A few weeks later Spike is humming happily as her carries a backpack, and a basket through the woods with Weiss at his side.
"So...why me..." She suddenly questions with a frown.
He shrugs, "Just doing what my heart tells me to."
"But Yang is so much prettier than I...Ruby is better conversation...Blake is much nicer...why not them?'
"None of them really clicked for me... you getting thirsty?"
"A little..." she admits.
Spike pulls water out of his backpack, and offers her the bottle. "Thank you..." She takes the bottle and sips a little "How much further do we have?"
"Just up this hill," he says. "Getting tired? I could carry you."
She scoffs " don't underestimate me.."
"Of course," he says with a smile. "Race you to the top!" He starts running.
"You're so immature..." She too sets off running and speeds past him without breaking a sweat.
Just when she thinks she's won he's trotting beside her as they make a tie at the top. "You're pretty fast Weiss."
Did you expect anything less?" She raises her eyebrow.
"Nah, just wanted to see it for myself," he says as he pulls a big blanket out of his backpack, and spreads it over the grass.
She shrugs and sits down. Spike fishes around for food, "I brought sandwiches, pickles, chips, pickles, and a big jar of pickles."
She blinks and smirks "I don't suppose you brought any pickles did you?"
"Yup! I reeeeeeeally love pickles, especially with a dab of mustard!"
"Huh...never tried THAT before..."
Spike pulls out the jar, and a bottle of mustard. He then pulls a fork out of a bag of silverware, using it to fish out a pickle. Weiss cringes "Doesn't seem like a very good combination to me..."
He puts some mustard on the pickle, and offers her the fork, "C'mon, please? it's sour, but makes your mouth water like you wouldn't believe."
She scoffs and takes the fork "...Ew..." She mumbles, before gingerly nibbling the end. It's got the tang of the mustard with the sour of the pickle. It's not overpowering, just alters the flavor a bit.
"Hmm..not bad I guess... better than i thought but still not the best."
Spike chuckles while showing his teeth in a smile, "Never know if you like something until you try it, huh?" The gentle look in his eye suggests a double meaning.
"Uh...yeah..." She avoids eye contact with a pale blush "I guess so."
He smiles as he flops on his back on the blanket, "When you blush it kinda reminds me of a cherry-flavored snow-cone. Or strawberry ice cream, take your pick.
Weiss frowns "Are you insulting me?!"
"No, how would comparing you to a tasty treat be insulting?"
"Because I..." she sighs dejectedly "I'm sorry. I guess i'm just not used being complimented..."
He scratches his back, and then sits up, "hey would you smack me if i gave you a shoulder rub? You're so tense all the time."
"I...I guess so." She blinks "I don't mind..."
He smiles like she just offered him a pound of chocolate, and scoots up beside her so he can massage her shoulders.
"Why though?"
He smiles sheepishly, "Well learning to sense Chi, I mean Aura makes me sensitive to the feelings of others. If people are tense then I get tense." He gently grips her shoulders, and moves his thumbs in small circles.
Weiss tenses even more at the feel of his hands; but eventually relaxes
He smiles, "That's better." He looks up, "...I see an octopus racing a train."
"You...what?"
"The clouds," he says, pausing long enough to point up. "Have you ever stopped just to look at them? They make all kinds of shapes."
Weiss stares at the sky "I've never had time..."
He lies, and slowly pulls her onto her back, lying next to her. Then he points upwards, "In that one Riiiiight there I see a seahorse."
"So it is!" She laughs "The one next to it looks like a deformed beowolf!"
Spike deadpans at the cloud, "Dude, two words: Plastic Surgery."
"It's a beowolf...it'll just be destroyed anyway, idiot!" She grins.
"Better dead and cool than alive an uncool," Spike says. "Hey Weiss, a snowflake!" He points, "Half of it's melted though."
"Oh yeah...so it is! Kinda like me..." She muses.
"How poetic," he laughs.
Weiss raises her eyebrow "Got a problem with that? Huh? HUH!"
"Nope, no problem," he says turning to her with a smile.
"Good!" She grins.
He smiles, "Oh look, there's a gorgeous smile!"
Weiss rolls her eyes, but the smile never drops "You're so cheesy...it's annoying."
He chuckles, "Well since I'm cheesy I'd better stay true to form..." He stretches his neck, letting his lips lightly brush her cheek.
Weiss blushes deeply "Y'know...usually I'd hit anyone if they touched me like that..."
He draws back slowly, "I feel honored."
"I never said I WOULDN'T hit you..."
"ARE you...?" He smiles mischievously. Reaching into his bag he pulls out a cluster of grapes in a plastic bag.
"I WOULD if need be..." She snaps "I'm not afraid of fighting!"
He just keeps smiling, "You know I had this crazy fantasy about you when I heard you were from a Noble family."
"What..kind...of fantasy?"
He waves the grapes, "Nothing perverted, just us on a grassy hill, you utterly relaxed with your head in my lap while I fed you fruit like you were a Princess."
Weiss raises her eyebrows "I'm not like THAT...I don't expect people to feed me."
He sighs, "So it's to remain a fantasy... Oh well, these are good grapes too."
"Then eat them and quit fussing!"
Spike sets the bag down, "And here all I wanted was to pamper you till you were purring like a kitten." He turns his head to her, "And yes I know you don't really purr."
"Good..." She sighs "I'm not an animal."
He smiles, sliding his arm over to take her hand. "Hey Weiss, see that cloud up there shaped like a heart?"
"Yeah...I do..." She tenses, and makes no move to tighten her grasp...
..but neither does she reject it.
He rubs his thumb on the back of her hand, "And I also see a pair of jumping dolphins."
"You do?" Her cheeks start to feel warm, and suddenly she can't really concentrate "That's...good."
He takes a deep breath, "This is how I lived for a time. Watching clouds, and the stars. Hearing the wind, and water, like that stream down below. It's peaceful, isn't it?"
"Yeah...peaceful..yeah. It's been a while since I've took time out for myself..."
He chuckles, "So you needed a time-out?"
"I didn't NEED one..." She frowns "...One would have been nice though."
Spike glances at her, "There's nothing wrong with needing a break every now be then. You're only human Weiss."
"But I'm a PERFECT human. I don't have time for trivial stuff! I have to prepare for running my father's company."
He leans over, and touches a finger to her forehead, "None of that, right now this is your time to relax." He sits up, "Would it help you any if I went for a swim?"
He starts pulling off his shirt as he stands, and Weiss notices he's RIPPED! She blushes, and averts her gaze "P-Put your shirt back on idiot! There's a lady present!"
"Oh come on Weiss, on a guy there's nothing wrong with a bare torso." He puts his shirt over his shoulders like a towel, revealing three circular scars on his back from the bullet wounds.
She sighs heavily "My father would throw a FIT!"
"What, if he knew you were dating, and the idiot who asked you out decided not to get his shirt wet with a swim? Or are you wanting me walking back in wet clothes?" He starts undoing his boots.
"YES!" She replies "I...just...how much are you planning to strip off!"
"Relax, I got some swim trunks I'll change into behind those trees. Ruby passed along your swimsuit in case you decided to join me."
"I'm not swimming with a BOY!" She shrieks "Are you insane!"
He blinks at her, "Why not?"
"Because I'm a GIRL!" She replies, as if it's the most obvious thing in the world.
"Aaaaaand...?" He blinks repeatedly.
"And it..." She huffs "Forget it! Just go swim!"
"Okay! Feel free to join any time!" He pulls some black swimming trunks out of his backpack, and heads into the woods.
"Yeah...no thanks.." She sighs to herself, feeling very awkward. She doesn't see him for a minute... Then he comes back fully dressed in his normal clothes with the trunks in hand.
"Sorry, guess the heat was getting to me. Wanna move the blanket under that tree by the stream?"
Weiss blinks "But I thought you wanted to swim?"
He shakes his head as he gathers stuff up, "What I wanted was to spend the day with you. It's no fun doing anything on your own be it swimming, or enjoying a picnic."
"Yeah but...you gotta at least have fun..." She sighs, standing up.
He smiles, "I will, there's actually something I brought from when I was little... But you don't seem very equipped for it." He eyes the trunks in his fist, "Maybe if you wore these under your skirt it'd be safe."
"Safe from what?" She narrows her eyes.
"Embarrassment," he says quickly as he starts carrying their things down the hill to the tree.
"Why...?"
As he sets their stuff down he reaches in his hair, pulling out a rope tied to a car tire. He ties the rope to a strong branch, letting the tire swing freely.
"It's a Tire Swing," he explains. "You sit in the tire, and swing! Lots of fun, and a good way to get dizzy. I loved it as a kid."
"It doesn't look very safe..."
He hops in the hole in the tire, and starts to spin like a top with one foot on the ground. "It's fine- Whoa! Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa-whoa-whoa-whoawhoawhoawhoawhoawhoawhoa!" He spins faster, and faster until he's a blur.
Weiss blinks "Uhhh...maybe you should slow down..."
His feet lift off the ground, and he Slowly stops spinning. Stars, and planets start spinning around his head, "...Could someone answer the phone please?"
Then he starts to spin in the other direction.
"Oh jeez." Weiss deadpans "If you're feeling dizzy then STOP!"
"WhaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
She sighs "Spike...what am I going to do with you..."
This time he falls right out of the swing, his eyes are a pair of spirals. "See...? Perfectly fine..."
Weiss laughs "Yeah...I can see that."
He smiles up at her with a loopy grin, and holds up a finger, "You should try it, but wear some shorts please..."
"Uhhhh...I don't want to end up like you..." She laughs
He shakes his head to clear it, and sits up, "It's okay, I'll push you so you won't spin so much as just swing."
"...Okay...give me your shorts!" She demands, holding our her hand.
He passes them to her as he rolls onto his shoulders, and uses his hands to push himself up onto his feet. Weiss slips them on under her skirt, and smooths it down afterwards "Okay...great.." She walks over to him. He turns to face her with a smile, and holds the tire still. Weiss carefully climbs on "This better be safe!"
He smiles, "you can sit on top, or in the ring. So long as you hold on you'll be fine." He walks backwards while holding it, and then lets it go.
She clings to the rope as she swings...and a grin makes its way onto her face. Spike stands where he knows the tire will swing back to... Then he deftly spins out of the way before standing in the same spot. "Missed me!"
"What the..." She laughs "What are you doing?"
He blows a raspberry at her, and dodges again, this time grabbing the tire, and running with it so he can push her over his head to swing longer.
She lets out a shriek "I swear...If I fall..."
She swings higher now, and Spike calls, "Hey see if you can pick a few apples while you're up there, and pass them to me." He pulls a basket out of his hair.
Weiss stretches her arm out, grabbing an apple at the height of her swing. She throws it to him...only, hits his head instead. "..Oops..." She smirks.
He catches it in the basket, "Hey I just discovered gravity!"
Weiss laughs "You're an idiot..." She picks another apple and throws it down.
He catches it the basket, and barely dives the swing, "Whoa!"
Weiss swings back up and picks two more, throwing them down "One left that I can reach!"
"Then get it girl!" He laughs as he gives the swing a hard shove.
"WOAH! Be careful!" She screams, clinging on to the rope. She stretches her arm out and her fingertips barely brush the fruit as she leans forward...
...and shrieks loudly as she falls to the floor with a painful thump.
"Ah... Are you okay...?"
A quick inventory shows that the hardest thing she landed on was Spike's head... Which she is currently sitting on.
"Uhhhh...I think so." She blinks "WHY AM I ON TOP OF YOU! PUT ME DOWN!"
"More like could you please get off me...?" He squirms on the ground under her.
Weiss blushes, and moves from him "What are you playing at!"
"Trying to keep you from getting hurt," Spike says as he stands up. "And don't give me crap how you would have landed on your feet, you about to land on your rear when I dived."
"I would have been fine! I've taken much worse, y'know!"
"Yeah I know," he says as he glances at her scar. "Seriously though, are you gonna give me grief every time I try to help you?"
"Well...I..." She sighs "I don't mean to.."
Spike smirks, "Force of habit?"
"W-Well...I don't know!" She frowns, and mumbles "..Maybe.."
His face softens, and he hugs her, "I think you could use a hug."
Weiss stiffens completely "What are you doing?" She whispers
"Just hugging you," he says, cradling her head to his chest, and rubbing her between the shoulders. Weiss slowly starts to relax in his embrace, and hugs him even tighter.
Spike chuckles, "Well it looks like you've sampled something you didn't know if you'd like." He lift her face by the chin to look at her, "The good, the bad, the ugly, you've seen all of me... Do you like what you've tried?"
"I...I don't know..." She replies, softly "I've never gotten this far with anyone before...but so far...I guess it seems okay."
He smiles, and then presses his lips to her forehead.
She blushes deeply, and pulls away, clearing her throat "Anyway, come on. We can't just stand around here all day!"
He takes her hand, looking her in the eye with an expression she's never seen before.
"What's wrong?" She frowns "We should go..."
He steps forward, putting one hand on her back, and intertwining their fingers. "There's something I forgot to do at Christmas, and for that I'm sorry."
"You don't need to be sorry...everyone forgets things."
He smiles, "Yeah... But this is important."
He leans in, and softly kisses her lips. Weiss blinks, and starts to shake a little...what is he doing?! But for some reason, her body seems to enjoy it...and she wraps an arm around him. Spike squeezes their intertwined hands gently as he holds her to him, and slowly starts to move his lips. Weiss copies his actions...but after a few seconds she pulls away with a red face "I have to go...now."
Maybe...she's not used to this...
He smiles, and lets her go. "You might not think of yourself as a Princess, but I'll always be your knight Weiss."
"Y-Yeah..umm...thanks?" She replies, a little out of her comfort zone.
He blinks, and then rubs his head, "...That sounded way more cheesy coming out of my mouth than it sounded in my head."
Weiss smirks "Well maybe you shouldn't copy off Ruby, and actually THINK before you speak."
"Yeah, NOT my strong suit," he laughs nervously.
"Come one...we should go...I have things to do." She replies abruptly, not used to this kind of attention. This kind of thing has NEVER happened before...ever...
She finds she's quite intmidated by it. That's a first, she thinks.
Spike quickly packs up, and pretty much stuffs everything into his hair. Then he jogs up beside her, "Hey, you know I'm not gonna go anywhere right?" He smirks, "I mean, I'm not the kind of guy to trade first kisses, and vanish into the wind."
"Better not." She mumbles "Look...you're a nice guy...so far...but this has never happened before. Either you're that desperate to get your hands on my Dust and my father's fortune or you're honestly completely dumb to fall for me." A tear slips from her eye "Don't you dare think me foolish, Spike, I know why guys want to date me! To worm their way into the Schnee fortune!"
Spike stares at her, and then starts laughing so hard he falls on the ground, legs kicking as he holds his gut.
"Oh stop it- that- I can't talk! I can't talk! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Weiss looks positively furious "YOU THINK THIS IS FUNNY!?"
She storms off, worried if she stays any longer she'll smack him hard "DON'T EVER SPEAK TO ME AGAIN YOU...YOU...UGH!"
Spike blurs I to sight in front of her, still chuckling. "W-w-what would I want with MONEY? After I spent all my life getting by without it? That's... Rich!" He busts up against, laughing into a tree.
"You want Dust then?" She narrows her eyes "I'll kill you before you even LOOK at a crate of the stuff...don't you dare think I will be taken for a fool."
Spike shakes his head, "What am I gonna DO with it?! I'm already fucking awesome with my sword, to me it's only so much colored powder!" He shakes his head slowly, "The only thing I want from you is your heart Weiss."
"DUST IS NOT COLOURED POWDER YOU...MORON!" She screeches "Wait...my heart? Why! So you can worm your way into the company for FAME! I'M NOT BUYING IT! WHAT IS YOUR MOTIVE!"
"Happiness," Spike says. "And I've had enough of being famous back on Möbius. I want a girl I can cherish, and love for all our lives. I wanna be her shield, her sword, her comforter, and in return I just want her to fill the gap missing in my life."
Weiss narrows her eyes "...Hmmm...I'm not sure whether to believe you or not."
He looks hurt, "Weiss, I've never told this to anyone! I clown around to relive the tension because I feel like I'll break if I don't. I need someone in my life to have, and hold... I love you."
She gasps, suddenly at a loss for breath as if someone has just drove their fist into her stomach. "Wh...wha...t?"
He swallows, "I said I love you Weiss. I love you like the sea loves the shore, the sun loves the sky, and the grass loves the ground. I want to be with you forever."
"Shut up...SHUT UP! YOU DON'T KNOW ME!" She screams, and walks past him at a brisk pace. Maybe the other girls will be able to help her...Yang...and Blake...even Ruby. Sweet little Ruby...Weiss suddenly feels a little protective over her, especially with her being so naive.
"Weiss, hold on!" Spike trots after her, "Please don't run away!"
"I have to go, don't you listen!" She frowns, wanting her team more than ever.
"What am I not getting?! I'm a guy, subtle hints do not works, obvious hints DO NOT WORK!"
"THEN LEAVE ME ALONE! Please..." She seems close to tears "I need to GO!"
Spike slows down... Then stops, letting her go.
Weiss dashes for the school, "YANG! BLAKE! Anyone.."
Blake looks up from her book as she sits in a tree, "Weiss, what's wrong?"
...
Spike sits on a roof edge, contemplating.
"Rejection bites, doesn't it?"
Spike looks over his shoulder to see Eggman standing there. Spike frowns, "What do YOU want?"
"I was going to ask you the same thing, but you already spilled your just to that Weiss girl, didn't you?"
Spike jerks, "How did you hear about that?"
"I have my ways," Eggman says with a smirk. "You're not very good at winning hearts, are you?"
"You don't exactly have a wife on your arm," Spike retorts.
Eggman plays with his moustache, "If you can't win it, you could just take it. That's how anyone gets anything in this world anyhow. Nothing is ever given freely, it's all a question of how hard is it to take it. You spent years living out of the garbage, and even THAT wasn't given to you."
Spike mulls this over, "...You may be right."
Eggman grins, "So you should just take her. I saw her reactions, she wants you anyways."
Spike perks up, "You really think so?"
Eggman nods, and checks a watch, "Yup! Well I'd better get going, got a lot of robots to rebuild."
Spike nods, and stands. "So that's how it is huh...?"