𝐈𝐧 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐃𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐬 (English)

Chapter 85

For two days straight Jaune had been in and out of Cinder's dreams, patching up memories and creating a background for her. Oobleck was pleased with what looked to be a marked improvement in his control when it came to choosing whom to influence, but Jaune was less convinced. He was so stressed about Cinder and the risks of her discovering the truth that he went to bed every night with her on his mind. It felt less like control and more like panic.

The bright side was that it kept him out of Team RWBY's dreams. The team weren't avoiding him, not precisely, but he was definitely feeling the cold shoulder from half of them. Ruby refused to talk to him and no longer showed for their evening meetings, and Blake had stopped going to the library at the same times he did. Of all the people to offer him comfort over it, he didn't expect it to be Weiss.

"They're not angry," she told him, after breakfast. "Ruby is avoiding everyone right now, Yang especially. You're just being swept up in that. As for Blake, I think she's more embarrassed than angry. There's no telling what you've seen in her head, or so she thinks."

"And you, Weiss?"

"It's obvious what you saw in mine. The sudden shift from asking me out to apologising and stopping. It makes me wonder if I should apologise for whatever cruel things my subconscious must have said."

"Something I needed to hear. If anything, I'm glad I got your honest opinion."

"Hmm." Weiss looked at him askance. He wasn't sure if he imagined the quirk of her lips. "I suppose there's a simplicity to that. Our subconscious minds say what we wish we could in real life. Is that what it's like in a dream?"

"Not really. I don't read thoughts or see into your mind. I'm in your dream, so it's more like being caught in a movie. I can figure stuff out, but it's more like dream analysis."

"Isn't that famously unscientific?"

"Yes. "Jaune had heard it enough times from Doctor Oobleck. There were a lot of hacks who put too much focus on what a person dreamt and what it meant. Especially when dreams could be influenced by everything from trauma to how much sugar a person had consumed that day. " But when a person's dream is literally them telling me to stop being an idiot and accept when you say no, I think even someone as dumb as me can figure it out."

"I'll still apologise. I never returned your feelings, didn't even really like you, but I didn't want to cause you – or anyone – any pain like that."

"It's fine, Weiss. There comes a point where if someone ignores your kind hints, you need to be cruel."

"If you say so. Speaking of cruel, is siccing Yang onto Ruby cruelty?"

"I didn't send anyone after anyone," he said, raising his hands in front of him.

"But you knew Ruby had a problem. From her dream, I assume."

"Yes. But I won't tell you what that's about." He saw her eyes narrow. "I made a promise to myself that I wouldn't share the deepest secrets of a person with another. I've broken that when it comes to criminals and dangerous people, but I'm not going to tell you what I saw in Ruby and Yang's dreams unless they let me. Same as how I wouldn't tell them anything I saw in yours."

"Hmph. I suppose I'll have to accept that."

"Thank you. And thank you for giving me a chance and not acting on what Winter told you about me."

Weiss did smile, then, and placed a hand on her hip, tilting her head to the side. "I was tempted at first," she admitted. "To confront you or tell my team. But then I remembered how I accused Blake over her White Fang links and how badly that went. I promised my team I'd judge them on their actions in the future, not what I was told to think by others. I decided to apply that here, and realised your actions – while too knowledgeable not to have used your Semblance – weren't hurting anyone. And you didn't try and take advantage of them. I was watching to see if you would."