A quick thing I threw together the day after episode 9 of volume 2 aired.

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.

Reassurance

"Don't worry. Things'll be better tomorrow."

Ruby's soft words lingered in the cool air around their makeshift campsite, and were the last things her teammates heard before sleep begrudgingly came to them, one after the other.

The young leader sat on vigil, looking out over the abandoned city, her fingers still curling subconsciously through Zwei's thick fur every few minutes.

The howls of the wolves still echoed around the dilapidated walls and crumbled debris of the failed civilization, and it put her on edge – but only a little.

To her other side were her professor, her teammates, her loyal furry companion, and the warm glow of the fire.

The sounds of the Grimm grew more distant as time went on however, and she finally started to relax her stiff posture. She tried to move slowly whenever she needed to shift about so as not to let her legs get numb, never making a sound any louder than the crackling flames of the fire. Her team was exhausted after the long day, and seemingly for other reasons she could not quite comprehend, but she knew they needed rest.

But even after the unsettling howls had entirely vanished, there was another sound that unsettled her.

She cast her gaze from the shadowed city back to their campsite, the orange glow of the fire dancing with the shadows over her teammates' slumbering forms.

Her eyes traveled over her sister who seemed unnaturally miffed even in her sleep, and even Blake's expression was more taut than usual.

But her eyes went quickly to Weiss, the source of the unsteady breathing that had made Ruby's skin prickle anxiously. Her partner was asleep, but it was less of a haven to her and more of an entrapment. Even from this distance, Ruby could tell her chest was heaving, and a few small whimpers escaped her lips.

The young leader got up as quickly as she could without making too much noise, waving her hand at Zwei when he looked up at her, indicating she wanted him to stay put.

Slowly, meticulously, she placed her boots over Yang's and skirted the fire before dropping softly to her knees beside her partner.

"Weiss?" Her voice was a cautious whisper, a little scared for Weiss' wellbeing, but also nervous that she might be making a mountain out of a mole hill.

But she could see the perspiration beading on Weiss' forehead and neck, and her eyebrows were slanted and creased in discomfort. Ruby bit her lip and reached down, the pads of her fingers touching lightly against her partner's shoulder. She tried again.

"Weiss?"

Briefly, she looked up across the stretch of ground that separated her team from Dr. Oobleck, wondering if she should call out to him. But just before she could gather her voice to do so, another small whimper from Weiss directed her attention back down.

"Weiss?"

Ruby looked her over with concerned silver eyes as the heiress opened hers, and Weiss had to admit she might have mistaken the girl for Zwei had she not known any better.

Weiss let out a heavy breath before propping herself up onto her elbows with a grunt. Ruby quickly reached out to support her, helping her up into a better position until her back was straight and she could breathe easier.

"Ruby…" Her partner sounded disoriented and meek, and it made Ruby's stomach clench. "You're supposed to be on watch…"

"I am," she confirmed. "But I'm not just on the lookout for Grimm and stuff. I'm looking out for my team too… and you didn't seem okay…"

Weiss gave her a withering look, but only briefly before her eyes flashed back down to the ground almost guiltily.

"I'm fine…" she sighed. "Just a bit too warm, I guess."

Ruby looked over her shoulder, realizing how close her partner had been to the fire. She kept her voice low as she stood and addressed Weiss.

"I'll go get you some water."

Stepping lightly, she went to their bags, rummaging about until she found her partner's canteen before hurrying back to her side. Weiss did not refuse it, murmuring a soft "thank you" as she accepted it.

Ruby watched her drink, taking the moment to concentrate again on her hearing, but there were no sounds of any danger; a glance back toward Zwei who was sleeping soundly and did not seem anxious at all confirmed her thoughts that there was no trouble afoot.

Which meant she could focus on Weiss.

When she had finished drinking a bit, Weiss closed the canteen and put it aside. However, the heiress still looked exhausted, and her eyes never met Ruby's for more than a second. Even now, Weiss merely looked out over her leader's shoulder and blurred her vision purposefully.

"It's probably my turn to be on lookout, right?" She pushed herself onto her knees and then slowly to her feet. "Take my blanket then and get some rest."

"No…" Ruby quickly stood beside her partner and offered a small smile. "I'm not tired yet. Maybe it's all this excitement about this cool new mission, but I don't think I could sleep now even if I tried. So I'll keep watch with you!"

Weiss let out another small sigh. She knew this was her leader's way of keeping an eye on her, but she also believed Ruby entirely when she said she was too excited to sleep; Weiss' case was similar, only it was not something as pleasant as excitement that kept her up.

But she did not protest Ruby's offer – perhaps because she knew she would lose the following spat even if she did, or perhaps because she wanted the company.

Therefore, her only response was a small nod, and she followed Ruby slowly around the fire, not once complaining about the steadying hand on her back.

Ruby took her spot on watch again, sliding over as much as she could to allow Weiss to sit beside her. She did not want to make a big fuss about her concern over the heiress, lest she wound her pride.

So Ruby did her best to be nonchalant as she stretched her arms up above her head before letting her left hand slide down behind Weiss' shoulders. Again, while the heiress clearly saw through her, she said nothing and instead accepted the small comfort for all it was worth.

By now the moon hung almost directly overhead, and a lack of clouds allowed its light to shine fully down onto the deserted city, the milky grey of its rays highlighting dark shadows on the corners of the broken buildings.

The breeze was a little cooler, but that was hardly an issue with the fire behind them, and the warm body of their partner beside them.

It was quiet now - not even the scuffling of a mouse could be heard, only the licking fire that had long-since faded out into the backs of their minds.

When she focused on Weiss, Ruby could feel and even hear her breathe, and it provided a sense of comfort she did not realize she had been seeking until now. Likewise, the heiress felt better now with the girl at her side, warm but not enough to make her sweat – just the perfect amount.

Ruby really did not feel tired yet, in fact she felt wide awake now, so she addressed Weiss with a timid offer.

"If you want… you could get some rest now. I'll keep watch for your shift."

But she should have known better.

A small huff came from her partner.

"Don't be ridiculous. You're already staying up for my shift. There's no way I'm going to make you do it alone."

Ruby was about to point out that Weiss would not be "making" her do anything, that it was entirely Ruby's decision to do this. But she realized what Weiss was doing and closed her mouth, offering a smile instead.

"Okay! Thanks, Weiss."

"Dunce… I should be thanking you…" It was a mumble, but at this proximity, Ruby heard it clearly.

The hand around Weiss' back pulled her an inch closer by the waist as they continued to look out over the quiet wasteland.

It was strange how tranquil the atmosphere was, eerily so, as if this place had never once been a civilization where people once thrived and laughed and loved. It was desolate and vacant, dark and cold. It was both thrilling and foreboding.

And yet it was amazing how much comfort simply sitting beside a friend could bring.

Ruby's eyes eventually strayed back to her partner, once more finding Weiss did not meet her gaze. The brunette thought through her words carefully before speaking tentatively.

"Hey, Weiss?"

"Hm?" The heiress looked up quickly, as though snapped from a trance. Ruby thought she would feel better after seeing her mist-blue eyes, but she could instantly tell Weiss was still troubled.

"Are you still… bothered by what Dr. Oobleck asked you? About being a huntress?" Ruby asked. "I mean, y-you don't have to tell me if you don't want to. It's not really my business 'n all but I'm just-"

"It's fine, Ruby." Weiss stopped her gently, allowing a small smile to curl at the corners of her lips. "Yes… I've been… mulling it over, wondering why he asked me, wondering why I couldn't… answer like I wanted to. It's frustrating…" She heaved a sigh and directed her gaze back out over the desolate ghost town, then up at the moon.

She then continued in a subdued tone. "It's strange. When you think about these kind of things at night… it's different than thinking about them during the day. You feel like you could talk for hours about anything, no matter how insignificant it is…" She paused, catching herself before she could continue the long-winded discourse that would likely tumble off her tongue. "Sorry I'm rambling."

"No, it's okay," Ruby sent her a crooked smile. "If you need to talk, I can listen. I wanna help you out if I can."

Weiss finally met her eyes again, and the vibrancy had returned to them, causing her leader to smile even wider.

"No, it's really fine. You've done more than you know already." The heiress did her best to reflect her partner's smile, and the effort alone was a great reward for Ruby to bear witness to. "I don't think I can put it into words, but I think I know why I want to be a huntress, if not just to uphold my duty and the Schnee legacy… then for things like this."

She glanced down, then over her shoulder to where her sleeping teammates rested before looking back to Ruby.

"I want this. I want to be able to be who I am without being judged because of my family. No one would expect a Schnee to fight monsters, so that's exactly why I want to try. It's more than just a sense of purpose, I feel…" She paused, not sure if what she was saying was what she really meant to say, but she could not stop herself now.

"But… more importantly than all of that, I want to be relied on by others. I want to have friends like the three of you. I want to be able to rely on you all and know you'll be there for me. No other line of work provides that quite like being a huntress does. I don't like putting my trust in others yet, but I like being trusted." Her eyes flashed back to Ruby's and she sighed again. "Maybe I don't know why I want it, but I know it's what I want."

A moment of silence followed, and Ruby let it stay. Obviously, Weiss had been contemplating this all night, and likely Blake and Yang were as well.

As their leader and teammate, Ruby wanted to be able to say something meaningful.

Her eyes searched Weiss' for a few seconds, and she saw confusion there, something Ruby would expect from herself rather than the Schnee heiress; it reminded her that in the end, Weiss was a girl just like she was.

"That's okay," she said at last. "I don't think you need to know why right now. I mean, it's only our first year here and we're not even halfway through. We don't need to know all the answers right away. I think we can find them along the way."

She hoped she could properly convey her meaning, her reassurance. When it was finally out of her mouth, Ruby was satisfied with the way it sounded. She was even more glad when Weiss' shoulders rose and fell in a tiny shrug.

"You're right. I don't think this is the kind of answer that will come by simply thinking about it. This is something I've got to experience – feel."

There was a comfort in knowing she had some time to consider things now that she knew what she wanted to ponder.

Weiss felt compelled to show her appreciation. She blinked up at her partner, meeting her silver eyes that put the moonlight to shame before she dipped her head slightly. "Thank you, Ruby."

Ruby grinned a little and pulled Weiss as close to her as possible in a half-hug.

"No need to thank me. I just… wanna help. I'm glad I could."

"Me, too."

They sat together for a while longer, using their eyes to trace constellations in the winking stars above. There was a simplicity about the night now that heavy thoughts and problems had been temporarily pushed aside to somewhere unimportant. It was a simplicity worth savoring, something they could call upon years from now in times of melancholy to make them remember the significance of this night.

They were reluctant to see their shared vigil come to an end, and they slowly got to their feet before rousing Yang and then retreating to their pillows.

Weiss heard Ruby snoring lightly within moments, but she herself thought over a few things before she joined her leader in slumber.

She did not need answers right away – none of them did. They had time to think things over, time to figure out why they were really doing this and who they were really doing it for. They would figure themselves out together in time, but until then, it was alright not to know.

The heiress made a mental note to pass Ruby's wisdom on to her other teammates in the morning.

At last she allowed herself to rest, falling asleep to the sounds of the fire and Ruby's bubbling snores.

And she felt she could truly believe Ruby's reassuring declaration that things would be better tomorrow.

A/N: Part of me is satisfied with this and part of me isn't. Oh well, hope you enjoyed somewhat!

Please review!