Bread And Citrus (ch5)

Glad you guys are liking the Freezerburn as much as I am!

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.

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							Chapter 5.

Despite Weiss' text message of reassurance, Yang couldn't help but feel a bit anxious for the remainder of the evening.

She wanted to text Weiss again to ensure she was doing well, and also simply because she enjoyed talking to the girl. But she restrained herself from doing as much, as she was certain Weiss was trying to rest as she'd promised.

Yang ended up tossing and turning in bed for an entire hour, unable to fall asleep. She just couldn't stop thinking about Weiss – which had been the case for the past two weeks – but this time, it was different.

Normally, she would think about her smile, her laugh, the way Weiss said her name.

But that night, Yang could only remember the way she'd nearly collapsed, how weak she'd been in Yang's arms, how badly she'd been shaking. Yang moaned into her pillow and bit the fabrics in frustration.

/But she's fine now! She said so herself!/

It took a lot of effort to force her thoughts away from such things, but Yang drove her mind toward other possibilities instead.

/Tomorrow... I'll make sure she's feeling better,/ Yang told herself.

She devised a small plan of sorts and made sure to keep her mind focused on that rather than the unsavory images of Weiss falling ill.

Yang fell asleep before long, her final saving grace being when she reminded herself Weiss had texted that little black heart right back to her.

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In the morning, she rolled out of bed as Ruby jumped down out of hers.

The two sisters went about their normal routine, though Ruby couldn't stop herself from worriedly wondering aloud how Weiss was doing.

"Not sure," Yang answered her honestly. "I don't wanna text her just yet in case she's still sleeping. I'll message her in a little while."

"Okay..." her sister whimpered. "Let me know, okay?"

Yang ruffled her hair lightly.

"Sure."

Sensing the degree of the warm sunlight peeking in through the windows now, Yang slipped herself into a crop top and a mini-skirt.

The sisters headed down for breakfast with their parents, and then were off.

Yang watched as Ruby headed off with Blake at her side, briefly wondering what it would be like to have someone walk with her as well. She realized she'd only ever started thinking about such things right after she'd met Weiss, and Yang knew she wouldn't have liked to have just anyone at her side.

She followed her usual path to the kickboxing building, and by that time it was almost noon. Feeling it was an appropriate time to message Weiss, Yang fished out her cell phone from her bag and composed a text:

//G'morning! How are you feeling?//

She stood in the doorway for a few seconds as she waited for a reply, until some other people trying to enter bumped into her. Yang apologized and quickly moved aside, scurrying into the locker room to begin changing.

That was a new development, too; whenever she was thinking about Weiss, she kind of lost herself.

She changed a little slower than usual, intent to wait for a responding text, but even after fifteen minutes there was nothing. Yang didn't know if she should feel guilty for potentially waking the girl up, or worried that she was so sick she was still sleeping.

Those were the only two possible scenarios in her mind at the time.

She was thinking about Weiss even more so than she usually was that day, enough to drag her focus in class away from the exercises.

Yang had partnered herself up with a boy named Neptune in class for sit-ups, leg-lift exercises and the other stretches that were normal for their routine.

She had a mock sparring match against him, throwing a few powerful punches and kicks at him, though they were never meant to make contact. The point of that particular exercise was to be mindful of your opponent and then be able to predict and dodge their movements.

When it came Yang's turn to evade, she spaced out with more thoughts of Weiss, and ended up with a foot in her face.

She was sent reeling down onto the mats, crashing hard enough to have the wind knocked out of her. Neptune hurriedly went to offer to help her up, spouting apologies all the while.

But Yang ignored his hand and pushed herself up.

"Nah, sorry! That was my fault! I wasn't payin' attention! Don't worry about it." She insisted she was fine and continued with the rest of the lesson.

When the hour was finally up, she stumbled back to the changing room, bound for the bathroom to wet some paper towels. She cleaned her face off and sat heavily down on one of the benches near her bag.

"Ow..." She put a hand to her sore cheek and rubbed gently. "Guess I deserved it, though. I needed a wake-up call. Gotta stop daydreaming or next time I'll get a broken nose."

Nursing her injured cheek with more wet paper towels, Yang sat there for several minutes as the other girls changed and conversed.

It was Pyrrha, her long-time training buddy, who came to Yang to check on her.

"Is your cheek still bothering you?" she fretted. "I can get you some ice. You should've said something sooner!"

"Nah, it's fine," Yang said. "See?" She gave a grin, not expecting it to hurt so much. She winced and Pyrrha frowned.

"Well, at least he didn't break your cheekbone or knock out a tooth. Just be sure to ice it when you get home, alright?"

"Will do!"

By then, Yang realized she still needed to change, so she stood and rummaged through her bag for her clothes. Her cell phone dropped out along with them, and Yang hastily reached out to catch it.

There was a small red bubble to indicate she had a message, and Yang quickly tapped the screen to view it. The instant she saw it was from Weiss, she forgot the pain in her face and smiled again.

The message read:

/Good morning! Sorry I took so long to reply. Father insisted I take the morning off today, so I was in the shower. I'm feeling much better though! I'll be at the bakery starting at noon. Hope to see you there!/

Yang's heart lifted as all soreness and exhaustion from today's kickboxing lesson dissipated within seconds. She typed back a reply quickly:

//Sorry I didn't reply either! I was at kickboxing! I'll see you soon!//

She sent it and closed her phone before peeling off her sweaty clothes and freshening up more swiftly than she normally did.

She wished her friends and instructors goodbye before hurrying out the doors.

Her crop top and skirt caught the breeze in a nice way, allowing her sticky skin to be caressed by a bit of cool. She didn't want to make herself sweaty all over again, so she didn't want to run, but the promise of seeing Weiss again had brought Yang to a power-walking pace within seconds.

It took her fifteen minutes to make the walk that had typically taken her almost thirty. Once there, Yang paused outside, spritzed on her perfume, put on a crooked smile, and stepped inside.

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Weiss had truly felt better when she'd woken that morning, although she had admittedly slept in quite a bit.

But her father ensured her not to worry and that she could just go in for half a day and leave it to her fill-in person to cover her morning shift.

So Weiss had focused on going slowly that morning, moving and walking and eating experimentally to figure out what still aggravated her. But the headaches were gone, the shaking had stopped, and she was able to eat in a healthy manner again.

She really owed it to Yang for convincing her to take some time off yesterday, or else there was no doubt in Weiss' mind that right now that she'd still be at only fifty percent, or quite possibly lower.

Her father had driven her to the bakery just to be safe in knowing Weiss wouldn't have to exert herself with walking when she was still recovering. He promised to pick her up at closing time as well, because it was supposed to start raining around that hour.

Once her father had dropped her off and driven to his own office several blocks away, Weiss realized just how badly she'd missed the shop. She hadn't been here for about twenty-four hours, and for a day when she didn't have her college classes, that was the longest she'd ever been away from the bakery.

She relieved her fill-in of his position as Weiss took up her rightful spot behind the counter.

She served a dozen or so customers with an eager smile and much more vibrancy than she'd been able to muster for the past several days.

But before an hour was up, the lunchtime rush had died down, and only the radio music accompanied her in the shop.

Weiss took her usual lunch break, enjoying the usual packed salad and even treating herself to a few candies her father had brought home a few days ago.

It was then Weiss felt her phone buzz and checked it to find a text from Yang, announcing she would be here soon. Weiss felt her heart flutter all over again, her toes curling delightedly inside her shoes.

She waited a few more minutes until she could hear the sound of someone walking in, and past the scents of bread and brownies was the pleasant smell of citrus.

Weiss stood instantly with a smile on her face. She didn't even bother with the usual greeting before she called out:

"Yang!"

The blonde perked up instantly, her grin widening until it hurt, but she didn't care. Weiss looked ten times better than she had yesterday, and just seeing that washed a wave of relief over Yang.

"Weiss!"

She wasn't really thinking when she scurried around to the side of the counter where the moveable top piece was located. Weiss' feet ended up carrying her to that spot as well.

Yang paused beneath the little step as Weiss moved the top of the counter out of the way. Standing on the elevated flooring, she was eye-level with Yang now.

Both paused just inches away from one another.

When they both realized their arms had been outstretched for a hug, both girls turned pink and took a step back.

"Glad you're feelin' better!" Yang mumbled sheepishly.

"I am. And it's thanks to you."

Weiss couldn't stop smiling at her, although her heart was starting to act up again.

An air of awkwardness floated between them.

Each wanted to hug the other, for many reasons, and for no real reason at all. But they didn't think it would be appropriate unless it was justified somehow, and neither could think of an excuse to allow it to happen.

Weiss could see the same conflicting emotions in Yang's lavender eyes as the blonde girl was seeing in her blue ones:

/I want to./

//Me, too.//

/Can we?/

//I don't know...//

Weiss' smile faded first, the uncertainties taking over all else in her mind as she fumbled for words.

"So... what can I get for-"

But she stopped when she caught sight of motion from Yang.

The taller girl – who appeared to be the same height as Weiss from this standpoint – opened her arms without words.

It was almost like she was saying: It's fine. No one has to know.

And Weiss silently agreed with her.

Her smile returned as she stepped up slowly, until the tips of her shoes were on the edge of that little step, just above Yang's ankles. Yang was waiting for her to move first, so Weiss closed the distance between them, wrapping her arms around the blonde girl's shoulders and squeezing gently.

It was then she felt the strong pair of arms cover her back and shoulders. Weiss could easily feel just how muscular Yang's arms were against the clothes over her own smaller back; it would've been easy for Yang to exert too much force and cause pain.

But she never did that, never even came close to it. Yang was very gently with her, especially in knowing she was still recovering from being sick.

Weiss found she fit so perfectly in her arms, and chest-to-chest like this, she could feel Yang breathing deeply. She was very warm, and Weiss knew that parting wouldn't come easily, so she savored the softness for as long as she could, trying to make that moment last for as long as possible.

She closed her eyes and breathed in the lemony smell, and judging by the way Yang was still holding onto her even after half a minute, the blonde was enjoying this too.

Both knew they could only keep this going for so long before it might become an issue if someone else were to walk in, but Yang made sure to at least make it last a full minute.

"I'm glad you're better," she repeated, simply to have something to say. "Did you sleep enough?"

"Plenty." Weiss finally pulled away, letting her arms fall back to her sides. "And what about you?"

"I slept pretty good, too!" Yang said. "Though for a while I was just thinking about y- I mean! I mean about that- that kitten again! That rolling kitten in the pet store haha! Yeah, I was wondering if he'd gotten adopted yet, but I fell asleep eventually!"

It was probably the sloppiest save of her life. Yang couldn't tell if Weiss believed her or had figured it out, but either way, the white-haired girl smiled.

"I'm sure he did," she mused. "Now then, I- Yang!" Her calm speech quickly rose into a gasp.

Yang jumped.

"Wh-What?"

"Your face!"

"Hey, I mean I know I'm not the hottest bacon strip on the stove, but-"

"No, you idiot!" Weiss snapped. "Not that! I mean you're hurt!"

Yang's eyes went wide as her little joke went unnoticed and two crystal-blue pools of worry stared back at her. With gentle fingers, Weiss reached out to brush them over Yang's bruised cheek.

"It's all purple. What happened?" Weiss demanded.

"Ahhh, that was from kickboxing this morning," Yang informed her. "My buddy nailed me in the face cause I was too busy thinkin' about-"

"Thinking about that kitten is going to get you killed!" Weiss huffed. "Did you put ice on it?"

"Huh? Uhh no, not yet-"

"Wait here."

With that, Weiss whipped around and hurried off.

Yang instantly missed the feather-light tickle of the girl's fingertips on her sore skin. She watched as the swaying white ponytail disappeared behind a small door. She emerged a few seconds later with a bundle of paper towels in her hand, strutting over to Yang and halting just in front of her.

"Hold still."

Weiss reached out and pressed the paper towels to the blonde girl's bruised cheek. Yang flinched when she realized there were ice cubes inside, and a sudden chill made her shiver. But the cold also numbed all the aches and soreness on her cheek, and she let out a long sigh.

Yang was a little surprised at Weiss' intensity about the matter, but her high level of concern also flattered Yang to no end.

Weiss padded the ice around slowly against her injured cheek for a moment longer.

"Does that feel better?"

"It's perfect~" Yang hummed. "Ahhh thanks, Weiss..."

"Hush. This is nothing compared to what you did for me yesterday."

"Aw shucks, don't worry about that. The important thing is that you're better now. Don't worry about-"

"Don't talk so much when I'm trying to heal your cheek!"

"Sorry, sorry~" Yang grinned and chuckled as Weiss continued to hold the ice to her cheek. It was beginning to melt a little bit, and was dripping down Yang's neck. Weiss wiped her own drenched hand on her apron. "Hold onto that until it melts," she ordered Yang. "If worse comes to worst, I can always hold your face onto the refrigerated display case, if you'd like."

"As tempting as that sounds, I think I'll stick to the ice, but thanks!"

They both chuckled a bit before stepping away.

Weiss put the moveable countertop back into place, and headed back toward the register.

Yang placed her order for a few loaves of bread and a baker's dozen of cookies, this time getting half chocolate-chip and half sugar cookies. She paid, and as per usual, and Weiss handed her a small treat on the house.

"It's just a small one today," she warned. "Don't aggravate your cheek by chewing too much."

"Sure thing," Yang agreed.

But she didn't head out the door like she usually did. Instead, she took a seat at one of the little tables. Weiss sent her a puzzled look.

"Are you not going home? Not that you aren't welcome to stay," she quickly added. "But you never have before."

"Yeah, just for a bit, if that's alright."

"Of course."

Honestly, Weiss was already enjoying the thought of having Yang stick around for a little while longer.

Yang put her food down on the small table and nibbled at her brownie while still holding the melting ice onto her cheek. She pulled out her phone and sent Ruby a text:

/I'm gonna stay at the bakery for a while longer today to make sure Weiss is alright, so you and Blake don't wait up for me!/

Ruby replied with an //Okie-doki! ; )// and Yang blushed at the emoji and quickly put her phone away.

She took small bites of the brownie as she tended to her sore cheek, but it was feeling loads better already.

That was the first time she really got to enjoy the shop – its music, its atmosphere, its detailed vintage wallpaper and doilies.

She chatted with Weiss for a while, just about casual things like her upcoming tests tomorrow and about business in the bakery.

When customers started filing in once more, Yang held her tongue and watched Weiss work her magic.

She was a very charismatic salesgirl, charming and efficient, and all of her customers were taken care of within minutes. Just from watching her, Yang could easily see just how dearly she loved this job.

It made her smile, and even long after the ice cubes had melted and Yang had wiped her face and neck with the damp paper towels, she stayed in her seat.

A few hours passed, and the tranquil scene was getting to her: the calming music, the warm scents of food, the hypnotic flow of people going in and out...

. . .

Weiss went about her work normally, occasionally stealing a glance at Yang to give her a smile, and when there was a quiet moment, she'd talk to her a bit.

It was only an hour before closing time when she looked over the counter and discovered that Yang had fallen asleep at her table, arms folded as a makeshift pillow as she rested her head sideways on them. Her bruised cheek was exposed, as Weiss imagined that putting pressure on it would only hurt.

But this way, she had a clear view of Yang's sleeping face.

Her shoulders rose and fell softly, and with every other breath a golden strand of long, loose hair would slip down her arm. When Weiss listened past the music, she could hear a little snore, and hid a giggle behind her palm.

A while later, the sun disappeared behind dark clouds, and Weiss recalled it was supposed to rain this evening. She grabbed her coat from the back of her chair behind the counter and hurried to the main door of the shop to close it, keeping out the rain and cold air.

She couldn't help but go to Yang then.

The other girl was sleeping directly in line of the draft, wearing a shirt that exposed her arms, collar, and stomach, and a mini skirt.

Weiss huffed. "You're going to catch a cold," she muttered.

Carefully, she removed her jacket and draped it around Yang's shoulders and back, covering her as best she could to shield her from the little chill coming in past the doorframe.

Yang didn't stir all the while as Weiss patted her hands over her back, spreading out the jacket to cover as much exposed skin as possible. When she was finished, Weiss paused, looking closely at the blonde's adorable sleeping face.

She didn't think when she leaned down and ever so gently pressed her lips to Yang's sore cheek.

"Rest well," she whispered.

Weiss retreated back to the counter and served the last of the customers who hurried in just as closing time rolled around. She sent off the last of them with some warm bread to enjoy once they got home and were out of the rain.

Weiss said goodbye to the bakers as they hurried for the door to their cars.

And then, Weiss found herself alone in the shop with a sleeping Yang.

She knew her father would be here soon to pick her up, but until then, Weiss busied herself with cleaning the tables and countertops.

At last, she removed her apron and hung it up before stepping back down onto the main floor, bound for Yang. Weiss enjoyed the girl's peaceful expression for a moment longer before she reached down to tap her shoulder.

"Yang?" she whispered. "Time to wake up."

For Yang, it was like being woken by the voice and touch of an angel. She blinked her eyes open sleepily, and found that Weiss' face was the first thing she saw.

"Weiss..." Her jaws parted in a loud yawn. "I'm... whoa, I'm still here? Crap, sorry-"

"It's quite alright," Weiss said. "I only woke you because it's closing time. But I'm worried." Her eyes flashed down to Yang's outfit, then back up to her eyes. "It's pouring out now. Do you have someone you could call to drive you home?"

Yang sat up, discovering the jacket that had been blanketing her shoulders. A glance at her phone told her it was nearly 7PM.

"Ahh, nah. I can run and be back home in five minutes."

"Are you sure? I can have my father drive you."

"No, no!" Yang blurted out. "I mean thanks, but you don't have'ta go through all the trouble." She'd been able to handle seeing him yesterday, but being in his fancy car with him driving and Weiss with her as well-

Yang didn't think she was ready.

Clearly, Weiss wasn't satisfied with her response, though.

"Then if you can't get a ride home, you have to take this with you." She patted the jacket on Yang's back.

"Huh? But it's yours-"

"No excuses," Weiss huffed. "If you insist on walking home in this rain, then you've got to at least wear something with a hood." Her disapproving tone soon changed to a softer one. "Just give it back to me on Friday, alright?"

Yang knew she would've been acting the same way if hers and Weiss' positions had been reversed, so she spared the girl the stress of worrying about her and accepted the offer.

"Alright," she said, getting to her feet. "Thank you, Weiss."

She slipped her arms into Weiss' jacket, finding it a bit small on her, but she managed to zipper it up nonetheless. It smelled like frost but wasn't cold at all.

She then gathered her box of cookies and secured the plastic bags with the bread in them to ensure they wouldn't get wet.

Weiss watched her all the while.

"I hope your cheek feels better," she murmured.

"It will! You took good care of it today!" Yang grinned, and it was still a little lopsided, but Weiss found it exceedingly sweet.

She very nearly lost herself and was fully intent to strain up onto her tiptoes to kiss that cheek again, but a beeping car horn from outside stopped her.

"Oh!" Weiss gasped. "Papa's here. I've got to go." She reached into her skirt pocket and extracted a key, ushering Yang toward the door. "Are you sure we can't give you a ride home? It's no trouble, really."

"It's fine, Weiss. Thanks, though," Yang said as she followed her to the door.

"Fine," she huffed. "Just text me when you're home, alright?"

"Sure, sure~ Oh, and good luck tomorrow on your exams in school! You'll do great!"

Weiss hadn't known how much she'd needed those words of encouragement until Yang spoke them.

"Thank you."

Before they could open the door, Weiss reached up to hug Yang one last time. The blonde slipped her free arm around the small of Weiss' back and squeezed lightly.

When they parted, Yang put her hand on the door.

"Get ready to make a run for it."

Weiss nodded and flicked off the lights in the bakery.

Together, they pushed out the door and were instantly met with a gust of wind and wetness. Weiss hurriedly locked the door before she rushed out to the street toward the waiting headlights of her father's car. She turned back to look at Yang just before getting inside.

"Don't forget to text me, Yang!" she called.

The blonde girl gave a wave and a nod, watching as Weiss got into the car before she herself headed off toward home. She pulled the hood up over her head as she jogged back.

Weiss' scent and the softness of her borrowed jacket made the trek home much more enjoyable, and even when Yang pushed in through the front door, she kept the jacket on for a while.

She informed her family where she'd been and sat down with them for dinner, then texted Weiss that she'd made it home.

It wasn't until Ruby asked about "that cute blue jacket" when Yang realized she'd yet to take it off. She merely said that a friend had lent it to her, an explanation her parents accepted, but Ruby knew there was much more to.

Thankfully, her little sister kept her mouth shut about Weiss.

After showering and changing into her pajamas, Yang put Weiss' jacket in the laundry and headed to bed.

When she checked her phone, there was a goodnight message and a little black heart waiting for her.

Yang returned the message and smiled as she curled up in bed, and her cheek didn't hurt at all.

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A/N: Next chapter, Yang needs to survive Thursday without seeing her dear crush!

Ch6 preview: 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.