Whoever said old books smell pleasant had lied, Ruby decided.

For the better part of the day, Blake and herself had been in a secluded corner of the library, doing some research for one of Doctor Oobleck's assignments… which included looking at books that were so old they made Jaune's weapon look brand new, comparatively speaking.

More pertinently, this was why they were going through books that smelled like really old noodles with untranslatable quotes from other books that were even older. In turn, Ruby was bored to tears, though that was a far cry from her girlfriend, as Ruby glanced at her. Blake was totally engrossed into a centuries old tome, glancing away every few minutes to jot down a note or two.

I still can't believe that we're dating! There were times when Ruby couldn't quite comprehend it; the fact that her girlfriend was the beautiful black-haired teen next to her. That her best friend was now hers, just as Ruby was now Blake's.

Perhaps the best part of it – well, one of the many great things – was that Ruby could watch Blake to her heart's content; a far more interesting thing to do than read musty old books about how much someone could get fined for killing a deer.

And there was so much to watch: from how her amber eyes darted across the page, with a slight twinkle in them. Or how her bow twitched from every small sound, like every time someone turned a page across, even if they were obscured by the tall shelves of books. Or, how the corners of her lips curled slightly up into a faint smile whenever she was reading. Even the way she'd occasionally reach for her cup of tea was endearing; a small sip that always made her lick her lips. Truly, a lot to watc-

"Ruby?" The girl in question jolted and smoothly looked back at her long forgotten book she was holding.

Act natural! "Uh… yeah, Blake?"

"You don't have to turn away… I don't mind."

"Oh." Crapbaskets, she caught me! How'd she know?! She never even looked up from her book! "O-Okay." A bright red blush heated Ruby's cheeks as she turned back to her girlfriend. This time, silver eyes were met with amber. The heat only grew warmer. "B-Blake?"

"Hm?"

"Y-You're staring…"

The smile lessened reluctantly. "Do you not want me to?"

"Nu-uh." Ruby shook her head slowly. "'s only fair…"

"Mhm."

Ruby was pretty sure that steam was about to come out of her ears under Blake's gaze, before doing the first thing that came to mind, namely to lean forward against Blake so they couldn't see each other. "Ruby?" Blake's voice had a tinge of amusement to it.

"…I want cuddles…"

Blake wordlessly pulled Ruby towards her, the small library chair straining slightly under the additional weight as the two tried to find a comfortable position before settling on Ruby sitting in her lap, her back pressed up against Blake's chest and, the faunus' arms wrapped around her. "Better?"

"Uh-huh." Ruby nodded contently as she basked in Blake's warmth. This was infinitely better than just watching her girlfriend. This was definitely the best part, Ruby decided, as her fingers intertwined with Blake's.

It was times like these that Ruby felt like a big teddy bear. Blake was wrapped around her, pulling her close, as if she was some kid scared of the dark, and holding onto her stuffed animal as tight as she could, afraid that she might let go. The difference, of course, was that Ruby – unlike a stuffed animal – held on just as tightly to the older teen as she was being held onto.

Wiggling slightly in her spot, Ruby nuzzled against Blake's neck, trying to find a slightly more comfortable way to be held while trying to figure out how they were going to finish the assignment wi-

A deep, content sound emanated from her girlfriend.

Wait did I just hear…?

The biggest, dopiest grin spread across Ruby's face as she heard it again. Ruby twisted around to look back up at Blake, "Did… did you just purr?"

The lack of any response as well as the growing redness in Blake's face as she looked away only confirmed it. Now this was definitely the best part. "You totally did!"

"…maybe…" Before Ruby could see if she could get her girlfriend to make the sound again, Blake reached towards the stack of books with a shaky hand. "W-we should get back to studyi-"

"Nope!" Ruby wasn't going to let Blake get away from this that easily, and immediately nuzzled her neck again, causing Blake to jolt…

…and her outstretched arm to knock over the half full tea cup all over the centuries old tome that was opened.

"…crapbaskets."

AU: Hey look, I did a cute! This is cute… I think? Yeah, probably

So I was hoping to release this chapter about two hours ago, which clearly didn't happen. But I finally got it done, so yay? Yeah, let's go with yay.

If you can't figure out, this is partly inspired by real life. Apparently the library near me has books you can check out that were printed in the 1800s, though I know I can check one from the 1790s. Which is freaking when you think about it. Also old pages smell like old Chinese… it's not a pleasant smell, that's for damn sure!

OH! ALSO WE GOT TO 1000 FOLLOWERS AND REVIEWS AFTER LAST CHAPTER! WOOHOO!

Acceptance just needs me to get a final edit or two (after spending more hours than I'd like to admit on a single paragraph… not writing it, but editing it) and I'll post in about 90 minutes to two hours.

That's… that's all I got for now, see you in a few hours for the next update!

For those who only read Dilation, I hope you have a wonderful day and thank you for reading! :D