Chapter V: Bedtime talks

"I suppose we should head back, huh?" Ruby asked, bumping Weiss lightly with her head. "Before the doctors freak out and start searching for you."

Weiss looked wistfully at the fiery disk hanging low over the western horizon. As much as she'd like to stay longer and watch the sunset, she knew they really should get going back to Beacon.

"Mhm," she hummed.

Ruby stood up from the ground and helped Weiss do the same. "Well, Yang, time to wake up your girlfriend," she said, stretching herself.

Yang smirked, leaning over the girl sleeping in her lap. "You heard the lady. Wake up, my love."

It had been a poor choice of words.

Before Yang could even blink, Blake was already at her throat, pressing the blade of Gambol Shroud against her skin; her eyes were completely wild, face contorted into a mix of rage and panic.

After a painfully intense split second, a spark of recognition shone in her amber eyes as they widened in surprise.

"Yang," Blake whispered, then her shock turned to pure horror as the realization of what she had just done sunk in. Her sword slipped from her hand and fell to the ground, her fingers suddenly gone numb. "I'm so sorry, I d-didn't mean to, I just— just—"

Yang interrupted her, pulling the girl on the verge of tears into a firm embrace. "It's okay, Blake. It's okay. Let's just go home."

The other half of team RWBY just stood there, heartbroken, watching silently as Yang kept on gently stroking the head of the girl she held in her arms, repeatedly whispering 'it's okay' like some sort of a mantra.

After some time, Yang managed to calm Blake down, but even then didn't let go of her right away, wanting to soothe her as much as she could.

Ruby glanced to the side and her gaze met with Weiss'. Neither of them needed any words to understand what the other thought and felt.

Their group split after making it back to Beacon, having settled to meet again in an hour in the dining hall; Blake and Yang headed towards the ballroom, where they had slept the previous night, while the other pair went back to the makeshift infirmary.

Ruby was sitting on Weiss's bed and texting with Yang when the door to the room opened and Weiss walked inside, her white hair still a bit wet after taking a shower. Weiss threw a sweeping glance at her surroundings, then, seeing that the doctor still wasn't there, she turned her eyes at Ruby and looked at her with suspicion.

Ruby frowned a little once she'd noticed. "Is something wrong, Weiss?"

"You tell me." Weiss stepped closer, then took a seat on the other bed and watched Ruby for a second or two in silence. "You have had bloodshot eyes earlier today."

"Oh." Ruby tensed a bit, then looked away. "Yeah, I guess I might have."

"And I would not be wrong to assume that it was not because of the shampoo?"

"No, you wouldn't."

Although Ruby's answers were noncommittal and not very enthusiastic to say the least, Weiss decided to push her luck and stop beating around the bush. "Were you crying?"

A small puff of air blew out of Ruby's nose. "You ask questions you already know the answers to, Weiss," she remarked with a wry smile. "But yeah, I was."

"Was it because of something Ozpin had told you?"

"Nah; I just had a bit of a cry in the shower."

Weiss' heart sank a bit at these words. 'I should have trusted my gut and stayed,' she thought bitterly. 'Then again, what would I have been able to do...?'

"Then why?"

"And here's the funny thing: I don't know. Was it because I was tired? Relieved? Happy? Upset that so many didn't make it or were hurt, sometimes because of my own actions?" Ruby let out a heavy sigh, shaking her head and running a hand through her hair. "Emotional overload, I suppose, but your guess is as good as mine. I think I needed it, though. To take some things off my chest."

Weiss gave her a concerned look. "Should I be worried? Because I am worried."

"No, I don't think so," Ruby said, laughing softly. A smile — a genuine smile this time, and one full of warmth — once again appeared on her lips. "But hey, thanks."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I feel better now than I have in the morning, actually," Ruby assured, then shot Weiss a sideways glance. "Just don't mention it to Yang, okay? She's gonna flip otherwise, and I think that neither of us wants her to whine all day about her 'big sis sense' not tingling when it should have. She's had a bad enough day as it is."

Weiss agreed, albeit she'd be lying if she said that she had no mixed feelings about it.

Just when she was about to ask Ruby if she knew when the doctor was supposed to show up, the door to the classroom-turned-infirmary opened once again and a relatively short, dark-skinned woman with navy-blue hair entered the room.

The newcomer bowed her head, greeting the girls. "Good evening, miss Schnee. Miss Rose."

"Good evening, Doctor Grapes." Ruby hesitated for a while, then pointed at the exit with her thumb. "Umm... Should I leave?"

"No; technically, you're still my patient, and I'd like to examine you before signing your release." The woman smiled at the two of them, then opened the purse she held in her hands. "Well, then. Shall we begin the checkup?"

Finally, after an array of examinations accompanied by a pretty regular interview, the doctor put the last of her equipment inside her bag and closed it.

"That would be all." She turned to look at Weiss. "If you don't mind me prying, what are your plans for the few upcoming weeks, miss Schnee?"

That was a very good question, and one Weiss had no solid answer to. "I don't know yet. I'd like to stay with my teammates for as long as I can, but I'm yet to figure out the details."

To say the least, Ruby was very pleased with that answer.

"I see," Doctor Grapes said, then turned to face Ruby. "Well, miss Rose, in this situation I implore you to take good care of your partner."

Ruby blinked a few times, as if offended by the doctor's words. "I will," she replied coolly. Then, swallowing her pride, she sighed and asked, "What should I know?

And so, Doctor Grapes spent the next few minutes explaining Ruby how to proceed once Weiss was left in her care. She went over the importance of breathing exercises in case of someone with fractured ribs, advised how to minimize the risk of permanent scarring, how to recognize whether Weiss should be allowed to perform intensive physical activity, and so on. When she was done, Ruby asked her a few questions of her own.

"Is there a risk that the wound re-opens?"

Doctor Grapes nodded. "Theoretically. That being said, I don't think it's likely to happen. Miss Schnee is healing fast. Freakishly fast, even," she said, only to catch herself and direct a nervous glance at Weiss, "if you don't mind me saying so."

Weiss raised her eyebrows. "I don't, but... what do you mean by that?"

"While it's true that your wounds were pretty shallow — thankfully not deep enough to reach any vital organs — the Beowolf's claws still tore through your skin and abdominal muscles. The fact that you're already able to get up on your own is... most unusual, miss Schnee. And that remains true even if we ignore the fact that you seem to be able to move around without much of an issue," the doctor said. "When one's body is under the stress of recovering from a significant blood loss, or fighting an illness, one's ability to generate Aura is significantly reduced — even more so when the patient has to be drip-fed."

"Meaning… I should not have been able to generate enough Aura to heal so quickly, correct?"

"Yes. I'd expect you to be practically bedridden for at least two more days, should you have been healing at a 'normal' rate" The frown on Doctor Grapes' forehead dissipated and she smiled at Weiss. "In the meanwhile, your Aura readings were somehow not only way higher than they should be, but not that far off from those of a healthy person; in fact, yesterday afternoon we even decided that there's no point in keeping you connected to the IV any longer. In a few days, we should be able to safely remove the stitches."

Ruby decided to cut in. "Do you have any ideas what could have caused this?"

"Sadly, no. I'm afraid that we are indeed clueless." Miss Grapes let her gaze fall to the floor, as if she was actually somewhat embarrassed to admit that. "It's not something without a precedence, but every time it has happened, the cause was completely different — if we managed to find one at all, that is. Truth be told, the healing aspect of Aura is a bit of a mystery even to us, doctors. Seeing that each person's Aura is vastly different, there's just so many variables..." For a while, it seemed that she was going to continue, but then she stopped herself and just smiled sheepishly, not wanting to bore the pair with a lengthy monologue. "In any case, we'd like to keep miss Schnee under observation for at least one more night. You, however," she said, turning towards Ruby, "are free to join the rest of your teammates, if you wish."

"If Weiss has nothing against it, I'd prefer to stay here for tonight."

Weiss glanced at Ruby, feeling the corners of her mouth twitch a little. "I wouldn't mind that."

"Very well. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to attend to my other patients. Have a nice evening."

The woman bowed her head and walked out of the infirmary after the girls had bidden her farewell.

Once the door to the room closed, Weiss cast Ruby a serious look. "You don't have to stay with me, you know."

Ruby just shrugged, smiling brightly at Weiss. "Sure. But I want to. You're my BFF, after all." She got up from the bed she'd been sitting on and gestured for Weiss to do the same, before turning to leave. "Now come, Yang and Blake will be waiting for us."

And so Weiss followed after her, a silly smile present on her face as she walked behind Ruby.

Team RWBY was united once again, sitting at one table with the unexpected company of Jaune, Ren and Nora, who all had just returned from Vale. Hugs had been given aplenty, after which the group had sat down and started catching up. Ruby and her team mostly listened, not having much of interest to say, while the three members of team JNR, were taking turns in describing their visit to the city.

"Long story short, it was not hard, just tedious as hell. Like cleaning up a very, very large cellar with lots of nooks and crannies," Jaune eventually stated, wrapping up his team's tale.

To Ruby and her teammates' pleasant surprise, it seemed that, in general, the situation in Vale looked far better than they'd feared — while some places closest to the Academy and Forever Fall forest were nothing more than a pile of rubble, most of the city was in a fairly good shape — at least as long as you ignored the shattered windows, occasional demolished building, toppled lampposts and such.

"You can say that again," Nora groaned, prying her eyes away from the Huntsmen and Huntresses slowly filling up the room. "At one point I was, like, 'Hey, Jaune, do you see these three Ursai to our left? Yeah? Great. Could you take care of 'em? Coz' I got to tie my shoelaces.' "

Ruby gave Jaune a curious look, then snickered once he attested to Nora's testimony with a solemn nod.

"Not in those exact words, but yes."

Yang smirked too, but the smile didn't quite reach her eyes. "Feel kinda bad that I wasn't there to lend y'all a hand."

"Well, Weiss, Blake and I won't be of much help for the next few days," Ruby spoke, "but you're free to go with them tomorrow if you want, Yang. And if they'll have you."

"Why not?" Nora grinned, looking at Jaune and Ren. Neither of them appeared to be opposed to the idea.

Yang, on the other hand, seemed to be oddly apprehensive about the idea, going by the way she started sheepishly scratching the back of her head.

"Uh, actually... you have noticed that I haven't been wearing Ember Celica today, no?" she asked, rolling up her sleeves and showing to everyone that her left wrist was indeed bare. After a few seconds of rummaging through her bag, she fished out her gauntlet and put it on, then tried to arm it. Ember Celica sprung to life for but a brief moment before freezing mid-transformation to the sound of a loud, jarring clang. "Well, that's the reason. It's kinda jammed and I haven't gotten around to repairing it yet. Hell, I'm not even sure what's wrong."

The demonstration caused Ruby to cringe a bit. "Want me to take a look?"

Yang waved her hand dismissively, folding her gauntlet and letting it disappear within her bag. "Nah, I got it. I was going to stay anyway. Someone has to keep an eye on you, after all. And to make sure that Blake will stay away from her books."

Blake pouted at those words, causing Yang to chuckle. Pulling her grumpy girlfriend closer, Yang turned to face the three members of JNR. "So, who is the Huntsman you got assigned to? Or are you running just by yourselves?"

Jaune took a sip of tea from his cup. "It's your dad, actually. It seems that he, uh, asked specifically for the three of us."

"Let me guess: he wanted to use the opportunity and interrogate you about the mission."

Jaune laughed nervously. "I wouldn't say 'inter—'"

The way both Ruby and Yang stared at him sent a clear message that it would be easiest if he simply spoke the truth.

"Yes."

The two sisters looked at each other.

"Should we tell Qrow to stay away from dad and lay low for a while?"

Yang thought about Ruby's suggestion for a while, then grinned widely. "Nah."

In the exact moment the two of them were having that exchange, the main door of the dining hall opened and Blake turned towards the noise. A small smirk crept onto her face when she recognized the now-familiar silhouette of a certain blond Huntsman entering the room.

"Speak of the devil..." Prompted by her words, the rest of the group also glanced in the direction of the entrance.

Suddenly, a cold emptiness took the spot beside Blake, where Ruby had been sitting just a heartbeat ago. A gust of wind rushed past their table and less than a second later Ruby materialized — seemingly out of thin air — right in front of her father, only to throw herself at him and almost tackle the unsuspecting man to the ground.

After his initial surprise had worn off, Taiyang returned the hug, laughing.

"Sheesh, Ru, do you want your old man to turn gray way before his time? Actually, don't answer that." Pulling away slightly, he gave his daughter a once-over. He was smiling, but concern was clearly visible in the way he looked at her. "How are you feeling, kiddo?"

"Sore, but I'll live." Ruby's grin waned slightly. "Um... Are you angry?"

Tai chuckled. "A bit, yeah. But mostly proud. And really, really relieved."

"I'm sorry that I left without telling you anything," Ruby mumbled, burying her face in her dad's shirt.

"And you should be. It's the second time you pulled that stunt on me. Why, of all the skills and traits of your mom, did you also have to inherit her uncanny ability to scare me shitless," Taiyang half-jested, getting a snort of laughter out of Ruby.

He sighed heavily and tightened his embrace, patting the top of Ruby's head. "Eh, no matter. I don't know how in the world did you manage that, but all of you are safe and that's what is important. Now let's grab me something to eat and then we can join your friends; there's no point in keeping them waiting."

Taiyang headed towards the kitchen and Ruby tagged along, keeping her father company and talking his ear off. The two of them reappeared in a few minutes, joining the rest of the group.

"Hi everyone," Taiyang greeted the gang and sat at the table next to Ren, while Ruby returned to her place between Blake and Weiss. "I know I've said that already, but good job, the three of you," he spoke, looking at Jaune and his teammates. "Gotta say, I feel bad about dragging you three for into the clean up duty; you certainly deserve to rest for a bit after all you've been through."

Yang smiled slyly, placing her chin on her hand. "Oh, really? I thought you were glad to take the opportunity and interrogate them about our little field trip."

Taiyang blinked a few times in a quick succession, surprised that he had been outed so soon.

"That would explain why Ruby asked me not to kill your uncle when we went to the kitchen," he deadpanned. He raised his hands in the air, grinning widely. "Guilty as charged. I really did mean what I said, though. I know you want to help and I appreciate it, but I do think that all seven of you should take it easy for now." He turned to Ruby. "I hope that at least you and your team were lying down today?"

"Pretty much. We went for a walk and then hanged out at the cliffs for the rest of the day, south from the landing pads."

"Next to that weird old tree, right?" Taiyang asked, then knitted his eyebrows. "You should not leave the campus, you know? She might be dead, but that doesn't mean her lackeys can't try to hurt you."

"It is on the campus grounds, actually, and within the guarded area," Ruby corrected with a smug look on her face, but her expression quickly became more serious when she saw that her father was neither amused nor convinced. She sighed heavily. "Look, dad. I know you're worried, and for a good reason, but the targets painted on our backs will probably remain there till the end of our lives. We can't just hide forever, nor let the fear and paranoia control us. Sure, going to the cliffs might have been riskier than staying in the buildings, but Ozpin said we should be fine as long as we don't go too far away from the school. There were at least three Huntsmen on guard duty within six hundred feet radius, and we were armed — well, everyone except Yang, anyway."

Taiyang opened his mouth and was about to speak, but Ruby silenced him. "And before you say anything — yes, we might not be in peak condition, but we're not defenseless, either; we can still whoop butts if need be."

"And it's not like you couldn't get attacked at the school, I suppose..." he muttered, rubbing his face. "Dang it, Ru."

"You had an insider at Signal during the battle of Vale. And, well, if I had a Lien for every time I got attacked at some Academy…" Ruby didn't even get to finish before her words set off a cascade of laughter among her friends.

Smiling wryly, she looked back at her father. "We'll have to defend ourselves if someone goes after us — there's no way around it. But hey, maybe the baddies will lay low and leave us alone for the time being. I sure wouldn't complain."

Yang raised her hand, signaling that she had something to add. "Two things. First, I'm always armed if I'm arm-ed. Second: there were what?!" Weiss seemed to be just as surprised by the mention of Huntsmen as Yang was.

Blake quirked her eyebrow. "You guys haven't noticed the guards?"

"Blake, dear, I'd rather ask how the hell the two of you did."

The group talked for a bit over their late dinner, discussing both the future of Remnant and various trivial matters. The more time had passed, the less Jaune, Nora and Ren were participating in the conversation, eventually beginning to have troubles with staying awake. Wishing everyone good night, they took their leave, waved off by Ruby and her teammates.

Once the door of the dining hall closed behind team JNR, Taiyang clasped his hands and grinned, turning towards the girls. "So... Weiss, Blake, tell me something. Ruby mentioned that the four of you want to continue studying at Beacon, but before the new academic year begins... do you have any plans for your, err, extended vacations? Five months is quite a lot of time."

"Can't say I have, no."

Blake glanced at Yang, who shook her head ever so slightly. "Me neither," she said.

If Taiyang had noticed the wordless conversation Blake had held with Yang before answering, he did not comment on that. "Tell you what — why won't the two of you come with us to Patch? We've got a big house, and I'm sure that the girls would be happy to have you."

"I already pitched the idea, actually. And she's talked about it with her parents, too," Yang chimed in.

"And? What did they say?"

"They agreed, as long as you have nothing against it," Blake replied. "Speaking of my parents... They will be visiting Vale in a few days and they hinted that they would like to, well, steal both me and Yang for the next week."

Tai just shrugged. "I see no problem."

Ruby, however, was dismayed. "Well, I do! We're gonna miss Blake's birthday that way!" She pouted and blasted Blake with the stare of a kicked puppy, but her onslaught soon relented at the pleading look Blake was giving her. "Alright, alright, it's fine. They must've been missing you. And I suppose it would do Yang no harm to get to know her future in-laws, after all." A devious little smirk danced on her lips as she glanced at her sister, waiting for her reaction.

For once it were not Yang's eyes that turned red. "Ruby!"

Blake was blushing, too, but a half-happy, half-amused grin was also present on her face.

"Blake's coming, then. What about you, Weiss?" Tai asked, turning his eyes towards the girl.

Weiss fidgeted uncomfortably after suddenly becoming the focus of everyone's attention; Ruby especially was watching her expectantly.

Truth be told, she would love nothing more than to spend the upcoming months with her friends — and the thought of leaving for Atlas alone filled her with unease — but she also did not want to be anyone's burden. "I'd be happy to, if it really is not too much of a problem."

"Not at all."

To Weiss, Taiyang's smile was just as infectious as his younger daughter's. "I'll inform my mother, then," she said, then glanced at the beaming Ruby and yelped, suddenly pulled into a hug.

"Great." He took a deep breath and relaxed a bit, glad that both girls agreed. He had some vague knowledge of what his daughters' team had gone through, and feared that splitting the girls up would do nothing to help them recover. "That being said, I'm afraid the four of you are stuck here until I'm no longer needed in the city. The cleaning up shouldn't take much longer, though. Just wait two, maybe three more days and we'll be good to go."

The four friends just exchanged looks, visibly discontent. Although he'd suspected that the girls wouldn't be thrilled about being stuck camping at Beacon for a few more days, he hadn't thought that the news would kill the mood as much as it did.

"Uh... Actually, we'd like to stay here a little bit longer than that," Ruby declared quietly, disrupting the awkward silence. "To, you know... pay our respects."

For a moment, Taiyang just looked cluelessly at Ruby and her team. Then, after a short while of thinking, he let out a silent 'oh' of understanding once he'd figured out what Ruby had meant. "The second anniversary. Of course, we can stay till then."

They didn't talk much after that, only occasionally exchanging a few words while they finished their meals. Pretty soon, Weiss excused herself and left, intent on calling her sister. The rest of the group did not stay there much longer, either — a few minutes later, everyone was already outside, chatting quietly as they walked in the light of the shattered moon.

Ruby and Yang were lagging a bit behind their dad and Blake. Right before Ruby was about to go her way, she nudged her sister with an elbow and spoke quietly: "Take care of her."

Yang nodded ruefully. "Yeah, I will. Right back at you, Ru." She gave Ruby a reassuring pat on the shoulder before taking off after Taiyang and Blake.

Having waved the three of them off, Ruby watched them walk away for a while before heading towards the old classrooms. She unhurriedly strolled down an alley illuminated with evenly spaced lampposts, popping in and out of existence as she walked through the dark; for the first time in a long while did she feel that there was no rush, letting herself enjoy the chilly air of the night as she gazed at the stars above.

Ruby was lying on the bed next to Weiss', propping herself up on her right elbow. With a small frown present on her face, she was reading something on her Scroll, not paying much attention to the discussion Weiss was having with her sister over a video call — partially because she didn't mean to eavesdrop, but mostly because she wanted to focus on the words on the screen in front of her.

For the most part, she didn't miss out on anything interesting — the Schnee sisters were simply catching up and enjoying some awkward small talk.

At some point, Weiss' eyes widened a bit in surprise. "I— yes, she is. But why…? As you wish, Winter." She turned to Ruby, visibly uncertain. "Uh, Ruby? My sister wants to have a word with you."

Ruby quirked her eyebrow, glancing up from the text she'd been reading.

"...Should I be scared?" she asked half-jokingly, not expecting an answer — Weiss looked just as baffled as she was. With only a shrug in the way of response, Ruby sighed, closed her Scroll and got up, then shuffled over to Weiss and plopped down right next to her.

A pair of icy eyes glared at Ruby from the screen. "Ruby Rose."

"Umm... yes?" The girl in question responded meekly, fiddling nervously with her hair.

"What were you—!?" Winter snapped almost immediately, causing Ruby to flinch and brace for the further chiding. But, while sudden, Winter's outburst had ended just as quickly as it began; she pinched the bridge of her nose, after a short pause to compose herself, continued. "Ugh. How unsightly of me. You have my apologies. I have not asked to speak with you just to scold you, especially since you bear no blame in all of this. Quite the opposite, in fact. I wished to thank you for saving my sister's life."

It were not Winter's words of appreciation that surprised Ruby; it was her expression — an actual, genuine smile, albeit a very small one — that truly caught the girl off guard. Completely flabbergasted and unsure how to react, Ruby simply chose to listen while Winter continued her speech for a few more moments.

"We most certainly have had our differences, you and I, but I want you to know that I appreciate what you have done over the years. I am glad that my sister was assigned to a leader she can trust… and paired with a partner who would become a true friend of hers."

"I... you're welcome?" Ruby mumbled, too baffled to come up with a better response. She snuck a single glance at Weiss, who had been watching her the whole time and seemed to be enjoying herself greatly. "Um, so. Should I leave the call to Weiss, or...?"

"There's no need; we've already discussed all there was to discuss. I wish the two of you a good night." With that, Winter proceeded to end the call — but not before doing the very last thing Weiss expected her to do.

She winked at them.

Her face disappeared from the screen immediately after that, so quickly that most would assume they were just seeing things. Weiss, however, was convinced that it was not the case, and that both the wink and the smirk that followed had been directed specifically towards her.

'What the hell was that supposed to mean, Winter?'

"Well, that was... awkward," Ruby summed up, staring blankly at the 'call ended' screen in front of them. "And, uh, Weiss, has your sister just... complimented me?"

Ruby's bewilderment was so amusingly genuine that Weiss couldn't help but giggle. "So it would seem. Really, why are you so surprised?"

"I just didn't think she might actually... kind of like me? Or that she doesn't see me as a bumbling pest, at least."

"'Like'?" Weiss repeated after Ruby, laughing. "Yes, I wouldn't take it that far. But she does respect you. Quite a lot, in fact, especially after Vytal."

"Huh. I'd never have guessed." Ruby sighed softly and leaned back, laying down on the quilt with a quiet groan. "Oh well, I suppose I still don't speak 'Schnee' well enough to actually understand her." She pulled her Scroll out of the pouch by her belt, intent on getting back to reading.

"May be," Weiss hummed, not really convinced that was the problem. She looked at the girl sprawled crosswise Weiss' bed and watched her for a few moments, thinking. After a while, she turned away from Ruby, wanting to hide the silly smile that she could already feel creeping onto her lips. "Although I do believe it's more likely to be the issue of Winter's dialect, because I think you are pretty fluent in mine."

Although Weiss really tried to resist the urge, she couldn't help herself and snuck a quick glance at Ruby to see her reaction. A pleasant sort of warmth spread all over her body at the sight of Ruby's bashfully averted eyes and the faintest shade of red adorning girl's pleased face, causing Weiss' heart to beat ever so slightly faster.

They stayed silent for a while, savoring the moment. Eventually, Weiss regained her composure and, finally able to look in Ruby's direction without immediately turning away, focused her gaze on the girl — or, to be more precise, on the Scroll Ruby held in her hand.

What are you reading?"

"Oh, this? Medical files on our team. I talked to Doctor Grapes when you were showering and asked her to send over our files to me."

"...Are team leaders allowed to request for their team members' medical records?"

"Mhm, unless the member in question says otherwise. Something about being responsible for the life and physical wellbeing of team members. I'm fairly sure I would still get kicked out in a 'family only visitations' setting, but other than that, team leaders are treated not that differently than, say, close relatives."

Ruby sat up and let out a small chuckle. "I'm kinda bummed that the report about me made for such a boring read, really. Essentially, it could be summed up as 'severe overexertion and some minor bruising'."

"What about the rest of us?"

"Well. Miss Blake Belladonna: concussion. Released after twenty-four hours without any complications, left in care of her partner after instructing miss Xiao Long how to proceed with the treatment," Ruby summarized in a theatrically monotonous voice, earning herself an eye roll for her stellar performance. "As for Yang, she apparently had to leave her bionic arm for a day so they could get it repaired. Seems she got it back this morning, right before going to see us — would explain why she didn't get around to fixing Celica, now that I think of it. Anyway, this one" she said, lifting her Scroll higher and showing Weiss the screen, "is about you; I'm halfway through at the moment."

Weiss felt growing unease as she watched Ruby scroll down the somewhat impressive wall of text. "That... seems to be quite long."

"Yeah. Two times longer than the files on the rest of us combined, and quite a bit more interesting."

Ruby's smile waned not long after she had said that. Her eyes turned towards her Scroll, glancing over the words on the screen. By no means was it a pleasant read, reminding Ruby of some of the worst moments of her life, but it also contained knowledge that could help her take care of Weiss on the road to convalescence.

"Not that pleasant, though. It might be a good thing that I don't understand half of the stuff that's written in here."

Weiss placed her hand on Ruby's shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze.

Internally, she was a little bit conflicted. It pained her to see Ruby so upset, but at the same time, knowing that someone cared enough to be affected that way filled Weiss' chest with warmth.

"Weiss?" Ruby called after a while had passed, turning to face her. "How... how much do you remember? You know, after you've got wounded."

"I..." Weiss paused for a moment to think. "I believe I remember everything up to the point I passed out. After that... it's all flashes. Mostly dreams, I think... I recall seeing myself lying in a bed in the medical bay, for instance."

Ruby frowned, shifting a bit on the bed. "You mean, like an out-of-body experience?"

"Perhaps? I don't think I was looking around or doing anything, though. I was just... watching myself in my sleep."

"That sounds... kinda creepy. Still, I sure have had way weirder dreams in my life." Not long after saying that, Ruby's eyes widened slightly and a soft blush crept onto her face, as if she realized something about what she had just said. "A-Anyway, that was not what I wanted to know about. You woke up a few times. Don't you remember any of that?"

Weiss knitted her brows, then shook her head slightly. "No, I have no memory of it whatsoever. One of the doctors said that they expected as much, though, and that it's most likely caused by all the drugs in my system, on top of my blood loss."

Ruby nodded, absentmindedly staring into an empty space in front of her. "Yeah, I'm not surprised either. You really were... out of it."

"Maybe it's for the better that I don't remember it, then." Weiss sighed. "Oh well, in any case — I don't really care. All that matters to me is that somehow all of us are alive, although I still can't quite live down the fact that I wasn't with when you went to fight... well, you-know-who." She glanced at Ruby, and a small smirk appeared on her face. "Now that I think of it, the three of you got off easy, considering that you fought a being as close to the status of a god as it gets."

It was as if a shadow had landed on Ruby's face, darkening her expression in a heartbeat and making Weiss regret her words just as quickly.

After a painfully long moment had passed, Ruby nodded. "Yeah, we got really lucky, even if we had a 'god' of our own on our side. She was certainly far more powerful than any of us on their own... excluding Oz, of course, though Oscar probably wouldn't be able to take her one-on-one. I don't think she had an Aura, though... not in the way we understand it, anyway. In theory, all we had to do was to get past her defenses and be lucky enough to land a good strike. Easier said than done." She let out a short, humorless chuckle, then looked down and started fiddling with the blanket they were sitting on, drawing small circles with her finger. "That... wasn't our only problem, however."

A soft sigh escaped her lips. "The greatest weapon of Salem was not her raw power, nor the Grimm she had on her beck and call." She paused for a while, as if thinking how to put her thoughts into words. "I think that our inner Darkness, our negative emotions and thoughts, even the ones we ourselves were not aware of... spoke to her, in a way. And it seems that she knew exactly how to use it to her advantage."

Ruby closed her eyes and fell silent for a few seconds, clutching the bedspread with enough strength for her knuckles to turn white. When she finally spoke again, she did it in a voice so weak and small that Weiss was barely able to make out the words.

"Imagine seeing every single one thing you fear becoming a reality. Imagine watching every your dream being crushed into dust. Every single thing you took pride in trivialized, every your weakness — stripped bare. Imagine remembering every bad thing that has ever happened to you... every harsh word spoken to you, every wound, every sleepless night. That's her power. And she'd use all her skill to convince you that you're not only worthless, but also left alone in a very dark place."

Seeing that Ruby was basically trembling at that point, Weiss placed an arm around her neck and pulled the poor girl closer, feeling her own heart ache.

"And in the end she'd try to take away the one last thing keeping you s-sane." Soon, Ruby melted in Weiss' arms, whose presence and care were enough to ground her.

As much as their ability to understand one another without speaking could get in the way when either didn't want to worry the other, Ruby firmly believed she would never be able to find the words that would let her describe just how much she appreciated it — both in battle and out of it.

Over the past year, the two of them had found great comfort in the bond they shared — in their mutual trust, understanding and unconditional acceptance. When the burden was becoming too heavy to bear, the one was always there for the other, asking no questions and demanding no answers. Neither words nor appearances were necessary between the two of them — all they needed they could find in each other.

Eventually, Ruby steadied her breathing and wiped the wetness marking the path of tears that had at some point trailed down her face. Slowly and not without reluctance, she pulled away, giving Weiss a smile both apologetic and grateful.

Still worried, Weiss responded with a smile of her own, simply glad that she could be there for Ruby when she was needed, just as Ruby had been for her in the past — and would continue to be in the future, Weiss hoped.

One look into the blue eyes was enough to tell Ruby that she didn't have to continue her tale, but a small, selfish part of her being that had prompted her to talk in the first place wanted Weiss to hear the end of the story; knowing that Weiss was ready to listen only gave her the moral dispensation to follow through.

And so, after taking a deep breath, Ruby fixed her gaze to the floor and resumed where she had left off, for the sakes of both Weiss and herself. "She... did something to Yang. Possessed, I guess. Forced her to attack Blake and I. Then she offered us a way out, for a price: one of us was supposed to kill the other — otherwise Yang would kill both."

Something changed about the blood that ran inside Weiss' veins, but even she was not entirely sure whether it began to boil or had suddenly turned cold. She had always deemed the bond between herself and her teammates to be little short of sacred, and cherished it more than virtually anything else. To twist and abuse it like that…

"I think she found pleasure in that, you know? Toying with us, trying to get us to jump at each other's throats just to save the person we both care about, only to die soon after that regardless. Eventually, we managed to find a different way out, but... I almost believed her. I almost fucking believed her that there was no other option."

Weiss moved closer to Ruby, albeit this time it was not only Ruby she wished to comfort.

"'There will be no victory in strength', remember? I think I really get it now," Ruby said, looking up at Weiss and flashing her a hangman's smile. "Numbers, skill, power — what does the strength matter, if it will only be used against you? That's what made her so dangerous." With that, she pulled Weiss into a hug, gently grasping a handful of white hair.

"I did not let her get me, but... she got close," Ruby whispered with closed eyelids, her warm breath tickling Weiss' skin as she nuzzled into the nook of her neck. "Way too close."

Soon, a pair of lithe arms once again tightened around Ruby's body, doing so with a bit more strength than before.

Weiss woke up to the sound of someone thrashing around in a nearby bed. Not yet fully awake, she decided to just ignore the noise and return to her slumber, but following through on that idea quickly turned out to be a bit harder than she had assumed in her drowsy mind. Getting progressively more awake with each passing second, she was also becoming more and more aware that something was not okay. It all culminated when a sharp gasp cut through the darkness, immediately putting Weiss on high alert; snapping her eyes wide open, she looked towards the noise.

Ruby was sitting on the neighboring bunk, rubbing her face with both of her hands while the mane of red flowed freely down her back. After a few moments, she reached out in the direction of the nearby nightstand, and for a short while the soft light of her Scroll's screen illuminated her glistening with sweat face, shining in her eyes.

She let out a quiet groan once she had learned what hour it was, then got up and slipped her feet into a pair of scuffs. She strolled past Weiss, who was pretending to be fast asleep, and walked out of the room.

Having heard the soft click of closing door, Weiss sat up on her mattress and glanced in the direction of the entrance, tempted to follow after Ruby. Ultimately deciding against it, she turned on the bedside lamp and grabbed her Scroll, then cringed slightly after seeing '03:13 AM' displayed on the screen of the device.

For a short while, she entertained the thought of going back to sleep, but dismissed the idea almost immediately; being pretty sure that Ruby had just woken up from a nightmare, Weiss knew she would not be able to rest easy before checking up on the girl.

She breathed out heavily and massaged the bridge of her nose, then adjusted her pillow and leaned her back against the headboard, making herself comfortable as she waited for Ruby to come back. Trying to kill the time, she attempted to recall the dream she'd had before being woken up, but in the end she didn't remember much — only a simple, sad melody and a few verses sung in a quiet, shaky voice...

It's now or never

Don't surrender

We came too far to die...

Just when she began regretting not having chased after Ruby, the slight squeak of the hinges resounded in the darkness, followed by complete silence.

Despite all her efforts, Weiss didn't manage to fight down the smirk that began forming on her lips as she imagined Ruby, who, surely having noticed right away that the light was on, was probably sneaking towards their beds, hoping that Weiss had gotten back to sleep before she returned.

Eventually, Ruby's pretty face peeked out from behind the privacy screen and the girl glanced a bit fearfully in the direction of Weiss' bed, only to freeze once she had noticed that a pair of baby blue eyes was staring right back at her.

"Did you want to stay here for the night just to not let me sleep in peace?"

Ruby snorted and relaxed a bit, relieved that Weiss seemed to be more amused than angry. An embarrassed little grin formed on her lips as she stepped out from her cover and began walking towards Weiss, scratching the back of her head. "No. Sorry that I woke you up."

"It's okay." Weiss smiled reassuringly, then looked at Ruby with concern. "Bad dreams?"

"Mhm," Ruby hummed, sitting cross-legged on the edge of Weiss' bed.

"What kind of?"

Ruby's gaze was downcast. "Y'know, the usual. Ren gets killed by the Nuckelavee. Jaune becomes maimed for life when we try to take Adam down. I see Yang dying. I see Blake dying. I see you dying." She paused for a moment, then chuckled bitterly. "Oh, wait, that last one has actually happened."

A sympathetic frown marred Weiss' brow at that comment, but she said nothing, sensing that Ruby hadn't finished.

"As to what woke me up... Cinder," Ruby whispered. "I dreamed of the day I... the day I killed her. More of a flashback than a nightmare, I guess, but... well."

"Do you regret that? Killing her?"

"Regret? As in 'would I change it if I could'?" she asked, glancing at Weiss, then looked down and pondered for a while, considering her answer. Eventually, she shook her head, but it didn't escape Weiss' notice that Ruby had been intensely staring at her hands while thinking. "No. But that doesn't change the fact that it was the first time when I knowingly, deliberately killed a human being, does it? Well, no longer entirely human, perhaps, but that's beside the point."

Ruby continued. "Hardly the first one I got killed with my actions, and yet she's the one to haunt me. Not the White Fang henchmen we threw off the train when we pursued Torchwick, nor the ones that were left in the exploding railcars or died after the crash. The Grimm or the bombs might have finished them off, that's true... but their blood is on our hands, even if it doesn't feel like it." A wry smile crept onto her lips. "Funny, isn't it? How easy it is to shift the blame."

"I... yeah." Although she was not sure if 'funny' would be the word she'd use herself, Weiss most certainly did understand what Ruby had meant.

"It becomes much harder when it's you who's pulled the trigger," Ruby said softly, then closed her eyelids shut. "I remember her face, you know? I can almost see it. The shock, the blood dripping down the corner of her mouth. Her pain, hatred and disbelief... and the pure terror in her eye right before— right before I ended it."

"Ruby..."

"But I do not regret it. She was a threat. Not only to Vale, or even Remnant, but to everyone I held dear. To Yang, to Blake, to Jaune, Nora and Ren, to the rest of my friends... And to you." Ruby spoke with conviction, looking right into Weiss' eyes. Then, as if startled by her own zeal, she turned away. "I did it to protect the ones I love. If those dreams are the price I have to pay, then so be it."

Weiss understood her, perhaps even better than she would like to. She herself had been struggling with a similar dilemma ever since the blade of her Myrtenaster had been bloodied for the first — and probably not for the last — time. She gently touched Ruby's forearm and tried to look her in the eye.

"Are you going to be okay?"

Ruby sighed. "Yeah, I guess." After a short moment of silence, she let out a quiet chuckle, smiling to a memory. "When I was little and had trouble sleeping, I used to sneak into Yang's bed. She never got angry, even if I woke her up. She just grinned and pulled me closer, lulling me to sleep in no time. That being said, I s'ppose it's no longer an option, courtesy of a certain cute bookworm with a penchant for running away from her problems."

Corners of Weiss' mouth twitched a bit in at those words. Then, a certain idea popped up in her mind, making her feel as if the temperature in the room suddenly increased by a few degrees.

"I know that I'm not Yang, but... you could share the bed with me tonight, if you'd like to."

Weiss did not rightly know where did the audacity to make that suggestion come from, nor why was she so embarrassed after making it. After all, if the few sleepovers she'd seen on TV had taught her anything, it was that it was just a normal thing between friends.

After a few heartbeats, as if to contradict what she had just thought, Weiss was no longer the only one with their cheeks set aflame.

"Nah, I don't want to bother you," Ruby mumbled, averting her gaze and slowly getting up from Weiss' bed.

Weiss grabbed Ruby by her wrist before the girl could get out of her reach. "And you wouldn't," she assured, surprised how genuinely her words sounded to her own ears.

Uncertain, Ruby just kept looking into Weiss' eyes for a few excruciatingly long seconds; eventually, she took a deep breath and eased up, most of her worries having melted away. "Well, if you say so."

Weiss released her wrist and scooted over a little, letting Ruby lay down beside her. It took them a while to figure out how they should go about it, but the two of them managed to make themselves relatively comfortable on the small bed, facing each other.

"Thanks, Weiss."

"Anytime." For a few moments, the girls were simply smiling at each other, their faces about a dozen inches apart, the awkwardness both of them had initially feared completely absent. Then, seemingly out of blue, Weiss flicked Ruby's forehead with her finger. "Dolt."

Ruby laughed. "And there's Weiss we all know and love."

"Oh, cut it out. And try not to fall off the bed once you're asleep. It's pretty narrow for two people."

"That's sweet, but worry about yourself, Princess. Unlike a certain someone I know, I have never fallen off a bed in my sleep. Don't forget which one of us had the upper bunk, either."

"...fair points," Weiss conceded. Then a certain realization hit her. "How are you doing this?"

"Doing what? Not falling out of bed in my sleep?"

"Calling me a 'Princess' without ticking me off. I've just noticed it," Weiss said, and by the look on her face Ruby could tell that the girl was genuinely confused. "Yang annoys me. Blake annoys me. Everyone annoys me. And don't even get me started on Jaune. But you? I'm not even fazed. What kind of sorcery is this?"

"It's called 'endearing', silly. And you do it from time to time, too." Remembering the playful flick to her forehead, Ruby repaid Weiss in her own coin. "Goodnight, Weiss."

"Ow. Goodnight, Dolt."

Ruby grinned. "See? My point exactly." With that, she turned over onto her left side, ending the conversation.

Faced with her friend's back, Weiss watched her in silence for a while, bravely fighting with the urge to just bury her hand in the crimson tresses. Ruby's presence did not bother her in slightest; in fact, she found herself enjoying it quite a bit. Sure, that way Weiss had less space for herself, but she was also kept warm and could smell roses to her heart's content.

Although sharing the same bed was a new experience to them, it was not the first time they would go to sleep right next to each other. Whenever they had done so in the past, there had been a certain air of trust and safety between the two of them — one that Weiss couldn't quite explain, knowing only that she felt protected and cared for when she was lying beside Ruby. This time, it was no different — if anything, the feeling only got stronger.

"Sleep well," Weiss murmured, subconsciously inching a bit closer to the other girl and her warmth. Not much time had passed before the sweet scent of roses filling her nostrils lulled her back to blissful sleep.

Author's Note:

Meh. A month. I'm quite a bit disappointed that it took me so long to write this chapter. And you know what? IT'S EVEN LONGER THAN THE PREVIOUS ONE WAS (before I split in two, I mean). Sheesh, what's wrong with me. Here's hope that this chapter was worth the wait. Was reading such a wall of text bothersome?

Anyway... thus the first 24 hours ('Forget me not' excluded) of this story are finally concluded. Whew. It sure did take me a while. As for the chapter itself, I don't think I have anything clever to tell for now; all I can say is that I hope you enjoyed it, and that I'd love to know what do you think about what happened.

Oh, I've almost forgotten! The lyrics of the song are an excerpt from the song "Claim your weapons" by Christian Reindl.

If you liked this story so far and have a bit of time to spare then please, consider writing a review — they truly make writing this story feel all the more worthwhile. Critique is also appreciated!

meitantei-kun: I'm really glad you liked it! And I hope that this chapter's White Rose also didn't dissappoint you c:

2017-04-07