{Don't you worry about the dark; I will light up the night with the love in my heart}
It was a quiet night. Everyone in the dorms had already clocked out for the night, each hunter and huntress resting soundly in their beds, their dreams carrying them to morning. The shattered moon high above watched over them all, a silent silver knight bound by oath. A whispering breeze playing the the trees in the nearby forest and caressed the glass panes of their dorm window, rattling the frame a little as it edged to get in. But it was shut fast and its attempts were futile.
A single desk lamp illuminated the deskspace, dim enough so as not to disturb her sleeping teammates in order to ensure they got the night's rest they needed. She, however, had her half drained coffee mug beside her - her fourth one that night. An array of papers and textbooks were laid out before her, the small print making her eyes burn the longer she stared at them. But this essay was due the very next day, so she endured and took another swig of her coffee before scribbling down another sentence.
It was a very late night.
At the pace she was currently moving she would only be done when the sun made its first appearance for the day, dawn greeting her in a mocking mixture of oranges and pinks, the sun laughing eternally at her lack of sleep. But she persevered because she had no choice but to do so.
A few minutes and two sentences later, she heard the frantic shuffling off to her left accompanied with a pitiful whine. She momentarily paused in her workings to glance over to the top bunk across from her own where Ruby slept. Except instead of a peaceful and undisturbed slumber the girl was thrashing about frantically, face twisted in anguish as some sort of night terror had claimed her. She had seen Ruby experience a nightmare before, back home she had them quite frequently in the years following their mother's death. And although they became less common over time, they still haunted her on the occasion.
Casting a brief glance to her unfinished essay, Yang sighed and stood from her chair and walked over to the bunk bed. She propped herself up to reach Ruby, who had by now kicked off the blankets and cautiously extended an arm out to shake her awake.
"Ruby...Ruby….Rubbles wake up. It's okay I'm here, Yang's here. Open your eyes sweetie. Hey baby, it's okay." It took a bit of prodding to finally calm her down enough to get her to open her eyes. But soon enough the thrashing stopped and with it the rustling of sheets, leaving only the erratic breathing of her younger sister to fill the room. Eyelids cracked open to reveal silver eyes, tearfully looking up at her in a daze as reality seeped back in, realization hitting that it was all just some terrible dream.
Yang anticipated it when Ruby lunged toward her with a cry. She scooped the girl up as the younger girl clung to her tightly, arms almost painfully wrapped around her neck. She stepped down from her perch on the side of Weiss' bed (the heiress thankfully still asleep) and crouched down until they were both sitting on the floor - Yang propped up against the desk with Ruby in her lap.
Once they were comfortably situated Yang began to smooth down Ruby's hair while the girl's face was buried into the crook of her neck, silent tears soaking into her night shirt and smearing across her skin. As the trembling continued Yang took a deep breath, preparing herself to bring out the big guns.
Laying her head on top of Ruby's, her cheek meeting soft locks of brunette hair, she closed her eyes and began to hum.
It was a slow tune, calm and low, the lilt of the notes carrying with them a weight that was meant to lull anyone listening into a state of relaxation. Her voice was sweet, mirroring their late mother's that echoed in their memories of stormy nights and monsters hiding in closets. It was something Yang picked up after she was gone, finding that her voice soothed Ruby's nerves just as well as Summer's.
Just as expected, the girl in her arms began to relax in her arms, muscles melting into her embrace, breaths quiet and slow as she paused in her crying to listen to the lull of Yang's voice, focusing on the vibrations the notes caused in her chest.
It was a moment for just the two of them, something to tide Ruby over until morning where the nightmares would merely be a thing of the past, her optimistic attitude carrying her on to the next day, leading her to her bright future that awaited. It was something they had always done.
It was certainly unexpected when golden eyes fluttered open just off to their left, silently watching as the two sisters bonded. Faunus ears perked and twitched as the song of Yang's soft humming reached them, the effect immediate. Eyelashes brushed against soft cheeks as her eyelids drooped, the tune lulling her back into the sleep she was roused from. Blake had almost given in too, but as she watched the spectacle before her continue on, she realized that laying here as a spectator wasn't enough.
Quietly slipping out from underneath her blankets, Blake tiptoed over to where the two sisters sat. She sat down next to Yang and leaned against her partner's shoulder, hardly flinching when lilac eyes opened in surprise and looked over at her. The two shared a look before Blake shifted closer and laid her head down on Yang's shoulder, bringing her hands up to wrap around Yang's bicep in an effort to get closer.
The blonde brawler smiled softly at Blake's actions before returning to her original position, her humming never having faltered during the exchange.
And so the three of them sat there, sharing warmth and good feelings, all nearly on the verge of sleep but fighting it off the best they could, all for different reasons. Even with the sudden new party member, all was well, the moment remaining intact.
Then one scarred eye cracked open, sleepily looking at the trio on the floor.
Weiss rose slowly from her bed, a frown on her lips that neared classification as a pout, icy blue eyes blinking tiredly at her three teammates currently cuddled on the floor. Jumbled questions of what they were doing bounced around in her head, the logical part of her mind urging her to reprimand them for such unseemly sleeping conduct, especially since they all had classes in the morning.
But then her ears caught wind of Yang's soft humming, the lulling tune quelling her grumpiness and relaxing her in her spot. She swayed slightly on her bed as she watched Ruby and Blake nuzzle into their personal blonde pillow and music box and a sharp pang resonated in her chest, her hands fisting in her sheets.
Normally she would've denied the jealousy and yearning that was welling up inside her, but sleep addled mind obstructed by lack of coherency and self-control wouldn't allow her to even lie to herself.
She wanted to be over there with them.
Of course, she still had her reservations. Why swap a soft, warm bed for the cold floor of their dorm room and the only warmth to be gained coming from squirming bodies?
Yet even so, it was far lonelier on her high pedestal of a bed, so without further contemplation she kicked away her sheets and slid down to the floor, taking up residence on Yang's other side.
Yang took the new addition in stride, wriggling her arm free from where it held Ruby's legs to wrap around the heiress who took no time at all to burrow into her side, curled up in a tight little ball. Snow white eyelids drooped dangerously low as Yang's humming lulled her back to sleep, the warmth she emitted and the vibrations of her hums dragging her further and further back to unconsciousness.
Soon enough all three members crowded around the blonde were asleep once more, peaceful breaths slow and quiet, nightmares a distant memory.
Yang stopped in her humming to listen to them all, smiling softly as she glanced over each of their resting faces. Then she looked back up to her desk….where her unfinished essay still sat.
Looking back down at the three girls clinging onto her, Yang finally realized the predicament she was in: she wouldn't be able to finish her essay in time for class tomorrow.
Sighing in resignation she let her head thunk back on the desk and closed her eyes.
"Crap."
The next morning was hectic.
For starters, Yang woke up late. Really late.
By the time she had finally woken up, she had already missed breakfast and was five minutes away from being late to her first class. The sickening drop of her stomach in her panic urged her forward as she dashed around the room, tearing her pajamas off as she went and haphazardly pulling on her uniform. She did all of this in record timing, albeit she was only semi-presentable when she stepped out of the door, fingers combing through her hair as she raced down the hallway to her class which was all the way across campus.
She had been in such a hurry that she hadn't noticed that none of her teammates were around when she woke up, already up and gone from the room. Irritation pricked its annoying little claws at her but was soon forgotten when she realized she needed to put forth effort to hurry to class.
With a minute to spare she stumbled over the threshold of the lecture room, laughing breathlessly at the odd looks she received from instructor and students alike. Adjusting her bag on her shoulder she began a calm walk to her seat, plopping down with a huff before intently focusing on bringing out her supplies for the class in order to avoid the gazes of the student body.
And for the second time in five minutes, her stomach dropped painfully when she remembered that she had never finished her essay.
Biting her lip, she began to conjure up some convoluted excuse as to why she didn't have the essay that she had had a week to work on, from it being shredded up by a horde of ursas which she then bravely fought off to simply blaming Zwei for chewing it up. Both were ridiculous excuses that would do nothing but earn her a stern glare and a bad mark for both not completing her assignment and lying about it. Deciding to just be truthful and hope for a very short and soft reprimanding, she waited miserably for class to start, watching the clock tick away until her time of doom.
With just twenty seconds until the beginning of class, a burst of red and rose petals darted into the classroom and up to where she was sitting. Yang turned with wide eyes to see her little sister with a wide grin on her face as she raced up to her. Slight annoyance plagued her when she remembered how she was partly responsible for failing to wake her up that morning, resulting in her almost being late, but that changed quickly when Ruby procured a folder from inside her cloak and shoved it into her hands roughly. Before she had a chance to ask what it was, Ruby offered a slight wave and a wink exclaiming with a chipper, "You forgot this in the cafeteria, silly!" and darted back out the classroom, one second before the tolling bell signaled the start of class.
As the professor up front began to settle down the rowdy students to begin class, Yang looked at the folder in her hands. She turned it over in her hands, bottom lip jutting out in curiosity before prying it open to see a pack of stapled sheets with printed text on them. Briefly reading the text she gasped inwardly, her lilac eyes darting up to the door where her sister had recently disappeared back down to the paper.
It was her essay.
….But not.
Sure, this is what she had written last night. But she had never gotten the chance to type it up or even revise it. How did….
From the corner of her eye she saw another piece of paper, this one smaller and with curled handwriting on it. Sliding it out of the pocket she skimmed over the note, a smile edging its way onto her lips as she read it.
Yang
Since you're clearly incapable of finishing your assignments in a timely fashion...I have taken the liberty of completing this one for you. Only because I've seen how hard you've been working on it though! This is not an excuse to have me do all of your schoolwork!
….Of course I'm not the only one who helped with this. I merely revised and added some information you missed to the fit the set criteria of the assignment. Blake typed the essay up and printed it and Ruby is supposed to be the one who ran it to you.
Also, we all agreed to let you sleep in because of how long of a night you must've had.
Sincerely,
Weiss Schnee
(& Blake and Ruby too! :P)
P.S. Thank you.
"Miss Xiao Long?"
Tearing her eyes from the note she looked up to her professor who was holding a stack of papers in her hands, looking expectantly at the blonde.
"Yes?"
"Do you have your essay or not?"
Yang smiled and slid the paper from the folder, waving it in the air and adding a wink for a little flair. "Right here, Professor!"
As she watched her essay being passed to the front of the classroom, she grinned as she looked over the note again before carefully folding it and storing it in her pocket.
Thanks guys. I really owe you one.
A/N: Because Mama Yang is best Yang.
Idk. I just really wanted to do something cute for Yang taking care of RWB and then they do something in return to show their appreciation. Because she is the desginated team mom and no one can tell me otherwise.
Also yes I used Gold. Because that song makes me weak. I get so emotional listening to it you have no idea.