Ruby stirred awake to the sound of a tiny mouse sneezing. At first it didn't bother her, and she looked at her scroll to see the time. 6:49 am. Eleven minutes until her alarm went off. Sighing, she closed her eyes to get five more minutes of sleep, but reopened them when she heard the mouse again. She looked to her side to see her sister still snoring, and below her Blake was silently sleeping, which left...

She jumped off the bed with a soft thump and looked at the bed below hers. It was empty. Panicking for a second, Ruby looked around the room and sighed in relief, seeing her partner slumped over at their desk.

The young leader silently walked towards Weiss and saw that she was still wearing her school uniform and shivering as she nuzzled against her arms with a small whimper.

"Did you fall asleep here?" Ruby chuckled to herself as she grabbed her cloak and carefully draped it around Weiss' shoulders. She was thinking about taking a photo, but frowned when she heard her sister.

"It's too early to be cute." Yang snickered as she jumped off the bed, stretching her limbs.

Blake yawned as she moved off the bed quietly and raised a brow. "Weiss hasn't gone to bed?"

"I guess she fell asleep at the desk while finishing some homework." Ruby chuckled weakly. "Should we just leave her here for now? Classes don't start till later, after all."

"Sounds fine to me." Yang yawned as she walked into the bathroom.

Blake silently walked next to Ruby. "Should we move Weiss to the bed?" She eyed their white-haired teammate, unsure if they should leave her on the desk or move her to a more comfortable position.

"Hmm… She's a pretty light sleeper and doesn't like to be disturbed…" Ruby thought about it, but wanted Weiss to be comfortable when she slept. "But considering how she hasn't woken up yet, we should move her." She looked towards the Faunus. "Can you pull back the covers while I carry her over?"

Blake nodded and quickly moved to do so as Yang came out of the bathroom, changed into her school uniform.

"You're not going to change her?" Yang snickered as she saw her sister carrying her partner within her arms.

"Yang!" Ruby growled softly. As much as she wanted to change Weiss's clothes, that would definitely wake the heiress up.

Ruby carefully placed Weiss onto the bed and tucked her into bed. Blake went to the bathroom next as Yang moved over to check on Weiss for a moment.

"Even after all this noise and moving, she's still asleep?" Yang raised a brow as she fixed her clothes and checked her bag in case she missed anything.

"Yeah…" Ruby frowned as she brushed a few strands away from Weiss's face. She looked at the time, then at Yang. "If she's not awake when we come back from breakfast, we should leave her to sleep in."

Blake came out of the bathroom when Ruby suggested what to do with Weiss. "Are you sure that's a good idea, Ruby? You know how much she hates to be alone and miss class."

They all may have known each other for a year, but they quickly learned each other's habits. Ruby and Yang valued team bonding time but respected their partner's privacy whenever they needed it. Weiss valued her study time and hated to be alone. While Blake liked to be alone, she didn't mind her teammates as long as they weren't too loud.

"She needs to rest. She's been pulling too many all-nighters lately." Ruby didn't know if that was true or not, but she did know that Weiss was still awake when she fell asleep, and most of the time she'd already see her partner studying by the time she got up.

The trio frowned as they looked at Weiss, then at each other.

"If anything, we'll at least leave a note saying where we are." Ruby then thought of a better idea. "If she's still asleep when we get back from breakfast, I'll tell the professors that she's sick with a cold. Can you two get the notes for us in class while I take care of her?"

"Got it." Yang and Blake nodded, liking that idea, and watched Ruby leave a note saying that they'll be back soon.

They looked at Weiss for a moment before leaving the room and getting themselves some breakfast.

An hour later, Ruby brought some fruits for Weiss. She didn't want to get anything too heavy and didn't know if Weiss would have an appetite whenever she got up. She set them aside for now. She frowned seeing that Weiss was still asleep and curled up on her side.

"How exhausted are you, Weiss?" Ruby whispered as she brushed the bangs out of her hair.

"You're the one that said that she's been up all night lately." Yang hummed as she made sure that she had everything in her bag. "Pretty sure that all those sleepless nights caught up to her."

"I know but still…" Ruby sighed as she got up and looked at the time. "Alright, let's get going. The sooner we tell the teachers that Weiss is sick with a cold, the sooner I can come back and watch over her."

Yang smirked. "Is there a reason why you want to watch over Weiss so badly?"

"She's my partner!" Ruby blushed a bit, having a feeling that Yang thought that there was more than what she was saying.

Sure she might've caught a little crush on her partner after working together so closely for a year, but there was no way that Weiss could like her back. Weiss is a smart and beautiful heiress, while she was just a nobody. If they could be best friends, then Ruby would be happy.

"And besides… even if I wanted something to happen, I'm happy that she's my partner. Now drop it, Yang." Ruby sighed as she grabbed her bag and left the room before her sister could say anything.

Yang sighed and looked at Blake, who shook her head. "If Ruby says that she's happy, then we should respect that. We don't know how Weiss feels, after all."

"Alright, fine." Yang grabbed her bag as well and looked at Weiss. "You two are idiots." She mumbled as she walked with Blake towards their class. The latter making sure that the door was locked so no one would disturb Weiss as she slept.

Ruby was informing the professor that Weiss had a cold, and was about to leave the class when her partner stumbled into the classroom with a minute left before the bell rang. She panted as she glared at her partner. "Why didn't you wake me?!" She hissed quietly as she made her way towards her seat and pulled out her notebook and pens.

"You were sleeping so soundly!" Ruby whimpered and frowned when she followed Weiss. Her partner was out of breath, a bit of sweat was dripping down her brow, her face was flushed, and she looked a bit paler than usual. "Wait, are you feeling ok?"

"I'm a little overheated from running here. No thanks to you." Weiss huffed as she took a deep breath, wiped her brow with her sleeve, and opened the notebook to a blank page.

Ruby frowned, but decided to drop it for now. Weiss was most likely right and she was overthinking it from finding Weiss sleeping at her desk.

An hour into the class, Ruby glanced at Weiss and frowned when she saw her slouching and her eyes were unfocused. Biting her lip, she scooted closer to her partner and placed a hand gently over Weiss's right. "Weiss?"

Weiss didn't answer her and panted slightly.

Ruby looked at the time then back at Weiss again. There was about ten minutes left but she was worried about her partner. She gently squeezed her hand and spoke a little louder but not enough to disrupt the class. "Weiss."

"Quiet…" Weiss mumbled as she tried to focus on the professor. Her grip on the pen slackened so much that it dropped out of her hand and she didn't notice.

"W-Weiss… We should go back to our room." Ruby caught the pen before it rolled off the desk. "Or go to the infirmary."

Weiss just coughed into her elbow then made the motion of writing notes. "I'm fine. It's just warm…" She mumbled.

Ruby bit her lip as she waited for class to end so Weiss wouldn't cause a scene. She knew how much her partner hated drama and being the center of attention.

The second that the bell rang, Weiss still didn't move and continued the motion of writing notes, even though the professor dismissed them. Ruby watched everyone leave the class and saw that Yang and Blake were looking at them curiously.

"Weiss, class is over." Yang placed a hand onto Weiss's shoulder and yelped as she pulled her hand back. "Weiss! You're burning up!"

"I'm not, everything's just warm." Weiss nodded and blinked a few times to focus her eyes. "Where's the professor…?"

"She left a while ago." Blake frowned as she hovered her hand over Weiss's forehead and shook her head. "Yang's right. You're burning up. I didn't have to touch you to know that you're feeling hotter than Yang."

"And no one is as hot as me!" Yang tried to lighten the mood a bit and saw that Ruby was packing Weiss's things up for her.

"Ruby… What are you doing?" Weiss saw what her partner was doing and was about to grab her bag until she saw three of them, missing grabbing the right one entirely.

"Taking care of my partner. Now come with me back to our room. You're going to rest and I'm not letting you out of bed until your fever breaks." Ruby stated sternly as she looked at her.

Blake and Yang were speechless when they saw this side of Ruby. Ever since they were kids, Yang couldn't remember a time when Ruby was this stern with another person.

Weiss just grunted as she reached for her bag again but fell out of her seat. Yang and Blake shouted her name and reached for her but Ruby quickly grabbed her arm and pulled her back, frowning as she held her into her arms.

"Yang, Blake… Can you two take notes for the rest of today's classes? I'll take her to the infirmary." Ruby made sure that everything was packed up and was about to grab them and carry Weiss, but Yang grabbed the bags.

"We'll stop by the room first and drop your bags off."

"We'll also leave a fresh change of clothes and some medicine for Weiss too on her bed." Blake nodded as she smiled.

"Thanks, you two." Ruby smiled at them as they quickly left the room and looked at her partner in her arms.

Weiss was burning to the touch and breathing too heavily for her liking. Biting her lip, Ruby took off Weiss's blazer and just draped it over her as she lifted the small woman into her arms.

"You're way too light, Weiss…" Ruby mumbled as she looked at her partner sadly, carefully walking out of the classroom and towards the infirmary. She looked around and made sure that no one was around to see them like this and made it back to the medical room without any trouble.

"How can I help- Oh, dear. There's a bed that you can lay her on. I'll be with her in a moment. Can you tell me what symptoms she has shown so far?" The nurse went to grab a few medical bottles.

"So far she's paler than usual, high fever, shortness of breath, and I think she's having a hard time seeing things properly?" Ruby counted what Weiss displayed within the last half hour.

The nurse hummed as she listened to Ruby's explanation. "How has she been sleeping?"

"Not well…" Ruby admitted sadly. "I'm not sure for how long, but for a while, when I've gone to bed, she's still awake. By the time I get up, she's awake." She frowned. "I even asked her more than once to take it easy and sleep, but she ignored me." Some partner I am if I let her get this bad.

The nurse made her way towards Ruby and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sure that you've done your best to make sure that she's well rested. You've even brought her here after all." She offered a kind smile and grabbed a syringe. "This should help her get some of the rest that she needs for the rest of the day. When she wakes up…" The nurse offered Ruby a bottle of pills. "This is to help with the fever and to help her sleep. Make sure that she takes one after every meal."

"Thank you for the help." Ruby smiled and looked at Weiss. "How… bad is she?"

"Since she hasn't been sleeping for a while and it's been cold lately, she'll be fine if she rests for a few days. Some light exercise if she insists on moving around. I'll inform the teachers that she shouldn't be attending class and needs to focus on recovering."

"I-I see…" Ruby frowned, feeling guilty that Weiss needs to rest. "Can I take her back to the room? I'm sure that my team is worried about her."

"Of course. If there's anything else, please let me know." The nurse nodded and stepped aside as Ruby pocketed the bottle and carefully carried Weiss in her arms. "Please do take care now."

"I will. Thank you for your help." Ruby smiled and walked out of the nurse's office.

"Oh hey, Ruby." Yang frowned at how Weiss looked in her arms. "Her clothes are laid out on the bed. We ordered some porridge in case she got hungry."

"Thanks, Yang. The nurse said that she'll be fine once she gets a few days of rest. She also said that she'll inform the professors to give Weiss a few days off to recover. She's not gonna be happy about it, but the nurse's orders for her are to complete bed rest." Ruby shrugged.

Weiss panted in Ruby's arms and slowly opened her eyes. "Good morning, Princess." Ruby smiled softly at her.

"Ru… where…?" Weiss looked around in a daze, wondering where she was. Last thing she remembered was being in class. Then… didn't Ruby say they were at the nurse's office a few moments ago?

"You're back in our room. The nurse said that you need a few days to rest. You have a bad cold." Ruby frowned as she carried Weiss towards the bed.

"Ngh… n-no… I have classes…" Weiss mumbled, weakly struggling to move off the bed.

Ruby frowned and placed her hands onto her partner's shoulders. "Nope. The nurse ordered strict bed rest. You look like you're about to collapse any second as well. Just lie down and sleep. Yang and Blake are going to take notes for us."

"That's right. So you should get some rest, Ice Queen. You're usually helping us with everything. It's about time that you get some rest and let us help you." Yang gave her a warm smile.

"You're the one that said that we could come to each other if we needed help. There's no need for you to push yourself this hard by yourself. You could come to us if you're troubled with something." Blake added.

Weiss merely grunted as she turned towards the wall. "Fine."

The trio blinked at how easy it was for her to agree to bed rest, thinking that she must've been really exhausted.

Blake shook her head and grabbed her bag. "Take care of Weiss."

"Yeah. Oh, and here. I think that you two could use the company." Yang winked as she handed a box to Ruby.

"Er… thanks?" Ruby blinked as she took the box and watched the Bumbleby duo leave the room. She sat at the foot of Weiss' bed and opened the box, nearly squealing in delight when she saw what was inside. "Zwei!"

"Awrf!" The little corgi barked as he jumped out of the box and into Ruby's arms, licking her face.

Ruby giggled as she rubbed Zwei's fur and kissed his forehead while holding him close. "I missed you too." She nuzzled against his head and looked over at Weiss. "I'm sure that Weiss missed you too."

Zwei whined as he squirmed out of Ruby's arms and slowly trotted his way over towards Weiss. He let out a low whine and moved to lay next to her.

"She'll be alright if she rests." Ruby smiled as she rubbed the canine's head. "I'll let you keep her company while I get some food for us."

Zwei barked quietly so he wouldn't disturb Weiss and nuzzled against her arm lightly, slowly falling asleep with her.

Ruby hummed as she played games on her scroll, distracting herself from doing any schoolwork. She looked back at Weiss from her desk when she heard her partner whimpering and Zwei whined, gently nudging Weiss's arm. The young leader walked towards the bed and sat on the edge, frowning when she saw that Weiss was curling into a ball with a pained expression.

"...S-Sorry… N-No… Don't hurt… me..." She whimpered in her sleep and Ruby's heart broke at the sight. Even Zwei whined louder as he nudged Weiss's arm, only to whimper when Weiss tried to move away.

"Weiss?" Ruby frowned as she picked up Zwei, rubbing his head while wondering what Weiss was dreaming about. Who was going to hurt her? The young leader shook her a bit firmer, seeing how her dog's nudges weren't rousing the older woman earlier. "Weiss, wake up. Please. No one's going to hurt you."

"Winter… I'm sor...ry…" Tears fell from Weiss' eyes as she curled into a ball.

"Winter?" Her heart clenched at the sight of Weiss crying, even if it was in her sleep. Ruby shook her head. She could question her partner after she woke her up, after all. "Weiss. Wake up!"

Weiss stirred awake and panted, looking at who was shaking her. "W-Win...ter…?" She whimpered and sat up quickly, wrapping her arms around Ruby. "Winter, I'm sorry… Don't be mad… I'll get better… I prom...ise..."

"Weiss?" Ruby frowned as she wrapped an arm around Weiss' shoulders, not liking how warm she felt. She bit her lip as she thought about what to do. Did the nurse's medicine earlier not work? "Weiss, hey. Are you… awake?" The red leader mentally kicked herself for asking such a dumb question, but she didn't know what to do in this situation!

Zwei whimpered and licked Weiss' hand to get her attention.

Weiss continued to cry on Ruby's shoulder for a few more minutes until she opened her eyes. Her sight was blurry and took her a moment to see again. "Win…" She blinked and saw Ruby looking at her with worried eyes. "R-Ruby?!" She looked down and realized that she had been crying and quickly wiped her face. "I-I'm sorry. That was unbecoming of me."

"Weiss…" Ruby placed a hand over Weiss'. "Don't… I'm here." She frowned when her partner wouldn't meet her eyes. "Weiss… You're sick and had a nightmare. At least let me help so you can sleep better." She frowned as she gave Weiss' hand a gentle, reassuring squeeze.

"I… I didn't…" Weiss looked up and saw the concerned look within those silver eyes and sighed. "...Ok."

Ruby smiled and slowly raised her hand up Weiss' arm. She watched her partner's reactions and slowly moved Weiss within her arms, rubbing her back. "Weiss, I'm here. You don't have to hide anything from me. Remember that I'm always here to help you, just as you were always here to help me whenever I needed it."

"Mmm…" Weis hummed and nuzzled against Ruby's shoulder, feeling warm and safe within her arms. She glanced down and saw that Zwei was nuzzling against her hand. With a small smile, she rubbed his head and sighed into Ruby's shoulder. "...I had a dream of when I was sick before."

Ruby rubbed Weiss' back, coaxing her to continue, but making sure that she was comfortable enough to share what she wanted.

"I studied too hard and collapsed after a test. Father wasn't happy with me. Especially when I had an eighty-six percent. He… hit me and locked me in my room. I caught a bad cold after that and couldn't move." Weiss paused her story when Ruby shifted and wrapped her cloak around her. "Ruby…?"

"I really don't like your dad." She frowned, shaking with anger as she gripped her cloak.

Weiss placed a hand over Ruby's to calm her down as Zwei curled up on her lap. "Ruby…"

"S-Sorry. Uh… so what about Winter?" Ruby looked at Weiss. "You've been saying her name as you were sleeping."

"She…" Weiss frowned and looked at Zwei, rubbing his head idly. "She told me not to worry about Father and do the best that I can do. But I can't help but feel like I've failed her in some way." She yawned, starting to drift off.

"Weiss." Ruby waited for her partner to look up at her. "It's ok to fail. No one's perfect. If there's a problem, then we can work through it together. There's no need for you to push yourself so hard." She smiled at her. "I'm always willing to help you. If you'll let me."

"Dolt." Weiss smiled sleepily as she leaned onto Ruby. "That's why I… love you…"

Ruby blushed at the sudden confession and looked at Weiss, who had fallen asleep. Did Weiss… I-I'll ask her again when she wakes up. I hope she meant it though. Shaking that thought out of her head, the young leader shifted and laid Weiss down onto the bed. She thought about it for a moment, then moved to lay with her partner, wrapping her arms around her protectively and kissing her forehead while Zwei made himself comfortable at their feet.

"Sleep well, Weiss. Get better soon." Ruby whispered and closed her eyes, falling asleep as well.

A/N: Heyo, it's Sev. I actually had this idea for a year now and only just now got around to writing this. Hope that y'all enjoyed! See y'all next time!