Weiss stared over at the wall as she laid on her side atop the mattress of her incredibly familiar bed in the Schnee family mansion. The lavender-colored silken sheets felt heavenly against her skin… especially considering that she was completely naked while in bed for the first time ever. The sensation of Marrow's own warm, bare flesh pressed up against her from behind, the ridiculously expensive and soft pillows, and the cool night air all gave the heiress comfort and absolutely ideal sleeping conditions… and yet it wasn't enough. None of it could lure her into slumber or quiet her racing mind, even as her partner slept soundly beside her.

So much had happened in the course of only a few days. The invasion of Mantle, Atlas taking to the sky, Ruby's death, Whitley being somewhere on the surface, Weiss' appointment as a member of the new Atlesian Council, the encounter with her mother, and her first sexual experience were all at the forefront of the huntress' mind. She wanted so desperately to just talk to one of her friends about everything, but the prospect seemed unlikely.

Waking Marrow was off the table- the man had been absolutely exhausted even before their misadventure in Jacques' office, and not long afterward, he had more or less passed out in Weiss' bed. Calling one of her friends seemed equally ill-advised, given the hour. Though Weiss didn't know exactly what time it was, she did know that it was late enough to almost be considered early. She had watched the trajectory of the moon falling slowly through her window, and had a feeling that sunlight was soon to come. Even though she had a general idea of the time, Weiss reached for her scroll on the bedside table and pulled it closer to get some confirmation.

4:32 AM.

Weiss let out a soft sigh as she began to scroll through her contact list. Even if she couldn't call, she could at least try to reach out… all the while praying that the light from the device wouldn't stir Marrow awake. Eventually, he found someone likely to be awake and sent a simple message.

You awake?

It took less than a minute for a response to come through, and Weiss couldn't help but smirk to herself.

Ilia, 4:33 AM

Do you think anyone is actually sleeping? Everything sucks and we're almost all some degree of injured. What's up?

Marrow's asleep, thank the gods. Weiss began, trying to decide just how much she wanted to say. He was looking like a zombie before I managed to get him in bed.

Ilia, 4:34 AM

That your way of telling me you finally jumped on his dick and wore him out?

Weiss couldn't help but roll her eyes, though the directness was something she had already begun to miss. It was then that she decided she would have to call Ilia sometime during the day.

Not quite, though we did do a little bit of initial exploration of each other.

Ilia, 4:34

What in the actual fuck does that mean? Details. Now. I want to know everything.

Weiss moved her thumb to begin tapping out a reply, only for a sudden noise to startle her. She dropped her scroll as Marrow's began to let out a loud series of beeps and the faunus stirred awake immediately, pressing into her.

"Wha…?"

"I don't know," Weiss admitted as she grabbed the device and passed it back to Marrow. "Someone's calling you at four in the morning?"

"Shit," Marrow said as he wiped a hand down his face in an effort to wake himself up while the ringtone continued to echo around the room. "Probably Penny. Something might be wrong in…"

"…in…?" Weiss encouraged as she glanced over her shoulder to look at Marrow's expression. It was one of trepidation and worry. "Marrow…?"

"…it's Ironwood," Marrow explained as he put the call on speaker and held the scroll out between them. "Hello…?"

"Where are you?" came the immediate response.

Something about the man's tone filled Weiss with dread, and she scooted closer into Marrow's shoulder while grabbing her own scroll and composing a reply.

We're getting a call from Ironwood. I'll fill you in soon.

"I'm, uh… Weiss and I are at the Schnee residence," Marrow answered. "She managed to seize the dust company from Willow, so we'll have the S.D.C.'s full set of resources on our side moving forward."

"Finally, some good news…" General Ironwood said quietly.

"Yeah, it is, but… General, it's 4:30 in the morning," Marrow pointed out. "With all due respect, why are you calling me? It can't just be to check in…"

"It isn't," the man confirmed. "We're meeting in two hours. I need you to be there."

"I…" Marrow started, rubbing at his forehead. "Yeah, of course, but… General, have you slept at all?"

"Irrelevant. I need you at your best, and we h-"

"James," Marrow interrupted, sounding less than amused as he scooted backward to sit up against the headboard. "I need an answer."

Weiss moved to follow Marrow, gently kneading at his shoulder as the pair waited for a response. General Ironwood sounded less than amused when he finally did speak, and it was enough to make Weiss squirm.

"…what do you think gives you the right to address me with that name?"

"I take care of you alongside doing everything medical for the Aces," Marrow reminded, hardening his own tone to match that of his superior. "I haven't been able to check in with you recently, but it's getting increasingly obvious that you're not taking care of yourself. You need me at my best? All of us need you to make sure you're at yours. This call alone is telling me that you're not even trying. You don't even sound tired."

"Good. Then I can continue to function as-is," General Ironwood asserted. "I expect to see you at the meeting. We have a lot to discuss between the Aces, our guests from Sanus, and the other hangers-on."

"You'll be seeing me before then," Marrow snapped. "We need to talk, face-to-face. You can't keep burning the candle at both ends. I'll be there soon, and I know you're not about to even try to sleep. If you did, it wouldn't work… so just wait for me. I'm doing this because we need you to lead us, and because I actually care. Don't try to push me away. This isn't just about business."

There was another long pause before the crackling sound of a sigh came over the line.

"…fine. I'll be waiting."

"Meet me in the infirmary," Marrow ordered before disconnecting the call and dropping his scroll down onto the blankets. The man raised both hands to his face immediately afterward, rubbing them over his eyes, nose, and mouth as he spoke in a muffled voice. "Fuck."

"…I'm sorry you have to deal with all of this," Weiss said softly as she placed a hand on Marrow's chest and began to run her fingers through the small patch of hair upon it. "Let me know what I can do to help you."

Marrow lowered his hands and gave Weiss a suspicious look.

"…why don't you sound groggy at all? You haven't slept either, have you…?"

"Guilty," Weiss said as she shook her head. "Not for lack of trying, I just… there's so much going on that I think I'm running on adrenaline alone. I'm surprised you were able to get even a few hours of rest."

"One of the first things we learn as Aces," Marrow said before planting a kiss upon Weiss' forehead. "How to sleep in stressful situations and weird locations. Honestly, a bed like this is a rarity, and it definitely helped. I hope we can get more nights like this in the near future, with less interruptions in the middle of the night."

"That would be nice," Weiss agreed. "You're… very warm."

"I've been practicing," Marrow joked as he slid off the sheets and rose into a standing stretch beside the bed. "If you really want to know how you can help me right now… then stay in bed, close your eyes, and just try to sleep. Please? I can handle the meeting and relay information back to you."

"And risk upsetting Ironwood?" Weiss asked as she looked over Marrow's naked form in the fading moonlight still filtering in through the window. "Though he didn't say it outright, I believe he expects both of us to be there. Besides, an hour of rest at most isn't going to do me much good. I'm coming with you, but I promise you I'll lie down afterward."

"That's fine," Marrow resolved with a sigh as he cracked his neck and turned to face Weiss. "I'll probably join you after I check in on Raven, Cardin, Fox, and the others. I'm sure Penny has a handle on things, but… I feel obligated."

"Understandable," Weiss agreed as she rolled back the covers and began to stretch as well. "That being said, I think I could use a hands-on check-up, too. Perhaps later tonight?"

Marrow let out a soft chuckle, putting his hands on his hips as he shook his head.

"…there's going to be no stopping you after last night, is there?"

"You have no idea what you signed up for," Weiss teased with a grin. "To be fair, I didn't either. There's just something about you that makes me… I don't know how to say it."

"I don't think you need to," Marrow reassured. "You've certainly got a wild side, and it's a lot of fun. I'm looking forward to seeing it more often, but… for now, we both need to keep our heads in the game. I'm worried about Ironwood. Very worried."

"I don't blame you," Weiss agreed as she got out of bed and moved to stand with partner. She pressed in close against him, letting their bodies touch as she wrapped her arms around Marrow's back and rested her head against his chest. "He did just execute the other two sitting council members…"

Marrow let out a sigh, trailing his hand down Weiss' back and rubbing slowly at the small of it.

"Which, again, is something we need to leave alone… at least for now. Safety first. Duty second."

"…really?" Weiss asked as she pulled her head back to look up at the faunus.

"Really," Marrow answered, making eye contact. "I want all of us to survive this, so we can actually enjoy our lives together at the end. Settle down, start a family… we can't just keep sacrificing our wellbeing and putting ourselves in unnecessary danger. That's part of the reason I'm heading over to the Academy. I need to make sure he's at least stable and taking his pills, even if he hasn't gotten sleep."

"…pills?" Weiss asked.

"Anti-rejection drugs," Marrow answered as he pulled away from Weiss, keeping their hands entwined as he led her toward the nearby bathroom. "With mechanical prosthetics on the level that Ironwood has them, the body… sometimes tries to fight back against the artificial parts. It can cause pain, fatigue, and left alone long enough, can start to take a mental toll. He's forgotten before after getting caught up in things, and given how he's been acting lately, I can't help but wonder…"

"Oh, fantastic," Weiss quipped as the pair made it into the bathroom. "I hate to say it out loud, but are we certain that Ironwood is the one who should be leading us going forward? I know that he's well-intentioned, but…"

"You're not the only one thinking it," Marrow admitted as he stepped into the shower. "We need to be careful. Very careful, moving forward. Everything that all of us do matters more now than ever before, and we can only afford a few mistakes."

"Can we afford any?" Weiss asked as she followed along and closed the sliding glass door behind herself.

"Well… Salem may be invincible, sure," Marrow began as he turned on the water. "But she's not omnipotent. She's not infallible. The invasion of Mantle was a huge miscalculation on her part, if her goal was the Relics. She's still at zero, and we're at two. Even if we can't kill her… I honestly believe we've got a shot. We took some losses- more than I'm comfortable with- but at least for right now, we're winning."

"We are," Weiss agreed as she stepped beneath the torrent of water. "But it doesn't really feel like it."

"No," Marrow agreed. "No, it doesn't…"

Author's Note:

Getting close to Chapter 300…

-RD