Devil on my Shoulder

“My nightmares are usually about losing you.”

Ooooh, angst! Right up my alley! >:)

(Putting this one under the cut, because it got long!)

Ruby was brought from a peaceful sleep by quiet whimpers. Cracking bleary eyes open, she was immediately on alert when the whimpering continued and only intensified. Her brain began piecing everything together, and she remembered Blake and Yang had been sent out on a double’s mission earlier today, meaning the noises could only be coming from one person…

Silver eyes now open wide in worry. Ruby leapt down from her bunk.

Weiss…

Sure enough, her partner was sleeping fretfully, tossing and turning, pitiful whines escaping her parted lips every now and then.

Each sound created a new crack in Ruby’s heart.

Turning on a nearby lamp, Ruby set to work in waking the heiress.

“Weiss?” she coaxed gently, not wanting to startle, but rouse the sleeping girl all the same. “Weiss, wake up.”

A breathless gasp and frantic blue eyes piercing the haze was what immediately greeted the leader as Weiss shot up in her bed.

“R-Ruby?”

Ruby gave her best smile, sitting down on Weiss’s mattress before pulling the girl into a hug.

“It’s me,” she responded. “You were crying out in your sleep. Nightmare?”

Ice blue clouded over as their owner weakly returned the hug.

“Yeah…”

“I’ll gladly listen if you want to talk,” Ruby told her, not one word being a lie. “Yang always told me talking is the best method for coping when it comes to nightmares.”

Pulling out of the embrace, Weiss wiped at her eyes before sighing.

“It’s nothing new,” she responded, her empty tone causing Ruby to shiver.

Unfortunately, this wasn’t the first night Weiss had been plagued by bad dreams. Ever since team RWBY had been reunited after the Fall of Beacon, Weiss awoke crying, sweating–even screaming one time–at least several nights a week. From the previous times, Ruby was able to gather tonight’s dream most likely had to do with Weiss’s time in Atlas. Ruby didn’t know exactly what went down while Weiss had been home, but she, Blake, and Yang had all been able to deduce the experience had been less than enjoyable.

“Home again?” Ruby then guessed meekly.

Weiss nodded. “My father,” she added bitterly.

“Weiss, what happened while you were in Atlas?” Ruby couldn’t help but ask as she watched a tear trail down porcelain cheeks, desperately wanting to brush it away, but afraid to overstep her bounds. “You’ve been acting differently ever since Yang and I ran into you in Mistral. You’re friendlier and more chipper most of the time, but then your eyes are empty. It scares me Weiss. You’re hollow, and…a-and I want to help you.”

Moments passed where the red and white duo sat in lingering silence. Ruby had started trailing her hand up and down Weiss’s arm as means of comfort, and, eventually, Weiss rested her head against Ruby’s shoulder, the younger girl blushing as she heard the content sigh that escaped the heiress’s lips at the action.

“A lot of things happened while I was in Atlas, Ruby,” Weiss mumbled eventually. “None of them good, except for my escape.”

“Escape?” Ruby echoed, picking up on the unique choice of words.

“I was essentially held prisoner in my own home eventually,” Weiss started piecing together. “I was coerced into singing at a charity ball my family held, and it was there a boy tried to flirt with me. He was daft and full of himself, like everyone in Atlas is, and I just lost it. I snapped, calling everyone out for being shallow and vain, and caused quite a scene.

“Then my father came over, saying I was embarrassing the family. He grabbed my wrist, and I just couldn’t take him handling me like that anymore. I pulled away, but fell, and ended up summoning a Boarbatusk in the process.”

Ruby’s grip on Weiss only intensified as the girl began to break down beside her, recalling each and every traumatic event that led to their reunion. Ruby had the feeling though that this mistreatment hadn’t only begun with Weiss’s most recent time there, and that only served to further infuriate the young leader.

“The Boarbatusk charged at the woman I had been yelling at, but Mr Ironwood put it down before it could do any damage,” Weiss carried on, her voice monotonous and face devoid of any emotion. “She tried appealing to the general, saying I needed to be locked up and that I was crazy. Father came over and grabbed me again, pulling me to my feet. I didn’t even try and fight him that time. We ended up in my room, where he continued to verbally degrade me, going on and on about how his family’s image had been tarnished by my doings.

“I just… I snapped then, Ruby,” she stopped here to look at Ruby, and the younger girl immediately had tears spring to her eyes to match Weiss’s own. Ice blue irises were shimmering from past hauntings, and Ruby was close to being sick.

Weiss Schnee was never supposed to look this broken.

“I finally stood up for myself,” she carried on, however, and Ruby prided her courageousness. “I don’t remember everything I said, but when I said the Schnee name wasn’t his to lead anymore, but mine, and that it was a name he married into, he hit me.”

“What?!”

At the small sob that broke free from the girl next to her, Ruby knew she had heard correctly.

Weiss had been abused. And who knew how long it had truly been going on.

“Your father hit you?” Ruby balked, anger oozing into her tone, squeezing Weiss even closer to her. “Weiss, how long has this been going on? How… How have you managed to keep this inside so long?!”

“I…didn’t think anyone would care,” the broken heiress simply mumbled in response.

“Wouldn’t care?! Weiss, you’re our teammate; my partner! Of course we care!”

Weiss just shrugged, and Ruby realized like a punch to the gut that Weiss only thought that way because she had been beaten down enough to believe she didn’t matter. Anything that troubled her back home, she always had to keep inside her. Coming to others with her problems was never an option; thus she was forced to keep everything deep within, something that became so second-nature, it was even carried with her to Beacon in the beginning.

“Either way,” Weiss prepared to finish, seemingly shrugging everything else off then, “I immediately started training with Myrtenaster again. I managed to summon at will and control it, and once I felt ready, Klein, the only person I ever trusted and loved in that mansion, helped me get out of there.”

A second of silence passed where Ruby was still trying to figure out what she could possibly say.

“Now I’m just cursed to relieve each and every moment of it all in my dreams…”

Bowing her head, Ruby pulled Weiss back into a hug, balling the older girl’s nightgown in her fists as she turned to hide her face in Weiss’s hair.

Sniffling, she spoke. “Weiss, I’m so sorry. I know that can’t repair all the pain you never deserved to feel, but I just… I’m so, so sorry!”

Ruby would never see it, but a smile broke free upon Weiss’s face at that, her gaze turning nothing but affectionate as she looked down at the girl hiding against her.

Another tear fell, but this time, it was from the unconditional love she could feel emanating from her partner.

Love she never thought she would receive, let alone deserve.

“Thank you, Ruby,” she mumbled. “I’m just happy I’m back at Beacon, and with you.”

“Me too.”

Silence reigned once more as the girls remained in their personal cocoon. Soon, an unspoken agreement passed between them as both Ruby and Weiss laid back down in the older girl’s bed, never breaking their connection.

Ruby was almost asleep in Weiss’s arms before the girl spoke again.

“Ruby?”

“Hmmm?”

“Do you… Do you ever have nightmares?”

The hesitant tone caused Ruby to look up, only to be met with a bashful but curious Weiss, and the brunette almost squealed from the adorable expression.

Still, her answer was nothing but serious. 

“I have nightmares all the time, Weiss.”

“It’s just…” a dark pink tinted Weiss’s cheeks then, and Ruby had to hold back her giggles, “You always seem so happy and carefree; you see the best in everyone and everything; I just can’t imagine a girl as animated as you having nightmares.”

Weiss chewed on her bottom lip momentarily, which wasn’t helping Ruby in not wanting to close the distance between them once more.

“What… What are your nightmares about?”

Surprisingly, Ruby only smiled as she took both of the heiress’s hands in her own, staring so deep into the ice blue before her that Weiss felt she was under a daze.

“Believe it or not,” she whispered, “my nightmares are usually about losing you.”

Weiss’s eyes widened at the admission as Ruby blushed.

“W-What?” the older girl stuttered.

“I… I l-love you, Weiss, and I can’t imagine my life without you in it now. Whenever I do, I wake up so terrified, I have to reassure myself you’re safe asleep in the bunk below me before I can even begin to calm down.”

Weiss simply continued to blink amusingly at Ruby. The younger girl chuckled softly at the frozen girl before mustering all her courage and kissing Weiss’s cheek. 

“Y-You…?”

“Love you,” Ruby finished with absolute certainty. “You don’t have to say anything back, in fact I’d prefer we leave this to be discussed at a later time, but I just need you to know that. I love you, Weiss; losing you is my greatest fear, and most importantly: you are among friends now. Blake and Yang love you too, and anytime you have a nightmare now, or anything troubles you at all, we’ll lend all our help at your reach. Please don’t have anything to fear.”

More tears began to spill from the girl’s eyes, but Ruby moved to kiss them away before they could mar perfect skin anymore. Weiss shuddered next to her.

And then, a gentle whisper into the night was all it took to lift both girls up into the clouds.

“I love you too, Ruby…”

So that kinda got out of hand… O.o Still, thanks @bexloko! @mamakatie actually sent in the same prompt, so this is for you too! 

BEX I HAD TO LOOK IT UP LIKE A DRUNK MORON AND I MISSPELLED THE LYRICS LIKE TEN TIMES AND I COULDN’T STOP LAUGHING OH MY GOD

I’m crying... no one ever asks me about Fairy Tail anymore, thank you so much Bex! ;A; <3

Character I least understand: I want to know more about Zeref to be honest. I feel like there’s something deeper about his character we don’t know yet.

Interactions I enjoyed the most: I love any interaction Wendy has with any guild member. It’s like she’s everyone’s little sister and it’s beautiful. 

Character who scares me the most: Mira Jane lol She’s insane yet so motherly and you don’t know which side you’re gonna get.

Character who is most like me: Lucy Heartfilia~! 

Hottest looking character: uuuuugggghhhh tie between Gray and Natsu

One thing I dislike about my fave character: I really don’t like how Lucy is always represented in an overly sexy/fanservice-y way. It’s annoying.

One thing I liked about my hated character: I don’t really hate anyone on fairy tail actually...

A quote or scene that haunts me: When Lucy had to sacrifice Aquarius. I will never forget how much I cried that day.

A death that left me indifferent: Makarov’s death was completely meaningless in every way. 

Character I wish died, but didn’t: Hmmm Idk probably Zeref’s weird son lol

augh im so scared to watch ;-;

Heyo! Thanks for dropping in! :D

8: OTP?

ffff... Bumbleby, if I had to choose just one. Almei is a close second, though.

18: Favorite color?

Dark reds and purples, slate gray...

28: Last thing that made you cry?

The ending of FMAB holy smokes you guys, I was a snotty mess. I went through nearly half a box of tissues. I’ve teared up a bunch since, but haven’t cried.

38: Last place you were?

Uh, I guess the liquor store? Went for a walk and came back with a bottle of rum. Real vague question there.

48: Last prank call you remember doing?