Undisclosed Desires [Part 2]

       Ruby found that she couldn’t look Weiss in the eye as she paid for her usual order. After spending an embarrassing amount of time watching the two replicas kissing, which resulted in a night of rolling around in bed trying to get her friend out of her mind, Ruby’s mind had filled with an annoying amount of questions. Questions that, should she speak any of them, would destroy their friendship forever.
       Thankfully the little café was busy and Weiss was being her usual, no-nonsense self. As soon as the white-haired girl saw Ruby at the counter, she prepared a large, black coffee with two drops of espresso. Ruby paid and was shooed away for the next person in line without saying a word. It still struck Ruby as odd that Weiss went out of her way to acquire a part-time job. The white-haired girl was destined to take over her family’s company, and she wasn’t low on money. Ruby wondered if the job was just another way for Weiss to rebel against her overbearing father. It certainly wasn’t because she enjoyed interacting with the customers.
       Ruby looked at the diminishing flow of customers. It wouldn’t last forever, she thought as she sipped her drink. And that meant that Weiss would be free to come over and talk, just as she usually did. Ruby fidgeted in her chair and looked at the door. Images of the two sims kissing passed through her mind and made her blush. It would be smarter to leave while Weiss was distracted instead of trying to hide her guilty conscious. The door wasn’t that far. All she would have to do is get up and go. The last person was waiting for their order. Weiss was turned around. It would be the perfect time. Ruby tensed. She had nowhere else to go if she left the cafe, but anywhere was better than where she was.
       “Hi Ruby.”
       Ruby’s heart almost exploded from her chest. She looked over her shoulder and saw Yang standing there. She had a triumphant grin stretching from ear-to-ear.
       “Don’t sneak up on me like that; I thought you were Blake!” Ruby shouted. Some of the patrons looked over before returning to their own activities.
       Yang shrugged and pulled up a chair. “You looked like a deer in the headlights. I figured it’d calm you down a bit.”
       Ruby thought of pointing out how appearing out of nowhere and giving her a heart attack did not sound like a way to calm someone, but then she remembered how Yang taught her to swim. The lessons revolved around being pushed into the pool without warning and without a flotation device. Something in her beloved sister’s head was undoubtedly broken, Ruby thought and took another sip of coffee.
       “I thought I would be able to get through a shift without needing ear plugs,” Weiss said. Ruby felt a chill run down her spine. She had been blocked by her own sister and thrown to the metaphorical wolves. Why, Yang? Ruby wondered.
       “Oh Weiss, your day would suck if I wasn’t in it.” Yang reclined as best she could on the wooden chair.
       Weiss looked at the cappuccino in her hand. Ruby could tell that the heiress was weighing the pros and cons of throwing it at Yang. Calmer minds prevailed and Weiss placed the cup in front of the blonde. “I still don’t know how you two can drink this stuff all of the time. It isn’t good for you.”
       Ruby opened her mouth, but Yang cut her off. “Well, you know what they say. Even the cruelest drinks become ambrosia when offered by an angel.”
       Even though Weiss was no stranger to the strange things Yang said, a blush still found its way to her cheeks. Ruby bit her lip and tried not to stare, but her heart fluttered regardless. “Flattery won’t get you a discount.”
       “Bah,” Yang waved her free hand. “Works all the time on Jaune.”
       “That’s because he is a sponge for compliments,” Weiss said.
       “And I’m a sponge for discounted drinks. It’s a perfect relationship. Though I’d be willing to add one more, if she’s interested.” Yang rested her head on her hand and leaned across the table towards Weiss.
       The icy girl took a step back and crossed her arms. “I don’t think so.”
       “You’ll come around one of these days, Weissy baby. But I think someone’s got a customer she should be attending to instead of seducing impressionable blondes.”
       Weiss clenched her jaw and glared against Yang’s easy smile. She looked at Ruby, who sat straighter than usual. The ice in Weiss’s eyes melted for a moment. “That is why I prefer being with you,” she said before leaving the two sisters.
       The words wrapped around Ruby’s brain. Memories of her sims kissing came back in full force, but this time the Weiss sim leaned close and whispered, “I prefer being with you.” Ruby hid her heated face behind her coffee, but she could see Yang looking at her with a smirk.
       Ruby tried to ignore her sister by hiding behind the cup, but Yang wouldn’t stop staring. Knowing that she couldn’t put it off forever, Ruby asked around the rim of the cup, “What is it?” She hoped her voice didn’t sound like a squeak.
       “Nothing,” Yang sang. She took a sip of her own drink. Ruby pleaded for her heart to stop beating so rapidly, even though she had just chugged half of her coffee. She had just taken a sip when Yang asked, “What do you think of those pants Weiss is wearing?”
       Ruby almost spat back into her cup. “W-what? What are you talking about?”
       Yang’s grin didn’t change. She reached over the table and ruffled Ruby’s hair. “Aww, you’re just the cutest.”
       “Hey, don’t patronize me!” Ruby knocked away Yang’s hand and moved her chair farther away from her sister. “What’s gotten into you?”
       “I could ask you that too, but I think I already know the answer. Someone’s got a crush for the snow angel.” As Yang spoke, the air buzzed with the sound of coffee beans being ground. Ruby thanked her lucky stars that Weiss hadn’t been around. But then Yang kept talking. “Truth be told, I was gonna give her a go myself. But if you want to go first, be my guest.”
       Ruby felt her temper flare from the constant teasing. “What do you mean ‘first’? You think I can’t do it?”  
       “What can’t you do?” Weiss asked. All of the irritation left Ruby immediately and she sat as still as a stone. Weiss regarded the two sisters with her usual, judgmental glare. Yang looked ready to burst, but after seeing Ruby’s hesitation, decided to speak.
       “Ruby’s a little embarrassed about it, but she ne—”
       “Weiss, do you want to go out with me?” Ruby shouted, standing up and drawing the gaze of everyone in the café.
       The building was only silent for a second before the patrons resumed their discussions, but Ruby stood, face as red as her namesake, staring into Weiss’s eyes and waited for an answer. Weiss collapsed onto the closest chair and her eyes glazed over. Ruby blinked twice, nerves giving way to concern as Weiss didn’t move.
       “Oh my god, I think you broke her,” Yang said.

       The two sisters walked out of the café and made it across two blocks in absolute silence. Ruby kept her gaze down on her shoes. They were red and black sneakers that had seen better days. Dirt had turned the vibrant red shoelaces into some shade of maroon, and there were grass stains on the sides. But they were comfortable and dependable, so Ruby didn’t care that they were dirty. She wasn’t feeling clean herself, so they were a perfect match for the walk of shame she found herself on.
       “I didn’t think it was possible to make the princess have a full-blown meltdown. Bravo, little sister.” Yang clapped her hands together.
       “Shut up.”
       “I was just gonna say you needed help with math and would welcome some tutoring. A little bit of one-on-one time, y’know? I didn’t think you’d ask her out.”
       “Well what was I supposed to think when you spent the whole morning teasing me?”
       “I didn’t just tease you. I teased Weiss more.”
       “Whatever. She probably hates me now.”
       Yang put her hand on Ruby’s shoulder. “Oh come on. There’s no way she would ever hate you. I mean, she didn’t reject you.”
       “Because it’s hard to speak when you suddenly lose consciousness.”
       “Yeah, there is that.” Yang scratched her cheek and tried to chuckle.
       Ruby looked over Yang’s shoulder at a clock in one of the stores they passed. “You should probably get going. You don’t want to be late for work.”
       “Yeah. Fun times. What are you going to do?”
       Ruby shrugged. “I don’t know. Go home and read a book, probably.”
       Yang bit her lip. Ruby knew that her sister wanted to say something else about how everything was going to be okay, but the redhead didn’t care. She wanted to be alone.

       The true regrets, and the imminent consequences of her actions, fully hit Ruby once she got home. She wanted to lay down and die. She had single-handedly destroyed her friendship with Weiss. She had asked if her friend wanted to be in a relationship. A same-sex relationship. What had she been thinking? Of course, she hadn’t been thinking. That was the problem.
       Ruby made it to her room and closed the door before collapsing on the closest chair. Asking Weiss out had been a foolish notion from the start. A horrible moment of weakness that forced her to impulsively act upon feelings that she couldn’t be sure were there before. Ruby started up her computer and winced against the bright screen in the dark room. She wanted to hide from what she had done, but her eyes were drawn to the Sims icon as soon as the computer was ready.
       The thought of Weiss hit her again. All of the joy that the white-haired girl provided was gone. Just another memory, and there was no way anything would ever be okay. Ruby laid her head upon her arms and stared at her legs, tears staining her jeans a darker blue.