Alright, I updated this chapter. Writer's block still sucks, but I'm a bit better now. Not much changed, just added bits and pieces and made sure grammar wasn't an issue. Hope you guys enjoy!

"Oh, Ruby." Weiss consoled a still tearful Ruby, who held her close, burying her face in the heiress' chest. She'd just gone through the embarrassing process of hearing what had happened during the night, when she sleepwalked. Or, a better way of saying it would have been when she made love to her in her sleep.

Even though she'd done it before, it was still hard. Especially when Ruby clammed up at the last part, when blood... exited her body.

It was odd. Weiss knew that she sleepwalked from time to time, but they were always meant to be isolated cases. Twice was a pattern. Normally, Weiss would have attributed it to a recurring dream, but it was odd. No dream ever depicted her making love to Ruby as she claimed. But Weiss knew better than to disbelieve her lover. She would never lie about something like that.

"Does it hurt?" Ruby asked. Rather than reply, Weiss twisted her body a little, holding back a wince as the pain shot up again from her lower regions, like a spark which spread outwards before dissipating. Truthfully, she still didn't know what had happened. All Ruby had described was her bloody hand, and the unknown factor did send a cold trickle of fear down her back. Yet she remained steadfast, if not for herself then for Ruby.

She needed to be strong for her.

"A bit." Weiss admitted.

"Is it... y'know..." Ruby grew quiet, her face blushing. "Once a month?"

Was this how Ruby was when discussing anything about their private parts? It was irritating to the more logical part of Weiss, the part that wanted to get to the bottom of this. A bigger part found her just plain cute, and also found it impossible to be angry at such a childish innocence. It was just another thing about Ruby that charmed her.

"No." Weiss replied, knowing that, by her words, she meant Weiss' period. "That happened ten days ago." She felt herself blush at the sudden realization of what she'd just admitted, but it flowed back out of her face as Weiss put it aside. She trusted Ruby like she was family. It'd be fine. "Maybe you just scratched me when you..." she trailed off. She knew Ruby would get what she meant, and the little blush she saw erupt on the parts of Ruby's face not currently hidden confirmed it.

One thing was for sure.

If her sleepwalking was doing this and making Ruby so afraid, then it would have to stop. No questions there. It wasn't just that Weiss wasn't even sure what had happened to her, and might need time to heal, but also the fact that so far, it sounded like Ruby didn't want to to those kinds of things with her while she was asleep. Granted, Weiss had no memory of what had transpired, but it sounded as if she'd forced herself on her lover.

That was inexcusable.

"Well, I think it's time we stopped these things." Weiss said, derisively. Ruby's eyes widened a little, and it was soon after that Weiss realized how she might have interpreted that statement. "I mean the sleepwalking thing." she reassured quickly, expecting to see a change for the better in Ruby's expression. "I don't want to hurt or scare you when it happens, so please, wake me up when I start doing it."

There was no change in Ruby's expression, and a resurgence of a blush on her face told Weiss there was more to this than she first thought. Was Ruby hiding something?

"Ruby, if there's anything else that you haven't told me, please tell me if there's anything that's bothering you. Please." Weiss implored, now feeling slightly desperate, and also a little down. Ruby still didn't want to confide everything in her, granted, maybe there was a reason, but she wanted that trust. She needed that trust. It was something she hadn't felt since...

"Weiss... please don't make me say it." Ruby replied, her eyes reminding her of Zwei when he'd been caught doing something naughty. "It might be bad."

It might be bad? What did she mean?

"Why might it be bad?" Weiss asked, deciding to use the younger girl's words. Maybe it would make things easier for her. "I won't get angry at you if you tell me. Promise." Ruby looked down into the heiress' lap, her gaze staying there for a moment, before she looked back up at Weiss, her eyes showing a more purposeful look, the very sight causing Weiss' heartbeat to quicken. She must have made up her mind about something.

"I actually... like it when you sleepwalk." Ruby replied quietly.

She enjoyed those kinds of things? What was it about them that she liked? Was it just the... things they did, or something else?

"What do you enjoy about it?" Weiss asked. "The things we do? You know I want to be awake when we do them."

"No!" Ruby responded startlingly, the volume of her voice making Weiss jump. "Sorry." she continued in a quieter voice, as Weiss rounded on her. "It's not for... that, it's because of the way you are."

The way she was?

What did Ruby mean?

Did she do something differently when she was asleep?

What was it?

"The way I was?" Weiss repeated.

"Look, there isn't any other way for me to say this, so I'll just say it. Please don't get mad at me." Ruby said, her voice hardening as she spoke, revealing her determination to get her point across. "When you're awake, you're you, the person I love, the person that I know, and you act the way I know you act." Was she really that predictable, or was that just Ruby's way of saying 'the normal way that she was'? "But when you're sleeping, you're... different."

Different?

"I mean," Ruby's face flooded with colour, "a lot of things change about you. You speak differently, a lot more soft. You tell me that you love me, and you're a lot more... gentle when you're asleep. It's harder for me to be embarrassed as well while you're sleepwalking, even if I can't be, well, choosy about what we do. I also think you're a lot more, well, just able to talk to me a lot more about your feelings."

So that was why she reacted that way. Ruby didn't lie before, a part of her was hurt after hearing that Ruby almost preferred the way she was while she was sleeping. She could hear Ruby babbling about how it wasn't like she didn't like her as she was now, but Weiss tuned it out. Maybe Ruby was just the kind of person that wanted a gentler touch. In fact, now that she was thinking about it, Weiss felt herself mentally face palm.

She should have seen it coming.

Well... her lover wanted something more gentle.

And maybe she could provide that.

"Listen, Ruby." Weiss said, cutting her off. "I still don't want to sleepwalk. But," Weiss quickly carried on as Ruby's face fell a little, "that doesn't mean I can't change for you." As her lover looked up with a hopeful expression, Weiss felt her heart flutter at the sight even as she locked eyes with her. "Let's make a deal." She held out a hand. "If you promise me that from now on, if I sleepwalk and try to do stuff with you, you'll wake me up, then I'll promise to try and be... well, like I am when I'm sleepwalking, when we're alone together."

As Weiss finished her proposal, she took her eyes off Ruby for a split second.

She felt her hand clasp her own in that split second.

She turned back to see Ruby with a smile on her face, the sight glorious to Weiss, as if she'd just fought a nevermore just to see it.

"Deal." the crimsonette responded. It was a little frightening how quickly she'd agreed, but Weiss put it out of her mind. "Um, are you going to see someone? For, y'know." She pointed down at Weiss lower regions.

"No." Weiss replied. She wasn't going to go to the medical facilities for a simple scratch down below. Ruby puffed out her cheeks, clearly serious about the matter.

"Weiss, it might be serious." she moaned.

"What could be serious about a scratch?" Weiss queried, feeling a small jolt of pain as she did so. "Ruby, my aura will be healing it." The crimsonette still looked worried.

'Weiss, if your aura was healing it right, it would be fixed right now." Ruby whined. "C'mon, we should."

"I can't. I'm sorry, Ruby." Weiss said, checking her scroll and standing up. "And I need to go."

"Why?" Ruby asked. Wow. Did she really not remember?

"There's something important on today." Weiss explained, deciding that it would be better to help Ruby remember. "It's something I'm involved in, and what you'll be watching." Ruby's expression was blank. "It's for our team, and you were with me the last time it happened." Still nothing, and Weiss bit down her annoyance. "It's up in the sky."

A flash of recognition in Ruby's eyes. Thank goodness.

"The tournament!" Ruby shouted out. "You and Yang! Oh gosh!"

Before Weiss could even react, Ruby had shot up, and ignoring Weiss' attempts to stop her, gathered the heiress up in her hands, giving the heiress only a second to prepare herself before she triggered her Semblance.

Afterwards, all Weiss saw was a blur.

All she felt were the arms around her.

The arms of her ditzy, dolt of a lover.

As Ruby waved goodbye to Weiss, watching her go into the arena with all the words of encouragement she could muster, inside she felt scared. Aside from being a bit off balance with how quickly she'd been taken to the arena, and the words she'd said on the way, not to mention when Ruby had dropped her off and she'd nearly run into a tree from being dizzy, there was one thing bothering her.

She hadn't liked that Weiss had brushed it off her worries.

People were never meant to bleed down there except for their... once a month.

Sparing her surroundings a quick glance, Ruby took off, heading for the exit.

Blake and the rest of her friends would all be there to watch for her, and this was far more important.

She needed information.

Who?

Who could help her?

And then it clicked.

Ruby knew who she'd need to see.

Ruby stared, horror-struck.

At a single word.

She'd never thought a single word would make her feel so scared.

That one word?

Closed.

And where was it?

On a sign outside of the Dark Library.

Ruby leaned on the shop's curtained window as she thought, hard.

How to get in contact with him?

He hadn't given her his scroll number, was there a way to-

Ah! The Duel App!

She quickly withdrew her scroll and checked her recent match. The app informed her that her Rank had dropped by two thanks to her loss, but that didn't matter right now. She found Vade's profile, and that red question mark next to his blue-eyed profile picture.

Thank goodness.

There was a scroll number just below.

Ruby switched to her phone app, and dialed his number, before holding it up to her face and waiting.

Ring, ring.

C'mon, pick up!

Ring, ring.

Don't do this!

Ring, ring.

Please, Vade!

A click, then Vade's face appeared on her screen. Aside from his now blue contacts, he looked exactly as he had before.

"Ruby!" he greeted, his voice distorted a little on the scroll, but the recognition was plain to her ears. "What do I owe the pleasure to?"

"Um..." Ruby replied, truthfully having no idea what he just asked. On the screen, Vade rolled his eyes.

"What are you calling me for?" Vade asked after a sigh. That was better.

"I need your advice on something." Ruby replied. "You said you knew a lot, so..."

"I don't normally work outside of my shop." Vade said with a grin. "But for you, I can make an exception. Come to Park Dionysus. You know where that is, right?"

Yup. She knew.