A/N: Uh, sorry about that wait. Longest chapter yet to make up for it. Reasoning at the bottom. Review please and enjoy.
Yatsuhashi Daichi had stared death in the face many times in his relatively short life, making your living fighting Grimm and being partnered with someone infamous for her morning moodiness would have that effect on anyone. In all of those cases, he liked to think he acted bravely and dignified. Sitting in a Bullhead, clothed in a suit, surrounded by tons of parents wearing much the same, he felt worse than any time before.
He tapped his foot incessantly and tried to not crush the bouquet of flowers in his hand. Every couple of seconds, he would wipe his hands off on his pant leg, trying to get rid of the torrent of sweat that was coming off of him.
His mission today was a simple one with three distinct parts; Part one - attend Ruby's graduation. Part two - give her the flowers. A bouquet of red and black roses with a single white one in the center. Part three - confess his feelings. Even as he sat there, going over the plan in his head, he shuddered. He was confident in his feelings, had been for a while now. He was reasonably sure that Ruby returned said feelings, if Velvet was to be believed (which she was). The whole thing boiled down to six words, none of which were even longer than four letters. Will you go out with me?
In an effort to practice, he tried saying the words the Velvet. In retrospect, he probably should've told her it was a test and not a real question, might have saved him from some awkwardness. The worst part of the experiment, besides having to backpedal and reassure his partner that they were only friends, was that it didn't even work! He felt somehow less confident after that. Being around Velvet didn't make him nervous, it didn't make his palms sweaty, or his heart feel like it was going to burst from his chest. Ruby was just different, she was special.
Being so lost in his emotions, he didn't hear the announcement to exit the bullhead. Thankfully, a large man with bright blonde hair and a scruffy beard nudged him with a shoulder.
"You coming or not?" Yatsu looked up and stared at the man. He looked familiar, something about his hair kept nagging in the back of his mind, like he'd seen the man before. Pushing the thought from his head, he nodded and stood up.
"My apologies, I'm a bit out of it today." The man shook his head and told him not to worry about it, gesturing for Yatsu to follow him out. He took the opportunity to stretch his arms and back, feeling the pops in his joints. It brought a small modicum of relief from his stress as sitting hunched over in those seats played hell with his muscles. The man pointed to the flowers in his hands.
"Got a hot date tonight?" Yatsu let out a nervous chuckle.
"If all goes well, I very well may." The man clapped a hand onto his shoulder.
"Son, you look like you're about to pass out." Was it that obvious? He hoped to at least play it off but apparently, he was a worse actor than he thought.
"Listen kid, let an old man give you some advice alright?" Yatsu nodded, at this point, he'd have taken advice from Professor Port if he thought it would help. "Stop thinking." Yatsu cocked an eyebrow. Stop thinking? How could he? What did that even mean? He had to fight off the urge to roll his eyes. "I know what you're thinking. 'This guy's crazy, what does he know?'" Yatsu gave no indication one way or the other about his feelings but the stranger was closer than he thought he would be. "Hear me out. Do you like the girl?"
"Of course." The man nodded.
"You want to take her on elaborate dates and all that jazz?" Yatsu nodded back. "You want to kiss her under the pale moonlight?" Maybe not all of that specifically but the idea did sound nice. "Well, then you need to stop. Thinking. Just take a couple of deep breaths and relax. You'll be golden so long as you don't overthink the whole thing and psyche yourself out." Seeing as he had nothing to lose, he gave it a go.
Breathe in, hold it for a few seconds, and then let it out. In and out, nice and slow. After nearly half a minute, he felt a bit better. He was still terrified but it didn't threaten to consume him entirely now.
"Thank you, sir." The man clapped him on his shoulder again.
"Go get her kid, be confident." Yatsu nodded and made his way into the school. After making it nearly halfway to the auditorium, the nerves reared their ugly heads again. Deciding that enough was enough and that what he needed right now was a quick meditation session, he changed course to the Gardens.
Thankfully, it was empty. He would've felt bad throwing out people looking for a perfect spot to take a selfie or some graduation photos, but this was his space and he'd be damned before he gave it up in his hour of need. He was pleasantly surprised to see things were still looking as beautiful as when he'd left. Not that he thought the groundskeeping crew (and Ruby) would shirk their duties but, he simply didn't think anyone would take care of them up to his standards.
Plopping down at the base of the Mistralian Maple, he began to slip into his Zen. It didn't take long for the effects to start kicking in. His heart rate was getting down to a more manageable level and the butterflies that were assaulting his stomach had decided to stop and break for lunch. With a final breath, he opened his eyes and began to stretch. Sitting stock still on the concrete was about as bad for his back as the bullhead seats. All seemed well until someone stepped out of the shadows and into the fading light of the Gardens.
He was a tall man, rail thin with jet black hair sprinkled with strands of silver. Normally, Yatsu would've been drawn to the tattered cloak that hung off of his body, or the wicked blade that rest horizontally on a mount on his lower back, but the first real detail he processed seeing was the leather-bound flask that the man was chugging. Yatsu was about to tell the man the drinking on school grounds was against the rules and doing so out in the open was just asking to be kicked off the premises when the man held up a single finger.
Eventually, the man brought it down from his lips and dropped his finger. Then he stared at him, eyes narrowed like he couldn't quite figure out what he was. Yatsu felt eerily self-conscious in the moment. Was he really sweaty? Did he smell? The man then shrugged and Yatsu opened his mouth once more to ask what he was looking for but he was drowned out by a titanic burp that seemed to shake the building. So impressed by the display, Yatsu forgot reprimanding everything he was going to say to the stranger.
"Hey, kid. They still do graduation outside?" The man sounded like he'd been a pack a day smoker for the better part of a century and now that Yatsu paid more attention, he smelled like a liquor store. He shook his head.
"No sir. They moved it inside this year." The man nodded "Thanks." Then he turned on a heel and marched back into the hallway. The exact opposite direction of his desired location.
"Sir! Sir!" Yatsu called after the man. In all his experience with drunk people, few and far between as it was, he knew at the very least that the intoxicated individual shouldn't be left to their own devices. Memories of Coco flirting with every woman she saw flooded into his mind and he shuddered. The man turned; an eyebrow cocked.
"You need something, kid?" Yatsu shook his head.
"No sir, it's just that you're going the wrong way." The waved him off, continuing on in his journey.
"I'm just taking a small detour kid, relax." Before Yatsu could reply, the stranger rounded the corner and was gone. With a shake of his head, he took out his Scroll and checked the time. Crap! He needed to get a move on if he wanted to get a decent seat. Gathering up the flowers and dusting himself off, he sprinted down the hall. Thankfully, he managed to not run anybody over, though there were a few close calls. He made his way through the throngs of people until someone called out.
"Yo, Jolly Green Giant! Over here!" He turned to see Yang waving her arms amidst the crowd. The near oppressively yellow gown coupled with her golden hair made Yang… hard to miss. Yatsu made his way over, nearly tripping over a little girl in the process. As he reached his destination, he realized who Yang was standing with; The man from the Bullhead! And the Smelly Drunk! His brow furrowed, how had that man beaten him here? With a shake of his head, he went in for a one-armed hug with the blonde graduate.
"Hello Yang, congratulations on graduating." She scoffed.
"You say that like there was ever a chance it wasn't going to happen." He smiled.
"There was never a doubt in my mind." She gave him a gentle punch in the arm, well, as gentle as she could, and then gestured to the two men she was standing with.
"This is my dad, Tai, and my Uncle Qrow." She turned to them. "Guys, this is Yatsu." Yatsu held out a hand.
"It's nice to formally meet you sir." Tai took his hand and squeezed.
"We've heard quite a bit about you over the years." Yatsu ran a hand through his hair awkwardly.
"Hopefully they were good things." He moved to shake Qrow's hand but the man simply stared at him, thumbing his flask.
"You dating my niece kid?" Yatsu's hand dropped and he began to sputter.
"What? No- I mean- Not that I wouldn't. But Ruby and I are just friends!"
"So, you're too good for her, that's it?"
"No! It's not that, it's just that- Well, I didn't think she liked me like that and…" He trailed off as he heard the man break out into a fit of crude laughter. It sounded like gravel being run through an industrial compactor. The man called Qrow was messing with him. Of course he was.
"It's not that funny Uncle Qrow." He looked to see Tai wiping a tear from his eye and shaking his head.
"Yang's right. It's hilarious!" Then he joined the dark-haired man in a puddle of snickers. Yang gave him an apologetic look before heading down to the main area to take her place for the ceremony. Yatsu felt his cheeks begin to burn and he decided to take a seat in the hopes that nobody would join in. Eventually, they stopped and a hand was placed on Yatsu's shoulder.
"Alright kid, now that we've got that out of the way, let's get serious." He turned to Qrow, who had begun to lean forward and seemed to want to be as close to Yatsu as he possibly could be. "You and Ruby aren't knocking boots or anything, right?" The young Huntsman blushed but shook his head.
"No sir. We're just… friends." The man nodded and Tai picked up from there.
"Judging by the fact that you showed up with flowers and in a suit, I'm guessing you want to be something more?" Yatsu nodded.
"I… yes sir. I think I could make her really happy and she could do the same for me." Tai stared into his soul it seemed. On some level, Yatsu knew something like this was going to happen. Of course her family would give him 'the talk' as it were. If Ruby and he did get together, Oliver would probably give a very similar speech. That didn't make it any easier to bear though.
"Alright." The word caught him off guard. Alright? What did that mean? Did he approve? Was that Tai's way of giving his blessing?
"Alright?" The man nodded.
"Alright. You're allowed at least one date. Anything more… well, we'll see. Depends on if Zwei likes you or not." Zwei? Who the hell was Zwei? It didn't matter now though; he got the OK! Not that he'd been waiting on it, or even expecting it, but it was still nice.
"Thank you, sir." The man leaned back, crossing his arms as Qrow took over.
"Do we need to say what happens if you hurt her?" Yatsu shook his head.
"No sirs." The man shrugged.
"Good." He then kicked up his feet on the bench in front of him and took a swig from his flask. Thankfully, there were no more incidences after the initial meeting. Sure, they grilled him about his family and his young Huntsman career, but those were simple things. All he had to do was tell the truth, so he did.
Speeches were then made from the Headmaster, ones that were near identical to the one given last year, and then it was time for the diplomas to be given out. The affair went off without a hitch, and when Ruby's name was called, Yatsu, Tai, and Qrow all erupted with thunderous applause as well as hoots and hollers. She looked into the stands and smiled, nearly turning Yatsu's knees to mush.
Taking the opportunity, he motioned and mouthed for her to meet him in the gardens after that ceremony. It took a couple of tries but she gave him a thumbs up. As soon as she got back to her seat, Yatsu made his exit, saying goodbye to his future family. Now was the moment of truth.
Making his way back, he tried to plan out what he was going to say when she got there. Should he confess immediately or wait until after they talk for a bit? Should he present the flowers before or after the confession? Should he wait for proper sundown or was twilight preferred? So many options!
In the midst of his thinking, he heard footsteps and turned. There she was, draped in an obnoxiously yellow gown wearing a smile that seemed to outshine the sun.
"Yatsu!" She was on him in an instant, throwing herself into his arms. He caught her easily enough and began to spin slowly. It felt so right, so perfect that he had to stop himself from kissing her instantly. The timing had to be perfect. He slowed his spinning and eventually set her down.
"It's good to see you Ruby. I missed you." She nuzzled into his chest.
"I missed you too." Eventually, she pulled away and he led her to the stone bench where they sat side by side. He reached down and snagged the bouquet of roses he'd squirreled away underneath the seat, handing them to his crush.
"Congratulations on graduating." She snatched them away nearly before he could get his sentence out.
"They're so pretty! Thanks so much!" She hugged him again, after taking a deep whiff of the arrangement. He hugged back and took a deep breath. It was now or never. The sun was setting, casting the world in a deep orange.
"I'm glad you like them. I have something else for you too, a question actually." She cocked an eyebrow. "Well, you know how we've been friends for a while, right?" She nodded. "And, well you know how some people go from being friends to boyfriend and girlfriend?" Again, she nodded, but slower this time. "Well, I was… wondering… if, you know… we could…" He trailed off and stood, needing to work off some of the energy inside him. He paced back and forth, the butterflies coming off of their lunch break with a vengeance. Suddenly it was far too warm, so he ditched the suit jacket onto the ground. When she spoke, he froze.
"Yatsu, are you… asking me out?" He was too afraid to look back so he nodded. From there, Ruby got quiet and he began to panic. Had he been wrong the entire time? Did he misread everything? Did she only see him as a friend? Not good, this was not good. Their friendship was over, ruined even. She'd hate him and cut him completely out of her life. Then he'd spiral and not keep up his training, causing him to be a worse Huntsman. That would get all of his friends killed! He wouldn't be able to deal with all of that! What would he tell their families? All because he confessed. Stupid! Stupid, stupid, stupid!
So caught up in his panicking, he didn't hear Ruby calling to him. She didn't get through until she tugged on his arm and spun him around. Sometimes he forgot how strong she was, even without the Aura enhancement. It was just one of the thousands of things he loved about her. Before she could get a word in, he rambled.
"I'm sorry Ruby, I should've known you didn't feel that way about me, I just-" She kissed him. Ruby Rose was a woman known for her ridiculous speed, never more was that shown than in that moment. It was a brief kiss, a second or two longer than a peck but it was incredible. Her lips were as soft as he imagined and she tasted of fresh baked cookies, probably the ones she hid in her secret stash under her mattress.
"Of course, I'll go out with you." Yatsu's mind caught up with the situation and he smiled. In this moment, there was nowhere else in the universe that mattered. The world was just Yatsuhashi Daichi and Ruby Rose in their garden for two. And that was all that they needed.
A/N: I'll keep it real with y'all. I forgot about this story several times. I had a busy time, went to a convention out in Pittsburgh, then finals were coming up and I picked up more hours at work. Still, I'm sorry this took so long. Multi-chapter fics are always hard to stay motivated on for me. Anyway, I'm thankful you guys stuck with this and I hope it met all your expectations. If it did (or didn't) put it in a review and I'll see you all in the next story. Until then, may Fortune favor you all.