Stay Awake

summary: Ruby has separation anxiety from the other side of the bed. Beacon Records AU
words: 1,100+
disclaimers: I do not in any way own RWBY or its characters.
A/N: A very happy birthday to Chelsea aka tumblr user blangyouredead! She asked for something from her awesome Beacon Records AU and somehow, this came about. I tried to do some cute Bumblebee, but White Rose happened instead. I hope you like it, Chelsea! Happy birthday to you, lovely!

"Weiss?"

She groans into her pillow and you immediately regret saying anything. Still, you've awoken her and there's no fixing the situation now that it's there.

"Yes, Ruby?"

You've been used to her impatient tone for years, so used to it that if you go a certain amount of hours without hearing it, you become slightly worried. That's how you know you've done something really wrong.

Weiss likes to have the right side of the bed because she sleeps on her left side and she doesn't like to face you while she falls asleep. That works out well for you because you're the big spoon anyway, but you still want to see her pout when you force cuddles upon her against her will. But you're not pressed to her tonight. There's an unfamiliar gap between the two of you and it takes everything you have not to touch her. She looks stiff.

The pillow cover underneath your head is pale blue and it matches the sheets. The comforter is fluffy, white, soft, and highlighted in red. Weiss picked them out and you love them, but it's not like your opinion would've made much of a difference. Your shared bed sheets are clumped up on her side because she steals them in the middle of the night.

Of course, it's not the middle of the night right now, but 11:47 is close enough. Weiss scheduled practice early tomorrow and she gets unbelievably irritable when she doesn't get her required 9 hours of sleep.

Get on with it, Ruby.

"Are you going to leave me?"

There's silence for a long moment and you eventually wonder if she's fallen asleep.

Finally, Weiss rolls over to face you. Her eyes are narrowed and she frowns, forming that little wrinkle between her brows that she hates so much. "Why did you ask me that?"

You shrink back into your blankets under her intense gaze. "You're not going to leave me, right?" you ask urgently. "You're gonna stay with me—with the band—right? You're not going to abandon us or leave us behind or go away?"

Weiss's frown deepens. "Who made you think this?" She reaches out to brush your hair behind your ear. Despite her harsh exterior, Weiss has always been extremely gentle with you when it counts. Her fingertips skim softly over your cheek; her eyes have never looked so piercing. "What's going on?"

Your eyes burn and you blink away the stinging. You want to look away, to dismiss the subject, but you know that Weiss won't let it go now.

The band has been together for four years now. You're nineteen and Weiss is twenty-one and you've been taller than her for as long as you can remember. You've been together for three years. Your sister Yang and her girlfriend Blake have been together even longer than that. The four of you make up RWBY and the band has been signed to Beacon Records for four years. You've been touring for over two years and you've owned this apartment for just as long. Yang and Blake own the apartment across the hall. Beacon Records is just down the hall. Ozpin liked you to "stay close to home" as he put it.

Roman Torchwick has been trying to take RWBY down for as long as you appeared on the charts. He and his publicist Cinder Fall have a certain grudge against RWBY that often results in them publishing critical articles about you. They had good fun bashing you when Blake and Yang started their relationship as well as you and Weiss. You hadn't anticipated them stooping so low, but then Blake and Sun did some underground work and gave Roman bad press. Long story short, he was accused of selling drugs to teenagers on the streets until he bailed himself out.

"You weren't talking to Cardin again, were you?" Weiss asks. "You know you can't trust anything that comes out of his fat mouth."

"No," you assure her. The lump in your throat feels like a lump of coal now and you swallow it down. "It's not him…" Your grip on the bed sheets tightens suddenly. You can't look at her.

"Ruby."

Your gazes lock.

She smiles gently. "What's wrong?"

You're slightly distracted with how she's playing with your hair, but you manage to form coherent words after a moment. "Torchwick and Cinder posted an articles a few days ago…"

You can tell that Weiss has to keep from rolling her eyes. She looks about half disappointed and half exasperated. "That's even worse, Ruby," she groans. "They've posted more lies than the number of coffee mugs Ozpin owns. Why are you letting them get to you?"

"It's not just that!" you cry desperately. "I know that Vacuo Records wants you! That's what the article was about. They're willing to offer you more than what Ozpin can and you'd probably be an even bigger success as a solo artist and the band is holding you back—"

"What?" Weiss's shriek has risen above her previous whisper. If there were anyone else in your apartment, they'd have probably been awoken by the noise. Her hand is retracted from your face and you immediately miss her warmth.

"I know that your old manager wants you back," you say before you can stop yourself. "He wants you to transfer to Vacuo Records."

Her eyes are narrowed now and you want to vanish.

When Weiss is mad, she doesn't stop talking. She complains, she whines, and she throws tantrums that rival a two year old. This is nothing new to you; you've been used to this for years. But when she's beyond mad, she goes silent. Silent Weiss is dangerous Weiss ready to pounce the moment she's poked with a stick.

"Yes," she says eventually, "my old manager wants me back. He's been trying to contact me for the past month."

You didn't know this. You thought it was more recent.

"But you know what? I've refused to speak with him and I asked Ozpin to take care of him for me. I didn't want to tell you because I knew you'd worry. You're cute like that." She taps the tip of your nose with her thumb and heat rises to your cheeks instantly. "I promise you that it's not a big deal."

Slowly, a smile works its way back onto your face and you press a kiss to the bridge of Weiss's nose. "You promise that you'll never leave?"

She sighs tiredly and scoots forward until her face is pressed into the crook of your neck. "You can relax, okay?" she murmurs, sounding like she's an inch from sleep. "There's no way Ozpin would let me out of our contract. Besides, he's the only manager out there who can put up with me."

You huff out a laugh and wrap your arms around her. Typical Weiss. "I love you."

"Go to sleep, Ruby."

You kiss the top of her head and close your eyes.

"Okay."

You do and it's a lot easier.

A/N: Please don't favorite without reviewing! I hope you enjoyed reading!