Chapter 8: Strength and courage
About a week had passed since that day – that evening. Weiss could still remember the warm, soft, delicate touch of her friend, her heart agonizingly reminding her how inaccurate the term "friend" now was - the atmosphere had indeed grown considerably different between them.
It was already awkward after Ruby started believing that I liked Jaune, but now…
Weiss still remembered the cheerful Ruby, with her ever-lasting smile, her kind words and positive attitude. She remembered how the younger girl would rant for hours about how she saw someone with a cool weapon, or how her favorite artist released a new song. Even when she tried to set Weiss and Jaune together, the redhead was still overly excited about everything, no matter how fake her smile was, her voice would still go up in the high, her eyes would still beg for approval. Weiss's approval.
The former Ruby would always use any chance to get closer to Weiss – and the heiress was painfully aware of it.
The new Ruby however…
She would barely look at her. She would stay silent for hours, her gaze lost somewhere in her distance as she probably lost herself to her thoughts. Weiss actually caught her staring a few times during class, and she noticed the young leader would always avert her eyes, trying to play it off as a mere accident, as if it were unintentional and absolutely not suspicious at all.
If only Weiss was not so terrified to speak to her face to face, she would have asked, but even communication seemed to have taken a hard blow. The simplest sentences would turn into a random mess of sounds – even the basic "hello" and "good night" were only indecipherable noises whose meaning could only be presumed. Often, Ruby would come up to her, parting her lips only to close them a second later, her cheeks reddening suddenly as she walked away, leaving a very confused Weiss behind.
Weiss had initially thought that her reaction to Ruby's song was not the one expected – she feared that the comfort she tried to give was not enough, or that it was not wanted in the first place. But it didn't take long for her to realize that Ruby was not actually mad at her. She was definitely troubled, and Weiss could not help but wonder if the hand holding was going too far.
What if she has realized I have feelings for her?
It felt as if they were drifting apart, despite not actually wanting to.
Despite it all, the singing lessons still occurred. They basically consisted of Weiss having to pick a song and work on it until she had mastered it, trying to follow the few advices Ruby actually gave her – as time went on, those advices were found to be rare and brief. Perhaps because Weiss was getting better, perhaps because Ruby grew less comfortable speaking to her.
The two lessons they had this week ended a lot sooner than they usually did – the first time, Ruby had pretexted an assignment she had yet to finish, the second time she had not even bothered making up an excuse, only muttering something that sounded like a "we-should-probably-go-or-something".
Weiss felt powerless. There were so many words swirling in her head, begging to be freed, to come out, open for the world and Ruby to hear. The emotions twirling inside of her chest pushed her to grab a pen and a sheet of paper, scribbling messy letters, forming sentences, scratching groups of words and circling others. She had no rhythm in mind. Only words that would keep her company, alone with her lights on, pushing the darkness further away.
Then Wednesday arrived. Nine days had passed since the evening they held hands – that memory alone made Weiss's heartbeat increase. As Mr. Port was ranting about his oh so interesting life, Weiss tried to sneak a glance at Ruby, sitting on her left side. Ruby obviously noticed, their eyes meeting for a split second – and oh, the butterflies in her stomach – before both of them turned away, facing the desk in shame. From the corner of her eyes, Weiss noticed the leader's hands closing into firm fists.
Dammit, what's bothering her so much?
She wanted to ask. The question was hovering over her lips, ready to fall off, in a strangled cry, but she stopped herself.
What if it's because of me? What if I only make it worse?
Mr. Port clapped his hands together, bringing Weiss back to reality. She looked around her, noticing with a sigh the students whose heads nearly met the desks, yet kept struggling to take notes.
Not the best place to ask anyway…
She gulped a second time. She had to face her, she had to ask. She needed to know – what was happening to them? What did it mean? Where did they stand? What were they?
There was this possibility. This tiny, yet shining possibility. The one that seemed so great, so unattainable, that she would forget how to breathe whenever it presented itself in her mind.
And as the hour grew closer to an end, her thoughts wandered into dangerous territories, sinking further and further into the depth of her own wishes.
The bell resonated throughout the classroom, bringing smiles on the students' bored faces, some of them actually stretching their arms above their heads as if they just woke up.
Weiss got up, resisting the urge to turn her head to look at Ruby - she brushed it off, simply walking towards the door, though her desire was so strong it almost hurt her neck. She made a few steps into the corridor before she felt her sleeve being pulled back.
"Ah!"
She jerked her arm forward before turning around, facing the young leader, whose eyes were wide, staring back at her.
"O-Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you…" the small girl sputtered.
Weiss coughed. "It's nothing." A faint blushed covered her cheeks. "What did you want?"
"Erm... Eh… It's just-"
She was interrupted as a student bumped into her, continuing his route without sparing them a second glance.
Weiss stepped towards him, her eyebrows furrowing over her obviously discontent eyes.
"How da-"
But Ruby grabbed her arm, forcing to step backwards.
"It's fine Weiss, we were in the way."
Weiss blinked, once. Her angst was gone, strangely, she couldn't even recall it being here in the first place – and felt slightly ashamed that she let her emotions take the better of her, for something as silly as this. In front of Ruby, especially.
Then she blinked, a second time, realizing with a pinch in her heart how close they were – physically, standing next to one other, Ruby's fingers still wrapped around her forearm. Whatever emotion displayed on her face seemingly made Ruby grow conscious of her own hand, as she retrieved it quickly. The heiress stared as she saw the muscles in the young girl's jaw move, silently. She noticed the radiant red blooming on her face, and her heart skipped yet another beat, as wishful thinking filled her mind.
No words.
Weiss's hand twitched.
I can't let this go to waste.
She grabbed the girl by the arm and began walking, her eyes scanning the corridors.
"W-Weiss, what-"
Without looking back, she led her far away from the crowded place, before finally releasing her grasp. Ruby was staring at her, eyes blinking a few times.
"It's- so that no one would bump into you", Weiss explained.
She didn't give time for her cheeks to redden before she continued.
"What did you want to say?"
Ruby looked taken aback, her eyes wide in surprise. Once calm had regained her, she lowered her gaze, staring at her feet as she pressed her lips together – or perhaps she was biting it?
"Erm, it's just… You know, we have our lesson later but um, I wonder if we could, um… cancel it?"
Cancel… it?
The words resonated in her mind. A strange combination of words that suddenly became foreign to her, and she had to repeat it slowly before she could grasp the meaning of them again.
"Cancel… it…"
"Is- is it not okay?"
Of course it's not. We can barely communicate and you want to cancel the only thing we now have in common, the only few moments of hope I have of actually being closer to you, and you ask me if this is okay?
"Why? Why do you want to cancel?" she asked, her gaze lost somewhere on the wall behind Ruby.
"I- I wanted to know if you'd rather hang out instead?"
Weiss finally put her eyes on her.
She stared.
Then she released a heavy sigh, lowering her head.
"You dunce…" she rubbed her hand against her forehead. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"
"I should have?"
The heiress lifted her head up, opening her mouth.
"Well I thought… I thought… you…"
Ruby seemed to suddenly realize, her cheeks growing faintly red as her lips curved into a tiny smile.
"You thought?" she teased.
"Oh, shut it!" the heiress shot.
She turned on her heels, showing her back to her leader. She took a step forward, biting her lips.
"I'll wait for you at the dorms."
And she left.
Forty six.
Her heart was thundering strongly inside her chest, marking the seconds passing by. Her eyes were fixed on her clock as she pulled on the hem of her skirt nervously. Skirt that she had smoothed down about twenty times already, making absolutely sure there was remotely no imperfection on its folds.
She was sitting on her bed, waiting for Ruby to finally come in. Blake was laying on her own bed, aside from her, her fingers carefully clutching the cover of yet another book.
Forty seven.
Truth be told, she had never expected the leader to take more than ten minutes to join her – yet there she was, waiting since…
Forty eight.
The clock suddenly showed, as if taunting her. Time was passing by, and she had been staring at the clock since it had displayed the numbers "05:26" on it, precisely. Without taking into consideration that she had been busy preparing herself in the bathroom for about thirteen minutes.
It's been over half an hour, what in the world is she doing? Did she get lost? Oh dear, she probably got lost.
She released the tension growing in her shoulder, gritting her teeth as she realized Blake was staring at her, an ever-lasting smile covering her lips.
"What's so funny?" she dared finally ask.
"Oh, nothing…" the dark-haired girl hummed innocently – too innocently to be sincere.
"It surely doesn't look like 'nothing' if you ask me."
The tall girl slowly took a seated position, her gaze still fixed on Weiss's.
"Trust me, you'll find out soon enough."
Find out what?
Weiss parted her lips, the question ready to flow from in between, when the door suddenly opened, obnoxiously loud.
"Ruby!" Weiss exclaimed almost instinctively.
"Heh…"
Yang appeared by the door, a nasty smile covering the lower side of her face.
Damn.
"Well, looks like someone is eager to see my baby sis!"
Ugh, shut it.
Yang merely laughed, her voice turning into a red taunting flag. But then the blonde-haired girl stepped aside, revealing the so-awaited guest behind her. The heiress nearly jumped at her, ready to shot whatever she had been holding those past thirty minutes. Surprise, content, angst, all swirled inside of her, forcing her body to stand up instantly. Her mouth opened, but remained silent.
She only realized how ridiculous she looked a few seconds later, as she noticed the silent smirks Yang and Blake exchanged. She tightened her lips together in response, trying to shape a blank expression on her features, but there was nothing she could do to prevent a bright, glowing shade of pink from covering the skin of her cheeks.
"I'm sorry Weiss, I just – uh, had some stuff to do beforehand", Ruby apologized while stepping closer to her, her voice mixed with remorse.
"What 'stuff'?" the heiress immediately asked, sounding way more defensive than she intended.
There was a glint of worry in her silver eyes, to which Weiss simply shrugged, deciding it was a lot more reasonable to not press the issue. She turned around to walk towards her bag, fervently checking what it contained, as if she were actually preparing it.
Hesitating for a few seconds, she finally dared ask.
"So, where are we going?"
"Oh, uh, wherever, I guess."
She had expected Blake and Yang to pry in, to ask why they were not going to the music school. But neither of them seemed to care, as Blake was stealthily trying to steal Yang's notes out of her bag, obviously aware that Yang saw and was smirking at her.
They simply didn't care.
I have a bad feeling about this.
She gulped painfully. She pointed towards the door, motioning Ruby to go out, following her step.
They arrived in town while no word was ever spoken.
A few clouds tainted the otherwise blue sky, the sun hiding behind them only occasionally. There was a light breeze that could make the poorly dressed shiver, but fortunately for them, they had picked enough layers of clothes to feel comfortable in this warm winter weather.
Ruby was walking unexpectedly slowly. She seemed to be staring at the bitumen, but her gaze was empty, she simply wasn't there, but again, just lost in her thoughts. She spared the heiress no glance, and kept on walking, as if she were in fact alone, as if Weiss was not by her side, no clue as to where exactly they were heading.
"Um, Ruby?"
The girl perked up at her name, looking around for less than a second before her eyes set on Weiss.
"Ah- yes?"
They stopped walking. Weiss sighed heavily, rubbing her hand against her forehead.
"Would you like to grab something to eat?" she asked, staring at the bakery house a few feet away from them.
"S-Sure."
They stepped into the shop, where Ruby asked for cookies, which Weiss insisted on paying. Despite Ruby being utterly against the idea, the heiress was still a lot more convincing and managed to win their ten-minutes-long debate.
And so they left, a bag full with dozens of cookies in Ruby's hands. They walked aimlessly again for a few minutes before they agreed to settle in a park, after Weiss's suggestion.
Truthfully, she was waiting for the both of them to sit down so they could talk and escape this suffocating silence, hopeful that Ruby would finally explain her peculiar behavior. Unfortunately for her, while the first part of her wish found out to be an easy task, the second part revealed itself to be… slightly more difficult.
They were both sat at a bench, legs unconsciously crossed in the exact same manner, which Weiss only noticed a few minutes later. Ruby sat to her left, though she seemed to be entranced in the view of her cookies, which she was eating with extreme cautious, frowning at every unwanted noise she made.
"Do you want one?" she asked.
"No, thank you."
"Are you sure? I mean… you didn't buy anything for yourself and I mean, it would be unfair to, I mean…"
"Ruby, it's fine. I'm fine."
She wanted to throw this ridiculous conversation away and replace it with words that would actually be important and valuable, yet the small girl simply nodded and kept on eating, a little more confident than she was a few minutes prior. The white-haired girl stared at her, ignoring the fact Ruby was aware of it. She only detached her eyes from her once she realized that Ruby didn't seem too keen on speaking.
Weiss stared up at the sky, which was beginning to look into a mixture of grey and blue. A few stars began to come in view, and she busied herself with trying to predict where the next one might appear. She released another breath, realizing that the stars were far too slow to show up and it was becoming a little too boring.
She closed her eyes for a bit. The breeze was becoming a little colder against her fragile skin, and she couldn't help but wonder if Ruby was warm enough. Asking her was tempting, a nice, easy way to end the heavy atmosphere, but her heart stuttered as she recalled how gentle and warm Ruby's hand was when holding her own.
She missed it.
She missed that warmth. She missed that comfort. She missed that feeling of security, of knowing that they were holding hands and it felt so right.
She would never gather enough strength and courage to actually admit it aloud, but she grew strong and brave enough to at least admit it to herself. It sent multiple emotions through her body, shivers, butterflies, it made her close to losing countenance, but she dared not allow herself to deny her feelings any longer.
I am Weiss Schnee. Not a coward.
She repeated the thought a few more times before opening her eyelids again, gaze still fixated on the sky. She noticed, with an inner smile, the presence of a few more stars. She took a deep breath, the cold air she inhaled serving as a reminder that the day was coming to an end. It was the finally push she needed.
"Why did you want to hang out?" she asked, her voice strained and shaking after not being solicited for too long.
She heard movement to her left, and she willed herself not to look. She knew Ruby was staring at her, and she could not meet her eyes. Not right now.
"I-"
The single word was cut short, as if Ruby had tried to take it back at the last moment.
"It's-"
Weiss finally lowered her gaze.
"Just-"
Ruby had twisted her body to face her, her left hand grabbing the end of the bench while the other one was still holding the bakery bag.
"I just-"
Despite the multiple layers of clothes, Weiss could see her chest moving rapidly, in and out, erratically. Brief trails of white smoke escaped from her lips, flying away, quickly caught by the next and so on.
But most importantly, her eyes. Wide, staring at her desperately. They were begging. Begging for her to understand.
"I…"
Weiss's hand twitched, nearly ignoring its possessor to grab the warm hand it missed so much, but Weiss regained control before it could disobey.
"Ruby."
She hated this, she hated seeing Ruby this down, this distressed. Because her desire to hold her in her arms would become so much more unbearable. She had no idea what to do. Her hand twitched again.
"Ruby, calm down."
"It's- it's just…"
"Ruby, stop."
Please.
Her voice was firm, forcing reality back into Ruby's mind. The leader finally stopped, her mouth closing as she gulped, frowning in the process.
"I'm so sorry…"
"There is nothing worth apologizing for."
"But-"
"We're not in a hurry, are we?" Ruby shook her head. "Good. Just take your time, clear your thoughts a bit then talk to me, alright?"
"That's not it…"
"Then was is it?"
Ruby paused, and Weiss took this opportunity to readjust her body, facing Ruby, as a silent 'I'm listening'. She clenched her hands together, firmly, to hopefully suppress any desire to grab Ruby's. It obviously failed, as it trembled again.
"I'm just…" she paused again. "Scared", she breathed out. "I guess…"
"Scared? What of?"
"Talking about it", she replied, her gaze drifting away only for a second.
"About?"
Why is she so vague? Should I really ask so many questions? Does she want to talk about it or does she just need a little push?
The girl turned away to sit normally, both of her hands now clenching the bag on her lap.
"I talked. To Yang."
Her voice was rushed, almost too fast for Weiss to hear, who only remained quiet, still haunted by her own questions.
"About… five days ago? Six? Something like that? I don't know…" she pressed her lips together to humidify them. "Well, it's more like she talked to me, really…"
She smiled, though that smile wavered shortly after it had appeared.
"She um… she told me she was bisexual."
Weiss's eyes widened in surprise, before she quickly regained control of herself.
"Bisexual?" she asked, echoing her own thoughts.
Isn't it a bit like me? Or not really? Uh…
"Yeah, it means she likes, um, boys… and girls, too."
Weiss almost jerked back in surprise, but controlled herself nonetheless.
Okay, okay Weiss, this is the perfect opportunity, don't mess up.
"What-" she began.
Breathe. Don't mess up!
"What do you think about it?" Her voice was unnecessarily high, but she ignored it and silently prayed Ruby would follow.
"What do you mean?" she answered hesitantly.
"Do you think it's… wrong?"
"No! No. Do you?"
Weiss silently sighed. "No."
She suddenly realized how suspicious she might have been, which was confirmed by Ruby's surprised expression.
"I mean, I just wanted to make sure… I mean, since you were so bothered…"
"Oh, no, it's not because I have an issue with it!" Ruby quickly clarified, almost mixing her words together.
"What is it then?" Weiss replied, gulping.
"It's just- I just- I… I'm just… confused."
"Confused?"
She parted her lips, inhaling a large amount of air while closing her eyes, before exhaling, eyes still shut.
"I just- I don't know, I've been doing all these things and I thought it was normal because- well I'm not sure, I just thought it was natural, but then I realized that maybe it was not and I was very confused because things were awkward- and Yang just said this to me, and I think she thought it would help, but it didn't because I'm still confused and I don't know what to do about this- because I mean- liking boys doesn't mean you like all boys, so I guess liking girls doesn't mean you like all girls, but I'm confused because what does it mean to like someone? How do I know? It's just really- really- really hard to put words on my feelings because it's just a bunch of random emotions that make absolutely no sense to me and- I don't know- I…"
She took a deep breath, her lips shaking, tremors spreading through her entire body, before she hid her face behind the bag of cookies.
"I mean- I just really liked spending time with you and I didn't think much about it, it was just really fun, but then it was different and I don't know why or how- I just had these strange feelings and I realized that I didn't have them for anyone else- and Yang- and I- gosh- I just really want to hug you and kiss you but I shouldn't- but just thinking about it makes my heart go faster- holy cookie what am I saying?!"
Weiss froze. Actually, she had frozen the moment she understood Ruby might have a romantic interest.
She could feel her heart thumping into her chest, yet it was a distant emotion – her heart could have been yelling, begging, heck, it could have stopped, right then, right there, she would not have cared. She was too dazed to care.
A certain numbness had claimed control over her body, as if it were not her own anymore, and her mind was breaking free from it, flying away in content. Ruby's words echoed into her head, overshadowing every other emotion she had.
It was an abstract, immaterial feeling that was soon shattered by Ruby.
"I'm sorry, I know you like Jaune, I should have never said all that but I just thought that maybe, just maybe, you-"
"I don't like Jaune."
The reaction was immediate.
Ruby suddenly – and finally – detached her face from the bag of cookies, which nearly fell forgotten onto the floor. She gaped at her, silver eyes wide, a mixture of shock and content pooling into them.
The words just left Weiss's mouth naturally, though that was not quite right. It was instinctive, rushed, words that just had to be said before it became too late. The mention of Jaune was an intrusion, a disruption of the moment the two of them were sharing. She did not want to ruin this moment, nor did she want Ruby to apologize for her courage. For revealing what she wanted hidden. Weiss admired it, silently.
"You- what- but-"
Weiss felt strangely glad to recognize both the confusion and content on Ruby's expression – truth be told, the leader did a poor job at hiding them. But after all those days spent in silence and dodging glances, finally regaining the ability to read her emotions felt oh so rewarding.
"I have never liked Jaune. Honestly", Weiss rolled her eyes while offering a slightly mocking smile, "I have no clue how you even came to that conclusion."
"But… you were staring at him at lunch and-"
"I was not staring! I may have glanced at him the way I could have glanced at anyone else, but it meant nothing."
Of course, this was an innocent lie – she had been staring, only to wonder whether or not Ruby had an interest in him. But, this was a truth to save for later.
"But then, why didn't you just tell me?"
… Or maybe not.
"I just… didn't know how to…" the heiress admitted, lowering her head in hopes of concealing her faintly pink cheeks.
"You could have just said it the way you did just now!"
Weiss looked up, ready to reply, but was not given the chance to.
"I thought you liked him! And I thought I had to help you date him because I was your friend but… but…"
It was only at this moment that Weiss understood the pain and confusion she had caused the younger girl. She had been too caught up in her own tourbillon of emotions, and she blamed herself for not realizing it sooner.
"I'm sorry…"
She had not even realized that her right hand went on its own to grab Ruby's left, crushing the cookies below them. She was about to pull away as she realized, when Ruby shifted her hand to grab hers, firmly. She felt her throat growing considerably dryer, as well as a strong pulse struggling inside her chest.
"I really thought you were going to date him…" she said. "I mean, everyone knows he likes you…" She left out a faint laugh that sounded anything but happy.
"I'm really sorry." She truly was.
She glanced sideways, only to notice that the only people left were also the ones leaving.
Reuniting strength and courage in a single, deep breath, she shifted her body to get closer to Ruby, silently resting her forehead on her shoulder as she gasped for air soundlessly, surprised by her own boldness.
As Ruby did not say a thing, she considered pulling away to apologize, when an arm wrapped around her left side, keeping her close.
They remained in that position, wordlessly, for a few more minutes, before Weiss quietly broke the silence.
"I thought it would be better if I didn't tell you."
She felt Ruby's hand move on her back, though she couldn't quite decipher the movement with exactitude.
"Why?"
The body she was resting on shivered slightly as the sound swayed through it. Weiss focused on the steady, yet strong breathing that animated Ruby's chest, a soft soothing melody. For a reason that was still unknown to her, she wanted to cry. She could not fathom why her eyes stung, or why she actually had to close her eyelids, gates that would keep the tears in.
"I… was afraid you'd realize I didn't like boys."
She felt Ruby grow stiff, her chest not moving anymore. The arm around her tightened its grip, and while she found herself to be trapped. she realized this cage was nothing but shielding, protective.
"You don't like boys?" Ruby repeated, her chest finally remembering how to process air.
"I don't…"
She opened her eyes again, and saw the way Ruby's throat tensed.
"So… Do you… like… like girls?"
She gave her hand a squeeze, which she contently sent back.
Ruby said nothing, and they were bathed in silence again. Yet, this was a silence neither of them was eager to disturb.
The moon was now above them, proudly brightening the shade of dark grey surrounding it. The few floor lamps built in the park provided them with an extra source of light. They revealed the trees, whose branches swayed slightly back and forth, a few forgotten leaves crawling on the cold ground, passing by them, reflecting the sound of the wind. A few whispers in the distance were drowned by the soft hooting of the nearby owls, humming to each other.
There was no doubt that the wind carried around some scents from afar, yet all Weiss could smell was the aroma of roses. She shifted against Ruby's shoulder, nuzzling closer to her neck. A scarf encircled it, but the flagrance of the shampoo she always used still lingered, and Weiss carefully inhaled it, embraced by the memories of the few hugs they exchanged.
Deprived of the sun's heat, they snuggled closer, replacing it with the warmth they both naturally held.
Slightly nervous, Weiss shut her eyes.
"You know… we could, if you want to."
"What?"
"Kiss."
Her heart missed a beat, in synch with the word. She ignored its persistent struggle, focusing on the girl she held instead. Receiving no response, she, although sad, pulled back, opening her eyes only to meet hers.
Her cheeks were covered in red, spreading to the clothing covering her neck. Her mouth was open, shocked, and Weiss couldn't help but stare at it a little longer than necessary.
"If you want to", she added, quietly.
The younger girl pressed her lips together, humidifying them in the process, which Weiss unconsciously mimicked.
"I… want to."
A smile forced itself on Weiss's expression in response, and Ruby giggled nervously, hiding her face with her right hand, her left one still holding Weiss's.
"O-Okay… Um…" the heiress stuttered.
"Are you sure about this?" Ruby asked, peeking through her fingers.
"Yes. Now stay quiet... please."
She noticed Ruby swallowed, and the nervousness was contagious. She used her left hand to brush Ruby's away from her face, though hers remained there, caressing her cheek slightly.
It felt strange. Unusual. She had never touched anyone else this way, and feared that perhaps it was too much, but the blush that tainted Ruby's cheeks calmed the cacophony inside her head. She ignored it.
She extended her fingers, cupping Ruby's face. She knew full well that her own face was crimson, but she ignored it as well. She ignored it all.
Tilting her head to the side, she leaned slowly, until their forehead touched, and their lips brushed against one other. A caress as light as a feather, so soft it sent a shiver down her nape.
She felt Ruby press her mouth bashfully against her own, and the thought itself brought satisfaction to her heart. It was warm, so warm. A hand carefully wandered by her hip, resting on her soft curve.
The wind was dancing, the owls were hooting, people were whispering, but all she could hear was the strong beating of her own heart and their shaking exhalations.
She lingered a bit longer, drawing lazy circles with her thumb on the younger girl's jaw, before she retreated.
She immediately went back to Ruby's shoulder, hiding the furious blush on her face. Her mind was filled with 'oh my gosh I kissed Ruby', but most importantly, she wanted to know how they both felt about this.
"What did you think?" she mumbled, realizing only afterwards that perhaps it wasn't audible enough.
Her hand was abandoned, as she felt two arms wrap around her tightly, which she reciprocated. Ruby nuzzled her neck, humming against it.
"I think my heart needs to process this", she replied, her voice shaking.
Weiss let out a nervous chuckle.
"Mine too."
Regrettably, neither of them was granted time, as Ruby's scroll suddenly emitted a loud "Ting!", startling both of them. They pulled back, Ruby retrieving the device from her purse.
"It's Yang."
Weiss rolled her eyes.
"Oh, perfect."
Ruby pressed a finger to the scroll, squinting at it in the process.
"She sent a message asking us to get back soon because it's getting late." She sighed. "I'm not a kid anymore, I don't need a curfew!"
"Well, she has a point. The school does have a curfew."
"Why would we need one? I can handle my own!"
"Yes, yes I know."
Weiss smirked, the girl alongside her trying to hide her own smile behind a poorly-made pout. She clapped her hands together, cleaning her throat before she stood up, now looking down at Ruby.
"So, shall we go?"
The leader nodded, before gathering the bag of cookies in one hand and joining her partner. They made their leave, walking slowly towards the park's exit. Breathlessly, Weiss extended her fingers to brush against Ruby's hand, before the younger girl intertwined their fingers together, squeezing them firmly.
"Weiss?"
"Yes?" Her heart skipped a beat.
"You still don't want a cookie?"
A/N: [update April 17th] Chapter proofread! I also changed a few things, but mostly a few words here and there, so nothing too important.
To be honest, I think this chapter is the most romantic thing I've ever written. I hope I made it dorkish enough though. I apologize once again with the delay, I have no idea when the next chapter will come out (it'll probably take a while once again) but I know it will be the last. Thanks for those of you who are still reading it, please hang on a bit more! ;^;
*throws glitters and rainbows*
Oh and yes, there's a new cover for this story! Made it myself, it's not very pretty (I'm not good at drawing) but I'm still happy with it. 0u0/
