Peaceful sleep

AN: #FuckCindersPlanAU, as is the norm. Though... maybe it'd be more accurate to call it Salem's plan, considering the "hierarchy" going on among the villains...

Weiss loved her boots. She genuinely did.

For years they had served her well, looked fantastic along with the rest of her outfit, and, most importantly, they were very comfortable to fight in. They allowed her to move freely and worked wonders with her glyphs, stopping her from worrying about how her ankles and feet would fair up from the rapid movements she performed with their help.

All in all, they were simply wonderful shoes.

However...

They were not made for walking through forests. At least not for days on end.

When she'd heard that her team would be going out on a week long mission together with team JNPR, Weiss had been very excited at the prospect of showing off just how well she could work with others, but now she wanted nothing more than to be back at Beacon with a large basin of steaming water for her poor, aching feet. They'd been wandering through the Everstream forests for the better part of a week by now, cleaning out any Grimm presence they stumbled across, and her feet were simply killing her. The heels of her boots kept sinking into the soft undergrowth of the humid forest, making traversal that much more of a hassle, and when they weren't, the ground beneath her was so uneven that she kept almost losing her balance.

It was a nightmare for both her feet and legs, and over the course of the week she'd grown increasingly jealous of Yang and Jaune, since they'd both brought heavy duty trekking boots rather than their usual footwear. She dearly wished she'd had the foresight to do the same, but in the end she had overestimated what her own shoes could handle, and now she was suffering the consequences. Probably the only thing that made the situation just a bit more bearable was that Jaune had promised to massage her feet for as long as she wanted when they next settled down to camp out for the night as well as the fact that this was the last day of their assignment. A bullhead was picking them up at noon the next day and Weiss simply could not wait to be back on that heavenly thing society called a floor.

She'd actually been surprised at first how sympathetic Jaune had been towards her and her feet's plight, but then she remember how he'd told her about growing up near these kinds of forests and she figured he had plenty of first hand experience regarding walking around like this with a less than stellar choice of footwear. She also couldn't deny that the small, sympathetic looks he'd been giving her all week made her feel a bit lighter in her chest.

She wished dearly that she could enjoy that light feeling, but with all the bugs buzzing around her admittedly sweaty body, the distant chirping of cicadas signalling the approach of dusk, and her aching feet, she was utterly miserable. Miserable enough to actually fall behind the others as they made way to their chosen camping spot.

It was a small clearing on the map, and she really hoped that it was still a clearing and that time and the weather hadn't altered it in any way.

Thankfully, she needn't have worried at all. As soon as they all reached the clearing Ruby threw herself on the ground, Nora joining in soon after, both of them kissing the dirt almost lovingly.

"Oh, sweet solid ground, how I've missed you!" Nora cried joyously, trying with all her might to hug the ground like a long missed friend. Weiss simply shook her head and moved to help Ruby up off the ground as Ren and Pyrrha gathered up everyone's bags.

"Come on, oh great and powerful team leader," Weiss said as Ruby steadied her weary form on her own, "We've got a camp to set up."

"Don't even sweat it, Ice Queen," Yang said cheerfully. "Our dad used to take Rubes and I camping all the time when our uncle Qrow would visit us. You can just chill over there, we can handle the setup!"

Weiss let go of Ruby and shot her a thankful smile, but Ruby didn't seem to be that happy with her sister's statement.

"We'll help," Ren spoke up, gesturing to him and Nora. Pyrrha also chimed in with the same sentiment, and though Blake didn't say much of anything, she was already going through the motions.

As her companions got to work, Weiss started looking around and she was quick to notice that there was a suspicious lack of blond goof in the general vicinity.

"Has anyone seen..." she trailed off as she noticed that her companions were all already arguing over the proper way to set up a tent and start a fire.

Leaving her team to fend for themselves, knowing that she wouldn't be able to help much considering the absolute joke her tent assembling skills were, she began looking around the clearing for a certain male Arc, both to tell him that they were setting up the tent and to subtly remind him of the promise he'd made that she dearly needed to take him up on. After a couple of minutes of searching, she spotted a very distinct head of scruffy blond hair and she was just about to call out to the owner of said hair when he came into full view and her words died on her tongue.

Leaning on one of the many trees surrounding them in all directions, Jaune laid sleeping, a heap of what she assumed was firewood next to him. His breathing was calm and even, his mouth half open, and his entire body looking utterly relaxed. It was, at least to Weiss, a very cute picture, even if she didn't exactly understand just how he'd fallen asleep so quickly out here in the woods considering how it took at least two hours for herself to settle down, and that was in a tent. Despite herself, however, a part of her couldn't help but think Jaune looked very comfortable where he laid and she didn't have a heart cold enough to actually wake him up, even if he had fallen asleep while the others worked. He'd been leading the teams for most of the journey due to his expertise when it came to wandering throughout the woods, compared to the rest of them at least, and without his knowledge about reading the map, Weiss was sure they'd gotten lost more times than she could count, so in a way she felt he deserved it. A sentiment most of their teammates would parrot, she was fairly certain.

Shaking her head at the blond knight, a soft smile on her face, Weiss leaned down and placed a quick kiss on his cheek before picking up the branches and dried moss he'd collected before taking his little nap. As soon as her lips left his skin, however, she scanned the area around them to make sure no one had seen the kiss. Despite being in a forest in the middle of nowhere, she still had... difficulties showing her boyfriend affection without guaranteed privacy.

When Weiss eventually made her way back to the rest of team RWBY and JNPR, she was pleased to find that their tent had been erected successfully and that they'd begun building a campfire, Ruby already preparing the marshmallows she'd packed for just this moment by sticking them in groups of five on metal rods she'd stored Dust knows where.

"I thought Jaune was supposed to be the one gathering firewood," Blake noted when Weiss dumped her armfull of sticks next to the firepit in front of the tent.

"Yeah, and speaking of which, where has Vomit boy run off to? I still need to kick his butt at poker at least once before this trip is over..." Yang piqued up from her seat next to Ruby, the latter parts being spoken in a more frustrated tone.

"He's..." Weiss bit her tongue. She thought briefly about lying just in case they tried to go and wake him up, but knew they'd be worried if they didn't know where he went off to. "He's asleep. Under a tree. Just a bit over that way," she pointed in the general direction. "I figured I'd just let him get a bit of rest and bring what he gathered."

"Aw, Weiss is such a good girlfriend!" Nora sang, obviously gushing. Weiss visibly flushed at the comment, crossing her arms and looking away.

"Whatever. I'll uh... I'll go and get him. Before he gets eaten by a Beowolf or something..." She turned back and carefully made her way through the somewhat thick forestation and foliage. She was kind of concerned about his safety, but mostly she knew he could probably take care of himself, and just wanted to get away from any more teasing.

She sighed as she laid eyes on his precious, sleeping form once more. The way he was just softly breathing, his head tilted at an angle as it laid against the trunk of tree. She knelt down next to him and considered her options.

She could wake him up, take him back to camp. But that would open up a whole can of teasing, to be sure. And his side did look incredibly comfy and warm...

Throwing out any hope of sleeping in a tent tonight, she sat down beside him, clearing a few twigs out of the way, and hugged his side snugly. She gently grabbed his hand and pushed her head into his neck, taking in the scent of his hoodie.

It always smelled like it just came out of the dryer for some reason. Even during these long trips. But there was a hint of pine that was quite new.

Letting out a breath she hadn't noticed she'd been holding, just deflating into Jaune's side, Weiss let herself relax for the first time in longer than she'd like to remember, or so she felt. Helping her relax was, to her, one of the most incredible of Jaune's abilities simply for the fact that she couldn't for the life of her actually explain just why having him close let her wind down. She wouldn't have been able to imagine that the dolt that had asked her out and made such a fool of himself during their first year would become someone so important to her, but yet here she was, leaning against him as her eyes closed and she just concentrated on the calming sound of his rhythmic breathing. Her thumb idly stroked the back of his hand and the small skin on skin contact felt a lot better than she thought it had any right to, but she would certainly not complain.

Time passed faster than she was prepared, and eventually she nodded off for a while. She couldn't be sure for how long she slept, but when her eyes fluttered open again, dusk had turned into night and the cold white light of the moon was the only thing illuminating Jaune's still peaceful face. She was about to settle down again when a shiver passed through her and she noticed how chilly it had started to get. A frown made its way onto her features and with a resigned sigh she started getting up from her position. She was stopped, however, when she noticed that during their sleep, Jaune's arm had found its way around her shoulder and she was forced to spend a few minutes slowly making her way out of his embrace, no matter how awful the lack of his warmth felt. It was nothing, however, compared to the way Jaune's expression changed in his sleep, like she was doing something horrible to him, and simply couldn't stop herself from leaning in and pushing her lips against his gently, hopefully placating him until she got back.

Yawning, Weiss started walking back to camp, finding that the only one still up was Ren, sitting by the slowly dying fire. He offered her a smile when he noticed she was there and she returned it before heading into the tent. As soon as she pulled the flap that covered the opening to the tent, however, she had to suppress a giggle at the image that she found.

In one of the corners laid Blake, curled up with her head resting on her hands like a cat in her sleeping bag, her ears flitting in to and fro in a way that would have been adorable on its own but was only made cuter by comparing it to Pyrrha. The famed Mistralian champion was taking up at least a fourth of the tent just on her own, laying in a downright majestic spread eagle position with a mask over her eyes and a line of drool running out the edge of her wide open mouth, a quiet snoring coming from her throat. Weiss knew better than most just how priceless such a picture would be to the many newspapers across Remnant and just how hard she'd fight for Pyrrha's right to sleep like a slob outside the the public eye.

Ruby, meanwhile, looked like she was suffering. With her almost scared looking face captured between the merciless breasts of Yang and Nora, Weiss' partner would probably not have the most peaceful of slumber; her dreams most likely filled with murderous marshmallows that wanted to suffocate her. Both Yang and Nora, in contrast, looked as comfortable as could be with their arms around their chosen 'sleeping aid', regardless of if said 'sleeping aid' had had any actual say in whether or not she got the position.

Next to her sleeping teammates laid what Weiss was looking for; the extra blankets she'd packed for everyone but mostly for herself. She grabbed a couple of them and made her way out of the tent. Looking at Ren she couldn't help but giggle as a sudden thought appeared in her head.

"I suggest being careful when you get into the tent to sleep later, Ren," she called out, earning herself a confused look from the boy in question. "Pyrrha looks like she'd snap shut like a beartrap if someone touched her." Realization moved across Ren's face and his sigh of resignation coaxed another chuckle from her.

Just as Weiss was about make her way out of the camp, another thought struck her and she bit her lip as she mulled it over. Coming to a decision, she leaned down and used one of her hands to pull down the zippers on her boots, kicking them off before also pulling down her socks.

Letting her feet 'breathe' felt absolutely divine to Weiss and she had to suppress a genuine groan of pleasure as her bared feet settled into the cold, damp moss on the ground beneath her. The aches were still there, but for a blissful moment they were 'silenced'; giving her a much needed reprieve from the torture her naïve choice in footwear had brought her over the past couple of days.

Remembering that she was on a absolutely vital mission, however, she set off towards her target once more, her light, delicate steps carrying her quickly across the forest floor. Unsurprisingly, she found Jaune in the same position she'd left him in, though he'd curled up into himself a bit more in response to the cold, or so Weiss assumed.

She took her place next to him just like before and laid the blanket down atop both of them. She felt Jaune stir slightly at the action, his arm reaching out and finding Weiss' waist. Color rose to her cheeks at the feeling, but she made no attempts to resist when he unconsciously pulled her into his embrace. Smiling, she let her head fall into his chest, her eyes closing as she tugged the blanket up over them some more. Just as she felt sleep begin to overtake her, however, a pair of lips pushed against the top of her head, and when she glanced upwards, her baby-blue eyes were met with a single deep blue one, as well as a sleepy, but very happy grin.

"Good night, Snow angel," Jaune whispered quietly, tugging at his little heiress' waist so that she could sink into his side ever further.

"Good night, my knight," Weiss replied, reaching out beneath the blanket until she found Jaune's hand, their fingers intertwining as they both fell asleep.