How much longer is this insufferable lecture?

As usual, it was difficult to pay attention during professor Port's lecture. It was even harder with an irritating headache. It was like a rubber band had been expanding and contracting repeatedly. It was slowly driving her insane.

After a light sigh, Weiss went back to taking notes while fruitlessly trying to ignore the ache. All day. That's how long this ache had persisted. From the moment she woke up, to nearly the end of the day.

Thankfully, this was the last class. Weiss was looking forward to going back to her room to cure the annoyance. Unfortunately, she didn't get the chance to grab some medicine. The time was near and she was eager to feel some sort of relief.

Next to the white-haired girl sat Ruby. The adorable dolt had been by her side all day. She sensed something was amiss. Her girlfriend was acting differently. Ruby couldn't place her finger on what was wrong. No matter how many times she asked Weiss, she always insisted that she was fine. It was painfully obvious that wasn't true. Weiss was probably trying to prevent her from worrying. This was Weiss. The last thing she wanted was for people to worry about her. Especially her girlfriend. Ruby made a mental note and resolved to help her girlfriend when they got back to the privacy of their room.

Every now and then, Ruby would glance over her shoulder to check on her girlfriend. She seemed to be losing focus. Then again, so was everyone else. Beside her, Yang was lightly snoring until she was gently elbowed in the side by Blake.

"Wuuuu-huh?"

Groggily, the blonde roused and looked confused as to where she was.

"Pay attention," Blake whispered. "Or at least act like you are."

"You're askin' for the impossible," Yang replied with a slanted grin.

Unable to resist her girlfriend's goofy smile, Blake quickly pecked her on the cheek. This elicited a flustered blush from the blonde. It wasn't often that Blake showed public displays of affection!

Before Yang could say anything, the bell chimed loudly.

Not even a second later, not even before Port finished talking, Yang exclaimed.

"Oh, thank God!"

Instead of acknowledging her, Port just stared at her quizzically. The other students didn't appear to mind and were already packing up. Port probably ignored the blonde because he didn't want to deal with her today, and wrapped up his lecture.

Ruby elbowed her sister's other side. "Do you want to get in trouble?"

Yang jokingly waved her off. "I'm too tired to care."

In a flash, Yang returned the kiss on her girlfriend's cheek. The faunus adorned her own blush as she gathered her supplies.

Other students began to leave the lecture hall.

The moment Weiss stood, a round of poundings ensued. In reaction, she squeezed her eyes shut and grit her teeth, fighting the urge to place a hand on the side of her head. To not arouse any attention, she fought off the sudden pain and pried open her eyes. Only for the lights to blind her.

Great, she thought sarcastically. Now it's a migraine. Perfect timing. Just when I have to finish my assignments. At least class is over, she dreaded the rest of the day. She knew she couldn't rest until her homework was done, and most of it was due tomorrow.

She'd worked through migraines before, and she can do it again. It's not like this was anything new. Just unexpected. Then again, maybe she should have expected it. Her stress had been piling up lately, and she wasn't the best at managing her stress. It was a skill she'd had to work hard to acquire and sometimes slipped through her fingers.

A hand was placed on her shoulder, and she looked over to see it was her girlfriend with concern swimming in those silver eyes.

"Are you okay, Weiss?" Ruby asked, referring to her squinted eyes. "You've been out of it."

Before replying, Yang chimed in.

"You look a little paler. And here I thought that was impossible."

Angered from the comment, Weiss pointed an accusatory finger at the blonde and raised her voice. "Listen here, Xiao Long- agh!" before she could think, her hands flew to her head. She should've known that shouting would make the pain worse.

Ruby was by her side in an instant and used a soft voice. "Is something wrong with your head? Are you sick?"

When the throbbing dulled, Weiss released her tight grip and acknowledged all of her teammates. "Don't be so worried, dolt. It's just a headache."

From downplaying her obvious stress, Blake frowned. She didn't buy it for a minute. From the looks of it, her teammates didn't, either. "Sure it is," the faunus replied, unconvinced.

"Let's get back," Ruby suggested. "I'm going to make you better no matter what."

"I'm not opposed to that," Weiss simply said.

For a moment, Ruby was taken aback. Normally, Weiss would insist on resolving issues by herself. Even when she was sick, she wasn't comfortable with other people helping her. This 'little headache' had to be bad, or, she was making progress in opening up. Ruby smiled at the thought.

Yang nodded at them. "What're we waiting for?"

Luckily, it was a short walk back.

To be helpful, Blake mentioned. "I have a heating pad if you want to use it, Weiss. Heat helps."

"And take a long, hot shower," Yang added. "Those work like a charm. You'll be cured in no time."

To reassure them, Weiss just nodded. Just that tiny motion earned a round of poundings in her temples. She fought back the grimace as she pondered her options to lessen the pain. She wasn't keen on getting dry skin, so she'd skip the hot shower. However…

"Thank you for the offer, Blake," Weiss said, biting back the unease in her voice. "However, I have a heating pad."

"Really?" Blake asked, perturbed. She didn't know many people who even owned heating pads. Much less brought them to Beacon.

Weiss caught the amusement in her friend's tone and elaborated. "I get cold easily."

"Ah, that's true," the faunus agreed.

Yang proudly pointed to herself. "That's why I'm the best cuddler. Five minutes with me and you'll be cured!"

"Yaaang, that's my job!" Ruby whined.

"The offer is tempting. Really," Weiss droned.

Blake latched onto Yang's arm, giving her a peck. "Sorry, I'm not willing to share."

"Keep her," Weiss rolled her eyes.

With a grin, Yang returned her own kiss.

After entering their room, Ruby darted over to the medicine cabinet. She was a red blur, leaving several rose petals in her wake. Weiss was left to gaze at the thoughtful petals as a small smile slipped on her lips.

Ruby returned with a couple red capsules and a glass of water. All before her team could advance a single step.

"Here, it's Advil," Ruby presented the medicine to her girlfriend. "Take it."

"Thank you," Weiss timidly smiled at how thoughtful her girlfriend was and swallowed the medicine.

From the simple action, her head throbbed relentlessly. Like her migraine refused to be cured. It took all her willpower not to grimace or show any signs of distress. Directly after, Ruby kissed her on the cheek since she sensed something was amiss.

Grateful, Weiss squeezed her hand.

When the poundings dulled, Weiss walked over to her desk and opened a textbook. This caught her team off-guard.

Yang perked a concerned brow. "Uh, what're you doing?"

"What does it look like?" Weiss quipped as she pulled out a pen. "I'm finishing my assignments."

The three glanced among themselves, perplexed.

"Weeeeeiss," Ruby whined in disapproval. "You need to rest!"

"I'd rather get my assignments done and then rest," the heiress reasoned. "I won't be able to rest until these are finished, anyway."

Ruby groaned from her girlfriend's stubbornness. She should've expected as much.

"Half an hour," Ruby relented after she kissed the top of her head. "That's all you get and then I'm forcing you to rest if I have to."

The only reason she even conceded was that Weiss already took some medicine. Maybe that would ease the pain for the time being.

"Ruby, that's ridicu-"

Weiss was about to retort and say that thirty minutes wasn't enough time, but then she saw the pure worry in her girlfriend's eyes. She couldn't say 'no' to that. No matter how much she wanted to. She let out a sigh.

"Fine."

Azure orbs stared blankly at the black and white pages for what felt like an eternity.

Unfortunately, her migraine had gotten worse since aura invaded her vision. It felt like her eyes were being lightly tickled. There were two sets of four zigzag lines that rotated constantly for about five minutes now. A visual disturbance was the last thing she needed, but since the sets of lines were in the corners of her vision, she could still see her textbook. Because of this, she figured there was no reason to stop studying.

The only reason she hadn't stopped was because she'd gotten auras from migraines before. They receded rather quickly. Any moment and the zigzags would disappear. By now, the throbs had dulled and left an ache. The medicine must be taking effect.

After she read another paragraph, random spots appeared in her vision. They were voids and blocked some of the words. It was difficult to even see now, much less read. Confused, she rubbed her eyes. That didn't work. The blind spots didn't go away. She'd never experienced a symptom like this before. With creeping dread, she gripped the textbook and squinted at the letters. Same result.

She couldn't see the text. When she glanced at something else like the picture of her and Ruby on her desk, their faces were splotchy.

What? Weiss asked herself. Am I going blind? What's happening?

"Time's up!"

Ruby happily announced. Truth is, Ruby had been counting down the minutes, down to the second for when her girlfriend could rest. From the looks of it, she was getting nowhere with her assignments. She'd been staring into space for a while.

When Ruby received no reply, she set a hand on her girlfriend's back.

"Weiss? Are you okay?"

Her concern shot through the roof when her girlfriend just stared at the pages. Thoughtfully, Ruby kissed the top of her head. Weiss was too anxious to acknowledge the sweet gesture.

"I-I can't see…"

"What?!" Ruby yelped.

From the worrying fright in her voice, the rest of her team was by her side in a heartbeat.

"That's not good," Yang stated. "That headache of yours might be worse than you thought."

"Migraine," Blake corrected.

Before Weiss could reply, a sudden wave of nausea crashed over her. Somehow, she fought the urge to vomit and managed to mutter.

"Trash can…"

Her voice was meek, but clear. In a split-second, Ruby handed her the small can. Instantly, Weiss retched into the container as the contents of her stomach poured out. Simultaneously, the throbbing in her head increased tenfold.

"OhmygoshWeissthisisn'tgoodthrowingupistheworstwhydidn'tyoutellmeitwasthisbad," Ruby said at the speed of light.

All Weiss could do was groan and try to choke back any whimpers.

"Yikes…" Yang murmured from the pitiful sight.

"Ohhhh, Weiss!" Ruby fretted.

Blake grimaced as she took the can away so her friend didn't have to hold it. "Definitely a migraine."

"You need rest now!" Ruby said sternly, yet softly. "I knew I shouldn't have let you push yourself!"

Instead of replying, Weiss kept her eyes squeezed shut and her hands gripped her head tightly like that prevented it from exploding. Hot tears stung her eyes as she sucked in a few breaths.

"Ruby," Blake addressed. "She needs the nurse."

"Yeah, you're right-"

"No," Weiss was quick to shut that down. "I just need to lay down."

A cat ear flicked. At first, Blake thought that Weiss was scared to go to the nurse, but there was no fright in her voice. Not the slightest hint. She had an inkling that there was more to this than her teammate was letting on.

"Are you sure?" Ruby asked, holding onto her arm. "The infirmary isn't far away."

"I'm sure," Weiss reluctantly met her girlfriend's gaze. "The bed…"

"O-okay," Ruby relented, not liking how weak she sounded. "Can you stand?"

In response, Weiss took a deep breath and forced herself to stand. She was wobbly like the agony would make her fall to the floor. Thankfully, Ruby was there to keep her upright.

"Okay…" Ruby murmured. "Easy, easy…"

Ruby was always by her side. She always gave her encouragement. Weiss knew her girlfriend was whispering sweet words, but couldn't hear her due to the incessant ringing.

They took it slowly, step-by-step. Yang made sure to uncover the blankets so the bed was ready.

Carefully, Ruby coaxed her to lay down in her bunk. To mask the pain, Weiss kept her eyes squeezed shut. All this movement caused her head to violently pulsate like a screwdriver was jamming her skull.

When her head was on the fluffy pillow, Yang pulled up the covers. "There we go. Snug as a bug in a rug."

When she was settled, Ruby set the heating pad on top of her girlfriend's head. The heating pad was warm, and caused a burning sensation throughout Weiss' entire body. It provided little relief, but it was something. Heat battled the agony with little success.

"Weiss- sweetie," Ruby breathed as she rubbed her temples. "Where does it hurt?"

"E-everywhere..."

The response was heartbreaking to hear. Ruby assumed that the ache was perhaps centered in one area, but it hurt all over? Cautiously, Ruby wrapped the heating pad around her entire head, even over her eyes.

"Damn…" Yang mumbled. "Can't believe migraines can do this."

"They're very painful," Blake said like she spoke from experience. "You've never had one?"

"Well, no. Can't say that I have," the blonde admitted.

"Lucky."

The bumblebee pair was left to concernedly gaze down at their ailing teammate.

After Ruby kissed her girlfriend's hand, she leaned over and kissed her on the forehead. She had hope that her kisses would make her feel better.

Despite the heiress' obvious pain, she smiled from the feather-like contact and lightly squeezed Ruby's hand. Ruby knew it might've been too agonizing for her to talk, so she addressed her teammates.

"Yang, can you get some water?" Ruby asked.

"Sure thing!"

"Blake, can you get the trash can, just in case?"

"Of course."

The bumblebee pair briefly wondered how Ruby knew what to do off the bat. It appeared that this was a process Ruby was prepared for, but they didn't question her right now. Their friend needed help.

Quietly, Ruby kneeled to be next to her girlfriend. "Is it any better?" she asked, hesitant.

"With you here, it is."

The reply caused Ruby to blush. "You're definitely not okay if you resort to flattery so quickly."

There was a light chuckle, but then a groan ensued.

"Don't laugh," Ruby said gingerly as she adjusted the heating pad. "That can make it worse."

Suddenly, Yang appeared by their side with a glass of water. "She's so funny she cracks herself up. I can relate."

"Brute."

"She's back to normal already," Yang said cheerfully. "I got your water. We can't have you getting dehydrated."

Instead of replying, Weiss exhaled a shaky breath.

"Weiss?" Ruby called worriedly. "Just one sip?"

"I can't-"

It was then that she swiftly turned on her side and leaned over the bed. She was so quick that her teammates didn't have time to react. Luckily, Blake had already set the trash can below. Weiss wretched violently, spewing the contents of her stomach into the can. This time, only liquids came up, leading her team to believe she had an empty stomach.

"Woah, hey!" Yang yelped from the suddenness of it all.

While she vomited, Ruby held her hair back while Yang saved the heating pad from being splattered from grossness.

When Weiss was finished, another groan tore from her throat. Her upper body was dangling off the side of the bed, so Ruby helped her back under the covers. While she did that, Blake hurried to empty the trash can in case she'd throw up again.

From it all, Weiss was left breathless and groaned in agony. Vomiting served to make her migraine want to kill her. Hot tears clung to the corners of her eyes, which had Ruby's heart ripping in half.

"Weiss, I'm sorry it hurts so much. Please don't cry," Ruby whimpered. "We should go to the infirmary."

No reply. Probably because Weiss was in too much pain. Ruby couldn't tell if she was listening or not.

"Good call, Rubes," Yang agreed.

Carefully, Ruby slid a hand under her girlfriend's back and slowly lifted her to sit upright. That was enough for a gasp to slip past her lips.

"Ohhhh, sorry, Weiss," Ruby murmured. "Hang in there."

When her girlfriend was secured bridal style, the team headed out.

When the nurse saw the terrible state Weiss was in, she ordered Ruby to set her in bed for some rest.

Since she'd vomited several times, an IV drip was hooked up to her forearm to prevent dehydration.

"I'm sorry…" she rasped.

"Don't apologize," Ruby used a soft voice. "This isn't your fault. Focus on resting, okay?"

The heiress compiled and kept her eyes shut as she tried to ignore the throbs that tore her from the inside-out.

The bumblebee pair sat in chairs next to their teammate's bed. All they could do was be here. Meanwhile, Ruby was on the edge of the mattress. The leader kept her hand in her girlfriend's own. She couldn't imagine what the pain was like. To be assaulted by constant relentless poundings. Even as Weiss lay there, her condition wasn't getting better.

It was then that the nurse walked into the room with a clipboard. "When was the last time you ate, Ms. Schnee?"

It took a few moments to ponder the question. "I can't remember if I ate last night, or the day before…"

The response caused Ruby to tighten her grip around her shaky hand. She knew how her girlfriend reacted under times of stress. In the past, she'd been so busy that she'd forget to eat or drink anything.

"That's not good," Yang stated the obvious.

Blake agreed with a nod. "You need to take more care of yourself."

Weiss just bit her bottom lip, finding solace with girlfriend's reassuring hand.

The nurse wrote her answer on the clipboard. "What about water?"

"The little I had came up," Weiss replied, hesitant.

The nurse furrowed her brow as she flipped through the papers. "I looked through your records, and it appears this isn't the first time you've been hospitalized due to a migraine."

The revelation caused Blake's cat ears to perk up. Yang seemed alarmed as well. Ruby was just rubbing soothing circles over her palm with her thumb.

"Not the first time?" Yang repeated.

Sensing tension in the air, Blake simply held onto her girlfriend's arm. The blonde got the hint and remained silent as the nurse finished.

"I will prescribe you medicine since you have a history."

A shaky breath.

Curiosity got the best of Blake. "This has happened before?"

"Yeah…" Ruby said like she broke. "She's never been good at managing stress. With finals coming up and all- I tried. I really did it's been a few years since she was last-"

"It's not your fault," Yang placed a hand on her sister's shoulder. "The princess would be saying the same thing if her head wasn't killing her."

Somewhat deliriously, Weiss said. "I can't have more medicine-"

It was then that she rolled over and retched into the trashcan below. Ruby was there in a heartbeat to comfort her. When Weiss was done, she groaned and hanged off the bed, not having the energy to get up.

Ruby whimpered in worry as she helped her roll back into bed. When Weiss was situated, the leader looked up to the nurse. "I already gave her Advil."

"I see," the nurse replied.

Wanting to be helpful, Blake asked. "Is there anything else you can give her?"

Ruby shook her head. "She won't take anymore."

From that, the bumblebee pair looked confused, so Ruby elaborated.

"She's taken some medicine in the past that had some… unexpected side effects. She doesn't like taking medicine because of that."

That made Yang intrigued. "Side effects?"

Lovingly, Ruby wiped away her girlfriend's damp white bangs. It was like she was reluctant to reveal bits of her past. Given the circumstances, Ruby figured this was permissible and that Weiss wouldn't mind. The light squeeze in her hand told her it was fine.

"Fainting."

Yang was left speechless, not having a clue about her past. "Oh."

"Growing up, she saw lots of doctors with the same results. Nothing really helped. It's been a while since she had her last migraine. I think this was her first ocular migraine, too… they don't happen nearly as often as they used to, but now when she gets them, they're bad. Really bad."

There was a pregnant pause as the team processed their leader's words.

"Regardless," Yang began. "We can't just let her suffer."

She hadn't missed the constant furrow of her teammate's brow. The way she swallowed any whimpers that tried to escape. The way her body was stiff like she was afraid to move the smallest centimeter.

"I can put her to sleep for a bit," the nurse suggested. "She'll be more hydrated when she wakes up, and you all can make sure she eats something when she's able."

"Let's do it," Ruby made the call, knowing her girlfriend wouldn't take more medications. She only took medicine when she had to, and she already did earlier in the day. There was no way she'd swallow more pills. "Weiss, how does a nice nap sound?"

"Like heaven."

Ruby couldn't help but chuckle from that. "That's a 'yes.'"

Weiss wished she could sleep, but her head refused to allow that. Outside help would be nice.

"Alright then," after the nurse fiddled with the IV drip, she left the room.

It didn't take long for Weiss' breathing to become steady and for her muscles to loosen.

Fondly, Ruby kissed her on the lips.

"Sweet dreams. I'll be here when you wake up. Promise."

The shy moonlight trickled into the windows of the infirmary room. The rays glossed over the hospital bed. Leaning over the mattress was Ruby, who was holding her girlfriend's hand.

In the past, you've been alone when it came to dealing with migraines, Ruby sadly thought. I'm glad I can be someone you can confide in. You're not alone anymore.

It'd been a few hours, which felt like an eternity. Ruby was here the whole time, keeping herself busy by twirling her girlfriend's hair or holding her hand. Mostly, she'd kiss her on the head.

The bumblebee pair had left the room a few minutes ago to retrieve some food for when their friend wakes up.

Surprisingly, misty pools of blue were revealed. Half of Ruby expected Weiss to sleep until morning.

Just as always, Ruby was there.

"Hey, sleepyhead," Ruby greeted in a sweet whisper, silver eyes sparkling in the moonlight. "Do you feel any better?"

Tenderly, Weiss lifted her hand to caress Ruby's cheek with a small smile. In response, Ruby leaned into the contact and held her gentle hand there.

"Thank you for staying with me, dolt."

"You don't have to thank me, silly," Ruby said. "Really though, is it pounding still? Are you sure it doesn't hurt a little bit-"

"Ruby, I'm fine now. I promise. You being here is all I need."

The moonlight illuminated the room and beamed on the couple. Gradually, Ruby lowered her girlfriend's hand and leaned over her for a soft kiss. To her surprise, her girlfriend's lips tasted like mint. Like she just applied chapstick.

As expected, Weiss' girlfriend tasted sweet like her favorite cookies.

The sound of love echoed in the room when Ruby slowly pulled away, lovingly gazing down at her girlfriend.

Weiss gave her a wide smile.

"I feel better already."

I tried my best to describe the pain of an ocular migraine. It's not a fun time! Look at this gay. All the gay. Beautiful.

Stay dandy,

~Toto