"And you're really okay with this?" Jaune had asked the present two of his now 8 sisters.
"Don't worry bro. Sure it's not the most ideal solution in the world. But we know you're all motivated by the greater good. So you don't have to worry about us getting in trouble for supporting you."
"Not to mention that after all the grief they've been putting me through lately I'm a little more happy than I probably should be at the thought of Atlas getting a taste of what's coming to them."
Chuckling, Jaune replied with "Yeah, I guess that makes sense. Though I do have to admit I'm a little concerned about Adrian laughing at the idea."
"Oh don't worry about him." Terra reassured her brother in law "We'll know to teach him better if he gets a little too mischievous. Plus he has an Uncle who knows not to do things like this unless it's such a dire circumstance so I think he'll be fine."
Jaune smiled. He had known about Saphron and Terra's marriage ever since he was at Beacon. But never got a chance to actually meet Terra in person until recently. He was happy that Saph had found a loving partner and in law or not, Terra was now one of Jaune's sister. And the fact that there was finally someone who held that title but didn't take every opportunity to tease him earned her instant brownie points in Jaune's eyes.
Once Jaune had went to the living room to inform everyone that Saphron and Terra were on board with their plan everyone felt relieved. They knew the importance of getting the lamp to Atlas but weren't exactly the most comfortable about putting people who were so kind to them at risk.
"They also said that Oscar's casserole should be ready in a few minutes." Jaune had informed them.
"Oh thank heavens." Maria had stated "You sure made a good call thinking a hot meal would do us some good tonight Oscar. It was quite cold out there today."
Everyone had agreed with multiple statements along the lines of "Definitely" and "Oh yeah".
Though if some universal force was able to evaluate the excitement of everyone and grant an award to the one who felt the most of it, that reward would easily go to Ruby.
She had forgiven Jaune for his outburst once it was revealed that Oscar was safe and sound. But even then she couldn't help but think "I know you were upset but dammit vomit boy if you touch my man again!"
Though she mentally kicked herself for her admittedly frequent habit of calling Oscar "Her Man" in her head. They weren't dating. Even though Ruby wished they were. Some might argue that their mission made it a rather un-opportune time to fall in love. But Ren and Nora have been together since they left Kuroyuri and were still able to focus on saving the world. Why couldn't that be the case for her and Oscar?!
Well the fact that she didn't know if Oscar returned her feelings and as such she kept her affection for him a secret from everyone out of fear of him finding out certainly didn't help matters.
But she didn't need to blurt these feelings out to look forward to his cooking. Honestly the fact that he can cook at his age, and complicated dishes like a casserole no less, was one of quite a few things about the farm boy that Ruby found pretty impressive. Though she had to admit it was little nerve racking anytime she worried about someone seeing her drool at the thought of Oscar baking cookies or a strawberry shortcake.
Which made her glad the she never actually drooled at the thought. She just felt like she could. Though she still tried to keep her saliva in check as the casserole was nearing completion. The last thing she would want is for the reason for her excitement to become obvious.
"Okay everyone. It's ready!" Saphron had finally called out. Everyone had gotten up to eagerly head to the table. They had worked up an appetite and when they arrived at the kitchen they were pleasantly surprised to see what kind of casserole Oscar had made.
Some of those were easier than others after all. And the Cheesy Caprese Chicken and Quinoa Casserole that Oscar had done most of the work on looked like one of the harder ones to make. Not that any of them really had much cooking experience but still.
As everyone got seated and began to dig in, Ruby found herself in Euphoria after her first bite. Her immediate thought was "I'm sorry Strawberries. It's not you, it's me. This is just way too delicious." Though what came out of her mouth was just a simple "This is really good Oscar!"
"Yeah." Weiss had followed suit with "This is really tasty." A mindset which was shared with the rest of the group. Even Qrow had managed to slip in his own thoughts. "Yeah, you didn't do half bad kid."
Feeling a little flushed, Oscar awkwardly responded "I mean, Saphron and Terra did take over at the end."
"Oh don't be so modest." Saphron replied. "All we really needed to do was keep it a the right temperature. You had already taken care of everything else."
Unable to keep her curiosity contained, Ruby had voiced "Wow, well color me impressed Oscar. What else can you cook?"
More flushed than before at Ruby's approval Oscar had managed to answer "Oh well, a lot of things. My aunt is a little strict but that did lead me to learning how to cook more recipe's than I can really name off the top of my head."
"Awesome. We'll have to try a few of those sometime." Ruby happily responded.
"Yeah, Oscar can be the chef of the team!" Yang had said as Oscar chuckled nervously. Everyone was enjoying their meal as dinner went by. Though Blake, Ren, Nora, and Maria were a little perplexed. Upbeat and cheerful were certainly words that described Ruby. But something about her enthusiasm at Oscar's cooking felt different than what they usually saw from her.
As everyone had finished their meal and put their plates in the dishwasher they had all agreed to discuss Jaune's plan the next day as they got ready to head to sleep. Though Qrow's hesitancy about the plan still remained. Which caused him to reach for his flask.
Ruby sighed at this. Getting increasingly annoyed and concerned with her Uncle's drinking habits. As she turned away to head to bed, she heard Oscar call out her name.
"We'll make it through this. And when we do he'll hopefully lighten up on the drinking. At the very least, we'll be in more of a position to try and convince him to stop." Oscar said with a smile in hopes of reassuring her.
"I hope you're right." Ruby had replied with. But she then followed up with a smile "Thanks Oscar."
"You're welcome." Oscar tiredness then started catching up to him as he let out a yawn. "Sorry. Guess I should probably get to bed. Goodnight Ruby."
"Goodnight Oscar." Oscar made his way towards his room and didn't notice that Ruby had been looking at him with a hopeless smile until he was out of sight. Once he was Ruby subconcisouly let out a happy "mhmm" as she headed off towards her own room.
This behavior from her left some confusion running through Jaune, Weiss, and Yang. But Blake, Ren, Nora, and Maria had figured out what seemed so odd at dinner.
"Oh she's got it bad." Saphron had said after Ruby had left the living room. "What? What does she got?" Weiss had asked.
"Isn't is obvious Weiss? Ruby's in loooooooovvvveeeee." Nora had answered while Weiss and Yang received shocked looks on their faces (followed by a massive tingling of her big sister sense in Yang's case).
Everyone else in the room minus Jaune and Qrow had already figured that this was the case. Jaune's reaction was more of a "Huh. How about that?" kind of response. Though he and the others didn't really get a chance to say any words as they had to help Qrow. Who had started choking on his drink.