Ruby sighed deeply as she smoothed out her black skirt in front of the small café. It was one of the new ones that Pyrrha had bought for her and she decided to pair it with a red sweater, also provided by Pyrrha. She gazed at her reflection in the glass door. For the first time in a long time, Ruby actually felt…kind of pretty. It was a far cry from the normal torn jeans and food-stained hoodie that she wore normally as her daily attire. These clothes were clean and smooth and…expensive.

It had taken Ruby some time to get over the fact that this was going to be kind of the norm for her now. She would be given things that she would be expected to use and enjoy, and she couldn't let herself feel guilty for it. They were gifts, and she couldn't feel guilty about gifts. Ruby reached down and ran a hand along the small purse that she now owned. In it was her wallet. Her wallet that had actual money in it for once.

After he date with Pyrrha, Ruby was perplexed to see her send Ruby a text telling her to check her mailbox at her apartment. Unlocking her small cubby, she had pulled out a manila envelope and had nearly fainted when she opened it.

It was her monthly allowance.

The relief that flooded through her almost reduced her to tears as she deposited the money into her bank account and saw the three zeroes next to her checking. She thus proceeded to pay her rent, buy groceries, and splurge a little bit. It had bitten into the new money some, but she still had enough to last her at least another two months provided she didn't waste it.

So, Ruby felt lighter than she had in a while as she stepped through the doors and began to search for her next date. She soon spotted jet black, wavy hair in one of the booths in the corner of the restaurant, those amber eyes locked onto a thick novel. And suddenly all her confidence left her.

"Gosh, she's so pretty…" Ruby thought to herself.

Blake was just…gorgeous. Eyes of molten gold threatened to turn Ruby into a puddle as she approached and Blake looked up from her book. She smiled and dog-eared the page she was on before putting it aside. The raven-haired woman was wearing a black button-up shirt with, once again, her sleeves rolled up to her elbows along with a pair of dark blue jeans. Blake seemed to like the more masculine attire.

"Hello, Ruby." She said, her voice smooth like velvet.

Ruby could feel her face heating up already as she sat down across from her. "Hi, Ms. Belladonna."

Blake snorted. "'Ms. Belladonna'?" She reached out and placed a hand atop Ruby's. "Let me guess? You tried 'Ms. Nikos' on Pyrrha?"

Ruby nodded shyly.

"Ruby, there really isn't any need to be so formal, as I'm sure Pyrrha already told you. We want you to be comfortable with us, okay?" She said gently.

"R-Right…Blake it is, then." Ruby said with a nervous grin.

Blake squeezed her hand once before gesturing to the menus in front of them. "Order whatever you'd like. I'm buying." She winked. "Though, I wish there was something else on the menu, tonight." She said, pointedly looking at Ruby.

"Oh, God, she's going to kill me…" Ruby moaned in her head. Blake was just too smooth! It had to be illegal to be that smooth, right?

"So, I take it you enjoyed your date with Pyrrha?"

"Oh, Pyrrha was great. It was…probably the most fun I've had in a while, actually…" Ruby said, obviously a little embarrassed at the admission. She nervously twirled a lock of hair around her finger. "She was super nice and she bought me a lot of nice things." Ruby blinked. "N-Not to say that was the only reason it was n-nice! She was n-nice whether she b-bought me things or not, b-but it was s-still super awesome of her to do that, but she didn't have to, and I said I didn't want her to. N-Not that I was ungrateful or anything, I-I'm super grateful, but it would've been nice regardless, and…umm…" Ruby trailed off as her brain short-circuited at the sound of Blake giggling. It was such a beautiful sound.

"Great. Weiss and I were super glad you had a good time. Pyrrha loves that kind of thing. She gets pretty sick of the board meetings at work, the angry partners, the disrespectful employees, and whatnot. She's great at putting on a friendly face, but you should see her vent at home. She enjoys the relaxation. It certainly helped she had a pretty girl with her." Blake said, tapping a finger on the back of Ruby's hand.

The redhead felt like she was about to explode. The flirting was so obvious, so unsubtle, so brazen, but God it was working. Ruby didn't know why she had been surprised. Blake had already kissed her knuckles on the first resisted the urge to bury her face into her hands on account that Blake was still holding one.

"So, how has your day been?" Blake asked.

Ruby looked up and blinked. "Oh! Uh…it's been fine. It's been…great, actually." She answered honestly, thinking back to the money she now had. "Best day I've had in a long time."

"I presume you've gotten your allowance if that smile on your face is anything to go by?" Blake said, tilting her head to the side. "I hope it was enough to give you a bit of a cushion until next month."

Ruby hadn't noticed she had started smiling.

Ruby nodded. "Yes, it's plenty. Thank you, all three of you, so much! You have no idea how relieving that was! I paid off my rent super early so I don't have to worry about it now. I-I went grocery shopping and I bought s-some other things to make things at home a l-little more comfortable. Seriously, it feels like this weight's been lifted off my chest, and I…"

Blake listened in growing amusement as Ruby continuously thanked her and her friends. How kind they were, how grateful she was, how much better she was feeling. Blake's heart fluttered at the girl's voice, all breathless, high-pitched, and adorable.

"Cute…" Blake thought.

Ruby really was a breath of fresh air for Blake. She was so different from the other sugar babies that they had come to know. The others were confident to the point of cocky and always asked for more money than what had been agreed to. But Ruby at first had seemed reluctant to accept even that, almost as if she thought it was too much. Pyrrha had told her and Weiss about her date with Ruby and the both of them were so taken aback at the girl's hesitance to accept gifts, even if Pyrrha insisted on it. And the grateful words just poured out of her like she couldn't say them enough. They would have to talk about that at some point, granted. Ruby needed to understand that while the gratefulness was appreciated, she didn't need to express it every moment of every day. Just knowing Ruby was happy was enough for Blake.

But it was more than that. Pyrrha had mentioned it, but Blake couldn't help but wonder if it applied to her too. There was something about Ruby that elicited an instinct in Blake. Like she just wanted to wrap her arms around Ruby and keep her close, protect her and keep her away from the all the bad things the world could bring. She knew Ruby wasn't a child and could handle herself. She had been having a rough go of it for a while before Blake, Pyrrha, and Weiss had entered her life. But that only seemed to strengthen the feeling. Ruby seemed like she hadn't had a real life in a long time. A life where she could go out and have dinner with friends or have movie or game nights.

Blake wanted to help her have the life she deserved. She had been working hard and doing it alone for so long. She had earned a helping hand and a chance at a good life.

Ruby finally seemed to notice she had been rambling when she saw the happy smirk on Blake's features. She took a deep breath and swallowed.

"Sorry…that must've been annoying." She mumbled.

Blake laughed. "Not at all, Ruby. It's good to know that the money is helping. That's what this is all about, right?"

"R-Right."

An awkward silence sat between them. Blake had pegged Ruby as someone not great at small-talk and the like. Thankfully, Blake was always a decent conversationalist. She cleared her throat and leaned forward a bit.

"So…I recall from your profile that you enjoy reading. May I ask, what kind of books do you prefer?"

Ruby's eyes lit up. "I looove fantasy! They remind me of the fairy tales that my sister read to me when I was younger!" She began gesturing with her hands. "I know it sounds kinda childish, but the stories about princesses and knights in shining armor? Those are my favorite."

"Why is that?"

Blake observed as Ruby fell silent at the question. A kind of glaze fell over her eyes as she suddenly found it hard to look at Blake.

Blake's brows immediately furrowed at the change in atmosphere. Ruby now looked very sad. She had a feeling she knew what it was about. She had been meaning to bring it up, but not for some time now.

"Well…might as well rip this band-aid off now…" So much for being a good conversationalist.

"Ruby?" She prodded.

"…those stories…they just…remind me of better times, I guess."

Blake swallowed. "Ruby, I recall you mentioning during our first meeting that you said your family 'wasn't around'…what did you mean by that?"

Blake became increasingly distressed as Ruby began fidgeting in her seat, as if she were about to bolt out the door at any moment. She felt her stomach drop when tears began to prick the corners of the girl's silver eyes.

"Ruby, if you don't want to…"

"No…it was probably going to come up at some point." Ruby said in a small voice. "Might as well get it out of the way now." The girl sniffed. "My family isn't around anymore because they can't be. When I was just a girl…my mother died of cancer. I was only four at the time, so I don't really know that much about her. But I remember being happy when she was around." Ruby found herself tapping incessantly on the tabletop.

Blake's heart sank at the information. She had a feeling she knew where this was going.

"My uncle, Uncle Qrow, he died not long after. I was six, maybe? He had alcoholism…and it finally got to him. I remember him better than I do mom. He was troubled, but he was always there for us. He would pick us up after school when dad couldn't, and he would hang around the house when dad was working late, just keeping me and my sister company. It hurt a little more when he died. Probably because I actually knew what was going on."

Ruby let out a shaky breath.

"Then…years went by. And everything was fine. High school was ending and I had already been accepted into college. It was graduation day. I was all dressed up in my hat and gown. I tried looking for my dad and my sister in the crowd…but they weren't there."

Blake fought every impulse in her body to jump up and just hug this girl as tight as she could.

"After the ceremony…I got a call. Dad and my sister were in a car accident. And…then there was one." Ruby said with a bitter chuckle.

She couldn't stop the tears now as they trailed down her cheeks. Ruby hiccupped.

And Blake couldn't take it anymore. She rose from her seat, grabbed Ruby by the hand, and began leading her out of the café like a woman on a mission. Ruby stumbled after her, muttering almost incoherent apologies.

Once they were outside, Ruby found it in herself to speak again.

She gasped heavily. "I'm sorry, Blake." She sobbed. "I ruined our date…with my s-stupid life and m-my stupid problems. I-I didn't mean to m-make you uncomfortable."

Blake suddenly turned around and wrapped Ruby up in her arms and held her there as closely as she could. She rested her chin on the shorter girl's head and tightened her hold.

"Don't you apologize, Ruby. Don't you ever apologize for your life." Blake fought to keep her voice steady. "If anything, I should be apologizing. I brought it up and I'm the one who pushed." She sighed. "But I'm glad that you told me. I'm grateful that you trusted me enough to tell me."

Ruby couldn't believe her ears. Blake…wasn't mad? She was apologizing? But…Ruby was the one who had started crying, laying her sob story bare for Blake to see. It was her fault? Wasn't it?

It was so strange to Ruby. Ever since the accident, Ruby had been responsible for herself. Everything that happened in her life was on her, right? She didn't understand why it wasn't her fault.

"Would you like to go home, Ruby?" She heard Blake ask.

Ruby didn't.

"Can…we just stay like this?" Blake was warm, and Ruby found it hard to bring herself to let go. "Just for a little bit?"

She felt a rumble in Blake's chest as she chuckled a bit.

"Of course."

Blake mentally cursed herself. This really had been her fault. She had made Ruby uncomfortable and sad, and she had just screwed the whole thing up.

She could only hope that Ruby could forgive her.

"That poor girl…" Pyrrha muttered.

Weiss and Pyrrha were seated as Blake paced the floor of the living room in their shared home.

"Ruby has so many things she needs to get off her chest, I just know it."

Weiss scowled a bit. "Blake, it isn't our place to go prowling into her private life. She only told you about herself of her own volition, as it should be. We shouldn't pry."

"I know, I know, but…imagine how much happier she would be if she felt that she could have someone to talk to about them? Ruby has been by herself for almost over four years. All of that anxiety and trauma bottled up inside. It's not good for her!"

"Be that as it may, Weiss is right. The best thing for now is to be there for her and let her open up at her own pace. It would do her no good if we were we to force her."

Blake groaned in frustration. "What if she doesn't want to, though? What if tonight…I don't know…turned her off?"

"Well, Weiss was just about to text her and see if she wanted to meet up for another date."

Weiss nodded as she pulled out her cell phone, found Ruby's profile on the website, and sent her a message.

Hello, Ruby. This is Weiss.

I'm very sorry your date with Blake went a bit sour tonight. Blake again apologizes for that.

With that being said, and you certainly don't have to say yes or answer right away, would you like to join me for dinner at some time? Take all the time you need.

Weiss hit send. "We'll hopefully know shortly if she wants to continue this."

Just as Weiss finished her sentence, her phone pinged.

hi, Weiss. tell Blake not to worry about it and that if its okay with her, I'd like to go on another date at some point. And yeah, I totally want to meet up for dinner! when would be good for you?

Weiss smiled. "Look's like things are alright."

Blake sighed in relief. "Good. Just…make sure you don't screw things up like I did, okay?"

"Oh, don't worry, Blake. I have something very special in mind for her."