Let's hope things keep going well for Blake!
Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.
Chapter 6. Tomorrow's Promise
Of all the times in her life Blake had been depressed or downtrodden, or simply overwhelmed with negative emotions for no apparent reason, this was the first time she was experiencing the opposite so strongly.
The evening after her lunch date with Ruby, she'd very nearly been bouncing off the walls in her own way. She'd walked home with a spring in her step and a smile on her face.
When she'd passed Adam's house, he'd been in his yard trimming hedges and had sarcastically asked if she were sick. But Blake had happily ignored his playful sarcasm and stuck her tongue out at him before continuing on her way.
She'd eaten a hearty dinner that night and even dessert, and even her parents could tell something was different about her.
When her mother had asked her what had happened that day, Blake had merely responded with, "Something really nice."
And she'd been so enthralled with the memories of the day that she'd failed to read before bed that evening, as she typically did.
So she'd simply lain there on her bed, staring up at her dark violet ceiling with her hands curled on her chest and her ears contently tall, thinking of Ruby.
She woke the next morning in much the same position, though her loose hair was a little more frazzled and her eyes watered a bit. She reached up to rub them and slowly stretched herself out, feeling her shoulders pop.
With the promise of seeing Ruby again today on her mind, Blake rolled herself out of bed with her heart feeling lighter than ever before. She cleaned herself up and dressed nicely, choosing a weather-appropriate skirt this time around in addition to a purple blouse. She did her chores but skipped breakfast this time, intending to eat at the cafe and perhaps talk to Velvet as she did so.
After grabbing her bag, she was off, and the smile never once left her lips.
She'd known Velvet for several years now, and Blake had always known her as a polite, reserved girl who took her work very seriously.
And though Coco was good at often rustling her girlfriend's feathers or surprising her with little kisses and making her blush, Velvet tended to keep to her disposition very well. Blake had seen her get angry a few times, but it was never hurtful anger, just light chiding and disapproval.
In the past, they'd exchanged phone numbers somewhere along the lines, and sometimes when Blake needed advice or someone to lean on, she would send her a text.
But in all those years, never before had she seen Velvet Scarlatina like this.
As soon as Blake had walked into the cafe and quietly asked for Velvet to hear her out, the older Faunus had immediately hurried from behind the counter and grasped Blake's hands, begging to know how everything had gone yesterday.
And Blake shyly told her with a blush on her cheeks all the while.
"Things went... really nicely," she said. "And I think... we're going to do it again today."
And Velvet actually squealed. With shining eyes and an exuberant smile, she pulled Blake into a big hug.
"Oh, Blake! That's brilliant! I'm so happy for you!" Then, she lowered her voice a bit and whispered into the girl's Faunus ear. "I could tell you really like her."
Blake stiffened, but nodded slightly. Velvet giggled and patted her back before pulling away.
"And don't worry! I'll keep Coco in line. She won't pester you, at least not when you'll be aware..."
Blake smiled and thanked her, then headed up to the counter to place an order for her breakfast.
Once she'd paid and thanked the girls once more, she took her tray of a blueberry muffin, a tuna sandwich, a cup of tea, and some napkins over to a table to eat.
As she enjoyed her meal, she kept a book open on her table and read pleasantly to herself, still internally bubbling with excitement about yesterday, and what would come again today.
After she'd finished and returned the tray, she was off to the library for her usual routine.
Blake scoured the aisles for a bit, looking through the new releases and finding a few that caught her eye. She checked out two books at the desk, then retreated to her spot to relax.
Blake had always been a girl who liked her routine and keeping to it. She didn't like change very much, even though she recognized that sometimes it was necessary.
It had only been one day since she'd successfully had lunch with Ruby, and yesterday she'd been so ecstatic about it.
And yet somehow, today it already felt like a part of her routine.
Not to mean she wasn't still thrilled about it – she very much was.
But Blake really liked the fact that this addition to her schedule had slipped in so smoothly, so comfortably that she'd hardly even noticed the change.
It felt so natural somehow, to be expecting Ruby, and to know she'd see her soon. It didn't feel like an intrusion or an inconvenience, but rather a very welcome addition.
As she read that morning, she found she wasn't distracted in her reading either, though the promise of seeing Ruby again clung constantly to the back of her excited mind.
She ended up putting her books away at noon, even though she knew there were still thirty minutes before Ruby's break began. But she just needed to see her now.
Blake gathered her bag and stood, then headed for the staircase.
It was as rowdy as ever on the second floor, with the teenagers listening to their music and playing on the computers. Blake's ears flicked and swiveled as they adjusted to the sudden noise, wondering how any of them could ever hope to get work done like this.
But to each their own, she shrugged.
She spotted Yang first, where she was sitting at one of the tables with an open notebook in front of her, looking disheveled. Next to her was a girl with long white hair, who seemed to be trying to help the other. If Blake remembered correctly, Ruby had said her name was Weiss.
She hadn't meant to look at the pair for very long, but the blonde lifted her head just in time to catch Blake's eye. She grinned and then made a beckoning motion.
Blake paused, looking behind herself in case she'd meant the invitation for someone else. But there was no one else around, and when Blake met her lavender gaze again, Yang nodded.
Slowly, Blake crossed the space between them and dipped her head awkwardly.
"Hello. Um, can I-"
"Blake, right?" Yang said right away. The Faunus girl hesitated, then nodded.
"Yes... ah... and you're Yang?"
"You got it!" she said, showing her white teeth. "I'm sure she's told you already, but I'm Ruby's sister! And boy oh boy did she have a lot to say about you at dinner last night!"
Blake's heart leapt into her throat, and she reached down to grab the end of the table for support.
"Sh-She-"
"Oh yeah, she was goin' on and on about this nice Faunus girl she'd met at the library and how you guys chatted for hours about her favorite books 'n stuff. I've never been much of a reader myself-"
"In case you couldn't tell," muttered Weiss.
"Yeah, thanks, princess," Yang said, rolling her eyes playfully. "But anyway, I could never really get into those kinda things she likes. So lemme tell ya, she had a blast yesterday with you 'cus she said she'd finally found a kindred spirit. So I just wanted to say thanks for humoring her and bein' her friend."
Her smile was earnest now, and the light in her eyes was truthful.
Blake was astounded. It had only been a few days since they'd known each other, and only one day since Ruby had called Blake by name.
And yet... it sounded as though Ruby was enjoying their newfound relationship just as much as Blake herself was.
It was a very nice feeling indeed.
She couldn't think of what to say by means of response to Yang, so she simply nodded, hiding her face as she let her hair cover it a bit.
Yang then seemed to recall something else.
"Oh! And uh... yeah Ruby told me just how loud I was bein' the other day with my pals. I bet I disrupted your reading, huh? My bad. Sorry about all that."
"But don't worry," Weiss cut in. "That won't happen again. I've decided to tag along with her every day now to ensure she works on her summer homework like she's supposed to. I've already finished all of mine," she added, extra smugly.
Yang grumbled something under her breath that even Blake's ears didn't catch. But a moment later, the blonde girl had lifted her face again to address Blake.
"But yeah. I hope there's no hard feelings. And thanks again for bein' a pal to Ruby. It means a lot, trust me."
Again, Blake could only nod.
Weiss nudged her girlfriend in an effort to have her continue her work now. But just before Yang could, she caught sight of something behind Blake and smirked.
"Well, speak of the Little Red Riding Devil and she shall appear~"
Her short warning was all Blake got before she heard the excited patter of footsteps rushing up behind her.
"Blake!"
Never before had she ever heard anyone unrelated to her by blood speak her name so happily.
The Faunus girl turned around in surprise as Ruby scurried over to her, looking as florid and energetic as ever. Blake had almost been expecting the girl to jump at her and hug her, but Ruby must have remembered she was still working right now, and that she and Blake had only just met not too long ago.
Ruby came skidding to a halt a few feet away from Blake and presented her with that trademark beaming smile.
The Faunus girl found herself wishing she'd gone through with the hug, after all.
Nonetheless, she smiled back at Ruby, a bit embarrassed now that the girl's older sister was watching them.
"Good morning, Ruby," she said softly. "Or, actually it's afternoon now, I guess," she corrected herself after glancing at the clock.
"Yup!" Ruby said. "I've still got some time before lunch break, but it's so nice to see you already! Did you have a good morning?"
Blake's cheeks were so warm the heat was spreading to her Faunus ears. She nodded quickly, and couldn't keep the smile off her face.
"Yes. I had a very nice morning. Um..." She trailed off, not knowing what more to say.
But she knew she should probably get away from Yang; Blake knew the older sister would easily be able to discern that she had a huge crush on Ruby, and Blake didn't want to set the blonde off and make her angry. With how jittery Blake was behaving right now, she feared the blonde girl already had suspicions, and she wanted to get away.
Luckily for her, Ruby offered the perfect solution to her unspoken dilemma.
"Well, since you came all the way up here, how's about I give you a tour? I mean, I know you've been coming here like every day since forever and stuff, but I don't see you up here much, and we've remodeled a few things! So whaddaya say?"
Had Ruby been a Faunus, Blake would've imagined her as a dog like Canela, with a big fluffy tail wagging eagerly.
Blake never would have forgiven herself if she'd refused this offer.
"Sure. I'd love to."
Ruby bounced and clapped her hands.
"Yaaaay! Okay, come on, come on lemme show yooou!"
She reached out and took Blake's hands in hers.
With the condition of her skin being extra sensitive, Blake jolted a little bit at the contact. The Faunus girl probably would've been alarmed had it been anyone other than Adam, Velvet, or Ruby.
But she was a bit more nervous with the latter person than she was with either of the formers.
She followed along behind her bubbly companion as Ruby led her around the second floor on a grand tour. She'd been right in saying how Blake hadn't been here since the updates, so the dark-haired girl did her best to focus on Ruby's words rather than her warm, soft hands.
Blake appreciated contact in moderation, especially with her skin being hypersensitive to the extreme elements. But Ruby's palms were just the perfect kind of warmth she needed.
Ruby led her around the aisles, telling Blake which sections had been revised or what new features had been added. Blake listened happily as she was swept along into Ruby's undertow.
Normally, just being around or listening to overly-zealous people would wear Blake out quickly. But with Ruby, that never seemed to happen, even when Blake herself was participating.
Ruby talked quickly but softly, being mindful of the patrons.
"And we've got some new shelves over here – I think they're like mahogany or something like that? I really can't remember. But we got an extra cushioned chair in the corner over there by the history section. Oh! And we rearranged the books back there! I did most of that, actually. I think it looks pretty good, if I do say so myself! And I also did the arrangement of the magazines over by the research section. Oh, oh! And-"
Blake just kept nodding, genuinely enjoying the girl's merriment. Something told her Ruby didn't go around giving just any patron the grand tour and talking excitedly like this.
She felt... special.
And Blake thoroughly enjoyed every second of it.
Somewhere along the lines, Ruby had let go of one of Blake's hands so she could walk more easily, but she was still holding onto the other. Blake had just been mustering up the courage to squeeze back when Ruby came to a sudden halt.
"Oh!"
She released Blake's hand, just as she'd been curling her fingers to touch Ruby's. Blake took a fast step back, hoping she hadn't crossed a line.
"S-Sorry, I-"
"It's lunch time!" Ruby said, clearly not having noticed Blake's problem with herself. But at the very least, that told the Faunus girl that she hadn't upset the brunette.
As she turned her head to seek out the clock on the wall, she noticed it was indeed 12:30.
Wow... Time really does fly when you're having fun, I guess.
Ruby gave an excited twirl on her heels, then face Blake again.
"You ready for lunch? I sure am! Come on, Blake!"
The ease with which Ruby took her hand once more made Blake's heart flutter all over again.
She followed the girl down the stairs, keeping close to her so there wouldn't be a strain on her arm.
All the way to the cafe, Ruby held her hand. Only when they got on line did she let Blake go and seem to realize what she'd been doing for the past thirty minutes.
"Oh, gosh! I didn't even notice! I'm sorry!" she piped.
Blake shook her head quickly.
"No, it's fine. I don't mind..."
"Really? You're sure? Oh good." With a sigh of relief, Ruby took a breath to compose herself again, straightening her back and taking on her 'worker' posture again. "Sorry. Sometimes I just get so excited and I get carried away! I was just so happy to see you!"
"I was, too," Blake murmured. She then nodded to the counter. "Looks like it's your turn."
"Oh! Right!"
Ruby turned around and ordered her usual, and Blake ordered a cup of tea as well.
As the Faunus girl scrambled to get her wallet from her bag, Ruby accepted the warm tea cup from Velvet.
"Here you go!" she said, holding it out to Blake with a grin.
The Faunus girl paused and put her money on the counter. She made sure to grab a few napkins from the dispenser first before taking the cup from Ruby.
"Thank you."
She could see it in the girl's silver eyes that Ruby was wondering why Blake always needed a napkin around her tea cup, but she didn't ask.
Blake was a little relieved that she hadn't, because she wouldn't have known how to explain her condition very well on such short notice.
They thanked the girls behind the counter and then took their respective meals to the corner table where they'd sat together yesterday.
And then it was like living a dream all over again.
They just talked – about books and movie adaptions and stories.
They talked about fantasy worlds and mythical creatures, urban legends and cautionary tales, then more contemporary stories.
They lost themselves in the conversations about the books they loved, conversations they'd never been able to have with other people before.
These little talks were unique to just the two of them.
They asked each other questions, gave heartfelt answers, dove into in-depth discussions and talked about theories.
At one point, Blake went on a tangent about one of her favorite book series and ran into an issue she'd never encountered before: she couldn't stop talking.
"I really love how the author portrays the main character," she was saying. "She really gives her life, and I feel like I'm transported into that world. I wish I could write like that."
"Ohhh yeah I love her work, too! I know what you mean!" Ruby agreed as she took a bite of her cookie.
Blake leaned back in her seat and sighed.
"And her newest book is coming out soon, but I just know I'll never be able to find it on its release day. It's almost impossible..."
"Oooh!" Ruby lowered her voice and leaned in secretively. "Well, working with the library, I've got some... connections, if you know what I mean," she winked. "I could probably nab you a copy before they hit the shelves."
Blake gasped audibly.
"Y-You... you mean it?"
"Yeah, I do!"
"Oh gosh, y-you don't have to-"
"Buuut you want me to, don't you, Blake?"
The Faunus girl sighed and nodded guiltily. Ruby chuckled.
"Then of course I will! Piece of cake! Don't worry about it! It's my pleasure! I just kinda wish I could find one of my favorite old series. It was this collection of suuuper duper old folktales, but I've never seen it in the library or in stores."
As Blake recovered from the prospect of her exciting, secret book deal with Ruby, her ears perked up with interest.
"That... wouldn't happen to be called The Wolf's Tales, would it?"
Ruby nearly spat out her milkshake.
"You- You know about it? Oh my gosh, I've never met anyone else who knew about it!"
"And," Blake said. "I know where you can read it online."
"NO WAY!" Ruby blurted out in disbelief.
Blake laughed lightly at her reaction.
"Yes, actually. I stumbled upon it a while back. The name of the site escapes me at the moment, but I have it bookmarked. I'll write it down and bring it to you tomorrow, okay?"
Ruby rocked back and forth in her chair in anticipation.
"Ohhh gosh, oh gosh, actually do you think it'd be okay if you texted it to me tonight? I'll give you my number!"
Blake froze, and her heartbeat took off again.
"Um... sure. I can do that."
"Really? Thank you sosososooo muuch! Here!"
Ruby pulled out her cell phone, which had a red strawberry designed case on it. Blake took out hers in its black cat case as well.
Ruby shared her number, and the Faunus girl did her best not to miss the keys with how much her fingers were shaking. Eventually, she ended up saving Ruby's number, and even tapped the little star to favorite her.
Once finished, Ruby gave another bounce in her seat.
"You got it? Okay, now just text me so I can get your number, too!"
Biting her lip, Blake nodded.
She sent a simple message of: Hi, it's Blake.
Ruby's phone buzzed a second later as she received it, then happily saved Blake's number.
Blake wondered if Ruby had starred her name as well...
By then, it was nearly 1:30, as Ruby soon noted.
"I'll clean our stuff up. Lemme take your cup, too!"
"Oh, th-thank you."
Ruby nodded, still smiling widely as she hurried off to throw out the trash and return the tray and tea cup.
Blake stood up in the meantime and stretched her arms and legs. Rather than feeling tired after a long conversation as she would with most people, now Blake felt refreshed.
She caught Velvet's gaze from behind the counter, and the rabbit Faunus winked and smiled at her as she took the tray from Ruby. Blake blushed and turned away, knowing Coco would get a kick out of all this.
Ruby returned to her before long and sighed happily.
"That might've been even more fun than yesterday! Thank you, Blake!"
"I should thank you, too," she replied. "And I'll text you that site later. I promise."
"Thank yooouu!" Ruby squealed and clapped, then stilled herself. "Oh ah, I just... I mean Yang told me always to ask first so um..." She looked up at Blake shyly, shuffling her shoes now. "Blake... c-could I maybe... hug you?"
She was taken aback by the request. Blake only ever got or gave hugs to her parents or Velvet.
But her crush...?
She hesitated, and her ears drooped. She saw Ruby's expression change, and the girl's smile faded.
"Never mind! Sorry, it was a weird thing to ask. Don't worry about it!"
"No, I..." Blake put a hand to her chest to find her heart was pounding again. "I... I mean... maybe... not just yet," she sighed. "I just need... some time."
Ruby nodded right away.
"No, yeah I get it! I totally understand, okay?"
Blake smiled sadly.
"Tomorrow," she said. "I can try... tomorrow. Promise."
"Yeah, sure!" Ruby agreed. "And only if you feel like it, okay? We don't have to!"
"Thank you, Ruby. I want to... to try..."
Ruby clasped her hands together happily.
"Okay! Then I'll see you tomorrow, Blake!"
"See you tomorrow."
With one last smile at her, Ruby was off back to work.
Blake needed to sit again to calm herself down a bit.
Tomorrow...
She was already looking forward to it.
A/N: On top of her skin condition and tendencies to think negatively, Blake's a very shy introvert and she's not at all used to being around extroverts or physical contact. But she's doing her best for Ruby! I hope I'm writing this kind of character accurately. Please let me know!
And just a small note, I'd written this long before canon revealed Adam's personality, so in this fic, he's not a bad guy, just a nice neighbor of Blake's.
If you like my work, you can support me on as Kiria Alice!
Please review!