Well, it may be two weeks late, but here's the finale to RoseGarden Week! Thank you to everyone who's read, followed, and reviewed all these stories. You guys are truly the best. I can't wait for the next RoseGarden week, which is coming sometime this fall. Thanks again for all your support! Stay safe and God bless!

All characters are owned by Rooster Teeth

"Finally, we get a day all to ourselves!" Yang exclaimed as she and her teammates got ready for the day, "I need to get Ember Celica tuned up, so I'll be visiting Pietro for a while."

"I'll be in the library reading," Blake added as she secured her belt, "There's a few books I've been meaning to catch up on."

"Winter's got the day off too, so we're having a sister day," Weiss said, her voice having a more chipper tone than usual, "So, what's your plan for today, Ruby?"

Her attention now grabbed, Ruby turned towards her teammates and smiled shyly, "I was...kinda hoping to ask Oscar to spend the day with me."

"Of course you would. You two have been spending a lot of time together recently."

"That's because they're a couple, Weiss," Blake said, shocking her teammates and embarrassing the third.

"Well, not quite," Ruby muttered, but her words fell on deaf ears.

"My baby sister has a boyfriend?!" Yang exclaimed with joy as she enveloped Ruby in a tight hug, "Oh, I'm so happy for you!"

"Yang...too tight," Ruby squeaked out, prompting Yang to drop her sister.

"Sorry. Got too excited."

"We could tell," Weiss sassed.

The door to Team RWBY's dorm then slid open to reveal Jaune, Ren, Nora, and Oscar, the quartet full of smiles. Nora bounced in while the others simply walked, Ren shaking his head with the aforementioned smile.

"You guys ready for a day of fun?!" Nora cried, obviously ready to get the day started.

"If your definition of "fun" means goofing off, then yes," Weiss answered, "But we've already made our plans for the day."

Nora pouted as she crossed her arms, Jaune placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder seconds later.

"Well, we were just going to head to an arcade in Mantle," he said, "If anyone wants to join us, they're more than welcome."

Taking a second to consider the offer, Blake responded, "I think I'll join you guys. Sounds a bit better than reading all day."

"Yeah!" Yang agreed, "I'll pop by once I've dropped off Ember Celica at Pietro's."

"I'm waiting on Winter so we can spend the day together," Weiss explained, "But thanks for the offer, Jaune."

Jaune smiled and then turned to the second youngest member of their group, "And you, Ruby?"

Before Ruby could say anything, Weiss stepped in and said, "Ruby's already made some plans, so she won't be able to join you."

Nora, being the nosy girl that she is, got in Ruby's face and semi-demanded, "What kind of plans?"

Ruby began to sweat as she struggled to come up with an answer, "Well, uh, you see…"

"Weiss, are you ready?" Winter suddenly called, earning the group's attention.

"Of course," Weiss answered, then noticed Winter's simple attire, "It's very strange to see you in something other than your uniform."

Glancing down at her long sleeve light blue dress with her corset belt, Winter said, "I don't have to be prim and proper all the time, little sister."

"No, of course not."

"So, if you're done dilly dallying, we should be going. We don't want to be late."

"Right!"

"If you're heading to the docks, let's all go together," Jaune suggested, "The rest of us are heading down to Mantle."

Winter nodded and said, "Very well."

As the group walked down the halls towards the docks, Oscar noticed Ruby was lagging behind a little, which concerned him. He knew Ruby well enough to know that lagging behind meant a private talk, so he fell back and began walking beside her.

"You okay?" he asked, "Why didn't you tell Nora what you're...oh."

Ruby smiled and replied, "Yeah. I didn't have any plans set in stone yet. But, since we're on the topic, do you...want to spend the day together?"

Oscar smiled and answered, "Why wouldn't I? I was waiting for you to ask."

A blush appeared on Ruby's cheeks as she stuttered, "Cool."

Taking Ruby's hand, Oscar quipped, "You're still not good at this whole relationship thing, are you?"

"Never going to be."

"Good. Me too."

The two shared a small laugh before continuing the journey to the docks, hand in hand. Some students and staff had given them odd looks, as displays of affection weren't that common in Atlas, but they didn't care. As long as they stayed in the hand-holding range, Ironwood was completely fine with them being open about their relationship. It was a rule they were more than willing to comply with if it meant a few small moments here and there.

When they finally got to the docks, the group was about to split into their respective airships when Winter called Ruby, confusing her. Ruby watched as Winter approached her and pulled a white envelope out of her purse and handed it to her. All Ruby could do was smile.

"It's from Uncle Qrow, isn't it?" she questioned even though she already knew the answer.

"Naturally," Winter confirmed, "He claimed it was for lunch, but I think he was aware you were going to spend the day with Oscar."

A blush appeared for the second time on Ruby's face, as well as Oscar's, "We're that obvious, huh?"

"Yes, you are." Winter then smiled warmly and continued, "Now go and have some fun."

She winked at the two before making her way to her airship while Ruby and Oscar hurried to do the same. The two then had to endure the playfulness of their friends and family about their "day long date", as Nora had put it. But the second they arrived in Mantle, Ruby used her Semblance to bail them away, missing everyone's well wishes. Once Ruby had deactivated her Semblance, Oscar had to take a second to regain his bearings, making Ruby laugh.

"First time for everything, huh?" Ruby joked as she held Oscar's arm to steady him.

"Ruby...never do that again," he said as he finally managed to stand upright again.

"Yeah, Blake said the same thing when I first used my Semblance on her too. I'll only use it if I absolutely need to, okay?"

"Fine by me. As long as I don't have to endure that on a regular basis."

Chuckling a little, Ruby then tugged on Oscar's arm and said, "Come on! There's a bookstore near here I want to check out! You've also said you need a new sketchbook, too."

"Only if I get to pick where we go for lunch."

"Deal. Now come on!"

Ruby all but dragged Oscar down the street to a nearby corner where a humble bookstore sat and they entered the establishment. To their surprise, the building was rather empty, but soon found out why when the owner spoke to them.

"It's very rare for us to get human customers," the owner said, who was an old Arctic Fox Faunus, "But I'm not the type to turn away any potential clients."

"Well, I've been passing by this place on my patrols and it looked nice," Ruby explained as she glanced around, "Looks very well stocked, too."

"Most of the books are overstock from Atlas, miss. It's not much, but it keeps me in business. And I've seen you around, too. You're either with Weiss Schnee or a blonde girl. Never have I seen Huntresses so dedicated to their jobs as you and your friends."

Rubbing the back of her head in embarrassment, Ruby replied, "Thank you, sir, but we're just doing our job."

"Still, I believe in hard work being rewarded. It'll be a detriment to me, but I'm willing to give you fifty percent off anything you buy."

"No, that's not necessary. If you need the money, then I'd much rather pay the full price. You shouldn't have to lose any profits because of us."

The Faunus smiled warmly, "You're one special Huntress, miss. Always doing what's right." He chuckled lightly and resumed, "Very well, then. Feel free to look around to your heart's content."

Ruby smiled back and rubbed Oscar's back before taking off towards the romance section, leaving Oscar on his own. The Faunus then decided to address him after having spent so much time talking to Ruby.

"Are you looking for something in particular, young man?" he inquired.

"Do you have any sketchbooks, by any chance?" Oscar timidly asked.

"Of course! And they're good quality too. Follow me, son."

Following the man in front of him, Oscar watched as the owner led him towards the sketchbooks and picked one up to show him.

"This one's got some very sturdy paper," the owner boasted, "It can stand up to pencils, ink, and even markers. Doesn't bleed through the paper at all."

"Wow," Oscar muttered in amazement.

"So, what's your preferred tools?"

"Pencils, sir. I've tried pens and colored pencils before, but there's just something about a pencil sketch that's more beautiful to me."

Chuckling, the owner replied, "I agree wholeheartedly, boy. My late wife was an artist. Drew some of the best sketches in Remnant."

"Really?"

"Yes." Closing the sketchbook, the owner pointed at the image on the cover, "This drawing here was done by her."

"Wow. She was very talented. I could only imagine being that good, but my girlfriend tells me that I shouldn't undermine my abilities."

"And she's absolutely right. But aren't you a little young to be dating? My youngest didn't get herself a man until she was almost eighteen."

Oscar shrugged and answered, "General Ironwood said the same thing, sir. But he knows we're smart kids and won't do anything we're not supposed to."

"Then you two have some good heads on your shoulders." Leaning in, the owner whispered, "But I hope you don't mind me asking if your friend is your girlfriend. I caught glimpses of your face as she spoke. That was pure admiration and love right there...the same look I always gave my wife."

Blushing, Oscar replied, "We're more in a trial phase, sir. She and I haven't made anything official yet, but calling her my girlfriend just feels right to me."

Smiling, the man responded, "Let me give you some advice, son. I was married for forty-seven years before my wife passed away two years ago. We met when we were about your age. As long as you continue to appreciate your partner's talents and communicate on a regular basis, you two are going to last a long time. Trust an old timer like me."

Oscar smiled shyly, "Ruby's the most amazing person I've ever met. We've always been close since we met a few months ago in Mistral. She's looked after me so many times and helped me overcome some hard obstacles as of late. Looking back on it, falling in love with her was probably always going to happen."

The Faunus in front of him simply smiled and ruffled Oscar's hair affectionately, "The sketchbook's on me today. You can't put a price on love."

Oscar's eyes widened, "Sir, you don't have to do that."

"I know, but I want to. Consider it a congratulatory gift from me."

Smiling with tears in his eyes, Oscar replied, "Thank you, sir."

"Not a problem, young man."

Just seconds later, Ruby appeared from the depths of the aisles, several books in her arms. She smiled sheepishly and said, "I may or may not have found some books everyone's been wanting."

Chuckling heartily, the fox replied as he headed back to the register, "That's fine, young lady. It's very considerate of you to think of your friends."

"I keep mental notes."

Ruby set the books down and the owner got to scanning them when the bell at the door alerted him to another customer. He glanced up and smiled.

"Hello!," he called out, "Welcome to Cinnabar's!"

The customer, who was a lynx Faunus woman with her son, nervously walked up to the counter and said, "I'm sorry to bother you from your other patrons, but how much is a pack of colored pencils?"

As she spoke, Ruby noted that the woman had on slightly raggedy clothing, meaning her family was poor. Her heart truly felt for the woman and hoped that she would be able to afford what she needed.

"Well, a 12-pack is 900 Lien," Cinnabar replied, his eyes filled with sympathy, "I try to make my products as inexpensive as possible."

"Oh," the woman replied, appearing heartbroken, "Well, that's out of my range, sadly. I'm sorry to bother you. Come on, son."

The boy followed his mom, asking, "But what about…?"

"We'll figure something out, son."

Once the two had exited the store, Ruby and Oscar looked at each other and nodded. Seconds later, Oscar went back to the art section, confusion now on Cinnabar's face.

"So, what's up with him?" Cinnabar asked.

Ruby simply smiled in response.

The mother and son were walking down the road near Cinnabar's solemnly, ears flat against their heads, when they heard a voice call out to them.

"Excuse me, ma'am!" the voice cried, making the woman turn around to face its source. Her eyes widened in realization as to who it was.

"You're the girl that was in the store," she said as Ruby caught up to her, "Did you need something, miss?"

"Actually, I wanted to give you something."

Ruby then pulled out a 50-pack of colored pencils from her bag and held it out to the woman, surprising her. Tears began to fill the woman's eyes and her son looked in absolute awe at Ruby's gesture.

"Your son needs colored pencils for school, right?" Ruby asked to confirm her suspicion.

"It's one of the things on the list, ma'am," the boy answered for his still stunned mother.

"Well, I didn't want him to go without them, so I got them for you."

Kneeling down so she was at eye level with the boy, Ruby handed him the colored pencils, which earned her a hug. She happily returned the boy's embrace before letting go and standing up. Not even a second after Ruby has gotten back on her feet, the mother also gave her a grateful hug, tears pouring from the latter's eyes.

"Thank you so much, miss," she sobbed, "I don't know how to repay you for your kindness."

"You don't have to," Ruby reassured as they pulled apart, "It's my duty as a Huntress to help those who need it most. And it doesn't matter how insignificant the issue may appear to be."

Smiling while wiping her tears away, the woman replied, "You're a breath of fresh air, miss."

"I'm just doing my job even on my day off."

As the interaction continued, Oscar stood back a ways and watched the entire scene play out in front of him. He couldn't help but beam with pride at Ruby's actions, knowing she would have helped them with or without being prompted.

"How in the name of the Gods did I get so lucky to have her in my life?" he asked himself, "I don't want to play the "destiny" card, but maybe that's what this is."

Oscar didn't have any more time to think as Ruby waved to the mother and son one last time before returning to his side. He took her hand and began walking down the street with her, both of them all smiles.

"I'm proud of you," he said, making her blush.

"You know I wasn't going to leave it alone," Ruby playfully scolded, then checked her Scroll, "It's almost lunch time. Lead the way."

"Okay, forget everything I said about Atlas Academy's meals," Ruby said with a mouth full of pizza, "This is the best pizza I've ever had in my life."

"It is really good," Oscar agreed, "There's just something about homemade meals that really makes it better than anything Atlas prepares."

Swallowing her food, Ruby continued, "That's because love's put into it. When you're truly dedicated to something, you put your heart and soul into it."

"Like you and your job."

Ruby smiled and blushed for the upteenth time that day, "I've wanted to be a Huntress since I was little. My mom was a huge inspiration to me. Now that I am one, it's almost surreal to think about it."

"Not many people can make their dreams come to fruition, but you and our friends did." Oscar reached across the table and took Ruby's hand, "I'll never be able to state just how proud I am of you, Ruby."

"How many times are you going to unintentionally embarrass me today?"

"As many times as I can until it clicks in your head."

Ruby lightly slapped Oscar's hand and the two returned to their shared lunch. For a brief moment, Oscar could hear Qrow's singing from a couple weeks prior in his head, but he chose to ignore it. Right now, he just wanted to focus on his time with Ruby and enjoy every second he had with her.

Well, he would if a group of miscreants hadn't barged into the pizza shop and started harassing the owner. Like Cinnabar, the owner of the small pizza shop was a Faunus and didn't often see human customers. The only time he ever did was whenever some ruffians decided to come in and cause a ruckus.

"Oscar, you got your cane?" Ruby suddenly asked, catching him off guard.

"Yeah, why?" he asked.

"It's time for me to pull the Huntress card on these guys. Go bar the door with The Long Memory so they don't get out."

"Got it."

The two got up, Oscar heading to the door while Ruby headed towards the counter where the troublemakers currently were. From the looks of it, they were around the same age as Oscar, making Ruby's blood boil. But she kept her composure as she approached them, listening to them insult the owner of the establishment.

"Faunus like you shouldn't run shops like these," one of the boys cruelly commented, "You deserve to be in the mines, where you belong."

"Yeah!" his friend agreed, "They're nothing but animals anyway!"

"Do you wanna run that by me again, kid?" Ruby seethed, her voice now much deeper and more threatening than Oscar had ever heard before.

The boys looked at each other and shrugged before their leader demanded, "And who are you, girly?"

Pulling out her Scroll, Ruby flashed her License and answered, "My name is Ruby Rose. I'm a Huntress who reports directly to General James Ironwood of the Atlas Council. Last I checked, harassment against anyone, Faunus or human, is still a misdemeanor and punishable by a fine and potential jail time."

Looking the boys over, Ruby continued, "Judging from how fancy your outfits are, you boys are from Atlas and have nothing better to do with your time then harass this poor man. I'm giving you one last chance to apologize to him before I call the authorities on you. So, what's it going to be?"

The leader simply smirked while his friends were now slightly shaking in fear. He walked up to Ruby and leaned against the counter, towering over her, but Ruby's harsh glare never faltered.

"We were just telling this Faunus where he belonged," he tried to reason in a suave voice, "Nothing wrong with that, is there? So, how about you let us off the hook, darling?"

Unfortunately for this boy, his charms didn't work on Ruby, who grabbed his hand when he tried to caress her face. Seconds later, Ruby swiped her foot underneath him, forcing the boy to the ground as his friends watched in shock. They remained frozen as Ruby pulled out a pair of cuffs she kept hidden on the back of her belt and cuffed their leader, pulling out her Scroll and calling someone.

"Hey, Harriet, it's Ruby," she said, "Yeah, I know you're on patrol right now, but do you have time to make a quick pit stop? These three teens were harassing a business owner and didn't heed my warnings. Well, their leader didn't anyway."

"Well, I guess I could spare a minute," Harried acquesied, "So, what's your location, kid?"

"The Dogwood Pizzeria in Mantle's Sector 7."

"Got it. Be there in a jiffy."

"Okay. Thanks, Harriet."

Ruby hung up the call and then turned to the remaining two boys, who were still scared as crap, quipping, "Hope your parents are rich."

Five minutes later, Ruby and Oscar watched as the police placed the offending teenagers into the back of an airship, Harriet having called them when on her way to the pizzeria. The Ace Op in question smirked as she walked to the back of the airship, hand on the door, while the teens glanced up at her.

"Next time, don't try and flirt your way out of your messes," she scolded, "Especially if the Huntress you're flirting with already has a boyfriend."

She slammed the door and knocked a couple of times, signaling to the driver to head to the police station. As the aircraft took off, Harriet walked back over to Ruby and Oscar, the smirk still on her face.

"You did good holding him on your own, kid," she praised, "I think that's the last time he's going to bother this guy again."

"Let's hope so," Ruby agreed, "Sorry again for taking you away from your patrol."

"Don't worry about it. Just finish enjoying your day off and I'll see you two lovebirds back at the academy."

Waving as Harriet sped away to return to her patrol, Ruby and Oscar smiled and turned to each other. They chuckled a little bit before Ruby decided to speak.

"Some day off, huh?" she commented.

"Yeah," Oscar agreed, "Little more exciting than either of us anticipated."

"Maybe, but it was worth it if it meant helping people in need."

Oscar nodded, then felt a tap on his shoulder that prompted him and Ruby to turn around. Behind them, smiling gratefully, was the pizzeria owner with a bag that contained a to-go box and the bag containing their books in the other hand.

"I figured you could finish this when you get back home," he said, handing the bag of food to Ruby and the bag of books to Oscar, "Thanks again for your help, miss. Those boys have been pestering me for weeks."

"Aw, it was nothing, sir," Ruby replied, "Besides, I've always wanted to pull the "I'm-A-Huntress" card on someone. That was awesome!"

With one last hearty laugh, the Faunus thanked the duo again before heading back inside to tend to his remaining customers. Ruby and Oscar glanced at each other before the former held up the bag containing the remaining slices of their lunch.

"You wanna head back to the academy and watch a movie while we finish this off?" she suggested.

"Sure," Oscar complied, "I think I've had enough misadventures in Mantle for one day."

"Then let's go."

A few more hours had passed since Ruby and Oscar returned to the academy; they were now nestled together in the lounge, pizza long since finished and a second movie only in the first few minutes of its runtime. They remained invested in the movie (some cheesy romance film Qrow suggested) until Oscar suddenly spoke up.

"Hey, Ruby, do you know what the best part about today was?" he inquired, confusing her.

"Uh, nope," Ruby honestly answered, sitting up a little to be at eye level with him.

"Well, the best part about today...is that I kinda fell for you all over again."

Tears welled up in Ruby's eyes, "Oscar."

"I know, that sounds super cliche, but that's the truth. You are an amazing person, Ruby, and seeing you do your job just makes me that much prouder to be your partner."

Blinking her tears back, Ruby responded, "Well, I'm glad you were able to get a glimpse of what I do. But you've also done a lot of growing up yourself. You've improved so much in your fighting abilities but you've also continued to remain humble throughout it all. Not only that, you're so supportive of everyone around you and you forgive people even when they may not deserve it. And that makes me love you even more than I already do."

Nothing else needed to be said between Ruby and Oscar, as they'd already said everything they needed to without becoming repetitive. Seconds later, their lips came together in a passionate kiss, Oscar's hand holding Ruby's while one of hers rested gently on his chest. Yes, they had shared some quick pecks here and there, but this time felt like the true solidification of their relationship. That they were finally together-together after so much uncertainty since arriving in Atlas. Both of them had to admit that it was quite liberating to finally get everything out in the open. At least they knew their friends and family would always support them.

The sound of cameras clicking broke the two apart instantly and they turned to see their friends, Qrow, Winter, Penny, and the Ace Ops all standing in the doorway, smiles on their faces. Yang and Nora both had their Scrolls in their hands, indicating they were the perpetrators of the clicks they had heard. Jaune was high-fiving Weiss, Blake, and Marrow while Ren simply nodded with the widest smile he'd ever made. It didn't take long for Yang and Nora to get in on the high-five party and the spectacle made Ruby and Oscar blush profusely.

"You know," Clover then quipped, "kissing is technically against school rules. But, seeing as you kids are in the lounge and not out in the hallway, I'm gonna let it slide."

"If you didn't, I was gonna make ya, pal," Qrow replied, earning a light nudge to the ribs from Winter.

"We've been waiting forever for you kids to make it official," Harriet added, "Even General Ironwood's been asking us for updates on you."

"Our sincerest congratulations to you both," Vine said.

"Finally, something good's happened in recent days," Elm agreed, "I think we should celebrate, don't you guys?"

"Absolutely!" Penny seconded, excited at the prospect of an impromptu celebration.

"You know what that means, right?" Yang asked, a knowing smirk on her face.

"DANCE PARTY!" Nora shouted, then turned her Scroll on to a tune the kids were all very familiar with, minus Oscar.

As "Shine" began to play, the teenagers moved the furniture around and turned the holoscreen off so that there was room in the middle to dance. It didn't take very long for the group of Huntsmen and Huntresses to pair up amongst themselves, except for the Ace Ops. They decided to do their own thing and just have a little bit of fun for once. Winter was the only one left standing awkwardly on the sidelines, but that was about to change very quickly.

"Wanna dance, Ice Queen?" Qrow inquired, holding his hand out to the elder Schnee.

"I'm...not good at dancing," Winter admitted, "Well, anything that isn't ballroom dancing."

Smiling, Qrow took her hand and responded, "Well, lucky for you, you just have to move to the rhythm of the music. Come on, Winter. Live a little."

Winter didn't have much time to think before Qrow pulled her onto the dance floor so they could join the crowd. But, in the midst of all the fun and excitement, no one noticed that Ruby and Oscar were a few feet away slow dancing. Yes, the song was upbeat and cheerful, but the lyrics reminded them of how they had managed to defy the odds and become more than friends. LIfe really did work in strange ways, didn't it?

"Oscar, I'm very happy for you both," Ozpin's voice suddenly said, surprising the young farm hand, "Be sure to take good care of her."

"Don't worry, I will," Oscar mentally reassured Ozpin before the voice disappeared yet again.

"You okay?" Ruby asked, curious as to Oscar's sudden smile.

Smiling even wider than before, Oscar pulled Ruby close and said, "Yeah. Everything's perfect."

Pressing a kiss to his girlfriend's forehead, Oscar resumed his dance with Ruby, this time swaying a little closer to the beat of the music. Ruby happily joined in, her heart ready to burst from the joy she was feeling. Never in her life did she think she could be this happy. Yes, the threat of Salem was always going to be on the horizon. That was never going to change. But for now, for this one fleeting moment, the group of Huntsmen and Huntresses dancing in the lounge chose to savor the moment of them all dancing together. It was a moment Ruby, Oscar, their friends, and family were certain they were always going to remember.