Bread And Citrus (ch6)

2-day early release for patrons!!

I can't tell you how many reviews I got about the text heart, you guys. It was supposed to be a caret followed by a three, but as I said in my note, this website doesn't accept carets/brackets, which was why I chose to us a C instead. Please read my notes, guys.

Anyway, hope you're liking this fic. We're halfway done now!

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.

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							Chapter 6.

Waking up the next morning was a little strange for Yang.

As had been the case for the past two weeks, the first thought on her mind the second she was conscious was about Weiss. The promise of seeing Weiss would be what always got her out of bed and encouraged her to dress halfway decently.

But today, it seemed even the weather was dreary about the fact that Weiss wouldn't be at the bakery.

It was a grey day, misty and drizzling, the air thick and muggy.

Ruby was making disgusted faces as she went about putting her clothes on. Yang didn't even bother putting in the usual effort for her outfit today – what was the point if she couldn't look good for Weiss?

She stuck to a baggy t-shirt and sweatpants today, tying her hair in a messy low ponytail in advance.

It was after she'd finished breakfast and had been packing her workout clothes that she considered a thought. Weiss' jacket had been washed and dried since last night, and she debated if it would be appropriate or not for her to wear it today.

She went into the family laundry room and pawed through the piles of clean clothes before extracting the blue jacket that was a little too small on her. She held it out in front of herself for a moment, debating her options in her mind.

In the end, despite the fact that she would've liked to breathe in Weiss' scent as she walked around town today, she decided against wearing the article for fear she'd somehow get it dirty or damaged.

Plus, if the boy at the bakery recognized the jacket on her instead of Weiss, it was very possible he could make an offhand comment to his boss.

Yang shuddered a bit.

She didn't know why she was so nervous about Mr. Schnee. From what she knew of him, he was a very kind man and Weiss loved him a lot.

For Yang, the nerves were more about having to explain her feelings towards Weiss than anything else.

Yang had never been the best with words; she was more of an action-taker. So using words to sort out her feelings wasn't exactly on her list of talents.

And yet... a certain memory from the previous evening surfaced in her mind just then.

Yang's hand went to her sore cheek as she remembered it: slumped at one of the little tables, she'd been partially awake when she'd heard soft footsteps approaching her. She'd been a second too late to move or open her eyes, and boy was she glad about that.

She'd known it was Weiss by the scent that had drifted around her, and by the familiar presence over her shoulder.

And Yang had... felt something.

On her cheek.

And she was pretty convinced that it had been a kiss.

She hadn't opened her eyes at the time, nor addressed it yesterday evening, but she'd thought about it for at least an hour as she'd laid in bed last night.

Her biggest dilemma was that she wasn't one hundred percent sure it had been real. It easily could've been a figment of her imagination, a dreamlike whisper of Weiss imposed by Yang's own desires and wishes.

She couldn't be sure if it had been real or not, and that was what was clawing away at her distressed heart this morning.

With a sigh, she presently folded Weiss' jacket neatly in her arms and carried it back to her room, placing it at the foot of her bed to ensure she would remember to take it with her tomorrow. She got the idea to text Weiss at present, wishing her good luck on her college exams.

The response was almost instantaneous, as though Weiss had already had her phone in her hand:

/Thank you. I feel much better now and I'll do my best. I'll text you after I've gotten home today if that's alright./

Yang grinned just reading her words; the times Weiss had offered to text Yang, and the times Yang herself had initiated a conversation with her, were about the same amount.

Knowing that Weiss was equally as interested in talking to her gave the blonde girl a bit of hope and confidence.

//Of course! I'll talk to you later!// Yang replied.

She discovered she was a fan of texting Weiss, mainly because she had a bit of time to think of what she wanted to say first, a luxury she didn't have much of during real life conversations when her heart was going a mile a minute.

Also with texting, there was no risk of stammering, and the worst she could do was send a typo.

So in a way, there wasn't a lot of pressure on her that morning, but there was also a lack of motivation to step out the front door.

As she left Ruby with Blake and began walking to kickboxing, there was that constant little reminder tugging at the back of her thoughts – the reminder that she wouldn't be seeing Weiss today.

Time always seemed to fly by when there was the promise of getting to hear her voice and see her smile.

But today dragged on almost painfully slowly.

She knew she shouldn't have, but during her kickboxing class, she continuously glanced at the clock, hoping the hour would be over already, hoping the entire day would be over already so tomorrow could be here and she could see Weiss again.

But every glance at the clock told her only a few minutes had passed.

She had to wonder why she was tormenting herself like this; if she would just be patient, she'd enjoy her lesson and the remainder of the day instead of rushing through it.

But it was difficult to be patient when she was crushing on Weiss this hard, and the need to hear her voice and see her pretty smile was overwhelming, almost a necessity for her survival.

Yang had a love-hate relationship with Thursdays now: it was her day to wind down and not get overly-excited about seeing Weiss, but it was also the only day she couldn't see Weiss.

When her kickboxing class had finally ended, it was still 1PM as it always was, even though it felt like it should've been 4PM with how long it had dragged on in her mind.

Yang changed clothes, not caring about how unkempt her hair looked or how wrinkled her clothes were. She freshened up, but didn't bother with the perfume; she had no one to try to impress today.

The weather was still lousy as she stepped outside and began her walk to the bakery. All the way there, she couldn't help but think of the possibility that maybe Weiss would be there.

But the reminder of their text messaging conversation this morning proved otherwise, and when Yang walked into the shop, it was the same boy from last week who greeted her.

She gave the usual grin and placed her order, and with no reason to linger, was out of the shop in minutes. Her granola bar had to suffice as her only snack as she walked down the street to meet up with Ruby and Blake.

They could both tell that Yang was a little disheartened without her favorite person to see, but they also found her pouting rather adorable.

Once they'd reached the street where they needed to part ways, Blake was sure to pat Yang's back for her.

"Don't be so glum," she soothed. "Weiss will be there again tomorrow, won't she?"

Yang puckered her lip pitifully for a moment before nodding.

"Yeah..."

"That's good," Blake went on. "Today's almost over, so just keep your chin up and look forward to seeing her again tomorrow. Don't show up looking like that."

"I know, I know." Yang rolled her eyes, but cracked a smile. "Thanks, Blake."

She hugged her friend for a moment, glad to know that Blake understood her downtrodden feelings today.

Before she left the sisters, Blake was sure to murmur to Ruby; "Try not to talk about Weiss too much tonight, okay? It'll only make her more depressed. But tomorrow morning, remind her she can see her again."

Ruby gave a salute and nodded.

"Right! Yes ma'am!"

She hugged Blake goodbye as well before scurrying off after her big sister.

Ruby did as Blake had said and didn't mention Weiss that evening as she ate dinner and enjoyed the cookies afterward.

For a few hours, Yang constantly checked her phone for messages, and every time she found there were none, her shoulders slumped a little bit more.

Did she forget? she wondered. Should I text her first? Or maybe she's tired and doesn't want to talk...?

Her deflation about a lack of response from Weiss only demonstrated just how much time Yang spent thinking about her.

The instant her cell phone vibrated around 6PM, just as she was cleaning dinner plates, a bright smile lit up Yang's face.

The message read:

/I'm home! The exams weren't so bad. I think I did well. How was your day?/

Yang hastily wiped her hands off on a towel before fumbling a reply:

//That's awesome! I'm glad you're done for today! And my day was alright, thanks~//

That was another thing about communicating through text: lying was pretty easy.

But even as she sent that message, Yang felt a bit guilty. She felt it was okay when she was the one lying to Weiss as not to worry her, but she realized she would never want Weiss to lie to her for the sake of preserving Yang's good mood.

It was at that very moment Yang decided she would never lie to Weiss again, and she quickly typed up another message:

//Actually tbh my day was a little crappy. Just because I kinda missed you...//

She looked it over and bit her lip. But before she could regret it, she closed her eyes and pressed SEND.

Then it was a waiting game for about a minute or so, and the blonde girl held her breath. When the reply came, she read over it anxiously. Weiss replied:

/I'm a little relieved you said that. Because if you'd been having a really good day today, it would've meant you weren't even a little sad about missing me like I was missing you. Today felt like it lasted an entire week. I can't wait to see you again tomorrow, Yang./

Once she'd read it, Yang swayed a bit and needed to lean against the counter for support, her heart already kicking into overdrive as she replied:

//Yeah! I missed you a LOT Weiss. I can't wait for tomorrow when I can see you again!//

Ruby walked into the kitchen with a cookie in her mouth to find her big sister grinning and giddy, leaning over the sink with her phone in her hands. It was easy to tell she was texting Weiss, and Ruby knew her sister wouldn't be able to concentrate on her chores any longer.

So she went over and gently pushed her big sister away from the sink, catching her gaze with a wink.

"I'll finish the dishes," she said, swallowing her cookie. "You just have fun texting her."

Yang was very surprised by her little sister's offer.

"What? You sure? I can still-"

"Noooo, no," Ruby hushed her. "You'll end up only half-washing them and then we'll have to do them all over again. So just text her all you want, 'kay?"

A swell of pride filled Yang's chest as she wrapped her little sister up in a tight, tight hug.

"You're the best wingman ever, Ruby!"

"Yeah, yeah..." The brunette hugged her sister back with a chuckle. "Now get outta here!" she said with an affectionate push to Yang's arm.

The blonde blew her a kiss before hurrying up to their bedroom. She changed out of her baggy clothes and into her pajamas before flopping down onto her bed, her full focus now on messaging Weiss.

They texted about the same things as they did every other night, starting with casual conversation and following whatever random tangents popped up along the way.

When Ruby came into the room and climbed up onto her top bunk bed, Yang took the hint that it was time to head to bed. She wished Weiss a good night and promised to see her tomorrow.

The little black heart was a regular symbol in their conversations now.

Yang got out of bed to brush her teeth, and when she came back into the bedroom, she wished Ruby sweet dreams.

After the lights were off, Yang picked up Weiss' blue jacket from the foot of her bed and held it to her chest for just a moment.

Then, with a content sigh, she laid down in bed, her mind once more considering the possibility that Weiss really had kissed her cheek yesterday evening. She still couldn't be sure, and Yang knew she might never know.

After being so anxious after only being away from Weiss for one day, and the fact that her mind had only been occupied with thoughts of her for just about every waking second, Yang knew she had to do something. To take action.

It was that night she realized that she was sure about her feelings for Weiss, surer than ever before.

It had only been around two weeks, but within that short amount of time, she'd been through a lot together with Weiss, bad and good, but every time it always ended with a smile, a hug, or a little black text heart.

It was enough to give her confidence in thinking Weiss might've felt the same.

As she lay in bed that night, she decided to make an effort to convey her feelings – tomorrow.

She spent a while just lying there and thinking about how she would go about it; she wasn't the best with words in real-time conversation, but this was something Yang didn't want to text to Weiss. She felt she should do it in person, face-to-face.

Just before sleep took her that night, she decided on a course of action.

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In contrast to yesterday's drizzly haze, Weiss woke Friday morning to more sunlight.

With the stress of her college exams over, she didn't have any assignments to worry about either, therefore she was keen on enjoying today to the fullest.

The promise of seeing Yang was of course a wonderful added bonus.

After getting dressed and eating breakfast, she went to her closet to get a small jacket to wear in the early-morning air. It was then she remembered Yang still had her favorite one, and the memories of two evenings ago came back to her.

She still couldn't believe she'd actually mustered up the courage to kiss the girl's cheek, and even just thinking about it now made her face heat up.

She decided against a jacket in the end, knowing she'd soon have the blue one Yang had borrowed to wear on the way home.

With her father already gone to work, Weiss ate breakfast, packed herself a lunch, and headed out.

She passed the flower shop and wished the old woman good morning before arriving at the bakery.

Weiss went through the clockwork routine of greeting her coworkers and putting on her apron before turning toward the door to prepare for the day.

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Yang's excitement was no secret today.

She bounced out of bed and hugged Weiss' jacket to her chest, nuzzling into it for a second before she remembered what she'd planned to do.

Today.

Today she was going to confess to Weiss.

And she knew exactly how she'd do it.

She didn't tell Ruby right away, but her little sister could clearly tell that something was up with Yang today. She deliberated her outfit for much longer than she usually did, and there seemed to be bubbles of sunlight and happiness popping off of her every second. Her excitement was contagious, and it didn't take Ruby long to inquire.

"Yang? What's gotten into you?"

Her sister had selected a dress to wear today, and Ruby had only seen her do that a handful of times within the past six months.

But this time, it wasn't for a special family gathering or an important dinner – it was because Yang wanted to wear it today.

The blonde was humming merrily, using her excitement to fend off the inevitable jitters and nerves that were building up with it all. She tilted her head back over her shoulder, her luscious hair falling down her back as she met her little sister's gaze.

"I'm gonna tell her!" she beamed.

Ruby blinked in surprise.

"Tell her? You mean-"

"Yeah, yeah just don't make me say it, 'kay? Ahaha..." She put a hand behind her head and chuckled nervously. "So um... wish me luck, yeah?"

"Of course!" Ruby threw her arms around her sister zealously. "Yang, this is so exciting! Good luck! Blake and I will wait for you so you can tell us how it went!"

"Yeah... got it..." Yang hugged her sister back, needing the support a little bit.

She folded Weiss' jacket into her gym bag and slung it over her shoulder before following Ruby downstairs and out the door. Ruby wished her luck again before scurrying over to Blake to share the news.

Yang had made sure to start walking before either of them could stop her or tease her.

The excitement exchanged itself for more nervousness with every step, but she had to clear her head as best she could for kickboxing, lest she suffer another hit to the face.

The bruise had faded from her cheek by now, and she was intent to go to Weiss today without purple blotches on her face.

Yesterday, kickboxing seemed to drag, but today, it went by a little too quickly for Yang. By the time she found herself back in the changing room, she felt she needed more time to prepare herself for what she planned to do.

She dressed slowly, ensuring she'd cleaned every drop of sweat off her arms, chest, and face before she applied the perfume. She adjusted her dress time and again, brushing through her hair to make it super soft.

She spent an extra fifteen minutes preparing herself that day before she finally slung her bag over her shoulder and headed out back the way she'd come.

She took her time in walking, not wanting to mess up her appearance or get sweaty again. Yang kept her head high and her chest puffed out, resolving herself to this.

She didn't exactly have a deadline for confessing, nor did she have any competition that she knew of. But she just wanted to do this now before she fell even deeper and harder for Weiss.

If she was going to be rejected, she'd rather have it happen sooner, not later.

Even at her slower pace, Yang felt as though she still needed more time once she reached the designated street. She reminded herself she needed to make a certain stop first, however.

As she headed for the bakery, she halted a few shops away at the little flower store. The old woman Yang had come to recognize came out to greet her, asking her what she could help Yang with.

The girl mulled her thoughts over a bit as she thought.

"I didn't really have anything specific in mind," she said. "I'm just gonna go with my gut!"

She ended up selecting just a single flower – nothing extravagant. She feared a lavish bouquet might pressure Weiss into giving the answer Yang wanted to hear, even if it wasn't how the other girl truly felt.

So she purchased a single white flower with a yellow center, and slipped the long stem into her bag. She concealed the petals and head of the flower with her arm before thanking the woman and taking off toward the bakery.

What Yang failed to realize was that she'd taken a bit long in getting there today.

. . .

Weiss' lunch break had already ended, and customers were beginning to file in for the afternoon crowd.

She had waited for Yang, expecting to hear her enter during Weiss' break time, but she'd never come.

Worried, Weiss longed to message her, but before she had the chance to pull out her phone, there were too many customers to attend to.

Yang had never been late before, so she was naturally getting a little concerned, but Weiss did her best not to let it distract her from work.

There was an excess of customers that afternoon, including a group of about thirty children who were stopping by for a birthday party. They each got whatever sweets they wanted and the parents paid for them, so Weiss was constantly swamped. She hurried around to grab every requested cookie and cake slice, packaging them up before handing them out and then rushing to the register.

All the while, she kept her eye on the door, but there was no sign of Yang.

I guess she's just not coming today... she assumed.

After that, Weiss stopped looking up at the door, with no hopes to see her favorite customer. She simply focused on the other patrons and her job, telling herself she would text Yang later that evening.

. . .

When Yang did finally enter, she found the shop crowded with people, more than she'd ever seen here at once before.

She realized her stalling had brought her here long after Weiss' break had ended, so now Yang wasn't able to have time alone with her.

When she slipped in through the crowds, Yang didn't call out for Weiss for fear she would distract her. Weiss didn't look for her, either.

Yang's shoulders slumped.

/I can't do it. Not like this.../

Her heart was in her throat as she weaved through the crowded shop, out of Weiss' sight. She paused by the moveable countertop on the side, behind the display cases. This was the spot she'd hugged Weiss just a few days ago...

Her heart thumped a little harder at the memories, but she didn't linger longer than she had to.

She pulled the blue jacket from her bag, re-folded it, and placed it on the counter where no other customers would see it.

Then, Yang placed the white and yellow flower on top, securing its stem in a fold of the clothing.

With one last longing look to Weiss, Yang bit her lip and pushed her way out of the shop.

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It was nearly two more hours before the influx of customers died down to the usual, steadier flow.

Weiss was exhausted and retreated back to her lunch bag to get a bottle of water.

It was then something caught her eye on the countertop. The blue color was familiar enough, and she rushed over to where her own jacket sat waiting for her.

"Oh..." Her voice was withering as it slipped out.

This meant Yang had been here. She'd been here and Weiss had missed her.

Instantly, she felt guilt clawing at her stomach as she picked up her jacket; it had been washed and dried.

Only then did she notice the white flower wrapped inside.

Weiss' heart jumped, and tears rushed to her eyes. She dug out her phone as quickly as possible and sent Yang a message:

/Yang! I'm so sorry I missed you today! I feel awful. Please, please come tomorrow. I need to see you. I'm sorry.../

She bit her lip as she awaited the response, trying to calm herself by breathing in the scent of the flower.

When Yang replied, Weiss read it over with anxious eyes:

//Hey, it's fine! Don't be upset. You were super busy. I understand. I'll be there tomorrow, okay?//

Weiss sighed in relief:

/Yes, please come tomorrow. I promise I'll see you no matter what./

The response made her smile:

//Alright! It's a promise! C3//

Weiss sent the little black heart back to her and closed her phone. She tucked the flower's stem into her ponytail and wore it like that for the rest of the afternoon.

When it came time to go home, she closed up shop and slipped into her jacket.

It smelled faintly of citrus.

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A/N: Ahh, a roadblock in their blossoming romance! Will they overcome it? Find out next week!

Ch7 preview: With no one else in sight of the shop, Yang stepped forward.

Unlike usual, Weiss wasn't sitting down and on her break just yet, but rather she was readily standing behind the counter and prepared to greet the next person who entered.

Who just so happened to be Yang.