Disclaimer: This is not endorsed by Rooster Teeth in any way. Views, opinions, thoughts are all my own. Rooster Teeth and RWBY are registered trademarks of Rooster Teeth Productions, LLC. © Rooster Teeth Productions, LLC.

Common Ground: Nightmares

Oscar was dreading this, he had been worrying about it for many days. For once, he'd been happy that Jaune had offered to let him stay an extra night the previous evening. Tai hadn't seemed very enthusiastic about Oscar staying in the house anyway.

It made sense that Yang hadn't stayed with her sister and father. In fact, the poor boy was rather relieved that she hadn't. Who knows what she would've said. That was probably why she decided to "be elsewhere" for the past three days.

"Are you alright, kid?" Qrow wondered, spotting Oscar's very tense face. The Long Memory, which barely left the boy's side, was a constant source of comfort. That, of course, Qrow knew. It was quiet, he sat down. "I know this is all scary, but-"

"I'm fine," Oscar countered. "You don't have to say anything, I don't need words right now." Awkwardly, Qrow patted him on the shoulder. "If you think I'm mad at you, I'm not. It-it's just a lot to deal with right now." The man chuckled slightly.

"That's why I asked if you were okay." Qrow stood up. "I was just hoping that you would admit it on your own." Oscar curled in a little ball as Qrow left, thinking about what he said. Maybe he was right, as odd as that felt to think.

"I'm heading to bed now," Ruby told him, gesturing at the stairs lightly. "Do you need anything before I go?" Oscar shook his head, giving her a fake smile. She walked up to him, then gave the boy a kiss on the forehead. They blushed red. "Good night," Ruby whispered.

"Good night," Oscar repeated softly, watching as she walked away. The boy's face felt like it was burning. And it looked like it was on fire as well. Poor Oscar.

Ruby jolted up in her bed, breathing heavy. She held her head, a small ache rushing through briefly. There was no way she was getting back to sleep. The Huntress got out of bed, planning to grab some cookies and read until the sun came up again.

When she got into the living room, she found something that she didn't exactly like. Oscar was tangled in his blankets, shaking as he softly cried. Then he was wide awake and sitting up. Ruby was still standing there.

"Are you okay?" she wondered, sitting next to his feet, his eyes were dim and fearful. Ruby moved her hand toward him, reaching for his face. Oscar turned away. "Oscar, did you get any sleep over the past three days?"

"No," he said in shame. She scolded him by exclaiming his name out loud. "I'm sorry, I did try. It's just... every time I try to fall asleep, I get nightmares." Ruby reached for his hand, he didn't shift away this time.

"Well, what have you been doing instead then?" She slowed down, a bit sheepish. "After... you wake up."

"Mainly read. If that doesn't work, I go on a walk. I'm normally back before anyone's awake." Ruby sighed.

"I can't really blame you," she said. "Before tonight, I hadn't slept very well either." They shared a smile.

"What's going on?" Tai asked, rushing down stairs. "Is everyone okay?" The man took a moment to take all of it in. "Oh." Ruby stood up, wide awake.

"We're okay, dad. Everything's fine." And, it actually was.

Note: Please do not plagiarize my work. Just because you can copy and paste, doesn't mean you should.