Ruby could always remember the first time she had met Cinder.

It had been back when news of the vytal festival had first started bringing in wave after wave of new transfer students to Beacon.

Some Vacuo, others Atlas, even a handful or so from Mistral.

Every team came eager to fight and ready for battle. Yet also undeniably curious about Vale and its occupants.

Excitement had filtered throughout the air like a drug since then, causing teachers and students alike to buzz with new secrets.

So and so getting into fights with a transfer team, blah blah blah cheating on someone with an out of kingdom stranger, gossip gossip gossip.

Team RWBY was nearly the only exception to the frenzy of fresh drama. Seeing as how they all had been less oblivious to the possibility of new friends and more focused on taking down corrupt criminal organizations, to really notice the change of atmosphere.

The only exception, ironically enough, ended up being Cinder's team.

The first meeting happened after team RWBY had agreed to start working against Roman Torchwick's nefarious...whatever it was he was planning. Ruby, who had been rushing back to the library to grab her beloved board game, had run into Emerald Sustrai. Literally face first collided into her.

Thankfully the polite, if not intimidating visitor from Haven, had let the incident slide.

Mercury had been present too, but honestly the odd boy never really spoke after initial greetings.

Ruby assumed he was just socially awkward like herself or Jaune.

And then it had happened.

"Visiting from Haven actually."

From directly behind the two transfers had come the single most beautiful human Ruby had ever seen.

Cinder Fall.

Sensual voice, dark hair pulled over to one side, amber colored irises that matched burning embers, and a figure that could have even put Pyrrha to tears.

She was living proof of perfection's existence.

RWBY's team leader recalled her jaw slacking and forcing herself to speak after staring into the pools of gold for an obscene amount of time.

"Ohhh you're her for the festival! But exchange students have their own dormitory!"

That had been the best she could manage. What with her tongue feeling too heavy to function, the blush on her face that made the cape along her back appear pink in comparison.

Every time she recalled the memory, Ruby slapped her forehead in the same fashion that Weiss did daily.

Past that though, Ruby hadn't expected her sudden attraction to go any farther then that. Just an attraction.

Fate however had dealt a miracle.

Cinder ended up becoming a more and more prominent part of the small girl's life as time went on.

They ended up sharing all of their second semester classes, struck up conversation whenever the professors's backs were turned, had one on one lunches together, inside jokes about the most ridiculous things, shopping/hunting grimm hangouts.

Everything and anything Yang had ever told Ruby about the feeling of butterflies people feel when they start falling in love was a lie. For the red hooded girl there were no simple flutter of wings, only agonizing magma that melted her down to the most hopeless of love struck teenagers.

She couldn't help it! The feeling of dependence and protective nature Ruby felt for Cinder was beyond reason.

The young huntress wasn't even surprised when Yang, Nora, Jaune, Weiss, and Ren had all called her out on the blatant crush. To be honest Jaune was the LAST person Ruby wanted to hear talk about unrequited love and being oblivious, but she had bit her tongue none the less. They all were right. Who was she to deny it?

Cinder was real, charismatic, beautiful, kind, compassionate, warm, and genuine. Everything Ruby could possibly ever want when it came to love.

Which is what made the hooded girl feel so torn.

Clearly Cinder could have anyone she wanted. So why would she settle for Ruby Rose?

Yang had nearly decked her sister upon hearing such a self loathed comment, and demanded that very night that Ruby confess.

"Better you know now then keep torturing yourself like this sis. Besides she'd have to be the dumbest girl in Remnant to turn you down!"

Weiss and Blake seemed a little more reluctant for their leader to rush and spill her heart out to Cinder, but neither had tried to stop her in the end.

So that evening, Ruby took Cinder up to Beacon's rooftop. Then below the broken moon and countless the stars, rushed out a mess of emotional blabber and "I think Im falling in love with you" mumbles.

The three months they had spent together had felt like decades, however in that moment Ruby could have sworn time had never moved slower.

Waiting for a response was worse then any social interaction the huntress had ever been forced to power through.

Ruby was so paranoid that she even thought Cinder was laughing at first.

However it turned out that the Haven girl had merely been chocked up with shock and glee. Cinder barely uttered out that she felt the same before rushing to initiate their first kiss.

Together, underneath the stars, content with one another in a way no one but lovers could understand.

The rest was history.

Ruby kept on falling more and more for her girlfriend as time went on.

Dates, kisses, hunting, kisses, study sessions, kisses, lunches together, kisses, saving the city from a horde of grimm that crashed through the street way due to an exploding train cart lead by Roman's white fang henchmen in a poorly executed attempt of causing chaos, kisses.

They became the talk of the school, and the rumor mill nearly collapsed in its stockpile of new gossip.

"Can you believe the transfer's dating Rose?"

"I wonder if she knows Ruby got in two years early and is trying to cheat for the tournament?"

"Bet Haven's got a pool running. Heard that chick's bad news."

"Poor Ruby, she must be so confused..."

The only undeniably true fact that could circulate out of the mess of whispered words, was that Cinder made Ruby Rose unbelievably happy and vice versa.

So much so that Yang could see how bright her sister's eyes became at the mention of her girlfriend's name. The blonde even gave the couple her "reluctant" blessing and stereotypical "you ever hurt my baby sister and I'll set you on fire" talk.

That however had been the maximum of the two's friendship, or lack of, with one another.

Besides greetings, and chit chat, they never spoke of anything other then Ruby and if she was happy.

Save for that morning.

The moment Yang rushed off, Cinder had appeared by RWBY's doorway. Nervously voicing her concern for blonde's attitude and questioning what had caused her abrupt departure.

The worry actually pleased Ruby a lot since her girlfriend's visible fretting happened directly in front of Weiss and Blake. This meant the monochrome couple got to see first hand the truly compassionate side of Cinder.

Even the tiniest bit of good behavior seemed helpful at this point.

The trio never stopped shooting death glares at one another whenever they thought the caped girl wasn't looking.

Get one side eye from any one of those three, and even Ozpin would see why Ruby spent more time away from her team rather then ask her girlfriend to join them all.

Cinder said it was because her kingdom had bad dust relations with the Shnee Dust Company.

Which to a fault made sense. Ruby dated a Haven girl, and Ruby was Weiss's partner. Seeing the two together so much probably brought up bad memories of her father's company thus making an unhappy Weiss and in turn an unhappy Blake.

Terribly confusing and hard to believe yes, but that never stopped Ruby from trying to prove to her teammates that Cinder was a good soul.

"Don't worry love. Yang is more than entitled to have her own secrets. Who knows. Maybe she went to go thank them personally."

Cinder's reassurance that Yang would be okay made Ruby smile brightly.

The small girl then raised her voice loud enough for Blake and Weiss to hear.

"It's sweet of you to worry about my sister so much!"

"...Ruby why are you shouting?"

The team leader blushed brightly. Okay maybe too obvious.

"Never mind. Sorry, uh hey if you're not busy, do you still wanna go eat? Blake and Weiss and I-"

Cinder leaned down to give her girlfriend a chaste kiss.

"Perhaps we could do breakfast another time. I just recalled I have to speak with Professor Port about his lecture from yesterday."

Hearing her least favorite teacher's name caused Ruby to back pedal quickly.

"Yeah, uh yeah rain check sounds good! I'll catch up with you later?"

"Of course little rose. We can meet in the Library after dinner."

Suddenly very excited, Ruby nodded eagerly and gave her girlfriend a hug goodbye before allowing her to leave the team's dorm room.

Blake and Weiss were too wrapped up in their own conversation to notice that Cinder had left.

Ruby, not wanting to interrupt what appeared to be a tense talk between the couple, bid a quick farewell. Then hurried off towards the girl's showers.

The team leader now had a date planned for later that would keep her motivated throughout the rest of the day!

After all Cinder always had so many cool stories to tell her.

About legends maidens and the powers they wielded, and tales of far off kingdoms that betrayed the trust of the heroes they trained.