"Weiss, wake up! Please!" Ruby shook Weiss gently as Weiss's eyes slowly opened to focus on her teammate. It was still dark, but the lack of light was more due to the heavy curtains than the time of day. The ambient red light that filtered through the heavy fabric cast everything into dark shadows but Ruby's face was clearly visible from the foot of space between her and Weiss, and she was clearly crying.
"What is it Ruby?" Weiss shifted to sit up then remembered her injury. She stopped and simply looked at the girl hovering above her.
"God, it was just a dream!" Ruby gasped in relief, her voice barely a whisper as a fresh flood of water dripped down her face as she collapsed to press her face to Weiss's mattress. "I was so scared…"
"Calm down. There's nothing to be scared about." Weiss whispered, reaching out so her hand hovered over Ruby's head. She didn't know what had prompted her action and carefully withdrew before Ruby noticed anything.
"But-"
"I don't know what your nightmare was about, but I assure you it can't hurt you here." Weiss stated. She'd had to think the same things to herself her whole childhood, it felt nice to actually be able to tell someone what had taken her months of terror to figure out.
"You're wrong…" Ruby hiccuped as she shook the bed with a new round of sobbing.
"If you're going to pour your tears into my mattress, at least tell me what made you like this." Weiss sighed impatiently. "I see no reason why you should be so upset over a dream."
Ruby remained silent as her sobs slowly subsided. For a long while the air was still with nothing but the snores of their teammates and Ruby's slow deep breathing that Weiss recognized as a sniper's concentration.
"It was horrible…" Ruby breathed almost inaudibly. "I dreamed about the other day."
"I see…" Weiss had no idea which day she was talking about, but she decided to just let her teammate vent. That can't do any harm, right?
"There was so much… so much blood…. It just didn't stop… oh, god!" Ruby broke down again into sobs, but she didn't stop talking even though Weiss could barely understand her through her sobs. "There was… just so… much! I… I was s-soaked! And… it w-w-wouldn't stop!"
"Hey… hey, Ruby…" Weiss spoke quietly, confident her voice wouldn't wake the others in the room and help get Ruby's attention. She'd had a sudden stroke of intuition on what Ruby's dream had been about and why it was her she'd come to.
"Hmm?" Ruby looked up startled by Weiss's interruption. She wiped tears from her face with her palms, before wiping them on her lap.
"You dreamt about when we fought that beowolf, correct?" Weiss asked to find Ruby nod while wiping the everflowing tears from her face. "Then you shouldn't cry. It might have been scary, but it's over."
"But I-" Ruby started, but Weiss silenced her with a gentle shush.
"You're not listening. The past can't hurt us, Ruby. It is simply a collection of things that have happened." Weiss said carefully. Dealing with real nightmares was much more difficult than fictional ones. "I got hurt and you saved me. Now here we are with you crying about how much blood I lost but have since gained back. Your dream may have felt scary, but it could have turned out much, much worse."
"But I dreamed I lost you! I wasn't fast enough, no matter how fast I ran your blood kept pouring out faster!" Ruby wailed in despair, cupping her eyes in her hands.
"Ruby, help me sit up. I can't stay lying here." Weiss commanded making Ruby jump and help pull her into a sitting position. Weiss turned and swung her legs out of the bed and placed her hands on Ruby's shoulders so she wouldn't turn away. "Ruby, you are the fastest person I know, and I am aquainted with several famous athletes. And thanks to your speed, I'm alive right now."
"Weiss… I-" Ruby started but once again Weiss shushed her.
"Ruby, I promise that I do not intend to reenact the disasterous events of that night. But I do not regret what happened. We gained invaluable information on those creatures that we could never learn from any book. And above all, we both survived to learn from our experience." Weiss said calmly, though she wasn't completely convinced of every part of the statement she'd made.
Ruby nodded slowly, still wiping tears from her eyes. "C-can I… never mind…"
"What is it?" Weiss asked cautiously.
"I… can you, um… hug me?" Ruby asked equally as cautious considering Weiss's usual disposition.
Weiss hesitated, knowing little good would come from letting Ruby do as she pleased. But maybe… just this once… it might feel nice to… take part in what she wished she'd had during her childhood…
Weiss moved her arms around Ruby's head, drawing her into her chest and letting her chin rest gently atop the younger girl. Ruby's shaking body slowed as Weiss felt her gown grow damp from absorbing Ruby's tears. After several moments, Weiss let go and Ruby stepped back.
"Thanks…" She said before she yawned. "Sorry I woke you."
"It was unavoidable." Weiss replied, moving to pick up a change of clothes. "And you're very welcome."
Weiss disappeared into the washroom for a long time. By the time she exited, she'd dressed and the opposite half of the room had woken up.
"Took you long enough!" Yang complained, rushing past Weiss into the washroom and slamming the door. Weiss noticed the covers on top of Ruby's bed flinch at the loud noise and sighed as she pulled the curtains closed.
Blake cocked her head to the side out of curiosity of Weiss's actions. Weiss sat back on her bed before glancing to find Blake still looking at her questioningly.
"She didn't have the best of nights." Weiss explained finally turning to her scroll to find out what work she should be doing that day.
"I know. I was awake." Blake said, making Weiss's face take on a shade of red. "That was sweet of you."
"Shut it." Weiss snapped, turning her scroll off and walking to the door. "Just tell Yang when she comes back out."
Blake smiled at her teammate and nodded before the heiress walked away.