Whoops, look at that xD. I wrote another White Rose chapter, this time featuring Weiss's nightmare. Blake's nightmare will come next~ Enjoy everyone!
Ruby Rose was used to waking up in the middle of the night. What she was not used to, however, was the bitter, bitter cold that seemed to flow into their dorm room from every conceivable crack. This time, her insomnia wasn't due to the nightmares, but the temperature. Who knew Beacon could be so frosty? Thankfully, the nightmares had come less and less frequently as of late - whenever they did happen, though, Ruby would sheepishly awaken Weiss, who would, despite a grumpy expression, offer a comforting place to sleep. Somehow, it was beginning to help. The nightmares hadn't stopped by any means, and Ruby doubted that they ever would - but even a little bit of improvement was better than nothing.
She stared at the ceiling, pulling up her sheets around her shoulders and curling into a ball to try and conserve heat. Across the room, Yang slept soundly, limbs askew and blanket tossed aside. Ruby didn't understand her elder sister's incredible ability to sleep - it was a talent, if nothing else. Shivering again, Ruby tried to curl tighter in on herself, but to no avail - the cold lapped at her skin as if she were wearing no blankets at all.
The room was dark, as expected of midnight, but tidbits of moonlight streamed through their window. The curtains, black and transparent, blew in the slight draft, and Ruby suddenly came to the conclusion that the open window was probably the reason it was so cold. It wasn't like her team to leave the windows open, however. Regardless, this was probably the cause of the problem, and so Ruby decided she had to fix it. Shivering, she outstretched a hand, trying to reach out to the window latch.
Suddenly, her bed lurched, creaking painfully, and Ruby threw her weight back, trying to avoid falling to the floor in an ungainly clutter as had happened more than once before. Creaking, creaking, her bed's complaints slowly subsided as the rocking eased, and Ruby admitted to herself that she'd have to climb down to shut it. Which, as it happened, brought about the risk of waking Weiss up.
Though she was a source of comfort when Ruby really needed it, the ice queen didn't take to being woken up prematurely for any other reason well at all. The younger girl would have gone so far as to say she feared the older girl if she were ever to invoke Weiss's true ire.
However, this was a risk Ruby knew she had to take. It was simply too cold to sleep, and they had a test tomorrow. Sleep was essential, it was necessary.
Steeling herself, Ruby dangled a single foot down, letting it rest against the tip of Weiss's bed. Then, she waited.
After a few moments of tension broiling in her stomach, nothing happened, somewhat relieved, Ruby brought the other foot down, as gently and as quietly as she could, stepped down off of her bed and onto the floor. To the younger girl's delight, she managed to avoid making a 'thud' sound as she landed. It was a good beginning, Ruby admitted to herself. Now for the meat of her plan.
The window was simple enough to close, and as she did so, Ruby felt the constant cool breeze vanish, leaving only chilled air behind. With time, however, it would warm, and maybe then, maybe then finally Ruby could get some sleep.
Turning back to the bed, the girl felt apprehension in her stomach and a tinge of pride at having gotten this far without having been caught. Suddenly, Ruby's stomach lurched as she saw Weiss sit up in bed, rubbing her eyes. Crap. This was bad, this was really bad. Ruby's heart fell as the ice queen turned to stare at her.
However, what really caught Ruby's attention were the tears running down Weiss's cheeks, and the eyes that reminded her of a wounded child.
Was Weiss...crying?
Ruby took a step towards the girl, cautiously. Suddenly looking away, Weiss turned over on her side, facing away from Her as if she were in a hurry to do so. The Ruby rested a knee on the older girl's bed, approaching her with hesitance.
"Weiss," she whispered, taking care to say her words as softly as possible, "Are you okay?"
The younger girl waited a few more moments, but received no response other than her senior pulling the covers over her shoulders. Ruby tilted her head, worried, and reached out a hand to Weiss's shoulder, shaking her gently. Still, she received no response, as if the girl was faking being asleep. Was she? Slowly, Ruby's shaking intensified.
"Weiss, hey!" she breathed, resisting the urge to raise her voice and shaking the girl's shoulder all the more intently.
Suddenly, Ruby felt a stinging, searing pain across her cheek, and she flinched away from the sudden painful sensation. When she opened her eyes, Weiss was staring at her own hands with wide eyes.
The ice queen, now sat up in bed, glanced at her hands, then Ruby's face, then her hands again. She turned back to Ruby, who had placed a hand on her cheek in an attempt to soothe the pain.
"R-ruby, I-I," Weiss began, her voice trembling and shaking almost as much as her body, "I'm s-sor-ry-"
Ruby placed a finger on the girl's lips, forcing a smile despite the sting in her cheek and the tears forming in her eyes.
"Sssh. It's fine. You're fine."
The younger girl edged into Weiss's bed slowly, one leg at first, than the other, and then she slid a little under the covers. The older girl made no efforts to resist, instead turning her back on Ruby and facing the wall again. The younger girl's arms snaked around the ice queen's waist, tugging her just a little closer, trying to emulate what Weiss had done for her. However, the older girl stiffened rather than relaxed, and Ruby found herself hugging a frigid doll rather than a person.
"Hey," she murmured, "Did you have a nightmare?"
It was quite a few moments before the younger girl felt the tiniest of nods. Ruby felt Weiss, as the minutes began to pass, relax into her embrace. The younger girl nuzzled into the ice queen's hair. It was down, silky smooth and smelt oddly of...snow. It was a fresh, clean scent, however, and Ruby liked it.
"Your hair smells nice," the younger girl whispered, the traces of a smile appearing in her face.
In hindsight, it probably wasn't the best idea to have mentioned that, because Weiss stiffened again, and huddled closer in on herself. Ruby smacked herself internally, reminding herself of the pain on her cheek.
"Sorry, Weiss," she breathed, wrapping her arms around the girl just a little tighter.
It took many minutes, but slowly the ice queen began to unfurl herself and softened into Ruby's embrace. The younger girl rested her chin on the elder's shoulder, praying she wasn't getting too close for Weiss's comfort. Thankfully, her partner made no sudden movements, but remained relaxed, though tension crawled through her muscles.
"Um," Ruby wasn't sure whether or not to speak, but ended up mumbling, "was it about back home?"
Weiss hadn't chosen to share much of her home life, but Ruby knew it had been...'difficult', as Weiss herself had described it. It seemed to be the common theme in the older girl's nightmares, but she'd never heard her open up about it. The younger girl felt torn between satisfying her innate curiosity, and holding back to respect Weiss's privacy.
Quickly, this time, Ruby felt her partner's head dip, and for once she knew she'd hit the bullseye. Painfully making a decision, she decided not to press Weiss any further. If the older girl wanted to speak, she would, but Ruby felt as if it was pointless to push her any further than she wanted to go. Whereas Ruby was someone who could open up to many, Weiss was far more private.
Instead, Ruby brushed her thumb against the ice queen's cheekbone, wiping away the tears that still lingered. The younger girl smiled into her partner's neck, hugging her tight and snuggling closer. As the moments passed, Ruby felt Weiss's face from a tiny, pained smile.
"You don't need to force yourself," Ruby murmured, rubbing her cheek gently against the older girl's, like a cat.
"Mmhmm," came the first words she'd heard Weiss say all night without shaking.
They cuddled for a while, Weiss seemingly pacified, at least for now. Removing one hand from their embrace, Ruby tugged the covers up over her shoulders. Cuddling with Weiss was certainly a lot warmer than sleeping alone, but it was still chilly. Despite her nickname and demeanour, Weiss's body was like a tiny oven, and Ruby wrapped the sheets around the both of them to maintain that. There wasn't any point in getting cold.
Still, she placed a hand on her cheek again. It still stung, and Ruby imagined it was a little red too. The downsides of comforting Weiss, she supposed, releasing the tiniest of grunts in discomfort.
Suddenly, the older girl turned over, burying her face into Ruby's chest.
"Hm?" Ruby felt a little surprised at Weiss's sudden forwardness - the girl typically hid away in any moments of emotional jeopardy. However, here she was, cuddling Ruby front-on in a full body hug.
"Is your cheek okay?" Weiss mumbled, hiding her expression. Her voice sounded wobbly and pained, but Ruby shrugged her shoulders.
"It stings a little," she whispered, "but it's okay."
Ruby tried to keep her voice soft and warm, as Weiss did whenever the tables were turned. It was harder than the older girl made it out to be.
Suddenly, the ice queen lifted her head, and Ruby felt soft, cool lips press against the red mark on her cheek. Then, they drew away, and suddenly she couldn't see Weiss's expression as the older girl hid her face, burying it in Ruby's chest again.
The younger girl felt her face flush red, but wasn't sure what to do about it, as Weiss was clinging to her with her fingernails digging in.
"There," Weiss mumbled, hiding her own blush. "I used to do that with Winter. Now it'll get better, see?"
Ruby suddenly felt extremely warm, through embarrassed, stunned into silence. Weiss's fingernails stopped pressing against her back, and slowly the two began to relax into each other's embrace again. Weiss shivered, every now and then, though not from the cold.
As the two slowly managed to regain their composure, Ruby heard Weiss mumble, "Sorry for hitting you..."
Ruby smiled, feeling her heart warm a little. She snuggled down closer to the older girl, pressing their cheeks together.
"It's okay...it's better, see?" Ruby murmured back, stifling a yawn. She missed Weiss's lips forming a tiny smile.
Minutes, or maybe even hours passed, and neither of them said anything. They just cuddled, snuggled together and wrapped in the blankets like caterpillars in cocoons, cheeks pressed together, smiling. Sometimes they would gaze into the blue or the silver of the other's eyes, and sometimes they would press their foreheads together, eyes closed and mouth smiling.
But as time passed, so did their ability to stay awake. Ruby yawned every few minutes, and Weiss's eyelids began to droop.
"Goodnight, Weiss," Ruby mumbled, snuggling closer, "I love you,"
"Goodnight," Weiss murmured in reply, her eyes already shut. "I love you too,"
They closed their eyes, cuddled in each other's embrace, warm and close. It didn't take long before their breathing slowed, and the two were asleep, in each other's arms.
Neither of them realised their mistaken words until the morning after.