The Girl At The Library (ch12)

EARLY RELEASE FOR HIGHER-PLEDGING PATRONS! THANK YOU SO MUCH!

Thanks for your patience as always! This is a very important time for Ruby and Blake!

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.

--------------

													Chapter 12. The Day After

After Ruby and Blake had stayed with one another for a while in the hospital room, the latter realized it might be best for her to call for her nurse soon and request a discharge.

She didn't want to stay there longer than she had to and end up wasting facilities and supplies that could've better benefitted other patients.

Therefore, once the elation of her kisses with Ruby had had the chance to sink in and curl warmly around her heart, she nuzzled the brunette softly and coaxed her back a little.

"Ruby..." she murmured. "Thank you for... for all of this. For everything. I never thought you'd-"

"I never thought you'd like me back!" Ruby squeaked. "I mean, you're just so pretty and cool and fun and you know so much about stories!"

"I could say the same about you," Blake chuckled.

It was strange now in knowing this hug and kiss would be their last, but it would only be for now. It was exciting to think about what might happen tomorrow when they saw each other at the library. Blake blushed at the thought.

/Will I be able to kiss her in front of everyone...?/

She was usually a rather private person, but the idea of letting the world know that she and Ruby Rose were romantically involved now actually sounded rather appealing. She wanted to brag a little.

Presently, they shared one more kiss, soft lips bumping together as their noses brushed. Ruby sighed a little, and it was probably the happiest sound ever, aside from Blake's ecstatic pulse.

"So..." Ruby mumbled. "Are you... are you sure you're gonna be okay, Blake?" Her eyes flashed with guilt once more.

But Blake quickly doused her fears with another kiss.

"I'll be fine. There's a certain ointment that will help cure the burns. It's nothing serious, Ruby. I promise I'll be just fine."

"Okay..."

"I'll text you as soon as I get home tonight."

That seemed to make her feel better.

"Okay! Yeah, I'd like if you did that. I wanna make sure you get home safe!" Ruby hugged her one last time, then slipped off the bed. "Oh! I almost forgot, but I managed to grab your bag before Yang drove me here." Ruby turned back to the chair she'd pulled towards the bed and slipped Blake's familiar brown handbag off the back. She placed it in Blake's lap with a smile. "Now you can finish reading and stuff!"

Blake returned the smile affectionately.

"Thank you, Ruby."

"Yeah, no problem!" She started for the door, but quickly turned back to Blake. "Um, s-so I'll... see you tomorrow, right? B-But I mean you shouldn't force yourself if you're still hurt and stuff! Even if you can't make it to the library I'll text you!"

"It's alright, Ruby." Blake straightened her back a little. "Nothing can keep me away from the library. I haven't missed a day in over three years. I'm not going to miss a day now."

When Ruby's smile widened, it revealed her toothy grin.

"Right! How could I forget? You're the famous girl who's been at the library longer than most of the workers!" she laughed. "Okay then, I'll see you tomorrow, Blake! Feel better soon!"

"Thank you." Blake raised her hand in a small wave, and Ruby shyly reflected it.

But as soon as she was out the door, Ruby was all too eager to go skipping and bounding down the hallway, squealing and twirling and dancing.

Blake had kissed her.

She'd kissed Blake.

They were-

"Ohmigoooosshh!" she squealed, spinning in a bouncy circle. "Ohmigosh ohmigosh ohmigooosh!"

"Whoa, slow down there, lil sis!" Yang's familiar voice sounded right behind her now, and a pair of arms thwarted Ruby's plans to dance around the entire hallway. Yang pulled her in for a hug, keeping her voice low. "Everything okay?"

Ruby wiggled around to face her sister, then threw her arms around Yang.

"Yaaang!" she cried softly. "Yang, she's fine! She's gonna be fine! They're just gonna give her some ointmenty stuff and she'll be all better!"

Weiss had been leaning back against the wall until now, but she'd clearly been roused from her reverie by Ruby's sudden appearance and energy.

"That's a relief," she murmured. "Hopefully the burns won't leave scars."

"Nope!" Ruby told her proudly. "They're not serious enough for that! She's gonna be 100% okay!"

Yang soon released Ruby from her hug, but not without a quick kiss to the head.

"That's great news! I'm so glad! And hey," she turned to Weiss and wrapped an arm around her shoulders to pull her close. "Ain't nothin' wrong with scars," she declared, pressing a light kiss to Weiss' left eye. Weiss smiled at the contact and murmured something into Yang's ear before kissing her cheek.

Once their little moment ended, Yang turned her lopsided grin back to her sister. "Sooo, what's got you all jumpy and happy, Rubes? Spill the beans."

In contrast to the request, Ruby clammed up almost instantly.

"Um w-well ya'see..." Ruby's tone turned quiet, and she kicked her shoe in a little circle as she found sudden interest in the tiled flooring. "Blake and I, we... we um... kinda... kissed...?"

She might've heard a pin drop in the ensuing silence. Both Yang's and Weiss' jaws dropped for a long moment, and Ruby bit her lip, her cheeks already gaining color.

Weiss was the first to recover.

"Really, now? I must say that's very-"

"Holy shit!"

Naturally, Yang's enthusiastic response cut of her girlfriend. She lunged forward and locked her arms around Ruby, picking her up off the ground and spinning her around three times.

"Oh my god! Ruby, you did it! You got the girl!" She nuzzled her sister's hair, then placed her back down. "Well, guess I shouldn't've expected anything less from the lil' sister of the master~"

Weiss rolled her eyes.

"Sorry, who's a 'master', now? Yang, you've only dated one person."

"Yup, and I'm still datin' her!"

"For now..." Weiss joked.

Ruby's face was overheating by now, and she wiggled away from Yang.

"Okay, okay! But don't tease me! And Yang, don't tell Mom and Dad! I'll do it myself, okay?"

"You got it, Rubes!" Yang gave her an affectionate slap on the back that sent her stumbling. "Ahh, just imagine; none of this ever woulda happened unless I'd been shouting 'pickles' at the top of my lungs that day."

"I'm sure it still would've happened," Weiss disagreed. "Only they would've met under much calmer, less-stressful circumstances, and therefore they might have been successful sooner."

"Aw, c'mon Weiss, lemme take credit for this, huh?"

"You'll do no such thing," Weiss chided. "All of the credit goes to Ruby. She's always done her best to support Blake and be her friend, and she discovered through her own power that Blake likes her, too." Weiss turned a smile upon the blushing brunette. "Congratulations, Ruby. I'm glad you can finally have the kind of relationship with her that you've been longing for."

Ruby covered her face with her hands and nodded.

"Th-Thanks, Weiss... um... can we just... maybe stop talking about it for now...? I'm still kinda-"

"Awww, my lil' sis is embarrassed~" Yang slung an arm around her and ruffled her hair. Ruby swiped at her and tried to paw her away.

"Yaaaang!"

As the sisters squabbled, Weiss took the liberty upon herself to hold their hands and lead them back to the lobby. She called her father so Ruby and Yang could be driven back home, as it was now getting dark outside.

For Blake, as she waited in her hospital room for her nurses to come, she read through the book Ruby had specially gotten for her. She still marked her pages with the same bookmark, the one of a black cat whose ears peeked above the pages. Ruby had complimented it a while back, and Blake always got a fuzzy feeling in her chest when looking at it.

Once a bit of time had passed, her parents came back into her room with a few nurses and a doctor. He prescribed Blake's ointment and instructed her on how often to use it and how much to use. After that, they removed her IV drip and let her go home.

Blake's parents were sure to support her as she walked, as her legs still ached from the burns on her thighs, but it was nothing too serious.

Once they arrived home, they ate supper together before heading off to their rooms. Blake showered with cool water, and once she was dry enough, she applied the ointment to her skin. The worst of the burns were on her collar where the tea had first made contact. She grimaced to look at the ugly red marks, but had to keep reminding herself they wouldn't be permanent, thanks to Ruby.

Once she'd finished, she slipped into her sleep clothes and quite literally collapsed onto her bed to curl up. But she remembered to reach for her phone and text Ruby to let her know she'd gotten home.

Ruby informed her that she was cozily in bed as well.

They promised to see one another again tomorrow.

And that was the first night they went to sleep after having kissed their crushes.

-----------

Blake's mother drove her to the library the next morning, simply so Blake wouldn't have to risk the soreness of walking.

Blake leaned over to kiss her mother before exiting the car and thanking her.

As soon as she stepped foot into the library, Blake wanted to hurry over to the stairs and go to the second floor. But in her hazy excitement to see Ruby again, she'd neglected to remember someone else.

"Blake!"

The familiar voice cried out her name the instant she walked in. Blake turned to see Velvet scrambling her way from behind the cafe's counter to hurry across the way. She was almost crying as she reached Blake, throwing her arms around her tightly.

"Blake, oh my goodness! Are you alright? What happened yesterday? Oh, I'm so glad you're here today, I was worried sick!"

Blake's ears drooped a little bit as a wave of guilt surged over her. In all her happiness yesterday while focusing on Ruby, she now realized she'd entirely forgotten to contact Velvet about her condition. She couldn't imagine the fear of seeing one of her friends get hurt and then not hearing from them for an entire night.

Blake returned Velvet's desperate hug lightly and apologized.

"I'm sorry, Velvet. A lot happened yesterday and I just... I didn't even think to message you. I thought someone would've told you."

"That might've been nice," Coco commented. She joined them after leaving the customers to Canela. Coco also seemed relieved to see Blake was well, but she lowered her sunglasses a bit in disapproval. "Poor Velvs was crying all evening. She didn't know how badly you were hurt."

Blake felt a pang go through her chest. How could she have been so stupid? Velvet had been her friend for years now.

"Velvet, I'm so sorry." She felt tears coming on, guilty to have neglected to tell her anything, but also grateful to have such a wonderful friend in the first place.

Velvet shook her head, her tall, soft ears, brushing against Blake's cheeks.

"No... don't apologize, Blake. It's alright. I'm just... I'm just so happy you're okay. I was so scared yesterday when that happened, I just- I didn't know what to do. You were crying so much... It was partially my fault. I should've been more careful with where I'd put the cup-"

"It wasn't anyone's fault," Blake cut her off gently. "It was just an accident, Velvet."

Coco nodded in agreement and put a hand on both of the Faunus girls' backs, pulling them into a brief embrace.

"It's alright now," she said. "Everyone's okay, so no one has to be crying anymore, okay?"

Velvet nodded.

"You're right. It's all over now." She squeezed Blake one last time before taking a step back, wiping her eyes. "Oh gosh, I'm just so relieved."

"Thank you," Blake murmured. "Both of you, and Canela and everyone else, too. It's nice to know there were people who worried about me."

"Of-"

"'Course we did!" Coco interrupted her girlfriend. "Blake, we love you like a sister, y'know that?" She pulled Blake in for a partial embrace, then lowered her voice a bit. "Just be sure to call if you ever need anything, 'kay? We'll be sure to do the same."

Blake nodded gratefully and returned Coco's hug.

"I will. Thanks, you guys. Really."

She dipped her head to them, promising to see them later at lunch time. Blake watched them head back to the cafe for their shifts. There was a relief and brightness about them both she knew hadn't been present until they'd seen her safe and sound. Blake sent out silent gratitude to them both before continuing on her way.

She spoke briefly to the woman with the deer ears behind the main desk, who was the head of the library. Blake assured her she was alright and was appalled at the notion of potentially pressing charges.

"Never," she said firmly. "And besides... what happened yesterday... actually led to some good things."

With that, she turned away with a smile and headed for the stairs.

As soon as she'd bested the top step, she didn't have to wait longer than a second before a familiar flash of red caught her eye.

"Blaaaake!" Ruby whizzed past her, grabbed her wrists, and then proceeded to twirl her around a few times before squeezing her into a tight hug. "Good morniiiing! I'm so happy to see yoooouu! How are you feeling? Oh-!" She quickly let go of her and stepped back fretfully. "S-Sorry! Do your burns still hurt?"

"It's alright," Blake smiled. "It's alright, Ruby." She opened her arms invitingly, and again Ruby threw herself forward into them.

"Ahhh I'm so glaaaad~"

Blake dipped her head and kissed the girl's cheek.

"Good morning," she returned. "Let's try to keep our voices down, right? Don't wanna end up like your sister screaming 'pickles'."

Ruby snorted.

"Yeah, definitely not."

After that, they conversed in softer tones.

"Did you sleep well last night?" Blake wondered.

"Yeah! Well, actually it was a little tough, just because..." Ruby paused to blush again. "Well... cuz I was thinking about you a lot. About what we said and did and stuff..."

Heat swirled in Blake's cheeks as well; she could relate.

"Yeah. It was the same for me... but it was kinda nice."

Ruby understood.

"Yeah! Cuz I just kept thinking about today and what I'd do when I saw you and..." She sighed happily, then blinked innocently up at Blake with those pretty silver eyes. "Blake? Can we... y'know...?"

Blake remembered her agenda for today as well, how she planned to boast her relationship to the world, something she never thought she'd be able to do for lack of confidence and, well, a relationship.

But Ruby had made her stronger in the smallest, most important of ways.

Blake had built up her self-esteem and her confidence since being with her, and she'd battle the nervousness with surety.

She nodded, ears twitching excitedly as she slipped her arms around Ruby's waist. Ruby looped her arms up around Blake's neck and moved close.

Though Blake was the one who had initiated the embrace, Ruby was the one who got the kiss underway. She giggled against Blake's lips before pressing in. Blake could taste a faint sugariness, probably from cereal, whereas Ruby could taste a bit of minty-ness from Blake's toothpaste.

Their kiss only lasted a few seconds before they each got too bashful and pulled away. Doing this in the privacy of a hospital room was one thing, but in a public place where one of them was technically supposed to be working...

"Yeesh," mumbled a familiar voice nearby. "Get a room, you two."

"Yang!" Weiss hissed, swatting her arm. As Ruby and Blake scrambled apart, blushing heavily, Weiss waved her hand dismissively at her own girlfriend. "Now, now, don't mind her. Please continue."

"U-Um, nah that's okay," Ruby mumbled. "Maybe later?" she asked.

Blake nodded instantly.

"Of course. How does lunch sound?"

Ruby gave a little bounce.

"Sounds perfect! Oooh, and lemme tell you!" Ruby caught herself getting loud again and quickly lowered her voice. "When I came in today, my boss said she was super proud of what I tried to do to help you yesterday, so she's giving me a promotion kinda thingy! I told her she didn't have to 'cuz like, I wanted to help you to make sure you were okay, not for a promotion, y'know?"

Blake nodded, encouraging her to go on. Ruby clapped her hands and did so.

"But she insisted 'cuz she said I've deserved it for a while now. So now I'm allowed to work both floors of the library and my lunch break is an hour and a half long now! So I'll have more time to spend with yooou!" She jumped up and down and hugged Blake again.

A small purr rose up in the Faunus girl's throat.

"That's wonderful, Ruby. I can't wait to have more time with you."

"Me, toooo! Oh, but I should probably get going now. Looks like someone jammed the printer again."

"Alright." Blake let her go, but not before pressing one more shy kiss to her cheek. "I'll see you soon, then."

"Yup! At 12! Not 12:30 anymore!"

"Right. I'll see you at 12."

Ruby nodded, then jumped up to give Blake's lips one last quick kiss before she scurried off.

Blake headed back down the stairs and sat in her chair, then pulled out her book and started counting the minutes.

-------------

A/N: After many hectic and heartbreaking events, everyone's lives have finally fallen back into a calming state. Things are looking up at last!