Step By Step (ch10)

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.

Chapter 10. Sleeping Arrangements

Watching Pyrrha go, Weiss made sure she made it to the bathroom, what with her uneven steps and slouching posture.

She understood how exhausted Pyrrha was - after all, it wasn't every day one was put through the sheer terror of nearly having a friend die in your arms. The physical exhaustion of reviving Weiss, combined with the emotional enervation, was more than enough to make anyone terribly tired, especially someone like Pyrrha who put her heart and soul into everything she did.

So Weiss did her best to prepare everything, making sure Pyrrha would walk back into the room and be greeted with the most comfort possible. She sat on her bed and pulled down the covers so Pyrrha could easily slip underneath when she was ready.

She debated grabbing another pillow, but something told her just the one she had was fine.

She sat up, posture erect despite her own fatigue, her eyes trained on the slightly-ajar bathroom door as she waited for Pyrrha to emerge once more.

The silence was nice, but at the same time it was killing her.

. . .

There was so much to think about now that Pyrrha was alone that she couldn't really concentrate on anything at all.

She removed her clothes and pulled her nightgown onto her shoulders so nonchalantly, whereas inside, her entire being was a battling mess of emotions and feelings. She was tired, but she also felt happy, perhaps even excited. Her stomach knotted and uncurled, she was hungry yet satisfied, and her head was both spinning and empty. It was quite a surreal sensation, as though everything about her was confused about what it should be doing.

Lacking the will to think about it beyond that, Pyrrha settled for a simple 'I need to sleep' and gathered her clothes under her arm. She checked the bathroom once over to make sure she hadn't neglected anything and that everything was as it should be, then flicked the light off, closing the door as she left the room.

The sight that greeted her would have been something out of a romantic novel, were she in any state to make such comparisons.

The soft light illuminated enough to see by without being overbearing or blinding, and yet Pyrrha could make out every flawless aspect of Weiss' face, from her mesmerizing misty eyes to the thin line that Pyrrha saw curve a little into a small smile as she re-entered the room.

However, staring was always impolite and Pyrrha would not be seen being rude to anyone that didn't deserve it, much less someone she cared about as much as Weiss. She whispered an apology under her breath and hurried over to Blake's bed, rapidly folding her clothes neatly on the surface with her back turned to hide the faint blushing in her cheeks.

. . .

Her smiled only brightened when Pyrrha re-entered the room, the silky fabrics of her red nightgown catching the lamplight in a mesmerizing. Her long, crimson hair was even more gorgeous as it reached down to her hips, slightly wavy, though her emerald eyes were clearly tired.

Only the bedside lamp was left on now, and Weiss was about to open her mouth to invite Pyrrha to lay down beside her. But she stopped herself when Pyrrha hurried to Blake's bed instead.

Weiss' shoulders slumped. Her initial reaction was to be a bit hurt by Pyrrha's avoidance of her, especially considering they'd rested together a few hours ago. But she could understand all of this might've been a bit much - a two-hour nap together wasn't the same as sleeping beside one another for an entire night.

If sleeping in Blake's bed was what was best for Pyrrha, then Weiss could accept that.

She laid herself down on her side, watching her friend go about folding her clothes. There was a feeling of dejection bubbling up in her chest, but she pushed it away. She wanted Pyrrha to be comfortable, and considered herself lucky her friend was even staying in the same room as her tonight.

Still, Weiss couldn't suppress a small shiver, and remembered the warmth of Pyrrha's touch.

. . .

Pyrrha's hidden blush only deepened a little further as she came to her under-clothes, a mini-crisis hitting her like a slap in the face as she folded her laundry. She couldn't leave them on Blake's bed - that would be incredibly rude and she really didn't feel comfortable with doing something like that - but she couldn't leave them on the floor.

What if someone came in of a patrol morning and saw a pair of intimates thrown onto the floor with both her and Weiss asleep in the same bed? What if they misinterpreted the scene? What if it was a student that bolted to tell everyone? What if it was a teacher? Would they be expelled?

Pyrrha took a deep breath. She chided herself. Now was not the time for doubts and wild exaggerations. She had been over this countless times before and this time was no different. She was just exhausted and her mind was creating inane scenarios now.

Her shoulders tensed and relaxed as she let out a deep breath and made her decision, tucking her underwear into the closest pocket. To be honest, she had no idea why she didn't think of that to begin with. Her heart was pounding in her chest as she slowly turned and made her way to the lamp, taking one last look at Weiss before she clicked the light off and plunged the room into almost-darkness.

. . .

She watched Pyrrha's back, and Weiss could tell her friend was thinking about one thing or another. Weiss hoped it wasn't her. She didn't want to cause Pyrrha even the slightest amount of discomfort, even in her thoughts. She'd already inconvenienced Pyrrha enough today…

With a tiny sigh, Weiss clutched the blankets closer to her chest, suppressing another shiver in case her friend were to turn around and see her. She didn't need Pyrrha worrying for her anymore - the girl needed some rest.

So Weiss closed her eyes, and a moment later, Pyrrha turned off the lamp, the last remaining source of light, shrouding the room in darkness. Now, the heiress let out the shivers, content in knowing Pyrrha wouldn't notice.

With a soft, tentative voice, Weiss called out to her.

"Goodnight, Pyrrha."

. . .

Though the moonlight seeping through the crack in the curtains illuminated a strip of the floor between beds, Pyrrha's eyes hadn't yet adjusted to the change in light, so she let her hands lead the way.

They traced the edge of the lamp, the table, down to the soft fringes of a pillow and further still to exposed sheets. She kept moving until her fingers grasped the edge of the covers and she hesitated, if only for a second.

She was still doubting, though she wasn't sure what she was doubting anymore. Weiss? Herself? Them together? Did it even matter?

With a soundless sigh, Pyrrha sat herself on the edge of the bed and slid her legs beneath the sheets, pulling the covers over her body until the edge rested against her shoulder and she had found a comfortable position against a pillow that wasn't her own.

But she wasn't really comfortable at all. Not with hearing the meekness in Weiss' voice, or the gap between the two of them that felt enormous. The bed was cold against her skin despite the summer temperature, and she knew exactly why that was.

But as much as she wanted to, Pyrrha knew she couldn't pull her friend into the softest, most tender embrace she could manage. She had to consider Weiss' feelings first, and there was no way she was going to push anything that would make the girl even remotely uncomfortable. So all she could do was do her best to sound as though she were happy with the way things were.

"Goodnight, Weiss."

. . .

Hearing Pyrrha's reply made Weiss flinch. She couldn't properly explain why, but something in her friend's tone sounded just as sad and uncertain and lonely as the ache in Weiss' own chest felt.

They'd confessed quite a bit earlier today, expressed so many profound emotions.

So why was it so hard for them to close that distance now?

It should've been so simple, really. But Weiss felt she was too worried about imposing too much too quickly onto Pyrrha, and it was likely the same struggle for Pyrrha in regards to her.

Weiss didn't know if there was anything she could do to help the situation. Maybe she was just being foolish in trying to justify not going to lie with her, or invite Pyrrha to do the same. But now that they were this far past the point of invitation, it felt far too awkward to speak up.

So she decided to just let Pyrrha sleep, and will her own mind and heart to be quiet for the night.

But it was awfully cold.

And she really can't be sure of what happened after that.

One moment, Weiss was huddled up in her bed all alone.

And the next, she was slipping into Blake's, nestling up to Pyrrha's back without a care left in the world.

. . .

It can't have been more than a few minutes, yet the time seemed to pass so slowly. Every breath felt like it took an hour, and every second of silence bore into her ears like a blaring siren alerting her that something wasn't right.

That is, until her ears caught the faint rustling of cloth in the darkness.

Even at night, in the dark, physically and mentally exhausted, Pyrrha's senses were on alert, and for once she thanked them for halting the quiet that would soon have prevented her from sleeping at all.

She didn't flinch when a pair of hands grasped at her back, though she did feel a pang of worry and perhaps guilt at sensing how shaky they were, be it from Weiss' lingering fever or something else that Pyrrha didn't really want to think about. There was a lot Pyrrha didn't want to think about right now, and all of it involved the girl in this bed, in one form or another.

A part of her wanted to roll over and pull the heiress into a tight, overprotective embrace that only Weiss herself could make Pyrrha break, but another told her to stay as she was, for fear that anything she did would be misreading her friend's actions and making them both uncomfortable.

It took a moment of hesitation, but she eventually brought her hand over her shoulder to rest on Weiss' own, to show that she was okay with the touch as it was - if she could ease Weiss' nerves, perhaps she wouldn't worry about holding her close anymore.

. . .

Maintaining this distance would've provided just enough warmth for her to drift into slumber, perhaps a bit unsteady and chilled, but slumber nonetheless. And with Pyrrha's blossom-like scent filling her lungs with every breath, she felt more relaxed than she thought she should, considering who else was sleeping in bed with her.

But the mattress really wasn't generous enough to be accommodating two people who were keeping such distance between them - one wrong turn on either of their parts could very well mean a nasty fall to the floor.

And when she felt the gentle, smooth touch of Pyrrha's fingers over hers, Weiss knew that getting closer wouldn't warrant opposition from either of them.

Slowly, with painstaking movements, she inched herself closer to the other girl, feeling silken hair slipping through her fingers. Her knees bumped the backs of Pyrrha's, and that was when Weiss paused. Her fingers curled a little bit more into the red nightgown, her stomach barely brushing against Pyrrha's back with feather-light contact.

She sighed, but it wasn't the worried kind anymore - it was content, and she could only hope her friend was feeling the same.

. . .

Pyrrha couldn't count how many times she had felt her heart twinge in her chest, though it was by no means unwelcome this time around.

The growing heat against her back and the hands sweeping through her hair sent her stomach fluttering and her cheeks burning pink, though she wouldn't have traded the sensations for anything else in the world. She felt Weiss' fingers clench the fabric on her back, the whispers of breath against her neck between locks of hair, the heiress making contact in as many places as she could to feel warm and safe...

Pyrrha couldn't help but smile in the darkness, both for how cute she knew Weiss was being and for how trusting the action was. Although, she had a slight suspicion amongst her exhausted thoughts that despite the change, Weiss was sill trying to reserve herself from doing anything more, and Pyrrha knew that there were only two ways to prove to the heiress that there was nothing she could ever do that wouldn't be welcome.

She enjoyed the silence. It allowed her to focus on other things like her mind or the tiny breathing behind her, so instead, Pyrrha gently pushed her body a few inches off the sheets with her arm acting as support, and with her free hand she ran her fingers down the length of Weiss' arm to grasp her hand, interlocking them to ensure she never let go unless Weiss wanted her to.

And with slow, tender movements, Pyrrha guided Weiss' arm above her hip and around her waist, trembling ever so slightly at the touch against her skin through the thin material of her nightgown.

She didn't press Weiss to hold the position, nor did she move to prevent Weiss from retracting her arm if she wanted to. Instead, Pyrrha gently unhooked her fingers from Weiss' hand and waited for the girl's response. The offer to hold her had ben presented, and Pyrrha told herself she'd be fine whether Weiss refused or accepted.

But if she was being honest, there was one option she favored more than the other.

. . .

She would've been perfectly content to have simply fallen asleep just like this, with Pyrrha's presence surrounding her, and the warmth of the blankets filling in the spaces in between.

But she froze when she felt that familiar hand sliding down her own, guiding her arm over Pyrrha's slender hip beneath the covers. Weiss opened her eyes again, just barely able to make out the shapes of Pyrrha's shoulders and the back of her head, as well as the faint redness of her hair beneath the pale moonlight slipping in past the curtains.

This slow, silent action spoke louder than words. It was permission to get closer to Pyrrha - if she wanted to. It was the reassurance that this was more than okay. It was the encouragement to stop holding back.

So, with a small breath, Weiss closed her eyes and voluntarily moved her arms, snaking the other between Pyrrha's body and the mattress, her fingers coming together at the front of the other girl's stomach, embracing her ever so loosely. Weiss pulled herself closer, her own chest and stomach pressing gently but fully against Pyrrha's back.

Her cheek rested softly against the pillow, the silken tresses of crimson cushioning her face as well. She inhaled the aroma gliding off the back of Pyrrha's neck, angling her own face just a bit so her breaths wouldn't make her friend uncomfortable.

Weiss couldn't hold back a contented sound, a small, giddy little "Mm!" It was sheer bliss, unbridled joy at finally being able to get what she wanted, curled up so close to Pyrrha and holding her like this. Her smile wasn't exactly visible in the darkness, but it was likely audible, and possibly even contagious. Either way, her joy was palpable and had her squeezing Pyrrha all the tighter, her palms tracing over the girl's stomach. They didn't need words.

She loved this so much. Her heart thumped slowly where it pressed to Pyrrha's back, her breathing steady and deepening. The shivers were nowhere to be found, and only the most precious warmth wreathed around her now, one she never wanted to relinquish.

. . .

There were many sounds that sent Pyrrha's heart aflutter - from the tiny mewling of kittens when she was a child to the cheering of her friends when she participated in combat - but none quite hit her the same way as Weiss' frankly adorable squeak of happiness did. She couldn't help but giggle into her hand, a childlike sound that reminded her of when her dog used to chase its tail.

She loved having all the time in the world to focus on the one who mattered the most to her.

The hands on her stomach and the body against her back sent waves of warmth surging through her body, tingling her limbs and tickling her heart with their touch. She was so happy - doubly so that Weiss was comfortable enough with her to not only sleep in the same bed, but also to hold her like this.

Pyrrha didn't mind at all when she thought of it as being Weiss' teddy-bear, and while a flashing notion suggested that Weiss never had such a toy to hold as a child, she disregarded it immediately. Now was a time for happiness and rest; she could learn about the heiress' childhood when Weiss was ready to share it.

Right now, with Weiss' hold around her both loose and secure at the same time and her heart signing, Pyrrha felt the exhaustion return with force. She surrendered herself to it without resistance, content to finally rest with the person she loved by her side.

"Goodnight, Weiss."

'I love you.'

. . .

Pyrrha hadn't said it out loud. All she'd murmured was a gentle "goodnight," followed by her name. Nothing more.

And yet, Weiss had heard it. She'd heard those three words clearly. If not straight from Pyrrha's mouth, then directly from her actions.

It was in the way Pyrrha had come to visit her today, how she'd made sure Weiss was feeling all right.

It was in the way she'd worried for her and kissed her, how she'd desperately fought against the fates to gift air back into her lungs and beats back into her heart.

It was how she'd repeatedly sacrificed her own wellbeing for the sake of Weiss', how she'd kept her warm and ensured she'd eaten.

It was in the way she'd curled up beside Weiss without question or fear of consequence, and how she'd gladly accepted her embrace.

Pyrrha had said it enough times. Weiss wondered if she'd been successful in reciprocating such things.

So she made sure to make it clear now, not only in the warmness of her voice, but also with a small kiss to the girl's shoulder.

"Goodnight, Pyrrha…"

Weiss closed her eyes, the smile never once leaving her lips as she relaxed fully against the other occupant of the bed.

This was nothing short of paradise, and she never wanted it to end.

A/N: People keep predicting this is the calm before the storm like I'm some kind of monster, like I'll put them through more crap after all they've been through. I definitely won't. Absolutely not. Probably.

Please review!