"When I was younger, I saw my daddy cry
And curse at the wind
He broke his own heart and I watched
As he tried to reassemble it
And my momma swore
That she would never let herself forget
And that was the day that I promised
I'd never sing of love if it does not exist
But darling, you are the only exception
You are the only exception
You are the only exception
You are the only exception"
The Only Exception-Paramore
"How do you know?"
Yang Xiao Long leaned back against the rail, her fingers fiddling with the lighter in her hand. "You just do," she replies after a short pause. She turns to look at her friend. "You don't need a sign."
Weiss Schnee was unsatisfied with her answer, her mouth slowly twitching into a deformed state. "Of course you need a sign. It's a hard thing to realize, ya know." She glances downward at the wet, vacant sidewalks. "I mean one person, just one out of… 13 billion!"
Yang chuckled, "6 billion."
"Whatever," Weiss mumbled. "Same thing. There are so many people. There can't just be one."
"Why not?" She challenged her. She lightly punches her in the shoulder. "There's one of you, so can't there be one unique person for you as well?"
She sighs heavily, pondering her statement. "No," she concludes firmly.
Yang turns to her, observing her empty stare into the distance. "So you're saying you can be compatible with more than one?"
"Sure."
She nods slowly, and then leans in to give her a suspicious look. "So who's the person who melted the Ice Queen"
Weiss shoves her away immediately, hiding the smile on her face. "Shut up. No one. I'm just saying." She stretches her legs to rest along the stairs of the fire escape. "There can be none as well."
Yang scoffs. "Hypocrite. What happened to your '13-billion' theory?"
She narrows her eyes at her, and then turns away in embarrassment. "All I'm saying is that there can't be just one."
Yang absentmindedly presses her hand against the switch of her lighter, igniting a flame.
Weiss was too busy staring out at the dark evening sky to notice it. "Some people have more than one, some people have none," she mutters.
The rain flickers the flame. Yang frowns slightly. "That's why people abandon their families."
Weiss flinches at that sentence, a pang of guilt spreading throughout her body. "Sorry," she whispers.
Yang shakes her head and tosses the lighter back in her jean pocket. "Don't worry 'bout it,"
Weiss bites her lip, pulling her legs back to her chest and leaning her head in the pillow of her arms. For a while, everything is silent except for the occasional roll of thunder and the sound of falling rain.
Suddenly Yang stands up, and makes her way past her and down the stairs.
Weiss's eyes follow her closely until she finally stops and leans over a rail looking over the downtown area. She's in deep thought.
She pulls herself sluggishly to her knees and crawls over to the edge of the stairs before descending down them and resting on a lower step. "Yang?" she calls softly, afraid she'd interrupt her thinking, but more afraid of what she was thinking of. "Are you okay?"
She nods numbly, not turning around.
After a moment of hesitation, Weiss stands up and walks over to her. On her tiptoes she wraps her arms around her torso, letting her back support her head.
Eventually Yang encloses her hand over hers, and she turns around with a grin on her face.
Weiss smiles. "Better?"
"Yeah." Yang traces her fingers along her face. "You know, I think you're right."
She looks at her confusingly. "What do you mean?"
Yang gives her an amused look. "It's impossible to find one person on this planet that can be your soul mate."
Weiss nods quietly, turning out to look at the cityscape again. "There are just too many people. I mean, maybe, just maybe there really is someone out there perfect for you, but you'll just never find them because they live far away or you two just never meet. And sometimes you think it's 'the one' but you're mistaken and end up hurting them to be with someone else." She sighs. "It's too complicated. I just think it's impossible, or very very unlikely."
Yang laughs softly at her explanation. "Yeah, I know." She turns down to stare at her. "…But what if you really think you've found the one?"
Weiss was still hypnotized by the urban lights. "Then go for it, I guess. You won't know unless you try."
She hesitates. "What if they don't feel the same way about you?"
Weiss glances up at her, a teasing smile on her face. "Why? Do you have someone in particular in mind?"
"Yes."
Her eyes gleam in surprise. "You never told me! Who is it?" she demands eagerly.
"I'll tell you after," Yang says. "Answer me first: What if they don't feel the same way about you?"
Weis shrugs her shoulders simply. "You need to give them a sign, like I told you before. And then see if they respond."
"What kind of sign?"
"I dunno. Something that shows you want to be more than on friendly terms."
Suddenly, Yang leans in and kisses her. Leaning down slightly, her lips capture Weiss's in a small peck. "Like that?"
Even in the dark Yang could see a bright blush on her face. For a while Weiss was speechless, until a goofy smile appeared on her face. "That could certainly work."
The edge of Yang's mouth smirked. "And how would she respond to that?"
"D-Depends." Weiss looks down shyly. "She could kiss you back."
Yang tilts her chin up so she would face her. "Like how?"
Weiss's eyes are filled with nervousness. In a swift, abrupt second, she reaches up and pecks her softly. "Like that," she blurts and then runs back to her spot on the stairs.
Yang followed her slowly, and sat opposite to her on the same step.
Awkward minutes pass by.
Weiss raises her head slowly. "You know, forget it."
Yang glances over at her in confusion.
She recalls their earlier conversation. "If you happen to meet 'the one you'll just know. You don't need a sign."
Yang smirks. "Oh really?"
"Yeah," Weiss answers, avoiding her stare. "It can be tricky sometimes though." She laughs softly. "You can know the person for years and never be smart enough to realize they're the one you've been searching for."
Yang pauses briefly, returning her gaze to the streets below. "It's a good thing we're both smart then, hmm?"
She tries to contain a smile from slipping out. "Yeah."