Author's Note: Volume 3 never happened. It's a figment of your imagination. In the words of Nora Valkyrie, "Nope! Never happened! NOPE! Everything's fine! Nothing bad ever happened! EVER…Now, let's get this story started! I hope you enjoy!
RWBY and all the characters within are the intellectual property of Rooster Teeth Productions, Miles Luna, Kerry Shawcross, Gray Haddock and the late Monty Oum. I am not being compensated in any way for this story and wrote it merely for entertainment purposes.
It was another pleasant day at Beacon Academy and afternoon classes had just concluded. Velvet Scarlatina was wandering along the school grounds by herself, hoping to avoid any sort of conflict with anyone. It had been a few weeks since she'd had a run-in with any bullies but she knew better than to get too comfortable about it. Just because students prejudiced against Faunus like herself weren't openly antagonizing her didn't mean they weren't still there, waiting for a chance to strike.
As she strolled, Velvet came across the young first-year prodigy, Ruby Rose, sitting under a tree and studying. Velvet had taken a liking to the younger girl after Ruby had stood up for Velvet on a few occasions when she'd caught Velvet being hassled. It didn't matter that she was three years younger than Velvet or several inches shorter than her tormentors, once she produced that scythe of hers, they left Velvet alone immediately. Her bravery plus her infections happiness led to Velvet holding a deep admiration for Ruby and they'd developed a close friendship.
Ruby was so engrossed with her book that she hadn't noticed Velvet nearby and Velvet's instincts as a photographer kicked in. She had a great shot on hand with how the light was and how Ruby looked. Quickly, Velvet pulled out her camera and lined up the shot, making sure she got the framing as perfect as possible. When she was satisfied, she pushed the shutter and took the picture. She briefly stole a glance at Ruby to make sure she hadn't seen but Ruby simply yawned and stretched. Velvet then glanced down at her screen to see the picture and was shocked by how good it was. She was always her worst critic when it came to her photos no matter how many times her friends reassured her that she was good. But she could tell that she'd struck gold with this one. Everything for it was absolutely perfect.
Velvet quickly saved the photo and feeling a rush of confidence, raised her camera again to snap another. This time, she wanted to focus more on Ruby instead of the scene as a whole. She slowly crept closer to the studying girl as her heart began hammering in her chest. She tried to keep herself calm and steady as she focused on Ruby's face as she chewed on her lower lip in concentration. Velvet snapped the photo but this time Ruby heard the shutter and she glanced up to see Velvet pointing her camera at her with her knees trembling. Velvet instantly began to panic and thought about fleeing but she was frozen in place. After a moment of confusion, Ruby broke into a smile and waved.
"Hi Velvet!" Ruby called. "Whatcha doing?"
"I'm so sorry, Ruby," said Velvet frantically as she fumbled around trying to put her camera away. "I just saw you there and I couldn't resist and I'm sorry for bothering you. Please don't be mad!"
"Whoa, Velvet, calm down," replied Ruby as reassuringly as she could so the older girl wouldn't be startled any further. "It's alright, I don't mind getting my picture taken. Why don't you come over here and sit down?" Ruby gestured to the grass beside her and after some hesitation, Velvet obliged and walked over to the tree Ruby was under. She sat down and tried to hide how red her face still was from getting caught. But Ruby simply grinned wider at her.
"I was just passing by and I saw you and the shot was too good to pass up," explained Velvet. "Are you sure you're not mad?"
"Of course I'm sure," said Ruby as she placed her hand on Velvet's shoulder. "You're my friend and if you want to take pictures of me, you're more than welcome to. Hey, could I maybe see it? Please?"
"Um, very well, if you wish," mumbled Velvet as she pulled her camera back out. Now she was really nervous because what if Ruby didn't like them? Velvet had thought she'd gotten a couple really good shots but if Ruby hated them, it would be shattering to Velvet's confidence. She turned the camera on and brought the photos she'd taken onto the display. Ruby's eyes went wide when she saw the first one and spent a few moments flipping back and forth between the shots.
"Wow, these are really incredible Velvet," Ruby breathed in amazement. "You actually got me to look somewhat decent. You really are magic."
"Oh hush," the mage said, "you are absolutely lovely. But thank you, it really means a lot that you like them."
"You bet." Suddenly, Ruby's eyes lit up as she got another one of her famous brilliant ideas. "Hey, are you doing anything right now? Do you wanna maybe stay and take some more together?"
"Are you sure?" Velvet asked nervously. "What about your homework? I don't want to interrupt you any further."
"Psh, it'll be fine," Ruby replied dismissively. "My team's having a big study date tomorrow in the library anyway so I can just finish it then. Besides, I need Weiss's help on a few parts anyway. Come on, it'll be fun!"
"Well, okay. It does sound like fun. And I always do enjoy getting to see you."
"Perfect!" cheered Ruby as she pumped her fists and made Velvet wish she had her camera ready right then to capture her celebration. "Let me just pack my stuff up and we can start!" Ruby then haphazardly jammed all her books and notes into her bag before laying down on the grass in a pose that Velvet could only assume was supposed to be sultry but just looked ridiculous to Velvet. "I'm ready for my closeup, Ms. Scarlatina," purred Ruby. Velvet giggled at Ruby's antics but obliged her request and took the picture.
The two spent the next hour taking pictures, joking around and catching up on their lives. Ruby had a ton of fun climbing all over the tree and hanging off the branches while Velvet photographed her. She had even managed to convince Velvet to let her take some pictures of the Faunus. Even though she vastly preferred being on the other side of the camera, Velvet couldn't say no to the pout that Ruby gave her. So Ruby snapped some shots of Velvet and some selfies of the two of them together. But as they played, some ominous looking clouds began to roll in. As Velvet fiddled with the settings on her camera to try and compensate for the changing light, Ruby snuck up behind her and began tickling Velvet's sides.
"Sneak attack!" Ruby shouted.
"AWK! Ruby, wait, hold on! My camera! Don't make me drop it," cried Velvet as she tried to squirm away from Ruby while keeping a secure hold on her camera. Ruby relented on her attack and stepped away guiltily.
"I'm really super sorry, Velvet," said Ruby aa she stared at the ground in shame. "I should have known better. Of course you could have dropped it and broken it and it would have been all my fault. And then you'd have been mad and not wanted to be friends and Weiss is right about what a clumsy dunce I am and—"
"It's fine, Ruby, really," interjected Velvet to break up Ruby's pity party. "Everything's fine now so it's all good, okay? I'm fine and so is my camera and we're still friends." Velvet carefully placed her camera back inside her case and set aside before going back to Ruby and placing her hands on the smaller girl's shoulders. Ruby looked up at Velvet, still looking upset with herself. "And I don't care what that Schnee girl says, you are not a dunce. You might be a little overzealous and reckless every now and then but you are one of the smartest minds I've met in my life, okay?"
"O-okay, thanks Velvet," said Ruby with a smile. She snaked her arms through Velvet's and hugged her around the neck in relief that she hadn't screwed up again. Velvet returned the embrace for a moment before striking with a surprise tickle attack of her own. Ruby tried frantically to escape their embrace as she hollered, "Ahh! Sneak attack! You'll pay for this, you fiend! Come here!"
"You don't stand a chance, Rose! Surrender now or face the consequences!" The two flailed about, trying to get purchase on the sensitive spots on the other until they both tumbled to the grass and began wrestling for position as they both shrieked with laughter. Finally, an out of breath Velvet ended up straddling Ruby and pinning her wrists above her head. As much as Ruby squirmed, she couldn't break free and had to submit.
"Okay, you win," Ruby panted, her face red from the exertion. Velvet released Ruby's wrists and pumped her fist in victory. The two remained like that for a few moments as they regained their wind. Velvet looked down at Ruby lying beneath her with her silver eyes glimmering with mirth and her hair splayed out everywhere and Velvet felt her heart rate pick up again. She wishes she hadn't stored away her camera so she focused on committing this moment to memory. Ruby noticed Velvet staring at her and raised an inquisitive eyebrow.
"Velvet? You okay?" Ruby asked with a hint of worry.
Velvet smiled serenely and nodded in confirmation. "I'm wonderful, Ruby," she said. "This has been a delightful time with you. I really cherish these times I get to spend with you. You're one of my dearest friends I have."
"Wow, thanks Velvet! You're pretty great too." Ruby flashed Velvet a grin that gave her goosebumps. She could feel her heart beating in a way that excited her but also scared her to death. This wasn't right. She shouldn't be here. And yet she didn't want to leave. This was the best place in the world at the moment. And she was going to stay there no matter what.
Just then, the clouds opened up and it began raining heavily across the grounds. Velvet let out a yelp of surprise and scrambled off of Ruby to get under the relative safety of the tree. Ruby groaned in disappointment and got to her feet. She quickly gathered up her school supplies so they wouldn't get ruined before turning to Velvet.
"Too bad the rain had to go and ruin the end of our day, huh?" Ruby asked glumly. Velvet simply nodded her head in confirmation, not wanting to make eye contact with the other girl. But then Ruby grabbed her hand tight and gave it a squeeze. "Hold on tight," said Ruby before dashing off as fast as she could while Velvet hung on for dear life behind her. In an instant, they found themselves back inside the school. Ruby let go of Velvet's hand and there was a small part of her that wished she hadn't and Velvet was fighting a huge internal battle to try and shut it up.
"Well, I should get back to my room and out of these dirty clothes," said Ruby sadly. Velvet couldn't help having images flash in her head of Ruby undressing and that only made things harder for her. Ruby waited patiently for a reply from Velvet but could see she was still zoned out. She then sighed heavily and said, "See you, Velvet," before speeding away down the hall.
"Uh, wait! Ruby!" Velvet called as she finally broke her stupor. But it was too late and Ruby had vanished, leaving her trademark trail of rose petals behind her. Velvet caught one that was floating in the air and brought it to her nose to smell. It smelled just like Ruby and Velvet felt her stomach lurch in a way she couldn't decide whether or not it was unpleasant. Slowly, Velvet turned to the opposite hallway and trudged back to her room with way more on her mind than she wanted.
To be continued…