Author's Notes:

So you mean to tell me that, back in Volume 3, Ruby was able to freeze (and only freeze) that dragon Grimm and immediately went unconscious for possibly days, and yet…

Yet in the tunnel, she was able to use that silver-eye powers twice, under the apathy spell, managing to not just freeze, but kill off dozens of that Grimm… and didn't collapse…?

I call bullshit!

Here's what should've happened!

~ Stirring Awake ~

It all happened so fast.

One moment she was feeling so, so tired, and the next…

The next, she was facing dozens of Grimm which made her skin crawl, and the next…

She was desperately trying to open the door to their exit, struggling despite the part of her that told her she should simply rest, that none of this mattered.

And the next…

There was a silver light, blinding her, the sheer intensity and raw power making her gasp and close her eyes.

And the next…

Everything went silent again, and her energy returned to her, and those dark voices inside her head ceased from taunting her.

She saw Yang running toward her direction. She quickly moved out of the way, giving the brawler room for her to punch open the door.

"Ruby? Ruby?!"

Her heart skipped a beat at Blake's frightened voice, and even when the exit to this madness was only a couple steps away, both she and Yang abandoned it in order to reach out for their teammates.

Blake was on her knees, cupping the face of the unconscious Ruby who laid flat on her back.

Once she saw the freezerburn pair, she cried, "S-she won't wake up! I don't know why!"

"It's the silver eyes," the Calavera lady spoke as she made her way to the flight of stairs. "Activating them drains a lot of energy from their wielder. And she used them twice with that amount of strength…"

"Will she be okay?!" Weiss asked.

The lady looked at her, her electronic blue eyes somehow managing to convey the mixed emotion of sympathy and worry. "I don't know, but she is a strong girl, so she should be…"

"The hell does that mean?!" asked the livid Yang, who blinked in surprise when Blake reached out to tap her shoulder. "Blake…?"

"Let's just get out of here, Yang."

Ah, right…

Getting out…

Weiss forced down all of her negative emotions, perhaps all of her emotions, and turned to guard her teammates in case the sickening Grimm returned, watching from the corner of her eye as Yang hoisted up her much smaller girl.

Only one thought mattered as they escaped the cursed village.

Ruby never stirred.

…

Weiss was silent during the ride, never leaving her eyes away from her partner.

She'd never realized it before… Ruby looked so different from before... the fall. Her hair was a tad bit longer and a tad bit messier. Her skin was paler. She was skinnier. And… there were bags under her eyes.

Had Ruby ever gotten a good sleep? Had she gotten any sleep at all? What about food? Had she eaten enough?

Had… Had she been doing okay all that months they were apart?

Was she even doing okay now?!

It bothered her; the fact that she didn't have any answers for those questions.

Weiss' eyes widened when one of Ruby's brow twitched once, then twice... before both of them drooped down as she shifted.

"Nnh…"

Everyone surrounded her immediately, and Yang had to slow down her motorcycle so she could look back and yelled, "Is Ruby awake?!"

No one answered.

No one dared to take their eyes off of the girl.

Instinctually, Weiss reached out, grabbing her hand and rubbing soothing circles on her knuckles. "C'mon, dolt," she coaxed. "Open your eyes."

The girl groaned again and slowly, painfully opened her eyes.

Weiss tried to meet those silver eyes but couldn't.

They stared unseeingly.

"Why's… everything… silver…?" came the slurred, half-coherent, raspy and weak - extremely weak - voice.

A dark thought crept into her head. "Can you not see anything?" Weiss flinched when the Calavera lady pressed her gloved hand on her shoulder, shaking her head.

Turning her head again, she found that her partner's eyes were already fluttering down again. She wanted to yell her partner not to close her eyes and to keep being awake, keep staying with her… but... she knew the girl needed as much rest as she could have.

Even when the girl's breathing deepened and steadied, Weiss couldn't take her eyes off of her.

Again…

Ruby never stirred.

…

The sky had darkened, the moon had come into view, and Yang had begun to flag down.

Wisely, they didn't stop until they found a motel, renting two rooms - one for Qrow, Oscar, the Calavera lady, and the other for Team RWBY.

The room wasn't big enough for the four of them and only had one small bed that couldn't fit more than one tall person. Because of that, they chose that Weiss should sleep with Ruby since they had smaller body sizes (she was not short!) while Yang and Blake called 'dibs' on the couch.

And Weiss was… glad.

She was glad that she was allowed to be this close to Ruby.

Because this close… lying next to each other… being able to see the girl's resting face… being able to hear her breathing…

It soothed her.

It let her know that her partner, her best friend and more… was alive.

So Weiss scooted closer to her, refusing to let sleep take her...

In case Ruby stirred.

…

Everything was silver. And she couldn't understand why, nor did she remember much before what happened.

There was this… vague voice at the back of her head that told her to reach out…

So she did just that…

Opening her eyes was painful… but thankfully, moving was not, which relieved her because it meant she supported no injuries.

Fragments of silver clouded her vision. It was hard to see… but Ruby knew she was staring at the ceiling.

"Ruby?"

That soothing voice…

"W-Weiss…? Why… Why can't I see anything…?"

A gentle hand was pressed onto her eyes, forcing her to close them again as her partner gently shushed her. "You'll be okay. In a few hours, your vision will return to you again."

Not being able to see led her to rely on her other senses.

Her sense of hearing told her it was night, based on the chirping crickets, and that she and Weiss weren't alone in this room, based on the snoring and purring.

Her sense of smell told her Weiss was near her… she'd recognize that rich-smelling perfume scent anywhere.

And her sense of touch told her that her back was pressed against her mattress and that the gentle hand covering her from overworking her eyes belonged to Weiss.

"Is everyone okay?"

A low, hearty chuckle. "You're the most injured out of all of us here and yet you still worry about everyone… but yes," a relieved sigh, "everyone's well."

"Weiss…" She knew it was silly to ask, but she was scared and she couldn't see and her partner had this calming presence and she needed this… "Can you hold my hand?" When the girl didn't immediately respond, she added a quiet, "I'm scared."

"... Me too."

And the cool hand that pressed itself on her eyes left to wrap itself on her own hand, its touch gentle and a tad shaky.

For a while, only their breathing filled the soundless room.

"Ruby… Back then… I thought you'd never wake up."

She wanted to say that she did too and that she'd... she'd believed that dreaded silver would be all she saw forever.

She refrained herself from saying that.

She knew it'd do nothing but worry her partner even more.

"It was just as before… When I found you on top of that tower… You never stirred. I'm so, so scared for you, Ruby… Please, promise me… promise me that you'll wake up again…"

Ruby didn't know if she should.

She didn't know if she should make a promise she didn't know she could even keep.

But then she heard sobbing.

And making that promise became second nature to her.

"I promise, Weiss. I'll wake up for you. I won't sleep forever. I'll stir awake."

She grabbed that hand, squeezing it to reassure the crying girl.

"Stop crying, please. I don't want to hear you cry."

She heard Weiss sniff. "I'll… I'll try…"

To see - well, hear and feel - Weiss crying for her… It brought warmth into her chest and made her smile. "That's all I ask of you."

Eventually, Weiss stopped shedding tears. But that didn't mean she was far from unafraid.

They were both tense. And they were both exhausted and needed rest.

An idea sprang into her head and, without much thinking, she acted on it.

She reached out blindly and snaked her arms around Weiss' waist, pulling her close. Her partner squeaked at the motion but didn't make a sound, didn't protest.

Ruby tucked her head against the crook of her neck, inhaling that familiar perfume again. "So you'll know that I'm still here," she reasoned unreasonably.

Weiss was frozen for a moment… and then she wrapped her own arms around the girl, one of them tangling itself on her short hair, the other on her back.

"Dolt."

There was a soft pressure on her head, one that made Ruby blush and smile at the same time.

And that night… when they were tangled together…

They had the most restful sleep in ages…

And, until the sun casted its warm light on them...

Neither of them stirred.

~ The End ~

Author's Notes:

And yeah, I know that the last bit with the motel didn't happen in canon, but what was I supposed to do? Write Weiss and Ruby's intimate moment in a sled that was cramped with people?

Nuh-uh, no way. I'm no magician. I may be (kinda) good at writing but I'm not that good.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this short story. See you next time~