I literally had no idea what to do for a title oops.
Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.
Hot And Cold
"Weiss, it was an accident!"
"An accident? Really, Yang? I could see singeing the sleeve as being an accident. But burning a hole through the middle? That's just a complete lack of self-control!"
"Hey, you'd get angry too if you were thinking about how some guy was ogling your little sister. Only you'd probably freeze everything."
"That's beside the point, Yang! If I'd seen the buffoon who did that, he'd be in the infirmary by now. But still, you need to control yourself!"
"Uh, guys-?"
"Not now, Ruby!"
"Hey, don't yell at her!"
Yang and Weiss continued to bicker, and the atmosphere in the room was filled with frost and sparks.
Ruby was huddled behind Blake on the Faunus girl's bed, occasionally trying to slip in comments to help her partner and sister make peace, but ultimately only seeming to make things worse. By nature, they were meant to clash, but it still made her uncomfortable to see two of the people she cared about most in the world arguing like this.
Their squabbles had grown to be more common recently, and fewer of them were ending quietly. Even during combat training, Yang's flames had gotten an inch too close to Weiss one too many times, and she ended up lashing out at the blonde.
This also was not the first time they had been arguing about Ruby herself, and the brunette sunk down even further behind Blake as the topic of the heated argument looped back to her.
Blake had attempted to continue reading her book, having long-since grown accustomed to focusing her attention on her muses rather than her teammates' spats. But now, considering the fact that Ruby was clutching onto her arm and whimpering, the onyx-haired girl could maintain her focus no longer. She sighed as she put her book down, glancing over to where Yang and Weiss stood in their sleepwear, still bickering and shouting.
"You're a loose cannon, Yang! It won't be long before you "accidentally" hurt one of us!"
"Excuse me, princess, but at least I don't go around yelling at everything that moves!"
"I do no such thing!"
"Yes you do! Why can't you ever learn to resolve things nicely?"
"Because that never works!"
"Well, yelling sure as hell doesn't work!"
"Then why are you still doing it?"
"Because, apparently, it's the only thing that works with you!"
Blake's ears flattened as she sensed things getting truly unsettling now. Yang and Weiss had never had a fight this bad before, and she was not about to let it go any further - and yet she did not know how to interfere. She felt dread creep through her chest as the arguing continued.
"Ugh! Yang, you are so hot-headed!"
"That's only because your heart is made of ice!"
But before she could find an appropriate place to interject, Blake felt a rush of air over her shoulder. Ruby jumped over her and landed in between her partner and sister, putting one hand up to each of them.
"Okay, okay!" She cried. "Can we please just stop now?"
Blake watched with baited breath as Yang and Weiss cut off their argument to look at their leader. She could not help smiling a little as she saw their tight expressions fade almost instantly. Ruby was sniffling, shaking a little as she separated the two of them. Yang unclenched her fists as Weiss closed her mouth. Simultaneously, they sighed.
"I'm sorry, Ruby."
"I didn't mean it, lil sis."
"Nope!" Ruby squeaked. "I don't wanna hear it! Don't tell me! Tell each other!"
The two older girls made eye contact yet again. There were still some bits of electricity there, but before very much longer it dissipated. Weiss took a deep breath and spoke first.
"I may have-" She looked down at Ruby's tearful eyes and tried again. "Alright, I definitely overreacted. I'm sorry, Yang."
"Nah... it's okay." The blonde shrugged. "I mean... I did kinda scorch a hole through your shirt 'n all."
"It can be mended." Weiss offered a small smile.
Yang grinned back. "Yeah. But still, I'll be more careful from now on!"
"That's all I ask."
When Ruby sensed the danger had passed, she finally lifted her head and lowered her hands.
"Aw, I'm sorry, lil sis!" Yang crushed Ruby to her. "I didn't mean to drag you into this!"
"She jumped in of her own volition..." Weiss mumbled. "But Yang's right. We don't mean to worry you."
"Well, you do!" Ruby wailed. She squirmed away from Yang, leaving her elder sister with a stricken expression on her face.
"Wait, Ruby-"
"I'm going to bed!" Ruby huffed as she crossed the room. But it was not her own bed she was headed for.
Blake blinked in surprise as Ruby flopped down beside her and pulled the blankets up over her shoulders.
"Ah... Ruby?" Blake said gently.
"What?"
"This... is my bed."
"I know. But it's too cold tonight for anyone to be sleeping alone."
Yang's jaw dropped in dismay. "Then sleep with Weiss! Blakey's mine! Or come snuggle with your big sis!" She whined.
Blake's ears flicked up in mock indignation.
"Oh, so she's allowed to sleep with anyone but me? Is that it, Yang?" She smirked a challenge at her partner.
"Wait, no! That's not what I-"
"No, no. I understand. That's why, just to spite you, I've got Ruby all to myself tonight. You can sleep with Weiss." Blake laid down onto her side defiantly with her back facing Yang and promptly wrapped her arms around Ruby.
Yang's jaw was still dangling open as choppy bits of words wheezed out her throat. Weiss, who had been rendered speechless until now as well, finally found her voice.
"Don't be ridiculous!" She snapped. "E-Even if Ruby's taking residence in your bed tonight, Yang has her own-"
"Oh, fine." Yang pouted. "I'll sleep with the princess."
"Excuse you." Weiss glared. "You say that like it's a punishment..." But then her voice rose a pitch. "B-But that's beside the point! You most certainly may not sleep in my bed tonight!"
Ruby poked her head up over Blake's shoulder to cut in.
"As leader of this team I do believe it would be a great bonding exercise and hereby order to you do it."
Weiss glared at her partner and Ruby ducked again.
"Oh, please." The heiress growled. "You have no authority over-" Her voice died as she turned around to face her own bed. "Yang what are you doing?"
"Come on, princess!" Yang patted the mattress beside her. "Like Ruby said, it's super cold tonight! I can warm you up in a jiffy! In case you didn't know, I'm kinda the hottest gal in Vale."
"I don't care now get out of my bed, Yang." Weiss glowered, her eyes alight with icy fire.
"Hmmm, nah." Yang stretched her arms out in an exaggerated motion, her lips parting in a wide yawn. "You're welcome to use my bed, if you want." She offered kindly.
However it was a well-known fact within the creed of team RWBY that Weiss Schnee would never take a top bunk bed. She had commented countless times on the "looming hazards" above her's and Blake's heads every night and adamantly refused to ever go near them any more than was required.
Weiss looked distastefully up at the hovering beds before her eyes reluctantly flashed back to her own. Yang smirked.
"Plenty of room, princess~" She sang.
"...I'd rather have the floor."
"No!" Both Ruby and Yang shouted at her.
Blake groaned. "Weiss, just sleep on the bed."
"Only if this oaf gets out!"
"Nope!" Ruby denied. "It's too cold!"
"Ruby-"
"Nope!"
"Ugh, fine!" Weiss stomped over to her bed and sat down, turned away from Yang, yanked her legs up, jerked the blankets over her head, and flopped down onto her side. She could already feel the hungry eyes boring through her back.
"Ohhh, she really did it! The princess is really gonna sleep with mee~!"
"Yang, do not touch me, I swear on my family name I will-"
"C'mere, you!"
Weiss felt a pair of extremely strong arms encircling her from behind. Before she could finish her threats, she was pulled backward as the breath flew from her lungs. Yang snuggled up to her affectionately, boldly burying her face in the heiress's neck, brushing her nose through silky hair. "Mm, you're so soft, Weiss!"
"Get off of me!" Weiss shrieked. She made an attempt to drive her elbow into Yang's gut, but was rendered paralyzed by the blonde's crushing grip.
"No can do, Weiss! Leader's orders!"
"Yang-!" Weiss thrashed about, trying to kick the other girl's shins to no avail. Had she not been in her own bed, the heiress definitely would have frozen her teammate by now. Yang's arms worked like a snare; every time Weiss tried to wriggle free, the grip only tightened.
"Weiss, just relax~"
"Yang, I can't breathe-"
"That's because you're not relaxing!"
"No, it's because you're crushing me-!" She was beginning to feel dizzy now.
Yang heard Blake's warning from across the room. "Yang, take it easy. You tend to go overboard sometimes..."
"Alright, alright." She relented. "But Weiss, you've gotta promise you won't run away, okay?"
"Fine-!" Weiss gasped.
"Promise me!"
"Alright, I promise-!"
"Good girl."
Weiss felt the vice-grip around her torso come free and she desperately panted for breath. Refusing to turn to look at the blonde behind her, Weiss grumbled to herself as she inched closer to the edge of the bed.
A second later, she was dragged back to the center.
"You're gonna fall off! Come on, just stay over here, princess."
"Let go of me!" The heiress writhed beneath the blankets, kicking them to the side.
"Weiss, it's too cold!"
"No, Yang, it's too hot!"
Yang froze when she heard her say that; only then did she notice Weiss's heaving shoulders. Slowly, she released her grip on her teammate, sliding away from her.
"Sorry..." The blonde girl mumbled. "I'll try to tone it down. I didn't know it was so overwhelming... Are you okay?"
Weiss inhaled deeply a few more times, wiping the sweat off her forehead. When she had replenished her breath, she slowly turned onto her back, then onto her other side to face Yang.
The blonde wore a miserable expression, equally as stricken as the face Ruby would make whenever Weiss scolded her. Seeing it sent the same pang of guilt shooting through her heart; they really were sisters.
The heiress sighed heavily, trying to drain the annoyance from her expression.
"I'm fine." She mumbled. "But you're shivering. I'll do my best to control things as well..."
As she said this, Weiss closed her eyes to focus on her aura. It had been leaking traces of cold into the air, which often happened whenever she became flustered or upset, turning the air unsettlingly chilly to anyone but herself.
Yang smiled a little as she saw Weiss repress her aura and elected to do the same, trying to contain the heat around her.
Eventually, they settled on the perfect atmosphere between them, one where the heat and cold cancelled one another out but not enough to make either girl uncomfortable. They reopened their eyes at last, subdued lavender meeting with repenting mist-blue.
"Weiss-"
"Yang-"
They both paused.
"No, let me go first."
"No, I insist."
Their gazes hardened just a bit; they both knew what the other was going to say, but wanted to be the first to say it.
In the end, Weiss realized she was too tired to argue any longer and withdrew.
"Fine. Go ahead."
Yang smirked, but not smugly for once; instead it was thankful and only slightly triumphant.
As she opened her mouth to speak, the blonde slid closer to Weiss, but made sure to keep an acceptable distance between them. However, Weiss surprised her by closing that distance of her own volition.
"Never mind. I'm going first." The heiress mumbled quickly as Yang instantly closed her mouth to pout indignantly. "I'm sorry about what I said, Yang. You're not... that hot-headed..."
Yang's lips parted for a chuckle; she would take it. "And I'm... really sorry, Weiss." She slid closer, nuzzling her face into the crook of Weiss's neck. "Your heart isn't made of ice. You're really just a big softie."
Weiss tensed as she felt Yang draw nearer. She lifted her arms, but rather than shove Yang away as the blonde was expecting, her teammate placed a hand around her shoulders. Yang giggled to herself as she pressed closer to the heiress. She knew Weiss was probably fighting a blush right now and had been rendered speechless; her bashful side was one of many things Yang liked about her sister's partner.
Yang let out a sigh as she closed her eyes. "Goodnight, Weiss."
She received no reply, but that only made her chuckle again.
Yang was snoring within minutes and Weiss finally closed her eyes with a trademark scowl on her face, yet a new warmth in her heart.
Ruby nestled closer to Blake as the Faunus girl wrapped her arms around her shoulders. Their teammates had fallen asleep not too long ago- that much was clear due to the lack of squabbling.
"Are you cold?" Blake asked.
"Not really. You?"
"I'm fine."
"That's good." Ruby smiled and squeezed her eyes shut as she cuddled into Blake's collar for a little while.
But it was not long before an urge overcame her. The dormant five-year-old within her finally won the battle against the fifteen-year-old-leader-at-Beacon-Academy.
Blake felt Ruby shift restlessly in her arms. She knew what was coming.
"Um... Blake?" Her leader whispered.
"Yes, Ruby?"
"Um... You don't have to say yes if it makes you uncomfortable, okay? B-But... well you see, I've been kinda wondering ever since you told us about-"
"Ruby, if you want to touch my ears, then just say so."
"Blake I wanna touch your ears so badly."
Blake chuckled. "...Alright."
She loosened her embrace on Ruby and slid down a little, allowing the younger girl better access to her ears. Ruby bit back a squeal as she slowly lifted her hands up, brushing her fingers lightly through the other girl's hair. When her cool fingers made contact with warm fur, she let slip another small squeak.
Blake closed her eyes and could not resist sliding closer to the brunette as she felt her scratch over the slightly-matted fur at the base of her ears. Ruby giggled, humming to herself a little as she saw the smile on Blake's lips. The Faunus girl snuggled closer and Ruby pulled her in, draping more of the blankets about her shoulders.
At last, Blake let out a blissful sigh and her breathing softened not long afterward.
Ruby carefully peeked over her shoulder to find that Weiss and Yang were a little disheveled – her sister's arm strewn across the heiress's stomach as Weiss's elbow dug into Yang's cheek – but they were asleep nonetheless.
Ruby smiled to herself as she gave Blake another squeeze and closed her eyes, finally welcoming sleep.
A/N: I am weak for the Freezerburn and Ladybug ;~;
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