Disclaimer: Usual disclaimer crap applies, I don't own RWBY in any way, yada-yada.
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Ruby Rose did not want to go to school again, but there were some battles that were best faced on level terms. Better than being shot in the backside while you're running away.
It had been an okay week once she got over the initial challenge of dragging herself back on Tuesday, mostly since Weiss seemed to have chosen to avoid the subject that had been the bane of Ruby's existence for the last few days.
In other news, the weather had finally started to cool down, but only slightly. Longer jeans and various types of trousers had begun appearing on many students, along with the occasional light jacket – although such things were only worn by the truly insane, as far as the redhead was concerned. The longest her own pants would ever go were the Capri length, just below the knees. She would go no longer, even if it started to snow.
Weiss was one of the insane ones, unfortunately. She had on a brilliant (almost sparkling) white jacket by Friday. It was so bright, in fact, that most other kids had to squint when they looked her way.
Ruby simply chose to not look at the girl at all. She'd been doing that all week.
Art class was just as stressful as she expected it to be, but in other ways. The project from Monday had, apparently, been extended to the entire week, giving the holdouts a chance to participate (and Ms. Fall was looking directly at Ruby when she said this). Since Weiss had been there Monday, she was told to take the lead in their first 'teaching session.' Oh fun.
Ruby began by holding her paintbrush in a manner similar to how one holds a knife when they're ready to stab someone in the face… earning a deep sigh from the platinum blonde. That was the first thing that needed fixing.
She then proceeded to squeeze a tiny drop of each color of paint onto her palette. Another sigh. Weiss made some adjustments to this as well.
Finally ready, Ruby started with the biggest, brightest flower in the vase… and was soon making a total mess. Apparently this was 'normal' for a first-timer, since most novice painters apparently don't realize that paint will mix ON THE CANVAS just as well as on the palette.
Ruby couldn't help but notice a large vein throbbing on Weiss' forehead during their little 'teaching session,' but she was smart enough not to point it out.
Just before the end of the day on Tuesday, Weiss gave the single biggest piece of advice she could think of if Ruby was actually serious about getting this right: she had to start with the background, then work her way to the foreground. This went against everything the redhead had taught herself when it came to pencil drawing, which required just the opposite. It was a lot to take in, sure, but it wasn't all that difficult.
On her way out the door, Ruby muttered a 'thank you' to Coco for that photo of Weiss. The brunette only put on another Cheshire grin, then handed the redhead a wrapped package. It was shaped like a thin book, possibly a magazine. She quietly mentioned that the girl should 'enjoy it in private.'
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Wednesday. Time for round 2.
Having brought home a fair share of embarrassment over her failed attempt, Ruby spent all of the previous evening studying various painting techniques on the internet and had gained a small understanding of what Weiss had said.
Her second attempt proved much better, as she blended a very nice backdrop together. The young Schnee was honestly impressed by the feat. And then she started on the main subject too soon; the new colors quickly wiped the old away, blending everything all wrong. Ruby very nearly cried in frustration. Weiss tried to give her some encouragement, but the damage had been done – or so she thought.
It was then she learned of the one true advantage painters had over pencil artists: retries. When working with pencils of any type, fixing mistakes tended to mean lots of erasing and brushing away the odd rubber bits, or outright starting over if the work was too far gone. With paint, all you had to do was repaint right over the old work. This was …revolutionary to the girl. Even more so when she learned that nearly all the old masters of painting did the same freaking thing!
By the end of the day, Ruby had managed to eke out something that could pass for a decent painting. Even Ms. Fall gave it a nod of approval (at least, Ruby hoped it was approval).
But all of this was nearly forgotten by the time the bell rang, because Weiss… Weiss had… she…
Weiss hugged her before they left.
Hugged her.
Ruby was sure that her head would explode from the pressure of all the blood in her body rushing up into it. The redhead couldn't sleep that night. Her nose was filled with the scent of lilac and gooseberries. The gentle smell of Weiss' perfume.
She had also taken a look at Coco's …gift. Well, lots of looks actually. For about an hour.
Mainly while locked in the bathroom with the fan running. Yang didn't bother her at all, thank God.
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Thursday afternoon found Ruby finishing up in the restroom just before last period. Art class would be starting soon, and she was not looking forward to instructing Weiss. All she'd had to do was smile and nod for the last two days, but now that she had to speak… hoo boy.
And then Coco walked into the bathroom with her. Ruby soon had a whole new problem to deal with.
Before Ruby could get away, the brunette purred, "So… did you enjoy my little… gift?"
She stopped, face red, and sputtered, "I-I-I don't know wh-wh-what you're t-t-talking ab-b-bout…"
Coco feigned shock, throwing her hand over her mouth theatrically, "Oh, my… you mean you… you didn't like it?!"
Ruby went from awkward to indignant. "L-l-like it? Why d-d-did you give me a… le-le-lesbian-"
A hand quickly went over the redhead's mouth, and two surprisingly powerful arms pulled the two teens into a nearby stall. The lock clicked shut a moment later. They heard the bathroom door open, and a pair of shoes walked in and stopped. Then there was the noise of the sink, followed by exactly 2 seconds of air dryer noise, more footsteps, then silence.
Coco finally let go of Ruby, quietly saying, "I figured you'd enjoy it, was all. Since you're a… you know." She followed that up with a grin. Her eyes gleamed behind the gradient hairpiece.
"I'm a what?" Ruby whispered harshly. She didn't even know why she was whispering, but couldn't help it.
Coco leaned towards her face a bit too close, and breathed, "You can't fool me, sweet cheeks. I can smell my own kind…" The hand that had covered Ruby's mouth now lingered near her cheek, fingers brushing against her face in gentle, sweeping motions. "Especially after that little tiff you had with Weiss last week, I knew right away you were… like me…"
Coco's other hand began reaching around, resting on Ruby's lower back.
"Maybe I could… educate you on what I'm talking about…?"
Their bodies drew close, Ruby could feel the heat from Coco's ample chest. They were almost touching each other…
The brunette barely breathed, "…Whaddya say?"
There was a loud bang as the bathroom door was slammed open, followed by a very angry, "RUBY ROSE! I know you're in here!" It was Weiss.
Both Ruby and Coco petrified where they stood. Adrenaline sure has a funny taste…
"Ms. Fall sent me after you. You're late."
Surprised, Coco glanced at her watch. Yep, they were almost 10 minutes tardy. Ruby shot the taller teen a glare. Coco just looked innocent, fluttering her eyelids in a look that said you're-in-trouble-but-I'm-not.
"You too, Coco." Weiss' voice carried a growl this time.
The brunette's face shattered. Ruby stifled a laugh.
A few minutes later, all three teens made their short walk down the hall. Weiss quietly asked, "Are you okay, Ruby? She didn't do anything to you, did she?"
"I'm fine Weiss. Thanks for asking, though." The redhead kept her gaze on the floor as they walked.
"You sure?"
"Yeah," she nodded, more to herself than to Weiss, "I'm good." She felt the beginnings of a smile start to creep up on her, thanks mostly to the good mood they seemed to be sharing right then...
"Oh good. You're… ready to teach me, then?"
So much for the good mood… Ruby deflated a bit, but responded, "Yeah, I guess so…"
She walked into the room before Weiss, not bothering to look back. If she did, she might have noticed the young Schnee wearing a rather confused look on her face, mixed with a small amount of concern.
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Even though Ruby was apprehensive about teaching Weiss the finer points (yay puns!) of pencil drawing, she found it rather easy to keep talking once she got started.
She likened drawing to building a structure: start out with a base form, or skeleton, then build on top of that. You make it darker and darker as you go, eventually getting the finished shape just the way you want it. It tends to get a bit messy (and this method takes lots of erasing), but if you want an image of decent quality, you can't really go wrong.
To her delight, Weiss picked up on this concept remarkably fast. In almost no time at all the platinum blonde had made a good image of the vase of flowers, even having some shading… although the biggest achievement was getting the proportions right. For Ruby, this was her biggest challenge.
The redhead admitted that she mostly used a less common and, often, more challenging method for her drawings – in short, she would take a mental snapshot of her subject, mentally convert it into a line drawing in her head, then use her hands to etch out that image onto paper. She would then fix and improve the drawing from there. It was a sloppy technique that caused lots of mistakes (mainly in proportions), but it was the way Ruby most enjoyed the medium.
Ruby did notice Weiss' expression this time. The girl had a very pleasant smile during the explanation.
By the end of Thursday's class, Weiss was mainly happy that Ruby was feeling better. That whole fiasco last weekend was still a mess, but it was good to see that she was okay.
Ruby very nearly said what she was thinking right then… but kept it to herself. She'd rather not go home with a Weiss-shaped handprint across her face, thank you very much.
Instead she got another hug… this time she was anticipating it. Ruby hugged back, taking in a deeper sample of the girl's smell. She realized a moment later just how loud she had been when taking the sniff.
The platinum blonde went still for a split second before letting go. She noticed. Dammit.
Oh well. Back to her magazine…
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Then came Friday. This was a big day. In many ways…
They didn't have a subject today, but Ms. Fall still had them continue with the self-teaching project. Ruby had an idea this time.
Using both of their faces, Ruby started instructing Weiss on how she went about making a pencil drawing portrait. She would hold still and let Weiss try drawing her, then have Weiss hold still so she could draw the young Schnee. It was a bit rough and they scrambled a bit to try and reacquire their original poses, but overall they enjoyed themselves.
Ruby realized only too late just how much she had been staring into Weiss' eyes the entire time. But then, she and Weiss were both in The Zone pretty much all period, so they didn't notice.
They were both still affected, though.
The bell had rung, and most of the other students had already left. The last few were making their way out. Ms. Fall had stepped out as well to run something to the teacher's office on the other side of campus, but she'd be right back.
Ruby and Weiss were left alone in the classroom.
Weiss began, "Ruby …are you sure you're okay? Your face is red…"
Only because I've been staring at you too long… "I'm fine Weiss. Don't worry."
"Mmm… I just don't want you to be scared of me, that's all."
Ruby's brow furrowed deeply. The hell? Did she say… scared?
The platinum blonde paused, unsure of how to continue. "Look, I… I know I asked something stupid of you, and I know I made it seem like I felt one way, but I think I was wrong to ask you that way. I'm okay with us just being friends if that's all you want, because I…"
She never finished her sentence.
Because Ruby had grabbed her head with both hands and kissed her. With all her might.
She didn't, couldn't, hold it for very long… but dammit it was long enough.
The redhead broke the kiss off and quickly grabbed her stuff and bolted for the door. As she started off down the hall, she just registered the sound of a body sitting hard into a nearby chair in the room behind her.
And no, she didn't know what she was doing. Nor did she care.
She just desperately needed to get home to her magazine before she did anything else she might regret even more.
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Story Note: Again, this story isn't playing out like a 'normal' romance is it? The 'big kiss' usually seals the deal, but suddenly it shows up in chapter 6?! Don't worry, things get better soon. Kinda. I think.
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