Weiss and Ruby had rented a room at an inn after they'd gotten Weiss's ID back and left the guild. Weiss wanted to thank Ruby, but at the same time she wanted to strangle her with all her might. Sure, that statement Ruby had made might've pushed away some of the chance that anyone would ask Weiss to date them, but now Weiss couldn't even look at Ruby without feeling a twinge of red appear in her complexion.
"I've never been on a bed before~!" Ruby bounced on her hands and knees. She flopped over into a mess of blankets, and stared up at Weiss. Aaaand there was Weiss's blush, right on schedule.
"Ruby, we need to, ummm, have a discussion! About some rules." Weiss took a deep breath. "First: You need to stay close by me at all times. Second: No revealing your dragon nature around humans besides me. Third: Don't... Don't say the word girlfriend again."
"What? Why not?" Ruby sat up and faced Weiss, worry written all over her face. "Did I do something wrong? I don't understand many human things, you have to tell me if I do Weiss." Ruby poked at the blankets sadly.
"No, you didn't! Just don't, call me that."
Ruby looked hurt. "Are we not friends anymore?"
"No no, I mean yes, uh, I'm your friend! I'm still your friend Ruby, you don't have to worry." Weiss sighed. "Its just, being friends, and being girlfriends are two different things."
"Different how?" Ruby tilted her head cutely.
"Uh. Well. Girlfriends, and boyfriends, do things like... Cuddling... And k.. Kiss.." Weiss looked literally everywhere in the room but at Ruby.
Ruby suddenly leaned way too close to Weiss. Weiss got pushed against the front end of the bed banister, with Ruby staring right into her eyes, an inch away from her face. "Can I kiss you, Weiss?" She asked.
Hhhhhhhhhhhslsjslsjalsnlwlakqlsjsk Weiss couldn't form even one coherent thought. Ruby was so, so close. Weiss's entire body was frozen. Ruby backed up, giving Weiss some breathing room. And breath she did, as apparently Weiss's body had forgotten how to breath for the 20 or so seconds that Ruby had been almost on top of her.
"Th-there's a thing called personal space!" Weiss screeched, while almost breaking her neck as she turned her head away from Ruby's still intense gaze. Ruby backed away some more, trying not to look as sad as Weiss KNEW she felt. Ahhhhhhggg! How to explain this correctly?
"I'm sorry! I won't do that again." Ruby said quickly.
Weiss regained a little composure, and tried again. "It's not a bad thing to be girlfriends.. I'm just not, uh, emotionally ready to go there yet! We're definitely friends still!" Weiss cleared her throat. "You become girlfriends with someone you love." There. That'd clear it up. Now, Ruby would see that she should take better care of her heart–
"I do love you." Ruby said bluntly. "Is that not ok?"
"Whhhhhh but I mean uh that's just because I'm the first human you met! Right? If, it were someone else, you'd have fallen in love with them, surely!" Weiss tried to deny the gayness of the situation.
"Nope! It's you. If it was a different human, I don't think I'd like that. We'd surely become friends! But I don't think I'd want to be their girlfriend after hearing then explain it like you did." Ruby tackled Weiss in a hug. "I loooveee you Weiss~" She purred.
Oh god oh god oh god oh god oh god oh god hug HUG AHHHHHHHHHHHH "E-even, if you love me, that doesn't mean I love you!" Ahhhh no! That came out way meaner than intended!
Ruby had her face on Weiss's stomach, and stared up at her. "How do you, get someone to love you?" Weiss could feel Ruby's warm breath seeping into her clothing. She shivered.
"You just... Spend time with them.." Weiss said softly, feeling herself slide into a lying down position from Ruby's tugging.
Ruby used Weiss's stomach as a pillow. "I'll try that then." She yawned sleepily. Ruby close her eyes, and in a few minutes Weiss was left alone in the dimly lit room to contemplate her entire existence with a cute girl sleeping on her. A thought ran through her head. Weiss remembered back when Ruby had first helped her out from under the log, and how Weiss was a second away from killing her. She was glad she'd decided not to murder Ruby.
Dark thoughts, but she was glad all the same. This girl was a handful. Weiss had originally thought she was going to play a mothering role in Ruby's life, but Ruby was technically fine on her own and didn't need a mother constantly with her. Like she'd said over and over again, what Ruby wanted and needed was a 'friend'. And it wasn't to uncommon for friends to fall in love with each other..
She was just so blunt back at the guild! Maybe, dragons didn't practice homophobia, and they just got with whoever they liked. Either way, Weiss was was glad that Ruby had no experience with homophobia. That was clear enough from her bold declaration. Weiss swore right then and there that she would DESTROY anyone who was mean to Ruby because of her girlfriend shout out back at the guild. 100%.
Now... A deep delve into Weiss's feelings. Did she love Ruby? She certainly enjoyed her company. They'd bathed together, so they were that close at least. Weiss did notice that she'd been blushing a lot around Ruby lately, but was that just because Ruby was so clueless and kept embarrassing herself? Or was it because she was cute? Cute. Ruby was reeeeally cute. Weiss glanced down at Ruby, still using Weiss's stomach as a pillow. She began to gently pet her head, Ruby nuzzling Weiss closer in her sleep. Well, love or not, she wanted to be with Ruby right now. And so she would stay.
The next day, Weiss and Ruby were exploring the surrounding area in the city. Or, Ruby was exploring. It was all Weiss could do just to keep Ruby in her line of sight. That girl was FAST. She wasn't a mother, but she was certainly the 'mom friend™'. Weiss managed to see something Ruby didn't in a store window. A red cloak. Weiss remembered Ruby saying a while ago that she wished she had something red to wear, and that cloak looked perfect! Weiss made a mental note of where the shop was located.
"Weiss! Look!" Weiss heard Ruby call from a block or two away. Why can't you just stay still for five seconds! Weiss rushed over, and Ruby pointed at a food stall with caramel apples. "Whats that? Its an apple but it's covered in goop!"
"You know, you CAN ask the person selling them." Weiss raised an eyebrow and rested a hand on her hip.
"But I wanted to ask you." Ruby said, still staring intently at the apples.
"They're caramel apples. It's an apple dipped in a gooey sugary sauce that hardens on it." Ruby seemed even more interested. Weiss sighed "Do you want one?" Ruby's eyes sparkled, and she nodded instantly.
Weiss bought her one, and they continued on their way. Ruby was unsure of how to eat it cleanly. She tried biting into it like a normal apple, and got caramel all over her nose. Weiss had to fuss over her to wipe it off. "Goo youf wanb a biesh?" Ruby offered Weiss some with her mouth full. So cuuute!
"I'm alright, and you look like you're enjoying it, so–" Weiss tried to decline, but Ruby shoved it towards Weiss's mouth. Weiss rolled her eyes, and took a bite. It was a perfect mix of bitter and sweet. Just like her and Ruby. Weiss shook her head to get rid of that last thought.
"You don't like it?"
"Oh no, I do. I was just thinking about something. The Apple's really good!" Weiss reassured Ruby, and Ruby happily munched some more. Weiss had discovered the secret to keeping Ruby still! Food. Of course it was food.
When Ruby finished, Weiss noticed that she pocketed the stick from the Carmel apple. Meh, she'd tell her where she could toss it later. Out of the corner of her eye, Weiss thought she saw someone following them. Someone from yesterday maybe? Who else could it be? As Weiss was thinking, she heard a shout behind her and Ruby that made her forget the shadowy figure. "Stop! Thief!"
Some blond guy with a tail was running off with someone's bag. As he ran by, Ruby reached out and grabbed it. She had a second long tug of war with him, before some knights came around the corner. The guy dashed of, knocking Ruby into one of the food stalls by accident. It just so happened to be a stall selling honey. Ruby was now covered head to toe in a few jars of colorful sticky honey. It got in her eyes, so Ruby sat still, futilely trying to rub her eyes with her honey covered hands.
The knights caught up, and seemed intent on taking Ruby in, as she had possession of the stolen bag. But luckily a few bystanders testified that Ruby had tried to retrieve the bag from the real thief. Even the distraught honey merchant confirmed the truthfulness of those statements. The person whose bag was stolen thanked Ruby heartily. Ruby still had honey in her eyes.
Weiss knelt down in front of Ruby, and used her own cloak to wipe Ruby's face. Now with returned vision, Ruby looked at her appearance. "I'm all sticky now."
Weiss held in a laugh. "Yes, you are. Be more careful next time, alright?" How could Weiss scold her for something like this? Ruby hadn't done anything wrong, in fact she'd done something very, 'heroic' as Ruby had put it.
"Your cloak's sticky from my face." Ruby mumbled guiltily.
"Well, your entire body is sticky! We'll wash everything tonight, sound good?" Weiss poked Ruby's cheek, and Ruby nodded. Weiss took off her cloak, and gave it to Ruby to wrap around herself so she wouldn't get to many things stuck to her. Weiss noticed Ruby licking her hand as they went back to the inn. Honey was sweet, after all.
It took a LOT to wash honey off of someone's entire body, Weiss discovered. Weiss was reminded of the time she'd washed all that wolf blood and dirt from Ruby in the river when they first met. Hah. Weiss could definitely tell Ruby preferred this warm inn water to the cold stream.
Weiss needed to take a quest from the guild soon. They were almost out of money, and Weiss still wanted to buy Ruby that red cloak she'd seen. The thought of going back to the guild again with Ruby made her shudder. Weiss didn't know how well or unwell this town took gay stuff, and she didn't want to expose Ruby to that kind of negativity if they leaned towards non acceptance.
"Ruby? I'd like to go to the guild again tomorrow, and I was thinking, maybe you could go into the Forest and be a dragon for a little while." Weiss offered a compromise.
"Really? That's OK?" Ruby seemed excited at the idea.
"Yes, just make sure to stay out of sight, far away from the city and be back before nightfall, or I'll be worried sick." Weiss waved a finger at Ruby.
Ruby nodded happily. "OK! I haven't gone dragon in a while, it'll feel good to fly~!" Ruby tapped her feet merrily as Weiss dumped more water on her in the bath. "Weiss?" Ruby asked.
"Yes?" Weiss absentmindedly replied.
"Do you want to fly?"
That question caught Weiss off guard. Fly? What was Ruby saying? Humans couldn't fly. "That would be nice, but I am a human. Humans won't fly, no matter how many times you toss them into the air." Joked Weiss.
"No no, I mean, so you want to ride me?" Ruby grinned
What?
Weiss tried not to take what Ruby had said the wrong way. "Ride you..? How exactly?" She coughed.
"In dragon form! When I picked you up before, you seemed really happy! Well, when you were awake that is. I'm worried my claws might scratch you if we keep doing it that way, so, maybe we could find a way to tie you to my back. Like when I was carrying you outside the gate!"
"Would that be ok? You're alright with something like that?" Of course she meant in that way. Well, the thought of riding Ruby to fly had certainly crossed Weiss's mind, but she hadn't asked as she'd thought it would have been seen as a rather rude question. But here, Ruby was offering.
"Yeah! I think it'd be fun! We'd have to get a really good rope though, so you won't fall off I'd I use my speed boost."
"Speed boost?"
"Every living thing has their special talents! We call them semblances! Dragons are really powerful, so we get to know ours almost immediately. Humans take a while to find theirs, if they even do find it at all. Mine is speed! I can go really fast! Also, turn into rose petals for a little while."
Uh. What. Weiss had never heard of this? "Everything has one? Even animals?"
"Umm, I'm not sure. I think it's just everything with a soul has the potential for a semblance, but just because you have a soul doesn't mean you'll find it. Do you have anything like that Weiss? Some weird power you don't show anyone? Or have you not discovered yours yet?" Ruby and Weiss had finished cleaning off, and were continuing their conversation as they walked back to their room.
"I haven't been able to do it properly yet, but all the women in my family have had the power to summon a ghostly figure of an enemy they've defeated to help them in battle. And it's not like a regular summon, it has no intentions of its own other than to protect the summoner. They can't even speak. Is that a semblance? Can a semblance be hereditary?"
"Who knows? Probably!" Ruby shrugged. "Semblances are weird sometimes."
"So, you can really just turn into rose petals at will?" Weiss asked, half joking.
Ruby smiled devilishly, and disappeared right in front of Weiss's eyes. A breeze blew through, and a cluster of rose petals softly wafted by Weiss. Ruby then appeared at the end of the hall, the rose petals mostly disappearing. What the FU–"I told you! Isn't it cool?" Ruby opened their room door, as that was where she'd traveled to in rose petal form. "Haha! Your face!" She giggled.
Great. Now Weiss was going to have ANOTHER headache trying to understand whatever the hell just happened. She pushed it to the back of her mind for now.
"Since you said your semblance is speed, does that mean that not all dragons are that fast?" Weiss tried to change the subject to ANYTHING but the rose petals thing.
"No, dragons are fast. I'm just, suuuper fast. Like my sister? She has suuuuper strength! We're all strong, but she's like twice, maybe three times as strong as the best dragon because of her semblance! Her semblance is if she gets hurt, she can send the same hurt back at someone twice as hard!"
"That sounds overpowered." Weiss thought out loud.
"Not really, she's always dead tired after battling someone. she still feels pain and stuff too, so it has its problems. Mine too, if I use my speed and rose petals for to long at a time, I faint for a minute or two. Which would be very bad in battle."
"I see." Semblances weren't without drawbacks, it seemed. But this was strange. How come Weiss had never heard of 'semblances' before? If everyone had the potential, shouldn't it be common knowledge? Unless, someone was purposely keeping such knowledge from the general public. Hmm...
Weiss thought she saw someone outside their room window for a second. But they were on the second floor, it must've been her imagination. No one would be able to get up there.
"Ruby? When explaining things to people, maybe next time, don't go into such detail about your personal weaknesses. Someone could take advantage of that." Weiss offered some advice.
"Ah. Yeah, I suppose that would be smarter?" Ruby rubbed the back of her head and blushed a little. So cute.