Toothache

By Fatal Melody

A/N: Hey guys! Just doing my not-so-monthly update! I really hope I get better at this sort of thing...

Anyway, this came about because of my own wisdom tooth removal. All 4 of them.

Enjoy the CHAOS!

(Warning: No actual chaos happens. Just a bunch of random stuff.)

DISCLAIMER: RWBY and its characters are owned by RoosterTeeth.

Toothache

Chapter 1: Diagnosis

Ruby Rose awoke on a day just like any other. Her death-trap of a bed hung from the ceiling and swung gently over her partner and teammate, Weiss Schnee. The two had a rocky friendship between them, with most conversations ending in either the two laughing or the more common sight of Weiss yelling at Ruby for being an immature child.

Ruby yawned as she sat up in her bed, her messy black and red hair falling gently into its natural position. She carefully hopped off the edge of her bed and went about her usual morning routine.

She came out of the bathroom squeaky clean and dressed in her usual clothes. She silently raised her gold whistle to her lips, and blew.

"Alright, team! Morning time!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, a childish grin on her face as her teammates glared at her for the rude awakening.

"Ruby, how many times have we told you to STOP DOING THAT?!" Yang, Ruby's older sister yelled as she wiped drool from the corner of her mouth.

"Only 58!" Ruby replied, the childish grin spreading into a full-blown smile. "C'mon, girls! Breakfast won't conquer itself!" she said, ushering her team to their feet.

Breakfast consisted of many things. For Weiss, a freshly baked morning pastry. Yang settled on a toasted bagel with cream cheese, and Blake simply made toast. Ruby, however, was gorging herself on breakfast sweets, with the sugary filling being thrown everywhere through the carnage of the meal.

"Ruby, would it KILL you to chew your food before inhaling it?" Weiss asked in disgust, despite having seen this same scene many times before.

Yang grinned. "Weiss, don't you know what would happen? If Ruby chewed her food, the force behind it would be so great that a black hole would appear from the condensed mass of the food particles! She's doing us a favor!" she giggled with no lack of sarcasm.

"I didn't ask you, blondie!" Weiss snapped back, still a bit on the irritable side from her less-than-preferable 'wake-up call'.

"Weiss, I know we call you the ice princess, but you don't have to live up to the name," Yang said, referring to the Heiress' nickname.

"To be fair, Yang, you were one of the first people to call her that," Blake, the cat Faunus of the group, commented.

"You're siding with her?!" Yang gasped dramatically. "And to think I trusted you as my partner!" she continued, doing her best impression of an overdramatic stage actor.

"Get over it, Shakespeare," Blake replied.

It was at that moment that a flying blob of filling from Ruby's feast decided to land on Weiss' sleeve.

"RUBY!" Weiss shrieked, her face going red with fury.

"I'm sorry!" Ruby squeaked quickly through a mouthful of food, sounding more like 'ahm showwy!'

"This is going to take FOREVER to get out!" Weiss moaned, trying to scrub the red stain out of her white jacket. "You're lucky this is machine washable!" she grumbled at her partner. She stormed back to the team's shared room to change into a clean shirt.

Ruby sat there, a sad look in her bright, silver eyes.

"Rubes, you gotta be more careful. I know you don't mean it most of the time, but you can be a klutz," Yang said, comforting her sister with a pat on the back. "Maybe you should go apologize?" she suggested.

Ruby shook her head. "No, she'll just yell at me more," she replied softly. She felt an ache in the back of her mouth, near her molars. She decided to ignore it, thinking it would simply go away if she did.

Ruby was in pain. The small ache at the back of her mouth progressed as the day went on. She was now in her third and final class for the day, sparring. She was fighting Weiss, the whole class doing partner exercises. Weiss noticed the small look of discomfort on her partner's face.

"Ruby, are you doing okay?" she asked, walking over to her partner.

"Yeah, I'm fine!" Ruby lied, putting on a smile and a cheery voice.

"Ruby," Weiss growled.

"I'm totally OK, Weiss! If this is about this morning, I forgive you for yelling!" Ruby said, a small drop of sweat forming on her brow.

"Ruby Rose! You will tell me what's wrong, or I will find out myself!" Weiss demanded.

"OK fine! You win!" Ruby said throwing up her hands in defeat. "My jaw hurts, happy?" she answered.

"Where exactly?" Weiss asked, coming off of the harshness into a more gentle tone.

"About here," Ruby responded, pointing towards the back of her jawline.

"And you're 16, right?" Weiss asked.

"Yep!" Ruby said cheerily.

"Ruby, we're going to the dentist!" Weiss said immediately.

Ever since she was a child, Ruby had hated dentists. She had been 4 when her first visit happened, and her first dentist hadn't exactly been the most stable of people.

He was a strange person. He had a giant screw in his head, going in through one temple and exiting through the other. His body was covered in scars and stitches, and so was his coat. Every time he used the dental drill, he laughed.

His name was Dr. Stein.

"Weiss! You know I hate these places!" Ruby whined as she was dragged unceremoniously into Beacon's own dentistry.

"I don't care. If what I think is happening actually is, then you have a problem," Weiss replied.

"Oh, why hello Ms. Schnee, Ms. Rose, how are we doing today?" the receptionist asked the pair.

"Ruby seems to have some pains in her jawline. I'd like for her to have an X-ray done," Weiss responded in a professional tone.

"Certainly, Ms. Schnee. Please wait here and we'll call you two back when we're ready," the receptionist said kindly.

About five minutes passed, and Ruby entertained herself by flicking her cloak about as she paced around the room.

"Ms. Schnee and Ms. Rose? The dentist is ready now," the receptionist chimed.

"Okay, Ruby, let's go" Weiss said, grabbing Ruby by the hood of her cloak as she resisted moving from the spot.

The two made their way into the back, where the dentist, Dr. Tand, was waiting.

"Good afternoon, ladies," Dr. Tand said calmly. "So, Ruby, I heard you've been experiencing minor pain in the back of your jaw, is that correct?" he asked. Ruby simply nodded in response. "Okay, then. Please open your mouth wide, so I can see back there," he said, grabbing a popsicle stick and a small flashlight.

"Mhmm, mhmm," he sounded, checking behind her 12 year molars.

"Ms. Rose, I'm going to X-ray your teeth. Bite down on this," he explained, holding out a small plastic guard. Ruby bit onto it, and Dr. Tand pulled a machine close to the area. He pressed a button and a small beep was heard. He pulled the machine and did the same thing 4 more times, creating a panoramic picture of Ruby's teeth.

"Oh dear," Dr. Tand said grimly. He placed the image on the computer screen, showing two teeth on both ends of her bottom teeth that were completely sideways.

"Well, Ms. Rose, it would appear that your Wisdom Teeth have started to cause some problems," he said calmly. "I'll write you a reference to the oral surgeon her at Beacon and arrange a time for you to have them surgically removed," he explained further.

"S-s-surgery?!" Ruby stammered.

"Yep, just as I thought earlier," Weiss sighed. She had all 4 of hers removed not 2 months before her arrival at Beacon. It was not a pleasant experience…

"Weiss, what's gonna happen?" Ruby asked when they got back to their room.

"Ruby, I'm not gonna lie to you," Weiss said sternly. "There's going to be pain, blood, and mushy foods for an entire week," she finished bluntly.

"O-oh," Ruby said, scared of the operation, the thought of people doing things to you while you sleep just a little unsettling for the girl.

"But if you don't get this done, you will be in serious pain," Weiss added, hoping that Ruby understood why she had to get them removed.

Ruby was still scared.

There were 3 months before the surgery.

One month to the surgery, and Ruby was nervous. Nervous to the point of having nightmares.

Doctors stood above Ruby, and she could feel everything they were doing. There were no painkillers or anesthetics. One by one, they carved and ripped her wisdom teeth out, each sending a small fountain of blood into the air. The heart-rate monitor went wild as her mouth filled. They laughed as she drowned in her own blood.

Ruby bolted up in her bed with cold sweat running down her face. She re-gathered her bearings and leaned over the side of her bed.

"W-weiss?" the young huntress whispered. At first there was no reply, so Ruby gently poked her partner with a short pole that she had for no reason.

"Ruby? Why are you up?" Weiss whispered. She saw her partners face. "Are you okay?"

Ruby shook her head slowly. Weiss sat up in her bed and motioned for Ruby to come down.

Weiss gently pulled her partner into a comforting hug, feeling tears start to wet her right shoulder.

It would be a long night for the two.

Ruby walked in with Weiss, and got checked into the surgeon's office. Ruby was taken to the operation room and seated in a padded leather chair. They hooked up some laughing gas to her, and gave her the mask.

"Okay Ruby, I want you to take in 3 deep breaths. This gas will take away the feelings in your arms, and that's normal. It's so we can put the IV in without you feeling it," the nurse explained as Ruby inhaled the gas. She quickly grew lightheaded. With 2 more deep breaths of the gas, she was on a cloud. She barely noticed the nurse hooking her up to a heartrate monitor with three stick-pad electrodes.

Ruby felt a giant rubber band encircle her right bicep, and the nurse had her close her hand into a tight fist. The vein in her arm popped up, and was now visible for the IV.

Ruby felt a slight pinch as the needle entered her vein. The anesthetics quickly numbed her whole arm, and soon all Ruby could do was relax. She blacked out just as the doctor entered the room.