Author's Note: Here it is! What you've been waiting for! I'm a little rusty with this, considering I started this chapter over a year ago, but then came back midway through, so I'm sorry if things are a bit different. Also don't have my editor anymore (understandably because of the time that's passed), so I apologize for any errors that I miss myself.
Also, a bit of a change here. So I finished writing two more chapters worth of this story before I had a big brain epiphany hit me. Inspiration struck! Just… not for this story. I may have… Rushed out an idea for a new story and (at the time of writing this AN) 5 chapters for it in 4 days. This new story has been SO easy on my mind to write, which is new, because usually after chapters are written, I have to take a step back. Lol, not with this new one. I do plan on publishing that one here soon. What I'm thinking is this story will go to monthly updates, and my new story will be updated every other week. This'll give me enough time to catch up on both with the time that I need. And as for the new story itself, it's not going to be a RWBY story. It's actually a Fire Emblem: Three Houses story. I've just been playing it a lot and had some ideas. Anyway, the first chapter of that should come out probably an hour after I post this chapter, so look out for that!
Tl;dr Getting back into it. Don't have a beta reader/editor. New story has been super easy to write, so that's coming out too. That story, which is Fire Emblem, not RWBY will be updated every other week, and this story monthly. First chapter of that will come out about an hour after this chapter.
Enjoy!
Yang and I get back to the dorm, Ruby's take-out in hand.
Yang bursts through the door to an empty room, "We're back! And nobody's here. Great, ruined the surprise. I wonder where they are?" Yang walks around the dorm room, searching, presumably, for anyone that might be hiding. She quickly opens the closet, saying "Aha! I found you!" The closet is empty.
"Yang, I don't think they're is-" I'm quickly interrupted by Yang.
"Just let me have this." Yang sighs and moves onto the next area: checking the beds. Unfortunately for Yang, her search didn't amount to much, as both beds were made, and the covers didn't hide enough to make her need to check underneath them.
"Ruby's in the library, Yang. She's not here," I say, putting my stuff down on my desk. I walk over to Ruby's desk and gently set down her take-out. I should leave a note.
"I got you dinner, Ruby.
- Weiss"
I write the note and place it on top of the to go box that the burger is in.
"The library?" Yang's tone is one of surprise. "What's she doing there? Without you?"
"Well, studying, I'd imagine," I retort. "What else would she be doing?" I start taking out a small post-it note and put it on Ruby's desk as I find a pen.
Yang thinks for a second before responding, "Well, she could be reading some picture books. You know how much she likes them." Oh Yang, you have no idea how much I know. "Anyway, that's besides the point. Ruby never goes to the library on her own!" Yang approaches me right as I found a pen and grabs my shoulders. Startled, I drop the pen, but now that I'm in Yang's grip, I can't bend down to pick it up.
"Y-Yang?" I stammer. "W-what's going on?"
"Weiss, I don't know what you did to my sister, but… thank you!" Yang's face lights up with a bright smile. She hugs me quickly before letting go of me and stepping back slightly.
"What?" I'm confused. Her entire demeanor just completely changed.
"Thank you! Ruby hardly ever goes to the library, especially not to study. What did you say to her to make her want to go there? And without you?"
"I… I didn't say anything. She said she had a school project that she was procrastinating on. She went to the library to work on it and focus. She did it on her own." I smile at what progress Ruby's already made with her studies. I was able to get her to this point before, but it took much longer. I guess being with her just gives some extra incentive to her.
"Good for her! I'm glad she's getting her homework taken care of. But that still hasn't answered the other question that's been floating around. Why aren't you with her, huh?" Yang leans in closer to me, one eyebrow raised questioningly.
"Well, I wanted to go there with her, but she told me not to come with her. She said that she'd be… uh… distracted…" I nervously avoid making eye contact with Yang, my face flushing in the process.
Yang chuckles softly before turning around and walking over to the closet. She gets a fresh change of clothes as she speaks. "With what Blake said earlier about what she heard you two doing, it makes sense. I'm still not sure how she heard that through the door, but it's whatever. She's just really perceptive. As for what you were doing, Ruby really likes you, y'know. Just don't hurt her, and you and I will be fine. I suppose I can sympathize with her, especially with how things have been this semester so far."
Does that mean… Wait, she can't have already started trying to hang out with Blake more, has she? A slight smirk forms on the corner of my mouth as I think, but I notice and stop myself. I could help set her and Blake up. It's the least that I could do for her. If I'm gonna do this, I have to make sure that I'm innocent about it.
"You mean with Blake?" As soon as Blake's name is spoken, Yang drops the clothes that she had in her hands. She scrambles to grab the articles of clothing that had just recently vacated her arms and turns towards the bathroom door. It's honestly impressive how fast she is. Too fast to see if she's blushing. She starts laughing, still not looking at me. The laughter is tense, almost forced. I hit the nerve. I smile inwardly at myself. Blake has always been Yang's weakness.
"What makes you think that has to do with Blake?"
"Well, you two just seem really close. Any time that I'm with Ruby, you're with Blake. It just seemed kind of natural for you two to be close. Oh, well. If that's not the case, then forget I said anything." I say, nonchalantly, brushing off my question almost entirely. Yang sighs and turns around, the remnants of a slight blush still lingering on her pale face. She took the bait! Not bad for my first time doing this in a while. I bet the other Yang would be proud of me using some of her tricks against her. She really taught me how to steer conversations. It's taken some concentration on it, though. I don't think I could do this at the drop of a hat.
"Is there something you're not telling me, Weiss?"
"Oh, nothing much. Just a few suggestions if you wanted to go after her." I turn around and move to my desk. I organize some papers for a few seconds and then turn my head to look at Yang. "But you're not interested in her, right? So just forget I said anything about it." I offer a coy smile and then turn back around, returning my focus to the somewhat haphazard paper layout that sits atop my desk. After a few seconds, there's a soft thud, something rubbing against something else, and then another soft thud. I turn around to see what's going on, and Yang has pulled up her chair. She has a notepad in one hand, and a pen in the other. Her clothes were unceremoniously thrown on the floor next to the bathroom door.
"What are your suggestions?" Yang's face is serious, determined almost. A soft chuckle passes my lips and I pull my own chair out to sit across from her.
"So Yang Xiao Long, teen heartthrob, and breaker of many a teen boy's heart, has a crush on Blake, but was embarrassed to say it?" I pointedly tease.
"Listen, I didn't ask to be mocked. She's just… different. She's really mysterious. She's just really… alluring. It's almost like she's hiding something, but not quite, y'know?"
"Alright, alright, I won't tease you. Much. Anyway, some things to keep in mind when interacting with Blake. She really likes fish. And milk." Yang starts writing on her notepad, but stops shortly.
"Fish? She doesn't seem like the person whose favorite food is fish. Are you sure?"
I laugh louder than I had meant to. "I'm positive." Yang looks at me with slightly widened eyes, inhales, and shakes her head slightly before going back to writing.
"If you say so." She finishes writing and looks back up at me, expectantly.
"I'm sure you've noticed the bow she always wears. Try asking her about it sometime."
Yang looks at me quizzically. "Why's that? Is there a reason?"
I shrug. "Just a hunch. Maybe give it a try sometime. Anyway, that's what I have for you. Have fun!" I smile and turn back around to finish organizing the papers on my desk.
"What? That's it?" Yang asks.
"I mean, yeah. I don't know THAT much about her, Yang." Lie. "I can't just tell you all of her secrets if I don't know them." Another lie. Some sweat starts forming on my brow, and I catch myself unconsciously holding my breath.
"Fair enough. Alright, thanks anyway. I'm gonna go take a shower. I'll be out in like, 45 minutes." Another slight thump sounds out, followed by the closing of the bathroom door. I let out my breath.
I may have learned how to steer conversations, but lying still freaks me out. This is still a lot harder than I thought it would be.
My musings are quickly interrupted by the door flinging itself open. "Weiss! I'm back!" Ruby flies into the room. I jump slightly in surprise as her arms wrap around me from behind. Shortly after the surprise fades, a feeling of warmth fills my face. I try my best to turn around while still in Ruby's grasp, ultimately failing. As small as she is, she's pretty strong. She needs to be in order to use Crescent Rose the way she does.
Sighing in defeat, I say, "Ruby! Let me turn around!"
Ruby immediately releases me. "Oh, sorry Weiss." I turn around and hug her tightly. We stay close for a minute or so before I finally let go.
"Welcome back, Ruby! How was doing homework?" I smile as I look into her silver eyes. Her beautiful silver eyes. She smiles brightly in return. She turns and places her bag on her desk chair before turning back to look at me.
"Well, I got it done! I did it faster than I thought I was going to. Being in a distraction free environment really helped me stay on target with the assignment." Ruby explains excitedly, slightly bouncing in place as she says it. I can't help but smile at the excitement.
"I'm glad that you enjoyed yourself, even if it was homework. I'm really proud of you, and I know that you're going to make a great leader for our team."
Ruby looks at me with a shocked expression on her face: eyes wide and eyebrows raised. There is a slight parting of her lips. Quickly after internalizing what was said, her face changes again. A smile adorns her face, and I can see some tears start to well up in the corners of her eyes.
"Weiss!" She yells, wrapping me up in yet another hug. "You have no idea how much that means to me. Thank you."
I smile and wrap my arms around her, pulling her head into the crook of my neck and her as a whole closer to me. "Of course, Ruby. I mean every word of it." We hold each other for another minute or so, just enjoying each other's presence. Inhaling, my nostrils are filled with the scent of Ruby's hair. Even though it's been hours since she took a shower, I can still smell the scent of her strawberry shampoo, however faint it might be.
Ruby's head shifts, and before I can understand what's happening, there's a pair of lips that have claimed a spot on my neck. A chill runs down my spine, and a rush of heat flows from my head down to between my legs. I step back from Ruby quickly, a heavy blush painting my face. Ruby's face falls slightly as I do. I step back to Ruby, the side of my right hand grazing her face. She looks up at me, and I smile at her.
"Don't worry, Ruby. You didn't do anything wrong. That's just a precaution on my end. It's hard to control myself enough around you as it is. I don't wanna lose control, especially with your sister in the bathroom taking a shower." I pull her head close to mine and kiss her forehead.
"Well, maybe I… Maybe I want you to…" Ruby's face heats up, and mine follows suit quickly. There's a small smile that I can see her trying to hide.
"Wh-what… I… I mean, I… L-like… Wh-what?" I stutter, too flustered to form any real sentences. I can hear the dullness my heart's beat in my ears, and the feeling of it beating shakes through my body.
"Ah… Sorry, Weiss. I didn't mean to embarrass you." Ruby smiles sheepishly and looks away.
"No no, don't worry about it. I just wasn't expecting it. Ummm…" I trail off and look around the room to something to change the subject to. As I glance from object to object, my eyes lay themselves upon Ruby's take-out. "Oh! I got you some food when I went out earlier." I disengage from Ruby and move over to her desk. I grab the take-out box and hand it to her.
"Wait, you got me this? When did you go out?" She gingerly takes the box from my hands and opens it. "You got me a burger? That's so sweet!" The sound of shower water finally dies down.
"I went out earlier with Yang. She wanted to meet and talk to me about something. And so I ordered this because I didn't know if you'd have eaten before coming back to the room."
"Th-thank you…" She leans forward and places a small peck of a kiss on my cheek. "That means a lot." I smile.
"Of course. It's the least that I could do for you."
"Well, I'm gonna eat this now! I haven't had anything for dinner. I'm gonna enjoy this!" Ruby sits down at her desk and opens her box. The door to the bathroom opens and Yang comes back into the room, clothed in her typical pyjamas, right as Ruby takes her first bite.
"Well, I'm glad to see you back, and homework done, yeah?" Yang asks, side-eyeing Ruby.
"Mhm!" Ruby's mouth is full with the burger, but she's still able to manage a smile.
Yang laughs and moves over to the bunk, climbing up into her bed. "Well, I'm glad. I dunno when Blake is gonna get back, but I'm kinda beat, so I'll see you guys in the morning. Goodnight!"
"Goodnight, Yang," I say.
"Nrt, Yng!" Ruby tries to yell, but still has some burger in her mouth.
I can't help but laugh. "You're really cute, Ruby. You know that?"
Ruby blushes, swallows what's left of the bite she had taken and whispers under her breath. "Thank you…"
"You're welcome, Ruby." I pull up my seat next to her and rest my head on her shoulder as she keeps eating until we both head to bed.