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Chapter 8. Sharing Secrets

Ruby sighed as she hurried back to the stairs and left Blake for the moment.

It wouldn't be long before her lunch break came around and she'd get to see her again, but she was still worried about the Faunus girl. She'd never seen Blake in pain like that before, and it made Ruby's stomach flip just to think about it again.

I'll make sure to ask her if she's alright again later.

She returned to the second floor, her work domain, and after taking a few deep breaths to calm herself, got back into her work.

She patrolled the computer area at a respectable distance from the patrons, doing her best not to be intrusive if they seemed to be having trouble. Whenever someone had a question or started looking confused about something, Ruby would dart in and put on a smile to help.

Most often, people needed help with how to check out their books online or how to order a book this library didn't have from somewhere else. Ruby was a whiz at those things, and she was always eager to help people. She would also direct people to the correct sections of the library, be it upstairs or downstairs.

During the summertime, there were fewer projects that needed to be done for school, but there were always a few students who had summer homework or research to get done.

When she wasn't helping someone else, Ruby was rearranging disorganized books to the best of her abilities. She couldn't reach some of the higher shelves and she was scared of using the ladder, so for the books that were too far up, she left them for taller, braver employees.

If she'd successfully managed to complete all of those tasks, her job was to take the books from the Book Return bin and put them all back in their respective places. Then, it was back to patrolling again.

She'd gone through the cycle several times this morning before going down to see Blake, and now Ruby jumped back into it. She put on her biggest, most amiable smile for her patrons who asked her for assistance, and was quick to give instructions.

But now that she'd seen Blake, she couldn't stop worrying about what had happened to her.

She said she burnt her fingers. Probably on her tea. She wasn't seriously hurt, though.

She needed to keep reminding herself that much. Because whenever her mind pictured Blake hunched over in her chair in pain like that, Ruby felt sick.

She'd just finished helping a boy at his computer when she thought of it again and needed to walk back a few paces to clear her mind. She shook her head and patted her cheeks.

No, no! She's fine! I've gotta focus on work!

She was trying to be subtle about all of this, but as she should've know, there was nothing that ever slipped past a big sister undetected.

Yang was sitting at one of the study tables as usual, and Weiss was beside her with an open encyclopedia before each of them. Yang had seen her little sister acting a bit off since she'd come back upstairs, but right now Ruby seemed downright distracted.

Yang slowly closed the book in front of her, eyes focused on her sister where she stood a few yards away, looking distressed. As soon as Weiss saw her close the book, her girlfriend scolded her.

"Yang, we're not finished yet. We've still got to do-"

"Hey, sorry..." Yang mumbled to. "But can this wait a sec, Weiss? Please." She leaned over and kissed the girl's cheek softly in apology for interrupting their studies.

Weiss could instantly sense that Yang wasn't just being lazy or acting bored this time. She turned around and spotted Ruby muttering to herself. Weiss bit her lip and looked back to Yang.

"Oh, no. You don't think-?"

"I'm not sure yet," Yang whispered. "But from what I could gather, Ruby really liked that Blake girl. I feel if she got rejected, she'd be hiding in the bathroom right now, not up here trying to work. So I don't think that's what happened."

Still, her sister appeared to be very conflicted at the moment, and Yang wasn't about to waste another second. She got up from her seat and noticed Weiss was about to do the same. But Yang gently pushed her back down and gave her a reassuring wink.

"It's alright. I got this."

As much as Yang could tell Weiss was concerned about Ruby as well, the white-haired girl nodded and stayed put.

Yang left the table and walked over to her sister where she was still patting the sides of her face, mumbling to herself.

"It's fine, she's fine, dummy! Just do your work!" She didn't even notice that Yang was approaching her until she felt a tap on her back. Ruby straightened up quickly and put on a grin. "Yes! How may I help-" She stopped as soon as she realized who it was. "Oh... Yang, hi! What's up?"

"I should be asking you that, sis. Here, why don't you come sit for a sec, hm?"

"But Yang, I'm still-"

"You've done plenty of work already. Don't sweat it, Rubes."

Yang took her hand and guided Ruby over to the table where Weiss was waiting for them. The white-haired girl promptly stood and gave up her seat so Ruby may sit there instead, with Weiss and Yang on either side. Yang kept a hand on her little sister's back, not knowing if she'd need it or not, but unwilling to risk it.

"What's up?" she asked, keeping her voice down. "Something happen with Blake?"

Ruby stiffened as Yang hit the nail on the head right away. She nodded.

"Yeah... kinda..."

She didn't see the worried look Weiss shot over her head at Yang, but Ruby did feel them both shift a little closer to her. Yang's hand slid up to Ruby's shoulder and rubbed a little bit.

"Did she hurt your feelings or something?"

From what Yang had seen of Blake, she'd seemed like a very nice, respectful girl who liked Ruby too, and she found it hard to believe that might've been what happened.

Luckily, Ruby's reaction said quite enough about that theory.

"No!" she gasped, straightening up instantly. "Nothing like that! Blake doesn't have a mean bone in her body! She's like, the nicest person ever!"

Yang relaxed a little bit in hearing her say that. It would've been a major disappointment to both Ruby and herself if her little sister's crush ended up having a temper or something like that.

It was Weiss who smiled and addressed Ruby from her other side next.

"That's good," she said. "But is something the matter, Ruby? You don't look well."

Ruby felt heat rise to her cheeks and she quickly shook her head again.

"N-No! I'm fine, don't worry! It's just... well..." She lowered her tone to ensure only they could hear her as she went on. "I think I told you guys how Blake texted me that website last night. That really cool one with some of my favorite stories on it? Well, I'd wanted to thank her in person today as soon as I could, so once I'd finished helping people up here, I went down to find her and she..."

Forced to remember the image again, she fell silent.

Yang and Weiss drew closer, and the former prompted her gently.

"What is it, Ruby? You can tell us. If something happened-"

"L-Like I said, it wasn't anything bad! At least not for me, really. She'd just burnt herself on her tea from the cafe. But I hadn't known that and all I saw was her holding her chest like she was in pain a-and I just got really scared, Yang..." When Ruby lifted her face, there were tears in her eyes. "I-I just... I don't ever wanna see people hurt, especially not Blake..."

As her little sister revealed the truth of what had happened, Yang felt the tension in her own body melt away. It really hadn't been anything terrible, and Ruby was simply doing what she did best in worrying about the people she cared for.

Sighing, Yang moved over until her chair touched her sister's.

"Aw, Ruby... c'mere you." She opened her arms and pulled her sister in for a hug.

Ruby didn't refuse, throwing her arms around Yang's shoulders and whimpering into her shirt.

Yang caught Weiss' eye and smiled hopelessly. Her girlfriend sighed, and Yang knew she was thinking similar thoughts.

Ruby's such a good kid.

Weiss also moved closer to rest a hand on Ruby's shaking back and pat her gently, while Yang squeezed her tight.

"Hey, hey, it's okay, Ruby," she soothed. "Geez, you had me worried there for a while. I didn't know what to make of things. I can relate though, I think. That must've been scary for you to see her like that, huh? Reminds me of the time Weiss slipped and almost fell down the steps here..."

She shuddered to remember the incident, short-lived as it had been. Yang had only just barely managed to reach out and grab her wrist to pull her up to safety, and they'd both been shaken for a good while after that.

A flash in Weiss' eyes told Yang she'd remembered it too, and the blonde inclined her head. Weiss took the invitation and changed seats again, sitting down on Yang's other side and leaning into her. Yang put an arm around each girl and kissed both their heads, happy to have them both safe in her arms now.

"But it's okay now," she reminded all three of them. "Everything's fine. So don't worry, okay?"

Weiss sighed softly against her and Ruby nodded into her chest.

A moment later, her little sister pulled away and sniffled a bit.

"Yeah. You're right. It was scary at the time, but everyone's okay now! Thanks, Yang."

"Hey, don't worry about it. Any time you ever need anything, you just come find me, okay?" Ruby nodded, and Yang pulled her in for another forehead kiss. "Alright now," she said. "It's just about 12:30, so you should go take your break. Go see your friend, yeah? I'm sure she's dying to see you again, too."

Ruby stood up from her seat.

"Yeah, I will! I'm just gonna go wash my face off first. Thanks again, Yang!"

With one last hug, Ruby took off towards the bathrooms.

Yang watched her go with a smile, then shifted to pull Weiss in closer to her. Weiss could sense her girlfriend was still troubled by the memories of her close call on the stairs, and she nuzzled softly into the side of Yang's neck.

"Now don't forget to tell yourself what you just told her," she murmured. "I'm alright. I'm here right now."

Yang sighed and tightened her hold on the girl a bit.

"Yeah..."

"And besides," Weiss smiled. "Just think of that time as... the first time I fell for you...?"

"Oh my god-"

"You laughed just now, didn't you?"

"Weiss, that was so bad-"

"But you laughed. Admit it."

"Come here, you."

Feeling immensely better now thanks to Weiss' attempt at a joke, Yang pressed a kiss to her lips.

And even though they were technically still supposed to be doing work, Weiss found she didn't mind kissing back this time.

Meanwhile, Ruby hurried off to the nearest bathroom and slipped inside. She pulled out some paper towels and wetted them with warm water, then proceeded to washed off her face. She blew her nose a few times before throwing away her trash and quickly checking her reflection. Taking a deep breath, she put on her usual smile before she was ready to go and see Blake again.

Once she was finished, she made quick work of getting downstairs and eagerly turned the corner at the bottom.

Blake was there in her seat as always, and this time, she was reading peacefully. She looked so absorbed in her books, and Ruby giggled a little bit; Blake was so focused on reading that she hadn't realized the time.

Ruby tiptoed over to her, though she didn't intend to spook her. She waited until Blake noticed her presence and hastily closed her book, her ears standing up tall.

"Ruby!" The way her lips instantly lit up with a smile made Ruby's chest feel warm. "Is it already time? I didn't even notice. I'm sorry."

"It's okay! You didn't make me wait or anything! I just got here, silly!"

As Blake packed up her books and slipped her bag's strap onto her shoulder, Ruby walked up to her and paused a few feet away. Her gaze flashed down to Blake's right hand.

"How are your fingers? Do they still hurt?"

Blake shook her head right away.

"Not at all. They'll just be a bit red for a few days, that's all. But I'm really fine now." Ruby met her pretty golden eyes as Blake maintained her smile. "Again... thank you for worrying about me."

"Of course I'm gonna worry!" she exclaimed. "You're my friend, Blake!"

Ruby couldn't quite discern Blake's reaction to that comment. She seemed both happy and a little nervous, but there also seemed to be a bit of sadness in her eyes. Ruby didn't know how to react to that, but for the most part, Blake seemed content, so she decided to worry about the rest later.

"Come on," she grinned. "Let's go have lunch!"

She was glad when Blake nodded, picked up her tea cup and napkins with her left hand, and followed along.

Ruby led the way across the library, past the little couches and fireplace where people were reading or talking quietly.

The cafe was a little busy today at this hour, so the pair waited on line patiently.

Ruby had been kind of nervous the first few times she'd done this with Blake, and she'd been able to tell Blake had felt the same way. But now, they were both very relaxed and happy, and Ruby was glad for that.

Once it was their turn, they greeted the three girls working and placed their orders as usual, and Blake returned her used tea cup. While Canela took the cup back to the kitchen to clean it, Coco prepared Ruby's milkshake and Blake's new tea while Velvet grabbed the food and laid it all out on a tray.

Smiles and kind, casual words were exchanged between all of them. Ruby and Blake both paid, and were about to head off.

Ruby then noticed Blake was reaching for the napkins dispenser again, likely to wrap them around her tea cup so she wouldn't aggravate her hurt fingers anymore.

"Oh!" Ruby said. "Here, let me."

She plucked out a few napkins and picked up the warm cup for herself, then fitted it into an empty spot on her tray. Looking up at Blake, she gave another wide smile.

"I'll carry it for you today!"

Blake was shocked at the offer, but also very flattered and grateful. Ruby had done that in such a way that she'd not only been polite, but she hadn't publicly made a fuss about Blake's hurt fingers.

And Blake was very thankful for that.

So she followed her bubbly companion to their usual table where they took their respective seats across from one another. Ruby put her tray down and reached for Blake's tea, then placed it on the table for her.

"Here ya go!"

"Thank you..."

The napkins were still coating the outside of the cup, but Blake didn't touch it just yet, still a bit nervous after this morning's accident.

Ruby began on her muffin and quickly kicked up a conversation.

"So I read one of those old stories last night on the website you gave me~"

Blake perked up.

"Which one?"

"The one with the girl in the donkey skin!"

"Oh, right. That's one version of Cinderella."

And they went off on their usual tangents as always.

They chatted away without a care in the world for half an hour, getting really into their discussion at some points. Ruby needed to consciously remind herself to keep her voice down and not get too excited.

She'd just finished slurping her milkshake when she realized Blake had yet to touch her tea. Cautiously, Ruby cleared her throat and took on a lower tone of voice.

"Blake? Er..."

She didn't want to embarrass her friend or remind Blake of her fingers, so Ruby quickly improvised. She took her big chocolate-chip cookie and broke it in half, then offered Blake a piece.

"Here. Wanna try some?"

Blake was very surprised at that. She'd only known Ruby for a short while, but she'd quickly picked up on the girl's eating habits. She always saved the cookie for last, and that told Blake it was her favorite. She felt touched to be getting offered a piece of Ruby's most beloved treat.

"Oh, um..." She didn't want to be rude, and her ears flicked awkwardly. "Well... you don't have to give me such a big piece. I know it's your favorite." Blake accepted the cookie half from Ruby, only to break it in half again, then gave one of those back to her. "There. And thank you."

Ruby's heart swelled with joy.

"No problem! I hope you like it!" She bit into her part of the cookie and gobbled it up.

Blake nipped more timidly at her piece, then reached for her tea at last.

Ruby watched her closely, ready to reach out and help if Blake's fingers still hurt her.

But the napkin barrier around the cup and the handle seemed to do their job now that the liquid had had some time to cool, and Blake lifted it to her lips without incident.

But the Faunus girl hadn't missed the anxious look Ruby had been wearing on her face all the while. She didn't like to talk about her condition very much, but she felt Ruby had a right to know now.

Once she'd finished drinking, she placed the cup down and fidgeted a bit, clasping her hands in her lap. She looked up at Ruby who gave a small smile, and Blake reflected it.

"You could probably guess," she began. "But I'm not good with extreme heat or cold. I have a condition... my skin gets affected really easily. Things that wouldn't hurt most people burn or freeze me very easily."

Ruby listened quietly, subdued. She was shocked that Blake was opening up to her about something so personal, and judging by Blake's tone and expression, it was a very delicate topic for her. Ruby was attentive as she listened when Blake went on.

"It's a little rough sometimes," she confessed. "I need to be extra careful during the wintertime, which is why I like coming out here in warmer months the most. And tea is my favorite, so I need to be cautious with that, too."

Her shoulders slumped and ears drooped a little bit as she leaned back in her chair, and her gaze went down to her hands in her lap.

Ruby was silent for a moment, thinking through what she wanted to say by means of response. She took a deep breath and did her best.

"Thanks... for telling me such a private thing," she said. "It makes me really happy that you could trust me with it, Blake! I promise I'll keep it a secret. Cross my heart!"

Blake flushed a little and dipped her head.

"T-Thanks, Ruby..."

"Of course!" With a determined look in her eye, Ruby reached her hands out across the table, palms upturned. "I'll do everything I can to help you out, okay? You can call me anytime if you need me, Blake! For anything!"

Blake's heart took off once again as she heard that promise and saw that genuine smile. Slowly, she moved her hands up above the table and laid them in Ruby's.

"You... You, too," she murmured. "You can call me... anytime. For anything, Ruby. I'll always try my best to help you if you need it."

Ruby squeezed her hands gently, rubbing the pads of her fingers over Blake's injured ones. Blake almost flinched, but soon realized the contact didn't hurt at all. Ruby's hands were so soft, and very warm.

Blake couldn't remember the last time she'd purred, but the ticklish sensation boiled to life in her chest at that moment, and her ears relaxed.

Ruby wiggled in her seat, happy to see Blake so content.

Then, she stood, keeping Blake's hands in hers as she maneuvered herself around the table to stand beside her Faunus friend. She helped Blake to her feet, and together they brought back the tray and cup, and threw away their garbage.

Blake checked the clock and it was already 1:25. With a sigh, she wished Ruby goodbye for today.

"Have a good afternoon," she smiled. "And... thank you, Ruby. For listening to me about everything. It was nice to tell someone I know I can trust."

"Thank you for trusting me, Blake! And remember I'll always be there if you need me, okay?"

"I will. The same goes for you."

This time, Blake wasn't surprised at all when Ruby hugged her, and she actually hugged her back without hesitation.

She savored that moment, and something told her Ruby did as well.

Ruby could feel the happy little rumble in Blake's chest, and it made her giggle again.

When they finally parted, blushes coated both their faces, and smiles curled their lips. Ruby gave a shy little wave, and Blake returned the gesture.

Then, the brunette scurried away, feeling as gleeful as ever, her chest still tingling from that warm purr.

A/N: Things are looking up for our awkward little duo! Blake told Ruby about her condition and every little bit is progress!

If you like my work and would like access to chapters earlier than anyone else, please support me on P-a-t-r-e-o-n as Kiria Alice!

Please review!