Happy Halloween!
"Ruby!" Jaune shouted.
She woke slowly. "Waz 'appnin?" she slurred.
"You need to get up!" he ordered, tossing a clean uniform at her as she pushed herself up with her elbows behind her. "We're going to be late! Class is in fifteen minutes!"
She turned her head to look at her clock and found that 8:45 displayed on its face.
"WHAT?!"
She hurriedly slipped out of her covers and out of her bed. She stumbled as her feet struck the floor, but Jaune caught her by the shoulders before she could land on her face. She shot him an appreciative look before darting into the bathroom to change.
"Yang said she thought you could use a bit of extra sleep," Jaune explained, talking loudly to be heard through the door. "We've all seen how tired you've been with the new leadership classes you have with Ozpin. She tried to call you but your scroll was on silent, so I came back to check on you and bring you to class. Mrs. Goodwitch sent out a message saying that it would be in 13D instead - A special guest, I think."
13D? That was on the other side of the campus! She had to hurry!
She pushed the door of the bathroom open and hopped out, still tugging a shoe onto her left foot. She huffed a breath. "Okay, I'm ready."
No sooner than the words were out of her mouth than Jaune grabbed hold of her hand and tugged her out of their dorm. "C'mon! We've only got five minutes left!"
Ruby struggled to keep her feet beneath her as they ran down the hall towards their classroom, her body still waking up.
She pulled her scroll from her pocket and turned on the screen. It took her a few seconds, but she eventually managed to catch the time- 8:57am -despite the bouncing of her steps. She pushed herself to run faster, her shoes slamming against the ground as they ran past numerous other students.
With not even a minute to spare, they arrived at 13D, their classroom for today's combat training. Jaune threw open the door and dragged her into the dark room.
Wait, why were the lights off?
"Surprise!" a half dozen voices shouted.
The lights flickered on to reveal Yang, Blake, and Team Spring stood behind a plastic table, piled high with gifts and a large cake, and decorated with streamers and balloons, along with a paper banner that read 'Happy Birthday Ruby!'
Oh, it was a surprise birthday party.
When had they set this up? How- Wait.
IT WAS HER BIRTHDAY!
She gaped at them, utterly lost for words, until Jaune gave her hand (that she now realised was still clasped in his) a squeeze.
"Happy birthday, Ruby," he said, smiling brightly at her.
"Thank you!" she exclaimed excitedly, pressing her face into his chest as she hugged him tightly, the elation bubbling through her enough to push away her embarrassment at being in such close proximity to her partner.
He laughed and hugged her back.
"Ruby!" Yang called excitedly, making her way around the table and towards them.
"Yang!" Ruby called back, releasing Jaune and embracing her sister. Giggles returned to the surface as Yang lifted her from the ground and spun, joy filling her being. She gasped a breath as her feet hit the ground again, smiling so wide her cheeks hurt.
But wait, what about class? Weren't they going to be late?
"It's a Saturday," she realised.
Yang laughed. "Just figured that out, did you?"
"I can't believe… How long have you been planning this?" she asked.
Yang tilted her head, humming thoughtfully. "Two- three weeks?" she answered hesitantly. "I had the idea about a month ago, but Weiss did most of the planning. Jaune had the idea of waking you up 'late' though."
Ruby disappeared in a flurry of crimson petals, reappearing a moment later with her arms around Weiss.
Weiss gasped and jumped, but Ruby remained firmly attached. "Thank you, Weiss," she said sincerely with a blinding smile. "I doubt this'd be happening if it was just Yang trying to plan it."
"Hey!"
Weiss turned her nose up in an attempt to appear stoic, though a smile tugged at her lips.
"I'm sure she'd have managed to set something on fire in the process." She smiled kindly. "Happy birthday, Ruby."
She went through everyone else, offering her thanks, a hug, and a bright smile.
"Do you want to do gifts first?" Yang asked.
"Yeah!" Ruby cheered.
She went through them one at a time. Nora and Ren had gotten her a not-so-small collection of Weapons Weekly magazines, Weiss some high grade dust to make munitions from, while Pyrrha had instead chosen to bake the cake herself and given a size-too-big Pumpkin Pete hoodie.
With Team Spring's gifts done, she moved onto the three remaining. First was Blake's. She pulled away the bright wrapping paper from the rectangular object, and then she gasped.
"Tales of Remnant," she whispered, reading the title of the book aloud. Her gaze jumped to Blake, her expression filled with shock.
"I remember when we first met," Blake began. "You told me about how Yang always used to read you fairy tales, so I asked her which book they were from and-oomph!"
Ruby collided with her at speed, wrapping her in a hug. "Thank you," she whispered. "This means a lot to me."
Blake returned the hug. "You guys mean a lot to me, it's only natural that I show you just how important you are."
Ruby giggled softly. "Thank you, Blake.
She stepped away from her and reached for another gift. This time, it was Yang's.
"A hairbrush?" she asked as the gift was revealed.
"Yeah," Yang affirmed. "I figured that since you're in Beacon now, I can't keep baby-ing you. You're grown up and I need to accept that. I used to love brushing your hair for you when we were kids, but do you remember how you would always ask to do mine?"
"Yeah," Ruby answered, nostalgia creeping into her voice. "You'd never let me though."
"Well that's what that is for. Since I'm the old frail one, I'll need you to brush my hair for me. But don't you dare pull it!" she ordered.
"Yang…" Ruby whispered, her voice clouded with emotion.
"But don't worry, even if I am old and frail, you can still rely on your big sister!"
The sisters hugged, and Ruby sniffled softly. "I love you, Yang."
"Love you too, sis."
After a minute to recollect herself, she detached from Yang.
"S-sorry," she said with an awkward laugh. "I wasn't expecting all these thoughtful gifts."
Finally, she picked up his gift. She removed the packaging, and lifted the lid from the small box. Then, she gasped. Carefully, a small rendition of her emblem, dangling from a thin golden chain was lifted from the box. A pair of earrings.
"I made them," Jaune explained. "They've got a tracker, and can transmit and receive radio signals in a small area, so if you're ever in danger, and you lose your scroll, we'll still be able to find you."
"Th-thank you," she stammered, her cheeks flushing. She looked at Jaune, and dashed over to give him another hug. "Thank you, Jaune. I love them."
Warmth pooled in his gut. Seeing her this happy made him feel incredible.
"You guys start on the cake and stuff!" she said as she pulled away. "Yang, could I talk with you for a minute?" Yang nodded. "Okay, we'll be back in just a minute!"
Ruby grabbed hold of Yang's hand and tugged her out of the room and down the hall, before into a deserted classroom.
"So what did you wanna talk about sis?" Yang asked as they finally stopped.
"I-I-I th-think I'm in l-love with Jaune."
Yang blinked, then smirked. "Oh, you finally figured it out, huh?"
"What?! You knew?!" Ruby shouted in alarm.
Yang snickered. "Yeah sis, it's pretty obvious. I knew you had the hots for him since the day you guys met."
Ruby splutter. "I did not have th-the 'hots' for him!"
"Keep telling yourself that baby sis. Your eyes were practically glued to him, and you blushed everytime he so much as looked at you."
Ruby released a strangled squeak, her face a bright red as embarrassment flooded her.
"Yeah," Yang said, pointing at her, "Like that."
Ruby groaned, collapsing down to her knees and hiding her face in her hands.
"What do I do Yang?" she asked, her voice muffled. "I like him so much and I want to tell him but even thinking about it makes me feel like I'm gonna explode!"
Yang laughed. "Don't you worry sis, I have a feeling that everything's gonna be ju-ust fine."
"I'm in love with Ruby," he blurted.
Yang turned to him. "Oh, yeah, I know. What's your point?"
Jaune blinked in surprise. "Uh- I… um. I'm sorry, you knew?"
Yang nodded. "Yeah. You're not very subtle about it. I think everyone except her knows."
"Oh, wow. Okay."
Yang snickered. "Uh-huh. So? Why are you telling me?"
"I um. Tomorrow. After the surprise party? I… I want to ask her out on a date," he answered nervously.
"And you're, what, asking for my permission?"
He nodded.
Yang sighed. "This is probably where I should give the whole 'if you hurt her, I hurt you' protective big sister talk, right?" Yang smiled kindly. "But Jaune, I already know you'd never hurt Ruby. Do you remember what I told you during initiation?"
"Uh, something along the lines of not living to the next day?"
She rolled her eyes. "Before that. I told you to look after her. As much as it scares me, Ruby's growing up, and quickly. I'm not going to be able to stay beside her for the rest of our lives. But I think you could, Jaune. I think you're a great guy, and I think you could make Ruby really happy. So, if you need help with something, just, let me know yeah? I already consider you a part of the family." She stepped forward and wrapped him in a hug.
Jaune gasped, before eventually returning the hug. "I uh, wow. Thank you Yang, I just… Thank you. That, uh, that means a lot to me."
Yang smiled, and pulled away. "Alright, enough of that mushy stuff. What's your plan?"'
Jaune nodded. "Right. Okay, so I was thinking-"
"Sorry guys, have fun!"
Yang turned and shot him a wink, before hurrying after Blake.
"And she says I'm not subtle," Jaune muttered.
"What was that, Jaune?" Ruby asked curiously.
"O-oh, um. Nothing."
She gave a suspicious hum, but didn't push further. "Well, I guess we can still have some fun, even if they ditched us."
He laughed. "Yeah."
Ruby started off down the pathway, taking in the Halloween decorations that filled the street.
"I really like my birthday," she began. "Not just because, like, it's my birthday, but because it's Halloween too."
"Yeah?" he asked. "Did you go trick-or-treating?"
"Every year." she giggled. "I always used to steal the best candies from Yang 'because it's my birthday' and she couldn't really contest that."
Jaune laughed again. "My family and I lived in a pretty small town, my dad was the only Huntsman there, actually, so there weren't many kids apart from us. We often managed to get home with heaps of candy. Jade and Hazel, the twins, are a couple years younger than me, and they would always fight on who had the most. They'd make Saphron, she's the oldest, count them out for each of them to make sure it was fair."
Ruby giggled. "I can't imagine having to live with seven sisters. Just having one is hard enough."
Jaune smiled. "Yeah, I was third oldest, and they were always a handful, but I love them." His smile turned saddened. "I miss them too."
Ruby bumped against his side lightly. "I really got lucky, getting to come here with Yang. Even if she's annoying like, half the time, I love her to bits. It'd totally suck if I'd come here by myself, especially considering I wouldn't have met you!"
Jaune's breath caught in his throat as Ruby smiled up at him.
She was so beautiful.
He swallowed nervously and stopped.
"Jaune?" Ruby called inquisitively as she stopped a step later and turned to face him.
It was now or never.
"Hey, um, did you… Did you want to go see a movie or something?"
Ruby blinked. "But, Yang and Blake just left, and they won't be back for-"
"No," he interrupted. "I mean… I mean just us. Just you and me."
Her eyes widened. "O-oh," she stammered, her cheeks flushing. "Li-like a d-date?"
His face burned, but he managed a nod.
Ruby gasped. "I… I-I-I…"
Words failed her. Her hands clasped together, held low with her shoulders hunched in, face down in an attempt to hide the bright red colouring.
She nodded.
Relief and hope flooded through Jaune. "You do?"
"Y-yeah," she answered. "I-I'd like that. I'd like that a lot."
"G-great! Awesome! I… Sorry, I um, I didn't really think about what I'd do once I got to this part," Jaune explained.
Ruby giggled softly. "How about we go to the cinema then?"
"Uh, yeah. Yeah, let's do that."
Ruby smiled and stepped over to him, slipping her hand into his.
"Lead the way, Jaune."
They exited the cinema a couple hours later.
"And then it was like ka-pow and psh-ah and-" Ruby made what he assumed were explosion noises, waving her one of hands around excitedly. The other was still held in his. "It was so cool!"
Jaune laughed.
Ruby turned and pouted at him. "Are you laughing at me?" she demanded.
"No, no!" he denied. "I'm sorry but you're just so cute!"
Ruby spluttered in surprise, and her face went red. She batted an arm against his chest. "Meany."
They slowly made their way back to Beacon in the twilight, chattering and laughing about the action-filled film they'd watched. They boarded a bullhead, and sat down in the seats, hands still linked.
Ruby leaned her head against his shoulder, sighing in contentment.
"Thank you, Jaune," she whispered. "This has been the best birthday ever."
"I had a lot of fun too," he returned. "Do you… Do you think we could do this again?"
Ruby smiled. "I'd like that."
Jaune smiled back, and they spent the rest of the flight in silence, content to be in each other's company.
Upon arriving, they walked through the empty halls of the academy back to their dorm, before stopping outside.
"I guess we're home," Jaune breathed.
"Yeah," Ruby agreed. "I… To be honest, I don't want it to end."
"Me neither. But it's late, and um, we could always continue in the morning?" Jaune offered.
"That sounds like a good idea," Ruby said, smiling brightly, before she turned to him.
She stepped forward, her arms reached out and took hold of his shirt. She pulled him forward and down, and she stood tall on the tips of her toes.
Her lips pressed against his.
"Goodnight Jaune," she whispered, pulling away a moment later with a bright red face. She disappeared into the room with push from her Semblance, leaving Jaune in the corridor, dumbstruck.
Wow.
He was so, utterly in love with Ruby Rose.