A flash of lightning spilled in through the window next to Weiss's bed, startling her out of her half-asleep state. The white haired ex-heiress huffed and rolled over, turning away from the window in an attempt to shield her eyes from the sharp flashes that illuminated the room.

It had been storming for the better part of three days, leaving everyone stranded inside. Even if it was a spacious house, three days trapped with seven other people was less than ideal. Weiss had gone to bed early to escape the crowded living area, but the lightning was making sleep quite the ordeal. She gripped the hem of the too-large nightshirt she'd borrowed from Yang as she squeezed her eyes shut, attempting to drown out the noise from both the storm and the conversation drifting in from the living area. The effort proved futile, and Weiss sat up in bed with a frustrated sigh. She flicked on the lamp next to her and stared out the window. When it was dry, it provided a rather stunning view of Mistral, but as hard as it was raining now the window was washed out and covered in sheets of pouring rain. She could see nothing out of it.

The door creaked open, drawing Weiss's attention away from the rain pounding against the window. She glanced over to see Ruby quickly slip in and shut the door behind them.

"Tired of the stories already?" Weiss asked, knowing how Ruby's Uncle Qrow tended to ramble after only a few short days of living with him.

Ruby smiled at her and laughed. "You get bored fast when you've heard them already, believe it or not." Ruby made her way over to Weiss's bed and sat, her hand resting on Weiss's. "You okay?"

Weiss nodded, taking Ruby's hand and squeezing it. "I'm fine. Just a little tired. I've had a long few weeks." She leaned into Ruby's shoulder. "Between my airship crashing and Yang's mom and this whole maiden business, I'm kind of stretched thin."

Ruby put an arm around Weiss's shoulder and pulled her in closer. "Don't worry. Everyone's feeling that way." The two of them sat like that for a good while, just enjoying the contact, before Ruby broke the silence.

"So, can't sleep?" Ruby asked.

Weiss shook her head. "Not at the moment. There's too much on my mind. Too much to worry about."

"Like what?"

Weiss frowned. "So much. The maidens, Salem… Blake."

Ruby made a little noise of affirmation. She grabbed at the covers and pulled them up, slipping into the bed next to Weiss.

"What exactly are you doing?" Weiss questioned, shying away from the other girl.

Ruby rolled her eyes. "I'm tired, too, Weiss. We could both use some rest. Besides, it's storming. This used to be a regular thing for us on stormy nights, remember?"

"But Yang-"

"Already knows about us and will have to suck it up when she sees her little sister getting further in a relationship than she has in years," Ruby teased. Weiss relaxed as Ruby snuggled in close and wrapped her arms around the older girl. She'd changed into her own nightclothes earlier, Weiss realized. Weiss sat for a moment, enjoying Ruby's warmth and closeness.

"So, are you still afraid of storms?"

Ruby huffed, and Weiss could feel her breath against the back of her neck. "I'm not! I never was! They just make me nervous!"

Weiss let out a soft laugh. "So you're still afraid, got it."

"I am not! We had to sleep through plenty of storms while we were camping on our way to Haven and I did just fine!"

"Oh, so you didn't just go snuggle with Jaune in my absence?" Weiss teased. She felt Ruby squirm in annoyance.

"Weiss," Ruby whined, "I don't even like boys!" Weiss felt Ruby's arms begin to retreat from her waist, and decided that she'd teased the girl enough.

"I know, I'm just teasing, Ruby," Weiss assured her. After a moment, Ruby's arms retook their place wrapped around Weiss. Weiss felt Ruby's chest pressed against her back, rising and falling with her breath. All of a sudden, she felt very sleepy. It was because of Ruby, Weiss realized. Despite what Ruby had said, she had ended up sharing Weiss's bed far more often than just stormy nights towards the end of their time at school. It was a comforting presence, and Weiss was suddenly aware she hadn't gotten a good night's sleep since before the fall of Beacon.

"Do you think Blake's okay?" Ruby's question was quiet, just barely audible over the sound of the rain slamming into the roof. Her voice was nervous, as if she were even afraid to ask the question. Afraid of speaking some story of their teammate's misfortune into existence. Weiss had to admit that she had similar worries. She had no idea that her team was as splintered as they were. She'd expected to arrive to find Ruby, Blake, and Yang all together in Mistral. Instead, she'd stumbled across them one by one, with Blake yet to be found.

Weiss swallowed, trying to think of something to say that was better than "I don't know". She grasped one of Ruby's hands under the covers, deciding to stick to what she knew. "Blake is by far the most adept at all of us when it comes to staying alive. Her time in the White Fang is responsible for that, no doubt. Blake's okay, Ruby. She just needs to find her way back to us, is all."

Ruby squeezed Weiss's hand tightly. "Yang doesn't think she's coming back."

Weiss scoffed. "Yang doesn't know what she's talking about. Blake's got a habit of disappearing, but she's always come back so far." Weiss didn't particularly believe her own words, but she hoped Ruby did.

"I was worried that you wouldn't come back either." Ruby's voice had gotten even quieter, even shakier. Weiss could tell from her tone of voice that she was about to cry. She wanted to comfort Ruby, but found herself hesitant to move. Had Ruby really been worried that she wouldn't come back?

"I just… I was so worried when your dad took you back to Atlas and when you didn't get in touch even though I know there wasn't any way you could with the communications tower down but I just got it in my head that maybe you just liked it better in Atlas and that you didn't mind just staying there and that maybe I wasn't as good of a leader as I thought and-"

Weiss quickly turned over to face Ruby and pressed two fingers to the crying girl's lips, cutting off her babbling. Oh, how she'd missed Ruby's incoherent babbling. She just preferred it when she was excited.

"I would move mountains to get back to you, Ruby. I swear," Weiss assured her. She wiped away the tears blooming in Ruby's eyes before giving her a quick kiss to drive her point home. Ruby sniffled and buried her head in between Weiss's neck and shoulder, refusing to move from the position.

"I love you," Ruby whispered. "I know I didn't really say it before, but I didn't want to scare you off." Her voice tickled against Weiss's skin. Weiss smiled warmly as Ruby poured out her heart.

"I know, and I love you too. You could never scare me off, no matter how hard you tried," Weiss said, pulling Ruby in closer. Ruby hummed in affirmation as she allowed herself to be squeezed tighter and began to drift off to sleep.

Weiss wasn't far behind.