Weiss gasped as she was practically yanked through the door of the dingy sports bar. She felt her feet crunch as she entered the door, looking down… peanut shells? Why would they throw peanut shells on the floor she wondered, but she didn't get time to think about it, as her bubbly girlfriend pulled at her wrist again, excitement in the girl's step.
Crossing the room of the place, Weiss looked about at all the tasteless decor, everything was either made of wood or finished to look like wood, the walls were covered in road signs, pictures of athletes and those annoying talking fish. The air was dusty at best, a thick aroma of peanuts, and... sweat. Televisions were everywhere all playing the same Vytal festival re-runs Ruby forced her to watch about a hundred times. The place wasn't very crowded, it was a Tuesday after all, but she actually preferred it, fewer people to see her and Ruby together. She wasn't ashamed of her girlfriend, just nervous because she had never had a girlfriend, or any sort of romantic partner, worried she was always doomed to embarrass herself she feared to go into public with Ruby. This wasn't exactly what Weiss had pictured her first date to be, but the same could be said for their entire relationship so far.
"R-Ruby s-slow down." Weiss yelped with a blush she hoped no one would see. "Calm down," she attempted to regain her composure when her girlfriend finally stopped tugging her arm. She took a moment to figure out what had just happened. It began to dawn on her, She was in a restaurant if you could call it that, with Ruby. Her blush began to return as the younger girl happily pulled out a chair for her with a dumb grin on her face.
She could barely hold back her smile at Ruby's appearance. Her date had tried to dress fancily. She wore a white button-up shirt, black jeans, her beat-up combat boots and the red cloak that she absolutely refused to change out of, despite Weiss' objections. She, however, decided to go casual, a black turtleneck sweater and her white slacks. She thought she looked fine in the mirror earlier but was beginning to regret her choice in footwear. Her flat white sandals making it blatantly obvious just how short she was. The girl sighed as she took her seat, her girlfriend pushing her up to the table which, for reasons she couldn't figure out, was actually a wooden slab nailed to the top of a wooden barrel of some sorts.
"I'm so excited," the younger brunette mewled, as she eyed her girlfriend from across the table.
Ruby was breathing in her gorgeous appearance like oxygen. From her snow white hair to her piercing ice blue gaze, she just couldn't get enough. She always thought herself rather dull looking, but for whatever reason here she was with, what she often described in her poetry that no one would ever get to read, the most beautiful girl on Remnant. Weiss was equally enamored with the brunette, enraptured with her silver orbs that she swore could see right through her. She longed to run her fingers through the messy brown and red bob the girl sported.
"Can I get you some drinks ladies?"Poised their waitress, who had managed to sneak up on the girls through the haze of their mutual swooning. Both girls snapped from their respective daydreams to fumble over the simple question. When Ruby ordered pink lemonade Weiss decided to follow her lead and get the same. She had never had pink lemonade, it occurred to her that it may come in other colors as well, she would need to investigate. The waitress gave them a simple smile, handing them each a menu before leaving with a nod to get drinks for the young lovers.
Ruby began to read the menu in great detail, thinking over each option. Weiss, however, was merely holding her menu, peering over the top to steal glances at her date. When a light sigh escaped her throat at the girl's adorable concentration over something as simple as what she would eat she blushed and prayed to every entity she knew of, that no one heard it.
The waitress returned setting two frosty mugs, filled with ice and pink liquid, in front of the two ladies, snapping Weiss out of her trance with a startled yelp. Pulling out a pen and paper the waitress asked a simple question, but one that for some reason caught poor Weiss off guard.
"So what'll it be." Spoke the waitress putting her weight on one leg, giving Weiss a knowing smirk, causing the girl to fidget, raising her menu higher in a vain attempt to hide her face.
Weiss realized she was not in her element this girl, Ruby, this adorable brunette was the only thing she could think on clearly, everything else reduced to some form of fog.
Ruby began to hum, musing over the menu one last time before folding it up. "I want the hot wing basket" she practically sang, the waitress nodded with a crooked smile jotting down the order before turning to the snow-haired woman.
"What about you, snow angel?" The server smirked when Ruby giggled, and Weiss fought her urge to throw a fit before she realized she hadn't read a single word on the menu.
"Uhh…" she floundered for words, panicking on the inside, hoping her mental state was not reflected on her face. "I-ill have w-what shes having." Folding up her menu handing it to the waitress with trembling fingers.
"Be right back." The waitress took the menus under her arm, slipping Weiss a wink before vanishing into the back of the establishment. Weiss blushed even harder, if this waitress could pick up on it, how obvious was her infatuation with her partner? A question for another day she thought before subconsciously sliding her mug of pink liquid towards herself, taking a sip. She almost winced as the overly sweet liquid coated the inside of her mouth.
"You like it?" Resonated the soothing voice of her love, a voice she never grew tired of hearing. Peering over to her partner the girl was smiling that dumb grin that melted Weiss from the inside, having at some point downed over half of her mug of lemonade.
"It is very uh... sweet." She choked, internal voices screamed at her to use that comment as a flirtatious quip in some way, but her partner beat her to it.
"Not as sweet as you." Replied Ruby with a smile so large the girl's eyes closed. Weiss was on the back foot, completely off guard, she had no words.
"Uhhh..." She began to form a sentence but was cut off by two baskets of chicken wings being placed in front of them, along with a mountain of fries, haphazardly tossed into a bucket. Questioning the sanitation of said bucket, pondering why they didn't simply bring a plate, although she wasn't going to complain as she saw how happy Ruby was.
"You two lovebirds enjoy," sang the waitress letting a laugh escape her throat. Both girls blushed and looked to the sides of the room not wanting to be awkward, but they both quickly realized that the only thing in the room of dusty wooden furniture, and eclectic nick knacks that they actually wanted to look at, was each other. Ruby broke first, Weiss being too stubborn to relent, but once Ruby turned her face forward again her cheeks still a rosy pink Weiss relented. Turning her own overly hot face towards her partner they locked eyes and both bust into laughter.
Shortly after the laughter died down, Ruby began to gorge herself picking up a wing and reducing it to mere bones in seconds, the sticky orange sauce on the sides of her mouth. Weiss was both enraptured and disgusted. "You gonna eat?" asked the younger girl her mouth full of fries fingers and face sticky with sauce.
"I cant seem to find my fork."
Ruby's laughter was music to Weiss' ears, even though she knew it was at her own expense. "W-What is so funny?" She clamored with demand in her voice, unamused with being the but of a joke she didn't get.
"Weiss its finger food you eat it with your hands." The adorable girl picked up another wing submitting it to the same gauntlet as the first one finishing with a hand full of fries. Weiss scoffed at the prospect of eating such messy food without proper utensils. "See?" Ruby giggled mouth full. Well she wasn't elegant that was for sure, but damn it if Weiss wasn't in love with this girl.
"Fine" she quipped, taking one of the sticky wings daintily in her fingers, besmirched by the sauce staining her skin. With a little hesitation, she took a small bite from the side of the wing. Eating meat that was still on the bone was also beneath her, but Ruby was with her so maybe it didn't matter if she broke out of her shell a little, something only Ruby could ever seem to get her to do. Chewing she mulled the flavor over in her mouth it was good she thought until after a few seconds she felt it.
HOT. She clamored for her drink downing almost all of it in one gulp.
Ruby lost it, laughing and shaking pounding her wrist on the table like a buffoon. "Weiss have you never had hot wings?!" shouted Ruby, tears forming in her eyes from pure facial tension, her laughter too big to contain.
"Why do they hurt? She asked confused as to how anyone could enjoy such foods. Perhaps this was a prank and someone had tampered with them.
"Weiss its called a hot wing? Because it's hot... like spicy hot ya know." Weiss was NOT amused at Ruby treating her like she was twelve, Ruby just enjoyed pushing her buttons. She scoffed her eyebrows crinkling eyes narrowing in mild anger at her date as her lips formed a light frown. "Here let me show you." Ruby grabbed another wing cleaning it of meat before eating another hand full of fries, sipping her drink to finish. "See you eat the wing all at once, then follow up with the fries to kill the burn."
Weiss begrudgingly took the wing she had nibbled and began to attempt to eat it like Ruby had demonstrated. Forcing herself to keep going despite the burn, before reaching for the fries, devouring them and finishing with a sip of her drink. Wow, she thought, it worked, the fries had killed the burning and left a pleasant feeling in her mouth. Although she wouldn't ever admit it, she wasn't surprised it worked, Ruby had never lied to her, always pointed her in the right direction. "Wow, they are good." Ruby gave her a toothy grin and tilt of her head. Weiss giggled at the girl's sauce covered face and orange stained teeth.
They sat quietly eating, enjoying each others company for a few minutes, occasionally glancing up at each other, giggling every time their eyes met. Ruby was floored by the sight of her normally prim and proper girlfriend, who at the moment had hot sauce on the sides of her mouth, her fingers sticky and coated. Weiss, on the other hand, was enthralled by the goofy grin her girlfriend always gave her when she looked into her eyes, it was a reaction Ruby probably didn't realize she even had, but if Weiss made eye contact the sides of her mouth would always shoot skyward, her lips pursing in delight. Weiss didn't really know what to say to the girl, so she just kept eating hoping some opportunity would arise.
Said opportunity came when Weiss reached for the usual french fry chaser, at the same time as her partner. Their hands touched, Ruby rested hers on the top of Weiss', both girls blushed and smiled before Weiss took a leap of faith.
Standing up quickly, leaning over the table slightly, she planted a chaste kiss on Ruby's lips before sitting back down, her face flush red. Locking eyes with her girlfriend hoping she hadn't just crossed a line. Ruby blushed a deep red before taking their hands and lacing their fingers together, smiling. Weiss felt the weight lifted off her shoulders, her leap of faith successful, she couldn't help but grin.
They held like that for a long while before the waitress came back, a knowing smile on her face as she cleared the table, supplying the girls with the bill, along with some moist towelettes to clean themselves with. Once they had cleaned the hot sauce from their fingers and faces, they locked eyes one more time. Ruby and Weiss let out satisfied sighs and smiled at one another before Ruby reached for the bill.
Too slow, Weiss had already grabbed it, insisting that she pick up the tab. Ruby argued with her about it, saying she could get it since the date was her idea, but Weiss wasn't going to have it. Ruby didn't actually mind, she knew this was just Weiss being Weiss. And in that same moment, Weiss knew Ruby bringing her to a place like this, a place she knew she would not have EVER gone without her, was just Ruby being Ruby. They interlaced their fingers, clasping hands for the walk back home, as they left the bar they both looked each other in the eyes, sharing a single, simultaneous, silent thought
"And this is why I love her."