Snowpea

A small commission for Sakurako Nagasaki! They wanted to see some of Winter caring for an injured Weiss.

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.

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													Chapter 63. Snowpea

The air ship hums as it flies in for its landing. But even before the doors have opened all the way, Winter is already stalking out onto the platform, her pace stiff and shoulders taut.

The ride here had taken only ten minutes, but it had felt more like several hours.

A small village outside of Vale had been under the threat of a Grimm attack, and so Ozpin had dispatched a team of huntresses to deal with the nest before it could become an infestation.

However, Weiss' team had been severely misinformed and underprepared for the number of beasts they would be up against. Evidently, more Grimm had poured out of the forest than anticipated, and backup had arrived late. Weiss' team had suffered a great amount of damage, enough for Winter to be informed about the incident.

Now, she rushes across Beacon's cobblestone pathways and makes a beeline for the infirmary. In her distress, she has even lost the professional way she carries herself, and simply hurries as quickly as she can.

There is still quite a bit of commotion in the hallways, and judging by the things she's hearing from the nurses and doctors, Weiss' team has only just arrived for treatment after being transported back via air ship. Winter catches the attention of the nearest medical personnel by grabbing her firmly by the arm.

"My name is Winter Schnee. Are you treating my sister?"

The woman gives a panicky sort of nod at the nearest room. Winter releases her and hurries to the indicated doorway, but a doctor stops her.

"Excuse me, Miss," he says. "But only the medical team is allowed inside the room at this time."

"I'm her sister," Winter snaps.

But the man remains firm. "I'm sorry, Miss. You will have to wait."

Stifling a curse, Winter whips around and begins pacing the hallway. The room directly across the hall seems to be where Weiss' teammates are being looked after. When she glances inside, Winter recognizes all three girls sitting up in separate beds.

They all look rather ruffled, and there are bruises and scratches covering most of the visible skin, but for the most part, they are majorly unharmed. The fact that only Weiss is being kept separately and visitors are prohibited brings a wave of nausea up into Winter's stomach.

When she turns back to Weiss' room, the doctor has disappeared inside and the door is now closed. Winter needs to know how bad it is.

Desperately, she turns back to the other room, where Weiss' teammates are being treated. Weiss' partner Ruby sees her first. The girl looks up at Winter sheepishly.

"W-Winter..."

"What happened to my sister?" Her voice is level, but there's a fragility in its firmness.

The brunette looks away.

"She got hurt... I-It was my fault. She was trying to save me..."

But before Ruby or Winter can get even more upset than they already are, the blonde girl – Yang – cuts in.

"She's gonna be all right," she says to both of them. "Weiss is tough."

Her Faunus partner agrees.

"She lost some blood, but she wasn't hit anywhere vital, from what I could tell."

Their words lessen Winter's agitation by a fraction. She lets out a breath she's been holding in for quite some time, and leaves the three of them to converse with and comfort one another.

As she's turning back into the hallway, the door to Weiss' room opens, and the same doctor steps out.

"You may come in."

Winter wastes no time briskly brushing past him.

The nurses around Weiss' bed scatter and step back, sensing the air of seriousness about this military woman.

Winter beholds the sight of her precious little sister, lying there in bed. Her eyes are closed, and her hair is down, her clothes having been replaced by robes now. There are wires hanging and machines beeping all around her, but a heart monitor reads a fairly stable pulse.

Everyone else vacates the room as Winter approaches her sister's bed, taking a seat on the edge as close to her as possible.

"Weiss, dear? Can you hear me?"

Reaching out, she brushes the backs of her fingers gently against Weiss' temple.

The contact elicits a small moan from Weiss, her pale lips parting with a faint breath. Her eyelids struggle to lift, but when they do, the bright blue of her eyes blesses the room.

Her gaze flicks aimlessly for a moment before traveling up to Winter. Some of the pain is replaced by recognition and surprise.

"W... Winter-"

"Yes. I'm here, Weiss. I came as quickly as I could."

Relief floods through Winter now, but there's still plenty of concern knotted tightly within her chest. She'd seen Weiss get hurt before – worse than this. She's just glad it didn't get that dire this time.

But she knows Weiss is in a very delicate state right now, and even the slightest hindrance could agitate her healing wounds.

Weiss shifts her arms a little, but Winter anticipates what she's about to do before she can do it. She rests her hand on Weiss' shoulder and keeps it there in order to prevent her from moving.

"Don't even think about sitting up," she warns. "You're staying just as you are."

Weiss flinches a little, less at Winter's order and more at a jolt that goes through her chest. She knows her older sister is right. Therefore, Weiss dismisses any ideas of moving just yet.

"What about the others...?" she murmurs. "There was... an Alpha coming for Ruby and I-"

"They are all fine," Winter assures her. "Don't get yourself worked up, Weiss. You need to rest." She lifts her hand away from her sister's face and instead places it atop Weiss' hand. Winter squeezes her fingers gently.

"You're always being so reckless, Weiss. Ever since you came to Beacon, you've been getting injured. And it's less from fighting the Grimm, and more from throwing yourself into the line of fire for your teammates' sakes."

Another ripple of nausea runs through Winter, and she has to swallow it down. She can't bear to keep hearing about Weiss getting injured like this.

But when she next looks at her sister's expression, Weiss is smiling.

"Winter... They're not just my teammates. They're my friends." Weiss glances briefly over Winter's military uniform. "I know you understand better than anyone... why I sometimes do whatever I have to for them."

Winter bites her lip. Weiss has never used her own profession against her before, but she's clever like that, making sure to save the comment for when it will matter most.

Winter is both miffed and proud of her at the same time. She lets out another sigh.

"While it is true that I will do whatever is necessary in order to save the life of one of my comrades," she confesses. "I also know when it is best to save myself. Now, I hope there never comes a time when you have to make that sort of life-and-death decision, Weiss. I just hope that, if that time ever does come, you'll know which decision is the right one. For your sake, and for everyone else's."

Weiss hadn't wanted to think about something like this, but she can't blame Winter for bringing it up. It's a very concrete and plausible example to use in order for her older sister to convey what she wants to convey. Weiss' only response is a nod before she turns her face away.

Winter regrets having spoken the words, but she's glad Weiss has heard them. However, she doesn't want to keep the conversation in such a dark place, especially not when Weiss is like this. Winter squeezes her sister's hand again and continues in a much softer tone.

"But in this case, you made the right choice, Weiss. If you hadn't interfered, your partner might have been killed. But since you did and took a blow for yourself, you bought the others time to assist you. Multiple people being injured is arguably better than one person dying. I'm very proud of what you did, Weiss. But now you need to take care of yourself and let your teammates take care of you. And that goes for me, as well."

Winter strokes her thumb over the back of Weiss' knuckles for a moment. When her sister next turns her face to look at her, there are tears dripping down. Winter reaches up to brush them away.

"Now, there's no need for that, Weiss. Don't cry."

With her free hand, Winter casts a small glyph. A small white Nevermore emerges and settles on her finger as a perch.

Weiss sniffles, but keeps her eyes on the summoned creature.

Winter lets it fly, arcing in slow, dazzling circles around the room. Weiss keeps her gaze trained on its pattern.

Winter had done this for her in the past, when Weiss was much younger. It always helped her calm down, focus, and eventually relax.

Evidently, her sister hasn't changed much in that regard over the years.

After a few minutes, Weiss' tears stop and her eyelids begin to droop.

"Winter... I'm tired..." Her voice is soft and small, almost exactly as it had sounded ten years earlier when Winter would do the same thing to help her fall asleep.

"Then rest," she murmurs. "I will be here when you wake up. So will your teammates." She leans down and holds a warm kiss to Weiss' forehead. "Rest, my little snowpea."

The childhood nickname makes Weiss smile just as her eyelids fall shut.

Winter recalls her Nevermore and remains at her sister's bedside a while longer.

Before she leaves, she kisses her sister one last time, and wishes sweet dreams for her.

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A/N: I've done only a few other fics revolving around Weiss and Winter's relationship, but one of my favorite things is to have Winter call her "little snowpea."