Dragon Priestess will be a bit late due to me getting a job so have this for the time being! (You can find it on my tumblr under makas0ul)
Happy birthday, Texan!
I've finished your gift! Thanks for being a great friend! And as my gift to you, I wrote for your OTP! I've titled it, "How to Get a Girlfriend (For Dummies)" Enjoy~!
It was another normal day at Twin Axes Booksellers, one of the largest bookstore chains on Remnant. As one could expect, there wasn't much noise in the store, save for the soft jazz playing through the speakers and the ambient noise that came from the connecting cafe.
Despite being classified as a "major retail" store, Weiss never rang up more than 150 people per shift. Not that she was complaining, mind you. Weiss was only working this minimum-wage job so she could afford the fencing lessons her asshole of a father refused to pay for; anything that pissed him off was alright in her book. Three weeks of this had convinced her that retail was one of the worst lines of work you could find.
She looked at her nails from her spot behind one of the many empty registers. Getting paid minimum wage to stand there doing nothing for the vast majority of her eight-hour shift wasn't so bad, though it was incredibly dull if she was honest.
Really, the only real excitement came from the customers that she rang up, and even then the vast majority were just your average, forgettable consumers.
Once in a while, she'd have to deal with some desperate student who had either forgotten to, or hadn't cared to buy the books they needed until the last possible minute. Weiss herself didn't like doing things that way –she liked to be ahead of the class if at all possible– but she couldn't deny that it was amusing –in a pitying sort of way– to see them practically tearing apart the store in order to find what they wanted.
There was also the occasional noisy customer who clearly didn't understand basic courtesy. They'd either talk so loudly the entire store could hear their conversation, or they would simply make a ruckus with all the books somehow. Those customers were particularly annoying to deal with, as strictly speaking, a bookstore didn't have the same rule of silence that most libraries did, and thus it was frustratingly difficult to explain that they were simply being rude. Weiss considered herself a skilled wordsmith, but that only went so far against the stubbornly entitled. The occasional death glare was usually enough to silence even the rowdiest of customers.
Often though, the most entertaining customers were the ones who came in with odd requests. "Do you carry any cookbooks on cooking with rat?" was certainly one of the more memorable ones. There was also the customer who asked whether or not they carried books about combating the "coming android overlords who wield memes as weapons." The crestfallen look on their face when Weiss told her they carried no such books made her feel just the slightest bit sad for their predicament, and even a little guilty for thinking that they were trying to mess with her.
There was one customer though, who had captured Weiss's attention; a quiet regular who always seemed to get rung up by Weiss. Her raven hair was certainly eye-catching, though not nearly as much as the girl's amber eyes, which felt like they were boring a hole through Weiss every time their gazes met.
The other girl rarely spoke, save for the occasional thank-you or "yes, please." Honestly, if she wasn't stunningly gorgeous and as frequent of a customer as she was, Weiss would have chalked her up to a member of the average masses.
She was certainly someone Weiss wouldn't mind getting to know.
Blake wasn't one for talking a lot. She would rather sit back and let others guide the conversation, occasionally offering her own ideas and thoughts if she felt particularly inclined. The same went for her love life; wait for the other to make the first move and go from there.
Her best friend, Yang, was the exact opposite, favoring taking action rather than idling. Perhaps that was why they were such good friends; they each covered for the other's shortcomings with their own strengths.
"Blakey, you've been coming here every day for the past three weeks. I know you love reading, but don't you think you're gettin' out of control?" Yang asked, resting a hand on Blake's shoulder.
Her concern was touching, but there was nothing to be concerned about. "I'm fine, Yang. I have plenty of money to buy all of my books. You don't need to worry about me." Blake said, picking a book off the shelf and heading toward the register.
Yang snatched the book out of her hand, squinting at the cover. "Since when do you care about basket weaving?"
"Er… since now?" the dark-haired girl tried, giving her friend an uneasy smile.
Yang gave her an unamused look, which was rare considering the blonde was almost always amused by something. "So what's this really about?"
Blake briefly debated trying to get the book back, but decided it wouldn't help her current situation, so she heaved a sigh and let it go. "I… kind of might have a…"
"'A…?'"
"A crush on the cashier," Blake blurted, clapping a hand over her mouth belatedly.
Yang blinked before a grin spread across her face. "What? That's it? I thought you were gonna say something like, 'I'm a hoarder who's probably gonna end up on TV after being crushed to death by all my books,' or something!"
When Blake gave her a sharp look, Yang raised her hands in surrender. "Alright, I'll take this seriously, so just cool it with the look, yeah?" She smiled softly. "So what are you gonna do about it?"
Blake looked nonplussed for a moment. "'What am I gonna do about it?'" she slowly repeated back.
"Don't tell me you were gonna pine from afar until she hopefully asked you out," the blonde said, giving Blake a knowing look.
"Maybe…?"
Yang pulled Blake in with an arm around her shoulder. "You and I both know that's not gonna work, Blakey. I know going on the offensive really isn't your thing, but you've gotta break out of your shell sometime. Why can't it be now?"
Yang was right, and Blake knew it, but it didn't make things any easier. Just thinking about asking Weiss out made her heart rate double. "I don't know, Yang… What if I forget my words once I'm up there? I'll look like a fool and I'll have to find a different bookstore."
The blonde tapped a finger to her chin before her eyes lit up. "I got it! All you've gotta do is play to your strengths!"
"And how do I do that? I don't think staring at her has been working to get my intentions across."
"Books are your thing, Blakey! I'm sure you can find one that'll help you," Yang said, grabbing Blake by the shoulders and steering her off to another part of the store. "To the romance section!"
The romance section, as it turned out, wasn't filled with books with advice on dating, as Yang had assumed, but rather was filled with rather poorly-written racy titles. Kill or Be Kilt was a particularly amusing one if Yang's muffled laughter was anything to go by.
Still, several minutes of searching turned up nothing, and Blake had nearly given up on the section when she spotted a new title that the store was promoting. With a speed that would rival Ruby, Blake snatched up the book and hurried off to the register.
Yang gave her a smile and a wave as she watched her friend go. Hopefully things would turn out well.
When Blake approached the registers, she noticed Weiss quietly filing her nails, and gulped, gripping the book tightly.
It's now or never, I guess.
She approached the register mechanically, putting the book in front of Weiss with the title facing the white-haired girl and sliding it towards her slowly, maintaining eye contact all the while.
Weiss seemed somewhat confused, but continued with her job. As she went to scan it, she skimmed the title. "Will You Go Out With Me? It sounds like an interesting read," she said, making idle conversation.
"Er… yes. I think so too. The… uh… title really caught my eye," Blake said, her throat suddenly feeling dry. Was Weiss not understanding what was doing on?
Weiss nodded. "It is a unique title. I don't think I've ever heard it before."
She isn't getting it!
Blake could have fainted. Her rather smart plan was failing her in the crucial moment. There had to be a was to salvage the rapidly-degrading plan.
"Uh… nobody has ever asked you out before?"
Blake froze.
Abort! Abort! Abort! Mission Failure!
Despite all her instincts telling her to abandon the endeavor and run, something akin to fear kept her firmly rooted in place.
Weiss blinked, her gaze shifting from the book, to Blake, and back again. After an eternity for Blake, her face flushed, the blush reaching all the way up to the tips of her ears.
"Are you… asking me out?" Weiss pushed out, struggling to form words while her mind was trapped in some sort of haze.
Blake, eyes wide, could only nod slowly.
Both gazes dropped to the ground. Blake was sure that it was all over until she heard a quiet whisper of "Yes."
"What?" she blurted, clapping a hand over her mouth again.
Weiss slowly lifted her gaze. "Yes. I'd love to go out with you…"
"Blake," the dark-haired girl offered, more in control of her mouth this time.
"You have a lovely name, Blake. I'd be happy to go out with you. I get off at 8. Does 9 work for you?" Weiss asked, the blush still dusting her face.
Blake nodded rapidly. "9 is great!" A pause. "So uh… I'll see you later tonight then?"
"You will," Weiss said, handing Blake her purchase. "See you tonight."
Blake spotted Yang near the door, who was waiting with a huge grin. "Way to go, Blakey! You really put yourself out there and it paid off!"
Blake hummed. It certainly had.
I guess seizing the initiative every once in a while isn't so bad.
Once again, happy birthday to my buddy texanredrose ! I hope you liked the shenanigans! 誕生日おめでとう!
Also; Kill or Be Kilt is a real book and it makes me laugh every time I see it. Seriously, it's got some dude in nothing but a kilt on the front cover. Who designs that shit anyway lmao