Hey, readers. WaterDragonMaverick with the next "Sideline: Another Story" update. We last left off with Slate Quartz fighting Team JADE and getting pretty banged up during that. After getting bandaged up, Terracotta had a small talk with him and Azalea showed up a bit after. When Slate and Azalea were left alone, he asked her on a date and we'll see what Azalea's reaction to it is.

Let's go!

RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and was created by Monty Oum (R.I.P)

The only things I own are my Original Characters.

"Azalea, will you go out with me," Slate asked as Azalea was fiddling with the bandages on his arm. Azalea was surprised by what Slate asked her and she accidentally tightened the bandages too much. "Ow ow ow," Slate cried out in pain before Azalea loosened them up for him.

"Ah! I'm so sorry! I-it's j-j-just that... W-well... I've n-never really... It's just... Sorry," Azalea apologized and stuttered as her face turned a bright red. "W-w-why would you want to go on a d-date with m-m-me?"

Slate rubbed his arm to try and get rid of the pain from Azalea's mishap with the bandages before answering. "I just think you could use a nice night away from Beacon because of those jerks showing up," he said. "So, why not let me treat you to dinner? Take you a movie? Or something like that?"

Azalea was shocked by the fact that Slate was asking her on a date and couldn't say anything. She had never been on a real date before because of her shyness and nobody really asked her. A small part of Azalea thought that it might have had to do with her father, but she dismissed that idea. "W-well... I don't know what t-to say," Azalea said before the two of them heard the door slam open.

"SHE'D LOVE TO," Celadon exclaimed as she grabbed Azalea by the arm and dragged her out of Team FCSA's dorm. "How does Friday after classes sound? Perfect? I knew you'd say that, Slate! Ta-ta," Celadon quickly said as she and several of the girls in Fragment Hunter pushed Azalea to Team SAFR's dorm room.

In their rush, the only ones left were Slate, Silver, Rebecca, and Rua. All four had the same confused look on their faces before they asked the exact same question. "What just happened?"

"What just happened," Azalea asked as she was now standing in Team SAFR's room surrounded by Sunset, Layla, Cereza, Celadon, Vinyl, Lapis, and Vixen.

"You're going out with Slate on Friday, that's what," Layla said as she hugged Azalea.

"I didn't even answer him," Azalea countered as she looked at the others.

"That's why I answered for you, darling," Celadon reminded. "Now, we're going to have to go back into town because I saw a sale at the boutique I mentioned before. You'll definitely need a dress. Maybe we can put some makeup on you? We'll figure it out with the dress," Celadon said as she started to plan out a few things.

"How did you even know about this," Azalea asked before she remembered who was in the room with her. "Never mind. I figured it out," she said dryly as she looked at a smirking Sunset. "Come on, girls. Do you really have to do this?"

"Absolutely! We must make sure you're prepared for your date with destiny," Celadon dramatically declared.

"I'd rather just stay here and write to my mom," Azalea muttered to herself.

"You can do that after your date this weekend," Cereza said as she put a hand on Azalea's shoulder.

"It's just that I've never been asked out on a date before," Azalea told the girls. "What would I even do?"

"Hold on, you've never been out on a date before," Lapis asked.

Azalea only shook her head to answer as the girls looked at each other. "Well, she's a shy girl with pretty looks and an enormous dad who looks like he can kill a man with his bare hands. If I wanted to ask her out, I'd be intimidated too," Sunset mentioned.

"Gee, I'd hate to be Slate when Lea's dad hears about this," Vixen said with a chuckle.

"Are we sure that Terra would do that," Layla asked in concern.

"Girls, I'm sure that my dad won't do anything to hurt Slate like you think," Azalea reassured.

Terracotta threw a punch at Slate and the latter had to dodge out of the way before another fist came right at him. Raising his arms to block the strike, Slate was sent flying backward from the sheer power of Terra's punch. After picking himself back up, Slate saw Terracotta in a kickboxing stance before he spoke to him. "Get in this stance and stay light on your feet. With your agility, you'll be able to dodge attacks and tire enemies out before overwhelming them with constant attacks," Terracotta advised.

"You don't really look like the kind of Huntsman who would be quick on his feet," Slate said as he got in the stance Terra showed.

"With my years of experience and the people I've met, you find out new ways to fight and improve yourself," Terracotta explained. "Which brings me to another point, Slate. Just dodging won't be enough, so you'll need to learn to take a punch and build up your endurance. I already know that you can take a beating because of Team JADE, but you can keep moving forward and practice."

"Yes, sir," Slate said as he began to spar with Terracotta. With quick movements as he punched and kicked the Bull Faunus, Slate's hand-to-hand skills were improving pretty well over the last few days. But just like with all the other lessons Terracotta gave, Slate never finished them without scratches or bruises.

"So, Slate. I've noticed that Azalea and the girls have been heading into town quite a bit," Terra mentioned as he jabbed at Slate to test him. "Even overheard them saying that they were excited to help her for this weekend. Anything special going on?" Slate's eyes widened as he failed to speak properly and eventually got punched in the stomach by Terracotta. As Slate fell to the ground, Terra stopped the sparring session to let him get back up and explain. "Is there something going on," the Huntsman asked.

"W-w-well, sir. It's j-just that I m-may have asked Azalea t-to go on a d-d-d-d-date," Slate managed to say with nervous stammering after catching his breath. "Pleasedon'tkillme," he said under his breath as he flinched away from Terracotta.

Terra just stared at Slate with a stoic expression and nodded after a few silent seconds. He then approached Slate as the latter had his eyes closed in nervous fear and placed a hand on his shoulder. Slate slowly opened his eyes to see Terra looking down at him before hearing him speak. "Look out for her."

"Wait, what," Slate asked in confusion as Terracotta went to collect his coat and sword. "You mean you aren't going to threaten me into behaving myself?"

"You act like a gentleman in Azalea's letters and actually meeting you has proven that," Terracotta said. "You're honestly the perfect boy for Azalea to go on her first date with."

"You know, I always thought that Azalea had admirers back in her hometown," Slate admitted as he rubbed the back of his head.

"She does, but there are several reasons for why she hasn't been asked out before," Terra stated.

"Are you one of them," Slate dryly asked as the two men left the amphitheater. Terracotta only smirked in response and that was all the answer Slate needed. "What are the others?"

"Well, you've known her for a while," Terra explained. "Besides her timid personality, she also has her mother's beauty. Because of that, she hasn't really been asked out because most boys are scared of that she would be out of their league."

"And the others are just perverts who were noticing her 'growth' as she hit puberty," Slate guessed.

"You'd be right," Terracotta answered. "At least, I know you aren't one of those boys and you'll treat my daughter right this weekend."

"Celadon said that she and the others would make sure Azalea's ready by Friday night," Slate explained.

"Alright then," Terra said as he and Slate reached the dorms. "I'll leave you to get some ideas for what to do on Friday. I also have something you should know," he said as he approached Slate. "Make sure to get her some flowers. Azalea always did like visiting the florist in Mirabelle with her friend, Bianca."

"C-can do, sir," Slate said as he saluted Terracotta nervously. Terra just laughed quietly to himself as he left Slate alone. The gunslinger sighed in relief that he wasn't getting on Terracotta's bad side at all and went to his dorm room. As he did, he saw Vinyl just outside of Team SAFR's room and waved a hand at Slate. "Are they in there with Azalea," Slate asked. Vinyl only shook her head to reply. "They in town," Slate guessed next, to which Vinyl gave a thumbs up to answer him. "Alright. Just got to wait a little longer then," Slate said to himself as he entered Team FCSA's dorm and was left on his own.

In Vale, Azalea was at a boutique with Sunset, Celadon, Cereza, Layla, and Lapis helping pick out some new clothes. "I thought we were just getting a dress for me," Azalea asked as she stepped out of the dressing room wearing a sleeveless white crop top with a few diamond-shaped cutouts near the top. "Why have me try these other clothes on?"

"Because you look so good in them, Azalea," Celadon said as she handed another top to the Cow Faunus and the others took photos. "Here, this one's green like your eyes. Try it on!" Taking the article of clothing from her friend, Azalea headed back into the dressing room to just make Celadon happy. After she put in on and showed her friends, everyone was amazed at how Azalea looked. "You're really working those tops, Azalea," Celadon said.

"You should keep them. Just for when you decide to change your wardrobe some more," Layla suggested as she and Cereza took some new pictures. Azalea looked at her reflection as she wore the green crop top and started to admire her appearance just a little bit. "You don't have to wear them immediately. Save them for when you actually manage to break out of your shell a little more," Layla said as she stood next to her friend.

Out of nowhere, Lapis and Sunset came running into the dressing rooms with something in Lapis' arms. "We found it! It was marked down and we think that it'll be perfect," Sunset declared as Lapis handed the object to Azalea. Taking it from Lapis, Azalea went and changed into the dress given to her and showed everyone when she managed to get it on. The girls were all in awe at how Azalea looked in the dress as Azalea looked at her reflection in the nearby mirror to see for herself. "We found the right one," Sunset said with a confident smirk as she crossed her arms.

"Now we just need to find the right shoes to go with it and some makeup," Cereza stated. "And luckily, I know just the shade for the occasion," she said as she fixed her glasses with her own confident smile.

Azalea sighed before speaking up to her friends. "Alright, go ahead and do it. Just... nothing too fancy for makeup, please. I prefer my own natural look."

"Trust me, love. You'll love how I fix your makeup on Friday before your date," Cereza said.

Friday afternoon came and as soon as classes ended, Rua teleported the girls to Team SAFR's dorm room at Celadon's request while Silver and Slate went into town for the latter to get some flowers for Azalea. "So, her dad didn't threaten you with that giant sword of his," Silver asked in disbelief as Slate exited the flower shop.

"He just said that I should treat her like the gentleman she described me as in her letters. So, I probably just need to be myself," Slate said as he carried a bouquet which consisted of azaleas, calla lilies, fuchsia flowers, and gladiolus. "You think these are good to give Azalea," the gunslinger asked.

"I think that they seem a bit obvious," Silver dryly stated with a smile. Slate just gave him a blank stare before the Wolf Faunus spoke up again. "Look, she'll like them. Trust me, dude."

"If you say so," Slate said as they continued their way back to Beacon. After they reached their destination, the boys saw Vinyl, Rua, and Rebecca standing guard in front of the dorm rooms. "Are they still at it," Slate asked and the three girls only nodded in reply.

"They'll be done in a few minutes. You just wait," Rebecca said to Slate.

Listening to her, Slate and Silver decided to kill some time in Team SLVR's dorm and let the girls finish their work. When they entered, they saw Terracotta was carving at some wood and whittling it into a bull's skull similar to his emblem. "Hey, boys. The girls aren't done yet, so you better find something to do," he said as he started to inspect his carving.

"That's some nice work, Terra," Slate said as he noticed the carving. "I actually do some woodworking myself, but I haven't had the time lately."

"That's interesting," Silver said as he pulled out his Scroll to play video games.

After a discussion between the males changed from hobbies such as woodworking and model trains to fighting techniques, they soon heard a knock on the door and saw Vinyl signal to them. The boys left the room and Slate picked the bouquet of flowers back up before they were stopped in the hall by Celadon. "Gentlemen, it's my honor and pleasure to present the special lady of the evening," she declared as she gestured dramatically. "Please welcome, Azalea Calla Holstein," she said as she opened the door to Team FCSA's dorm and revealed the aforementioned girl.

The boys and Vinyl had their jaws all dropped to the floor as they saw Azalea in her attire for the evening, but Slate was the one who was the most surprised at what she wore. Azalea wore a black dress, her regular choker, removed her bandana, and had put on fuchsia lipstick and eyeshadow for the occasion. The dress was short and tight, but still left enough to the imagination to keep Slate interested. The red sash around her waist and the red heels she wore accentuated her beauty in a way that her normal clothes usually didn't. Slate just stood around until he managed to voice out a single word, "Wow."

Vinyl lifted up her shades to get a better look at Azalea and gave an appreciative whistle when she saw her friend look stunning in a dress. "Azalea, you look just like your mother," Terracotta said with a proud smile on his face and tears beginning to form in his eyes as Azalea blushed at the comparison. Terra also took the chance to take a picture of his daughter on his Scroll.

"That's exactly what she said when we finished putting the makeup on her," Cereza mentioned.

Slate managed to snap out of his trance and gave Azalea the bouquet. "H-h-here... Your dad said that you liked flowers," he said as she took the bouquet and smelled the flowers.

"They're lovely," Azalea said as she placed them in Team FCSA's dorm room. Layla began to fill a vase that decorated the room with water with her Dust jewelry and placed the bouquet in it as Azalea stepped toward Slate. "S-so, um... s-should we get going?"

"O-oh, yeah! We should," Slate said as he and Azalea started heading toward the courtyard, leaving the others behind as they looked on at the two of them.

"We're totally spying on them, aren't we," Vinyl asked bluntly.

"Oh, hell yes," the rest of Fragment Hunter said at the same exact time.

As the sun began to set over the city of Vale, Azalea and Slate were walking through the Commercial District as they looked for something to do together. "S-so, what are we doing tonight," Azalea asked hesitantly.

"I think that... getting dinner would probably the best option. That way we can just talk," Slate said as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Y-yeah... That sounds nice," Azalea said with a blush. The two teenagers started to search for a nice restaurant to stop at, but were unaware that they were secretly being followed by their friends. Soon, they found a place that served cuisine from Mistral. "This place looks good," Azalea said as she saw the restaurant.

"Okay, then," Slate agreed as he took Azalea by the arm and walked her inside with her blushing more.

As they entered the establishment, they saw somebody leaving and were greeted by a hostess in a red dress similar to Celadon's. "Welcome! A table just opened up, so please follow me," she said as she grabbed some menus for Slate and Azalea before guiding them to a table nearby a fish tank. "Someone will be with you soon to take your drink orders," the hostess said before heading back.

"Wow. How lucky are we to get a seat immediately when we walk inside," Azalea said as she sat down and looked at her menu.

"You'd be surprised," Slate replied as he looked for something to choose for himself.

As Slate and Azalea were just looking over the menus in silence, the rest of Fragment Hunter were trying to think of a way to spy on them. "Well, now what? How are we supposed to check on them now," Rua asked.

"Vixen and Celadon could easily pose as waitresses with their regular clothes, but what about the rest of us," Silver mentioned.

"Maybe they can have you work in the kitchen," Lapis joked. "You could use your chainsaw to cut vegetables." Silver only laughed sarcastically at his teammate in response.

"Just go get a table away from them that you can still see them from," Cereza suggested. "That's what I'll do with Layla."

"Come on, let's try and see how they're doing," Sunset said as she opened the doors for the ten teenagers to enter. After they managed to find some seats, Vixen used her Semblance to disguise everyone and Fragment Hunter began to listen in on Slate and Azalea as they talked.

"Soooo... What's it like at your hometown," Slate asked to try and start a conversation with the girl in front of him.

"I-it's a nice place," Azalea answered. "Nice neighbors, good local food, just the kind of town that makes you feel like you're at home. Well, there's also the occasional Grimm attack, but everyone's prepared for them."

"Yeah... I bet," Slate said quietly as he scratched his scarred cheek. "And your family? Aside from your terrifying father."

"Well, my mom's normally busy with running the farm and taking care of the important matters, but she always has time to help the farmhands with the field work. Same with Dad when he isn't on a mission," Azalea told Slate. "Aunt Malus and her husband help out on the farm, too. So, there's no shortage of people to help out at Plum Blossom Farms. Oh, and there's Uncle Ventus. He's a Huntsman like Dad, but he went to Shade Academy instead of Beacon. He's really fun to be with!"

"So, is he a Faunus too," Slate asked.

"He's a Peregrine Falcon Faunus with talons as his trait," Azalea explained. "He's always on an adventure as a Huntsman, but he manages to find the time to come by the farm. I bet everyone would like him."

"Hey, if he went to Shade Academy and graduated, I'm sure he's a great guy who can get through anything," Slate said as the waitress came by with their drinks.

"Thank you," Azalea said to the waitress as she got a glass of 'People Like Grapes' soda. After they asked for their orders, Azalea turned back to Slate and decided to ask him something. "So, what about you? You said you had a sister? I'm an only child, so I don't know what it's like to live with a sibling. What's she like?"

Slate rubbed the back of his head in thought and tried to think of what to say. "How do I put this? You remember that time when Nora had a sugar rush and kept bouncing around the school like a pinball," Slate asked. After Azalea nodded, Slate continued. "That's Pinkamena on an average day. Basically, she's pretty similar to Nora in a lot of ways. Really energetic, imaginative, wants to be a Huntress herself, and can exhaust anyone who isn't prepared for her."

"Wow. How old is she," Azalea asked.

"Pinkie just turned 14. She's really grown from the little pink gumball that I knew her as a kid," Slate replied as he showed Azalea a picture of his sister on his Scroll.

"Awww, she's adorable," Azalea said as she looked at the photo. Slate's Scroll showed a picture of a young girl with the same viridian eyes as Slate, but she had pink hair similar to bubblegum or cotton candy in color. Pinkie was smiling brightly as she wore Slate's hat with her brother sitting next to her.

"Yeah," Slate agreed as he put his Scroll away. "Anything else you want to ask? Our food probably won't be here for a little bit."

Azalea took a sip of her soda as she thought of something. Soon, she remembered something important that happened whenever Slate was around. "Why is it that whenever we're getting involved with something, things just seem to go our way," Azalea asked. "First, there was when you confronted Cardin before the Initiation Test and Doctor Oobleck showed up to stop a fight. Then, there was when you and I teamed up, we were the first ones to find the temple in the Emerald Forest. And let's not forget when we were trying to figure out Smoke Shadow's calling card, Professor Ozpin and Doctor Oobleck helped us figure it out. Finally, as soon as you helped Vixen and Lapis, you find the things Sombra stole and we get them back to the police."

"Honestly, I'm wondering about that myself," Sunset telepathically said to the other spying members of Fragment Hunter.

Slate took a deep breath and exhaled slowly before he started to explain. "It's my Semblance, actually. I can alter probability, which makes luck work for me or anyone I choose. However, it does have its downsides," he admitted.

"Like what," Azalea asked.

"Well, I can only use it three times before the next one backfires on me. Remember when we encountered all those Grimm just after meeting up with Cereza and Layla? That was essentially my Semblance balancing itself out," Slate told Azalea. "I honestly think that it's a blessing and a curse of an ability. And before you ask, my trick shots in combat are all skill. I don't like to use my Semblance in battle unless I need to. Like some of the things that happened against Team JADE."

Azalea sighed as she remembered what happened before when Fragment Hunter met her old bullies and she ran away. "I still can't believe that you decided to fight all three of them on your own," Azalea said before she looked away from Slate. "Nobody at Sanctuary Academy did that for me."

"Well, it just means that they're jerks that don't deserve to be Huntsmen," Slate said. "I originally wanted to be one just so that I could test my skills, but my folks told me about something that happened when I was a baby. When my family was moving through the desert toward Vacuo, I was nearly killed in a Grimm attack. A Huntsman managed to save my family and the only damage I got was this scar across my cheek," he told Azalea as he rubbed a thumb across his scar. "They told me that story after I decided to sign up for Beacon and I took it to heart. I love a good challenge, but I'm still going to help others in need. Especially if they're a pretty girl like you," Slate stated, but muttered the last sentence with a small blush on his face.

Azalea still managed to hear him and she blushed as well. Soon, the waitress stopped by with their food. "Here you go. One order of vegetable fried rice for the lovely lady, an order of dumplings for the table, and one serving of stir-fried noodles for the gentleman. I'll be back with some refills for your drinks," the waitress said as she gave the two rookie Huntsmen their meal.

As the two enjoyed their meal, Slate was wondering something. "Hey, Azalea? Something's been bothering me. Is it okay for you to eat beef? I'm only curious," he asked.

"I only have cow horns. I'm not actually a cow," Azalea said after swallowing another bite of her fried rice. "I can eat steak and other meats, but I just prefer other food. Heck, my dad loves to have a good steak dinner every once in a while."

"Finally. I was asking myself that same question since we first met each other," Rebecca telepathically told the others. "My grandfather is a Rat Faunus, so I know he can eat quite a few things that he wants."

"That's a load off my thoughts," Slate sighed as he grabbed another dumpling for himself.

"My turn to ask something," Azalea stated. "If you weren't going to be a Huntsman, what would you be? I'd go back to helping my family at the farm."

Slate scratched his chin in thought as he pondered over Azalea's question. "If I had to choose... I'd probably be a treasure hunter. There are all kinds of lost artifacts and relics from old Kingdoms. It would be fun to find them and discover what all of them were," Slate said. "Just imagine all the things that lie under the sands in western Sanus or in the Mistral regions. But then again, with my luck I'd probably cause old buildings to collapse under my feet when I reach them," Slate mentioned and got a laugh out of Azalea. The other members of Fragment Hunter were happy to see Slate and Azalea enjoying themselves as the rest of their date continued.

After they left the restaurant, Slate took Azalea back to Beacon Academy and Fragment Hunter followed them back in secret. "I had fun tonight," Azalea said.

"Glad you liked it," Slate replied as he scratched his cheek nervously.

"I honestly thought that this would have turned out awkward or something embarrassing would've happened," Azalea mentioned. "Or worse, Team JADE would've shown up to ruin everything for me and you," she said as she nervously rubbed her arm and looked away from Slate.

"Well, it's not like we live in a world of clichés. In fact, the only one I saw was the rest of Fragment Hunter spying on our date," Slate told his partner. Fragment Hunter all freaked out at Slate saying that he saw them and they all bolted from their hiding spots. Azalea laughed as she heard Rua and Sunset swearing as they bumped into a few walls in their rush. "I guess that the date's over now," Slate mused as he rubbed the back of his head.

Azalea looked at Slate and thought of all the times that he helped her. He was always willing to defend her from bullies, he was a very reliable partner in battle, and she had to admit to herself that she thought he was kind of cute. After all Slate did to make her feel happy after everything that happened recently, Azalea decided to do something she probably wouldn't have done before. "Not yet," Azalea told Slate as she took a hold of his head. Pulling his face closer to hers, Azalea placed her lips on Slate's scarred cheek and left a fuchsia lipstick mark on it when she pulled back. "Not until the goodnight kiss," Azalea stated. "I need to change. So, I'm going in first," Azalea said to Slate as he stood dazed from Azalea's kiss and he could only nod quietly. Azalea blushed as she entered the dorm room and closed the door behind her.

As soon as she did, Slate wobbled around and eventually fell to the floor with a goofy smile on his face. The other members of Fragment Hunter came back and saw their friend on the ground. "Well, looks like somebody's quite smitten with our little Azalea," Celadon said as she saw the look on Slate's face and the lipstick mark.

"Lucky little devil," Silver and Vinyl both said as they smirked at Slate.

As Fragment Hunter either helped Slate back up or went to check on Azalea, Terracotta was hidden from their view and smiled to himself as he looked at his Scroll. Just as Azalea kissed Slate on the cheek, Terra was able to get a photo of the two. He soon sent it and the picture of Azalea he took earlier to somebody along with a message. A few moments later, he got a reply that said 'She's growing up so fast. I'll be there as soon as I can.' Terra only smiled at this and headed off after putting his Scroll away.

Well, this took a while. But, I'm glad that I finally finished it. I wanted to do this chapter to show off the growing relationships between Azalea, Slate, and Terracotta. Not only that, but give some extra characterization for Slate. If you're wondering about more Team JADE appearances, they'll show up again later.

Next time, we'll have more characters introduced and have Fragment Hunter get ready for a few things that take place in Volume 2. Such as the Beacon Dance, shadowing professional Huntsmen, and the Breach.

RWBY Volume 5 was GREAT and I loved the entire thing. I'm probably going to get more writing done with RWBY Chibi Season 3 coming out soon as well.

WaterDragonMaverick, signing out!