Third Person POV

She ran her thumb lovingly over the crevice between the others thumb and finger. Her lilac eyes filled with sorrow, watched her little sister's face with careful intensity. She paused in her soothing gestures and sighed. "One of us will have to give up everything for Ruby… she can't be left alone even for a minute." Yang gripped Ruby's hand a bit tighter. "I don't have much, so I'll-"

"I'll do it." The air fell still. Weiss, who was supposed to be watching Ruby at the time, had said nothing this entire time. She stood in the furthest corner and refused to look directly at the bed. Taking a shuddering breath, "I'll do it." Her trembling stopped and her hands relaxed.

Of course, everyone in the room knew the reason behind it. As the prideful Schnee she is, she feels responsible for this traumatic occurrence. As is the way of any strong-willed individual, she personally felt that she had to right this wrong. For no one save for herself would she give up everything for her leader.

The fierce determination within her left no room for anyone to say anything against her decision.

Yang closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Just to be clear, you'll have to be by her side everyday and every night all day and all night. It'll be exhausting and hard. You can't so much as sigh at her even in the toughest of times. You can never tire of her, nor can you leave her."

"I know." Yang pursed her lips and took a long look at her sleeping baby sister.

Wordlessly, she let go of her hand and stood up. With a glance at Weiss, she crossed the room. They switched spots in the room. "We will still take shifts, but you are going to be there, at her side every minute of every day."

Weiss instinctively rested her hands atop the still leader's. Her eyes resting heavily on her face. "I know." The whisper was more of a courteous reply to Yang, and a reassuring acknowledgement to herself. Perhaps, it was even a mute, "I'm sorry, Ruby. I won't fail again. I promise."

Ruby's PoV

Silver eyes reluctantly fluttered open. For a moment there was only confusion. Only a moment. Then the realization gripped my heart. I was awake.

Before I could make any panicked action, a tender hand rested on my shoulder, easing my tensed body back onto the bed. Weiss.

"Good morning, Ruby." Her smile… it was… broken. What was supposed to be warm and greeting, was a mask to hide what she felt. "I got you something to eat." From behind her, she pulled a bowl of noodles in chicken soup. "I uh…" The remainder of the sentence, the 'I'm sorry, so so sorry.' was left in her heart. And to me, that meant so much more.

"It's ok. There's nothing to be sorry for. Let's work together…" Just a glimpse. A glimpse of happiness and positivity peaked through the sullen clouds that permanently resided over my mind.

My expression fell and I turned my gaze away. I was awake. I'm… I'm not a hero. I-

A gentle breath of hair touched my cheek. Turning to face the source, Weiss was gently blowing on a spoonful of soup. She then motioned for me to sit up. A blush growing on her cheeks.

So I sat up. She looked at me for just a second before embarrassment caused her to avert her eyes. I watched her shoulders rise and fall with a deep breath, she leaned forward. "A…. A-ah." I felt a ghost of a smile tickle my lips as I mirrored her mouth with my own and ate the generous food.

Weiss blinked… then blinked and her blush grew in intensity. That wasn't enough to stop her it seems because she dipped the utensil back into the bowl and repeated her actions. And I repeated mine.

With each spoonful of soup, her blush ebbed and a smile replaced it. I was more than capable of feeding myself, but I didn't want to say anything. It would probably make the atmosphere uncomfortable and her embarrassed.

Finishing the soup, I… I smiled at my partner. "Thank you, Weiss." Instinctively, I opened my arms. I feel… I need a hug. The tears were coming.

She quickly wrapped her arms around me. We sat in silence, in each other's arms. My cheeks were wet with tears which trickled from my eyes to her shoulder. I grasped her tightly and shuddered my sorrows away.

I killed them. They did things to me. I'm a monster. I'm no huntress, no hero. I miss mom. I wish I- "Shhh…" My thoughts stopped. Weiss gently ran her fingers through my hair and down my back. "It's ok… I'm here. We're all here. And we love you… will never leave you… I love you and will never abandon you again." Her hand stopped about halfway down my back, I felt her arms shift slightly and she hugged me tighter. Her grip loosened as she exhaled. "I'll always be with you. No matter what. You're my best friend. My leader. My partner. Ruby Rose, I'm with you till the end and even beyond." She pulled away, and the glittering in her eyes and cheeks were like mine. The determination and resolute fire behind her beautiful irises assured me, she truly was with me forever and always.

I felt a new wave of sobs well up. I couldn't hold them back. A croak erupted from my throat and I shivered harshly as the crying shook my soul. No longer were my cries mute. I sobbed freely. Tears upon tears wetting my palms as I cried into my hands.

Her smooth and gentle hands cupped mine and pulled them from my face. I looked up at her. She was also crying. Her arms wrapped around my body and she pulled us together.

It took a bit of time for me to stop the tears, I think they would still be going if Weiss wasn't so comforting. Exhaustion overcame me and within minutes of my crying ceasing, I felt myself drifting off to sleep.

Weiss's PoV

I'm not sure when it happened. Sometimes I think way back when she nearly blew the both of us off of Beacon. Other times I feel like it happened more gradually; her accepting grace, tender smile, fiery determination, and admirable skills all manifesting themselves daily and I soon realized that I was… smitten?

I wanted to see her smile, wanted to be the reason why. I yearned to return the favors she doesn't know she's done. I strive for her luminescent eyes to be looking at me the way they used to when we were alone and the atmosphere was just right. Or at least normally once more.

I love the way she smells, it is a scent I've come to associate with security and warmth. I love the way she feels, so delicate yet so calloused. I love the fact that she's my leader but she leads from the back, watching our backs… or at least she used to… I love the way she sticks her tongue out of her mouth when she's concentrating. I just… love her.

Love is a strong word. Just as hate is. Love is the absolute abolishment of hate. It is…. It is something I've only ever felt from Klein and Winter on rare occasions before I met her. And then… and then I realized that I always felt loved from her. No matter what I said, no matter what I did, she would forgive me. She would not hold it against me nor would she wish any ill-will upon me because of it.

Somewhere along my morning reminiscing, I had absent-mindedly began to run my fingers through her silky hair. My first reaction was to stop immediately and pretend it never happened… but no one is around and she seems asleep, so I let them glide tenderly through her hair.

At one point in the night, she had woken suddenly and after a moment or two, began sobbing and apologizing to the brisk night air. I felt… I felt I should let her cry it out first. When she finally laid back down, still sniffling, I wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her against me. I cooed soft nothings to her and promised her that I'm always there for her and so is her team. I hoped that my… actions provided enough security for her to rest peacefully quickly afterwards since she fell asleep soon after and did not wake again throughout the night.

I let out a long breath and looked down at her resting peacefully against my shoulder. Her sexy long eyelashes and softness of lips, her scars recent and old that added character and strength to her otherwise porcelain visage. The shadows cast from the morning sun were just right. Just in the right position to seemingly hide her torment and surround her in an angelic light. She… she truly is an angel… to me at least, I'm sure Yang and Blake would agree.

Her eyes slowly opened, the remnants of sleep still strong in her gaze. For a bit, she stared lazily ahead. With a slow blink, she came alive for just an instant before having that light quickly snuffed out by her plagued mind. I couldn't help but frown on the inside.

"Weiss?" Her even voice broke the silent dawn. Another sluggish blink and she remember. I could see the apology already formed behind her once bright silver eyes. Before she could open her mouth, I pressed my forehead to hers.

"Before you say it, there's nothing to be sorry for. I'm here by choice because I," My tongue touched the roof of my mouth and curled against my teeth, the 'L' was forming. No, I can't tell her… not now… not like this. "Am and always will be your partner. We gotta look out for each other. We're BFFs, remember?" I felt a smile turn up my lips at the acronym she used to describe us often. I wish… I wish I could have told her how I truly feel, but… she has enough to deal with right now as it is.

I felt her nod softly against my head and I pulled away. "Now, are we going to get out of bed and get ready for the day? Or do we want to sleep some more?" There was no 'I' or 'You' in this anymore. It's 'we' and 'us' because I'm not going to lose her again. It's almost like we're an overly affectionate couple. And to that, I blushed lightly.

I saw her take in a breath to speak, but our answer came in the form of an energetic-as-ever Yang cacophonously opening the door, the smell of breakfast with her. "Oh ho ho, what's this? Am I interrupting something?" I could hear the smile and teasing look on her face. That didn't help with my reddening face.

"N-no!" A bit of her old self showed through just for an instant as she shot up to look at the blonde intruder.

"Mmhmmmm, well, if you do happen to be up to something, be sure to leave a sock on the door-" Her smile grew with each word and remained after Blake hit the back of her head in a 'Stop teasing them, but I still love you' kind of manner.

Suddenly, the once comfortable bed became very, very warm and it was all thanks to those two.

Something was bothering me… she- she was sick when we first found her. Nothing was working, it was something completely unseen, but she suddenly got better and her ailment left without a trace. So what is bothering me?

She stared blankly at the untouched plate of food before her. With the sun just beyond its peak, shadows played across her features, but the twinkling of tears reflected on her cheeks. It broke my heart to see her this way and know that's there's nothing I can do for her, but that doesn't mean I won't try.

Scooting into the chair next to her, I gently cupped her hand- which was resting at the wrist with a fork gripped fully within. She tensed and with a sharp intake of breath, she shakily, cautiously turned to face me. I put on my vest reassuring smile and idly rubbed my thumb over her fingers. She eased, slowly, but it was better than nothing. Her breathing came under control and with it, the choked back tears came forth.

I… I didn't know what to do! My mind was so flooded with, "should I, could I, would I"'s that my body just acted on its own. I had gently guided her to stand and brought her into a secure hug. She adjusted her head to lay on my shoulder, shielding herself from the evils of Remnant, and clung tightly to me. Rubbing gently along her back, I gently swayed us in a rhyme-less step. My head lay next to hers and I found myself whispering soothing words and hushing her cries. Slowly, her sobbing stopped, but she didn't let go. She still held tightly to me… as though she were afraid her rock would leave her and she be plunged back into the abyss that is her plagued mind. No… I'll never let go. I love her too much to let her suffer. I love her and so we'll stuck together. We're partners and so much more. I love her and won't let whatever illness she has stop that!