In The Name Of Love (ch9)

2-DAY EARLY RELEASE FOR ALL MY PATRONS!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!

The term "a walk in the park" typically refers to something that should be simple. But with how Blake is with her crush on Ruby, will it really be that easy to convey how she feels?

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.

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													Chapter 9. A Walk In The Park

After Blake had gushed her heart out to Weiss, she could hardly keep herself from overheating at having revealed everything.

They were in Weiss' room, with Weiss at her desk chair and Blake on the couch covering her face. Weiss was silent for a moment before she started her congratulating.

"That's quite something, Blake. It sounds to me like you two are on the perfect path to becoming more-than-friends. Unless you already are."

"N-No way. There's no way... right?" Blake peeked out from between her fingers to see that Weiss was giving her a hopeless smile.

"Blake, that's a good thing, remember?"

"Oh... yeah."

Weiss got up and crossed the room to sit beside her friend for support.

"You know, now sounds like the perfect time for you to follow-up."

Blake lifted her face from her hands and blinked.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean... now seems like a good time to ask her out. Take her somewhere more than just a walk around the block. Like we did when we gave them the tour, only this time it'll just be the two of you."

"Wh-" Blake swallowed audibly. "You mean like... ask her out... on a date?"

"Yes, Blake. Have I not spelled it out for you already?"

"I don't know. I mean, I don't know if I can, or if she'd want to..."

"That's why you have to ask," Weiss sighed. "Blake, the worst she can do is say no."

"I mean... maybe..." She fell silent for a moment, feeling her heart doing backflips in her chest. When it became unbearable she shook herself off and tried to change the subject. Or at least redirect it. "What's gotten into you, suddenly? Telling me to ask Ruby out. What about you and Yang? Did you ask her out?"

At that, Weiss merely smiled and put a hand to her mouth. She looked down into her lap and started shuffling her feet.

"Well, actually... she asked me..."

Silence again.

It took Blake a second to comprehend the words, and then-

"What? She asked you out? You didn't tell me!"

"I just did!"

They swatted playfully at one another for a moment before calming down, each giggling softly. Blake inched closer, eagerly tapping Weiss' knee.

"So? Tell me what happened? What did she say? How did you reply?"

"One at a time," Weiss huffed. "She merely texted me asking if I would care to see a movie with her this Saturday. I told her I'd ask you what you thought, but she said she only wanted it to be the two of us. So... that is a date, isn't it?"

"Weiss! Of course it is!" Blake bumped their shoulders together before pulling her best friend into a hug. "That's so great. Though I am kind of worried for you. Just try not to trip every five seconds or babble about random things. I don't wanna get a text saying you need to be taken to the hospital for overheating-"

"All right, enough! You're brutal, you know that?"

"Sorry." Chuckling, Blake let Weiss go, and though her friend was clearly blushing there was a smile on her lips. "I'm happy for you, Weiss."

"Thank you. But enough redirecting the subject at me. You should ask Ruby if she would like to go on a date as well. Asking her face-to-face might be a bit much, so I'd say it's fine if you simply text her."

"...You think so?"

"If I didn't I wouldn't be saying it, Blake."

They talked for a little while longer, with Weiss giving advice to Blake about what she might say to Ruby in her messages.

They also discussed when Blake should ask Ruby. Weiss suggested after work on Thursday or Friday evening so she wouldn't have to be embarrassed about seeing Ruby in-person right after asking her out via text.

Blake settled for Friday night, willing to risk the short notice; she assumed that since Yang was going to be busy Saturday morning, Ruby might have nothing to do and therefore would be free to see Blake.

Naturally, with the prospect of potentially asking Ruby out soon in the back of her mind, the next few mornings at the café were a bit stressful for Blake. Whenever Ruby and Yang walked in she'd freeze as though it were the first time. And Weiss was also highly bashful in knowing she'd be going out with Yang in just a few more days.

But somehow they managed to make it through, stumbling through the usual casual conversations and preparing the sisters' drinks for them.

After their shift on Friday, Weiss and Blake walked back to their neighborhood and sat on the sidewalk bench. Blake pulled out her phone and took a deep breath.

"Easy now," Weiss advised. "Remember what we discussed. Just keep it simple."

"Got it."

Blake found her last text to Ruby and carefully swiped out a new message:

//Hi Ruby. It was so nice seeing you again today. I was just wondering if you were free tomorrow morning?//

She looked it over a dozen times, then asked Weiss to look it over before sending it. When it took Ruby longer than two seconds to reply, Blake began to panic.

"Weiss, this was stupid-"

"Nonsense! Blake, she's going to respond. Give her a moment."

And sure enough Blake's phone buzzed not long afterward. She bit her lip as she opened the message to view Ruby's response:

//Hi Blake! And yeah actually I am free tomorrow! Wanna hang out?//

The fact that Ruby had ended up asking to meet up threw Blake off a bit, as she'd been intending to do that. Ruby had done the difficult part for her.

"So now," Weiss coaxed. "All you have to do is say yes."

Blake nodded and carefully tapped each key in turn.

//Sure. I'd love to.//

Her phone nearly autocorrected the phrase to "I love you" and Blake yelped softly as she instantly deleted the suggestion. She made sure it read correctly before finally hitting SEND. Her heart was fluttering so hard she had to put a hand to her chest and exhale. Weiss patted her back.

"Good job, Blake. I'm proud of you."

Ruby texted back almost immediately afterward.

//Yaaay! Okay so what do you think you wanna do?//

That was Blake's next dilemma. She had no idea what they could do around Vale since it was fairly small. Going to the aquarium or zoo might be fun, but that seemed more like a date idea for people who were already dating.

Weiss suggested a simple day at the park.

"It's perfect," she explained. "Not suggestive or indicative of a relationship, plus there's plenty you can do. Have a picnic, walk around, sit by the lake, and so on."

Blake raised an eyebrow, mildly impressed.

"Wow. When did you become an expert on romance?"

"I've picked up a thing or two. Don't underestimate me, Blake."

"Sorry. Thanks though. I think the park sounds like a great idea."

She made the suggestion to Ruby via text and got an affirmative answer in response.

After that it was a matter of casually ending the conversation with well wishes and promises to see each other tomorrow morning at a designated time.

Blake had offered to go to Ruby's house to walk her to the park, so as soon as she got home that evening she took an extra-long shower and then laid out her clothes for tomorrow in advance. She was so jittery she found it difficult to eat dinner, and when her parents asked what had her so high-strung she simply told them she was going out to see a new friend tomorrow.

She spent the night curled up in bed on her phone, checking Ruby's social media and re-reading their conversation about tomorrow. She was far too excited to sleep right away, and even when she did close her eyes it didn't stay that way for long. She made sure to send a text to wish Weiss good luck tomorrow with Yang in case she forgot to do so in the morning, and Weiss sent the luck right back to her.

At last Blake managed to close her eyes and start to relax, imagining potential scenarios that might take place tomorrow on hers and Ruby's first date.

It would just be a matter of making those things a reality tomorrow.

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She was up at the break of dawn the next morning and couldn't go back to sleep no matter how much she might've wanted to.

But really, she didn't want to that badly. She was far too excited.

Blake kicked the blankets off herself, grabbed her clothes and hurried to the bathroom to freshen up and change. She was so excited she almost dropped everything she touched and almost skipped out on breakfast until a knowing, chiding text from Weiss persuaded her to nourish herself.

Blake ate, but by the time she was ready to go, it was still an hour before her intended meet time with Ruby.

So she went online again, got herself excited for tonight's new episode of Ninjas, and finished up by checking Ruby's social media once again. To Blake's surprise, she had a notification on her own account, which was fairly rare since she didn't post much. She clicked it and a message bubble opened up:

//Ruby Rose has followed you!//

And attached to that was a message from Ruby herself:

//Hey Blake! Now that I know it's you I wanted to follow you! Cuz that's what friends do!//

Blake felt her heart do another backflip as she basked in that moment. She pulled out her phone and slowly typed out a text to Ruby.

//Good morning. Just let me know when you're ready so I can come get you.//

She closed her laptop, wanting to focus on their date today more than anything. A moment later she received a text back.

//Morning Blake! I'm actually ready now! I was so excited I got up and got ready early! So you can come over whenever you're ready!//

After admitting that Blake herself had also gotten up early, she affirmed that she'd be over to pick Ruby up soon. Blake sent one more text of good luck to Weiss, wished her parents a nice Saturday, picked up her bag with pre-made picnic foods, took one last deep breath, and stepped out the door.

She didn't want to run to Ruby's, lest she make herself sweaty, but she was just so eager to begin their day together. She settled for a quickly-paced walk, scurrying across the street whenever she needed to cross. The weather was perfect and she couldn't have asked for a nicer day for this.

Blake reached Ruby's house and found that Yang's car wasn't in the driveway. She'd likely already gone to pick up Weiss for their movie.

In the back of her mind Blake wondered if she should've taken her old car and driven Ruby somewhere instead of having them walk around all day. But some part of herself told Blake that this was more Ruby's style anyway.

She sent Ruby a text first to let her know she was here before waiting outside the door like a stray puppy, too nervous to knock lest Ruby's father answer. She waited until the door opened inward and a bright beautiful smile blessed her like the rays of the sun.

"Morning, Blake!" With a jovial laugh, Ruby threw her arms around Blake in a hug that staggered her back a step. But as soon as Blake registered this was reality she returned the contact.

"G-Good morning-"

And that was when she noticed the red leash dangling from Ruby's arm.

A second later her ears were assaulted by a high-pitched yapping sound. The pudgy little dog she'd met a few days earlier came running out the door behind Ruby, circling hers and Blake's ankles and tangling them up in the leash. He jumped and barked and wiggled between Blake's boots, rolling around at her feet.

She was taken by surprise and nearly fell for various reasons, but thankfully Ruby was able to hold tight to her and grab the porch railing with her free hand.

"Z-Zwei! Chill out!"

Amazingly, the hyperactive dog stopped fidgeting long enough for Ruby to be able to untangle Blake and herself.

But Blake's heart was still jumping from the surprise of it all as Ruby got herself and the dog situated. Blake would've liked to stay in their embrace for a moment longer, and she glared down at the dog for that.

Once Ruby had finished up and gotten everything in order, she let out a helpless sigh.

"Sorry about him. When my dad heard I was going to the park today he told me to take Zwei with me. He's been so energetic lately. I hope you don't mind. You're not allergic or anything, are you? I'm sorry, I should've asked first!"

"N-No, it's all right. I'm not allergic. I'm just... not so great with dogs..."

"Oohh I'm sorry! I'll tell my dad he can't come with us!"

"N-No," Blake stopped Ruby with a hand on her shoulder. "It's all right. If he's your dog, then I want to get used to him. I'll need his approval..."

Ruby was silent for a moment as she looked up at Blake. Then the wide smile reappeared.

"Okay! If you're sure, then."

"I am."

She'd never particularly liked dogs, and they usually didn't like her either. But if she wanted to get closer to Ruby, she wanted to be comfortable with everything. Even her dog.

Once they were certain no one's ankles were tangled in Zwei's leash they set off for the park. Ruby walked closely beside Blake and kept Zwei on her other side. He trotted along and got distracted by everything else other than Blake now, which she was thankful for.

Blake kept a tight grip on the strap of her bag, trying to subtly let her free hand find Ruby's-

"So!" Ruby piped. "What kinda things do you wanna do today?"

"U-Uh, I mean I packed a lunch for us, but until then... we can just walk around, um..."

Now that she was saying it out loud, it sounded like a rather lackluster first date.

But Ruby didn't seem to mind.

"That sounds so nice!"

Her optimism rubbed off on Blake and gave her a bit of confidence about the rest of the day.

They sauntered side by side toward the park, conversation light and casual. When they needed to cross a street, Blake took hold of Ruby's hand without even realizing it, led her across, and simply didn't let go after that. Ruby didn't either.

They reached the park which was lush and green and flowery with summer scents and sights. Hand-in-hand they started off walking along the little dirt paths, passing by picnic tables and other couples and families enjoying their day.

Ruby was mumbling to herself about all the pretty flowers, and since she wasn't speaking directly to Blake it allowed her to start fretting.

/All right so what do I do from here? What do I talk about? What do I-/

"So Blake!"

"Y-Yes?"

"Are you excited for tonight's episode?"

Blake let out a small breath and smiled.

"Of course. We're getting to a big turning point in Briar's career. There's going to be a lot of character growth. Especially when she meets Thorn."

"Oh yeah! Gosh, that's such a great encounter! And then they start to work together trying to escape the Organization but like, still trying to act loyal and pretend to assassinate people they're supposed to and stuff."

Once again, talking about Ninjas was easiest for them both and took the pressure off. As they continued to walk, Zwei would pause and greet other dogs here and there but ultimately Blake forgot he was even with them. She kept pace with Ruby and kept ahold of her hand, just praying her own wasn't sweaty.

Blake didn't even realize it when their conversation started to stray from Ninjas and lean toward other things.

The transition happened so naturally, so smoothly, so comfortably. Ruby got to talking about how much she loved the outdoors, which made Blake so relieved they'd come to the park. She needed to thank Weiss later for the idea.

"I've always loved hiking and stuff!" Ruby was saying. "My whole family does! We'd go on big camping trips and stuff together when I was a kid. And even now we still do sometimes when Yang and me don't have to work. I just love being outside! What about you, Blake?"

"Me? I uh... well, I usually like quiet places inside. Like the library. But it can be nice outside, too. It's nice just to listen to nature sometimes."

"Yeah! Definitely!"

With this in mind, Blake steeled herself and offered to take Ruby hiking in the nearby forest trails. Ruby couldn't agree quickly enough.

It was a fairly level hike, not too much climbing. Zwei was having a blast, that was for sure.

But Ruby seemed the most excited of all. There was a beautiful sparkle in her eyes at getting to see and experience a new place. She was bursting with energy and excitement, and Blake did her best to keep up.

They saw a lot of squirrels and birds, but even the commonplace animals got Ruby so thrilled to watch.

Blake found a new appreciation for the everyday through her.

Only when she was getting parched and a little breathless did she request a short break. Ruby turned back to her with a gasp.

"Oh yeah yeah of course! I'm sorry I've been pulling you along like this. You gotta take a breather!"

Ruby led her over to a log bench made for the hikers on the trail and sat down next to Blake.

"Sorry," Blake said. "I'm not used to this kind of stuff yet."

"No, no, don't be sorry! I should've noticed."

"It's fine." Blake went through her bag and pulled out a bottle of water. "Do you need some? I have another bottle."

"Really? Then yes please!"

Blake handed Ruby a bottle and then let go of her hand for the first time all morning so she could drink. Ruby drank as much as she needed, then found a hollow spot in a tree stump to pour the rest of the water out for Zwei to lap at. She promised to slow things down a bit from here on out so as not to exhaust Blake further.

So once they were ready, Ruby took Blake's hand this time and they set off on the path again, admiring the view of the trees, alive with summer green and fresh sunlight.

They wandered the trails idly for a while, chatting and giggling at every little thing until at last the park was in sight again. The trees thinned as they stepped out of the forest and continued on another path down toward the lake.

The water was sparkling blue and swaying with reeds around the edges. People and dogs were running about having fun, adding to the joyful atmosphere.

Blake guided Ruby to a soft grassy hill where they could see the water clearly and invited her to sit. Blake began rummaging through her bag and pulled out the small containers of food. She'd made a few sandwiches the night before and packed little baggies of pretzels and cookies. Ruby squealed at the sight of the food.

"Blake, this looks soooo yummy!"

"I just hope it tastes as good."

Ruby took a bite of her sandwich and hummed.

"It does! Trust me!"

She gobbled up her sandwich with gusto, only saving a few pieces of meat to toss for Zwei. She then got started on the cookies and other treats.

Blake ate slowly, admiring Ruby more than the view of the park.

And for a moment she allowed herself to reflect.

It was so strange how they'd met one another, online, then in the café and at the grocery store. They'd once been total strangers, or at least very precariously walking the line of 'acquaintances'.

And now...

Now they were here.

When Ruby ran out of water, Blake immediately offered her own bottle. Neither minded the indirect kisses.

When they'd finished eating and Blake had packed the empty containers back up, Zwei waddled over to her and dropped a drool-covered sick at her side. She grimaced, but Ruby leaned over her and picked it up.

"Here, like this!"

She hurled it with all her might, let go of his leash, and Zwei took off running. Blake was impressed by his speed and vigor and could understand why Ruby's father had wanted her to take the dog here today.

She and Ruby played with Zwei for a while, tossing sticks back and forth. Blake found it wasn't so bad as long as she had a napkin to wipe her hand off on.

Once he was too exhausted to move, Zwei curled up next to Blake, a sign he approved of her company, as Ruby explained.

For an hour or so they simply laid in the grass together and relaxed, chatting quietly or not at all. Blake laid on her back and enjoyed the sounds of the world and Ruby's presence at her side.

It was early afternoon when they decided it was time to head back.

Ruby picked up Zwei and carried him in her arms while Blake walked beside her. They both wanted to get back home and clean themselves up a bit before tonight when they'd all go to Weiss' house together to watch the new episode of Ninjas, as they'd planned weeks ago.

So when Blake had to drop Ruby off at her house, she didn't feel sad that the day was over, because she'd be seeing her again in just a few hours.

Ruby pushed open the door and let Zwei waddle in before she turned back to Blake with a smile.

"Blake, I had soooo much fun today! And we're gonna have even more fun later this evening! I can't wait!"

"I had fun too. The most fun I can remember having in a long time," Blake admitted.

"I'm glad I wasn't the only one then! And Zwei had fun too!"

"That's good." Blake smiled, but found it a bit difficult to leave. She clutched the strap of her bag again and curled her toes within her boots. "So Yang should be back soon right? And you'll both be at Weiss' later?"

"Yup! I can't wait!"

"Me either." Another beat of silence, and Blake awkwardly turned away. "All right, I'll see you soon, then."

"Yeah! Bye, Blake!"

And Blake was just about to turn around and head down the porch steps when she felt a small tug on her wrist.

The next thing she knew, Ruby's soft lips were on her cheek, and Blake's whole world was frozen in place.

It only lasted for a second, and then Ruby let go as if it'd had never happened.

When Blake turned back to look for her, she'd disappeared behind the door.

Blake gripped the railing for support as her stomach churned in the most pleasant way possible.

She turned and ran down the steps and all the way back to her house, up to her room, threw herself onto her bed, and laughed like she'd never laughed before.

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A/N: Praise the poor nervous awkward baby, she did it! Well, Ruby did it, but Blake did her best and it paid off haha. One chapter to go!