*rubs the back of his head sheepishly, not exactly sure how to start but here goes?*
Hey guys, Spectre here. Or Spec, or Inspectre. Whichever you wanna call me. The first two date way back from my username on an RP site I've been going to for years now called ReignofBlood. Some of you might know me, I change names/RP characters often but my ID is 121609. Anyway..
This isn't my first rodeo in the writing field, as far as.. Basically writing goes. Like I said I've been roleplaying for well over 5 years, aside from that I've written well around 35 biographies for my as of this post, 65+ characters. At least 12 of which are RWBY OCs. Should check out that site, it's pretty fun. But as far as fanfiction writing AND using this site, brand new. I'm no stranger to FF since I browsed it a good bit when I was younger and after RWBY hit Youtube via the first Red trailer way back in.. What, September 2012? Or no that was the Miraculous Ladybug PV, which I'm still waiting for, Zagtoon! It was November now that I went and checked. Anyway, I've been back into fanfiction for a good while but never really considered writing any of my own. I certainly have the imagination for it, and the obsession to fuel it. Seriously I got RWBY fever so bad I'd pop the thermometer. ..Not the electronic ones, the old ones with mercury in them. ..*suddenly imagines a glass thermometer full of tiny Mercury Black faces*
ANYWAY. Again. *laughs* I recently started teasing the idea of submitting one and with a prompt from LegolasDragonRanger (she's got a few cool Pokemon works and has been my RP partner on RoB for well over a year now, heck I even brought her into Team FNDM) of family bonding, Roman and Neo, and going out for icecream, this little originally-planned-to-be-a-oneshot turned into Grapefruit and Icecream.
Which by the way I'mma take a sec in this A/N to explain. Icecream, well if you haven't guessed who that refers to then I worry for ya. ..I keed I keed. As for Grapefruit.. Think about it. It's orange on the outside (Like Roman's hair) with an acidic surface (dat attitude, srsly what'd a Faunus ever do to you Mr. Smooth Criminal?) but if you can peel that away you find a sweet interior. ..At least in my canon anyway. And what kind? A ruby (heh) red one. If I shipped them as a couple I'd so call it Grapefruit but I think it goes by Rosewick? For the purposes of this fanfic though it's a friendship name. Not to sound arrogant but I like mine better. Save the name merging style for Fairy Tail ship names. Oh, also a huge fan of FT and so is LDR (I'm slowly dragging her into all my fandoms, mwahaha). I plan on writing for that series too, actually have a lot of ideas and a collection of OCs I could use for it (two Dragon Slayers, a God Slayer, and a set of twin Devil Slayers/Etherious as well as two Exceeds) but I'm getting off topic. I like a few people love the idea of having Roman and Neo shipped in a more platonic/familial way, so of course I jumped at the idea of a prompt like that one. Didn't take like any convincing to make it the subject of my first fanfic.
Which brings me to my second point to make here. Sorry for the long-as-heck A/N guys (that's not the point fyi)! Just a bit more until the chapter! As I stated before this is my first foray into writing outside of RP purposes and first time on FF. I'm still getting used to it so bear with me until I adjust. Apologies if my way of organizing/formatting looks wierd. I've read a ton of fics in my day but this is just generally how I write. I also apologize for not putting an A/Ns in the first chapter! Completely slipped my freakin' mind. Also this story is finally gonna have a cover now that the waiting period is up.
Anyway, here's the second chapter of Grapefruit and Icecream! I want to give a big shoutout to everybody who has favorited, followed, or even just read the story, and especially to those that leave reviews whether it's to say you liked it and want MOAR and/or drop constructive criticism! Just because I've been RP'ing for years doesn't mean I'm not prone to mistakes or can't get better! Really you guys. It means a LOT to me to hear and see that people liked it. I can't tell you how much I smiled to see it had such a positive reception. Was almost biting my nails from nervousness and anxiety, both right as I uploaded it and right as I came back after work to see the results. Funny since I've been doing public roleplay for years so this really shouldn't have bothered me that much.. I dunno. But anyhoot. Enjoy! I'm gonna go check to see if the next chapter of Fairy Tail is out yet and maybe work on my latest RWBY OC. Think of a Highlander meets Guts from Berserk, or come say hi on ReignofBlood!
Roman couldn't believe his luck at the current moment. Or rather his- Well.. The man could only describe it as grave misfortune. To think he had bumped into HER of all people and he was positive she was thinking the exact same thing in return. Where it had been missing at the previous moment part of his mind now wanted to go track down that onyx feline and punt it across the alleyway.
For you see the so-called 'cutie' sitting on Santa's lap was none other than Ruby Rose, one of the young Huntresses that for the last few months had been giving the crime lord and his cohorts so much trouble with just about everything they were doing. Dust raids being intercepted with their precious cargo returned safe and sound, White Fang attacks falling flat of their intended effect, Grimm releases being stopped in their tracks.. Thorns in his side indeed. Though if he wanted to be perfectly honest with himself and he was loathe to, she still was pretty cute. Though she also looked a little younger than he initially thought as well..
But that was less important and right now the cat soccer playing urge was rapidly squashed in favor of one to throw the girl off and bolt. But that would royally screw up the outgoing that he had planned for himself and his daughter, what to do what to do? Before the man could think on it too long the brunette would hold her notebook by the sides of their faces to block them from prying eyes and loudly whisper.
"What on Remnant are you doing here?!"
"Well I was thinking of having a nice T-bone steak with some chicken alfredo, if you don't mind taking my order. She'll have the-"
"Okay let me rephrase that, what are YOU doing here?"
"Can't a man and his daughter have a nice meal together?"
"Your dau- What?!" Ruby asked incredulously, her silver eyes widening before tilting her notebook to look over at the other girl across from them. The as of yet unnamed female beamed and gave a short wave to her before she turned back to Roman.
"..How in the world do you have a daughter?"
"Oh dear. Well Red I suppose if nobody else has yet.. You see when a man and a woman love eachother very much they-"
"Eww, no! Yang already had The Talk with me. I mean what kind of woman would want a kid with a jerk like you?" ..Ouch. That was cold. Not that he was terribly wounded by the cutting remark though he could slightly understand where she was coming from. He'd even admitted to the Faunus at that one rally where they unveiled the prototype Paladins they had secured that he was a pretty bad human being. Still.
"Low blow Red."
"Bite me."
"I'd rather be biting into a nice juicy piece of well done cow right about now. Are you going to take our order or..?"
"I'd rather go call the cops and have you locked up again so don't go anywhere alright"? The Huntress quickly started to move away and tried to get off the male but he reached up with his arm to grab the back of her uniform. "Whoa-hoa-hoa! Don't go doing anything too hasty now.. Let's sit down and talk about this shall we?"
"Give me a good reason why."
"Err.." Well, it appeared Roman was stuck on an answer for that. Really couldn't think of one to save his life. For once his sterling silver tongue failed him. He'd swear up and down this never happened to him before, and of all the times why now? Seeing no other alternative or way to lie out of it.. Despite going against every fiber in his being the idea of just being honest flashed in his mind and he took it like a picture. What else could he do? At this rate the Vale City PD were going to get involved and like Hell he wanted that. Not that he feared getting caught exactly. Not by those generally dumb and/or incompetent officers. With a reluctant heavy sigh he eased his grip on the girl's dress.
"..I rarely get to see my little girl between my work and her schooling and I just.. I wanted to make good use of the time we do have together. Away from our responsibilities. I organized this a while back so we could sit down and have a nice evening to do a little bonding, father and daughter. Actually have some quality time away from it all to talk about what we've been up to, which isn't as enjoyable when it's around 11 o'clock at night and I finally get off work to come home. She's either asleep or getting ready for bed and that kind of schedule doesn't have much room for more than a short 'how was work/school today?' and a goodnight. Mornings aren't much better since I'm usually gone by the time she gets up so I always just leave her a note or something. Since her mother isn't around I've been taking care of her alone and we rarely have the chance to do anything like this. Opportunity finally comes knocking and it's hounded by fate at the window, should've known this was a bad idea soon as I saw that cat but I'm not exactly a superstitious type to begin with."
His lips were curved in a bit of a frown as he spoke, glancing aside and sometimes over Ruby's shoulder at his freckle-faced daughter before continuing. It was actually pretty close to the truth if not the exact, even when she did accompany him to work the necessity to hide their relationship meant few chances or little time to act like said relationship existed. The man really did have a soft spot for her but something as benign as childish teasing wasn't the only reason for that. If Cinder ever found out.. For all she knew she was simply a henchman of his. However if word got to her of THIS.. Roman shuddered, fearing the possibility the pyromancer would use her as leverage to keep him in line. He'd bear with that woman's tyranny for the rest of his life if it meant keeping her safe but that's not something he planned on doing forever.
"But that's neither here nor there. I won't bother you with my life story, if you really want to run us out then I suppose we'll have to do this some other time then. Come on sweetheart, let's split before the bacon comes rolling."
The man shifted in his seat, attempting to give the waitress a boost off of him as his daughter frowned before reaching over in her own for a purse that apparently belonged to her. Looking between the two Torchwicks Ruby felt a pang of guilt and before she knew what she was doing had placed both hands on the older one's shoulders to stop him from moving.
"W-Wait! Don't. I.. ..You really mean all that?"
"Yes I do Red. I may be a lot of things, not all of them good, but being a father comes first and foremost. I'm not here to simply case this joint for its Lien like I could be. I guess it's your job as a Huntsman to catch criminals though isn't it?" He asked, the one visible eyebrow of his raised. Her response was not what he was expecting though, leaving him rather flabbergasted.
"..Weeeell if I see any, yeah. All I see though is a father and daughter trying to have a nice meal together though I guess, if anybody asks."
Her genuine smile as she answered caught him off guard and it took him several moments to register that, in the meantime giving her a blank and blink-y stare.
"Seriously?"
"Uh huh! I mean.. You're a jerk, and a thief-" Ouch again. "-and a thug, and a bully, and a-" Okay okay okay.
"Get to the point Red."
"I'm just saying. ..I don't feel like you're lying. Not this time. Somehow I think I can trust you just this once. I know what it's like growing up with a single dad who can't always be there, and a mom who.. Never was.. I won't do anything so relax."
The smile she gave him was almost a reflection of the girl's sitting across from him, one that could melt the ice around the coldest of hearts as they locked eyes. For a brief moment he could even feel one of his own creeping up, and not the usual snarky smug grin he always had but a more genuine one. Several moments went by like this until the two of them realized the rather compromising situation they were still in.
A 16 year old girl sitting sidelong on a much (likely twice at the least) older man's lap, hands on his collar, their faces barely more than a few inches apart due to the seriousness of the conversation they'd been having. She was as loathe to admit it in return but Roman wasn't exactly lacking charm.. Of course after said realization Ruby blushed and cleared her throat as he tapped both sets of fingers on the table nonchalantly.
"I uh.. Should probably do my job then and write up what you two want right?"
"Well I assume the food isn't going to simply walk up and drop itself on my plate now will it?" Smartass. "..Wait a minute. Aren't you a Huntress-in-training? What's this for? Trying to earn some extra money?"
"Oh! I um.. Y'see the thing is- Err, that's-"
"Rose! Your shift's up! Take a break, your replacement is already on the way over and- Oh, pardon me." An older woman came walking by, also dressed in a similar uniform though her skirt was longer and her black hair up in a bun. She raised a questioning eyebrow upon catching site of the two. The young Huntress' face lit up like a crimson Christmas tree as she stammered and tried to explain, her apparent superior simply chuckling and walking away while mumbling something about 'older men'.
"I-It's not like that! I don't even LIKE this guy!"
"Et tu, Rubus? I thought we were having a bonding moment of our own there."
"Stuff it, jerk!" She fumed, hiding her face with her notebook before pushing herself off and standing by their table. After smoothing out her uniform she exhaled. "Well, that's it for me I guess. Someone else''ll be coming to take your order then. Hope you two have a good night. ..I can totally see the family resemblance by the way. Cute."
Roman grinned, catching his daughter blushing out of the corner of his eye before focusing his gaze on the waitress. Honestly he'd been amazed at her sudden change of heart. While he was very good with words he really hadn't been trying to guilt trip her into letting them off easy. Yet that seemed to have been the case. Sometimes he was so good he impressed himself. Though, coming face to face with his 'enemy' he realized that off the clock she wasn't so bad and it seemed she felt the same if only for a moment.
..Probably because she wasn't trying to carve him a new cakehole with that terrifying monster of a death sickle she tried to pass off as a Huntsman weapon or blow his limbs off with the massive gun in it. Hard to forget 'it's also a gun' when the Dust rounds were bigger than your fingers.
Against his better judgement, half because he could tell his daughter was a bit hopeful at the prospect and half some inexplicable reason he himself couldn't explain the man grumbled and reached out to grab Ruby's wrist right before she started to leave.
"Hey hang on kiddo. Why don't you join us for tonight? I'll buy."
"Eeeh?"
And thus the internal screaming continued.
