I do not own RWBY

So, truth time, she'd never been on a real date. It was hilariously sad that walking through the woods with him was enough to make her nervous. He hadn't fallen for her ploy earlier either putting her at a disadvantage. Honestly, she didn't know how she felt about him deciding she could protect herself. While the fact was true, usually people underestimated her and wanted to protect her. It might be because he'd seen her fight but he didn't think of her as weak. The thing was, she didn't exactly hate how it made her feel. He thought she was strong enough to protect herself, something that most people didn't believe until she tore them apart.

Eyeing his back, she frowned. Why was she doing this? It was true he was attractive and she did have an interest in him but could she really trust him with her heart? The idea of letting people in was enough to make her hands shake. This man was not only a terrorist leader, but he was also one of the strongest people she'd ever met. It would be insanely easy for him to hurt her even if she didn't let down her walls to him. No, that was the thinking of a coward. She wasn't a coward or a fool. It was easy to ignore the part of her that whispered she was just tired of being lonely. Not that she didn't love her friends, they were amazing, but she kind of wanted a relationship.

Stopping for a moment she sighed. Hesitating and second-guessing herself wasn't going to help her at all. The most that would happen was her talking herself out of giving him a chance. She didn't want that. Maybe it was time to stop holding back. Taking a deep breath she tossed away her reservations before almost lunging forward.

"Gatcha!"

Grabbing his hand, she tugged him toward the lake that her dad had told her about. She was willing to bet the man only told her about it in hopes she'd stay out of the house for a while. Twitching slightly, Adam glanced down at their connected hands before shrugging. Following the girl, he tilted his head. He couldn't quite tell if she was being genuine right now or simply tossing herself into the fire. Either way, he was interested to see what she would do next.

Viper was going to mock him for letting the girl take the lead on this date. Wait, was it a date? Outside of Blake most of his relationships over the years had been one-night stands or simply using one another to accomplish their goals. The only lasting bonds he'd made were with his people; the ones that chose to follow him into hell time and time again. He had no idea how to do this whole dating thing let alone how to make her stay once she realized how horrible a choice this was. Part of him wished that he could send Viper on these types of outings for him if only so he could save himself the embarrassment. In short, he had no idea what the hell he was doing. The only person he'd feel comfortable asking was in Mistral hunting down child kidnappers; also hell would freeze over before he asked Raven for advice. Right well, he needed to say something, the only issue was that he had no idea what to say. Swallowing back what nervousness he felt, he decided to pull a Viper and say whatever came to mind first.

"What's your favorite color?"

Kill him now. That was the weakest opening question he'd ever asked. This was why he let Viper take care of writing all his speeches. Catching the amusement that flashed through her eyes, he relaxed a little. Slowing down, the reaper hummed softly before shrugging.

"I don't know," she said. Noting his glance of disbelief she smiled saying, "My combat outfits usually have a lot of black and red, but I go for lighter colors when I'm not fighting."

Glancing over her outfit he nodded. She certainly didn't look like she was going into battle, however, he doubted that an innocent appearance meant much. No matter what people saw her as she was still the girl who went toe-to-toe with Tyrian and Cinder. Both were people that had more skill and experience than she did but Ruby made up for her lack of those things with feral determination. There was also the fact that she was able to match him in combat while not even going at full strength. He wanted to spar at full strength, but he wanted to learn about her more.

"Do you think looking harmless will trick people," he asked. Maybe the question was a bit much since she tightened her grip on his hand.

"Yes," she stated. More than once she'd been seen as nothing but a little girl playing at being a huntress. It was a reason that she embraced looking like a harmless fool rather than a demon. She had an easier time destroying her enemies before they realized how strong she actually was.

"You don't need a weapon or dark colors to make yourself dangerous," he said. For a moment she didn't say anything her silver eyes studying him, then she laughed.

"What's your favorite color."

"Red."

In truth, he'd never thought about his favorite color. He used the Red and black on his outfit to hide the bloodstains not because he liked them. Viper had actually designed most of his outfits especially those for the yearly White Fang meetings. Part of him wondered what kind of outfit would be prepared for this year's meeting. Letting his eyes be drawn to the blood-colored tips of her hair he knew exactly why he'd chosen that as his answer. Red of any kind looked good on the reaper. Viper would need to design a red and silver dress for her if she decided to come to the meeting with him.

"Like your hair?"

"More like yours," he admitted. The flush that bloomed across her cheeks was enough to make him grin. Maybe he wasn't as horrible at this as he thought. Mentally praising himself he pretended that his team wasn't going to love hearing about this. He might not be the one to tell them about it, but there was no doubt they'd figure it out.

"My hair is your favorite color," she asked. It was supposed to be in a teasing tone. Really she'd meant for it to come out as a taunt, yet her tone was tiny.

"Yeah…," he said it with as much firmness as he could.

Dragging his eyes away from the insecurity that was written all over her face – it was startling to realize how much of her attitude was an act – he blinked at the lake that came into view. After spending so many years coming here to train, and sometimes hide from the world, he'd known the lake existed but just running across it was a bit surprising. Mostly because he tried to avoid it entirely unless in need of a quick cool down from training. Raven would make him clean the entire house if he tracked dirt on her floors.

Following his gaze, which was getting easier despite his mask, she stilled at the sight in front of her. The lake was amazing, like nothing she'd seen in either of her lives. Clear crystal blue water, unlike the oceans that surrounded Patch. While surrounded by dense forest the lake had a clearing around it that in another life she would've loved to live at. Everything was so picture book that it left a feeling of discomfort in her chest. Letting go of his hand, she sighed. Once upon a time she would've loved seeing this and while seeing it now was nice, the bitterness was sinking into her bones. Great now even nature was taunting her. Eyeing the girl whose expression had become something dark he winced internally before deciding that he didn't like that look in her eyes.

Laying a hand on the hilt of his weapon he almost offered a spar, then changed his mind, he didn't want to fight her with a blade if she didn't have one; although he was still willing to bet that she had several hidden weapons on her body. Unclipping the sword from his belt, he laid it against a tree. Grabbing her hand he dragged her to the small area he'd used for training. The worn earth was a welcome sight although the raised eyebrow she sent in his direction was much more important. Offering her a small smirk he waited for any of her questions as he moved away to hold up his hands. Fighting bare-handed might not be one of his best skills but he wasn't a slouch either.

Tilting her head, she considered his silent offer. Both of them were warriors they didn't know how to deal with their emotions beyond being insanely blunt or with violence. She'd tried for years just to be normal but that wasn't something she could do anymore. Hiding herself only to be broken by the reality of what she'd become… it couldn't continue. Shrugging off her jacket and the knives strapped to the inside of the material, she tossed it near his sword. It would be easy to spar with him right now, part of her wanted to, but fighting wasn't going to solve her issues. Stretching her arms above her head she sighed before falling back. Landing with a light thud, she crossed her arms behind her head and stared at the sky. It took a moment then the man moved to sit down beside her.

"Do you regret being a warrior," she said. Not once did she glance at him, instead she stared into the clear sky wondering if rain was too much to ask for. She loved it when it rained, almost as if the sky was crying all the tears she refused to acknowledge.

"No."

"Neither do I," she admitted. Even if she didn't win all the time, she never regretted being who she was today nor was she ever going to. Sometimes it was just hard to breathe without thinking she'd failed them by being herself. Closing her eyes she said, "my teammate asked me if I let my partner get hurt and I don't know if he's wrong."

"You followed Blake's order to let Ilia go. There's no way you'd willingly hurt your teammate," he stated. To him, there was no way she'd ever hurt someone she cared about. Not with how willing she was to throw herself into danger for them.

"How d-"

"Viper recorded it all."

"Of course he did," she said. The amused smile on her face caused his tension to fade just a bit. Pinning him with a small glare she said, "I demand a rematch."

"No."

"Why not?"

"I don't like the idea of you fighting my team," he said with a small smile. His team was going to taunt him until this world ended.

"Aw, Are you worried," she teased. It was worth it to hear him chuckle.

"Not really," he said once he'd gotten himself under control. She wasn't strong enough to beat his team. There was a higher chance that they'd track her down just to mess with him. Thinking of her meeting his team didn't worry him as much as it probably should.

"Tell me about your team," she ordered. It was the soft smile on his face that caused her to speak but he only grinned.

"They're horrible. All of them are so annoying that sometimes it drives me crazy," he said without hesitation. It was like they were made to drive him insane. Leaning back on his hands he admitted, "I wouldn't trade them for anything."

Swallowing the lump in her throat before she got emotional Ruby nodded in agreement. She loved her team. She loved the people she'd claimed as her own. There was nothing she wouldn't do for them. They were everything to her but she wasn't what they wanted. Jaune had already shown that he didn't want her around and Blake needed to go her own way. Just because she respected their opinion wasn't enough to make her heart hurt any less. She'd rather be back a Beacon where the days were simpler but she'd already chosen power over those days.

They'd both made mistakes that neither of them could run from. Looking up at the sky he never even thought about changing his past. Every moment had led him to this point and that was enough. It was enough that he had people around him that cared for him although they were annoying. She did too, but he didn't know if she saw that. There was no way for him to know if she had realized what she had in her life. He hadn't started out with his team, he'd lost his original team somewhere along the way. Not all of them had died, but they'd left him all the same. People left, that was how the world worked. Standing, he stretched for a moment.

Letting his eyes return to the lake, he decided that a change in subject was needed. Ruby needed time to come to terms with who she was, just like he had. Just talking about this wasn't going to help her right now. Besides they'd come out here to have fun.

"Can you swim," he asked. Blinking at the sudden change in subject, she eyed the hand he held down to her. Reaching up slowly her palm hovered above his own before she took his hand. His skin was rough against her own as he tugged her off the ground gently.

"Are you going to toss me in the lake," she teased. She'd meant the words as a joke, honestly, she had. The taunting smirk on his face was the only warning she got, then he was dragging her toward the water. Eyes widening, she was quick to scatter into petals; two could play at this game. Using the altered time to kick off her boots she tackled him into the lake gaining a startled sound from the man.

Closing her eyes, she clung to him as the water surrounded them both. It was warm although she wasn't sure if that was Adam or the water itself. Letting him drag them both to the surface she laughed at the stunned tension in his shoulders. Well, she was laughing until he picked her up and tossed her further into the lake. Swimming to the surface, she didn't hesitate to giggle at the grumble he voiced. Running a hand through her hair, she wiped off her eyes only to break into another round of laughter at the way his hair lost its usual style and dropped into his face. Cutting off her amusement she took a moment to study him. For the first time, his horns were left standing on their own and it looked amazing.

"You look hotter with wet hair," she stated. His shirt was clinging to his skin to giving a full view of his chest despite the fabric. Flushing scarlet she barely resisted the urge to dive under the water.

"Is that so," he mused. Running his eyes over the girl he wondered if she realized her shirt was just dark enough to avoid turning see-through in the water. The fact she nodded on instinct caused him to laugh.

"Yep like hot enough to set the forest on fire, although you'd look better without your shirt. Like ten times better. I would literally kill to see the water run down your abs…"

"I see," he said as she hid her face in her hands. He didn't exactly need a lecture about how hot he was but it did wonders to his ego. The high-pitched whine that answered his words echoed around them for a moment before he grinned. It had been a while since he was the one doing the teasing. Taking off his shirt as silently as possible he tossed it on the bank as he decided that teasing her was fun. He couldn't hide his enjoyment as he swam closer to her. Without hiding his grin he asked, "Is this better?"

Peaking through her fingers she froze. On one hand, seeing his bare chest was exactly what she wanted, on the other, her face felt as if it was on fire. It was very hard to have first date thoughts while tracing every scar and line of his chest with her eyes. This was much better while simultaneously being far too much. Resisting the urge to reach out and touch him, which was harder than anything she'd ever done, she was almost relieved at the sound of someone stomping through the forest with the subtly of a rampaging lion. When Tai's blonde hair came into view she did the only thing that might possibly save her life; she dived beneath the surface hoping that he hadn't seen her. From the sudden mortified yelling, she'd been too late.

Hey guys, I had finals this week. I'm tired now.

Anyway, what did you guys think of their first date; the hunting trip doesn't really count as a date, I don't think. So I hope your all having a great day. I managed to pass another college term and graduated with a degree in environmental science. Now I'm taking culinary courses. I'm working on a new project for one of my favorite game series of all time, Dragon Age, the same project I first thought of when I was working on the old version of Shadowed. I'll probably give more info over the coming weeks but I've already finished two chapters (well both were short and basically part of the prologue but they're still finished). Before anyone asks it's not a cross-over.

stay safe and have a good day

-Shyla

ps. my new glasses finally came in! I love them.