A commission for overseerorm, who asked for White Rose! I'm so glad I could write them again~ It's a bit similar to my other fic The Red Cloak, but this expands upon that concept a lot more. Please enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.

Okay To Cry

Normally, Weiss was roused from bed by the beeping of the dorm room's alarm clock.

That insistent, annoying, dream-shattering sound.

But this morning, when the sun had yet to rise, she was roused by a different sound. It was the softer, lighter buzz of her scroll.

And she truly wished it had been the alarm instead.

All of her teammates were in the room still asleep, and Winter refused to use her scroll while on-duty.

She knew it could only be one person.

That knowledge always made the sound of her vibrating scroll something to dread, a reserved, menacing anger.

Like a rabbit being stalked by a fox, she didn't move from her bed. She clung to her pillow and closed her eyes, praying the infernal buzzing would just stop already...

It always made her heart pound harder, to know that he was calling. He never contacted her for good reasons.

But she didn't want to answer.

Not now. Not today.

So she flipped onto her other side and pulled the blankets up over her head, counting the buzzes of her scroll, hoping each one would be the last.

Please just stop. I don't want to talk to you.

After nearly twenty times, it finally stopped. Weiss let out a slow, withering breath, gradually reopening her eyes now that the intangible danger had passed.

But not a minute later, it started all over again.

Weiss buried her face into her pillow to stifle a whimper.

Just leave me alone!

She didn't want to hear from him. She just wanted to have a good day today, without the threat of him looming over her shoulder.

Not today. I don't want to...

The scroll continued to buzz, and the stress continued to mount. She was still drowsy from sleep, so her emotions were running higher than she knew they should be, and yet she had no way of stopping it.

But just as she was being surrounded by her demons, a small angel appeared.

A red angel.

With a soft thump, she heard Ruby jump down from her bed. The brunette stretched herself out a bit and yawned, running a hand through her messy hair as she pulled off her sleep mask.

Weiss had turned her back to her partner and pulled the blankets up to her chin, biting her lower lip in an effort to stave off the tears.

Ruby clearly heard the buzzing of Weiss' scroll, and being that Blake and Yang were still asleep, she kept her voice to a whisper as she spoke.

"Pssst, Weiss! Are you awake?"

The response was a minuscule nod. Ruby went on.

"Do you want me to get your scroll for you? It's ringing and ringing."

The heiress didn't budge.

"No."

Ruby's playful smile faded when she heard her partner's tone.

She didn't know much about Weiss' family life, but she knew enough to understand that her father wasn't exactly the nicest person on Remnant.

By then, the buzzing had stopped again. A few beats of silence filled the room, interrupted only by Yang's snores. Ruby twiddled her fingers nervously, crept closer to Weiss' bed and peeked over the heiress' shoulder.

"Weiss...? Are you okay?"

More silence.

Then:

"I'm fine. Just tired."

It wasn't a lie, either. Though the curtness and ambiguity of her words left it to be interpreted that she wanted to sleep, in reality she'd meant that she was exhausted because of her father's persistent efforts.

Ruby didn't catch the exact implication, but she knew something was wrong with Weiss' words. Struggling to find and excuse to keep the conversation going, Ruby took another step closer to the bed.

"Gee. It's really cold this morning. And we've still got an hour before we gotta get up for classes. But ooh, Zwei's on my pillow now and I won't be able to sleep if I go back up to my bed!"

Weiss sighed and spared the girl the trouble of asking by giving the invitation herself.

"Just stay here."

She knew what Ruby was doing, and normally, she'd refuse her.

But this morning, Weiss felt she really needed her.

Ruby was happy her little plan had worked. Carefully, she slipped into bed behind Weiss, burrowing under the blankets and instantly being enveloped by her scent. She longed to cuddle up to her back, but hesitated.

Weiss wasn't used to a lot of physical contact, and the last thing Ruby wanted to do was overstep the boundaries that had been set. She'd already invaded on Weiss' personal bubble by laying down in her bed, and she wanted to be sure she wasn't going too far.

So she stayed still for the moment, her gaze trained on Weiss. Her long, snowy hair pooled neatly out over the top of the covers and down to her waist. Even after the entire night had passed, it was still somehow neat and lovely, not a strand out of place. Her shoulders rose and fell so slightly it almost wasn't noticeable, and Ruby kept holding her own breath until she was certain she'd seen Weiss breathe.

She didn't move any closer yet, scrambling in her mind to find words that would accomplish the goal she had set.

She didn't miss the small shudder that shot up Weiss' side then, something so sudden and perturbing that it made her partner gasp softly. That gasp was followed by a miserable sound, one that made Ruby's eyes tear up.

Still, she was scared to hurt Weiss. She didn't want to do this if it meant it would only make things worse.

So she kept to the secret code of theirs, something only she and Weiss had, of speaking certain words, but knowing how to decipher the true intent behind them.

"Weiss...? Are you cold?"

May I hold you?

And the response was unmistakable.

Another shudder, and a tiny nod.

With permission granted, Ruby wasted no time in shifting as close to her as possible, pressing her knees up into the crooks behind Weiss', shaping the curve of her partner's hips with her own abdomen. Carefully, she slipped her arms around her, one beneath the tight space where Weiss' body met the mattress, and the other draped over her exposed shoulder.

Ruby leaned forward, gently resting her cheek against soft, silken tresses, nuzzling into her shoulder. Her hands slid down to loop around Weiss' stomach, keeping their embrace loose but firm. Loose enough to allow Weiss to breathe easily, but firm enough so that every time she exhaled, she could feel that Ruby was still there.

Ruby stayed close, pressing her chest warmly against Weiss' back, finding that she really was shivering.

But Ruby knew it wasn't due to cold.

Weiss was making sure to tuck her face into her pillow, out of sight. Her body trembled with small, silent sobs, so faint even Ruby had trouble recognizing them, despite her closeness.

But she knew how Weiss probably felt right now. She herself got the same way sometimes when she was upset. She didn't want people to see her face, so Ruby would typically bury herself in Yang's arms.

But Weiss had fewer places to hide.

So Ruby hid for her.

She nestled her face into the nape of her partner's neck, her cheeks surrounded by locks of soft hair. She made it known that she wasn't going to look.

It let Weiss cry a little more freely.

Even so, it was very soft, very reserved, very private. She never made a lot of noise, never breathed too hard, never shook too much. It was a very controlled method of crying.

Ruby felt that was odd. In her opinion, if there was one thing in the world that shouldn't be controlled at all, it was crying.

When someone cried, they were supposed to be letting out their emotions, sobbing and wailing as loud as they needed to in order to fight away the pain and the grief and the fear. That was how she cried, anyway.

But Weiss' way felt so... stifling.

It was almost unnatural. To think she'd trained herself on how to cry was beyond Ruby Rose.

She could see how anyone else in the world would have assumed Weiss was just sleeping and walked right on by.

It made her wonder how many nights Weiss had done this – alone – just a few feet beneath her, and Ruby had never noticed.

She hated to think about it. She could only try to make up for all of those potential times by being there for Weiss right now.

Ruby didn't say anything else. She didn't want to intrude on whatever issues were assaulting her partner, mainly because she didn't want to make Weiss remember or elaborate on them when she clearly didn't want to.

Weiss had enough troubles as it was here at Beacon with classes, assignments, exams, missions, and other daily stresses. Ruby didn't think it was fair that her partner also needed to be bombarded with family issues on top of all that.

She snuggled closer, wishing she could share some of the weight that burdened Weiss' heart. She could feel it, beating thickly beneath her palms. It was the only part of Weiss that seemed to truly be reacting to her sadness in an appropriate manner.

Ruby was silent as she rubbed her hands slowly, gingerly, over Weiss' stomach.

She just wanted her to feel better. She just wanted her to be okay.

With a sigh, Ruby realized she couldn't keep quiet any longer. Not when she could feel every ripple of choked air trying to restrain itself inside Weiss' lungs.

Ruby squeezed her, just a little bit.

"It's okay," she murmured into her hair. "It's gonna be okay."

Ruby started to feel a lump in her throat. This was exactly what Yang had done for her after Summer had disappeared.

But she couldn't let herself get upset right now. She needed to be strong for Weiss.

So she just kept hugging her, tracing her hands over her stomach, and whispering promises to her.

And normally, Weiss would've chased her off, be it with annoyance or anger or defiance. She hated the thought of anyone seeing her so vulnerable, so meek, so defenseless.

But with Ruby... she just couldn't push her away.

Because she knew it would hurt Ruby more than it would spare her own pride.

So she let her stay, even going so far as to press herself back even closer to Ruby. She curled her hands over Ruby's where they pressed on her nightgown. Weiss' fingers twitched as they tried to find a place to rest, and ultimately found a gentle purchase on Ruby's knuckles.

It was difficult not to break down and let her voice rise up, but she couldn't afford to let that happen.

Not so early in the morning. Not with a full day of classes ahead of her. Not with Blake and Yang still sleeping behind her.

She kept quiet, so only Ruby could hear and feel. Warm tears slipped out and over her nose and cheeks, but they were few and far between.

Weiss fought every last one of them, forcing them back, cutting off her breath before it could get out of hand. She let Ruby's voice, hands, and presence calm her down, until she had full control over her body once again.

Ruby had hoped that Weiss would break down crying. It didn't feel right for her to be so stiff and unwilling to express her emotions.

It wasn't healthy. Ruby knew that better than anyone.

Yang and her parents and relatives had always taught her to just cry her heart out.

So for Weiss to be like this, Ruby was worried for her.

But she didn't want to make things worse, or make Weiss angry with her. Besides, she could feel her partner growing still now, her forced, choppy breathing finally becoming deeper, slower.

Ruby kept on holding her, sharing her warmth with Weiss until she was certain the heiress was asleep.

Even then, Ruby stayed with her. She wanted to think up some scenario that might convince Weiss to skip classes today. She wanted her to rest and sort things out with her father on the other end of her scroll.

And if at all possible, Ruby wanted to stay with her.

But she couldn't think of anything to tell Blake and Yang without revealing Weiss' dilemma directly.

Heaving a sigh, Ruby peeked back over her shoulder to find the dorm had been painted with a bit of sunlight, and the alarm was about to go off.

Not wanting to embarrass Weiss when their teammates woke, Ruby unwillingly slipped away from her. She climbed back up onto her own bed, nudging Zwei over a little bit, and waited the few minutes until the alarm rang.

When it did, Ruby instantly peered over the edge of her bed.

Weiss all but jolted awake at the sound of the first ring, and Ruby saw her wipe her eyes a few times before promptly getting up. She grabbed her uniform and slipped into the bathroom before Blake or Yang had even opened their eyes.

Ruby sighed nervously, hoping that Weiss' ordeal was over for the day.

But of course, it wasn't.

Almost the very second her partner stepped out of the bathroom, Weiss' scroll went off again. She froze for a second before hurrying over to snatch it up and silence it. Ruby pretended to be playing with Zwei so Weiss wouldn't know she'd seen.

As Blake and Yang rolled out of their beds, they took turns getting ready for the day.

Again, Ruby hoped Weiss' father was finished calling her.

But her scroll didn't stop going off all day.

Every break in between their classes, from the second one lecture ended to the second the next one began, Weiss' scroll would buzz. It was evidence enough that her father had found out her schedule and was calling at deliberate times.

Weiss tried to distract herself with her classes, participating as much as possible and taking notes to keep her mind off her father.

Blake and Yang noticed the excessive number of calls as well, and kept sharing worried looks with Ruby.

At lunchtime, when they'd all just sat down, it happened again.

Blake did her best not to be nosy, but after a morning of insistent calls, she felt the needed to address the heiress.

"Weiss... don't you think you should answer?"

"Yeah..." Yang agreed. "Just, y'know... to be sure nothing happened."

Weiss flashed them a look that conveyed her plight from across the table.

"I assure you," she said. "If it was anything dire or urgent, he would have sent for me another way." Then, she added something more quietly, so only Ruby heard. "When he calls, he only calls to yell."

Weiss seemed to lose her appetite after that.

But her teammates were determined not to let Weiss sacrifice her health because of this.

Ruby made sure to be extra cheerful, making bad jokes together with Yang and telling stories. She was even successful in breaking off a part of her chocolate-chip cookie and getting Weiss to eat it.

Blake pulled out one of her textbooks and placed it across the table, asking Weiss to help her study certain things.

Yang kept balancing random food items on her index finger and tried to eat them like that.

Through their joint efforts, they managed to distract Weiss from her father's troublesome calls, and even managed to make her laugh a few times. Things were beginning to look up, and Ruby hoped that the second half of Weiss' day might be better for her.

Near the end of their lunch break, Weiss stood and excused herself to the restroom. But before she could leave, Yang called out to her.

"Hold on, Weiss. Leave your scroll, yeah?"

Weiss grimaced a bit, and it was clear Yang had guessed correctly. Weiss had wanted to sneak away for a moment to answer her father at last.

But now, her teammates weren't about to let her risk the smile they'd managed to put back on her lips.

"Fine."

Weiss fished out her scroll and left it on the table before she took her leave.

Yang glared at the device.

"I dare him to call again. I'll answer and give him a piece of my mind."

"Why does he keep calling her?" Blake wondered.

"I'm not sure," Ruby mumbled. "But Weiss said it can't be for good reasons. Ugh, I wish he'd just leave her aloooone!"

"It's borderline harassment," Blake growled.

The three of them were silent for a moment, wishing the calls would stop.

Yang groaned.

"I wish we could just block him..."

"Yang!" Ruby cried. "Weiss would get in so much trouble!"

"I know, I know," her sister sighed. "I said I wish we could do that. Didn't say we should... But there's gotta be something we can do to help, right?"

Again, they were silent as they tried to think.

A twitch of Blake's bow told the sisters their Faunus friend had an idea.

"Hey," she said. "Weiss has that exam last period today, right? She's been studying for weeks. Maybe we could do something for her."

"Oooh, oooh yeah!" Ruby clapped. "Let's throw a party for her this weekend to help get her mind off things! But what can we do until then? It's only Wednesday..."

Her sister provided the answer with a smirk.

"I've got an idea. Just gimme till dinnertime."

She decided she'd need a bit of help, so she took Blake aside and let her in on the plan.

Ruby wanted to join in and listen, but Weiss returned just then. She hugged her partner as soon as she sat down, effectively stopping Weiss from touching her scroll.

Ruby then broke off another part of her remaining cookie half and offered it to her.

"Here, here! Let's finish it together, Weiss!"

The heiress sighed softly and accepted the cookie.

But even though Ruby was proud she'd gotten Weiss to eat, she couldn't help but notice the faint dampness on her partner's cheeks.

The four of them had one more lecture class together, then for their final class of the day were split up.

Ruby and Yang had a class together while Blake and Weiss had separate lectures.

Ruby fidgeted in her seat for the entire hour and a half, constantly mumbling to Yang.

"I hope Weiss is okay. I hope her stupid scroll isn't going off and distracting her from her test! She's been really worried about passing it and I don't want her dad to mess her up!"

"Don't sweat it." Yang slipped an arm casually around Ruby's shoulders. "Remember: she's Weiss. She won't let anything keep her away from her perfect grades. Not even her nosy old man."

"I hope so..."

As soon as their final class of the day was over, Ruby jumped up from her seat and prepared to bolt to the door. Yang only just barely managed to grab hold of her cloak and stop her.

"Hold up a sec!" She tugged Ruby back and spun her around so she could talk to her. "Before you go tearin' off, lemme explain. Blake and I are gonna go arrange that thing we were talking about at lunch, okay? So you just stay with Weiss until then. Shouldn't be longer than an hour before we're ready on our end."

Ruby nodded vigorously.

"Okay, okay! I got it! Now lemme go so I can make sure she's okay!"

"Yeah, off ya go! Shoot me a message if you can, okay?"

"I will!"

And at last, Ruby darted off in a blur of petals towards Weiss' classroom.

Students were filing out, looking drained from the exam they'd just taken.

Ruby spotted her partner easily, not only because of her bright white hair, but because Weiss was the only person who walked out with her chin held high.

Ruby was glad to see she didn't seem to be worried about her grade. She raced over and called out to her happily.

"Weeiissss!"

She threw her arms around the older girl and gave her a quick squeeze, then let her go before Weiss could complain about the hug.

"Ruby, I swear! One of these days you're going to give me a heart-attack."

"But not today~" she beamed. "So how was the test? Think you did okay?"

"I know I did more thank okay. That was child's play. Almost makes me feel foolish for studying so much." Weiss puffed out her chest in an important, confident manner.

Ruby was overjoyed to see that she didn't seem to be worried about her father anymore.

"That's great! Let's head back to the room and relax a bit before dinner!"

With an excited bounce, she grasped her partner's hand and began tugging her along.

But to her dismay, Weiss seemed to remember the issues at hand, and was intent to deal with them before she'd allow herself to relax.

Just as they came to a pause outside of the dorm room, Weiss pulled Ruby back a step.

"Ruby? Would you mind waiting out here? Just for a minute. I want to answer my father."

Ruby's heart sank.

"But Weiss-!"

"If I don't do it sooner, it'll only be worse when I'm forced to later."

Weiss looked away as her free hand dug out her scroll. Her other hand was still holding Ruby's. The leader noticed when Weiss squeezed her fingers a little before letting go. Weiss opened the dorm room door and stepped inside.

"Just give me ten minutes or so. You should go find Blake and Yang or something."

And before Ruby could stop her, she disappeared behind the closed door.

Whimpering, Ruby stood there with her hand still outstretched, worry painted on every feature of her face and posture. She shuffled in place, unsure of what to do.

Should I go find Blake and Yang like she said? Maybe I can help them with that thing they were planning...

But she quickly decided against it. She was almost certain that whatever Weiss' father was going to say to her, it wouldn't be something she'd want Weiss to be alone with when it was over.

So Ruby slouched back against the wall beside the door, sat down, and hugged her knees to her chest. She pulled out her own scroll to check the time.

Ten minutes is all she's getting before I'm going in there to check on her.

Ruby stared at the time on her scroll.

She didn't mean to eavesdrop, but she soon realized she could faintly hear Weiss' voice beyond the door. It was muffled, and not enough for her to be able to make sense of the words, but she could easily decipher the emotion in her tone.

Weiss was trying to speak, but she kept getting cut off. It happened so often it made Ruby even more nervous and worried for her partner.

After five minutes, she could tell Weiss was beginning to get upset. Very upset.

Ruby bit her lip and buried her head in her knees.

Meanie! What a mean dad! Leave Weiss alone!

She remembered to text Yang, advising that she and Blake wait a little while with whatever they had in mind to help make Weiss feel better.

It was a few more minutes before Ruby finally heard nothing but silence beyond the door. She stared at the time on her scroll without blinking, and she was sure that was the longest minute of her entire life.

The second the tenth minute was up, she jumped to her feet and knocked on the door.

"Weiss? I'm coming in, okay?"

She waited only a second – just long enough for Weiss to be able to tell her no.

But she didn't, so Ruby pushed in and closed the door behind her.

Zwei waddled up to her, whimpering. He'd heard Weiss' conversation with her father, and he clearly didn't like it.

Ruby bent down to give him a pat before casting her eyes around the room.

Weiss was seated on the edge of her bed with her hands clutching her skirt and her shoulders slouched. Her ponytail was dangling over her shoulder so that Ruby couldn't see her face.

The leader walked slowly across the room, keeping quiet until she reached her partner's side. Ruby fiddled with her hands as she stood before Weiss, fighting for words.

"Um... so... is everything okay...?"

She braced herself for the worst, but to her surprise, Weiss lifted her head and actually smiled.

But it wasn't a real smile.

"Everything's fine," Weiss murmured. "Nothing dire, as I'd expected. He just wanted to yell. I'm used to it."

Ruby tried to swallow, but it didn't go down, and she had to try again. She took a cautious step forward, another silent intrusion into Weiss' personal space, and was ready to retreat if she was asked to.

But Weiss didn't move, nor did she stop her.

So Ruby sat down next to her. Weiss' fake smile had faded, and Ruby decided she actually preferred the genuine sadness to feigned happiness.

It was a struggle not to reach out and touch her, but she knew Weiss needed space, so she kept her hands in her lap as she addressed the other girl softly.

"Weiss... are you sure...? I mean... I know it's none of my business, but... you're my partner, and my friend. S-So I just wanna make sure you're okay."

She peeked over at Weiss again and chewed on her lip.

For a moment, Weiss didn't react. She simply sat there with her eyes trained on the floor, her vision unfocused.

Then, with a sigh, she moved her arms behind herself, leaning back on her hands as she lifted her gaze to the ceiling. Her voice slipped out, seeming detached from the rest of her.

"It was just the usual. Reminding me how ungrateful I am. After all he's done for me, all the money he's wasted to send me to Beacon. Reminding me how successful he was, how successful Winter is... how successful I'll never be if I continue studying as a huntress..." She tapered off, her voice wavering. She needed to stop and take a breath.

Ruby blinked and felt warmth behind her eyes, and when she next opened them, a tear slipped down each cheek.

"Weiss... that's awful..."

To think a parent could say such things to their own child, especially one as bright and hardworking as Weiss.

Ruby's stomach felt knotted, and she couldn't stop herself from sliding a little bit closer. She had to wonder how often this happened, how many times Weiss' father had done this, be it on a call or in person.

But Ruby was sure of one thing. It was enough times to make Weiss say she was "used to it."

She wasn't sure if it made her more angry or sad.

There was only one thing Ruby was sure of, and that was the fact that a tear had just fallen off of Weiss' chin. She hadn't even noticed Weiss had been crying until it had fallen into her lap.

Just as she had this morning, Weiss was trying to keep everything back, forcing her breathing to stay steady and her emotions to stay in check.

That was the final straw for Ruby. She hugged Weiss softly and hid her face in her partner's shoulder.

"Weiss... don't..." she mumbled. "Don't force it all back. You can't keep doing that... You should let it out."

Weiss looked away.

"I don't want to..."

"But Weiss, you've gotta!" she begged. "It's not good to keep it all inside." She hugged her a little tighter. "I won't look, okay? But I don't wanna leave you, either..."

Only when an idea struck her did she pull away from Weiss briefly. With shaking fingers, Ruby reached up to her uniform's collar and untied the strings of her cloak. She fumbled to remove it and unruffled it a bit.

Then, she draped it over Weiss' delicate shoulders, covered her arms with it, curling the ends around either side of her waist and tying the strings beneath her neck.

Weiss was still as Ruby did all of this, but she couldn't help but tilt her head in confusion.

"Ruby... what are you-?"

"Don't worry," she sniffled. "You can cry, Weiss. It's okay. I promise."

At last, she pulled up the hood of the cloak so that it shielded Weiss' head.

This was what Ruby always did whenever she was upset. Having her mother's cloak wrapped warmly around her always made her feel safe. She hoped she could let Weiss feel that way, too.

Ruby hugged her again, hiding her own face in the red fabrics of her cloak that now shielded Weiss, and waited.

Weiss, on the other hand, hadn't the slightest clue what to make of all this. She'd never seen Ruby remove her cloak before except when she was changing clothes or going into the bathroom to shower. She even slept with it on her bed every night and often huddled beneath it like a blanket.

But never before had she seen Ruby give it to someone else – not even Yang.

It was her precious treasure, her most-beloved keepsake that had been passed unto her by her late mother. Weiss didn't feel she was worthy of having it right now, but she knew better than to say as much to her partner.

It took her a moment to realize that this was Ruby's method of trying to help her.

Help her...

"It's okay, Weiss..." she kept mumbling. "It's okay..."

Weiss felt her heart begin to beat a little faster, a little harder. Her controlled breathing was soon disassembled into smaller, unbecoming sobs that started in the pit of her stomach and worked their way up, first into her chest, then up her constricting through before finally tumbling past her lips.

Her tears became unbridled, spilling down one after the other without stopping, as though whatever invisible barrier that had been keeping them at bay had been removed indefinitely.

And her voice...

She'd worked so hard up until now to keep it quiet, but it wasn't any use. It started out as just small, unscrupulous noises and fragments of words that made no sense.

But as she was overwhelmed, her sobs grew louder and louder, and the tears came faster and faster. Her voice rose up in wails, caterwauls she'd been keeping inside for nearly a decade since her father had begun to challenge her wishes.

She couldn't stop.

And yet, it wasn't unpleasant like it had been in the past, when she'd curled up alone and cried into her own hands.

Ruby's scent filled her lungs, and her warmth kindled a gentle flame in Weiss' chest.

She pulled the cloak tighter around herself, then reached out to hug the girl in return.

And even though Weiss was crying, Ruby was glad. She was glad Weiss was finally letting out all the pent-up emotions she'd been stuffing inside for so long.

In a way, this kind of hard, whole-hearted crying ended up bringing the most relief.

Ruby wept more softly for a change as Weiss took the higher pitch. She hugged her partner tightly, to remind Weiss that she wasn't alone with this.

Weiss lifted her arm and the cloak along with is, allowing Ruby to be covered as well. The brunette nuzzled into Weiss' side, keeping close as her partner hiccuped and cried. Ruby sniffled, but smiled as she sighed into Weiss' collar.

"Weiss... you sound like a little kid..."

Weiss choked out another sob and pulled her in fervently.

"Dolt... have you heard yourself?"

Ruby giggled, and before Weiss knew it, she was doing the same.

Soon, they were crying for laughter and for better things than past regrets and nagging fathers.

Ruby giggled merrily and hugged Weiss all over again. Weiss wiped her eyes on her sleeve, doing her best not to mess up the cloak around her.

Ruby wiggled her way onto Weiss' lap and pressed closer.

"Do you feel any better, Weiss?"

The heiress maintained her hold on Ruby, bringing her close to her chest, resting her chin on the girl's head.

"Somehow... I do, Ruby. Thank you."

"Ooh, I'm so glad!" Ruby deliberately leaned forward a bit, gently pushing Weiss back.

The heiress stuttered as she felt herself falling, but she could do nothing to help herself. She fell back onto her mattress with Ruby on top of her, giggling and cuddling into her chest. Weiss had no choice but to lock her arms around the girl to prevent her from sliding off.

"Ruby! Honestly..."

Her leader just kept laughing, until she finally stopped wiggling and relaxed on top of Weiss. She rested her head on her partner's chest and let out a weightless sigh, voice soft.

"See, Weiss? It's okay..."

Weiss let out a long breath. She closed her eyes, holding Ruby in place as she let her head fall back onto the mattress.

"Thank you..."

For a few minutes, the two of them remained there on the bed, still wrapped in Ruby's red cloak. Ruby yawned, content to stay where she was now that she knew Weiss was better.

But Weiss didn't exactly fancy the idea of being a pillow.

"Ruby, don't you dare fall asleep on me."

"I can be your blanket~"

"I'll pass."

"Ffffiiiine."

Ruby sat up and slid off of her partner, then took Weiss' hands and helped her sit up again. The hood of the cloak fell off of Weiss' head as she straightened herself up, and only because of that did she remember she was wearing it in the first place.

With great care, Weiss untied and removed it from her shoulders, and placed it back on its rightful owner.

"Thank you for lending it to me." Her fingers curled a bow in the strings at the base of Ruby's neck, then she smoothed the wrinkles out a bit. Her leader beamed back at her.

"No problem, Weiss."

Ruby hugged her one more time, and Weiss willingly reciprocated.

What drew them apart was a familiar sound.

Ruby pulled away as Weiss peered over her shoulder. Her scroll was going off again.

She reached for it, but Ruby grabbed her wrist to stop her.

"Oh, no no no," she said, shaking her head. "Not again. Not now that you're feeling better!"

But Weiss gave her a smile – a real one this time.

"It's alright, Ruby."

Ruby pouted and made a whining sound, but reluctantly let go of her wrist.

Weiss picked up her scroll, but before she could open it, it went off again.

And again. And again.

Weiss didn't know what was happening, but she decided she should deal with this now. At the very least, she knew Ruby would be here for her if she needed her.

Weiss inhaled, and then opened her scroll.

But instead of her father's dreaded number, something completely unexpected appeared on the screen before her.

The small envelope that signified her 'received' messages had a glowing red number above it, and that number continued to climb and climb as the device kept vibrating.

Ruby saw the look of confusion in her partner's eyes and curiously peeked over her shoulder.

Weiss reached out and slowly tapped her messages.

A list of texts were revealed to her.

There was one from Yang, one from Blake, from Pyrrha, Nora, Jaune, Ren...

From all of Weiss' friends, and a good number of her classmates.

There were all kinds of nice words looking back at her from those respective people:

Yang: Heya, Weiss! Good job on your test today! Bet you owned it!

Blake: I hope you're feeling better. Let's all go out for dinner tonight!

Pyrrha: Weiss! I don't say it enough, but you're always a pleasure! I'm so glad we're friends!

Nora: You n ur team should TOTALLY come over 4 pancakes this Saturday! Ren's cookin'!

Jaune: Hey, Weiss! Thanks for always helping me study and stuff!

Ren: I really appreciate your help. Don't tell Nora, but you're my favorite study partner.

Weiss read all of those and then some, all happy, kind, appreciative messages from her peers.

Before she knew it, she was crying again.

Ruby squealed gleefully as she pulled Weiss into yet another embrace.

So that's what Yang and Blake have been doing all this time...

Now, Weiss wasn't scared to look at her phone in thinking she'd find a missed call from her father.

Instead, she was seeing kind messages from her friends.

She just couldn't reply to them right away due to the fact that she was still crying.

Ruby giggled and ruffled her partner's hair.

"Awww, Weiss~"

"Quiet..."

Weiss couldn't stop smiling.

For every tear she shed now, there was a bout of laughter to go along with it.

Never before in all her life had she ever been on the receiving end of such a touching gesture. She vowed to thank all of her friends and teammates in person as soon as she saw them.

Ruby waited beside her, until Weiss had finished crying again, wiping her eyes with every part of her hands and arms she could use. Ruby hummed and hugged her for the umpteenth time.

Weiss sniffled, dabbing at her cheek with her sleeve.

"I don't believe you all... you did this for me..."

"Of course we did! We love you, Weiss!"

Weiss felt she truly understood that now. She gave Ruby one last hug before getting to her feet.

"We should find those two," she said. "I bet they're waiting for us."

"Yeah!" Ruby jumped up after her and raced across the room to scoop up Zwei. "We're gonna go out to dinner!"

"Just a minute."

Weiss retreated into the bathroom to wash her face off a bit.

Ruby waited for her with Zwei in her arms, somehow managing to text Yang that she would be bringing Weiss to meet up with them soon.

When Weiss finally emerged, her eyes were as bright as her smile.

"I've got to thank everyone," she said again. "And thank you again, Ruby."

The younger girl gave a twirl and Zwei barked happily.

"Remember, Weiss, we're your teammates and your friends! You can count on us, okay?"

The heiress nodded.

"I'll be sure to do that from now on."

They opened the door and headed out into the hallway to meet up with Blake and Yang.

With a delighted bounce, Ruby tossed half of her cloak up over Weiss' shoulders.

They walked down the hall sharing the cloak, and their smiles.

A/N: I just really wish we could see something like this in canon, Weiss' stresses catching up to her, but her teammates helping her through it before she can break down. I just want to see them taking good care of her ;~;

If you like my work, you can support me on as Kiria Alice!

Please review!