DISCLAIMER: Unlike in SMOK, where I own some of the characters, I own absolutely freaking NOTHING here that has to do with the awesomeness that is RWBY, all the credit goes to the lucky bastards from RoosterTeeth!

Hey what's up everybody!? This here is a little one-shot that I just kinda thought would be fun to write. It is completely unrelated to the world that SMOK takes place in, so it stands all alone.

BTW, did you guys see the character preview for the new season of RWBY!? :O [insert high-pitched girlish scream here] OMG it was freaking AWESOME, I can't WAIT for the new season to start, this next week needs to go by FAST man!

But whatever, enough of the fanboying of epic proportions, let's just get on with the damn story already!

It is team RWBY's second year at Beacon, and it is… THAT time of year. The most dreadful time of year for said team's leader, Ruby Rose…

It is winter time, and snow was falling long and hard already.

Winter is Ruby's least favorite season, it has been ever since… THAT day, that terrible day, that terrible day that happened only six years ago.

Winter hasn't always been the scythe wielders least expectant season, in fact it used to be her absolute favorite time of the year, in her very early years, when life was the best and they could be as carefree as they wanted, she had been very agog when winter came around, and it started snowing. She loved going outside and making snow angels and snowmen, having snowball fights with Yang, and even just running around, winter had always made her so happy, she could always find ways to have so much fun!

… but then THAT day happened.

'Winter takes the summer away.'

And that's exactly what it did. It was the middle of said season. Summer Rose, their mother (or supermom, whatever you wanted to call her, because to Ruby and Yang, both were true), who was a huntress, was sent away on a mission. Just a generic search and destroy mission, nothing she hadn't done before, and certainly nothing she couldn't handle… or so they had thought.

The news of the outcome had been reported to the family just a few short days after she was sent away on the mission, the news that… well, that she just wasn't coming back.

This news obviously was exceptionally hard to swallow, their father, who had already lost a lover before Ruby was born, had just lost yet another. Yang was also obviously torn over it, for she did not know her real mother, and now she had lost the one that she had looked up to as her real mother after all these years. And then, there was Ruby.

Despite what was already said about her father and sister and what they had been threw, Ruby arguably took it the worst. She had lover her mother so much, looked up to her, and said "I wanna be just like you" constantly.

She hated it whenever Summer went on missions, it meant that she wouldn't see her for x amount of time at random points of the year, but Summer had always been so reassuring, so caring, and never left without making sure she promised her young daughters that she would be back soon.

'I guess promises are just meant to be broken at some point.'

And now, ever since that fateful day, she has hated winter. Everything about it reminded her of it, the sub-zero degree Celsius temperatures, the way the sunlight reflected off the fallen snow, the kids she would see playing in said snow, and pretty much everything else that she had previously relished about the coldest season of all, she loathed now.

But, if there was one thing she hated more than winter, it was nighttime in the middle of winter. She hated going to bed, because since her mother died, she consistently had the same nightmare, night, after night, after night, and it was like that for many years, the same nightmare about her mom dying.

But since coming to Beacon with her sister, and being put on the same team as her, those nightmares had changed, so instead of it being her mother, it was… Yang now.

And that was especially hard to sleep with.

It would be one thing if it was her mom still, at least she had grown used to it, but now, with Yang being put in her mother's place, she was starting to lose sleep over these nightmares again.

'Ugh, why does it have to be HER now?'

Just a couple days after their mother died, Yang made a promise to her little sister.

"I will always be here for you, I will protect and make sure nothing ever hurts you, you'll never be alone as long as you want me here. I swear it."

And Ruby has, and always had mixed feelings about this. It's not like she didn't trust Yang to keep that promise, but it's the fact that this was pretty close to the promises her mother would always make before she went out on a mission.

And it was because of that, that when they were sent out on a mission, Ruby would continually check on Yang during encounters with Grimm, just to make sure she wasn't hurt. Call it overprotective, she didn't care, Ruby just didn't want to lose another loved one dammit!

Ruby has felt that if she should ever lose Yang in any way, shape or form, she would ultimately shut down. Yang had mostly taken care of her since Summer died, and by god, if she would lose her too, she didn't know what she would do.

And that's exactly what those nightmares were about. Them going on a mission, Grimm attacking, something going wrong, Yang gets hurt, and you can guess what happens next. It was the same thing every night during this dammed time of year, without stop, and it started to effect the rest of her team as well.

Weiss noticed it immediately in their first year during the winter, and she could here Ruby tossing and turning in the hazardous thing that hang above her that they called bunk beds. Not only did the constant movement of the precariously setup bed above her make her worry about it coming down and flattening her at any moment, it also made her worry about what was going on with her partner. At first she brushed it off for the most part, she herself were no stranger to nightmares, but after it kept happening, and happening, and happening pretty much everyday, she started to get concerned.

But everytime she would approach her about it and try to talk, Ruby would always give the same half-smile and say "It's nothing to worry about, just some nightmare. Don't worry about."

And before Weiss could say anything back, Ruby would run off to parts unknown, leaving Weiss behind with the words that she wanted to say, but instead just had stuck in her mind.

'You dolt, it's not normal if it's every night! I just… want to help you.'

Blake was also starting to get very worried about her leader. Blake, being the faunas she is, could here Ruby tossing and turning in her bed, whimpering and sniffling all the while. Blake is also no stranger to nightmares, she's had them consistently before and after leaving the White Fang, but if there was anyone she would never have expected to have them constantly was her fun loving and cheerful team leader.

But everytime she would approach her and try to talk about it, the brunette would always tell her the same thing as she told Weiss. "It's nothing to worry about, just some nightmare. Don't worry about it."

And just like she would with Weiss, she would run off before Blake had a chance to say anything further.

'Ruby, this is anything but normal, why won't you just let me help you?'

And then there was Yang. It broke her inside to hear her baby sister just across the room at night , whimpering, sniffling, and crying every night, and she didn't know what to do to help Ruby. When the nightmares about their mother started, Ruby would just go to Yang's bed and sleep with her. And then she got used t them and stopped. But since these new nightmares have started, she still hasn't gone to Yang. Actually, she's blatantly denied any offered assistance from Yang, and Yang could hardly take it now.

And, of course, everytime she would try to help her, she would deny, deny, deny. "Yang, just stop. I don't need your help, I can… I can deal with it on my own."

And Yang was desperate to help, and she had stuff to say about it. But the words just could never be any more than perturbed thoughts.

'Ruby… please, let me help! I just want to make everything better! Please!'

She wanted to yell this, scream it, but they never ended up being nothing more than unspoken words.

And she just couldn't take it anymore.

They were fighting off Grimm. It was a search and destroy mission, just a generic search and destroy, go out there, kill Grimm, come back. That's all there was to it. All there was.

As Ruby sliced her way threw yet another beowolf with Crescent Rose, she looked around, searching for Yang. She quickly found her, beating down every Grimm that came her way in her usual brawler style.

Just as Ruby was about to turn back and go after more Grimm, she caught a Nevermore out of the corner of her eye. That had not been there before, she was sure. And she was also sure about where the Nevermore was going.

Straight for Yang.

Yang was to preoccupied with the Grimm in front of her to notice the Nevermore. As it came closer to her, it aimed it's stinger straight at her. Ruby's eyes grew large, and she shouted out to Yang.

"YANG, MOVE!"

Yang heard her just a little bit too late. As she turned her head to see what was coming, the Nevermore was already practically on top of her.

And straight through her abdomen, its stinger went.

And in an instant, Yang's eyes went from wide, to completely void of life.

Ruby's eyes widened even more at the sight, her vision already becoming blurry with tears, and she let out a blood-curdling scream.

"YANG!"

Ruby woke up with a gasp, instantly sitting up in her bed so fast that she immediately became lightheaded. Once she caught recovered, and caught her breath, she realized that she was still in her dorm room.

'Ugh, just another nightmare, of course.'

She glanced over to her left where the table next to her bed was to see the time. It was just after 1;30 in the morning, so she could go back to sleep and still get at least a little bit of sleep. She then looked over to Blake's and Yang's beds, and immediately found something was off.

Yang wasn't in her bed.

Her eyes widened a little bit, scared of why she wasn't there, but just as she started to worry, she heard the whispered voice of her sister.

"I've had enough of this Ruby. I'm tired of going sleepless because you're suffering through this. I'm tired of it, and I'm going to help, whether you want me to or not."

Ruby jumped slightly when she heard the determined whisper from Yang, and looked down to see the very concerned look on her blonde sisters face through the darkness of the dorm room.

Ruby quickly got her senses back and sighed. "Yang, have you been awake all night?" She asked with her own whisper.

Yang instantly replied. "Yes, I have, because I've not been able to get your nightmare problem off my mind. Ruby, not only have I been very concerned, but Blake and Weiss have been too, and you know that when they are concerned and actually show it, something's wrong. We just want to help Ruby, and I know you don't want it, but we're on a team with two other people for crying out loud, just freaking swallow your pride and let us help!"

Ruby understood Yang's concern, she really did, having nightmares practically every night about your sister being killed was obviously not normal, she got that, And she also understood that her team just wanted to help her, she got that too, but she just felt like it wasn't their business and problem, and frankly, she was starting to get annoyed that she was always being the one taken of by her team. After all, she WAS the LEADER, it should be the OTHER way around!

So she let out another sigh, this one coming out sounding a little agitated, and replied, still in a whisper to keep from waking up the other two in the room. "Yang… I know you all are worried about me, but really, I'm tired of you guys always taking care of me. I don't need your help, and this isn't YOUR problem to help with. I'm fine, I don't need or want any help, okay!?"

Yang was slightly surprised at Ruby's words and tone. She was Ruby's sister, her BIG sister dammit, she's SUPPOSED to help! That's what she's there for, it's her life's purpose, her first job, and the most important one! No matter what, Ruby always came first.

So Yang went into her "motherly mode" next. "Ruby, everything that is your problem is mine. Whatever business is yours is mine. I'm supposed t help you, with ANYTHING, that's what I'm here for! Please Ruby, just let me help you, please!"

Ruby heard how desperate Yang was to help her, she heard it in her voice, and even saw it on her face, and it was hard to hear YANG of all people plead the was she was, but even still, she didn't budge. "Yang… just no. Go back to bed. I know you just want to help, but I told you, I don't need it alright? So leave this already, and go back to bed."

With that, she turned over in her bed so that she was now facing the wall, and her back was to Yang, and after a few seconds of silence, she heard Yang finally huff out a very exasperated sounding "fine", and she thought Yang would finally leave her alone about it, at least for the rest of the night.

Ruby suddenly felt her bed shift and sway a bit, and also felt what seemed like the weight of a person behind her, and lastly, but definitely not least, she felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her waist.

'You have GOT to be kidding me right now.' Ruby thought, annoyed

"Yang, get off of my bed, I'm not five years old, I don't need you up he-"

"Studies say that people sleep better if they sleep with someone they trust."

Yang cut her off with that surprising statement. 'Where did Yang find a study like!?'

Before she could put that thought into words, Yang spoke again. "You trust me, don't you?"

Ruby was also surprised by this type of question coming from Yang. "Yang, of course I trust, it's just-"

"Then let me stay with you. This isn't just for you, ya know, I can't sleep either if I know you're going through this. I love you so, so much Ruby, I promise I'll make it better. I promised to always look after you and protect you, and dammit, I'm hellbent on keeping it."

There was that promise again.

And everytime Yang reinforced this promise, the same question always came to mind.

"Yang, can you really keep and follow through with that?"

… did she really just ask that out loud?

"Well, I'm honestly not completely sure, but I'll do everything I can to do so." Yang answered, pressing herself into Ruby's back while tightening her hold on her waist.

Apparently Ruby HAD said that out loud, and she said the next thing that her mind came up with, again saying it before she really thought about it.

"… mom said the same things… so many times."

At this, Yang momentarily froze, but rapidly regained her bearings, and replied in as calm a voice as she could muster.

"But I'm not mom, and whether that's a good thing or not, you be the judge, but since I'm not her, I can try to keep my promise my way. I know she told you this Ruby, but I'm gonna say it too: I will never leave you, as long as I'm here, and as long as you want me here, I will always be here for you, always."

And with these words, Ruby's will to fight Yang about this was suddenly no more. She didn't know what it was, maybe it was Yang's caring and soothing voice, or her natural warmth that came with her semblance, but whatever it was, it made the dark and depressing thoughts about their past and present leave her.

So, Ruby finally gave in to her big sister, and let the little sister in her win, and she snuggled back into Yang, and shut her eyes, feeling completely and genuinely safe for the first time in a really long time.

She let out a sigh of contentment. "… thank you. Thank you for being my big sister Yang. I love you."

"I love you too Ruby." Yang responded in a soothing, soft voice, and just a couple minutes, Yang's breathing slowed, and she fell asleep for the first time in the night. Ruby listened to Yang's soft breaths, and let them lull her to sleep, which she did shortly after Yang, with a smile on her face, and for the first time since their mother died, she didn't have a nightmare during the winter, at last.

'I guess promises are just meant to be broken at some point.'

'Then let my promise be the exception to that.'

So, while the winter might take away the summer, at least the sun will always be there to melt whatever snow falls.

Real quick here at the end, look up a study that has to do with what Yang said, it's actually a real thing and not something that I came up with. Cool huh?