Chapter 17: Editor's Notes

Hey! Listen! It's The Draigg here again, with another chapter! Now, before you start reading, you should probably know that Monty Oum owns RWBY, not I. Also, I don't own any other media mentioned. Plus, read the news about this story in the below author's notes. Now, with that out of the way, let's do this!

Weiss was confused. It was Saturday by now, and Ruby hadn't even mentioned the notes that were made on her music show. She would have thought that Ruby would have at least asked who wrote all of those notes and annotations. But no, she just kept on working as if nothing had happened. This was utterly confusing! Weiss thought that her plan to get back on Ruby's good side would definitely work.

Watching Ruby lie on her bed all day, listening to her music, Weiss couldn't help but wonder what she was thinking of. She was still writing in her book, she noticed. Seeing an opportunity, Weiss walked up to Ruby's bunk. She got Ruby's attention by touching her shoulder. Ruby took off her headphones at her touch.

"How are things coming along?", Weiss asked, even though she already knew the answer. She glanced over Ruby's shoulder, trying to look at the notes she had made.

"Not bad. I think I've gotten the hang of this.", Ruby answered quickly.

"What are these?", Weiss asked, pointing to her own hand written notes.

Ruby gave a strange look, and quickly turned away. "They're just notes that were made…", she mumbled.

"But… they're not in your handwriting.", observed Weiss. She didn't know how much more clear she could be with this, short of just flat out telling her what she did.

"Umm…". Ruby completely ignored Weiss' statement and put her headphones back on. Turning her music back up, she went back to working in her book.

Now this was starting to upset Weiss. Just… what the hell? Ruby clearly knew something was up, yet she refused to comment on it! Even when it was clear Weiss wanted to talk about it, Ruby just brushed her off! Worst of all, Weiss had no idea if her plan was working or not! Was she glad for the help? Did she hate her notes? Weiss would be glad if she got ANY answers, even if they were only small ones. Frustrated, Weiss sat at her desk, hoping to distract herself with some homework due next week. If the notes were going to be brought up, then Ruby would be the one to do it.

The person known as Ruby Rose was many things. Young, loving, strong, and a possible diabetic, given the amount of cookies she eats. But, most importantly, she was currently confused. No, she wasn't confused at the notes that she had written. She was confused at the notes that she DIDN'T write. Despite how she often presented herself, Ruby wasn't that dumb. She figured that Weiss wrote those notes. Even if the notes weren't in her regular handwriting, Ruby could still tell who wrote it, based on the language used. Only Weiss would use the words 'acceptable', 'adjust vocal pitch here', and 'massage diaphragm before signing' all in the same song description.

What Ruby was really confused on was why Weiss would want to do this. She confessed her crush on her, and then helped to cancel the musical! It was quite the emotional whiplash to have in one week. And now she was trying to help her again? What was even going through her head? Was Weiss felling guilty? If she was, she should just come out and say it! Ruby would at least have someone be honest with her, rather than muddy the waters of this issue. It was worse not knowing anything than knowing the truth!

As Ruby kept on looking over the notes, she wondered, "Oh, Weiss. What's going on with you?". She hated having her emotions messed with. She was born with a big heart, and this whole thing with Weiss just hurt her. How can someone she loves be the cause so much love and hurt? Inwardly, Ruby sighed. "Nobody is perfect.", she acknowledged. If Weiss would just be straightforward, they could start to put this whole mess behind them.

On the matter of the notes themselves, they were pretty useful. They told her how to properly warm up for singing, where to hold notes, and, if the song itself was a little iffy, would offer a different recommendation. Weiss clearly knew her stuff. Then why would she just not help her directly? AAARRRGGHHH. All of this thinking was giving Ruby a headache.

Ruby hopped off of her bed. She really could use a sugar break right about now.

Weiss turned her attention the thump she heard behind her. She saw Ruby put on her shoes. It looked like she was ready to go somewhere.

"Going somewhere?", asked Weiss, trying not to sound too interested.

"Oh, I'm just gonna go get a snack.", Ruby replied offhandedly, while looking for spare change. Weiss observed her look for money. Then, a thought occurred to her.

"You don't have any lien, do you?", noted Weiss.

Ruby gave up looking for change under the dresser and stood up. "No, no I don't.", she admitted. She was surprised when Weiss grabbed her by the hand and started walking to the door.

"Wha-what are you doing?", sputtered Ruby.

"Come on. I'll pay for you.", Weiss offered. She knew Ruby was in no position to say no. As long as ice cream or cookies were on the line, Ruby might as well be putty in Weiss' hands. Man, Ruby's hand felt so soft and warm right now… "Focus, Weiss.", she thought. Maybe some sugar would help this awkward stalemate along.

Ruby, on the other hand, was a little relieved that she could get her sugar fix. But, she couldn't help but feel that Weiss had an ulterior motive for treating her. "Oh, well. Maybe we can actually talk about something.", hoped Ruby. After all, Weiss and sweets SHOULD be a winning combination.

The Beacon Snack Bar had a strict profit margin. The fact that students liked junk food was the only reason it was kept open in the first place. Fortunately, most of their margin was met by a certain Ruby Rose. Because of her, they were often sold out of any kind of cookie, whether it was shortbread or chocolate chip. This left the Finances Office happy, and the Medical Office baffled. Whenever Ruby went in for a routine checkup, the attending medical staff were genuinely surprised that she didn't gain too much weight or have diabetes. If they weren't held responsible to certain rules in their contracts, the nurses would have started a betting pool on her by now.

Anyway, let's get back on track here. Currently, Ruby was making Weiss' wallet lighter by having her buy up an absurd amount of cookies and cream ice cream. She bought so much, that it actually would have been cheaper for her just to eat some ice dust instead. Weiss really tried to ignore the cashier's satisfied grin. Maybe she could officially declare this a donation to Beacon Academy on the Schnee Dust Company's behalf.

Helping Ruby carry the large amount of ice cream, Weiss led her over to a nearby table. Ruby began to scarf down the ice cream at an incredible rate. Watching her, Weiss couldn't help but be reminded of nature documentaries, like when a Roc would capture and devour it's prey. It was almost impressive. Ruby must have been using her semblance on her arms. That was the only way imaginable to justify Ruby shoveling the ice cream in her mouth that fast.

Before long, Ruby was finished with her ice cream. It was cookies AND ice cream. How could she NOT devour it? It was so good, Ruby forgot to have a brain freeze. Wait? Brain freeze? Oh n—

"OOOwwieee!", Ruby cried, clutching her head. The brain freeze had caught up to her.

Sighing, Weiss could only watch as Ruby started to the table in pain. She knew this would happen. Honestly, she would be more surprised if this didn't happen. Ruby continued to writhe in pain. After another minute, Ruby sat straight up, no longer moaning.

"Okay, I'm fine now.", she announced. Of course Ruby would just snap back abruptly. This gave Weiss some hope that Ruby would accept what she had to say.

"Ruby…", said Weiss, getting Ruby's attention. "I uh… wrote those notes. In your book.", she confessed.

Ruby let out a sigh and slumped a little in her chair. "Yeah, I kinda knew that…", Ruby also admitted.

Now, this hit Weiss right in the heart. She knew she wrote those notes? How?

"H-how did you figure it out?", was Weiss' surprised question.

"Weiss, even if you hide your handwriting, you can't hide your words.", explained Ruby as she leaned on the table. "You sound almost the same as a dust instruction pamphlet.".

Weiss almost smiled at that memory. Sure, she was being mean, but that was also the first time Weiss saw how naïve and pure Ruby was. Instead, she tried to focus on the current discussion.

"But why haven't you said anything? Why?". Weiss now needed some answers. Her plan was now starting to confuse even her.

Ruby swallowed before talking. "Because… because… because I don't know what you're doing! First you say you love me, and then you stop working on the musical! You're really confusing my emotions!", Ruby exclaimed. Luckily, nobody really heard that outburst. The Snack Bar was deserted at this time of the day. It was because there were some movies playing in the theater today.

"Ruby, I know I can't take back what I did. And I'm REALLY sorry if I hurt you. But you can't solve anything without talking to me! So, PLEASE, talk to me!", pleaded Weiss. She grabbed Ruby's hand and interlocked their fingers.

"Weiss… It really hurt when you did that… I just don't know what to say… I don't know what to feel…", Ruby mumbled.

"Just say that you love me! Please! I need to hear it!", Weiss begged. She lowered her head. "Please… love me…". When Ruby didn't answer, tears began to fall down Weiss' face.

Ruby couldn't answer. Her mind and heart were awash with conflicting emotions. Her mind was telling her to say no, since her perceived betrayal really hurt. Her heart was saying to forgive her, since she really did love her.

Weiss took Ruby's prolonged silence badly. Crying harder now, she dropped out of her chair and rested on her knees. Still holding Ruby's hand, Weiss continued to plead and beg. "Please! Nobody else cares! Only you do! Love me! Love me!", she cried.

Weiss' words broke through Ruby's heart. From what she heard, Weiss wasn't happy with herself. And, being that she was the only person that currently loves her, it wouldn't be fair for Ruby to deny Weiss. Because, no matter how much hurt she felt, her big heart still held enough love to overcome it.

Weiss now feared the worse. Ruby wasn't saying anything. If she didn't love her after what she did, her life would be over. She would throw herself off of the top of Beacon Tower. Nobody would care that she died. In fact, people might rejoice at her passing. She was scum. She was garbage. She was—

A warm hug surrounded Weiss. All of her fears melted away in Ruby's embrace. She forgave her! She really did love her! It was okay!

It was okay!

"Silly…", came Ruby's voice, muffled by her embrace. "I could never really hate you.". She let Weiss go to get a better look at her face. Ruby flashed a cheeky grin. "That just isn't me.". Suddenly, Weiss' lips covered her own.

Weiss never thought so much love could be expressed through a kiss. She thought wrong. This wasn't a kiss. This was a promise. A promise that nothing would be bad. A promise that Ruby would never let go. A promise of love.

When the kiss broke away, Ruby caught her breath. Her head was spinning. "So, what do we do now?", she asked in a mental haze.

"We can do whatever we want to.", replied a blissful Weiss. Both of them stood up. "We're partners, right?".

"Right.", Ruby said. A dumb smile was plastered all over her face. Glancing around, her eyes landed on a nearby bulletin board. "That's right! There's movies in the theater today!", she remembered, looking at the movie announcement. "Want to go see some flicks?", she suggested.

Grinning, Weiss replied, "Sure. It's a date!".

Hand in hand, Ruby and Weiss made their way towards the theater.

The movie 'A Were-Grimm in Vacuo' wasn't what Weiss had in mind for their first date. But, it would have to suffice. Even if she wanted to see a different movie, she couldn't afford tickets at a normal theater. Ruby had blown most of Weiss' lien on ice cream, and then spent the rest on several sodas at a nearby vending machine. It was a miracle that she didn't go to the bathroom yet. Ruby was on her fifth grape soda by now, even though the movie has only been on for an hour.

Weiss never had much of a taste for these types of movies. Why weren't they showing more all ages friendly material? On screen, a Were-Grimm was currently stalking it's prey through some dark alleys. Weiss didn't want to see this. She much rather preferred a romantic comedy movie, or barring that, a documentary. She knew for a FACT that there were some interesting documentaries on dust processin—

Oh gods! One of the hunters just had his throat ripped out! Eww! Weiss wanted to look away, but her eyes were glued to the screen for some reason. Ruby, on the other hand, was having a blast. She had accidentally crushed her soda in her fist in excitement. She had a glint in her eyes seeing the other hunters fire uncut, silver coated dust crystals at the beast. Clearly, this was her type of movie.

"Ruby, I don't think—EPP!", squeaked Weiss as a hunter was impaled on the creature's claws. Her cry fell on deaf ears. Ruby was WAY too invested with what was happening on screen.

"Yeah! Kick that monster's butt!", Ruby yelled as the lead hunter managed to wound the monster.

Several voices chided her. "Quiet!".

Ruby quickly apologized and returned her attention to the movie. Now on the screen, the last two hunters, the grizzled leader and the rookie, managed to force the Were-Grimm into a retreat. The police had arrived, but they didn't believe the hunter's stories. Instead, they were hauled off to the police station for questioning.

"Oh, come on! You have to believe them! He was RIGHT THERE!", Ruby yelled at the screen. Once again, more voices told her to shut up. If Weiss wasn't Ruby's girlfriend, she would have yelled at her too. Instead, she settled on face palming. So much for their first date. If Ruby shouted more advice at the screen, they would undoubtedly be kicked out.

Weiss had no idea how right she was.

One their way back from the theater, Ruby's adrenaline was still pumping form the movie.

"I mean, did you SEE those moves! Man, that backflip was so COOL!", Ruby gushed.

In response, Weiss let out a tired sigh. "You know, it would have been better if we weren't kicked out in the middle of the climax.", she noted.

More specifically, the pair was forced to leave when Ruby tried to mimic what she was seeing in the movie. The audience members really didn't appreciate her stepping on their heads.

"Whatever! It was still cool!", Ruby continued to act like a real fangirl.

"So, it IS getting pretty late… I think we should turn in for the day.", Weiss suggested. It was already late in the afternoon. The sun would be setting in a little bit. It would probably be nearly down when they made it back to their room.

Ruby opened the door to the dorm room. Yang and Blake were nowhere to be found. This wasn't anything new. More often than not, they went in to Vale proper on a shopping trip, and spent the night in a hotel so they could do more shopping in the morning. Or, that's what the notes they usually left behind said. It was clear to Ruby and Weiss that no shopping was being done. The stench on their clothes told them enough about what they were really doing. Plus, they rarely brought back anything, other than some groceries.

Seeing a note on the desk, Weiss read it aloud:

Yo, Lovebirds:

We went into Vale to do some more shopping. Don't wait up all night for us to come back. You'll get to see more of my beautiful face tomorrow, so don't worry. We might even bring back something for you two!

Totes peace,

Yang

"Whatever.", dismissed Ruby. As long that kept the pair from doing anything depraved around her, Blake could take Yang anywhere. Weiss felt a similar sentiment.

Both of them started to get ready for bed. Stripping off her dress and putting on her pajamas, Ruby asked Weiss, "So, what do couples DO, exactly?".

Weiss had a hard time coming up with an all-around answer. "Well… they do plenty of stuff. Like, sharing a bed or something.", she said, finding a response.

At her words, Ruby blushed. "Can we… do that? Tonight?", she asked. She was acting a little timid. This was the first time she volunteered for doing this.

Weiss swallowed hard. "O-of course.", affirmed Weiss, who also started to blush. After turning off the lights, she climbed into her bunk, Ruby following after her.

They managed to get into a comfortable position. Both of them felt really warm, sharing their body heat. It felt nice, considering that nights could get a little cold at Beacon. It was a downside of being located near the coastal mountains of Vale. Their mouths were so close together.

Both didn't even think of sleeping. The pair was now really conscious of what they were doing. It was if they weren't used to their bodies. Being entangled in your new lover's limbs would do that. It was a natural assumption to make.

Sure, a lot of things were to be done tonight, but getting sleep wasn't one of them.

And, there you have it! Another chapter, done! Now, for some news. At the suggestion of my editor, JimboYokimbo, I changed the rating for this story to M. That way, I could write more without dancing around certain subjects. I won't go back and fix parts of the story, since I feel they still work as is. Please stay with the story, and tell me what you think in the reviews. This is The Draigg, signing off on this author's note.