Once again, I just have to say how shocked I am at the outpouring of support and views this story has already achieved after only two chapters. Ya'll have been great and your continued viewership is appreciated. I hope you enjoy Chapter three as much as I enjoyed writing it.

0Akarigan0 – I had to use a translator, my apologies. But thank you so much!

SirWitNot – We have all bed there, that much is for sure.

Dragon lord Syed 101 – Yeah, the blonde knight isn't exactly the best at signals being sent his way, huh?

Rameramean7 – Ah, where's the fun in that though? Let these two figure it out.

Guest – I hope so! That's the point I'm trying to get across. Haha.

Youalwayswereakiddersteve – Well, Ren is good at reading into certain things, but look at him and Nora. He's not too keen on the female heart or intentions. As for Jaune, I blame self-esteem. *Shrugs*

Dwalkern64 – It's what we pray for every night.

Tenofprime – "Yang worthy" – Thanks for that! I hope to do our other blonde proud! And let's see if he can get it this time around.

Bunny Cop – You're giving away all of our secrets!

Guest – Such is life, my friend.

Izaya Orihara 101101 – She got her request and MORE, as I put it. Lol.

Guest – Lol, poor Cardin.

Captain Ryano – While I feel some of my interactions fall flat on their faces, I shall take your compliment. Thank you! I'm trying to improve.

Salman Salah – Much appreciated! Thanks for reading!

Just for a heads up, the Discord for the Kingdom of Lancaster is a great place for any and all who love to join all of us there. Lastly, the 9 Days of Lancaster is going to be from Aprill 22nd – 30th. This event is once a year and welcomes all new art, fanfiction, etc. to support the ship. I'll post the official tumblr announcement here. I will be attempting some short one-shots of my own.

That wraps up the messages, please enjoy this next chapter and leave a review at the end if you so inclined. Thanks!

GodRealm

Italicized – Inner Thoughts

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Who Asked for Your Advice?

Chapter 3: Walk the Walk and Pop the Hip!

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"Again." Weiss commanded as she sat on the lower bunk of the bed she and Ruby shared.

"Come on, Weiss!" Ruby pleaded in vain against her friend's order. "These things are absolutely killing my feet!"

Weiss stared at her friend through half-lidded, exasperated eyes, and Ruby knew full-well what that stare meant. It was a silent, but at the same time, very loud, "No."

Ruby whined in protest as she strolled back to the front of their dormitory room, close to the doorway entrance, and readied her stance once more. For the better half of an hour, Weiss had been trying to get Ruby to perfect walking in her high-heels for the upcoming dance tomorrow night. For some reason, Ruby could do nothing but look maladroit.

What is wrong with this girl? Weiss repeated in her head with every failed attempt Ruby brought forth. She can't even walk correctly! At this rate she won't even make it to the dance.

Weiss huffed with annoyance at the situation as Ruby tried her best to stroll naturally once more in a straight line from doorway to bunkbed. She needed something to help her get through this. Repetition was always Weiss's best teacher when it came to learning a new technique in fighting or fancy, so naturally, shouldn't it be everyone's? Even Ruby Rose? She guessed not.

She looked on once more as Ruby struggled to walk in the line that Weiss had created on the floor with the magic of white duct tape. To be fair, walking with heels was not easy feat for any girl, even those who wore them regularly. The slightest moment of not paying attention to one's movements could spell disaster, but watching Ruby was a whole new bag of worms that Weiss probably should not have opened.

"Gah!" Ruby yelled as she wove her arms in an attempt to stay upright and keep from falling again.

"It's just one foot in front of the other." Weiss commented into the hand that now found its way onto her face as she slapped herself in disbelief once more. The struggle was most definitely real for both girls as one was tired of falling to her knees and one was tired of watching it happen.

"It's easy for you to say!" Ruby spoke as she grabbed ahold of the bed post to Yang and Blake's bed. "You've been practicing with lady stilts for years! Why can't I just wear flats?!" She continued to whine as she leaned against the frame of the bed.

Weiss sighed once more; something that even she was noticing and beginning to annoy herself with. "Because Ruby," She stated matter-of-factly. "the dance is a formal event and I want you to look your best so that when you speak to that blonde idiot, he'll be entranced by every part of you." Weiss corrected her posture before looking back at Ruby who was still holding herself up on the side of the bed. "Also, they're called heels, not lady stilts."

Ruby tapped on the corner of the upper bunk with her fingers as her cheeks glowed a light pink. "Y-You really think he'll be 'entranced' if I do this?" She commented with uncertainty.

Weiss blinked momentarily as she looked at the state of her partner. It never stopped surprising her how much as just simply talking about Jaune Arc could make her so… unnerved. Ruby had come a long way from their early days of Beacon academy as freshmen. She was once a very awkward, dysfunctional, and rather loud girl that Weiss was sure would not last and became not only their leader, but quite possibly, the best friend a girl like her could ask for. Needless to say, she was still all of those things, like right now for instance, but she usually overcame any obstacle in front of her.

That's until she realized she was in love with a tall, blonde, dummy, who couldn't take a hint. Weiss recounted how Ruby had asked him previously about going to the dance together and the boy somehow turned it into a group event for all of them. She could only twitch her eye and stand in disbelief as she listened to the whole thing. Between Ruby and Jaune, she may have met her match when it comes to love. One was unteachable and the other was simply dense.

Wait. She thought to herself as she sat there pondering on hopeless pair. Weiss continued her gaze at Ruby who was still standing awkwardly at the far end of their bed, waiting on an answer from the white-haired girl. That might be just the push she needs.

"Of course!" Weiss exclaimed, causing Ruby to almost fall once more. "If you can find a way to pull this off, there's no way he could resist. It's part of a woman's secret arsenal!"

"Ohhhhh, secret arsenal, you say?" Ruby replied in interest.

"That's right!" Weiss answered with a finger in the air and a self-righteous smirk on her face. "There are several things a girl can do to get a guy's attention and being able to walk correctly in a pair of heels while looking elegant is definitely one of them."

"Wow, you're so smart, Weiss!" Ruby jump in excitement, but forgetting that she was unable to stand without complete balance and latching onto the railing of the bunk once more before falling.

"Well, I do have a lot experience when it comes to this department." Weiss commented with her continued smirk and shrugged shoulder. "So, I guess I am pretty knowledgeable."

"So what else can you teach me?"

"What… else?"

"Yeah!" Ruby inquired with enthusiasm. "If you're so smart, then you must have some other tips for me, right?"

Weiss didn't like the way Ruby had asked that question. It felt like a direct attack on her, but she knew at the same time it was Ruby just asking sincerely. Crap. She thought to herself briefly. Her plan of motivating Ruby to finish this task was now backfiring on her, and buy the gleaming eyes of eagerness were showing that she wasn't about to wobble away empty handed.

She needed to give Ruby something. Something that was believable and that would still have her working towards the goal of finally walking upright with her heels. That's when she recalled a tip from her old days of pre-teen modeling. Something she was taught to do when she walked on stage at pageant shows in Atlas as a young girl.

"Y-Your hip." She commented, causing Ruby to raise an eyebrow in confusion. "You can try to pop your hip while walking."

"Pop… my hip?" Ruby repeated back to her to confirm.

"Y-Yeah." Weiss stated with a not-so-believable laugh. "Something you do to try and put a little 'OOPMH' into your stride after a few steps to really stand out."

"So I have to pop my hip and show some 'Oomph'?" Ruby asked once more.

"Why do you keep repeating back what I say?" Weiss asked with an offended tone and a pointing finger at the red head.

"Woah, woah." Ruby stated with a pair of waving hands. "Take it easy, Weiss. I'm just confused by all of this. It's a lot to take in and I want to make sure I'm getting it right."

Weiss rolled her eyes at her friend's comment. Poor Ruby and her unsophisticated background when it came to acting more lady-like. Thank goodness she was here to help! Weiss stood from her sitting position and began walking towards the other side of the room, passing Ruby in the process, who was following her with her eyes. Once she was towards the door, Weiss turned around and approached the make-shift line she had made earlier.

"Watch carefully." Weiss commented as Ruby merely nodded her head in compliance. With that, Weiss began strolling slowly down the line, carefully, one foot in front of the other. Weiss made it look easy compared to how Ruby had struggled with simple movements. She strode proud and tall as she made it to the end of the line and before she could make her way off to the side, she gave a heavy sway of her hips to the left. The presumed "pop" or "oomph" that she was talking about earlier Ruby had assumed.

Once she had finished, Weiss flipped her hair over her shoulder and gazed at her friend who was still watching her. "That's all there is to it." Weiss explained.

"W-was that it?" Ruby asked with a giggle.

"Yes, you dolt." Weiss scolded. "That was a hip pop."

"Ohhhhhhhh."

"Now you're going to add that on to your walk once you've mastered it and really show that 'oomph', I was talking about. It brings the whole act together."

"I—I don't know if I'll be able to do that on top of being able to walk in these awful lady st-, I mean heels."

Weiss placed her hands on both of Ruby's shoulders, warranting the attention of her team leader as she spoke further words of encouragement. "Just think, if you can get all of this down, he will be like putty in your hands."

"Why would-"

"It's an expression, before you ask." Weiss interrupted. "It means that you will have complete control of him and he'd be yours."

Ruby gulped at her teammate's words. He could be all hers? Control over him? As in his heart? Could this really be a tactic that was so secret amongst women that even she didn't know it? Whatever the case was, she needed to try her best to make this the reality that Weiss promised it very well could be and no amount of heels or hip-popping was going to keep her from this goal.

"All right, Weiss. I am all in!" Ruby shouted with confidence and a raised fist.

Weiss smiled at her Ruby's confidence. That's just what she needed out of her. It was one thing for Ruby to try and try again and continue to fail, but she knew after working and living with her these last few years that the girl was always motivated by something she wanted rather than just being told. So what if she may have stretched the truth a little on this one? It was all for the benefit of her friend and what is to be her friend's future boyfriend. Not to mention, if she could pull off this off, she would look like a complete genius and Ruby would owe her for the rest of their lives.

Weiss thought deeply on the last line, smirking and chuckling to herself as she mulled over the requests she would be able to make with such leverage. "All right then," Weiss finally spoke, clapping her hands together. "let's try it again from the top and add the hip pop at the end for starters."

Ruby nodded her head and teetered her way back over to the other side of the room as best she could, ready to strive for success once more. Her feet welt the burn of over an hour's worth of attempting to merely walk, but she was going to get this down if it killed her!

Ruby began by taking a deep breath and focusing as best she could, finally making the first stride. Weiss watched on in suspense as the redhead placed one foot in front of the other, trying to hold her arms at her sides in order to keep balance. Much to both their surprise, Ruby was keeping the act up well and progressed down the line. Weiss was awe-struck as Ruby was actually pulling it off after the pep talk. She seemed reinvigorated and willing as she approached the end of the line.

When she arrived there, she stared at Weiss in surprise as the white-haired girl returned the look. It was finally starting to come together as they had hoped.

"W-Weiss!" Ruby spoke with glee. "I did it! I did a thing!"

"Yes, you did! Now finish with the hip pop!"

"No problem! I'll—"

That's all Ruby got before she attempted to finally add that "Oomph" to her step, immediately feeling the stinging regret of the carpet and hardwood floor greeting her butt.

"R-Ruby, are you okay?" Weiss questioned in concern, making her way over to her friend.

Ruby rolled to her side, looking up at Weiss as she had another look of defeat on her face. "This is going to suck."

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"Step, step, po—Woah!" Ruby yelled as she leaned against the Beacon Academy hallway. "I won't be defeated by you hips and heels!" She shouted in anger as students walked passed her in confusion, much to her embarrassment.

Today was the day of the Beacon Dance, and Ruby was still making an effort to try and master walking in the heels and learning to add on the hip pop after a few steps. It was self-assigned homework she had given herself in a sense so that she would be ready and to say things weren't going very swimmingly would be an understatement. Weiss had attempted to instill in her the confidence to keep at the task and that was about all the positive reinforcement she had been receiving since she opted to throw her whole self at this mission. She had come too far now to fall apart, literally.

Yes, she had the conviction to see this whole plan through for the reward overshadowed any annoyance or pain she had been putting herself through. That being said, the cost was beginning to weigh on Ruby, or more so, her ankles. Weiss had once again insisted that if she was going to do this, she needed to take a full measure and requested that she wear her heels in school during the day and practice what they had been working on. Anyone could do the math; hours of training in heels, added to an entire day of moving between classes in heels and nearly falling. If you add all those things together, you then got sore and swelling ankles. As if wobbling around wasn't terrible enough for the short redhead.

"Step, step, pop!" She yelled in frustration as the sweat was now starting become evident on her forehead. She grabbed onto the windowsill after her first, successful attempt and found herself on the brink of collapsing with joy as she had finally pulled off her first "hip-pop".

Ruby fell to her knees as a form of celebration, finally taking the weight off her screaming ankles, who were only getting worse with each step she took. If she could master this, it was game, set, match. She had learned how to walk, and she had finally done this without stumbling, minus her own willingness to fall to the ground of course. Nothing was going to stand in front of her and her goal now. Ruby Rose was getting a boyfriend tonight, gosh darn it!

"Hey, Rubes." A familiar voice commented from behind.

The hair on Ruby's neck stood up as she looked over her shoulder to find the "future boyfriend" staring at her awkward position with a curious look adorned on his own face. That being said, it wasn't a look of pure "What the heck are you doing", as much as it was "Are you okay?", or so she was hoping.

"H-Hey yourself, Jaune." Ruby answered over her shoulder before slowly standing up once more, something her tender ankles did not appreciate so quickly after finding relief. She turned herself slowly, trying to hide any signs of pain as she smiled at the boy.

"I heard about a strange girl with red hair wobbling down the hallway a couple classrooms down and decided to check it out. You wouldn't happen to know where I could find her, would you?" He asked with sarcasm evident in his voice.

Ruby squinted her eyes at the boy, as well as his comments. In what world did Jaune Arc get to tease her? The nerve, no, arrogance of this boy! Well, he could laugh all he wants because after tonight, he wouldn't be laughing anymore… Or… something like that.

"Ha ha." Ruby replied with her arms folded over one another. "Such the funny guy."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." He answered with another laugh. "It's not often I get to see THE Ruby Rose struggle with anything."

Oh, if you only knew. Ruby thought to herself as she reviewed the last 24 hours while wearing these atrocities. "Well, take it all in then blondie."

"Why are you wearing heels all over school anyway?"

Ruby froze for a moment as he asked the question. She couldn't give away her true reason for doing or she might as well spill the beans here in the hallway with everyone around. While telling him might have a small success now, she had suffered through dress shopping, heel-walking, and hip-popping to impress him tonight and she was not about rob herself of the perfect moment she had been working towards. No, no, not today. Not to mention, after all these efforts, doing it at the dance when she could truly impress him would probably offer a better result.

It was full-proof! Or so Weiss said…

"It's… for training!" Ruby answered with a raised finger. "Yep, that's it! Training! Learning to keep one's balance in an unfamiliar situation!"

Was she wrong though? Was it a total lie? No, not at all.

"Oh… okay." Jaune muttered. "Just don't do it for too long, or your ankles will swell and you might not be able to get them off. Trust me, it's a pa—"

Jaune caught himself at the last moment, covering his mouth with one of his free hands as Ruby stared at him. He felt his skin grow cold and sweaty as the glint in her silver eyes grew and a toothy-smile grew on her face with a playful expression evident.

"Oh ho ho." She play-mocked. "Do tell, Jaune. You have my attention. Why should I take them off?"

Jaune backed away slowly as he swallowed audibly in regret. "D-Don't know what you're talking about, Ruby. Y-You must have heard incorrectly." He tried.

Ruby wasn't fooled. Not in the slightest. She had played this game with him many times. Jaune Arc was a strong boy—heck, he had a total transformation from his original days in Beacon to where he was now. That being said, he was a terrible liar. The absolute worst.

"Now Jaune," Ruby commented as he continued to back away. "we can do this the easy way or the fun way."

Jaune felt a pang of annoyance as the short girl added an emphasis on the word "fun." What was fun for her certainly was the complete opposite for him. Despite her size, Ruby Rose was a formidable foe when it came to her mind games for some reason.

"Ruby, seriously I—"

"HEY EVERYONE! JAUNE WEARS HE—"

With a spider-like jump, Jaune closed the gap between him and Ruby as he covered her mouth with both hands to stop her from announcing something that would crush his reputation. She mumbled slightly into his hands in protest as he brought a finger to his face and gave her the 'Shh' sign.

The crowd that had heard the initial statement began to chalk it up as Ruby and Jaune being… well… themselves and continued about their business as classes had ended for the day. Once things had settled momentarily, Jaune released his hands from Ruby's face as she looked at him with a smirk that just screamed "I win."

Jaune huffed in annoyance as he relented to his fate. "Okay! Okay!" He surrendered. "It happened after last year's dance."

Ruby raised an eyebrow at the statement as she wondered what came next.

"Nora made me cosplay in the dress I wore at the first dance and then to add fuel to the fire she chased me around the dorm room until I wore the heels she had picked up. I tried to fight her and run away but she just wouldn't give up!"

"So that's what all the screaming was… We assumed some girl had seen a bug by how high-pitched the yelling was."

"Don't run it in…" He mumbled. "Anyway, she paraded me around for a while and even tried to take pictures of me in a fully-gowned attire."

The thought of Jaune strolling around in a dress and heels made Ruby wonder if these photos existed and what the cost would be for possible copies of said photos. Surely everyone had a price.

"The only reason I got away was because Ren showed up and got her to calm down… before she tried it on him. I took the opening and ran away."

To say Ruby couldn't believe she and her team had missed out on these shenanigans had disappointed her beyond belief was the understatement of the year. These kinds of moments were definitely what she lived for. Nora was wild, and she had to respect that. Did she teach Jaune how to hip pop while in those heels? She sure hoped not. It was going to be her secret weapon tonight and she didn't want him knowing how to do it, let alone possibly being better at it.

Ruby's quiet giggles turned into full-blown laughs as the students in the hallway once again stared in the direction of the two friends, causing Jaune to cover her mouth again, hardly stopping the laughs from within.

"Alright, alright." He commented in annoyance. "Get it all out of your system now."

Oh she would, she would get it out for hours and probably days once she reminisced on it all.

"So, what is going to cost to keep your mouth shut about all this?"

Ruby's laughs halted for a moment as she contemplated the question being asked. Should she take him for all the snacks in his room? Maybe even strong-arm him into putting on a personal recreation of the scene? The possibilities were endless.

As Ruby racked her brain and weathered the options, she could feel the all-too-familiar pain returning in her ankles, which was making its way up to her knees now. The pain causing slight tears to now form in her eyes. This wasn't going well and she needed to get—

That's when she had the epiphany. She knew what she needed. Ruby's gaze was casted to floor as she couldn't bear to ask the boy what he could do to repay her.

Jaune on the other hand, blinked at the girl in confusion as her actions had stumped him. Surely she would take him up on the offer?

"P-pig—" Ruby mumbled.

"Pig?" Jaune asked in return.

"P-piggyback ride... please."

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As promised, here is the link to the "9 Days of Lancaster" tumblr page with the announcement and prompts. If anyone wants to give it a shot, we welcome it! We need a lot posted to AO3 to make top ten pairings once more! Thanks for reading and please review! I promise more action next chapter!

GodRealm