Rumble X Katarina

Betting Love

"You! Yordle!"

"Who, me? What do you need?"

"You're taking me out tomorrow,"

Rumble blinked, than turned in a complete circle to be absolutely sure that the woman was talking to him. As it was it seemed it was only him and the woman in the hallway.

By the way, of all people, the woman was Katarina, the Noxus assassin, the Sinister Blade, the Last-person-Rumble-would-ever-expect-to-ask-him-out-or-anyone-for-that-matter woman.

"Are you talking to me?" Rumble asked just to be one-hundred percent.

"I am,"

Maybe he was hearing things, "Are we fighting tomorrow?" Rumble asked still confused "Is that what you're talking about? Do you think I'm going to beat you or…"

"No!" Katarina said shaking her head. "I am asking you out, on a date, for tomorrow."

"I'm sorry maybe you didn't notice, let me introduce myself. Hello I'm Rumble, I'm a YORDLE!"

"Don't you think I know that?"

There's got to be something wrong with her. Rumble thought.

"Are you feeling alright?" he asked.

"I feel fine," was Katarina's response.

"Are you intoxicated in anyway?"

"I don't drink,"

"Have you suffered any resent head injury?"

"None,"

"Are you possessed by some kind of black magic from the void?"
"No,"

Rumble was out of questions.

"Are you going to take me out or what?" Katarina asked again.

"Um…Sure okay," Rumble answered slowly.

Katarina sighed "Very well, meet me in front of the Institute at midday tomorrow."

"Okay,"

With that Katarina made her leave, leaving the poor confused Rumble in her wake.

"What?" Rumble asked no one particular. "What was that?"

What that was exactly, was Katarina following up on a bet. Specifically, she lost a bet to Evelynn. A few days back, Evelynn had bet Katarina that she could get more kills on the fields of justice then her. Katarina, confident in her abilities, agreed. If Katarina won Evelynn would have to ask out Urgot (The most disgusting person Katarina could think of at the time), and if Evelynn won Katarina would have to ask out Rumble. Katarina lost by one kill.

"Sounds like the date is on," The Blue skinned devil herself smirked, appearing from the shadows.

Katarina continued on her way as if nothing happened, "Make yourself scarce, Evelynn," She said "I did what was asked of me,"

"Does that mean you're going to leave the little yordle waiting for you?" Evelynn asked sarcastically.

"Of course not," Katarina spat, as far as she was concerned she was now honor bond to go out with the blue haired yordle. Her honor and her word where the only things keeping Katarina from walking away from this whole ridiculous venture. Katarina gave her word that, if she lost the bet, she would ask out Rumble. Now that she did, she had given her word to Rumble that she would met him for this date. Katarina always kept her word.

"That's so sweet of you," Evelynn giggled evilly, "Don't get fur caught in your teeth."

"Wait!? Who did what?" Teemo asked, after Rumble had accounted what had happened to him.

"Katarina asked you out? YOU?" Tristana said in disbelief "Well what's wrong with her?"

"That's what I said," Rumble answered.

The three Yordles where all in Rumble's room, Rumble himself was tinkering on his mech suit while he talked.

"Either way, I'm pretty sure somethings up," He continued.

"What do you mean?" Teemo asked.

"I mean I think she was forced into asking me out."

"That would make more sense," Tristana said "Why would a human ask out a Yordle, epically Katarina?"

"Katarina scares me," Teemo confided "She once dove past two turrets just to kill me."

"That's because everyone hates you Teemo," Rumble as he refilled the gas tank in his mech suit's flamespitter. "I would dive past two turrets to kill you."

"Are you really going through with this?" Tristana asked.

"I guess," Rumble said with a shrug "Even if she was forced to ask me out, it would be mean just to stand her up afterward."

"You're asking to get hurt," Tristana said with a shake of her head "She'll kill you within the hour,"

"I give it ten minutes," Teemo said with a chuckle.

"Now hang one," Rumble said looking up from his work "who said it was going to go bad?"

"It's Katarina." Tristana said "Like I said before, she'll kill you."

"You two think I can't show a girl a good time?"

Rumble didn't know why he was picking this fight. He guessed it was in his nature to pick fights, and anything that remotely seemed like an insult to him made him immediately defensive.

"Well you were never really much of a social butterfly," Teemo said "and it is Katarina so..."

Teemo had a point there to. Rumble was a bit of a shut in, as he preferred the company of his machinery over other Yordles, or humans. This date with Katarina would actually be his first. Still he planned on someday getting a girlfriend (one of his own race of course). He had played a few Dating Sims, so he had a general idea how a date was supposed to go. Or so he though…

"That sounds like a challenge to me," Rumble said, opening his big mouth and probably biting of more than he could chew.

Tristana chuckled, "You want a challenge Rumble? Then let's make a bet."

The next day, Rumble sat alone on the front step of the institute, tinkering with a tiny gadget he had brought with him. It was a little pasted midday, and Katarina had yet to show up.

He sighed to himself, "Maybe it's for the best," He thought, "It would have probably gone bad anyway. I might as well just take my medicine, and give Tristana that money…"

"Sorry I'm late,"

Rumble turned to Katarina, who had appeared behind him, though what he saw was not what he had expected. Katarina had forgone her regular armor and many blades for something more…normal. She now wore a light blue one piece summer dress with knee high skirt and spaghetti straps that crossed in the back. On her feet she wore a pair of plain blue shoes that matched her dress.

"What?" She said noticing Rumble's amazed stare "You can't have honestly expected me to wear my full battle armor around town."

"N-No," Rumble said looking down at his own attire. He still wore his average mechanic ware, now with a recently obtained grease stain on the shoulder he got when he was lubricating his mech suit the night before.

Already not off to a good start, he thought, looking back to Katarina. Now would be the time in one of his Dating Sims where the player would open with a light compliment, something to get the ball rolling so to speak. This was a task that that Rumble found immediately and extremely hard without the average dialog choices you get with a Dating Sim.

"Y-you look good in that dress." Rumble finally mentioned to stammer out. He never realized how hard it was to actually SAY the compliment either. It was so much easier when he could just click what he wanted to say.

Katarina took the compliment without much of a reaction, "So where are we going?" She asked unfazed.

"I was going to let you decide…"

"Very well, there is a nice outdoor café not too far from here."

"Then let's be on our way."

As the two walked through town, Rumble couldn't help but feel a little awkward walking next to Katarina. He was small even for a Yordle, so walking right next to Katarina, who was a tall woman herself, made him feel almost minuscule. He had to crane his neck just to look up at her face. Not to mention he was struggling to keep up with her long strides with his own tiny legs.

Maybe I should have brought my mech suit along, Rumble thought, that way I could keep up easier and I wouldn't be breaking my neck looking up at this girl.

Rumble realized something, because of his height, the angle of his vision, and Katarina's position to him, he could see up her…

Katarina looked down to Rumble, "Are you trying to look up my skirt!?" She said accusingly.

"What!?" Rumble said taking a few steps back "N-no, I wasn't doing anything like that."

"Then explain yourself now!"

"Actually…Um…" Rumble had really dug his grave here. Frantically he looked for something to save him. He thought back to the Dating Sims he played. When something like this would happen in the Sims, the player would normally say some kind of redirection compliment. Something that gets the girl thinking about something else…

"I was admiring your hair," Rumble finally said weakly "It glows in the sunlight from my point for view…"

Katarina's only response was a cold, unfeeling glare that made Rumble turn away.

"I'll keep my eyes down,"

"You better,"

Rumble kept his eyes on the ground, now feeling completely defeated. If this was a Dating Sim, then this is when there would be a big broken heart in the middle of the screen with an equally big "Game Over". Maybe he should just walk away now…

Would Katarina even notice if he just left?

Katarina heard a faint chuckle to her left, "My, my, aren't we icy,"

Katarina stopped and look to the new voice. It was Evelynn again, perched on a nearby wall.

"What are you doing here Evelynn?"

"Oh nothing," Evelynn said, lying down, resting her cheek in her hand and kicking her legs playfully "I was just checking up on you."

"You're following us,"

"That's another way to put it." She said rolling over on her back "I'll probably continue to follow you till I get bored or when you two end up separating. From the sounds of it the latter is more likely."

"What do you mean?"

Evelynn chuckled again, "You don't see? That's a shame. That Yordle is trying his hardest to be nice to you, and here you are being a total jerk to him."

"The perverted thing tried to look up my skirt!" Katarina said angrily.

"Can you blame him? You have a nice pair of legs, you should take it as a compliment."

"I don't think you understand the problem here,"

"I think you're the one that doesn't understand,"

"Then enlighten me,"

Evelynn sighed, like she was explaining something simple to a child, "You're on date. You're supposed to be nice on a date Kitty, okay. Respond to some of his compliments. Maybe give him some of your own."

"I wouldn't be here if it weren't for you." Katarina snarled.

"Well why don't you make the most of a bad situation and enjoy yourself. Besides look at that," Evelynn pointed to Rumble, who was now farther down the road, "The poor thing's so heartbroken."

"I hardly think heartbroken is the right word," Katarina said turning to Rumble.

She realized that she was wrong. Rumble's head was hung down, an apparent sigh of sadness. Katarina felt an unexpected pang of guilt. He seemed so depressed even Katarina had a hard time not feeling depressed too.

Well, she thought, irritated with her own remorse I guess I can be nicer. I just have to live with him for just a little longer anyway.

She looked back to where Evelynn was, and as she expected the Widowmaker was gone. Katarina sighed to herself before shouting to Rumble "Hey, you're going the wrong way."

The Yordle stopped and turned back to Katarina "Oh sorry, I guess I wasn't paying attention…"

The Rumble and Katarina had soon reached the café and taken seats at one of the corner tables…

…Conversation was dull at best.

The two were mostly quiet as they waited for their orders. They only had a few words between each other, mostly very weak small talk, and soon no words came at all. It was very awkward for the both of them.

Finally Rumble took out the little gadget he had in his pocket, and started tinkering with it again.

"What is that?" Katarina asked, jumping on the chance to break the silence.

"It's a little gadget I've been working on,"

"What does it do?"

"It kind of like a toy," Rumble said with a shrug "it just spins around and lights up,"

"May I see," Katarina asked.

"If you want,"

Katarina reached over the table took the gadget that Rumble offered, rolling it over in her hand.

"So you're interested in machinery?" Rumble asked.

"Yes," Katarina lied. She had absolutely no interest in technology but she had decided to pretend the opposite because, after that encounter with Evelynn, she felt like she owed it to Rumble to act kinder to him.

'You should complement him,' Evelynn had said.

"Thank you," Katarina said handing the gadget back, then added awkwardly "It's…nice…"

Rumble chuckled a little at the weak compliment, "Thanks, I've had a lot of practice with this kind of thing,"

"How so?"

"Well, these little things where basically my life before I joined the league," Rumble said, "I didn't get out much. What about you? What did you do before you entered League?"

"I trained," Katarina answered simply, "I trained in the art of the blade."

"So you were a shut in too?"

"I suppose,"

Then Rumble asked the question Katarina had been dreading, "So why did you ask me out?"

And she had no answer. "I...don't know,"

"You don't know why you decided to ask out a runt yordle out of the blue?" Rumble asked with a laugh.

"Correct,"

"You're weird Kat,"

"I…" Katarina started, but she was interrupted when some unpleasant company arrived.

Three large men had approached the café, all of them obviously drunk. They quickly became an annoyance to the other patrons, as they started to try to flirt with the women or pick fights with the other men. They were slowly making their way down to where Rumble and Katrina sat.

"Maybe we should go," Rumble said, knowing bad news when it appeared.

Katarina however didn't care, "Why would we," She said, "We've already paid for orders, it would be a waste of money if we left. Just ignore them, they will go away."

"I'm not sure that will…" Rumble started, but to late the men had already made their way to their table.

They instantly converged on Katarina.

"Hey there pretty girl," the biggest and probably drunkest of the men belched out, his horrid breath could be smelt by Rumble from across the table. "What you doing here?"

"I'm getting a coffee," Katarina said coldly.

"Well, how about you forget that and come with me instead," the man grinned devilishly, "I'll make it worth your time."

"I'm not interested,"

"Come on, don't be like that. I say you and me should be friends."

"I said no."

"I don't take 'no' of an answer," The man tried to put a hand on Katarina which she slapped away.

Rumble wasn't going to let this continue.

"Hey!" He said hopping onto the table, though this didn't get him anywhere near the man's height, "she said back off,"

Rumble knew he would do this. He knew that if they stayed he would end up picking a fight. But he wouldn't just sit there and let this go down in front of him.

The man turned his intoxicated eyes to the yordle on the table. "How about you keep your mouth shut, twerp. No one asked for you to butt in."

"Sorry but this girl's with me, so how about you back off."

"Rumble," Katarina hissed, "I said don't…"

The man laughed cruelly "You're joking right? What would a woman like this be doing with a yordle?"

"I don't know," Rumble said truthfully, "but she's with me, so how about you get your ugly face out of here!"

The drunk moved faster than Rumble expected and he back headed him, sending Rumble fling of the table and landing face first a distance away.

"Rumble!" Katarina shouted in shock, standing up.
"Now come with me girl," The man said.

The man grabbed Katarina's arm.

That was his first mistake.

Katarina had ten blades hidden on her body at the time, but she didn't need any of them.

One moment the man was grabbing Katarina's arm, the next he was airborne landing hard on his head, on the other side of the table.

"Hey!" one of the other drunks bellowed, "Who do you think you are?" He threw a punch at Katarina.

He and his friend didn't last any longer then the first one.

When all the drunks where on the ground and out cold, Katarina walked over to where Rumble still laid facedown.

"Are you okay?" She asked the little yordle "Are you hurt?"

"Just my pride," Rumble said, rolling over to looking up to Katarina, than rolled over to face the ground again. Katarina was standing almost directly above Rumble "I can see up your skirt again."

Katarina took a few steps back "Get up," She said, not unkindly.

Rumble did so.

"That was stupid of you Rumble,"

"I know,"

"Then why did pick a fight with them?"

Rumble shrugged "You were in trouble, so I tried to get them to back off…"

"I was never in any trouble,"

Rumble looked down at his feet,

"But," Katarina continued "I suppose that was…rather brave of you."

Rumble flushed "I guess…"

An hour or so later, the two were back at the Institute of War. The stood at the gates as the sun set behind them.

Katarina shifted "That was…interesting,"

Rumble chuckled "I hope going out with me wasn't as painful as it seemed,"

"No it wasn't," She said the truth, for the most past it wasn't an excruciating endeavor. It was a nice break from the constant fighting in the league.

"Well…here," Rumble pulled out a small box from his pocket and tossed it up Katarina, who caught it deftly "Just something to say thanks for putting up with me so long,"

Katarina opened the box. Inside was a pair of scarlet earrings in the shape of crescent swords, with gemstones that looked like rubies in the hilts.

"The gems aren't real," Rumble said as if guessing what Katarina was thinking "But the rest is stainless steel so…"

"It's fine," She cut of, closing the box and placing it in her pocket "Thank you. I don't know how I can repay you."

"Well...there is one thing…" Rumble said almost shyly.

"What is that?"

"How about a kiss?"

Katarina was sure she didn't hear that right. "What?"

"A kiss," Rumble repeated.

So she did hear right…

"No!" She said taking a step back.

"Come on, just one kiss," Rumble said, "I think you owe me that much sense you only asked me out because of a bet."

"How do you know about that?!"

"I didn't, that was a guess,"

Katarina shock her head, "The answer is no,"

"Just one," Rumble said again, wide eyes pleading.

Something in Rumble's eyes made Katarina's chest hurt from guilt again. Why, just why could this yordle make Katarina feel so guilty? He so easily made her feel like the bad guy for his own outlandish suggestion.

Katarina had only once felt this kind of guilt before. This was before she joined the league, and what led to her scare. Guilt made Katarina go to the extreme before…

"Fine," She said through gritted teeth. She dropped to her knees into a sitting position, "Just make it quick, and I swear if you tell anyone…"

"I won't tell a soul," Rumble said, crossing his heart.

"Then go ahead…" Katarina closed her eyes.

Rumble approached the women. Even sitting on her knees Katarina was still not at Rumble's level, so he ended up standing on her thighs so to be at eye level. Rumble did as he was told and made it quick, pressing his lips against hers for a brief moment.

It wasn't the disgusting hair ball that Katarina had expected. On the contrary, the fur kind of tickled.

What was that Evelynn had said? 'Don't get fur caught in your teeth'

Rumble stepped off of Katarina's legs just as she opened her eyes. Then a third voice came from the blue.

"My god he did it," The voice said from one of the dark corners of the gate to the Institute. By breaking his silence, Teemo appeared before the two.

The new appearance made Kat blink with confusion "What?"

"Teemo?!" Rumble said sounding scared "What are you doing here?!"

"What?" Katarina repeated.

"We were watching," another voice emanated from the brush. This one belonged to Tristana. "I guess you won,"

"Hey!" Rumble panicked and started waving his hands frantically to quiet the other yordles, "Shut up! Why are you…?"

"WHAT!?" Katarina interrupted, though she needn't have asked, because she knew her answer. She glared at Rumble with so much hate the he truly believed she had fire in her eyes. "You made me kiss you, so you could win a bet?"

"W-well…you see…funny story that one…" Rumble had nothing say.

"I am going to kill you."

It wasn't a threat. It was a promise.

Rumble looked over his shoulder to see the other yordles had already fled the soon to be scene of his murder.

He gulped then turned back to the women, "About that. I've got to…polish my mech so…if you'll excuse me…"

Rumble tried to run but his short yordle strides where no match for Katarina's longer legs. Within seconds she had him pinned against a wall suspended by his neck six feet off the ground.

"Hey! Hey!" Rumble pleaded for his life, "come don't you think this it, I don't know, fair in some way. You asked me out because of a bet, I kiss you because of a bet. Doesn't that make us even…?"

Rumble was cut off when Katarina tightened her grip, force closing his windpipe and preventing any words, or air, from cycling.

So this is it, Rumble thought, she's actually going to kill me. Well I guess I had a good run…

But she didn't kill him. For reasons unknown to Rumble, she let him go, letting him drop face first onto the ground. He looked up to see Katarina walking away.

"You're not going to kill me?" Rumble asked stupidly.

"I've decided against it," She said without turning "but if anyone other than those other yordles hear of this…I will."

"Noted," Rumble breathed a sigh of relief.

"Then that's that," She continued on her way, and she was soon out of sight. She just couldn't do it. She couldn't kill Rumble. That guilty feeling prevented her from doing so. She supposed he was right in a way… It did make things fair…

"Hold on a moment," The nine tailed fox, Ahri stopped Katarina in one of the hallways of the Institute of War, a few days after her date with Rumble.

"What is it?" Katarina asked, she and Ahri did not normally converse, but Ahri approached her as if they were friends since birth.

"There's something different about you," The fox continued feeling Katarina's face without any regard for her say in the matter. The fox finally felt her way to Katarina's ears, "Oh, you got new earrings, their so cute. Where you get them?"

"A friend gave them to me,"

"You're boyfriend?"

"No. No, he's just a friend."