Strawberries On Top (ch3)

As I said, originally chapters 3 and up didn't exist for this fic. But I planned out in advance what I wanted to happen later on in this AU, so I hope it works well for you and you can enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.

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								Chapter 3.

After Weiss and Ruby had cleaned up the shop and put things back in order, it was another half hour or so of sitting alone together and talking softly before Weiss' father had returned.

Upon seeing his daughter pressing an ice pack to her neck, he worriedly demanded to know what had happened. Weiss explained, and all the while Ruby put in little comments about how heroic Weiss had been in defending her.

Weiss' father was outraged at the rudeness of his customers, and frantic about Weiss' wellbeing, but she reassured him she didn't require medical attention. Leaving her temporarily in Ruby's care, he went back to his office and reviewed the security cameras from that night, where he got clear views of the perpetrators and what they had done to his daughter.

Blake, Sun, and their respective dates returned not long afterward, running into the shop from the rain to find the peculiar scene of only the two girls sitting at one of the tables together.

When Ruby and Weiss explained to them what had happened, the reactions were wildly different.

Sun and Neptune growled curses and outrage under their breaths, Blake fretfully looked the girls over and asked if they were alright, while Yang did a combination of those things. The blonde swore to "hunt down" whomever had done this, despite Weiss' reassurances that her father was handling things in a more professional manner.

Once Weiss had insisted she no longer required the ice pack, Blake had put it away for her. After that, they all engaged in a group hug of sorts before everyone had gone their separate ways.

The boys went back to their car together with Yang and Ruby in tow to drive them home. Ruby looked back over her shoulder to catch Weiss' eye one last time, her cheeks slightly flushed and a shy smile on her lips.

Weiss gave her a small nod, silent confirmation of their secret promise of "tomorrow".

Blake stayed with Weiss until her father emerged from his office, looking rather upset. Weiss stood and went to him, hugging him softly and reassuring him yet again that she was fine. He put an arm around her and kissed the top of her head.

"I saw what you did," he murmured. "I was very worried to see you do something that could have been so dangerous like that. But I'm also very proud of you."

"I'm sorry, Papa," she said. "I know I... should've called for help or something, but... they were harassing her and I couldn't wait that long."

"I understand. I'm just glad you're alright."

Once they parted, Blake helped Weiss slip out of her apron and hung it up for her. She, too, hugged Weiss gently before they parted at the door.

"Make sure you take tomorrow off if you're hurt or something," she cautioned.

"I'm fine," Weiss smiled. "But thank you for your concern."

Blake went out into the rain to her car, and after turning all the lights off and closing the shop, Weiss and her father did the same.

The drive home was a little high-strung with tension in the air, but the music playing on the radio served to ease both of their minds. Weiss was hardly thinking about the troublesome teenagers anymore anyway.

All that was on her mind now were the feeling Ruby's soft lips on her cheek, her coy little voice, and their promise of "tomorrow."

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Tomorrow indeed.

Weiss woke early, feeling a little sore, her side still aching from where she'd hit the table yesterday. But the headache had been the worst of it all, and that seemed to have faded.

She crawled out of bed and stumbled to her dresser, grabbing a fresh changed of clothes before heading out into the hallway, bound for the bathroom. Once she was ready, she went down to the kitchen to prepare herself a bagel.

Her father was already awake and eating at the table, and as soon as he returned her "good morning", he asked her how she was feeling.

"Like I said, Papa. I'm fine. I can go to work today."

After all, she had made a promise.

So he drove her in as per usual, and together they opened the shop, just minutes before Blake arrived. The first thing out of the dark-haired girl's mouth was - naturally - concern for her co-worker.

"How are you feeling?"

"Just fine," Weiss replied with a smile.

"That's a relief." Blake smiled and pulled her into another light embrace.

They put on their aprons and prepared for the day. It was sure to be a humid one after yesterday's rain, and it was a Sunday, which meant they were expecting an influx of customers.

The first group of people trickled in through the doors within the first hour of them being opened.

Weiss and Blake took orders in turn, grabbing cups and cones and spoons before carving out each desired amount of ice cream from the containers. They sprinkled on the desired toppings and went about the usual motions like clockwork, handing out orders and accepting the payments at the register.

But every time the bells rung and the doors opened, Weiss would look up with such sharpness that even Blake started to notice.

When they got a quiet moment alone, the dark-haired girl took Weiss' arm gently to get her attention.

"Weiss, are you sure you're alright?" she asked.

"Of course! What makes you ask?" She looked up into those concerned golden eyes with only confusion in her own.

Blake bit her lip for a second before going on.

"It's just... you seem... distracted, I guess."

"Distracted? Blake, I assure you, I'm perfectly focused on my work. I haven't missed an order yet!"

"I know," she said. "But it's not the work I'm worried about. Whenever we get new customers and the door opens, you get startled and look over your shoulder." Blake was silent for a moment, maintaining eye contact with the girl before lowering her voice a bit more. "You're worried about those guys coming back again to cause trouble, aren't you?" she guessed. "You don't have to be so on-edge about it. I don't think they'll come back, but even if they did, things would be different this time. I'm here, and your father's in his office. They won't hurt you again, Weiss."

All throughout Blake's small discourse, Weiss stared up at her, entirely puzzled.

Once silence ensued again, Weiss shook her head and put a hand up.

"Hold on now," she said. "First of all, I'm terribly flattered by your concern, Blake. I really am. In fact, I fear you're worrying yourself for nothing. Not a thought about those hooligans from yesterday has crossed my mind in hours, you know. I'm not worried about them one bit."

Blake blinked, clearly surprised, but now she was the one who was confused.

"Then why do you seem so..."

"Distracted?" Weiss repeated for her. She sighed a little, already knowing exactly what the reason was.

She knew she didn't have much of a choice in telling her co-worker; and with Blake's girlfriend being Ruby's sister, and Ruby herself being a regular at the shop, Blake was bound to find out sooner or later.

Weiss hesitated in telling her though, merely because she herself was bashful about doing so.

Sensing Weiss' timidness on whatever topic she had in mind, Blake reached out to pat the girl's arm gently, encouragingly.

With another deep breath, Weiss made her feelings known.

"I'm constantly looking to the door because... Well... it's because of Yang's sister. Ruby," she confessed at last.

Blake was still puzzled.

"Ruby? What about her? Are you worried about her? Did they hurt her, too?"

"No, no, no!" Weiss tutted. "Heavens, Blake, calm down before you put yourself in a tizzy and give yourself a scare!" Just to reassure that she hadn't meant to be harsh, Weiss reached up a hand and placed it over the one on her arm, rubbing Blake's knuckles softly. "It's nothing bad about Ruby... Quite the opposite, in fact..."

The way she trailed off, the way she failed to meet Blake's eyes, the way she inhaled a shaky little breath...

Now Blake understood.

She couldn't stop herself from letting out a small "oh" as her eyes went wide and sparked with clarity.

Weiss' cheeks were pink like the strawberry ice cream now as she mumbled.

"You... understand now?"

Blake nodded quickly.

"Yeah. Yeah, I get it, Weiss." She smiled. "I think that's really sweet. You two would make a perfect couple."

"D-Don't go saying things like that so suddenly!" Weiss cried, though not loud enough for the customers to hear. Flustered, she slipped away from Blake's touch and turned her back, muttering under her breath. "She's... really piqued my interest. That's all..."

It was no difficult feat to realize she was only kidding herself, and Blake knew as much as well. Blake was simply glad to know Weiss wasn't here at work now paranoid about people coming in to hurt her.

Blake reached out to the smaller girl, patting a soft hand on her back.

"Weiss, don't be so nervous about it. You'll be fine. Trust me."

Weiss put a hand to her face and sighed. Her heart had started to thump many minutes ago from thoughts of Ruby, and it wasn't slowing down now.

Luckily, Blake had means of calming her down and boosting her confidence.

"You know," she said. "In the few days you and Ruby have known each other, Yang's told me some things about her."

Curious, Weiss let her hand fall away from her face, and she turned back around, looking up at Blake past her bangs, interest in her blue eyes.

"What do you mean?"

Blake smiled.

"I mean, Yang's told me how Ruby's been acting when they leave the shop and go home together. She told me about the first day you were working and how Ruby mumbled 'the new girl is really cute.' She told me about all the days after that when Ruby would always remind Yang 'Weiss gave me an extra strawberry.' And last night, Yang texted me saying that Ruby had told her she was having trouble sleeping because she was thinking about you."

From the first little story to the last, Weiss had been blushing redder and redder all the while, until she looked not unlike the cherries in their toppings bar.

Blake managed to hold back a chuckle, though the smile remained clear on her face. Discussing Ruby's and Weiss' blossoming interest in each other had really been a hobby between Yang and herself over the past few weeks. So secretly, she was relieved and rooting for Weiss.

The smaller girl struggled to find words, and Blake thought it was cute how she tried to sound indifferent when she was blushing so hard.

"Well?" Weiss asked stiffly. "What do you mean she was 'thinking about me'? Elaborate."

Blake let out the little chuckle and went on.

"Well, Yang was texting me last night saying Ruby had come into her room. She was complaining that she couldn't sleep because she kept tossing and turning and thinking about you." Here, Blake's voice softened a little. "She said Ruby couldn't stop worrying about you because she kept remembering how those kids had hurt you. And also because of 'something else'. Yang and I were texting back and forth about you two for an hour."

Weiss whipped around instantly, refusing to show Blake her face any longer.

"W-Why you two..."

And yet, her chest was tingling warmly, touched at the supposed concern Ruby had been showing for her. And she'd been thinking about Weiss for a while as well...

"I-I'll be right back..."

Stammering as much, Weiss slipped away from Blake and hurried into the employee bathroom. She pulled off some paper towels from the dispenser and ran them under cool water before pressing them onto her heated cheeks. Weiss stayed like that for a moment, catching her breath and making an effort to slow her pulse.

"How maddening..." she muttered.

When she pulled the paper towel away, she gazed at her reflection, her face still as pink as the scar over her left eye. She sighed again.

"I should've asked for her number last night..."

Perhaps she'd manage it today.

Tossing the paper towel into the trash, Weiss sucked in a deep breath before returning to the counter.

Their next wave of customers came in at noon, and Blake kept watch of Weiss out of the corner of her eye. Now that she knew the girl was jumping at every ring of the bell due to excitement rather than fear, Blake was able to enjoy herself much more.

But Ruby and Yang didn't stop by during the midday rush, so all the while, she watched Weiss get progressively more jittery. Her hands would shake a little when she was pouring toppings onto the ice cream, and the smile she'd present to the customers was clearly forced, but still convincing to those who didn't know her as well as Blake did.

Weiss was just fetching a small mop to clean up a few nuts and sprinkles from the floor – the results of her most recent nervousness. That was when Blake felt a vibration in her pocket and pulled out her phone.

"Ah..."

Blake's voice alerted Weiss just as she'd finished cleaning. She went to her coworker and spoke levelly despite the butterflies in her stomach.

"What is it?"

Blake frowned.

"Ruby and Yang probably can't stop by today," she said. "Their parents ended up taking them to see family, so they probably won't be back before we close." She looked up, wincing at the look of utter dejection on Weiss' face.

"Oh..." she mumbled. "I see."

Blake chewed her lip again.

"But they'll stop by again tomorrow for sure, okay?"

Weiss nodded.

"Right." Her shoulders slumped, but she turned away. "Well, we've still got work to do. Can't be fretting over those two. Even though this was beyond her control, I can scold Ruby tomorrow for breaking her promise."

Blake smiled a little sadly when she realized Weiss was rambling to herself in order to verbally sort out her conflicting emotions.

Though she knew Weiss was probably hurting a little right now, Blake also knew for a fact that all of this would be resolved tomorrow happily. She hoped she'd be here at the time to see it.

Blake lingered for another hour, helping Weiss take care of the last of the lunch crowd. She insisted Weiss take a short break after that, and just as the white-haired girl had retreated to the back room, Sun walked in through the doors.

"Hey, Blake!" he said with a wave. "How's it goin'? Everything okay after yesterday?"

"Fine," she nodded. "But come here..." She briefed him on Weiss' situation and the fact that Ruby and Yang wouldn't be stopping by today. "Just... don't tease her about it, alright? Unless you want to make her cry and then you'll have to answer to Yang and myself."

"Alright, alright geez!" he whined. "I'm not gonna tease her, alright? Don't get your bow in a knot..."

She snorted, but said nothing more to him before removing her apron and clocking out.

Weiss emerged just in time to see her off, and Blake reassured her that everything would be fine.

And Weiss knew it would. She knew full-well that Ruby's inability to get here today was out of her control.

It was just the notion of breaking their 'promise' that got to her a bit.

Weiss had never made one before, not even with her own sister. This was her first, and she'd just wanted to see it through.

But it was out of her hands and Ruby's too.

So she greeted Sun with a smile before going back to the counter to tend to her customers.

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Ruby protested the second her parents informed her they were going to their cousins' house today.

After what had happened with Weiss yesterday evening, Ruby had been a mess all night long, even going so far as to stumble into Yang's room to confess her troubles, and end up cuddling in her big sister's bed until she fell asleep.

She'd been eager and hyper all morning to go to Schnee's Ice Cream again today to see Weiss, and Yang had even told her "Calm down! We'll get there!"

So for her parents to have unintentionally thwarted her plans... Ruby was a little upset.

Presently, she sat in the back seat of the car with her sister. She'd told her parents everything, but they'd only apologized and told her they needed to do this today.

Ruby was still pouting, her feet shuffling about and her hands fidgety and longing to be able to play her handheld game. She looked to Yang for the umpteenth time and sighed.

"It's just... I promised her, Yang. I promised Weiss I'd see her again today..."

The blonde cast a sympathetic look her way.

"I know you did, sis. But I told Blake everything and asked her to tell Weiss. I think she'll understand."

Ruby said nothing, merely sighed and sunk further back into her seat.

For the entire car ride, she wore a sour expression, and only traded it for an attempted smile when they arrived and greeted their family.

Ruby played with her younger cousins for a while, indulging herself in their video games and watching funny videos with them.

But all the while, she just felt guilty about Weiss. Her brain was constantly bringing her back to yesterday - to the kiss she'd given her, to how soft and smooth Weiss' cheek had felt.

And she kept thinking about those things Weiss had said, about how she probably would not having felt compelled to do such a bold thing for just any customer.

She'd made Ruby feel undoubtedly special, and Ruby hoped she'd successfully let Weiss know that she was special to her, too.

The hours passed, and Ruby continuously glanced at the clock, realizing each time that she had fewer and fewer chances of seeing Weiss today.

When it was time to leave, she said goodbye to her cousins, aunt, and uncle, and followed Yang and her parents back to the car. Ruby glanced at the clock again – 7:38PM. The ice cream shop would be preparing to close by now.

With a sigh, she closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the seat; she'd just have to make it up to Weiss tomorrow somehow.

Ruby dozed to the music playing on the radio, the slight motion of the car lulling her to relax a little.

When she felt Yang nudging her shoulder, she was confused, though; it felt like they'd gotten home much too quickly. Ruby rubbed her eyes and blinked them open, waiting until her bleary vision focused as she looked to her elder sister.

"Yang? We're home already?"

The blonde grinned and shook her head.

"Not quite..." She nodded to the window.

Ruby turned and looked behind herself, finding the car was just pulling into the parking lot of Schnee's Ice Cream. The large blue-and-white sign was still lit up, indicating they were still open.

Ruby straightened up instantly with a squeal, unbuckling her seatbelt as she threw herself forward to hug her father's shoulders around the seat.

"Thank you!" she cried, moving to kiss her mother's cheek. "Thank you, thank yooouu!"

"Of course dear," her mother said. "You made a promise, after all."

"Yeah!" Ruby beamed. "Yeah, I did! And I'm gonna keep it!" She made a move to open her door, but Yang grabbed her wrist with a nervous chuckle.

"Alright, but wait till the car stops movin', okay?"

It was only a few seconds longer, and the second they had stopped, Ruby burst out of the car and ran for the doors of the shop. The familiar little bells rung as the doors were pushed open, and Ruby looked around quickly to find the place vacant.

Except for one lonely girl cleaning tables.

"Weiss!"

The white-haired girl had been startled by the sudden sound of the doors, but the second she heard her name in that voice-

She looked up quickly, letting out a small gasp of surprise when she saw the girl dressed in red and black scurrying over to her.

"Ruby?"

Said girl didn't stop until she'd reached Weiss and hugged her tightly.

"Yeah!" she squealed, nuzzling into Weiss' shoulder.

"B-But I thought you wouldn't be able to make it today..."

Not that she was complaining.

Ruby giggled.

"But I did! I made it, Weiss! Just like I promised!"

Weiss had just managed to put down the roll of paper towels she'd been holding in order to softly return Ruby's tighter hug.

"You know," Weiss murmured. "I understand that you were busy. You didn't have to..."

"Of course I did!" Ruby said. "Because I made a promise!"

"Well, I'm very glad you could make it," the older girl murmured.

Weiss had felt the hug would be appropriate in being just a few seconds long, and she released Ruby shortly afterward.

But the brunette interpreted it differently. She remembered Weiss had gotten hurt a little yesterday, and quickly stepped back to let her go.

"I'm sorry!" she cried. "You're not hurt, are you? From yesterday, I mean? I know your head hurt a lot and probably your back too from when you hit the table and I probably just hurt it more and I'm sorry!"

"Calm down," Weiss soothed her. "I'm not hurt at all. In fact..." Her blue eyes flashed to the wall, painted with bright colors, before returning to Ruby's gaze. "In fact, it was rather nice... just now..."

It took Ruby a moment to realize what she meant, but the second it clicked, she blushed a little.

"Oh! Well then, to make it up to you for making you wait today, then..." She made a move to step close to Weiss once more, biting her bottom lip shyly.

But before they could come together again, the office door behind the counter opened.

Ruby jumped back and straightened up as Weiss' father emerged. She knew he ran the ice cream shop, but she didn't know how he'd feel about a customer hugging his daughter like that.

Weiss turned around as he stepped out, looking surprised to find Ruby here.

"Last customer of the day?" he asked curiously.

"Not quite," Weiss answered as he came around the counter to stand beside her. "Papa, I'm sure you know Ruby. She's a regular who always gets the unlimited toppings."

"Oh yes, of course!" he said with a grin. "I've served you many times myself, young lady."

"Yeah!" Ruby chirped with a smile. "I-I don't think I've ever gotten the chance to tell you sir, but your ice cream is the best ever in the whole wide world. And even if we had a billion other ice cream shops in town, I'd only ever come to yours!"

Weiss and her father both shared an amused look before laughing.

"A loyal customer through and through!" the man said.

"She's so precious..." Weiss mumbled to herself before raising her voice again. "But anyway, Papa. She's the one who helped me yesterday. If not for her, I would've had a nasty migraine all day today, I'm certain."

"I see..." Her father nodded, his countenance taking on slightly more serious features now. "So this was the young lady those people were harassing yesterday?"

"Yes," Weiss replied. "And she helped me afterward."

All the while as they spoke, Ruby stood stiffly, nervous for one reason or another. Weiss and her father exchanged a few more words in private before the man stepped forward.

"Ruby, is it?" he asked.

"Y-Yessir!" she said, giving a salute.

He laughed.

"Don't be so formal! Now then..." Reaching into his pocket, he extracted three small slips of paper. "Please accept these as a token of my appreciation for helping Weiss yesterday, and as apology for such an awful thing happening to you in my own shop. I'm appalled, but I hope you will accept these."

Ruby opened her hand, and he placed the small slips of paper into her palm. Curiously, Ruby's eyes went down to travel over the blue text on the papers, her silver eyes lighting up instantly.

They were coupons for 3 free ice cream servings at the shop.

Ruby's jaw dropped as she gasped out loud, her eyes going wide as she looked up to Weiss and then her father.

"R-Really?!" she gaped. "Y-You're giving these to me?"

"It's the very least I could do for all your trouble," the man said.

Ruby couldn't hold herself back.

"Eeeeeeek! Ohmygosh thank you thank you thank yoooouu, Mr. Schnee! This is the best day ever!" Unable to contain her excitement, she threw her arms around him zealously. Weiss watched as her father laughed again and patted Ruby's back.

"Well, I'm glad you like them," he said as the girl stepped back. "Now then, I've just got to wrap up a few things in the office, and then we'll be closing up shop. But if you can, Ruby, please wait here with Weiss until I return."

"Y-Yeah! Sure, of course!" Ruby saluted again, earning another chuckle from the man. He gave a small nod to Weiss before going back behind the counter and disappearing behind the office door.

Weiss turned her full attention back to Ruby, smiling a little.

"I've never seen him laugh so many times within the course of three minutes!"

"Ahaha~" Ruby scratched her head bashfully before carefully placing the coupons into her shirt pocket and zipping it up. Her heart was thumping quickly now as she tried to muster up the courage to say what was on her mind.

After all, her promise to Weiss yesterday had been... more than simply seeing her again today.

Weiss was just remembering similar things.

Yesterday, Ruby had kissed her cheek, but today...

"So, you're okay?" the younger girl asked. "Like, you don't really have a migraine right now, right?"

"Of course not," Weiss reassured her. "Just a bit sore on my side, but that's all."

"Okay... That's good if it's not too bad."

"It's not."

"Good!"

A short, slightly-awkward silence ensued, both girls unsure of themselves. Weiss chewed the inside of her cheek, fumbling for words.

"So..." she grunted, clearing her throat. "A-Actually... yesterday we said that... we'd-"

"Um!" Ruby cut her off quickly, pointedly. "You have a bit of a cut, I think..."

Weiss blinked.

"R-Really? Where might that be?"

Ruby took a step forward, extending a hand slowly. Weiss felt soft fingertips brush against her cheek, then a thumb at her lip. Ruby lowered her voice and murmured.

"Right here..."

Weiss was silent for a moment, her eyes flicking to silver and holding the gaze.

"Then... would you mind doing something about it?"

Ruby inhaled sharply.

"S-Sure... If that's okay?"

Weiss merely closed her eyes and gave a tiny nod.

But now that she was faced with actually doing this...

Ruby froze up. She couldn't bring herself to lean in those final few inches – she was far too flustered now. She'd never done this before-

Weiss could both hear and feel Ruby's dilemma, feeling her fingers shaking on her cheek, and hearing her short, clipped breaths. Cautiously, the white-haired girl opened her eyes, her lips curling upward a little bit.

"Ruby?" she hummed.

"Ah- y-yes? S-Sorry, I just-"

"Hush."

Weiss leaned forward and kissed her gently, her hands finding their way to the brunette's shoulder and cheek.

Weiss only maintained the contact for a brief instant before pulling back, smiling a little.

Ruby's face was priceless – delighted and utterly dumbfounded.

Weiss' smile grew as she stepped away, her hands falling back to her sides.

"That's how you do it," she said softly.

Ruby nodded dumbly.

"G-Got it..." she wheezed.

"You can try again tomorrow, alright?" Weiss checked.

Ruby only nodded again.

By this time, Weiss' father had reemerged from his office, and Weiss put away the cleaning supplies before ushering Ruby to the doors. She saw a car waiting in one of the spaces, assuming it was Ruby's family, and Weiss wished the girl goodbye.

"Until tomorrow," she said.

"Y-Yeah..."

After closing up shop, Weiss went to her father's car as he unlocked it for her, opening the passenger-side door and taking her seat.

But before Ruby could go to her family's car, Weiss noticed her father pausing her for a moment. He said something to Ruby that Weiss couldn't hear; all she could tell was that it made Ruby happy enough to hug her father again.

Ruby then dashed off to her own car, as Weiss' father came to his and got in beside his daughter.

"What was that about, Papa?" she wondered.

He started the car, smiling all the while.

"Oh, nothing."

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A/N: A bit of a slow chapter, but things will pick up a bit in the final two, I assure you~