Chapter 10: Ru & Ren Part 2

Ren was taken aback at first, his eyes widening and his body tensing up.

The kiss lasted longer than Ruby initially would have liked, but unsurprisingly she ended up liking it even more than she would have admitted. The five seconds their lips were connected seemed to last forever to her.

It was ended when Ren grabbed her shoulders and pushed her upward. She looked into his eyes for a split second, seeing the calm surprise in them. It looked like he could be very upset, but at the same time understanding. She wasn t sure how she felt about that.

The small girl pushed herself off of his body, and fell on her butt. She pushed herself up against the wall and brought her knees to her chest. Her silver eyes remained trained on the floor.

Ren sat up and collected his thoughts, while Ruby's ran wild. He looked over at her. The undeniable pink tint to her cheeks caused his thoughts to derail. He found it hard to try and tell her they couldn t be together when she looked so adorable.

"Ruby..." He began, pressing his hand to the floor and using it to turn his body, his back now to the door. "Is there something you d like to tell me?"

She didn't dare look up, afraid he was going to be angry about her impulsive actions. If she had, she would have seen the warm smile that was spread out on his face.

It would have confused them both had either noticed it.

She then buried her face in her arms. She worried that if he looked into her eyes he'd see her secret, which was pretty clear already.

"R-Ren..." She said, her voice muffled by her arms. He shuffled himself to be sitting next to her, a few inches between them. "I..."

She didn't continue. What if he rejected her? What if he said no? Or worse, what if he rejected her for Nora, or Yang, or maybe even Blake? She never had this sort of problem with a guy.

Taiyang hadn't even allowed her to date. He had realized the mistakes he made when Yang had brought home some... Unsavoury characters for dinner and didn't want to put Ruby through any drama.

He allowed her to date specifically for Beacon so Yang would at least be able to make a judgement call. Though at the time he hsd forgotten about Yang's usual taste in terrible guys-

She had never once held hands with a boy, let alone kiss one.

"Are you mad?" She asked, not daring to look up at him. He let out a soft chuckle, before placing an arm on her shoulder carefully.

"No, Ruby, I'm not mad." He said, watching her to see if she would look up. "I'm just surprised. If anything, I'm flattered."

But I don't like you like that, her mind filled in. She was terrified of him saying no, and having this awkwardness hang over them for the rest of their lives.

"Look, Ruby," he stood up and looked back down at her. She peeked her head out to see what he was doing to see his hand stretched out to help her up. "Let's go for a walk, shall we?"

She lifted her head up more so more than her eyes were visible to him. With a swift motion, she took it and lifted herself up. When she was standing, she quickly retracted her hand and looked away.

The two walked alongside one another on the sidewalk. The first few minutes were silent, as they strolled under the moonlight.

"Ren..." Ruby broke the silence, looking down at her boots. "I kinda maybe sorta have a crush on you." She finally admitted. Relief immediately washed over her as she got it off her chest.

He just nodded, processing his own feelings.

Of course, she was worried about what the silence meant. She was worried that he would reject her, or laugh at her, or run away and never speak to her again.

"Well, Ruby." He sighed, fighting the urge to smile. "That's..."

Neither stopped walking, but for Ren time slowed. The internal debate he'd been having over the past few days was finally goin to reach an end.

If was decision time.

It felt wrong, the whole concept. She was his teammate, his friend and leader. Not to mention the age difference. And if they did get together and either one of them were slain... That would be heartbreak he didn't think either of them could handle.

But at the same time, it felt right. She was adorable, a nice mixture of friendly and shy, and he could make her laugh quite easily. To counteract his thought about either of them perishing, he knew rejecting her would cause the rest of their lives to be painfully awkward, while going out with her would possibly make it more enjoyable.

But he was afraid of what Yang would do if she found out about them. Of course, he didn't know she and Nora were secretly hoping the two of them would get together (neither of them did), so he thought she might be furious. With not just him, but with Ruby.

Although, he was afraid of what he might do to Ruby if he said no. It might shatter her (he had his doubts it would forever, but he couldn't be too sure). And then maybe Yang would hurt him for breaking her little sister's heart.

In the middle of his mental conflict, he threw all his arguments and counter arguments aside.

"I could give us a shot." He said at last. Ruby stopped in place, turned on her heel and looked up at him. Her eyes sparkled.

"R-really?!" She asked in complete disbelief. A chuckle was forced from him, his face visibly brightening.

He nonchalantly took her hand in his and smiled.

"Of course, Ruby."

A blush fell over her cheeks as she smiled. She looked up between his face and his hand, clearly still denying it.

Her first boyfriend. Yang would (and will) be proud.

A/N: Sorry for the longer waiting period. I've just been having troubles with my computer.

For those of you who care, Lotus Petals will be updated next sometime soon.

For those of you who don't know, I adopted another RenxRuby story called Lotus Petals. It's a bit sadder but the first three chapters are worth it. Hopefully my work will also be worth it.

Anyway, I am working away at both these stories and hopefully another soon.