Whoa, what's this? A new chapter during the period I say I wouldn't be updating anything? Well, guess what, I did! And yes, Ruby and Jaune are going on a date. I mean, I don't see them as ones to tiptoe around the topic. Dense? Yes. But once the Blake's out of the bag? They might be shy, but they'd still be forward.
No, not THAT forward.
"Here is Orange Four, target is approaching the designed spot. Paste."
"Here Yellow Six. You're supposed to say 'pass', Orange Four. Confirmed target's approach. Begin countdown, Orange Four. Pass."
"Yellow Six, I forgot-"
"Count down from three hundreds eighty-five, Orange Four. Pass."
"…That much? Past."
"That's six minutes, Orange Four. Now start counting. Pass."
"Okay Donkey. Three-eight-five. Three-eight-four. Three-eight-three…"
Yellow Six sighed and tuned out Orange Four's out-loud counting before facing the other target. "Okay Jaune, she's gonna be here in six minutes. When she does arrive, what are you going to tell her?"
Jaune cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his head. "I… forgot?"
"Sweetie, I'm not the one asking her out, so you'd better not having actually forgotten." Glynda Goodwitch sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose when the blond boy nodded shyly. "Okay. You're gonna say hi, first. And then you go with a 'Hey Ruby, are you free to head to Vale today? Maybe we could hit a weapon shop, and a café to avoid having to come back to Beacon to eat. How that sounds?' Any question before I go?"
"No, no I think I'm good." Jaune swallowed the lump in his throat. "Just… are you sure that asking her so directly is the right way?"
"Yes. If you don't ask her, how is she supposed to get the hint?" the woman asked rhetorically. "I am not saying ask her to marry you – not yet anyway. And remember that women like confidence. Not as in 'try until she says yes', but as in 'have the guts to take the initiative'. If she says no, then it's no and you two go back to being friends. But I honestly doubt that'll be the case. Also, Orange Four, you skipped a hundred."
"Aww, I was hoping you didn't catch that."
"I always catch my students' mistakes, Ms Valkyrie," Goodwitch replied smugly before giving Jaune a good-luck kiss on his forehead and walking out of the room – which was Team ARBYL's dorm.
Jaune had never felt so uneasy in the five-beds room. He had never been claustrophobic, but the walls at the moment seemed really eager to close in on him and crush him. His bed, the one he was sitting on, had never felt as hard and uncomfortable as it did now, and despite it being just five in the afternoon, the room already looked dark. It was unbearably hot and shiver-inducing cold at the same time, and Jaune was covered in cold sweat.
Damn it, fighting Grimm was supposed to be the most terrifying thing ever! Not asking out a girl without even involving the word 'date'! Instead, fighting Grimm turned out to be a relaxing game he could play with his friends during their free time, and asking Ruby out was the single most terrifying thing he had any memory of. Sure, there had been that time the car had almost fallen off a bridge, but in hindsight he had been pretty euphoric after the accident, so it hadn't been that bad.
Jaune looked around to try and find some courage. The title Ninjas of Love jumped at his eye from the shelf – not literally of course. Jaune's eyes widened at the sight of the hardcore porn series. Who even read his big sister's books?! Who was the poor soul who had looked too deep into the Abyss, and lost their mind? He quickly considered snatching the book and throwing it out of the window, but with Ruby approaching, he absolutely didn't want to be caught holding that… that… that thing. It was filth, pure and unashamed, written by a highly hormonal, sex-deprived, horny sister of his who might've been a nymphomaniac for all he knew, with more smut than words and the most unthinkable and unspeakable of fetishes and positions. Seriously, who even had underwater sex hanging upside down from the burning wreckage of a cruise liner with Grimm sharks -Jaws if he wasn't wrong was the name- trying to join the copulation?! And his sister hadn't even been drunk when she had written that particular scene for Ninjas of Love LXIX: Stranded and Screwed!
No wonder she was called Ciel the Crazy back home.
No, he decided, he'd have to deal with the accursed book later, after the date. He didn't want to think about it, or it would totally ruin the entire day no matter what.
When he heard the door's dorm click open, he drew in a sharp gasp.
"Oh, sorry Jaune, did I scare you?" Ruby asked, entering the room and being met with the sight of him sitting ramrod stiff on his bed. "Were you napping?"
"No! I-I mean, no you d-didn't scare me." Jaune coughed into his fist to clear his voice from the stammer. "Hey Ruby, do you have something to do today?"
"Well, homework, but that can wait the weekend, it's for next week," Ruby shrugged, pointing at the pile of papers that was waiting for her on her desk.
"Right…" nodded the boy, unconvinced. He was pretty sure she wouldn't be able to finish, and he'd have to help her out. Again. He cringed when he realized the double meaning of his thoughts. "O-Okay, then w-would you mind coming to Vale w-with me?"
Ruby froze slightly, a light stiffening of her muscles that didn't go unnoticed by the boy, who immediately began to panic. "I-I mean, I-I know you like weapons so maybe we could go to a weapon shop and since going with friends is always better than going alone I-I thought to offer a-and it's not like I-I planned for this well yes I did but this is not a date or anything we're just going as friends but it's not that I don't like you it's that-"
"Jaune?"
"It's not that you're not nice and cute 'cause you are but we're friends so it'd be weird no wait that's what Nora says I don't want to be like Nora it's just that-" Jaune shut up after he realized his name had just been called by the girl he had just made a fool out of himself in front of, and promptly fixed his gaze on the accursed book that was taunting him from the bookshelf. "Uhh…"
"I'd… I'd r-really like to g-go out w-with you," she stammered slightly, blushing as red as her namesake and looking away as well. "N-Not as a-a date, j-just as f-friends of course!"
"Y-Yeah…"
"R-Right…"
"…"
"…"
"…"
"…"
"Do we have to be…"
"…only friends?"
The two's eyes met shyly, both dichromatic and both trying to convey a message mere words couldn't convey.
As it turned out, their optic conversational skills were just as bad as their social ones, because eventually they had to resort to words again. It must be said to their credit, though, that they did try to tell the other how they felt through their eyes.
"More than friends?" Jaune offered slowly.
"More than friends," Ruby confirmed shyly.
A second of silence fell over them.
Then Jaune offered her his hand to take. "Let's go, then?"
"L-Let's go."
/-/
"Here Orange Four. Mission accomplished, Yellow Six. Pall."
"It's pass. Here Yellow Six, confirmed end of mission. The mission was a success. Pass."
"Yes Yellow Six, we did good. Parse."
"It's still pass, Orange Four, and you can expect an A+ on your next three tests. Pass."
"Yay! Thank you Professor Six! Bass and boop!"
"It's… ugh, why do I even bother. Good job Ora- Orange Four? Orange Four?"
"…"
"…Good job anyway."
/-/
The trip to Vale was one made up mostly of awkward silence and half-hearted attempts at conversation. Both teens were the perfect image of 'on a date but too embarrassed and shy to act like it' and 'actually looking forward to the date even though they have no idea what people do on dates.'
The two of them exited the Bullhead and stepped onto Valean ground, and nothing world-shaking happened. By then, they would've been glad for an ice-breaker such as a good old terrorist attack. Or maybe a Grimm invasion. Alas, the two teens were unlucky, and it was a perfectly normal day for Vale. Had they gone much, much more up North, in Atlas, they would've stumbled into a sneezing Roman Torchwick freeing Faunus miners from the Schnee Dust Company's mineshafts, but in Vale everything was calm.
"So," Jaune began uneasily, wiping his sweaty hands on his jeans, and then again for good measure. "Shall we?"
"We shall," Ruby nodded nervously as the two of them took off for the weapon shop they had decided to visit.
The new couple reached a VNDT shop, of the Valean National Dust Trade company, to try and find something of their interest – like the newest or oddest types of Dust. Mixing Dust was a career that often ended with fatal results, but the few times the mixes were actually useful, the inventor would become rich, so there were many Dust mixers always trying to invent new Dust. Because of that, you never knew when the newest Dust crystals would come out, and they were often unique.
Ruby had been absolutely livid when she had missed the Candy Dust crystals they had, the shards having been bought a mere quarter of hour before her arrival at the shop. Or before that, when Yang had only been able to buy a single Vibrator Dust – and Ruby only now knew what that was supposed to do.
The girl stalked into the shop with a purpose – and for once, it wasn't actually buying new Dust crystals. No, that was a task that would need to wait until they were alone, only her and the Dust. Today, she was there with her boy- no no no, with Jaune! No need for treacherous words just yet. She was there with Jaune. And with Jaune, there was one thing she just had to do.
Showing off.
Now, don't get her wrong, Ruby was a very humble girl, and she hated showing off just as much as she hated being 'special'. She just had normal knees, normal elbows, normal joints! No need for having an insect's joints, after all. She was the picture of normalcy, in her head. However, she was also a girl on a date with a boy she liked, and because of that she decided she'd have to make an exception. She'd need to show Jaune just how right he was at choosing her, just how good she was, and she'd need to show off to do that.
She immediately dragged Jaune off to show him the most peculiar types of Dust, waiting only for one question…
"Uhh… Ruby? What's the difference between Vampire Dust and Vampiric Dust?" Jaune asked, puzzled, looking at the two equally blackish-violet crystals.
Bingo.
"Ohh, they're similar in name but they're so different. Vampire Dust is used to drain wandering Aura and replenish your own. Like, whenever you use your Aura for something more than defence or enhancement, like for a Semblance, part of the Aura you use 'wanders' away from your body, like it does for my Semblance, forming rose petals. Vampire Dust can absorb that wandering Aura and replenish your own with it, though it's usually next to insignificant amounts, only good against people whose Aura waste output is massive," she explained, pointing to the darker crystal on the left. "Vampiric Dust, instead, has nothing to do with Aura. Well, kinda. It drains your own Aura to use it. It can drain other Dust's powers though! It has a limit to how much it can drain, but otherwise using Vampiric Dust is the best way to disarm a Dust bomb. Aura-protected Dust, like weaponry, can't be influenced though, and that's why Vampiric Dust is not used by Hunters. With a single Vampiric Dust crystal you could drain over fifty times its size's worth of any kind of Dust. If you try to drain more, it explodes, though. Drained Dust becomes simple Energy Dust – the quartz-like one. They can be still used as energy channels or to improve Aura channelling performance in weapons and such, but otherwise have no power of their own. A fully used Vampiric Dust crystal is usually re-used, making it explode to produce energy, though I am not sure about that part."
Jaune looked down at her, at the sheer love and interest in her voice, and sighed. For her sake, he would try to keep up with a topic she so adored, but boy if that wasn't a strenuous task. Seriously, who ever thought that naming two Dust types, so different in use and effect, so similarly, was a good idea? Hadn't it been for Ruby, he wouldn't have known where to start telling the difference…
Okay, the Vampire Dust was slightly darker than Vampiric Dust, but hell, that wasn't enough of a difference!
"Okay, what about those two? Seem Fire Dust to me even though neither is tagged like that," he asked, pointing at two flame-coloured crystals off to the side.
A second later, he was standing in front of the case, with a serious case of instant motion sickness. Ruby shot him an apologetic look when he groaned. "S-Sorry, I kinda forgot not everyone's used to my Semblance's speed."
"No big deal…"
"So! Oh, these are a Creeping Death Dust crystal and an Aura Fire Sphere Dust crystal," she explained easily, making him blink. "Both are actually just Auric Fire Dust crystals, but they have been heavily modified to only work this way. Normally, any good Aura user with an Auric Dust crystal can move the fire and mould it to their desires. These enable amateurs to use advanced techniques with little to no experience. Though, and this is a secret, they don't actually work," she confided him, leaning closer to whisper in his ear- no okay, in his shoulder actually, but that was just the difference in height. "The Creeping Death Dust just makes the fire much lower to the ground and shorter-lived. Basically just a weaker Fire Dust crystal. The Aura Fire Sphere Dust makes a spheric fireball and nothing else, again something a normal Fire Dust crystal can do."
"Then why are they here at all if they're useless?" Jaune asked.
"Because they're different. They're new Dust types even though they're useless, so they have to be documented and listed as Dust types. I mean, if people wanted efficiency over variety, there'll only be one type of weapon. Spear, the first weapon ever. Or sword and shield, still pretty basic. But people want variety, and this Dust types give them variety." Hadn't it been delivered with Ruby's usual cheer and childishness, it would've been a lecture-worthy speech on how humanity preferred variety and personal preferences over usefulness. As it was, Jaune just smiled lopsidedly and pointed to the adjacent case.
"Okay, now what's that crystal?"
Ruby turned to look at the nondescript grey crystal, and her face immediately went crimson at the sight of a Vibrator Dust crystal. Dammit, those were supposed to have all been sold! "That's nothing!" she squealed, dragging her date to another case. "I'm not even sure of what it does exactly, must be new!"
Like hell she was gonna tell him what it actually was!
"Let's focus on other stuff! Better stuff! Like this… this speck of dirt right here! It has a weird shape, doesn't it?"
"Looks just like dirt to me…"
"Well then, what do you want to focus on?" she huffed, pouting. That speck of dirt was infinitely better than explaining what Vibrator Dust was!
Jaune shrugged. "Dunno. We just got here. Let's just take a look around. Actually, now that I think of it, if you're still up to teaching me mechashift weaponmaking, why don't we take a look at the weapons and you can tell me something about how they're made?"
Ruby exhaled deeply. Disaster avoided. Now, unless some pervert had made a weapon with a Vibrator function, she was in safe waters. She-
"Oh my gosh there's the newest plasma Tesla coil gun with an added bubbleshooter feature!"
/-/
Roman Torchwick spat to the ground, watching as the spit splattered on a rock and quickly lost heat, that resulted in a damn fast transformation into ice. The criminal himself would've probably frozen over, hadn't he been covered in what felt like a ton of rugs, but was actually just a heavy Atlasian winter jacket. The fashionable thief hated it. Hadn't it been for that damn cold, he would've been able to wear his favourite trench coat and bowler hat. As it was, he was buried alive under a mountain of heavy cloth in the vain hope to keep warm.
"Hurry up!" he mumble-yelled at his men, who were advancing in the snow with a huge group of newly-freed Faunus they had borrowed from the SDC's mines. For the first time in a very long time, Roman felt pity for those animals. Most of them were starved at best, underweight by some dozens of pounds, the bones clearly visible for the world to see. His men had fortunately taken more winter wear with them, or those miners wouldn't even have made it out of the mines.
Even as it was, they were probably going to lose a few of them.
Roman Torchwick sighed and watched as his breath misted in front of him. Atlas was a frozen hell like no other. All that technology to make robots and androids, and then they still used slave-like live employees in the mines, places so inhuman even the weathered criminal felt sick. And they locked children in them with the whole lot of the family.
He might've been a criminal, even a murderer, but he drew a line at purposeful and aggravated torture, and those mines were nothing short of that. While scouting them out, he had even found a rod sporting the brand of the SDC – near an unlit fireplace. It didn't take a genius to guess what that was used for.
The criminal shook such thoughts out of his head. As it was, it was useless to think about the past, and it wasn't like he was going to change Atlas's politics anytime soon. Not soon, not ever, if he had any say in it. And not even Vale's politics, he wasn't gonna change a damn anything in politics, anywhere!
"Ugh, this cold must be getting to me," he groaned, halting that train of thoughts before it could go any further. "How long until we get to our ship?"
The White Fang grunt -'Idiot,' Roman was quick to amend his own thoughts- squinted ahead before shrugging. "Not long, boss. We should get there before nightfall."
"Of course we're gonna get there before nightfall!" Torchwick exclaimed. "What kind of idiot would leave the airship so far from the mines we were robbing?!"
"S-Sorry, I just always wanted to say that…" the man beside him apologized. "Also, we were attacking the mines to free the prisoners, not robbing them, I think?"
"Oh, yeah, old habits die hard."
/-/
"So… did you like the movie?"
Jaune pursued his lips as he thought about the answer. The two of them were walking side by side after visiting the Cinema Ross and watching the newest Grimm Blood movie. It was ninth movie of that series, though the third was actually a remake of the first, so the one they had just watched was Grimm Blood VIII instead of Grimm Blood IX. The first movie had been pretty good, the second decent and the remake very good. The third… and fourth… and fifth…
"Dunno. I mean, I really like the series, and the actors are good, but… dunno… it lacked plot, y'know?" She gave a light shrug in agreement. "I mean, animations and special effects and everything is still top-notch, but the plot feels… rehearsed. I mean, it's always the same thing. It's been eight movies and the plot is always the same. Verity is living happily with her girlfriend, then something awful happens and Verity's Grimm nature is discovered by a shady organization. Verity's girlfriend is kidnapped, and Verity has to become Darkglint again to save her and kick the organization's ass. Changing the names isn't gonna change the plot. By now they should've run out of shady organizations."
"So… did you like it or not?" asked Ruby, confused. "I mean, I'm with you on that, they should add something new, but I still think it's pretty good, right?"
"It is indeed, though I wish they hadn't done that whole thing with Verity's girlfriend having been injected with Grimm so suddenly, you know? I mean, last time we see her she's in a cell, the next Verity has to fight her when she goes insane for the Grimm. It's kinda cheap," shrugged Jaune. "Other than the usual plot and that yeah, it was a pretty good movie. No wasted money, at least. Speaking of which, we're kinda low on money…"
"Sorry, I didn't think of bringing any money with me… kinda too excited for that." Ruby glared down at her skirt. "Plus girls pockets are the worst. I mean, they can barely hold my Scroll without dropping it every two minutes!"
"Heh, that's why Hunters should have something called 'casual wear' to avoid the discomfort to have too combat-oriented clothes," smirked Jaune, grinning more when she stuck her tongue at him. "Look, I got some money, but I'm really low on it. If we want to have lunch out and be able to go back to Beacon by Bullhead, well… I know of a way to get money… and it is kinda legal… but I'm not sure if you'd appreciate."
Ruby narrowed her eyes at him. "Gambling?"
"Gods no!" exclaimed Jaune. "Heck, gambling is when you don't even touch anything! That's just the perfect way to lose your money! I was thinking more like some dice game at a casino, or a card game. Like… poker sounds pretty good, doesn't it?"
Ruby's eyes narrowed more as she grumbled.
Her stomach also grumbled.
At Jaune's smirk, she blushed and looked away. "Traitorous belly…" she complained as her date dragged her off to the Xiong Casino, one located just beside the biggest and most famous club in Vale, appropriately called The Club. Hei 'Junior' Xiong was the owner of both locals, and the two buildings were also actually linked together to form one single complex, though they had separate names and businesses.
The walk didn't take long, ten minutes at most, as they were already in the more… flashy part of Vale, full of cinemas, clubs, shops, restaurants and all of that. Even a bowling hall or two. To tell the truth, Ruby didn't even know what many of those big, flashy names actually meant, having never really been a city girl obsessed with going out with friends and as such not really acquainted with that part of Vale.
The Xiong Casino looked every bit of her social nightmare. Blazing lights and blaring music, with dozens of tables and different games and a bar separated from the one in The Club just for the casino, it made her feel dizzy and not at all in the good way Jaune did, but in a very bad way, a pulsing headache just behind her eyes that she couldn't really place – not that she wanted to. There were also lots and lots of people. Most of them were just normal people, or even polite-looking ones, but some of them had an obvious 'bad guy' vibe coming off them that didn't really mix well with her anxiety. And then there were the teenagers who thought that gambling and stuff would make them look cool, and she could perfectly feel their eyes on her and Jaune the moment they entered. Both being Hunter trainees, they could be considered close to models for a normal civilians. Thankfully, the teenagers didn't think trying to start chatting with either of them was worth their time, and quickly returned to their game.
Ruby exhaled softly. Maybe common belief was wrong, and it wasn't like entering a place like that was a sure way to get harassed, especially if the newcomer was a young girl who was at least decent in the looks department.
"Hey kid, this ain't a place for dilly-dallying, so either play or scram!" The harsh grumble tore her from her thoughts, and she paled when she saw Jaune standing right beside some of the baddest-looking people in the whole locals. She wasn't the only one to be surprised, as some other players and even a couple of the indecently underdressed dancers were staring at him as if he'd grown a second head.
"I'll play, just let me sit down first, asshole," scoffed Jaune, making Ruby's eyes go wide. Jaune wasn't really someone to be rude to people, and much less someone who would swear. "Hey Ruby, come over. Don't wanna have to keep an eye on you."
She shyly obeyed and moved closer before sitting on a chair one of the men oddly politely offered her.
"She plays too?" gruffly asked the one currently holding the dice.
"Nah, she's with me, but just to watch," grumbled Jaune, taking out his money and putting it on the table. "Now get your ass moving and throw those fucking dice, I ain't got all day."
"Jeez, playing in a hurry ain't a good way to win, y'know?" scoffed the man, a thin and not unpleasant-looking brunette with green eyes and a light stubble. As Ruby looked around, she realized that all the people at that table were, aside from their gruff expressions and scowls, normal people. People she'd forget as soon as they were out of sight if she met them on the streets. Weren't they supposed to look bad?
"Just hurry up and throw," snapped the blond, and Ruby found herself staring at him. Just like the others, he too still looked like normal Jaune but… his expression had changed. There was a lackadaisical air of carelessness and a grumpy frown on his face, so unlike his normal cheerful, goofy smile. There was also some sort of feel of danger hovering around him, an antisocial and reclusive atmosphere that made her want to put some space between herself and the boy.
He was hot.
Ruby definitely preferred cute and goofy Jaune over hot Jaune.
Not to get her wrong, it wasn't like she couldn't appreciate hot Jaune, but that wasn't Jaune. That was just something he pretended to be while cheating at dice.
Her eyes went wide. Jaune wasn't planning on cheating with guys like those, right?! The third one from her left even looked like someone with combat training! They'd be so doomed. She didn't want her first date to end up with both at the hospital, Yang, Dad, Uncle Qrow and Ms Goodwitch on a savage manhunt, and the whole day ruined.
"It'll be okay," Jaune whispered to her, and she allowed herself to relax a little.
Then Jaune threw the dice.
Six. Six. Six. Six.
Like hell they hadn't noticed he had just cheated.
Shockingly, no one said anything, and Jaune just collected all the money with a smug little grin on his face. Again, it wasn't like she couldn't appreciate it, but she preferred his wide, happy smile rather than that confident, arrogant smirk. It shouldn't have been sitting on his face.
Round after round, Jaune continued to win and lose, though win mostly, and soon they had more than enough money to go on another dozen dates. Ruby's nerves became frailer and frailer with each winning, but the other guys didn't seem to care. Heck, they were even openly smiling, and even chuckling, as if losing dozens of Lien to a kid who looked barely of the legal age was something extremely funny.
Eventually, Jaune decided to spare them and quit. However, before he could actually stand up, a hand whipped out and grabbed his wrist. Ruby's hands went for her scythe, but of course she didn't have it. Her beloved Crescent Rose was still in Beacon, in her locker, waiting for her return.
"You're a good player, kid," the man said, releasing him once his attention was grabbed. "I really hope you'll show up again. You got a fucking lot of skill at dice."
"It ain't the only skill I've got," smirked Jaune. "Maybe poker next time? I've been itching for some good rounds for months."
"Sure, why not," laughed the man, and the others soon joined in. "But gotta warn you, kid, I'm really good at poker. Hope you don't live far, 'cause I'm gonna leave you in your boxers."
"You're really eager to see me in my underwear, huh? I guess I can't refuse such an offer." Ruby had to clamp a hand over her mouth to avoid making a sound. She didn't know if she should've started to scream, gasp, squeak or anything else. That was.. that was definitely not Jaune-like!
The man only laughed harder. "Sorry kid, I'm already taken. Plus you look underage, too risky. But, if you want to have a good time after you grow up a little…"
The man left the offer hanging, and Jaune didn't bother replying as he dragged his date out of the casino.
Only after a couple of roadblocks had gone by, Ruby managed once more to form a coherent sentence. "What the hall was that?!" she exclaimed, automatically censuring her own words. It wasn't something she'd usually do, but after hearing Jaune talk like that… she felt unclean.
"That? That was a show of skill," shrugged Jaune, patting his pocket. "And I won."
"How didn't they notice you were cheating?!" she whisper-yelled, trying not to attract too much attention from the people nearby. It was past three in the afternoon, so there weren't a lot of people around, but it never hurt to be careful.
"Of course they did, but so were they. That's why it was a show of skill," explained Jaune. "It all come down to the fact that we were trying to see who the best cheater was. And I won."
Ruby face-faulted.
Oh gosh last time I checked the word count, it was slightly over 3.4 and now it's over 5... that's a good thing, I guess.
Honestly... I don't know what to say aside from news on the romance, so I'll just go directly to that.
So, romance status: dating. At chapter 20. I told you I hated to beat around the bush. Had I left it to just Jaune and Ruby, yes it would've taken forever, but with Auntie Glyn and Nora? No way. There's not dilly-dallying for those two. Of course, this does not mean now Ruby and Jaune are madly in love, forever linked by the bond of True Love.
None of that bullshit.
They're dating, yeah. Nothing wrong with that. Not a very big deal, and not important plotwise, but an interesting addition.
And poor Roman... the weather is so cruel with him...
Until next time,
Khor Evik Vlakhavlakh