Written for the November 2015 prompt on reddit.

Character: Ruby Rose

Theme: Teamwork

Please enjoy~

Same Battlefield

"Grimm extermination!" Yang pounded her fist and cheered.

"Protecting the people, yaaay~!" Blake waved around a tiny 'RWBY' pennant with a smile.

"Extra credit!" Weiss clenched her fist with fire burning in her eyes!

"Team RWBY go!" Ruby pumped them up with her boundless energy and excitement, jumping into the air and ready to lead her team to victory!

"Everyone except you, Ms. Rose," a harsh voice silenced them and quickly deflated the airborne leader.

"W-what?!" Ruby cried as she crashed back onto the ground.

Professor Goodwitch pinched the bridge of her nose. "Have you already forgotten what happened three days ago?" her voice carried a dangerous edge, nearly as sharp as the glint in her narrowed eyes.

"Uh…. well…" Ruby gulped nervously.

Three days ago, Ruby was part of a sparring match-up. A little round robin between the pairs of their year. She was sided with Yang and together they blasted through the scores of the other teams with sheer power and speed. Even against tougher opponents, their tactics and combinations led to spectacular finishes.

At least, until nearing the end.

Perhaps they grew a bit conceited after winning so many matches straight, but their confidence led them to use a new combination attack they had not yet thoroughly tested.

Did Ruby jump in too quickly? Did Yang apply too much power? Were the bullets' burst radius far larger than either of them anticipated?

They still weren't sure what went wrong, but ultimately, Ruby took the brunt of the blow along with her opponents.

Her pained cry as she was blasted out of the arena was deafening to Yang who rushed into the explosion of dust and smoke.

Technically, they had won. But as Yang cradled Ruby's sooty body, any triumph was lost in the guilt and worry that ensnared her heart.

Of course, Ruby ended up relatively fine after a day's stay in the infirmary. A bit scuffed, charred, and fatigued, but nothing too serious.

In fact, the worse she had to endure was Weiss' harsh scolding. Somehow, seeing Weiss' face red, livid, and tears threatening to cascade down her cheeks had hurt far worse than the explosion.

Yang's despondence was easier to handle. Blake stood beside Yang the entire time to reassure her that their leader would be fine and that the accident wasn't her fault.

Thankfully, Ruby was released the same day she woke up and bounced back with renewed vigor. Her infectious cheer did much to improve the brawler's mood and by bedtime, the four friends were laughing once more.

"So I'm perfectly fine now!" Ruby argued back to her professor.

"The doctors have not given you a clean bill of health, Ms. Rose," Glynda's stern voice countered. "Your Aura protected you from the most severe damage, but because of that, it needs time to repair itself."

Ruby grimaced. She couldn't argue against that point. The doctors had told her to take things easy for the next few days, meaning no Semblance use either.

"But-but-!" her hands waved around frantically, trying to physically grasp at straws. "It's a Grimm's nest! M-maybe I can just follow and… support?"

"We'll be okay, Ruby," Yang placed a calming hand on Ruby's shoulder. "It's just a routine culling in the Forever Fall forest. It'll probably be pretty boring anyways."

Though Yang meant it with sincerity, Ruby could still hear the underlying worries in her tones. After the incident, Yang was still concerned and didn't want any strenuous activities to tire her out.

Glynda dismissed them, and as they trekked down the hall and back to their room to prepare, Blake placed a hand Ruby's other shoulder. "Don't worry, by the numbers in the reports, we'll be back before sunset."

"The professors wouldn't send us on a mission we couldn't handle… and I'll keep an extra eye on these two for you," Weiss lightly jabbed with a small smirk.

"Har har, Snowcone," Yang bantered back and Ruby couldn't help but smile as well.

"I know you'll be fine…" her voice was as confident as she was in them and their abilities. Her good demeanor returned, her friends resumed their bantering and bickering.

But as she opened their dorm's door, her expression turned downcast and she murmured so quietly only she could hear, "…but we're supposed to be a team…"

"I still want to go with you," Ruby pouted as Weiss, Blake, and Yang prepared to depart. "I mean, I'm well enough to do my homework!"

"Now there's an idea!" Weiss spoke up suddenly.

"What? You have a plan to let me come along?!" Ruby sat up straight on her bed, her eyes dancing in anticipation.

"No. But you could do your homework," Weiss pointed out as she turned with a smirk.

"Aggggh….!" Ruby groaned and buried her face in her pillow.

Yang ruffled her hair as she passed by. "We'll be back before you know it!"

"Take care of the place," Blake waved as she closed the door and left Ruby alone.

Alone.

Alone…

"Arf!"

No! She wasn't alone! She had Zwei!

"Here boy!" she called out eagerly and invited him to join her on her bed.

The little dog bounced onto her bed and licked her face, eliciting squeals and giggles as she played with him.

For several breath taking minutes, Ruby forgot everything else in the world, wrapped up in fun and puppy love. They rolled around, making a mess of her sheets until-

THUNK!

The pair fell off the bed in a heap. Their laughs and barks echoed loudly in the near empty room, but neither cared.

"Thanks boy," Ruby spoke affectionately, wiping away a tear from her eye. "I needed that."

Still laughing weakly, Ruby slowly stood. Leveraging the nearby desk to help herself up, her gaze lingered on a solitary textbook and the blank pages beside it.

"…Guess I should finish it…" Ruby muttered with a small huff. She couldn't keep the small smile off her lips though, the energy from just moments before still coursed through her system.

As she sidled into her chair and cracked the thick textbook open, Zwei hopped onto her lap and curled up, promising to stay quiet but offering her a warm lap and company.

She chuckled softly and turned her attention to her homework. It wasn't difficult by any stretch, just tedious. …And it was homework, which automatically made it boring!

But better grades would make Weiss happier… And a happy Weiss was never a bad thing.

Scritch. Scritch. Scratch.

The clock ticked by as Ruby diligently did her best to absorb and apply the knowledge contained in the long and drawn out passages.

So long… so boring… so…. … …

Eventually, her hand paused and her eyes flew across the page, drinking in what she just wrote.

It was… passable?

Checking and double-checking, she couldn't think of how else to improve her work. It was about as correct as she could make it. But...

"…I really wish Weiss was here…" Ruby muttered as her tired hand started scratching Zwei's ears.

Weiss was always willing to help with her homework. No matter how tired Weiss was or how exasperated she pretended to be, Weiss was always there for her. Checking over her answers, critiquing her writing, or just wanting to study side by side…

"I wish Yang and Blake were here…"

Yang and Blake too stepped up whenever Weiss was busy and Ruby couldn't understand a particular problem. Yang was always up for a spar and often spotted for her when she wanted to train, and whenever Ruby was finished with one book, Blake was ready to recommend a new one…

Zwei's ears flicked as tiny wet drops landed on him.

Ruby sniffled. "S-sorry boy," her voice cracked a bit. "…I… I just…" She bit her lip to stop her voice from leaking out.

Sensing her pain, Zwei shifted and pressed against her, prompting her to hug him as hard as she could. He carefully licked her face, wiping away the stray salty drops.

Slowly, Ruby's grip slackened and Zwei gave her one last affectionate nuzzle before hopping off.

Using her sleeve to wipe what remained of her tears and his drool, she stood up and felt a bit better after letting out some of her emotions.

Feather-light scratches alerted Ruby's attention to the bathroom door where Zwei was pawing gently.

Go wash up.

The message couldn't be any clearer and Ruby giggled a bit at how messy she must be after playing with him, crying, and then getting licked.

After a face-numbing minute of cold water, Ruby stared into her sopping hair reflection.

"I just want to be there for them," she murmured again.

Just like how they were always there for her.

As she toweled her face, clean mints and blueberries filled her nose and she jerked the cloth away only to see the the familiar snowflake insignia of her partner.

"Oops," she eeped and was about to toss the towel into the laundry hamper and hang up a new one for Weiss when…

"Oh…" her breath escaped her.

"Gaaaaah~" Yang breathed out as fire licked her muscles and joints.

She glanced back at Blake and Weiss who sported several bandages and gauze patches like herself. Both looked terrible with mussed up hair and fatigued faces, and all three stank of sweat, grime, and disinfectants.

Turns out, the Grimm's nest was a bit bigger than preliminary reports estimated and the three bit off more than they could chew when a roving pack ambushed them in the last hour.

Though none of them suffered any deep wounds, the punishment their Auras took from attacking, defending, and Semblances made them bumble nearly blindly back.

After a quick trip to the infirmary to disinfect and patch the light scratches, their slow drudge to their dorm was only possible by the vague promise of a soft bed to collapse onto and forgoing all else.

"Oh! Welcome back!" Ruby cheerfully greeted them. "Whoa! You look horrible!"

"Hey Rubes," Yang managed a weak grin. "What kind of welcome is that?!" she chuckled.

"Hehe~!" Ruby just smirked mischievously and yanked Yang's arm forward. "Come on! Come on!"

"Whoa- ow! H-hold on!" Yang called out, barely able to keep up as the little bundle of red pulled her towards the bathroom.

"Here!" Ruby shouted and thrust something white towards Yang.

"A… wash cloth?" Warm, wet, and heavenly in her fingers. Yang peered behind the door to see steam drifting atop a small basin with more fresh towels beside it.

"I thought you were coming back a bit late and might not have time for a bath or shower," Ruby answered as she grabbed two more to give to Weiss and Blake.

Or couldn't take a bath or shower, they all thought simultaneously as they looked at their bandages.

"Thank you, Ruby," Weiss accepted the proffered damp cloth and pressed it to her cheek, reveling in the warmth that quickly flowed out.

"Thank you for being so thoughtful," Blake smiled.

Ruby rushed around, picking up their used towels, supplying new ones as they wiped themselves down. At one point, she even helped Yang reach a particularly difficult spot on her back earning a sigh of content from the brawler as Ruby's hands rubbed up and down.

Needless to say, Ruby was pumped up and offered to help her remaining teammates.

Blake was wary at first, but…

…rrrr…..rrrr….rrrr….

Soft purrs rumbled as she blushed and tried to stifle herself.

Ruby giggled along with Yang and Weiss before turning to the heiress with an excited expression.

"H-hold on! You don't need to!" Weiss waved her arms wildly before they locked up from pain and fatigue.

"No way~ It's your turn now," Yang goaded. "Get her, Ruby!"

Ruby stopped her ministrations on Blake to the cat's displeasure, and appeared behind Weiss in a flurry of petals.

"W-wait!"

Ruby's hands shot forward!

…And gently toweled up and down Weiss' arm.

"Geez, I'm not going to do anything you're uncomfortable with," Ruby pouted playfully at her partner.

As the warmth eased away the pain in her arms, Weiss allowed herself to relax and let Ruby pamper with impunity.

Higher and higher. Once both forearms were wiped and massaged, Ruby's hands drifted up her shoulders, only freezing when Weiss flinched at the contact.

But Weiss made no movement to stop her, and Ruby gently eased around the porcelain pale neck. Sides, nape, under her chin, and even behind her ears, Weiss felt the tender touch of Ruby's fingers dancing across her skin in rhythmic waves, cleansing her and washing away her exhaustion.

In the corner of her eye, she saw Yang doing the same to Blake, no doubt intent on hearing her cute little purrs again.

By the time they finished, each took turns helping each other and playing along, and all felt rejuvenated even in their weariness.

"Oh man, that was awesome!" Yang fell backwards onto her bed contentedly.

"It was very nice," Weiss admitted with a grateful nod to Ruby as the younger girl cleaned up the rest of the towels and tossed them in the laundry hamper. Weiss crawled into her bed and pulled up her covers. "Hm?"

"Ruby?" Blake called out questioningly, noticing as well. "What did you do all day?" her hand swept across the linen landscape, unmarred by even the faintest shadow.

"W-what do you mean?" Ruby laughed. "I just thought it'd be nice to prepare some warm water and washcloths for you."

All three stared at Ruby in silence for a minute and she knew she had to come clean.

"I…uh… I may have made your beds again," Ruby answered sheepishly.

Blake raised an eyebrow at her.

"…" Ruby gulped. "And fluffed your pillows."

"…" The eyebrow rose higher as her ability to contain her smirk dwindled every second. Weiss and Yang were clearly enjoying the conversation as well, watching Ruby's face blossom into a beautiful hue.

"And I cleaned the room!" Ruby shouted before zipping onto her bed and burying herself under her covers.

"Awww~" Yang cooed. "You are just too cute~!"

"G-good night!"

Weiss, Blake, and Yang all shared a look together and a soft giggle.

"Good night," they all reaffirmed and Blake turned off the lights.

No other words needed to be said because they all understood…

Teamwork means being there for one another.

Sometimes, it's not always on the same battlefield.

Yet those times are the ones we cherish the most.

I hope you enjoyed teamwork warmer and fluffier than Ruby's towels~

If you have any comments or feedback on what you liked or how I can improve, please feel free to leave a review.

Thank you for reading.