair sticking up at odd angles and a thin trail of drool running down her lip. The pair of them would probably have slept well into the afternoon had it not been for a foot that gently nudged Weiss in the head. Yawning deeply and rubbing her eyes, Weiss sat up. For a second she completely forgot where she was and what was going on, but her senses slowly pieced themselves together and brought with them a feeling of utter sinking dread.
"So, I see you two slept well," Yang chimed in.
"Yang was very worried about you both," Blake included. "Nice ears by the way."
Yang began to snigger. The search party had finally found the couple that they were looking for, and now stood in a ring around the two girls on the floor. Weiss's face contorted in horror. She attempted to stand up and compose whatever strands of dignity she still had left, but the still sleeping Ruby clutched her around the waist tightly and hindered her progress.
"Where can I get an outfit like that Weiss, its aaaaawesome slothsome! We should get matching ones Ren, dont you think?" Nora shouted excitedly as she bounced around the room.
"Morning, Weissy," Ruby mumbled as she slowly awoke. "Oh hey guys, morning Yang. Awww dangit Weiss, you drooled on my pajamas. Eh, oh well they were dirty anyways," the drowsiness was still evident in the girls voice.
Weiss made a whimper as she attempted to hide her face in her hands. It was all over for the poor girl. The only thing she could do now is hope to forget this morning as fast as possible and move on.
"Dont worry," Yang shined a wide smile, "I got plenty of pictures of you two this morning before we woke you up. I know you will just love them."