Ch. 12
Once everybody was gone, Hunter looked at Ruby with confusion. "So what's up?"
Ruby takes a deep breath and prepares herself. "Um, I was wondering if maybe you wanted to go out to dinner, tonight?" She ends quiet and high-pitched but Hunter can still hear her.
This completely takes Hunter off guard. He knew that she had feelings for Weiss and that Weiss had feelings for her. He opens his mouth to decline but is caught by her pout and puppy dog eyes. Once he's hit by those, he knew it was over. He gives in. "Um, yeah sure. Why not. Is 7:30 alright?"
"Um, yeah, that's fine." Neither sounded very enthusiastic about it, but agreed anyways. For Hunter, he couldn't say no to Ruby's puppy dog face. For Ruby, she wanted to move on from Weiss. For the first hour or so, things were awkward between the whole team. Nevertheless, since they have Yang and Hunter, two jokesters, things went back to normal quickly. At about 7:30, Hunter is waiting for Ruby outside the dorm room. When the door is opened, he is met with a sight he never thought he would've seen before. Ruby… in a dress and heels. While he was a little amused to see in her in a dress, he was also stunned by how beautiful she looked. The dress really fit her figure and showed it off well. I'm sure Weiss would kill to be me right now. She also fixed her hair up a little more and had some make-up, which was likely put on by the blonde-haired sister.
He clears his throat. "You look beautiful."
Ruby blushes a light pink. "Thank you. You clean up nicely as well."
"Thank you." He holds his arm out. "Shall we?"
"Of course." She interlocks his arm with hers and they leave, heading to the airships. They eat at a rather nice restaurant, not overly expensive but not a dump either. If they were to be honest, it was actually a quite nice first date. There was a lot of laughing and almost no awkward silences. It was as if they weren't on a date and were just hanging out as friends. At about 9:00, they get back to Beacon, walking through the courtyards and gardens. "Well, that was really nice." Ruby admits.
"Yeah, I must agree with you. Never thought you could be so enjoyable." She punches him in the shoulder. "Ow! Ok, I'm sorry." He apologizes as they both laugh. When they reach the fountain in the courtyard, Ruby turns to him. "Um, so what do we do now?"
"I-I'm not really sure." He chuckles out, trying to alleviate the awkwardness. It only works a little.
They stand there awkwardly before Ruby decides to speak up. "So, do you maybe wanna do this again?"
Hunter chuckles a bit before his answer. "As much fun as I had and as much as I would love to, there's someone else."
Ruby only feels slight disappointment. "Oh, ok. If I may ask, who is it you're interested in?"
Hunter gets a small mischievous smirk. "Well, less someone else for me…" She looks at him in confusion. "and more someone else for you."
"Wh-What do you mean?"
"You know exactly what I'm talking about." She looks at him in even more confusion. "Ok, here's a hint. Ice."
Ruby's eyes immediately open wide and her jaw drops. "H-How, How did you know?" He gives her a knowing look. "Ok never mind, stupid question. Here's another one for you. Why does it stop you?"
He thinks about it for a moment. "Well there are multiple reasons but I'll go with, I'd rather not get involved in a relationship with someone who still has feelings for someone else."
Ruby thinks about it and decides to admit the truth. "Well, to be completely honest with you, I was kinda using you to try and get over her." She admits sheepishly.
"Yeah, I kinda figured by how 'enthusiastic' you sounded when you asked me out." They both laugh at that. "But why would you want to get over Weiss?"
She sighs. "Because she doesn't like me like that."
Hunter understands her fear and reasoning. "Ah, I see. Well, if it's any help," She looks up at him. "I think she's interested."
Ruby's eyes widen. "Why would you say that?"
"Just how she acted during the battle and how she talks differently with you than with other people." She looks at him in confusion. "She opens up to you more. She allows her feelings to come out more than she does with almost anyone else. If you want my opinion, don't give up."
Ruby thinks about it, and then smiles wide. "You're right, I'm not gonna give up. Thank you."
"No problem." They start to walk again before Hunter stops. "Oh and if you ever need help with the WhiteRose situation, you know where to find me."
"WhiteRose?"
"You and Weiss as a couple." Ruby blushes. "I completely support it and would love to see you two get together." Ruby blushes even more, but smiles and nods.
"I'll make sure to talk to you."
Hunter smiles. "Oh, and let me know if anything develops with Bumblebee." He starts to walk away.
"Bumblebee?"
"What are the colors of a bumblebee?" He asks rhetorically.
"Black and Yellow."
"And which two wear black and yellow?"
"Blake and Ya-" Her jaw drops once again as she stands there in shock.
"Alright, come on Ruby, let's go back to the dorm." No response. "Ruby?" Jaw still dropped. "Well, this might be a problem."
