Another chapter. This time it's definitely fluff! I totally needed it, guys. I hope you like it.

Chapter 12: Sharing Realizations

Where am I? I wake up slowly and feel something warm on top of me. I sigh and put my arms around it. This is really comfortable. I smile and close my eyes, ready to go back to sleep, but the warm thing in my arms moves, and my eyes snap open again. Why is there a warm thing on top of me? I crane my neck to a position where I can see who or what it is. I see white and very dark crimson. Summer? Oh, right. I nod to myself. We took a nap together. I smile wider at this. I let my head fall back on my pillow. Well, this is expectantly pleasant.

I hear a groan from her, and I just wrap my arms around her tighter. Please don't wake up. I want to enjoy this for as long as I can. I bite my lip and sort of hold my breath, making it where I'm taking such shallow breaths that I don' even think it would register. She just snuggles closer and puts one arm around my stomach. I'd breathe a sigh of relief, but I'm afraid that an sudden moves or noises could wake her up.

"Raven, stop trying to pretend to sleep and cuddle with me." I bite back a laugh at her statement. She knows me too well, it seems.

"Sure, sure." I pull her up until we're face to face. I touch my forehead to hers and smile.

"You know, you're cute when you try to deny that you actually wanted to cuddle." She smiles and gives me a light peck on my cheek before trying to get closer to me.

I blush and almost sputter. "So what if I want to cuddle?"

Her light laugh washes over me as I join in quietly. I don't want to drown out her. "I'm not complaining, Rae. Far from it, actually." I don't know how she did it, but we're just so close right now, we're basically one person with two heads. That ridiculous image makes me laugh a bit, though, and it draws her attention more than what it was already. "What's so funny?"

I debate telling her. I mean, do I really want her to know that I'm that weird? "Um, well, every few seconds, you're wriggling closer and closer to me, and I was thinking that, by now, we'd probably look like one person with two heads." I blush and turn my head away from her.

I hear her light laughter again, prompting a smile from me. "You know, would you believe me if I told you that that was what I was going for?"

That makes me laugh louder than before. "Really?"

I feel her nod. "I've just been waiting for stuff like this for so long."

My smile and laughter vanish. Furrowing my brow, I look at her. "How long?"

She bites her lip. "Would you believe me if I said that I've been basically in love with you since you dropped me from your portal on Initiation Day?"

She what? That long? I couldn't even imagine her holding it in that long. I mean, she is shy, but she's almost always a person who acts on instinct. What was stopping her from telling me? "Really?"

She rolls her eyes. "You know, every time you say that, I assume you're doubting my sincerity."

I laugh. "It's just hard to wrap my mind around the fact that you've liked me for four years and never once told me. How did you not spew your secret within seconds of realization?"

She bites her lip and blushes. "Uh, well, you see, I didn't know that you were into girls or anything, and I thought there would be no way that you could ever be into a dork like me."

Well, I did just discover this weird feeling, so, she wasn't totally unfounded in her assumptions. "You're not a dork." She levels a gaze at me. I hold up my hands in defeat. "Okay, so you're a dork, but you're my dork." I finish with a smile, hoping that that appeased her.

She snorts in laughter. "You're dork, yeah. So, when did you figure out that you like me?"

I hesitate. According to Qrow, I was just in this big bubble of oblivion for four years. Is that true, though? I mean, I always did watch out for her, but I just thought that was what partners are supposed to do. I sigh. "I only figured it out when we went on that last mission."

She looks at me with her eyebrow raised. "What made you realize it?"

"Hey, I didn't ask you how, did I?" I look at her, trying not to blush.

She laughs and pats my cheek softly. "Would it make you feel better if you knew?"

I turn my head away from her. "Maybe."

The pats become a caress, and it sends a pleasant shiver down my spine. "You trusted me, despite there being nothing there, no friendship. Hell, there wasn't even an acquaintanceship, but you trusted me. It was admirable, and that same admiration turned into a crush when I looked at you from the center of that crater."

Trust. Hmm, trust. Is that really what made her like me? I look at her with newfound awe and amazement. The awe is because she actually trusted me so quickly. The amazement is that she was just so naive to trust me so quickly. She's so full of contradictions. "You are so naive, but it's beautiful, that acceptance. Thank you."

She smiles like she just had an amazing victory. "Now you. What made you realize?"

I take a breath. "You know how you went missing in the forest?"

"I did not go missing. I just went off on my own." She looks so cute when she's trying to defend herself.

I laugh a little. "Yeah, that. Well, when I was searching for you, I realized something." I remember that moment, when I realized that she could die, that heavy weight that filled my chest. "You could have died, Summer, and I wouldn't have been there. I realized that nothing in this world would be worth anything if you weren't there with me to experience, to shine your light and pull me out of my darkness."

She puts her hand on my cheek, making me look into her eyes. "Ray." She brings her forehead to lay against mine. "I'll always be here. I promise."

Tears start to pool in my eyes. "What is it with you and always seeming to make me emotional?"

She laughs before kissing the first tear that falls. "I guess I just awakened the side of you that you never thought you had."

I smile and place my hand over hers. "Maybe." I lean in and kiss her deeply, trying to convey every bit of love that I can. When we pull apart, I'm still smiling. We just wrapped our arms around each other and fell asleep in the comfort of each other's arms.

A/N: Awww. You know, Summer is so adorable. I totally see a bit of a more confident Ruby. Does anyone else imagine her like that? And this chapter was a little more banter between them. I love playful banter,as you can see. It's definitely a trend in my fics.

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