Chapter 1—Night Watch

Cold often dulled the pain, but tonight it just made Weiss' eye scream in irritation. The pain building in the fissure was enough to cause a migraine. Though she tried to block it out in silent meditation, swirling winds and snows danced around her with just enough noise to turn the comforting black of her tired mind into a snow globe. In a way it reminded her of home: snowy, cold, and uncomfortable. It would be funny if it wasn't so irritable.

"Weiss, stay awake! No sleeping during a sleepover!" As if shocked, Weiss' eyes sprang open and the snowy emptiness of her mind was filled in by the actual snow flurry falling outside Emerald Forest. The winter came to Vale, which pushed the grimm out of the forests. Nights overcame day more and more. A huntress' vigil comes every winter to hold the borders against more desperate grimm.
Grunt work in truth.

"Ruby, we live together." Weiss didn't bother to look at her, she was staring off into the darker forests, the sun was more than set by now and her dim fire was burning out.

"Yeah, but now we're camping. It's, like, special, or something. We get to enjoy the wilderness and roast marshmallows and stuff. Plus s'mores, they're like super cookies," Ruby rambled, clearly starting to lose her point. Weiss felt her eye throb, the scar acting up again, making her limited patience shorter.

"We're supposed to be guarding the city's perimeter, not making s'mores. Take your position more seriously or no one will respect your command!" Her blue eyes turned to Ruby's, seeing a childlike apologetic expression on her.

"I know, but I figure we should enjoy it. We don't have to always be super stuffy." She scratched her head and Ruby's eyes turned away from Weiss' ice gaze to her feet. Weiss was frustrated, her eye hurt, and Ruby was being a kid again. Maybe it was rude, but Weiss wanted to wake her up. She didn't mean it from malice, Ruby could be a great leader, but needed to be checked, tempered, and disciplined.

"Did you make rounds? Once you finish that and get more firewood then you can make damn s'mores," Weiss let up, trying to not be overly rude. In the months since they had become teammates Weiss had tried to move from being insulting of Ruby to critical, but driving.

"Already did! Didn't expect that, huh? While you dazed off I managed to cover all the way from Nora's to Yang's patrol. I'm fast, remember?" Ruby replied, sauntering over to the fire. Weiss snuck a look to see her with a wide proud smile. Cute girl, shame she was a bit stupid sometimes. Weiss thought about reminding Ruby that searching thoroughly was important not speed, but she decided against it, instead the pain in her eye made her grimace. The night was getting on and now smoke was coming up from either side, one was light, Weiss guessed in Blake's and Yang's camp. Blake's night vision made a big fire counterproductive.

"Weiss, I know you're kind of the serious type, but I really want to take this time to enjoy ourselves. We don't usually get some time together as friends. I mean, with Blake and Yang yeah, but not really time to get to know each other. So, Miss Weiss Schnee, tell me something I don't know about the illustrious princess." Weiss hated being called that, she was no one's princess, heiress she was, but not some princess. Her pain and that comment made Weiss want to scream, but instead she merely replied.

"I sing sometimes."

"Sing for me."

"No."
She could hear the disappointment.

"Well, fine, I like to write. Stupid short stories mostly. I'd let you read them if you'd sing for me," she said with a sort of clever plea. Made no difference. Weiss' voice was not bribable; she didn't care to sing for others, even if her father pushed her. Her thoughts kept cutting off by the cold wind that irritated the scar.

"If you're trying to buy a song, then I'd suggest trading something I want, " Weiss said with more of a smile, her initial irritation was begging to be replaced by a small amount of amusement. Ruby was charming, in an idiot sort of way.

"Maybe you do, you don't know. Alright, s'mores are done, and I made you bit of coffee!" Weiss looked down somewhat wide eyed. In the course of the conversation she never thought to glance to see what the hell Ruby was doing. There she found her setting up boiling coffee with a fire alongside a fresh set of s'mores.

"I know night shift is rough, so I got some coffee grains before we left, plus s'mores are better with friends. Hope you like them," Ruby said. With a chuckle she set her mug up, its heat melting the snow falling into the glass. Weiss sighed, more frustrated with her own rudeness than Ruby. She was being rather sweet, and pain was making Weiss into a bit of a bitch.

"Thank you very much, Ruby," Weiss said, though a bit stilted, as she took up the mug and sipped. Black as Blake's hair, just what the night needed. "You're still not getting that song." Weiss said with a smile, unwilling to be bribed by even the most needed luxury. To this Ruby only laughed.

A few hours passed, and suddenly the night was darker and Ruby was yawning. She was clearly overstaying her shift and Weiss' was already well underway. S'mores were gone and Ruby was to follow suit. The air was way colder now, and though Weiss was not showing it in the least, she was freezing.

"I'm going to take off for the night," Ruby said standing up, whipping the snow from her clothes and hair. Weiss remained focused on the forest, eyes strained in the dark made worse as the cold sapped her of strength. Silently, Ruby stepped to Weiss and a warmth covered her.

"Ruby, your cloak!" Weiss said in a bit of shock. It wrapped around her, surprisingly warm and hefty. Ruby looked back smiling as she stepped away.

"It'll keep you warm. Take good care of it, that cloak means everything to me, but I don't think I could sleep knowing my partner is freezing out here." Ruby walked away into the tent, playing it all off and trying to be a cool girl. Idiot. Although… it was so warm.

The night went on and Weiss clutched the cloak. It smelled like her, the scent of roses. Eyes closed and Weiss could almost feel her there. She didn't feel so lonely and her scar's ache dulled just a little. A blush crept across Weiss' cheeks as the cloak wrapped tight around her. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to sing to Ruby.

**Well that's the first chapter guys. I think I'm aiming for a more lose set of sequential stories, but I hope to build a slow romance. I really got into the white rose pairing of late and wanted to give a little love back, so leave some comments and let me know. Hopefully I'll have chapter two soon!