Penny impatiently tapped on the desk. Her glasses were on the brink of falling off her face at the angle her face was at. The paper below her was more papers she had to read over but she couldn't focus. It was around 1 in the morning and she'd been at this for hours. Ruby had already gone to bed so Penny only sat in silence.
Her office was just across the hall from their room though, so if Ruby needed something she'd easily be able to hear her. So when she heard a light crying from their room she was nerved by it. She didn't move though, assuming Ruby was only having a light nightmare. She was aware of her wives reoccurring nightmares, usually about the war with Salem towards the end. Ruby was used to those dreams, along with Penny, so Penny tried to ignore it.
She found it impossible when she heard a yell from their room. Penny heard her name and she shot out of her chair and to the bedroom. There her wife sat sitting up in a sweat.
Ruby was breathing heavily and her eyes were filled with tears. Penny went over and sat beside her, hugging her and stroking her back.
"Penny…" Ruby muttered, still shaken by her sudden awakening, "You're real, right? I'm not dreaming?"
Oh.
Ruby hadn't ever said that before. They'd been married three years, living together for 5, and she'd never heard those words out of her mouth after a nightmare.
"Shhh… I'm here… This is real," she comforted the brunette as she stroked her hair.
"I… I… I thought I'd lost you, and I-I'd not gotten the chance to say g-goodbye-" She choked on a few tears, "I went back to when Weiss told me that y-you might've been dead and I-I didn't know what to do… W-We came back and y-y-you were gone and I…"
Penny continued stroking her hair as Ruby wept.
"I'm here, Ruby… Salem's gone…" She was accustomed to how to soothe nightmares but she was a little astray on how to comfort her aside from repeating to Ruby that this was real and that she was here.
"I-I'm sorry, I should've been there to save you!" Ruby shouted.
"Ruby… It's okay, I'm fine, I may have scars but it's okay. It wasn't your fault," She kissed Ruby's head.
"I-I know Penny I just… If I had been more careful I could've prevented it from happening! You wouldn't have those scars…" Ruby said, she unbuttoned the top of Penny's shirt to look directly at Penny's scarred chest.
"It's okay, really, it was over a decade ago," Penny said, Ruby stayed silent as she leaned her head into her chest. Penny embraced her again and held onto her as Ruby stayed silent.
"I'm sorry you had that nightmare though…" Penny admitted, "I know it's not my fault but know what happened isn't your fault either."
"Y-You mean it?" Ruby asked. Penny nodded before kissing Ruby's forehead again.
"I do… You're safe, and I'm here for you," Penny soothed, "I'm real, this is real."
Penny kept repeating the words for a few minutes as Ruby lulled herself back to sleep. Penny smiled as she was quick to follow and fell asleep in the embrace of her wife as well.