This World is Beautiful (Or So I'm told)

The Birds and the Bumblebees

By Lightningstrxu


Ruby sat at the breakfast table, having just finished perhaps the most delicious plate of bacon and eggs she had ever eaten.

"Another plate my dear?" Jaune asked spatula and frying pan at the ready.

"Yes please, if it's not too much trouble." Ruby said sheepishly.

"Of course it isn't, you're eating for two after all." Jaune replied as he turned back to the stove.

"Yeah." Ruby smiled as she patted her belly, her pregnancy was only just beginning to show.

"Mama?" Bell called from across the table. Ruby turned to face her.

"Yes Bell?" Ruby asked.

"My new brother or sister is in your tummy right?" the little girl asked, her face scrunched up in confusion trying to even grasp the concept of pregnancy.

"That's a way of putting it yes." Ruby chuckled. While she could not see her daughter's face she could easily hear the confusion in her voice.

"Did I come from your tummy too?"

"Yes, you did." Ruby smiled warmly. "All babies come from their mother's tummy."

"How did I get in your tummy mama?" Bell asked eagerly bouncing in her seat.

A clanging sound was heard as Jaune dropped the spatula on the floor, and he began sputtering.

"What?" Jaune managed to gasp out.

"Did I ask something wrong?" Bell kicked her feet back and forth as she looked up to Jaune.

"No sweetie. It's a good question." Ruby spoke softly. "Well Jaune, how did Bell end up in my tummy?"

"Why are you asking me?" Jaune asked as his eyes narrowed looking at the smug little smirk on Ruby's face.

"Well, you put her there." Ruby countered. "I figured Bell would want to know how you came to be called daddy."

"If memory serves you called my daddy that night." Jaune muttered under his breath.

"Jaune not in front of Bell!" Ruby admonished going red in the face.

"Well don't…"

"Excuse me I asked a question!" Bell pouted crossing her arms.

"Young lady you do…" Jaune began.

"Jaune." Ruby held out a hand to him. "She's right; we're dancing around the question." Ruby sniffed. "Also the eggs are burning."

"Shii..ugar." Jaune held back the swear in his daughter's presence, before going back to his cooking.

"I'm sorry Bell, I'll answer your question now." Ruby said calmly. "However in the future it's not nice to demand things."

"Okay." Bell nodded.

"How you ended up in my tummy."

Ruby took a deep breath.

How indeed?

Flashback

Ruby held up another outfit up to her scroll.

"No." Yang said with a shake of her head from the screen.

"Yang!" Ruby gave an exasperated sigh as she tossed the outfit aside. "That the third outfit you've rejected, I'm running out of clothes."

"Well, maybe you should take more pride in your appearance." Yang chided waggling a finger at Ruby.

"Why should I care about what I can't see?!" Ruby threw her hands up and collapsed back onto her bed.

"Ruby." Yang whispered. "Sorry I just…"

"It's fine Yang." Ruby sighed again, her hand coming up to trace the cloth she wore over her eyes. "I guess I'm just nervous."

Ruby sat up hugging her knees to her chest.

"I haven't seen…" Ruby stopped to consider the irony of those words. "I haven't seen Jaune in three years, when I visited Ren and Nora in Kuroyuri." She stood up and began pacing.

"And now all of a sudden he calls me up and wants to have dinner and catch up." Ruby ran a hand through her hair. "Maybe I'm overthinking things; I don't need to dress up for him."

"You don't need to, but you want to." Yang commented. "Ruby can you at least face the scroll so I'm not talking to your wall."

"Sorry Yang." Ruby stood and fished through her dresser feeling the different outfits, seeing if any of them felt fancy.

"So are you going to tell him?" Yang rested her head in her hand.

"Tell him what?" Ruby said totally not dodging the question. "What do you think of this?" she held up what she presumed to be a sweater. Usually, she was quite meticulous in keeping her clothes organized for identification but now in a state of panic as well as scraping the bottom of the barrel regarding outfits.

"It looks fine." Yang said dismissively. "Are you going to tell him?"

"I don't know!" Ruby tossed her hand in the air. "What am I supposed to tell him. 'Oh hey Jaune I've been in love with you since I was eighteen.'"

"Yes!" Yang shouted. "That is exactly what you're going to do."

Ruby picked up her scroll and flopped onto her bed.

"That sound like a terrible idea Yang what if he says no? What if he doesn't feel the same way I do?"

"Then he doesn't, and you can finally move on knowing that you at least told him how you felt."

"But what if I destroy our friendship, what if I can never live up to Pyrrha."

"Ruby I don't want you to feel how I feel." Yang sighed. "I loved Blake, and I never told her because she had Sun, and didn't want to make it awkward. I figured I could always do it later. We had more important things to worry about."

Yang gave a long drawn out sigh.

"I never got a later Ruby."

"Sor…"

"Don't even think of finishing that, it wasn't your fault Ruby." Yang said sharply. "My point is Jaune is a Huntsman. Every day could be his last, so you are going to tell him. As for your other arguments, if this destroys your friendship then he never deserved it in the first place, and don't try to live up to Pyrrha, be you, Ruby."

"Alright." Ruby nodded. "I'll tell him."

"Good." Yang beamed. "So I think I can build you an outfit out of what you've got. But what are you going to wear under it?"

"Eh?" Ruby's face went red. "What does that matter?"

"In case you and Jaune decide to do the do." Yang chuckled as Ruby continued to curl up into a ball of embarrassment.

"That…We're not…I don't even own anything like that." Ruby managed to sputter out.

"I bought you some a few years ago for your birthday. Your size hasn't changed so should still work."

"You bought me those as a joke; I was so embarrassed."

"You're twenty-five Ruby, the jokes over."

Ruby fell back on her bed and groaned.

Today was going to be a long day.

#####

Ruby had only just finished setting the table, when she was startled by a knock at the door.

"Coming!" Ruby gasped out. She ran her hands over her skirt and sweater one last time, hoping everything was neat and tidy. She ran to her apartment door and opened it up. "Hello."

"Hey, Ruby." Jaune smiled.

Ruby's mind spiraled. Jaune was here, for dinner with her alone. A potentially romantic evening. Alright now say something witty.

"Hi." Ruby said softly as she waved.

"So? Can I come in?" Jaune shuffled his feet out in the hallway.

"Oh yes come in." Ruby chuckled nervously as she stood aside to let him into her apartment.

Jaune walked inside, and she closed the door behind him.

"Uh, Ruby?"

"Yes, Jaune?"

"Do you think you can turn on the lights?" Jaune looked around the darkened room.

"Oh sorry!" Ruby ran to the nearest light switch and flicked it on. "I don't normally think about it."

"It's fine…" Jaune trailed off as the lights illuminated Ruby.

She was dressed in a very flattering red sweater and black skirt ensemble, black thigh high stockings framing her legs very nicely along with slightly heeled red shoes.

"It seems I'm underdressed for the occasion." He managed to say after taking in her appearance.

"Oh, this?" Ruby motioned to herself. "Yang helped me pick it out; I told her it was too much."

"No, it's fine." Jaune shook his head. "You look beautiful Ruby."

It took every ounce of willpower Ruby had not to faint at that moment.

"Thank you." Her hands fidgeted with the hem of her sweater. "Do you want a drink?"

"Sure." Jaune sat on the couch.

Ruby walked shakily over to her fridge and not just because she was wearing lady stilts. Retrieving a bottle of wine from it she then wandered to one of her cupboards and pulled down two glasses.

Jaune watched her as she walked, amazed at how easily she navigated her apartment despite being blind. The last time he had seen Ruby she was still struggling with basic day to day activities.

Ruby returned placing the bottle of wine on the coffee table as well as two glasses.

"So how have you been?" Ruby sat down smoothing out her skirt as she adjusted herself. She reached out and poured two glasses of wine, and handed one to Jaune.

"I've been doing well." Jaune said as he took the glass and sipped it. "Just a wandering Huntsman, righting the wrongs of the world, I was just in in Mistral helping to settle a border dispute."

"Well you've always been a good leader Jaune, did you manage to negotiate a deal." Ruby sipped her wine.

"Yes I did, they split the contested land down the middle." Jaune smiled. "So what have you been up to?"

"Oh um." Ruby ran a hand through her hair. "I haven't been doing much, I take a lot of walks, and I help out at Beacon every so often, Not very impressive compared to you."

"It's not a competition Ruby." Jaune rubbed his chin in contemplation. "Both the world and you have changed; it can be a struggle to figure out what you want to do with yourself. You said you help out with Beacon, what do you do there."

"Oscar has me speak sometimes; he thinks it's a good idea the world never forgets where we came from. I happen to agree. I chaperone functions and counsel students who have been through trauma."

"I see." Jaune took another sip. "Have you considered teaching?"

"Teaching?" Ruby cocked her head to the side. "I doubt I could do that, the only thing I excel at is combat, and well I can't see to teach."

"Really now; Hold out you hand Ruby."

"Okay." Ruby held out her hand, Jaune placed something into it.

"Now what is it?"

Ruby's fingers wrapped around the object.

"Well, it's a gun." She ran her fingers over it. "Well, more specifically A Mistralian semi-automatic pistol, with twenty-two caliber rounds. It has been modified slightly." She maneuvered it around. "The grip is weighted and reinforced for use as a club in melee combat. This is excellent craftsmanship Jaune." She held it back out to him.

"It better be, it cost a lot of lien to commission it. But you were able to tell all that just by holding it?"

"Well yeah." Ruby smiled confidently. "I'm a total dork when it comes to weapons; I must have tried everything at least once back at Signal before deciding on a scythe, like Qrow."

"Well there you go, you can teach students how to maintain their weapons properly. A lot of kids just pick out a weapon; you'd be surprised at how many don't know how they function."

"I guess I can consider it…" Ruby trailed off as she sniffed the air. "Oh no!" she bolted off the couch and to her oven and opened it. Smoke billowed out of it causing Ruby to cough.

"You alright?" Jaune got up and followed her.

"I forgot to set the timer." Ruby sighed. "I was too focused on looking nice for you I'm so stupid." She opened a nearby window to let out the smoke. "And now I ruined our dinner."

Ruby marched back over to her couch and plopped down. She poured another glass of wine and chugged it down.

"Ruby, are you okay?" Jaune sat back on the couch next to her.

"I'm fine." She reached out to pour another glass, but Jaune grabbed her hand.

"You're not!" Jaune said sharply. "I can understand being upset, but you look devastated, what is all this? The fancy clothes, the wine this isn't you."

"Well I just…" Ruby sat still. "I just needed to tell you something, and I didn't know any better way of doing it. I told Yang this was stupid."

"Ruby if you have something to tell me, just tell me. We've been friends for ten years, and you can tell me anything."

"I…I don't want to be friends anymore Jaune." Ruby said shakily.

"Ruby what are you talking…"

Ruby leaned over and pressed her lips against his, and it wasn't quite what she expected. It was scratchy and rough.

"Ruby is there a reason you're passionately kissing my chin?"

"Sorry." Ruby leaned back but was stopped as Jaune brought his hand up to her cheek.

"Its fine I think I understand now, you sure have a confusing way of putting things, Ruby."

Jaune began pulling her closer, Ruby's heart hammered in her chest.

"I love you too Ruby."

"Wha…" Ruby started to exclaim in confusion but was quickly silenced as his lips found hers.

The world around her seemed to fade; despite being blind, she prided herself on being acutely aware of the world around her. But right now he was her world.

His scent, his taste, his touch all of it overwhelming her heightened senses. She brought her hands up pulling him closer deepening the kiss. She felt herself shift as he fell back against the couch pulling her on top of him.

Regretfully even trained Hunters still need to breathe and at last they parted.

"How long?" Ruby managed to pant out. She felt as if the world was spinning. She rested her head on Jaune's shoulder for support.

"Five years." Jaune replied as he gently stroked her back. "I wanted to tell you, but you had enough to worry about at the time, and then you fought Salem and…"

"I lost my eyes." Ruby finished for him. "You can say it Jaune, I've made my peace with it."

"I can see that." Jaune wrapped his arms around her. "But at the time I didn't want to feel like I was taking advantage of you at you're most vulnerable. What about you, how long?"

"Seven years." Ruby whispered as she nuzzled into his neck. "I realized it when we beat Cinder together and you got hurt, I don't think I had ever been so afraid before. I never said anything because I was afraid I could never measure up to Pyrrha."

"Ruby, Pyrrha meant a lot to me it's true." Jaune took a deep breath. "She started me on the path I needed to be on, but you kept me on it. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be here right now, after Beacon fell I might have just stayed at home and given up on my dream. But you kept me going Ruby."

"So we've both just been dancing around oblivious for the last few years?"

"Looks like it." Jaune shrugged.

"What do you say we make up for lost time?" Ruby pressed her lips to his again, this time finding them easily. Her hand was snaking its way under Jaune's shirt running her fingers over his abs.

"Isn't this a little fast?" Jaune gasped out as he pulled back from the kiss.

"Well, speed is my semblance." Ruby smirked devilishly.

"Still seems a little…" Jaune's argument died in his throat as Ruby pulled her sweater over her head and tossed it aside.

Ruby was before him now her breasts only held back by the barest amount of red lace.

"I take it by your silence that you like it?" Ruby giggled. "Never actually wore this before."

"It looks good." Jaune stammered out.

"Good." She kissed him again. "Although I think Yang lied about my size not changing, this isn't exactly comfortable."

"Well, you may have gotten a little bigger." Jaune smirked, his fingers tracing their way up her spine, causing her to shiver. "If you're that uncomfortable we can always take it off."

"Now who's rushing?" Ruby stuck her tongue out at him but froze when she felt him undo the clasp at her back, the feeling of him sliding the straps down her shoulders as she became exposed to him

This was happening, wasn't it?

"Gods' you're beautiful." Was the last thing Ruby remembered Jaune whispering to her before being pulled into another kiss. His hands roaming to her chest, their gentle caresses overwhelming her senses.

Before they spiraled into blissful oblivion.

#####

Ruby stretched and groaned rolling over on her bed. A huge smile formed as consciousness returned to her as she remembered last night.

"Mmmm." She snuggled into her pillow. It had been years since she had slept that well. "Morning Jaune." Ruby reached out her hand next to her only to find empty space.

Ruby sat bolt upright in bed, reaching out to both sides of her…she was alone in bed.

"Jaune." Ruby asked confused.

Had last night just been some incredible dream? Ruby shook her head. No, it was way to real, was it just some one night stand, did he just use her, and why did she smell eggs?

"Morning Ruby." She heard Jaune say as he entered the room. "I made breakfast."

Ruby felt the bed shift as Jaune sat down and held a plate out to her with one hand and with his other guided her hand to the plate.

Ruby took the plate and sniffed, scrambled eggs and bacon, perhaps a hint of brown sugar. Her stomach growled only just now realizing that she and Jaune had never actually gotten around to eating last night.

"Thank you." Ruby managed to say before scarfing it down. It was perhaps the most delicious thing she had ever eaten. "That was almost as good as the sex." Ruby licked her lips as she finished the meal.

"Oh…." Jaune chuckled nervously. "Well, I try."

"At this rate, I might just have to marry you." Ruby smiled while setting the plate on her nightstand.

"Sure, sounds fine to me." Jaune shrugged.

"What?" Ruby asked confused.

"You said last night we're overdue, so sure I'll marry you."

"What?" Ruby asked again in disbelief.

"Will you marry me, Ruby?" Jaune looked over at her; Ruby sat frozen. "Ruby?"

"Yes!" Ruby leaped into his arms.

Jaune wrapped his arms around her.

"I have to call Yang and Weiss." Ruby trembled with excitement. "I need a dress! I don't know how to dress!"

"Ruby, there's no need to rush that much, we've waited years a little longer won't kill us."

Jaune pulled her into a kiss, and the world faded away again. He was right, and it's not like they needed to get married tomorrow.

Four weeks later Ruby found out she was pregnant with Bell.

End Flashback

Ruby could feel the impatient stare that her daughter was giving her, she had reminisced perhaps a bit too long.

Well, that was hardly an age-appropriate story for her four-year-old little girl, hell it would probably be inappropriate for Bell even if she were thirty.

"Love is how you got there Bell." Ruby said after a moment. "A special love that only mommies and daddies can share."

"Oh." Bell scrunched her face up in confusion. "Uncle Qrow said it was sex."

"Excuse me?" Ruby almost fell out of her chair, while Jaune went into a coughing fit.

"Uncle Qrow said babies come from sex." Bell smiled sweetly. "What's sex mama?"

Ruby slammed rubbed her hand against her forehead.

Today was going to be a long day.


Well so ends another installment, I've decided to come back to this after getting inspired. While I am updating a chapter and may continue to do so in the future, I am keeping the story marked as complete. Each chapter will be semi-standalone with no real over-arching storyline. So this may be the end it may not be. As always read and review.