Yet another idea that wouldn't leave me alone. Both of these girls deserve comfort after what happened to them. That scene at the end of volume 3 makes my heart ache every time. So my girls can have a little comfort, as a treat. Enjoy!

Content warning for: mentions of canon character deaths

The house is too quiet.

Ruby is used to falling asleep in her dorm room back at Beacon, with her team safely beside her. The sounds of Yang snoring, Weiss humming to herself, and pages turning as Blake read one of her novels well into the night have become like a lullaby to her. Her room back at home in Patch, despite its familiarity, feels cold and lonely in comparison.

She misses her friends.

Her heart aches when she thinks about her team. Weiss and Blake. One friend forcibly taken away, and the other fleeing by choice.

She hopes that Weiss is doing okay. She might be back with her family, but from what Ruby's heard she didn't go willingly. And being with family can't fix everything.

And then there's Blake. Her absence stings, a raw wound even after everything else that they've been through. And if Ruby is hurting because of Blake's departure, she knows that Yang must feel so much worse.

But despite what Yang says, Ruby hopes—she knows—that Blake must have had a reason for leaving. She must have. Blake wouldn't have left them without a reason. There's no way that she would have hurt them like this just on a whim. Blake just isn't that kind of person. Maybe it's not a good reason. Maybe—probably—Blake isn't thinking clearly. But Ruby will take a poor, flimsy, excuse of a reason if it means that Blake didn't leave them just for the sake of leaving.

And Yang. Well. Her sister might be physically right down the hall, but she might as well be on the opposite side of Remnant from her for all the good it does. Ruby desperately wants to help her sister, but she's not sure where to even start when Yang won't even talk to her. Or look in her direction. With every heartbeat, she can feel the gap between them widening.

She can't even think about Penny or Pyrrah without wanting to break down and sob, or maybe just start screaming and never stop. And she can't afford to do either right now, not with Dad already stressed and Yang more lost than Ruby can ever remember seeing her. Someone has to be strong for everyone and smile, just like Yang had always done for her.

Ruby had just never imagined it would hurt this much.

Despite how bone-tired she feels, Ruby sleeps fitfully, dozing off for what feels like only a few minutes at a time before waking up with a start. Penny's shocked face and Pyrrah's voice haunt her dreams.

For the first time that Ruby can remember, thinking about her friends only makes her feel worse.

Her dad comes in to check on her a few times, at one point bringing her dinner. She smiles brightly and eats every bite, despite having no appetite. "I'm so glad that you're okay," he murmurs, taking her plate and bringing her in for a hug.

"Me too," she says softly, squeezing him back as tightly as she can.

His smile fades a bit when he notices the tear tracks she'd tried her best to scrub away. "Yang's going to get through this," he promises, ruffling her hair. "She's a fighter. It's just going to take time."

"I know," Ruby manages to squeak out around the lump in her throat. "I love you."

"Love you too," he says, kissing her forehead before making his way to the door. "I'm going to let you get some rest. Don't hesitate to come get me if you need anything."

"Of course."

It takes Ruby a long time to fall asleep again. She tosses and turns, trying to find a comfortable position, with little success. Every muscle in her body aches dully, and her head pounds harshly. The ache behind her eyes makes the room do cartwheels if she turns her head the wrong way.

Eventually, though, she must drift off, because she awakes with a start, gasping for air and tears pricking at the corner of her eyes.

She takes several deep breaths and scrubs her hands over her face, trying to calm down. The unsettling silence of her room makes her heart race and her skin itch. She needs to not be alone right now.

A quick glance at the clock shows that she hasn't been asleep for long, an hour or two at most. Ruby groans.

Exhausted and shivering, Ruby swings her legs over the side of the bed with a wince. She creeps over to the door with soft steps, not wanting to wake her father and her sister.

Ruby isn't sure where she plans to go as she makes her way down the hallway on shaky legs. The last thing she wants is to bother anyone just because she can't sleep, but there's no way she's going to get any rest at this rate.

Pausing in her sister's doorway, Ruby closes her eyes and savors the sound of her sister's steady breathing, feeling a wave of calm wash over her. That's all she needs, to know that she's not alone right now. She feels her legs wobble underneath her and lets herself slide down until she's sitting on the floor, her back pressed up against the wall. A quiet sigh escapes her lips.

Just a few minutes, she tells herself. She'll only stay here a few minutes to let herself relax, and then she can go back to her own room and go to bed. She just needs to quiet her racing mind and pounding heart first. And, hey, this way she's not bothering anyone with her problems.

I'll get up and leave soon, she continues to tell herself, even as her eyelids grow heavy.

She didn't plan on falling asleep.

Ruby startles awake when she feels a hand on her shoulder. She blinks her eyes open and squints up into the face of her older sister. What—?

"Ruby. What are you doing here?"

It takes several seconds before her half-asleep brain can take stock of the situation. "Yang!" she gasps. Immediately feeling guilty. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to fall asleep!" She pushes herself hastily to her feet, intending to leave before she can annoy her sister any further. Yang must think that she's childish. And selfish. And—

She stands up so fast it makes her dizzy, bracing herself against the wall for support as her head spins. Yang reaches out a hand to steady her, but Ruby flinches away.

The silence that follows is awkward, to say the least. Both of them are suddenly very interested in the floor.

Finally, Yang breaks the silence, sighing loudly and scrubbing her hand over her face. "You know, if you're going to sleep in here, you could at least do it in the bed."

Ruby bites her lip, shaking her head. "I couldn't. I'll just go back to—"

"Ruby," Yang cuts her off. "Come on." Softer, she adds, "I don't like the silence either."

Settling into bed is awkward, as Ruby is determined to take up as little space as possible. She eventually settles as close to the edge of the bed as she can without falling off. With another sigh, Yang pulls the blankets over them.

For the first time since she woke up in her room earlier today, Ruby feels safe. Even if she can feel the tension radiating off her older sister.

Finally, just as Ruby is starting to let sleep take her, Yang decides to speak. "What happened?"

She's sure that she knows exactly what Yang is talking about, but she plays dumb. "What do you mean?"

Even with her eyes shut, Ruby can feel Yang's eyes on her. "At Beacon."

Ruby takes a deep breath before replying. "I used one of the lockers to get up onto the ship, and I fought Torchwick and Neo. He disarmed me and then," she swallows hard. "He was eaten by a nevermore. Then I grabbed Crescent Rose and got out of there."

She knows that it's silly to hope, but her heart still sinks when Yang asks the inevitable question. "And when you went after Pyrrah?"

Her eyes burn with unshed tears. She can't talk about this. Not now, maybe not ever. "I was too late." There. That pretty much sums it up, doesn't it? It was her failure, after all.

"Ruby—"

"Please, Yang, I just want to sleep." She does her best to keep the quiver out of her voice.

A harsh sigh. "Fine."

If she was a good sister, Ruby would ask about what happened to Yang, reassure her. But she's so tired, and right now she doesn't trust herself to open her mouth without crying, so she just pulls the covers over her head and shuts her eyes, ignoring the guilty sting in her chest.

Maybe things will look better tomorrow.

And then they didn't.

Someday I will write a proper fic where these two talk about all of their trauma and have a messy breakdown with lots of tears. I might even include the rest of team RWBY since they all desperately need it, but this is not that fic. Anyway, thank you for reading! I hope that you enjoyed it!

Please leave kudos and a comment if you liked the fic. Thanks again!