How Do You Deal With It?

The last thing Lie Ren expects at 3:30 in the morning is Weiss Schnee asking him to meet down at the kitchen. He checks his scroll again just to verify he isn't dreaming and when he confirms his eyes aren't deceiving him, he quietly rolls out of bed and puts his slippers on, careful not to make any noise.

The last thing he wants is Nora or Jaune asking him where he's going.

When he makes it to the kitchen, Weiss is sitting down with a cup of coffee, clad in a white nightgown and tapping one sandaled foot on the ground, expression defeated.

"I wasn't aware you had my number," Ren says by way of greeting.

Weiss turns to face him and responds by making a gesture towards the seat across from her. "Please, sit."

Ren nods and takes the seat across from her, taking in her appearance. Her hair, usually perfectly combed when not in her ponytail, is disheveled, and he can see tangles that would make Jaune and Yang cry in dismay. The bags under her eyes are made more pronounced by her pale skin, and he can see the evidence of her anxiety in the uneven, bitten remains of her usually perfectly manicured fingernails.

"So," he begins, "how can I-"

"How do you deal with it?" Weiss interrupts.

At least she's cutting to the chase.

"What exactly do-"

"Ruby found our stash of sweets and has been bouncing around the room for the past 6 hours."

"…I see," Ren says, understanding the purpose of his summoning. "Is it just like-"

"Yes," Weiss replies, sagging against her chair. "You deal with it on a daily basis. Surely there's some secret to it."

Ren hums quietly, then leans back against his chair. "Well…"

"Please," she says, a hint of desperation coloring her polite tone.

In response, Ren stands up and takes her cup of coffee, ignoring her protests, and dumps it in the sink as he fills another clean cup with hot water. He then opens the drawer where has has hidden his most treasured possession from Beacon's many students as he begins to speaks.

"I could tell you that it's because she's important to me. I know it's hard for some people to deal with her, because of how she can be, and it makes it difficult to find a time to relax, but Nora's happiness is more important to me than that. I could also say it's because tolerating her makes it easier for other people to do so as well, and I am happy that she's now surrounded by a team that can see past her eccentricities, and with friends that have her back. Or I could simply say that I don't view it as something to deal with, because I love her. The same could be said of you and Ruby, right?"

There's a beat of silence as Ren finds what he's looking for and makes his way back to the table.

"You could say all of those things, and the flowery sentiments certainly suit you," Weiss finally replies as he sits back down, "but while you may be right, I know for a fact that's not how you deal with it, Lie Ren, so let's skip the what-ifs before I smother my partner with a pillow."

Ren laughs and slides the cup to her, the tea bag he'd been looking for already coloring the water.

"You're right," he says as she takes a sip and hums in surprised pleasure "That's my family's secret recipe, and you'll need it whenever this happens." He places an elbow on the table and gives her a searching look as he rests his head on his palm, her blue eyes locked onto his, the anticipation rolling off of her in waves.

"Now, what do you know about meditation?"

A/N: She got his number from Jaune during one of the few times she bothered listening to him.