"DON'T WAKE THEM UP!"

Ruby's eyes shot open, adrenaline spiking through her body as she stared at the ceiling. Her heart slammed against her ribcage, every nerve in her body seemingly stuck on their most sensitive setting. She felt a draft flow over her exposed midriff, her shirt and pants crushing weights. Even the once soft mattress felt like a slab of concrete.

She tried to sit up, only for her heart to skip a beat. She tried to move her hands, eyes flicking to them to see her fingers sitting numb. She could feel them, but it seemed her body had gone on strike. No matter her thoughts, no matter her struggle, she couldn't move.

When she tried to speak, only a weak, strangled cry came from her throat, tears streaking down her face.

Her breathing quickened, black spots dancing at the edge of her vision. Oh god, oh god—what's happening? Why can't I…

Ruby took a deep breath as her higher brain functions slowly woke up.

Okay, Ruby…didn't professor Peach talk about this? 'Sleep paralysis' or something like that? Pretty sure I just have to wait it out, right?

As she lay there, staring at the ceiling, she began to ponder what had spiked her awake, to begin with. She remembered vague snippets of a dream—a stone pillar, a black mask, and a blinding, white light. Yet despite these snippets, she felt like there was something else. Something behind those snippets had induced a terror powerful enough to wake her mind up before her body.

Of course, that only made things worse. Terror and adrenaline were flooding through her faster than she'd ever thought possible. She was helpless, powerless to do anything other than sit there and wait out her paralysis. If the strange creatures her mind seemed convinced were in the dark wanted to attack her, she could only watch.

"Ruby?"

Ruby's eyes flicked to her right, catching the vague flicker of blond hair at the edge of her vision. Even without it, it was hard not to recognize the voice. She tried to greet him, only for a hushed whisper of air to come out.

She saw him enter her field of vision, confusion plain on his face.

"You okay?"

No! Wear off already! Let me move!

Jaune, meanwhile, walked over to Ruby, sitting at the edge of her bed. He frowned as he saw the terrified expression frozen on her face, the tears still flowing down her cheeks. Her hands were to either side of her, one bent at an odd angle behind her head as the other was curled into a half-fist. Neither was natural, and it was clear all her muscles were tensed.

"You get sleep paralysis, Ruby?"

Apparently.

Jaune leaned over, using his left thumb to try and dry her tears, causing Ruby's left eye to involuntarily close. Seeing this, he was a bit more careful with her right, not wanting to subject her to complete blindness in her already vulnerable state. "Hey, it's okay. You should be fine in a few minutes."

That 'few minutes' felt like an eternity to Ruby.

The feeling came back slowly, her hands moving in front of her as pins and needles ravaged her legs. She pulled herself upright, Jaune placing a guiding hand on her back. "Easy, easy. Take it slow."

When Ruby could at last fully control herself, the first thing she did was wrap her arms around Jaune.

Jaune was stunned by the gesture for a moment, only to wrap his arms around her as well. Then, Ruby did something she'd kick herself about for the next month. The one thing she said she'd never do when she became a huntsman:

She started crying.

She nearly bit into his shoulder, trying to muffle her sobbing so she didn't wake anyone else. Why am I even crying? I don't get it. I mean…I'm not sad? I'm just…why am I doing this?

Jaune, meanwhile, simply held her, gently running one hand through her hair, whispering faint comforting phrases as he attempted to calm her down. The same thing he'd so often do if one of his family members had a nightmare back home. "It's okay, you're safe. Whatever it was, Ruby, you're safe."

After about a minute of this, Ruby gave one final sniff, pulling back and smiling at him. "Thanks."

Jaune smiled, squeezing her a bit tighter. "Don't mention it. You okay?"

Ruby leaned against his shoulder, expression rapidly falling. "I just woke up paralysed, screamed about something I don't remember, and spent a minute crying when I don't even know why I was doing it. What do you think?"

Jaune frowned, pulling Ruby to his side. "You must've had a really bad nightmare."

He wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Maybe it'd help if you told me about it?"

Ruby frowned. "You think that'll work?"

"Usually works for me, so—" he held up his hand, expression uncertain as he made a see-saw gesture with his hand.

Ruby gave a faint smile before turning ahead, laying her chin in her hands. "That's the problem: I don't remember. It's just a bunch of really, really bright flashes and feeling really, really scared. A stone pillar, this weird looking, black mask—and then this bright flash of light before I woke up."

Jaune slowly nodded, letting his hand trail from her shoulders and down her back, gently rubbing circles over it. "Wish I could tell you what that means—if anything. It just sounds like a jumbled mess to me."

Ruby sighed, covering her mouth with her hands mostly to hide a smile. She arched her back a bit, quietly enjoying Jaune's warm hand over her cold back. Wonder if this is how Zwei feels when Yang and I pet him?

Jaune pulled back after a second, only to keep going when Ruby pouted at him.

He let his hand trail lower, slipping beneath her shirt and rubbing against her lower back—fingers brushing against her bra-strap as Ruby leaned against his shoulder. Her arms wrapped around him, burying a smile into his shoulder this time. "You're so warm…"

Jaune's cheeks tinted pink as he chuckled. "Yeah, guess being the family heating-pack comes in handy sometimes."

Ruby chuckled. "Really?"

Jaune nodded, smiling down at her. "Yeah! Every time we'd go camping my sisters would all end up laying near me."

Ruby gave a confused look. "You have a sister?"

"Seven, actually."

Ruby's eyes widened, trying to imagine how Yang would cope with seven of her. Or worse, how she would cope with seven of Yang. She pat his back, leaning against his shoulder again. "You're so much stronger than I thought you were."

Jaune's mouth pulled to the side. "Uh…what?"

"Nothing—keep rubbing."

Jaune chuckled as Ruby started rubbing her head against his shoulder, her grip on him tightening a bit. He reached over with his other hand, gently tousling her hair. "You know, some days I'm not sure if you're a person or three dogs in a Ruby-suit."

"I'm not a dog!"

"You certainly like being pet like one."

Ruby glared at him. "I do not!"

"Ruby, you're literally pushing your head against my hand. I'm not moving it."

Ruby stared up at his hand, her face matching her cloak as she hid her mouth against his shirt, glaring up at him from there.

Jaune shrugged, pulling his hands back. "Fine, you're not a dog—so I won't pet you like one."

Ruby didn't do anything for a beat, staring him down. Though, when a draft came across her back, she leaned back against his shoulder, gently taking his other hand. "Can I at least be a corgi?"

"You strike me as more of a husky, honestly."

Ruby frowned at him, migrating to where she was sitting on his lap as she gripped her hands into fists. "Oh come on! Husky's are all big, strong, majestic—they're like Pyrrha or Weiss!"

She tapped her index fingers together, smiling as she imagined Zwei. "Corgi's are little cuties! They're small, they love to play and cuddle, and they're super energetic! Like me!"

Jaune chuckled, ruffling Ruby's hair again. "Well, how about you go to bed then, little corgi?"

Ruby turned, eyes widening a bit as she noticed it was two in the morning. She was about to nod when she stared at her pillow, heart spiking a bit. "Umm…can I…maybe…"

Ruby's face went pink, tapping her fingers together. "This sounds kind of…pathetic, but—"

"Scared to sleep again?"

Ruby sighed, laying her head in her hands. "It's so stupid—I'm a huntress! I kick grimm butt on the daily and one nightmare makes me terrified to sleep! I'm such a loser."

Ruby yelped as Jaune stood, carrying her over to his bed before laying her next to Nora. Said heavy-sleeper almost immediately leaned over to her, wrapping an arm around hers. "I don't know how much it might help, but if there's anything a nightmare would be scared of, it's her."

Ruby slowly nodded. "What about you?"

Jaune sat back on Nora's bed. "The beds are all the same size, anyway. Might have to convince Nora that we didn't switch bodies, though."

Ruby giggled, only to shake her head. "No, I mean…could you…"

Ruby gave up on words, simply holding up the cover next to her.

Jaune blinked a few times, only to slowly nod as he realized. "You want to sleep sandwiched between Nora and me?"

Ruby gave a nervous giggle. "I mean…you'd be a double anti-nightmare sandwich?"

Jaune chuckled, standing back up. "Well, I can't really argue with that."

Ruby let out a small sigh of relief as Jaune laid beside her, staring back at the ceiling. She leaned forward without hesitation, nuzzling against his shoulder as her leg wrapped around his. Her other leg, meanwhile, found purchase in Nora's, the older girl unconsciously pulling herself against Ruby's back.

Ruby smiled, surrounded by warmth, and let herself drift off to sleep.

…

The next time she woke up, it was due to sunlight pouring through a window.

She looked around, seeing the bed empty in front of her, a pillow pulled tight against her chest. She felt Nora's presence still behind her, her body wrapping around her back with her legs going over and under her own. Wait, where's Jaune?

Ruby sat up, Nora clinging to her for a bit before falling back into the bed, giggling in her sleep. "Bouncy…"

Ruby stood, yawning as she stretched out a bit. She looked at the nearby clock, seeing it was around seven in the morning. And, just as Jaune and Ren had told her, Pyrrha was nowhere to be seen. Turning around revealed Ren nearby, laying so perfectly still she could've mistaken him for a corpse.

She walked around Nora's bed, heading toward the bathroom. Though, as she approached, she heard the shower running—a voice vaguely muttering beneath it.

Ruby, too nosy for her own good, placed her ear against the door, one hand splayed out against it as the other covered her right ear. Despite her best efforts, the voice was still absurdly quiet. "Dust everything hurts…definitely overdid it."

She put two and two together and guessed it was Jaune.

She stepped back from the door, turning around and walking toward the exit. She rather desperately hoped her teammates were at least awake by now—given otherwise she'd be stuck in her pajamas for far too long. Already they felt grimy against her skin.

She pushed open the door, using a nearby doorstop to make sure she didn't get locked out of both rooms. She walked through the hallway, knocking on her team's door.

"Oh! Hello, Ruby!"

Ruby turned, smiling as she saw Pyrrha waving at her. The older girl wasn't clad in her normal armor, but rather in what looked to be a black tracksuit, her brow covered in sweat and her hair falling loose around her shoulders. Her feet were covered by running shoes, rather than her normal boots.

She stopped just next to her, hands cupped over her waist as usual. "You're up early."

Ruby's brows furrowed. "You aren't going to ask why I was in your dorm?"

Pyrrha shook her head, a faint smile on her face as she waved it off with her hand. "Jaune explained when I woke up. He also said that you planned on teaching him?"

Ruby nodded, a faint smile on her face as she leaned against her dorm's door. "Yeah—said he was having trouble with really fast-moving targets. And, I mean—" she jerked a thumb at herself. "Who better to teach him how to beat fast targets than the fastest girl at Beacon?"

Pyrrha nodded a few times. "Fair enough…though, I have to ask—did you know you talk in your sleep?"

"I do?"

Pyrrha nodded, a frown crossing her features. "When I woke up this morning you kept muttering something about Blake. Are things okay between you two?"

Ruby smiled. "Yeah—why wouldn't they be?"

"Because you kept apologizing to her in your sleep, and…well..."

Ruby frowned. "Well, what?"

"You were crying…a lot."

Ruby's face went slightly red, a nervous chuckle coming from her. "Must've had a nightmare again. So much for the 'Anti-nightmare Sandwich' idea. Uh…yeah, did Jaune tell you about the first one?"

Pyrrha nodded, concern plain on her face. "He said you woke up screaming about not 'Waking them up'?"

Ruby shrugged. "Hmph…wonder what that means?"

She shook her head, knocking on her door again. "Oh, while you're here, could you do me a favor and tell Jaune to meet me at the airship in an hour?"

"Why?"

Ruby gave a wry smile. "I got too cocky while we were sparring. I owe him lunch."