Work.

There was always more work to do. Thus was the life of a college student. Well, a good one, anyways. Homework after project after test after quiz after… well, everything else there was to do. Not a day went by where a new assignment wasn't given, where the next big assessment didn't loom on the horizon.

So it amazed Weiss that people were ever able to live that wild college life she always heard about. She hardly had time to spend with her dorm mates, let alone to go out each night partying like there was no tomorrow. She didn't even know how Ruby could spend so much time being excited about a game that wasn't even out for another few weeks. Weiss wasn't sure she could go through another rant about Fall-down, or Fall-out, or whatever it was.

There was just so much for her to do. As a freshman, she had to clear as much of the general education as possible, so she wouldn't become one of those seniors sitting in on a class for freshmen. An 18 credit workload had seemed like a good idea when she originally signed up, but now she knew it was a mistake. The project with Velvet had only been a taste of what was to come. That class alone had assigned three different reading assignments in the past week and a half, and this was just a week before the next test, and yet another project due a week after that. Fortunately, they were given the same partners, and Velvet was far from a slouch, so at least Weiss had that to be thankful for. But that was just one class. It didn't even begin to account for her trigonometry, her western civilizations, or her chemistry. All pointless to her major, all dull to the point of being coma inducing, but required, none the less. And they all had workloads large enough to crush a small child beneath the paperwork.

'I suppose that's why they call them 'weeder classes,'' Weiss thought as a sigh escaped her lips. The stress had been building up, and recently, she couldn't seem to get all the work she needed to do out of her mind. Which should be encouraging, as it could give her that push she needed to get started on those tiresome assignments, as opposed to putting them off till the last minute and turning in a rushed, poorly written joke of an attempt. It should be able to give her the kick she needed to get off the couch, and get to work.

If only it worked that way…

This had to be the hundredth time she had thought about this tonight alone. She had been staring at the blank ceiling above her, begging her brain to calm down just long enough for her to sleep. For her to embrace the warm sheets, and allow the darkness to take her. But it seemed that tonight, just like the others, wasn't meant to be her night. She had even went to bed earlier than she usually did, hoping that a change in schedule would bring about some miracle. All it seemed to do was give her a reason to give up sooner. Quietly, she climbed out of bed, glancing at the clock as she did.

'4 am…' She silently acknowledged. 'I must have slept for an hour or two somewhere in there. Not that it feels like that. I suppose that rest will have to do, though. It's not like I'm going to fall asleep anytime soon.'

Unfortunately, this wasn't anything new. Insomnia didn't run in her family, but for some reason, she never seemed to be able to sleep when she really needed to. Before this, she had gone months without more than 4 hours of sleep a night, and was able to function as a reasonable adult. It was just part of who she was anymore. In fact, the last time she had slept soundly was when the power went out two weeks ago, and she woke up next to Pyrrha. Then again, that was just before the camping trip when she shared a tent with Ruby, and she hadn't had any problem sleeping then either...

Shaking off the thought, Weiss rose from her bed and quickly pulled the sheets back up. As quietly as she could, she slowly made her way out the door and into the common area, flinching as the latch clicked louder than she would have liked. Sighing for a third time, she slowly made her way over to the kitchen, and began to brew herself a pot of coffee. As the water boiled in the small coffee maker, she wandered over to the living area, and grabbed the textbook she had left out the night before. It had become a simple routine, one that she was far too comfortable with for her liking. Silently, she rested on the couch, reading in the low light from the kitchenette, and listening to the soft sounds of the coffee dripping down from the filter, drop by drop.

But this morning was going to break the routine. Most days she would be able to sit in peaceful silence for a couple hours, then go shower and truly begin her day. She would have hours before anyone else woke up, and be able to catch up with one of her many reading assignments. But her focus was shattered as a door slowly swung open, and a yawning blonde with flowing hair slipped out of her room.

Yang made it halfway across the room in her sleep daze before the light from the kitchenette hit her eyes and forced her to retreat back to the shadows.

"Wha…" Yang started, clearly confused at the light being on so early in the morning. Eventually, her mind began to catch up with her surroundings, and she looked around, stopping when she noticed Weiss on the couch, textbook in her lap. "Weiss…? Why…?" She asked, not quite finishing her sentences as she continued to process what was happening.

"Can't sleep," Weiss said simply, trying to focus on her book.

"Well that's not good. Why? Did Ruby start to snore? I know it doesn't happen very often, but when she does, it sounds like it is going bring the house down, doesn't it?"

"Well, yes, but this has nothing to do with her. I simply have too much to do to waste my time trying to do something that simply isn't going to happen."

"Isn't going to… You mean this has happened before?"

Weiss sighed as she set down her book, realizing she wasn't going to make any more progress this morning. "I don't know how you reached that conclusion, but yes, this isn't the first time. I'll be fine, I always have been. I'll just take a nap later today."

"No," Yang said simply. "You're not fine. I knew something was off with you these past few days." Yang paused as she made it the rest of the way into the kitchen. "Like, for starters, you know how you are making coffee?"

Weiss's brows furrowed as she turned about, trying to get a look a Yang. "Yeah? What about it?"

"It really helps if you don't leave the pot in the drying rack."

Weiss's eyes widened as she realized her mistake, and as quickly as her tired mind would allow, bolted for the kitchenette, only to see the blonde already wiping up the puddle that had been growing. "Crap… I'm sorry, Yang, let me…"

"No, it's fine," Yang said with a wave. "People do dumb things when they are tired. But you taking a nap won't fix this problem. Actually, it will only make it worse."

Weiss could only stare as Yang continued to wipe up the remaining coffee. She barely even heard the words that were being said. "Worse? How could sleeping make this worse?"

"It throws off your sleep cycle, and disrupts your metabolism, along with a few other things. Honestly, beyond catnaps, sleeping should be saved for the night." When Yang turned around, she noticed Weiss's confused gaze. "What? When you wanna be a trainer, you need to go all the way. That stuff doesn't just end when you walk out of the gym."

"Fine," Weiss conceded, "Then what do you suggest?"

"Well, what have you tried already?"

"Besides staring at the ceiling? When I was back home in Buffalo, we tried various sleep aids, but none of them really worked. Apparently, I have a resistance to medication in general…"

"Really?" Yang asked, glancing up and down Weiss's slender frame. "Huh, oh well, there goes the last resort. Let's see if we can make something else work, then. I will change my schedule around a bit. You," Yang pointed at her exhausted roommate,"are going to the gym with me tonight."

"Tonight? Then what am I supposed to do about the rest of today? I'm still exhausted."

"I dunno. Do whatever it is you usually do on a Saturday."

"Wait… Saturday?"

"Yeah, why else would I be up this early? I always workout in the mornings on Saturday. The gym is nice and empty, so I can do a full circuit without anyone interrupting me."

Weiss didn't hear that last part, as she buried her head in her hands and suppressed a scream.

"Why did I agree to this," Weiss asked aloud as she trailed behind Yang. Currently, the student health center was slipping from their view, and the dorms were rising in the distance. Yang walked with her hands behind her head and an easy stride, held back slightly to allow Weiss to keep up.

"Because you want to sleep tonight?" Yang replied without turning about.

"Sleeping will have no meaning if I wake up in the morning wishing I was dead."

"Oh, it's not that bad. You act like you have never been to a gym before."

"…"

"Weiss…? You have been to a gym before, right?"

"Of course I have! You think fencing comes 100% naturally?"

"When was the last time you ran on a treadmill?"

Weiss paused momentarily to think back, but that pause alone was enough for Yang to shake her head. "Hey," Weiss argued indignantly, "There is more to fencing than just endurance. And I can get the same effect from prolonged sparing matches."

"Boxers have the same argument, but that doesn't stop me from running."

"I bet there is more to it then that," Weiss muttered under her breath, but just loud enough for Yang to hear.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Please, I know that running is used for three things. And considering how you didn't run at an endurance pace, or for a weight loss duration, that leaves only one thing."

"And what would that be?"

"You're trying to tone your lower body. The fact that you followed it up with what could only be called an 'Ass Circuit' only makes it more obvious."

"Oh really? And what about you, Ms. '30-minute ab routine?'"

"Don't even try that. You know as well as I do that an athlete's strength comes from the core."

"I'm sorry, who is the physical fitness major here?"

"That just makes it so that you know the best ways to work out. Speaking of which, who is that Ass Circuit even for? It not like you really hang out with anyone outside of the suite, and the only guys there are Ren and Jau…" Weiss trailed off as her eyes widened.

Weiss stared at Yang's back as she pondered what she had just finished saying, before Yang just broke down laughing. "Ja… Jaune? Really?!" Yang choked out through her laughter. "Don't get me wrong, he's a nice guy but, no. He's really not my type."

Weiss managed to recover from her shock, and picked up her pace slightly, despite her bodies complaint. As she drew even with the blonde, a thought struck her. "Wait, you're bi, aren't you?"

"Put that together yourself, princess?" Yang replied with a wink.

"Don't. I already knew, it just slipped my mind. So many of our roommates are out, I actually struggle to remember who is what."

"Does it really matter that much?"

"It does when I'm trying to figure out who the hell that circuit was for. I mean, it's obviously not Ruby, and I highly doubt it's me, otherwise we wouldn't even be talking about this. That leaves Nora, who is with Ren, Pyrrha, and…"

"How many times are you gonna trail off there? Need help finishing your sentence?"

"Nope, because I just figured it out."

"Just figured…" Yang's stride faltered a bit as she realized what Weiss had said, almost causing her to trip over her own feet. When she eventually righted herself, she had to rush a few steps to catch back up. "What do you mean, you just figured it out? I've done that workout for years, and I've done it for no one but myself!"

"So you say," Weiss replied easily, a smile gracing her lips.

"Oh, now I wish I pushed you harder," Yang mumbled as they walked into the dorm building. "Next time, you won't be able to walk straight for a week, let alone back from the gym…"

"Um… Phrasing?"

"Did… did you just make a sex joke?"

"I swear to God, just let it go!"

"No way! We really are having an influence on you, Ice Queen! We barely hear you joke, let alone make sex jokes!"

"Quiet down, will you? We don't need the entire dorm to hear about it. In fact, I think our roommates are sick of it as it is."

"Fine, but we aren't done talking about this."

"Yes we are. Now why did you drag me into my own room?"

"Oh, right. When do you usually go to bed?"

"When I feel like it. There doesn't need to be a rhyme or reason behind it."

"But there does," Yang insisted. "Inconsistent sleep patterns throw off the body, and can actually make you very sick. But more importantly, it makes it harder to sleep when you need to. So tonight, we are going to change that. You are going to bed at 10 o'clock."

"You're instituting a bed time? Really?"

"Hey, do you want a sound night of sleep or not?"

"…Fine. But why are you telling me this now? It's 9 o'clock."

"Because, dear Weiss, we are gonna try one more thing as well tonight. Have you ever meditated before?"

"… As in yoga?"

"Oh wow, you really are a princess... Uh… yes and no, but keep that in mind, we might try it if this doesn't work. Yoga uses meditation, but meditation is used in more than just yoga. Our goal is to use it to quiet your mind, and hopefully allow you to sleep. So, you have 30 minutes. Wash up, do your hair, or whatever else you need to do, but when I get back, we're gonna figure this out."

"Uhhh… Weiss?"

"Yes, Ruby?"

"Why are you laying on the floor?"

"Ask your sister."

"What would Yang have to do with you laying on the floor? She's in the common area talking to Blake…"

Weiss's eyes shot open at this comment, and immediately noticed the absence of the blonde woman. "Useless lesbian," Weiss muttered as she stood up.

"She's bi," Ruby said absentmindedly. "Were you meditating?"

"That was the plan, but Yang was supposed to guide me through it. I must admit though, the fact that she was so quiet in sneaking out is actually impressive…"

"What does Yang know about mediating?"

"Apparently about as much as me, since she had to google techniques about it as soon as we started."

"Yeah, that sounds like her," Ruby chuckled. "Mind if I join you then?"

"I suppose. It's not like you can make it worse."

This time, Weiss assumed a sitting position, resting her hands upon her knees. She closed her eyes, and started talking deep, focused breaths. She heard Ruby take a seat across from her, followed by softer, measured breaths.

"Weiss, don't force your breathing. Just relax a bit. And straighten up a bit. Slouching like that will close up your airways."

"This, coming from you?"

"Hey, you walk your way, I'll walk mine. But when it comes to meditating, it really does matter."

"It does when you walk too, but we will argue that later. How do you even know this?"

"High school track coach had us do yoga to help with flexibility. The instructor always had us meditate at the end. But don't worry about that. Just relax. Let your mind flow."

"Fine…" Weiss muttered as she straightened up. Slowly, she felt her body began to relax, but her mind refused to be silenced. Every few moments, it nagged her about something else that needed to be done. About the project she needed to do. About the homework due on Monday. About everything she just wanted to forget. Just for tonight.

"Really? Still?"

"Yes, Yang. Still. I don't know what you expected, I've told you this isn't something that's new."

"But we've been doing this for a week! Are you telling me you haven't slept through the night once in that entire time?!"

"No Yang, I haven't. That first night was a bit better, but I still woke up at 2 in the morning."

"Huh… Well, I guess it's time to change it up. So," Yang took a step forward, and reached for the mug in Weiss's hand, "No more coffee for…OW!"

"DOLT!" Weiss shouted as the mug flew from Yang's hand and coffee spilled across the floor. "What did you expect to happen?! Did you think my coffee would have magically gotten cold in the past 5 minutes?!"

"I thought it was, based on how you are drinking it like water!"

"Idiot… Help me clean this up, and tell me what your plan is."

"The plan, is for you to limit your caffeine intake. We are gonna keep doing what we have been doing, but minus the coffee. I also got some tea for Blake, and she said that it supposedly helps people sleep."

"I doubt it will work…"

"Hey, it's worth a shot."

"Are you sure, Ruby? That doesn't seem right…"

"Of course I'm sure, Yang. No wonder you two haven't been making any progress. Do you ever read the things you buy?"

"Of course I do, but I didn't have the box for this."

"Well, I can tell you right now that this is why she hasn't been sleeping. This is green tea. As in, not the one that helps people sleep. It has something else in it that I don't recognize, but I doubt its chamomile or valerian."

"But it's what Blake gave me…"

"Then take it back. She gave you the wrong one on accident."

"But… Uhhhh… Fine. Sorry, Weiss."

The entire time this had been happening, Weiss was sitting on the floor between them, doing her best to meditate. The practice had become natural now, but it was proving to be more effective in focusing her mind then going to sleep. It made assignments easier to deal with, but that wasn't her current problem.

"Just take care of it, Yang. I'll stay here and meditate with Weiss."

"Fine, I'm on it. I'll brew up the right one for you this time, Weiss." And with that, Weiss heard the door close, and Yang was gone.

"I can't believe she didn't recognize green tea. She used to drink the stuff by the gallon…" Ruby muttered as she sat across form Weiss. "And what about you? How did you miss that?"

"Never had tea before," Weiss said simply, not opening her eyes. "My family as always been more into coffee."

"That's fair. I'm still curious how Blake mixed that up. And what that extra herb was in there…"

"Probably catnip…"

"Huh?"

"I looked it up the other night. Some teas add traces of catnip to aid in relaxation. But they tend to label it pretty proximately, since it's a controlled substance for Faunus…"

"Hence no box… Oh god…" Weiss could hear the gentle thud are Ruby laid her head in her hands. "Don't tell Yang that… She would have way too much fun with it."

"Didn't plan on it."

"So that tea worked?"

"We don't know that, Yang."

"But you just said you slept better than usual last night."

"And I was still out here at 5 in the morning, after laying in my bed for 2 and a half hours. Last night was better, but I'm not cured."

"BAAAAH," Yang groaned, falling back into the couch. "Just what is it? Something made you sleep better last night, but what?"

"Maybe it was the tea, maybe I just meditated better. I don't know, Yang, but why do you even care? Wouldn't you rather spend your time doing something else? Wouldn't you rather be with Blake?"

Yang hesitated a moment at the mention of Blake, but made no move to comment on Weiss's choice of subject. "You're right, there are things I would rather do, but all of them aren't as important as helping a friend."

The comment caught Weiss off-guard, and she quickly realized she didn't have a response. Thankfully, she didn't need one, as Yang continued without missing a beat.

"Besides, I'm the one that screwed up and gave you the wrong tea for almost a week. If I gave up now, what kinda person would I be?"

"The kind that really needs to pick up her side of the room," Came a new voice. Blake now stood in the doorway to the room she and Yang shared, eyes slightly narrowed at Yang. "Come on, Yang, you promised. We need to clean this room."

"Fine…" Yang grunted as the stood from the chair. "We'll figure this out, Weiss. I promise, by the time Ruby does her livestream, we'll figure this out."

Weiss didn't hear that last part, as she now had her head tossed back against the couch, staring at the ceiling, trying to figure out what she would do.

"You need to find Nora and Blake, and fix this. You, need too. Mom can't cover your ass for this, and I won't even try."

Weiss sat in the common area, listening to everything that Ruby said. The stream had just finished, and the awkward tension in the room was finally started to let up when Ruby started screaming at Yang. Not that it wasn't deserved. What happened was indeed a problem, and Yang needed to take care of it. Still, hearing it coming from Ruby's mouth made it that much more real, that much more present.

Weiss was able to sit in the common area, silent, and watch as Yang's face fell when she realized Blake still refused to look at her, and Nora was nowhere to be found. Weiss watched as Yang silently shuffled to her room, only to emerge moments later with a bag over her shoulder. But thanks to the focus on Yang, no one noticed when Weiss slipped out the door just behind Yang.

They were halfway down the hall before Yang realized she was being followed. With a halfhearted turn, she looked at Weiss, before shifting her gaze to her feet.

"I'm sorry, I won't be able to help tonight…"

Weiss just shook her head, and walked up next to Yang, leaning on a wall with her arms crossed. "Dolt, as if that's why I followed you out here."

"Then why…"

"You fucked up."

"Thanks, Weiss, that exactly what I need to hear."

"Yeah, it kinda is. I know you know this, but I just need to say it. You fucked up. You have a thing for Blake. Don't deny it, even if you haven't flat out said it, with how much time we have spent together the last few weeks, I would have had to be blind to not see it. And then you got drunk, and fucked it up."

"Really getting sick of that word, Weiss."

"But you did. And what it looks like now, to the others in there, is you are running away from the problem. Disappearing to god knows where. So you fucked up again."

"Weiss…"

"Maybe, if you had said you were going to the gym, it wouldn't have looked like you were running away."

"Wait, how did you…"

"Yang, you're not the type to just run away. I know it, you know it. Hell, Ruby knows it too, and that's why she didn't say anything. But does anyone else know that? Does Blake know that? To them, it might look like you're just turning tail and running away."

"But I…"

"Don't preach it to me. Like I said, I already know. But don't bother going back. Not right now. If it looks like I dragged you back, it won't go any better for you. So go to the gym. Work this out. Do what you need to. And when you're ready to talk about this, come talk to me. We can figure this out."

Yang didn't say anything for a moment, she just continued to stare at her feet. When the moment was up, she shifted her gaze to the ceiling. "Why are you doing this?"

"What, am I not allowed to help a friend in need?"

"Wha…?" Yang trailed off, focusing her attention on Weiss, who had now pushed herself off the wall. And in one swift moment, the heiress pulled the large blonde into a gentle embrace.

"I know it hurts right now, and it probably hurts more knowing you caused it. But that just means that you can fix it. So go do what you need to. I'll be here when you're done."

And with that, Weiss turned and returned to the dorm, leaving a confused, but slightly uplifted, Yang standing behind her.

When Weiss returned to the room, the first thing she noticed was the distinct lack of light. It made her freeze momentarily, as the darkness set in once again. Just a moment later, however, her dim guiding light flicked on, revealing the outline of Ruby near the power outlet.

"Sorry, Weiss, I unplugged your light, it cast a weird shadow behind me when I was streaming."

Ruby was trying to hold it together, and was actually doing surprisingly well. But Weiss could still tell that there was something off for the younger girl. That something didn't feel quite right. So, without saying a word, Weiss walked over next to brunette, and wrapped her in the same hug she had just given her sister.

"Don't worry about it, Ruby. I understand."

A simple sentence, but I cared some many meanings. Weiss understood about the light. Weiss understood why she yelled at Yang. Weiss understood the confusion that ran through Ruby's mind. And most of all, Weiss understood the feeling of being lost. Lost because she just sent her sister off to solve the problem. Lost because she refused to help, even though she so wanted to. And lost, because she herself didn't know what to do now.

Slowly, Ruby returned the embrace, burying her face into Weiss's shoulder. She didn't say anything, but simply accepted the sentiment behind the action.

But when Weiss went to pull away, Ruby only pulled her closer, mumbling into her shoulder.

"Please don't go…"

With a sigh and a smile, Weiss slowly guided Ruby over to her bed, and gently worked her down into it. She arranged the covers over their bodies, and gently rubbed Ruby's back until she felt the brunette's breath ease down into her usual sleeping rhythm.

But the grip did not loosen. No matter how much Weiss tried, she couldn't get the younger girl to release her, not that Weiss fought very hard. With one final sigh, Weiss simply decided to let it be. It might not be her bed, and neither of them had changed, but that wasn't going to make a difference. Weiss wasn't going to sleep any more either way.

And so she closed her eyes, and allowed herself to be embraced by the younger girl. If this was how she was gonna spend the night, she might as well get comfortable.

Daylight shone through the crack in the curtain, and worked its way down the bed until finally resting across Weiss' eyes. Slowly, it brought the heiress back to the world of the living. She squinted and held her hand up, blocking the intruding sunlight. And through her squinted eyes, she noticed her bed partner.

Ruby was lying next to her, a tired smile resting on her lips. With a quick turn, Weiss looked across the room at her own bed, and realized what had happened. She babbled momentarily as she tried to find the words to get out of this situation, but none came to mind. Thankfully, Ruby interrupted her before she went on for too long.

"Relax, Weiss, I remember last night," Ruby said gently, hugging Weiss closer. "Thank you, though… For being here."

Weiss heard Ruby's words and returned the hug, but only barely. She was too wrapped up in her own realization. Her realization that she had slept through the night, for the first time in longer than she could remember. The realization that there was a common factor between the best night's sleeps she had gotten in the past month. That there was a solution to her sleep problem.

And that common factor… was Ruby.

AN: Noble: BAH BAH BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! PLOT TWIST!

Peace: I don't think that's how plot twists work…

Noble: PLOT TWIST!

Peace: But really, considering us, is that a surprise at all?

Noble: We really are...casual...with our plot twists aren't we? Like, we really just throw them around as if they are not that important.

Peace: It's almost like there has been some warning to what is coming… since the beginning…

Noble: Well, now that will give everyone something to think about. Anyway, we wanted to address a guest review that we received last chapter. To answer your question, no. Lancaster will not be showing up in this fic.

Peace: Yeah, you can want it bud, but it ain't happening… We aren't gonna leave you hanging waiting for that.

Noble: We had this main relationship pretty much mapped out from when this story came about, and we also have plans for Jaune as well, so calm thy tits...kidding. We actually appreciate the politeness when you asked, and we hope that we didn't disappoint you too much with our answer.

Peace: Doesn't mean the answer is gonna change though.

Noble: But hey, sleepy Weiss is a thing instead. Seriously though, does meditation actually help with sleep? Because I can never focus myself enough to do that. Granted ADHD is a pretty bad problem that I have, so that don't help.

Peace: Don't bitch, I got it too and I meditate fine. And it can help with sleep, but I don't recommend you try it first. It more focuses your mind then shuts it up.

Noble: Fair enough. Thanks again for tuning in to this chapter of Room 205, feel free to follow/fave/review at your own discretion, and we hope to see you again next week!

Peace: Peace out!

Noble:...Did you seriously just make that pun?

(Tumbleweed)