Ruby crept through the aisles of the store, leafing through each of the fabrics as she passed. Whether soft, sequined, sparkled, none of the dresses were enough to catch Ruby's eye. Or rather, too much. Ruby felt she did not have the confidence to wear such eye-catching garments when they would outshine her and make her feel invisible beneath them, and especially so because Yang had just determined that the "translucent" shade of foundation was too dark for her skin. She also told Ruby that she was a "clear winter," but she had no idea what that meant, and at some point in the past ten minutes, Ruby had lost track of Yang in the women's department.
Ruby pulled out her scroll. "Where did you go? I got lost in the jungle…" Ruby pressed send and closed her scroll, peeking up over the racks of clothing and searched for her shining blonde hair in the crowd.
Ruby's scroll pinged. "Head to the junior/petite department," Yang replied.
"Juniors? Is that really what I am?" Ruby sent.
"It's not my fault that this store doesn't carry XS in the women's department! Now come here. I found some stuff for you to try on."
"Okay, I'll try them on," Ruby replied.
Ruby hustled up the steps to the second floor. How demeaning—the junior department was just across the main aisle from kitchenware. Yang stepped out into the clearing, swinging her head back and forth until she located Ruby, stumbling up to Yang. Ruby always swore that malls pumped noxious gas to make people exhausted and nauseous, but on the other hand, she could be just epileptic enough that all the fluorescent lights actually made her throw up.
"Yang, I feel sick," she whined.
"We can grab some Bepto Pismol at the BVS once we're done here. Chase it with some milk or something."
Ruby's stomach curdled. "Ugh, don't talk about milk right now."
"Okay, okay, I get it. Try these on real quick. Show me all of them."
"All of them?" Ruby pointed to her arm. "That one has a giant cut down the middle! At least go get another one."
"That's how it's supposed to look, Ruby."
"Nope. Put it back. It's broken."
"This one's for me," Yang snickered.
"Oh." Ruby fiddled with the hem of her shirt, stomach plummeting at the thought of wearing one of Yang's selections in front of Roman. "Can't I just wear a t-shirt and jeans?"
"I mean, you could," Yang said, "but it might come off as extremely inconsiderate."
"Ugh," Ruby groaned. "I just want to crawl into a hole and eat ice cream for the rest of my life."
"Come on," Yang offered. "Try these on so we can get out of here."
"This one is too tight!" Ruby complained, shrinking in front of the mirror. Forget curves, she hardly had the frame to make any single dress look good. She always felt more comfortable in t-shirts and things that kept her arms and her legs covered. Weiss looked so dignified in her dress, but if Ruby had to put it on, she would not leave the room without a pair of tights.
"Let me see," Yang suggested.
Tugging the hem of the skirt down, Ruby cracked the door and peeked her face out. "This is so embarrassing."
Yang pushed open the door. "It's not that ba—"
Ruby jumped back in alarm, tripping over the bundle of her clothes and falling squarely on her butt.
Yang snickered and offered her hand out to Ruby.
She took it and stood, readjusting the shoulder straps. "I'm so awkward."
"Oh, you're fine," Yang laughed. "Oh wait, that one actually looks good."
"What?" Ruby exclaimed. "This one looks red saran wrap."
"You know, Torchwick already saw you in a dress like that at Junior's club."
"I don't think he was actually paying attention," Ruby grumbled. "This is so frustrating."
Yang rolled her eyes and turned her around in the mirror. "It actually looks pretty good. We could curl your hair a little bit and throw on some eyeshadow, and you'd look pretty damn good."
Ruby cringed. "Why does this have to be so hard?"
Yang scoffed. "Well, what does he usually see you in?"
"Well," Ruby stammered. She briefly remembered the one time she was only wearing a t-shirt and spandex shorts, and the several times she had seen him shirtless. "I mean, usually, like, a t-shirt, and there was this one time when I came over in my uniform."
Yang pulled strands of Ruby's hair away from her face. "And you're telling me what, exactly? That you're worried that you'll be overdressed?"
"No, I just…" Ruby stopped. I don't want to disappoint him with how childish I still look, she thought. "Can we just get this and go? It's already getting late."
Yang quirked an eyebrow. "It's only two o'clock."
"I just want to get out of here." Ruby reached back to unzip the dress. As she turned to reach for her clothes on the floor, she caught a glimpse of Yang's face, her expression lost and confusing.
"Ruby," Yang said.
Ruby hummed in response.
"Have you figured out how you're going to tell the rest of your team?"
Ruby's head shot up. "What?"
"You need to tell them at some point—you know that, right?"
Ruby shook her head. She scarcely wanted to think about it. "Yang, where is this coming from?"
"Ruby, I know you don't really want everyone to find out, but if this backfires, I may not be enough to protect you."
Ruby scrunched her brows. "What are you talking about? Are you saying he would hurt me?"
Yang shook her head. "No, I'm talking about the fact that if this whole shit pile comes out, you're probably going to get in a lot of trouble."
"I didn't do anything wrong!" Ruby claimed, throwing her hands down. She suddenly realized anyone could walk in and hear them talking about Roman. Ruby pressed her palms into her eye sockets.
Yang sighed. "Look, Ruby, I love you, and I always will, but the fact is that your relationship with Torchwick—no matter what it may be—has the potential to get you into a lot of trouble. And whatever you choose to do, you're going to need the help and support of your teammates."
"Do you think I could get kicked out of Beacon?" Ruby asked. Her lip quivered at the thought of Roman going back to jail, and with a start she remembered that he would not go back to a jail cell—he would die.
"Well, I don't know. But if you think it's gonna happen, you need to get ahead of the narrative and tell Professor Ozpin first to save your chances of attending Beacon Academy."
"Tell Ozpin?" Ruby felt lightheaded. The stress came on with a sudden rush through her head, swirling in throbbing pools under her temples. "What would it matter if I 'got ahead of the narrative?'"
"Do you remember what I said a couple of nights ago when I found out that you were with…him this whole time?"
Ruby noticed the drop in Yang's voice. Ruby instinctively checked for people around her, but she couldn't see anything inside the dressing room. "Yeah. That thing about the news."
"I wasn't kidding," Yang said. "If this gets out, the media is gonna go to town on it. I mean, I probably won't be totally safe, either, but they're probably going to lampoon the shit out of Torchwick more than anything."
"His name is Roman," Ruby slipped. Shakily, she drew in several deep breaths as Yang watched her, saying nothing.
"Will you please promise me that you will at least tell Weiss and Blake?"
Ruby wrapped her arms around her body. Without thinking, she nodded. She hated the idea of telling anyone else, anticipating the look of disappointment on their faces. But Yang had a point. She needed to tell her teammates.
I am super tired. I sent this off to Mima right after I got back from the longest job orientation I have ever sat through, and I couldn't even take a nap because my dog got out of the house and he came back (thank god) heat exhausted. Either way, thank you guys so much for the support, and even though I feel like shit right now, it still makes it worth it to know you guys are around. Okay. Goodnight. Ily. -Sera
Hey everyone! As you may remember from the update in the newest story on this account, I'm Mima, and I'm helping Sera out with this whole writing biz and editing some things. I also have some juicy Rosewick angst inspired by this fic that I'm gonna polish up and post sometime this week (just to clarify-by juicy, I mean wet with salty, salty tears). I might go in and continue Blaze...I don't know. We'll see. You'll know as soon as we know.
Sera totally forgot to respond to reviews, btw. But I can say that she very much appreciates every single response she receives, and especially the ones regarding her health. She's really happy that y'all are being so supportive of her efforts. And on that note, we'll see you next time! :) -Mima
