Second story, still White Rose. My first story got some pretty awesome reviews, so I say thank you to all of you and here's some more. This took me awhile to actually write, I ended up combining a couple different pieces that were too short separately and just ended up kind of fitting together well. Enjoy.

~Rambling Madwoman

"I think I got the last one," Ruby said breathlessly, Crescent Rose held in front of her in case we had missed any. I took in my surroundings, and upon seeing no remaining beowulfs lowered Myrtenaster. "That was awesome!" Ruby said, turning to look at me with a grin that stretched as wide as her scarred face would allow it.

I couldn't help but smile back at my partner. Our job was to clear out a beowulf pack that was frequently attacking a small town. The job took a week, being far away and a much larger pack than anyone expected. But Ruby loved it that way, taking the challenge head on.

"We should go tell the town we took care of it." I said, trying to slow my breathing. Ruby turned to me, her cloak untouched and catching the breeze. I sucked in a breath when I saw a gash on her lower stomach. "Ruby!" I said, rushing to her to examine the wound. "Heh, guess I didn't notice with the adrenaline." Ruby said sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head before putting a hand down to cover it.

"Ruby, I need to look at it." I said firmly, removing her hand without much difficulty. It wasn't too serious, about 5 inches long and not deep enough to do any serious damage. "We can get it patched up at the town, you'll be fine." I said, pulling away. "Of course I'll be fine, I'm not gonna let a beowulf get the best of me!" She said proudly, putting her hands on her sides.

She immediately pulled them away, the adrenaline subsiding and the pain kicking in. "Come on, the town is only a couple hours away, we need to get you back there." I said, lightly tugging on Ruby's wrist. Ruby gave me a gentle smile and held my hand in her own as we began our journey back.

When we got back to the town Ruby was immediately patched up, some stitches for her stomach and another on her arm she said she hadn't noticed. I looked at her questioningly and she looked away sheepishly. I rolled my eyes and patched my own wounds. I only had a couple scratches, nothing a few stitches wouldn't take care of. After Ruby was patched up, we collected the money for the job and caught a train to return home.

Ruby slept almost the whole way, resting her head on my lap. I tried to sleep but never slept well in vehicles. The best I could do was doze off for an hour or so from time to time. I gently stroked Ruby's hair, causing her to subconsciously smile for most of the ride. Despite growing up in to a mature woman, I knew she was still a big child at heart. Give her a cookie and she'll obey your every whim for days.

The train ride went through the night, stopping in the late morning. I gently shook Ruby to wake her up. "Mh, ten more minutes..." She mumbled, nuzzling in to my stomach. I rolled my eyes and the gesture. "Come on you dolt, we're back. The sooner you get up the sooner we can sleep in our bed." I said, trying to convince her to wake up. Ruby shot up at the word bed, tugging my wrist as if I was the slow one.

I chuckled and stood, intertwining our hands as we exited the train. We grabbed our bags and slowly began to return to our house. It was shared with Yang and Blake, but they were often on missions, rarely allowing the four of them to go on missions together. But none of them minded, they were still a team despite not constantly going on missions together.

When we got to the house we dumped our bags in our room and crashed on the bed. Pulling the covers over us, Ruby didn't hesitate to wrap an arm around my waist and pull me to her. I snuggled close, my face resting the the crook of her neck. I took a deep breath, the familiar scent that could only be described as completely and utterly Ruby relaxing me even further.

Reaching up, I lightly stroked the bumpy, uneven skin. Ruby shuddered beside me, the scarred skin still sensitive. Years later it still brought a shiver down her spine to have it touched. I frowned lightly but let it go, deciding long ago that it was pointless to stay upset about it. I ran my fingers over the eye patch for a second and pulled away, choosing to grip her shirt and pull her closer.

Ruby opened her eye to stare at me questioningly. "It was years ago, why can't you let it go?" She asked lightly, running a hand through my hair soothingly.

"I am over it, mostly at least. I just hate knowing that it's because of me." I explained, refusing to meet her gaze. Ruby chuckled lightly and pulled me closer. "It's not because of you. It was my choice and I'd do it a thousand times over." She whispered in to my ear, kissing my head lightly. I let out a breath I didn't know I'd been holding and relaxed a little.

Ruby told me this almost weekly, but it never failed to worry me then calm my mind. Stupid dust, if I hadn't been in that factory this never would've happened. This was the first time I'd wished dust didn't exist. Dust was my fighting power, my family's legacy, one of the most influential substances on the planet.

And I hated it.

I hated that it made her get hurt, made her protect me from getting hurt. I knew it was irrational to blame dust, but Ruby made me stop blaming myself so I went to the next possible source.

I didn't notice Ruby until she had already pressed her lips against mine. I was lost in my thoughts again and Ruby had known. She always knew. I returned the kiss and sighed contentedly, glad to clear my mind. "Sleep, Weiss. We're together and we're safe." Ruby spoke softly, her voice like music.

I listened, my muscles relaxing as Ruby gently stroked the scar that crisscrossed my first one with her thumb. It never failed to amaze me how caring Ruby could be. Yes, most of the time she was her dumb, childish self. She went crazy over sweets, pouted and complained often, acted like just about everything was a game.

But, when she needed to be, Ruby was my rock. Confident, caring, gentle, knew exactly what to say, always there for her friends. If she cared about you, she wouldn't hesitate to put herself in harms way for you, the scars covering half her face and right arm a testament to her dedication to those she cared about.

No mater how many times I brought it up, Ruby always immediately ended the thought before I could dig myself into a hole again. Even when she was recovering in the hospital, half of her covered in burns and bandages, she kept me calm and sane. I lost count of how many times she lulled me to sleep while in the hospital bed.

Despite knowing how much she hated being coddled, I didn't leave her side for months after the accident, as if she were a fragile porcelain doll. But she said nothing, allowing me to baby her until I was satisfied she would be fine. Even being an inch from death, she was the leader we needed.

"Weiss, go to sleep." Ruby mumbled, pulling me closer. Smiling, I kissed her neck softly and relaxed, drifting to sleep in the arms of my dolt.