The events of this story contradicts "To Fall in Love, You Have to Trip", but who cares, it's only fanon. Happy holidays, everyone!
To the untrained eye, Ruby Rose was just a girl in a cape with a tree on her back, standing in one of many holly-bedecked halls in Beacon Academy. However, if you were to look a little more closely, you'd see a manic gleam of Starnight spirit in her eyes (or perhaps that was just desperate annoyance)… and you'd also see that she seemed to be waiting for something.
"Open the door or I'll break it down!" threatened Ruby plaintively, shifting the conifer on her back with a grimace, but no one came to her rescue. "Blake?" she tried, scowling, to no avail. Ruby's legs trembled under the weight of her chosen tree; she hadn't had to carry it for long with her semblance on her side, and standing still robbed her of that advantage.
Ruby took a deep breath, setting the tree down and grabbing it around the middle before hoisting it up once more. A tree would make a wonderful battering ram in any case, and even better if she could use her semblance to her advantage once more. Backing up as fast as she could in an attempt to put as much distance between herself and her dorm-room door as possible, she filled her lungs with as much air as they could hold in preparation to shout her sister's name as a battle cry—
Losing her balance on her final step back, Ruby squeaked and tightened her grip on her precious tree, which… yelped? "I'll save you!" she promised it, clinging to it even more tightly and squeezing her eyes shut as she toppled backward. But Ruby never hit the floor; instead, she found herself mostly flattened between her tree… and something that felt very much like a human.
"Hey, Ruby," groaned Jaune's voice wearily, and she realized that her tree couldn't talk after all. "What's up?" he continued, tickling her ear with a resigned sort of sigh, and Ruby blushed as red as both her names in embarrassment. Her Grand Plan was most definitely not off to a very good start. How was she going to get him to kiss her before the end of the night if she accidentally flattened him first?
Ruby was fortunately spared having to reply, however, because Weiss exclaimed from across the hallway, "What's she done now?!" and stalked across the hallway (if the muffled high-heel clicks were anything to go by). Ruby remembered to let go of the tree just in time for Weiss to pull it away with difficulty, looking livid.
Ruby rolled off Jaune and got to her feet as quickly as possible, offering him an apologetic hand, but he shook his head, evidently preferring to lie sprawled on the ground. Ruby bit her lip worriedly, hoping that crushing him under a tree hadn't lost her too many points.
"At least you haven't changed yet," decided Weiss, shaking her head as she looked her up and down. Ruby blinked as she took in Weiss's elegant appearance, remembering that she was supposed to be dressed up. Her dress was a shimmery pale gold color she thought might be called 'champagne', reaching just past her knees. In appearance, it was vaguely reminiscent of the dress Yang had forced Ruby to wear on the night of the dance—sheer material forming a more modest neckline than an ordinary strapless gown.
"Don't look at me like that," ordered Weiss, crossing her arms and staring momentarily at the ceiling. "You do remember that tonight is a special occasion, right?" she continued, her gaze flinty as she stared into Ruby's soul. "Starnight? Ringing any bells?"
"Yeah, that's why I got us a tree!" exclaimed Ruby, rolling her eyes. "Come on, Weiss, it's here now, and it's not like I can just put it back," she pleaded; Jaune sat up gingerly and rubbed the back of his head, wincing. "So help me set it up!"
Weiss raised an eyebrow and made absolutely no motion to follow instructions. "A leader should listen to her teammates," she pointed out slowly. "We agreed that we would not be getting a Starnight tree, but you arbitrarily decided to go out and get one anyway."
"Hey, Yang was undecided!" retorted Ruby, glancing somewhat self-consciously at Jaune as he got delicately to his feet. There was a very long pause, during which he glanced uncertainly between the two girls; Weiss was evidently unimpressed by her leader's argument.
"Pleeeease?" begged Ruby finally, giving Weiss her cutest puppy-dog eyes; she blinked, momentarily disarmed, but recovered quickly. "It's Starnight! We have to be festive!" Weiss couldn't be such a Scrooge all the time! Didn't she have any holiday spirit? Even Glynda Goodwitch had been wearing a necklace of miniature Starnight lights for the past week!
Weiss shook her head, resting a few fingers on her forehead. "You dunce," she muttered. "Do you think I'd be dressed up like this if I didn't care about Starnight?" she demanded, gesturing towards herself (Jaune glanced briefly over at her). "Of course not. But, where in our room are we going to put a tree?"
Ruby opened her mouth to respond before realizing that she had a point. Glancing over at the tree thoughtfully, she tried to think of a good place. It wasn't that big. (Probably.)
"We'll find a place!" she replied optimistically, clenching her fist in resolution. "Somehow!" she added—but how that was had yet to be determined.
Two arguments, several nails, and a roll of duct tape later, Team RWBY finally stood back and admired their Starnight tree.
"It's not so bad," decided Ruby, braving a smile. It did kind of dominate the room, since it was right smack dab in the middle (Weiss had helped her measure), but that wasn't such a bad thing, right? They'd have to throw it out soon enough anyway. Which posed another heretofore unacknowledged problem—how exactly would they get rid of it?
Ruby nodded sagely to herself as an answer popped immediately into her head. They'd have Sun help them spirit it out the window, or something. The point was, the tree was here now, so they may as well enjoy it…
Her train of thought was interrupted as a shadow fell across the doorway, and she looked up to see Nora, staring at their tree as if entranced. She was already dressed up too; Ruby's eyes first landed on a red rope she seemed to be using for a belt, tied into a bow off to the side with jingle bells hanging from the ends. The rest of her dress looked like a peppermint—pale pink with wavy dark red stripes, becoming more opaque as they stretched from top to the bottom.
It seemed like her attire would be too cold for the season, with two crimson spaghetti straps as her only sleeves and not even reaching her knees (not to mention the fact that she wore no shoes)—but Ruby strongly suspected Ren would have a hand in warming her up.
"Are you all upside-down, or is the tree on the ceiling?" demanded Nora, her bright eyes on the top of the tree, hanging a few feet above the ground.
Blake cleared her throat, though didn't look up from her book. "It's on the ceiling," she assured her; Nora's mouth made a little 'o' as her eyes widened still further, and she approached, extending a hand as if going to pet it.
"Don't molest the tree!" exclaimed Ruby, swatting her hand down.
Yang jumped down from the top bunk. "It still needs decorating," she informed Nora, crossing her arms and standing on one hip between her and the tree almost protectively. "You don't happen to have any lights or ornaments or anything, do you?"
"And you still need to get dressed," countered Weiss, staring daggers at Yang. "You can wait to decorate the tree after you're decent. And fix our leader up, while you're at it," she added, turning her icy gaze on Ruby, who squeaked something about not needing to be 'fixed'.
Yang rolled her eyes. "Yes, yes, Your Highness," she shot back impatiently. "I don't see what the harm is in waiting a little while longer, but if you insist, then—" She cut herself off and gestured towards the door with a dramatic flourish; Weiss marched out, followed by Blake, who herded Nora outside as well.
Ruby's mistake was turning to watch them go before trying to tell Yang that she didn't want to get all fancy (her combat skirt was quite festive enough, thank you)—because by the time she faced her sister again, Yang was grinning and cracking her knuckles.
Well… it could be worse.
Ruby had learned her lesson when she was very young: go along with whatever Yang wants, because resisting inevitably increases the chances that she'd somehow ruin the dress her sister carefully chose and bought for her. And, since Yang's temper is so explosive, there's also a very good chance that the dress won't be the only thing that's wrecked by the time the night is over.
Actually, this time the dress was really kind of comfortable, but Ruby wouldn't be caught dead saying so. A plain, red, knee-length dress with three-quarter sleeves—very modest—trimmed with white fur like Santa's coat, and held in place with a black belt around the waist.
As an added bonus for her good behavior, Ruby even got to wear her ordinary boots, so there would be no awkward high-heeled shenanigans! But that also meant she would still be more than a head shorter than Jaune, which would make it awkward to try and…
At the memory of her oath to herself not to let him get away without a kiss by the end of the night, the dormant butterflies in her stomach awakened from their deep and legendary slumber.
"There!" exclaimed Yang, distracting Ruby by slamming a Santa hat onto her head as a finishing touch. Unfortunately, she was enthusiastic enough that she accidentally (don't you believe it!) tugged it far down enough to cover Ruby's eyes. Ruby tugged it back up, scowling at her sister upon surfacing, only to find that she now had a hairbrush in hand… and was smirking dangerously.
"No!" shrieked Ruby, clutching her Santa hat onto her head desperately. "Don't!"
"Aw, but Ruby!" persisted Yang. "You'd look so cute with a braid!" She eyed the right side of Ruby's bangs, where her hair was slightly longer; Ruby shook her head frantically, backing up and almost colliding with the Starnight tree. Yang normally knew better than to make demands with regard to Ruby's hair out of respect for the Golden Rule, but clearly, today was an exception…
Yang, meanwhile, gave chase. "At least see if you like it," she continued. "I promise, you'll look totally cute!" Ruby, still shaking her head fervently, tripped and fell backwards onto Weiss's bed: Yang caught up quickly, dropped the hairbrush menacingly next to her, and wiggled her fingers evilly.
"No! Don't do it!" begged Ruby, but it was too late; before she could entreat Yang once more to leave her hair alone, she was being mercilessly tickled. She tried not to scream, but she wasn't entirely sure how successful she was, because—
"Ruby!" yelled Jaune's voice (Yang frowned), and he burst through the door with sword drawn. Unfortunately, as Ruby was distracted by her knight in shining armor—in a navy blue suit, actually, complete with gold vest, reindeer antlers, and a bow tie styled like holly—Jaune was distracted by the appearance of their somewhat unconventional Starnight tree.
So Yang pounced on the opportunity and propped Ruby up; she squeaked involuntarily and wiggled, trying to escape her sister's iron grip, and Jaune took another few uncertain steps forward. "Hold still," instructed Yang through grit teeth, eyes becoming a shade redder, and Ruby decided perhaps she had better do as she was bid, relaxing abruptly.
"Hey, Jaune," she greeted awkwardly as he hovered nearby, glancing somewhat self-consciously at his sword—readjusting his grip as though unsure what to do with it. "What's up?"
"Uh, you know," replied Jaune, no less clumsily, and Ruby winced and cast an annoyed glance backward as Yang hit a snag. Why was she bothering when the hat would just mess her hair up anyway? "The usual."
Ruby nodded, opening her mouth to ask what exactly the usual was in this case, but Yang purposely yanked her hair, and she glowered at nothing. "I said hold still," muttered her sister.
"S-sorry," mumbled Jaune, backing away and almost hitting the Starnight tree just as Ruby had a few minutes before. (He had a slight phobia of Yang.) "I mean, um, see you later!" he continued with a little more bravado, walking out the door and shutting it behind him.
"You scared him off," she accused Yang, crossing her arms sullenly. If her sister of all people ruined her chances with Jaune, she was just going to have to find a new family.
Yang only laughed gently, setting her fingers to work braiding. "You two are adorable."
Ruby bit her lip. Should she confess her worries to Yang? She wasn't exactly a gossip, but she also didn't ever forget anything anyone told her, which made it dangerous to tell her any sensitive information. "But… Pyrrha," she settled on protesting feebly.
"What about her?" asked Yang, finishing the braid, and Ruby turned towards her—but she got to her feet and walked over to the closet, so she wandered after her like a lost puppy, still chewing resentfully on the fact that she'd had to buy a Secret Santa gift for her closest rival.
(And what was worse, Pyrrha was so nice that Ruby couldn't bring herself to dislike her, so she just ended up feeling vaguely guilty for setting her sights on the same guy.)
"She's like, brave and pretty and stuff," continued Ruby lamely, touching her fingers together; Yang held up her chosen dress to herself—strapless, dark red with bright green speckles and a darker band around the middle—and spun in front of the mirror. "And anyone can see she likes Jaune, so…"
Yang only shrugged. "Well then, seems hopeless."
"Thanks," snapped Ruby, crossing her arms and glaring at her sister's back as she retreated into the bathroom. "That helps a lot." Why had she even bothered? Yang had guys fawning over her wherever she went. She somehow got curves and an outgoing personality—plus she could flirt like it was nothing.
Well, she'd show Yang. She'd out-flirt, out-bold, and… okay, so there was nothing Ruby felt like she could do about the curves bit, but the point still stood. She marched out the door resolutely to find the remainder of Teams RWBY and JNPR waiting patiently outside, and blinked. She knew they had planned a pre-party gathering in their room, but wasn't it a little bit early…?
"Nora informs us there's a tree that needs decorating," explained Pyrrha, when Ruby's questioning eyes landed on her. "Your hair is beautiful," she added, glancing at the braid Yang had forced her into; Ruby blinked and attempted to stammer a thank-you before trying to find something specific to compliment her on.
How did she manage to look so good all the time? Her hair was as stunning as ever, though the only special decoration was a faux-ivy hairpiece. Her gown was long enough to pool at the ground, a puddle of deep green velvet; the sleeves drooped off her shoulders elegantly, and she wore a golden belt around her waist which emphasized her figure—almost as voluptuous as Yang.
"You… look good too," decided Ruby, managing a smile she knew was lopsided, though Pyrrha returned it in full. Ruby stepped aside to let the others in, her heart feeling a little bit hollow. That basically sealed the deal; she didn't have a chance with Jaune. Pyrrha was drop-dead gorgeous, and… well, Ruby was just an awkward little elf.
"Hey, where's Jaune?" she realized aloud; Ren the last one in, halted in the doorway, turning to face her. She'd only interacted with him a few times, and smiled at him nervously. In his black suit and silver vest—his tie striped like a candy cane, perhaps to complement Nora's peppermint-themed attire—he seemed almost… normal.
"I don't know," replied Ren eventually, and Ruby's heart sank slightly. Had Jaune abandoned the whole gathering just because Yang was terrifying? "But he'll be here soon," Ren assured her, evidently seeing her expression, and went inside.
Ruby, meanwhile, crossed her arms and leaned against the wall. Her teammates didn't need a leader to tell them how to decorate a tree; she was going to stand right there and wait for Jaune.
"Where have you been?" demanded Ruby after about seven and a half minutes (no, of course she wasn't counting), before noticing that Jaune balanced several platters of various baked goods, whereupon her immediate follow-up question was, "Can I have some?"
Jaune grinned at her, and Ruby marveled at his balance. For someone who seemed naturally clumsy, he would make a fantastic waiter. "Help me get them into your room first," he responded; Ruby immediately took a platter of cookies and led the way.
"Refreshments, apparently!" she announced, setting them under the tree—and then she looked up to observe it, and beamed. Their Secret Santa gifts had all been piled under the treetop, from which hung a yellow construction-paper star. Silver tinsel lined the boughs. The ornaments were made of ordinary printer paper, most taking the shape of snowflakes—some meticulously done, some haphazardly done, all of them beautiful as far as Ruby was concerned. Plus, the little bits of residue paper from the cutting-out process made fine artificial snow.
But… "Where'd you find tinsel?" asked Ruby, glancing around to find that Nora wore a makeshift crown crafted of the same material: she narrowed her eyes, certain that it had been her idea, and when Ren shook his head slowly in what might have been his version of exasperation, she knew she was not wrong.
"The tree outside," replied Nora unconcernedly, pointing to the window, and Ruby found that she didn't even want to know how someone who wasn't Sun could possibly scale it safely, much less retrieve décor; she settled for nodding hesitantly.
"So, presents!" exclaimed Yang, smacking a fist into her hand and startling Ruby. Why her every mannerism seemed threatening, Ruby had no idea, but she was noticing it more and more; she exchanged a glance with Jaune, who was no less alarmed. "Party starts in half an hour, guys, so let's get to it!"
It took a little bit longer than anticipated to settle everyone around the tree, especially as Blake had to sit some distance away on the bed. She apologized, but she just didn't feel that she could sit on the floor; her attire, while about as elegant, was considerably less flexible than Pyrrha's—a shimmery, deep purple satin gown, with a rhinestone belt hanging somewhat loosely around her hips. Blake's bow matched her high heels, silver instead of its usual black, but she continually cast glances up at it as if nervous or annoyed.
Halter tops suited her, Ruby noted, and glanced towards the window, half expecting Sun to be hanging there ogling his fellow Faunus—then thought that if he saw her like this, he'd probably lose his grip and plummet to his doom, so made a show of cracking the window open for a bit of fresh air so she could briefly check the ground for critically injured Faunus.
"Here, this one's for you," announced Nora, handing Jaune his gift before taking a bite of gingersnap; Ruby scrambled back to the circle, taking her seat next to him. Whatever the gift was, it was immaculately wrapped, round and apparently hollow in the middle; he tapped on it like a drum before opening it carefully to find… a roll of duct tape.
"Uh, what's this for?" he asked, confused.
"For your mouth," responded Weiss tartly, crossing her arms, and Ruby scowled at her as Jaune looked genuinely taken aback and hurt. Didn't she have a heart at all? Jaune was such a sweet guy! But before she made a fool of herself by extolling his virtues, she smiled—Weiss smiled—and took something small out of her little black clutch, scooting over to him and placing it in his hand gently.
"A guitar pick," explained Ruby, as everyone craned their necks to see; she examined it carefully. It was made of some sort of sturdy shell, from the looks of it, and Weiss had even had it monogrammed for him: J.A. was written in gold cursive in the corner. As he passed it around proudly for the others to observe, Ruby surreptitiously stole the forgotten duct tape—figuring they needed more after mounting the tree used up most of their supplies.
Jaune beamed at her, and his eyes might even have been a little bit watery. "Thank you, Weiss!" he exclaimed, but didn't make a move to hug her, though his arms twitched as though wishing to do so.
"Someone better have gotten me earplugs," muttered Weiss, but she was clearly trying to suppress that smile. "I guess I'll go next?" she continued, reaching for her present uncertainly. "That would be the orderly thing to do."
No one had any objections, so she retrieved her gift, which was a small box wrapped in silver. She didn't tear any paper, opening it slowly, and immediately encountered a bottle of expensive-looking, limited-edition, bright red nail polish. And then Weiss was smiling again! Ruby's eyes widened; that had to have been some kind of a record.
"Thank you, Blake," she sighed sincerely, her voice unusually warm, and looked up gratefully at her teammate on the bed as Blake dipped her head. They had undoubtedly gone shopping together, if Weiss was that certain she was the one who had gotten it, and Ruby smiled. Even though it had been a long time since their team-breaking quarrel, she always found herself relieved when they demonstrated so conclusively that they had moved past it.
Yang handed Blake her present, sitting on the edge of the bed rather than moving back to the circle; Blake's present was clearly a book, which probably accounted for the excitement sparking in her amber eyes as she unwrapped it.
She didn't let anyone else see the title at first, which made Ruby very suspicious. "Thank you so much!" exclaimed Blake, hugging the book to her chest and glancing around the circle, and her eyes landed on Ren, who was smiling faintly.
"What is it?" asked Nora curiously, speaking for them all.
"An annotated compilation of fairy tales," she responded immediately, eyes brimming with happiness, and Ruby gave a sigh of relief. After all, there had been a bit of drama when Yang had discovered her copy of Ninjas of Love and hadn't let her alone about it for three days straight. The last thing that she needed was another fiasco like that…
Ren, by now, had retrieved his present and was opening it carefully. Inside was an ornate box, which he took the time to silently admire with a slight smile still playing on his lips, and inside that was—Ruby leaned to the side to see across the tree, half-accidentally brushing against Jaune's shoulder—a set of chopsticks with intricate designs, and some of those weird meditation sphere things that ring if you shake them. (Ruby had no idea what they were called.)
"Yeahhhh," remarked Yang, smiling awkwardly and running a hand through her bushy hair. "Sorry about the cultural insensitivity and all. I just… don't know anything about what you like, you know?"
But Ren shook his head, seemingly satisfied as he shut the box again, and Yang heaved a sigh of relief; Nora handed her the present with her name on it, giggling faintly: Ruby narrowed her eyes, knowing that she had gotten whatever it was Yang was about to unveil… and that it probably wouldn't be good.
"Chocolate!" she exclaimed, grinning, and immediately opened the box to find… nothing. Not even wrappers. Just an empty chocolate box. Yang closed her eyes, smile becoming a grimace as smoke curled off her hair, and Ruby scooted back; Jaune followed suit hastily.
"Sorry!" laughed Nora. "I ate them all."
"You did what?" snapped Yang, getting to her feet ominously with red eyes as Blake scooted back against the wall—but then Nora proffered another, bigger box, a sparkle still in her eyes: Ruby's irate sister snatched it from her immediately and opened it up, breathing a sigh of relief as she discovered that these ones were all in place.
"Ren kept it away from me so I couldn't get at that one," explained Nora as Yang seated herself once more, still glowering, and popped a chocolate sulkily into her mouth. Everyone else laughed somewhat nervously in relief; Jaune looked like he might faint, so Ruby patted him on the back reassuringly, and he cast a thankful glance at her out the corner of those blue blue eyes (Ruby's heart skipped a beat—but now wasn't a good time… not with everyone watching).
"Your turn, Nora," prompted Pyrrha, and she didn't need to be told twice: she snatched her gift and tore it open before Ruby even knew what was happening, holding it triumphantly into the air even before she looked at it to see what it was.
"Oh, wow!" she exclaimed, when she finally glanced up to examine her new pair of expensive, emblem-customized headphones. "I really needed these! How did you know I—?"
"I was there," explained Pyrrha patiently, and Nora beamed at her. "When your old ones… malfunctioned." There was a tale there Ruby was certain she'd never hear; as she glanced over at Jaune, his eyes told her wearily that it was an impossibly long story.
Ruby bit her lip as Ren handed Pyrrha her clumsily wrapped present, hoping she would like her gift. She'd agonized over the decision for minutes before Weiss helped her make her final choice (translation: "get that one"). Pyrrha smiled as she observed Ruby's horrible wrapping job, then finally unwrapped it to find her necklace.
It was a choker made of interlocking plates of some coppery metal; Ruby figured her semblance might make it appealing. Words couldn't describe how relieved she was to hear Pyrrha exclaim, "How beautiful!" and don it without another word. "Thank you so much!" she added, speaking directly to Ruby this time, and she blushed. Was her discomfort so obvious? Answer: yes. Always yes.
"You're welcome," she responded, more than ready to grab her own gift… and promptly realized that there were no more presents under the tree. Frowning, she glanced around, realizing gradually that everyone had gotten someone something… except Jaune.
"H-hey, don't look at me like that!" he exclaimed, and Ruby realized she was glowering and endeavored to relax her face. (Maybe she had more similarities to Yang than she thought.) "I couldn't decide what to get you, so…" he continued, but trailed off. Shaking his head agitatedly, he withdrew a card from his pocket and handed it to her; Ruby accepted it warily.
It was still warm as she read aloud, "IOU one (1) day of shopping. I will buy you one (1) item." She grinned; that was the best gift she could possibly have asked for. A whole day of shopping with Jaune? That was practically a date. And if she made him buy her a meal instead of an item, then it would really be a date!
One step at a time, Ruby reminded herself; first she had to get through this evening and see if he responded positively to her awkward advances. She came back to her senses suddenly in time to realize that she was still smiling at Jaune, who was smiling right back at her genuinely.
Ruby might have cast aside her inhibitions and kissed him right there, ignoring the fact that everyone was watching them with some degree of amusement—but then Blake exclaimed "Sun!", and Weiss added "Neptune!", and the moment was broken as two more additions to their little party swung in through the window, distracting them.
"Hello, ladies," grinned Sun, giving a jaunty salute; he seemed to be carrying some sort of a pole on his back. "And… you two," he added, referring to Jaune and Ren, both of whom looked slightly sour; Ruby giggled.
"What's up?" asked Neptune, glancing around at everyone—reverse nodding as he crossed his arms. He was so cool. Ruby caught herself smiling, but at Jaune's distinctly displeased expression, she sobered immediately.
Weiss got to her feet, smoothing out her dress somewhat self-consciously and smiling at him as she approached. "We were just passing the time before the party," she said, twirling her hair coyly; Ruby rolled her eyes, noting that she didn't seem to have nearly as much of a problem with his lack of formal wear as she had with hers.
"We've only got a few more minutes before we should all leave for the party," added Pyrrha, rising and stretching elegantly.
"Better make 'em count, then!" exclaimed Sun, suddenly brandishing the stick on his back, and Ruby wondered why he had brought a fishing pole to their dorm room before realizing that there was no bait, but rather mistletoe hanging from the hook. Ruby's heartbeat increased, and the butterflies awakened once more. This could be the perfect opportunity!
She got to her feet uncertainly, glancing down at Jaune and trying to strategize. However, Ruby didn't have long to think before the mistletoe swished around to dangle innocently between her and… Weiss.
Ohhhh no.
She and the heiress exchanged a shocked and troubled glance; Sun only twitched his tail mischievously, refusing to move the poisonous plant. Weiss shook her head, and Ruby nodded in agreement; they turned away from one another. Nope. Nope nope nope. Her first kiss was not going to be with a girl. Especially not Weiss Schnee.
Sun looked disappointed; Yang slid off the bed and stalked forward, ostensibly to threaten Sun into submission, but Sun turned to face her—and then the mistletoe was hanging over Blake and Yang. "Oops," remarked Sun, grinning, and his obvious attraction to Blake did not keep him from holding the fishing rod steady.
Yang obligingly ducked in to give Blake a peck on the cheek, but Blake's eyes were on—"Sun," snapped Blake, and he flinched (Neptune looked mildly amused, Ruby noticed) before rearranging it between the two of them instead.
If looks could kill, Sun would be dead… but he braved her glare and approached anyway, eventually finding the courage to lean in and kiss her on the cheek, though Ruby couldn't help noticing how very close to her mouth he hit. Jaune, meanwhile, got to his feet, looking uncertainly around the place as if trying to find an escape route.
Prowling around the tree, Yang paused next to Neptune and whispered something about keeping Sun under control; Ruby edged forward to join the conversation, but squeaked and jumped backwards (colliding with Jaune for the second time that day) as the mistletoe flew in front of her face, dangling between Neptune and her sister.
Jaune caught her automatically, pushing her up again, and she gave him a tentative smile of thanks—but her attention was drawn to the scene in front of her. Neptune went in for her cheek, but Yang turned her head at the last moment and they ended up kissing on the lips instead… and didn't break away for a few seconds.
Neptune looked a little bit dazed as he surfaced; Ruby blinked, taking mental notes. So that was what a real kiss was like, or at least, it was if it was done well. Was she really up for that with Jaune? (Yes yes yes.)
Sun glanced over his shoulder, not having been watching, and his eyes widened as storm clouds rolled over Weiss's expression; Yang grimaced by way of apology, patting her on the shoulder as she mumbled something about checking out how the schoolwide party setup was going.
Hastily relocating the mistletoe, Sun evidently dared not return to his idle conversation with Blake until matters were cleared up. With Pyrrha's silent encouragement, Weiss marched forward to take Yang's place, leaning up and bringing her lips swiftly up to Neptune's—breaking away within the second, blushing furiously.
But Neptune somehow managed to smile at her encouragingly, and she leaned up once more: Ruby shut her eyes and turned towards Jaune, about to attempt to say something flirtatious (envying the ease with which Ren and Nora carried on conversations amid all this chaos)—but then the mistletoe interrupted her.
However much Ruby had kind of sort of maybe wanted to find herself under the mistletoe with Jaune, she found herself completely and absolutely unprepared for this moment. She swallowed dryly, trying to think of something witty to say or even do, but she found herself frozen; in her peripheral vision, Pyrrha excused herself gracefully.
"We don't have to," said Jaune softly, hesitantly, and there might have been disappointment in his voice—but he spoke at the same time as Ruby asked desperately, "What about Pyrrha?"
Jaune opened his mouth to respond, then glanced at the clearly intrigued Sun with some degree of annoyance. Taking Ruby by the elbow, Jaune guided her hurriedly out of the room; Ruby only stumbled a couple times, which was a miracle given that it felt like her entire body was made of Jell-O. (As they left, Sun shrugged and cast the mistletoe in Nora's direction; she practically tackled poor Ren with a kiss full on the mouth.)
"Sorry," sighed Ruby heavily as the door closed behind them. "I should have just—" Kissed you while I had the chance, she moaned internally. Why had she reminded him that there was someone else he should be kissing instead?! She really should learn to let go.
"Relationships in a team… don't work," said Jaune eventually, leaning against the wall and closing his eyes—his head turned away from Ruby. "What if things don't work out? We're going to be on the same team for four years." He shook his head. "Pyrrha and I…"
Ruby sighed sympathetically. "Can't be together," she finished, and as Jaune nodded despondently, she couldn't tell whether she was happy about it or not. She was friends with both of them, and it clearly didn't make them happy… but they had a point, and besides, that did mean that maybe she'd be able to…
"What about Ren and Nora?" asked Ruby before she even knew what she was saying, and almost covered her mouth after the traitorous words left her mouth. The way she was talking! It sounded almost as though she… oh, what was that word Yang had taught her once—shipped them.
Jaune smiled faintly. "Yeah, well, who knows about them?" he countered. "They've known each other forever, and they don't seem to have a problem with it. But it's not the same for me. I can't imagine what it would be like…" He trailed off. "Anyway," he continued, "that's… not the only reason it can't work for us."
Ruby tilted her head as he continued, "I mean, she's a great girl in so many ways, but she's not y…" Jaune shook his head, reddening. "Ruby, I—" he began again, but a convulsive swallow cut him off. "I mean," he tried again, speeding up to a frantic pace, "do you not want to kiss me because if you don't then I totally understand and we should just stay fr—"
"Of course I want to kiss you, Jaune!" interrupted Ruby, exasperated, before it occurred to her that she had said those words out loud, and she blushed again. His eyes widened, and he closed his mouth abruptly mid-word. "I was just worried you were in love with Pyrrha or Weiss or something," she mumbled self-consciously, kicking the ground.
"No," explained Jaune. "But, I can see why you'd think that," he admitted with a sigh. "See, I was going to ask you to be my valentine in a couple months," he continued, smiling awkwardly and rubbing the back of his head. "It was a really elaborate plan with red velvet cupcakes and everything. But hey, I like it better this way."
Red velvet cupcakes?! Ruby hoped he wasn't going to abandon that idea just because the confession event was happening a couple months early. "Wh-what way is that?" she asked, stepping forward deliberately, looking for an opportunity.
"Awkward," responded Jaune, smiling, and Ruby knew then what she must do. She stood on her tiptoes, trying desperately to reach his mouth, and he laughed and leaned down to oblige her: their lips met swiftly, but parted again all too soon as he straightened up.
Well, it was a start; that was as much as Ruby had dared to hope for.
"I had been planning to do that tonight for a week," she confessed, looking up at his gentle blue eyes. "I was so worried I'd mess it up, you have no idea." She bit her lip. "And, you know, I crushed you with the Starnight tree, so I figured that pretty much ruined my chances…"
Jaune laughed gently. "Yeah, well, I'm alive, right? And I'm sure we can find time to practice."
Ruby frowned. "Wait," she said, and Jaune halted confusedly. "No, I mean listen," she amended, unable to suppress a smile, and he kept walking alongside her. "You're okay with a relationship… because you're more comfortable with the idea of breaking up with me than with Pyrrha?"
"It sounds weird when you say it like that," protested Jaune. "I want to go out with you because we're not going to end up stuck together if we don't want to be." He sighed; Ruby smiled tentatively. "Look, I don't know what's going on, but as long as you're with me, I'm okay with being clueless."
"We'll figure something out together," promised Ruby, resolving to think no more of the end when they were still standing at the beginning. "I mean, I've liked you since forever, so I'm happy."
Jaune smiled as they rounded the corner; she took his arm automatically as they dodged a passerby. "Yeah," he responded quietly. She knew it couldn't be as true for him, given his infatuation with Weiss and his complicated sort of courtship with Pyrrha; he probably meant that he had known.
"Was it so obvious?" asked Ruby hesitantly, self-consciously, and stared at her feet—partially to ensure she didn't stumble and interrupt this perfect conversation.
He shook his head slowly. "I just hoped it was true." He gave her a relieved smile. "I'm terrified of rejection; I probably would have chickened out before I asked you out on Valentine's Day." He paused. "So I guess it's lucky Sun cornered us with the mistletoe?"
"It's a miracle," agreed Ruby, her arm dropping back to her side.
"'Tis the season," smiled Jaune, and slipped his hand into hers.